"Surrey" (TLH #368)

"Lord of Our Life"

Last week, I watched the Concordia University Wisconsin chapel service from 4 September.  The reading was from Ephesians 6, and I noticed verse 16 in particular:  "In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one."  This seems to be the source of the imagery in the line "And with great spite their fiery darts are hurling" in the second verse of "Lord of Our Life."

(Here's a link to my post from last year about the Biblical sources for the hymn.)

LSB #747 "No Saint on Earth Lives Life to Self Alone"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  Romans 8:38-39, Romans 6:5-11

Romans 8:38-39:  " 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Romans 6:5-11:  "5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.  6 We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.  7 For one who has died has been set free from sin.  8 Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.  9 We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him.  10 For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God.  11 So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus."

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Both cited passages could be included in "we with Christ are one" in the first verse, and the passage from Romans 6 has some general similarities with the hymn text as a whole, but really, the basis for the hymn is Romans 14:7-9:  "7 For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself.  8 For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord.  So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's.  9 For to this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living."  The hymn's first verse paraphrases verses 7-8, and the second verse paraphrases verse 9.  "Whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's" from verse 8 appears at the end of both verses in the hymn.

The line "That to new life He might arise again" near the beginning of the second verse may also be based on Romans 6:4:  "We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life."

"O Durchbrecher" (TLH #367)

LSB #746 "Through Jesus' Blood and Merit"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  Romans 8:35-39, Ephesians 1:4-6

Romans 8:35-39:  "35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?  Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?  36 As it is written, 'For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.'  37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.  38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Ephesians 1:4-6:  "4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him.  In love 5 he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved."

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The text is public domain:

1 Through Jesus' blood and merit

I am at peace with God.

What, then, can daunt my spirit,

However dark my road?

My courage shall not fail me,

For God is on my side;

Though hell itself assail me,

Its rage I may deride.

2 There's nothing that can sever

From this great love of God;

No want, no pain whatever,

No famine, peril, flood.

Though thousand foes surround me,

For slaughter mark His sheep,

They never shall confound me,

The vict'ry I shall reap.

3 For neither life's temptation

Nor death's most trying hour

Nor angels of high station

Nor any other pow'r

Nor things that now are present

Nor things that are to come

Nor height, however pleasant,

Nor darkest depths of gloom

4 Nor any creature ever

Shall from the love of God

This ransomed sinner sever;

For in my Savior's blood

This love has its foundation;

God hears my faithful prayer

And long before creation

Named me His child and heir.

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The passage from Romans 8 is the main source for the hymn; verses 35-37 are paraphrased in the hymn's second verse, and verses 38-39 are paraphrased in the third verse and the first few lines of the fourth.

The passage from Ephesians 1 appears at the end of the fourth verse.

The line "Though thousand foes surround me" in the second verse may come from Psalm 3:6:  "I will not be afraid of many thousands of people who have set themselves against me all around."

"Eins ist not" (TLH #366)

Part way through, this tune changes meter (from 4/4 to 6/4).  I had to put my guitar in drop D tuning to accommodate a couple notes in the tenor part.

"Jesus ist kommen, Grund ewiger Freude"

This is an-other of my own arrangements of a hymn tune.

I used Melodia 8' and Flute 4' on the lower manual (and added Trompette 8' for the second verse), Open Diapason 8', Gedeckt 8', and Hautbois 8' on the upper manual, and Sub Bass 16' + Gedeckt 8' for the pedals.

Played with the pipe organ sound on my Hammond SKX, with the Hammond XPK-130G bass pedals

LSB #745 "In God, My Faithful God"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  Psalm 25, Philippians 1:21; 2 Thessalonians 3:3, Titus 3:4-7

Psalm 25:  "1 To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul.  2 O my God, in you I trust; let me not be put to shame; let not my enemies exult over me.  3 Indeed, none who wait for you shall be put to shame; they shall be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous.

"4 Make me to know your ways, O LORD; teach me your paths.  5 Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long.

"6 Remember your mercy, O LORD, and your steadfast love, for they have been from of old.  7 Remember not the sins of my youth or my transgressions; according to your steadfast love remember me, for the sake of your goodness, O LORD!

"8 Good and upright is the LORD; therefore he instructs sinners in the way.  9 He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble his way.  10 All the paths of the LORD are steadfast love and faithfulness, for those who keep his covenant and his testimonies.  11 For your name's sake, O LORD, pardon my guilt, for it is great.  12 Who is the man who fears the LORD?  Him will he instruct in the way that he should choose.  13 His soul shall abide in well-being, and his offspring shall inherit the land.  14 The friendship of the LORD is for those who fear him, and he makes known to them his covenant.  15 My eyes are ever toward the LORD, for he will pluck my feet out of the net.

"16 Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted.  17 The troubles of my heart are enlarged; bring me out of my distresses.  18 Consider my affliction and my trouble, and forgive all my sins.

"19 Consider how many are my foes, and with what violent hatred they hate me.  20 Oh, guard my soul, and deliver me!  Let me not be put to shame, for I take refuge in you.  21 May integrity and uprightness preserve me, for I wait for you.

"22 Redeem Israel, O God, out of all his troubles."

Philippians 1:21:  "For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain."

2 Thessalonians 3:3:  "But the Lord is faithful.  He will establish you and guard you against the evil one."

Titus 3:4-7:  "4 But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life."

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The text is public domain:

1 In God, my faithful God,

I trust when dark my road;

Great woes may overtake me,

Yet He will not forsake me.

My troubles He can alter;

His hand lets nothing falter.

2 My sins fill me with care,

Yet I will not despair.

I build on Christ, who loves me;

From this rock nothing moves me.

To Him I will surrender,

To Him, my soul's defender.

3 If death my portion be,

It brings great gain to me;

It speeds my life's endeavor

To live with Christ forever.

He gives me joy in sorrow,

Come death now or tomorrow.

4 O Jesus Christ, my Lord,

So meek in deed and word,

You suffered death to save us

Because Your love would have us

Be heirs of heav'nly gladness

When ends this life of sadness.

5 "So be it," then, I say

With all my heart each day.

Dear Lord, we all adore You,

We sing for joy before You.

Guide us while here we wander

Until we praise You yonder.

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Psalm 25 is the main source for the hymn.  Verses 2 and 22 appear in the first verse ("In God, my faithful God, / I trust when dark my road... My troubles He can alter"); verses 16-20 in the second verse ("My sins fill me with care..."); and verses 4-5, 8-9, and 12 near the end of the fifth verse ("Guide us while here we wander").

Philippians 1:21 is paraphrased at the beginning of the third verse:  "If death my portion be, / It brings great gain to me."

2 Thessalonians 3:3 is the basis for the description "Him, my soul's defender" at the end of the second verse.

The passage from Titus 3 (particularly the "heirs" in verse 7) appears in the fourth verse.

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The imagery in the lines "I build on Christ, who loves me; / From this rock nothing moves me" in the second verse seems to come from Matthew 7:24-25:  "24 'Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.  25 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.'"

"Meinen Jesum lass' ich nicht" (TLH #365)

"Lord of All Nations, Grant Me Grace"

I was looking at "Lord of All Nations, Grant Me Grace" earlier this week, and I noticed a few small features in the title line, sung to this musical phrase from the tune "Angelus":

"Nations" is sung with a melisma, and each note is a different pitch (G A Bb).  Both of these features provide a sense of the entirety of the modifying "all."  There's a further sense of this entirety because a pitch (A natural) from outside the tune's key (E flat major) is also included.

LSB #744 "Amazing Grace"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  Ephesians 2:1, 4-9; John 1:14, 16-17; Hebrews 4:16; Romans 3:22b-24

Ephesians 2:1:  "And you were dead in the trespasses and sins"

Ephesians 2:4-9:  "4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ - by grace you have been saved - 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,  7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.  8 For by grace you have been saved through faith.  And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast."

John 1:14:  "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth."

John 1:16-17:  "16 And from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.  17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ."

Hebrews 4:16:  "Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need."

Romans 3:22b-24:  "For there is no distinction:  23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus"

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The text is public domain:

1 Amazing grace - how sweet the sound - 

That saved a wretch like me!

I once was lost but now am found,

Was blind but now I see!

2 The Lord has promised good to me,

His Word my hope secures;

He will my shield and portion be

As long as life endures.

3 Through many dangers, toils, and snares

I have already come;

His grace has brought me safe thus far,

His grace will lead me home.

4 Yes, when this flesh and heart shall fail

And mortal life shall cease,

Amazing grace shall then prevail

In heaven's joy and peace.

5 When we've been there ten thousand years,

Bright shining as the sun,

We've no less days to sing God's praise

Than when we'd first begun.

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The two passages from Ephesians (particularly Ephesians 2:5) appear in the first two lines:  "Amazing grace - how sweet the sound - / That saved a wretch like me!"  Aside from Ephesians 2:1, all of the citations mention grace, which appears in the title line and in the third and fourth verses.

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The second half of the first verse ("I once was lost but now am found, / Was blind but now I see!") borrows phrases from the Parable of the Lost Son (Luke 15:24:  "'"For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found."  And they began to celebrate.'") and from the account of the man born blind (John 9:25:  "He answered, 'Whether he is a sinner I do not know.  One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.'").

The descriptions of God as "shield" and "portion" in the second verse also occur in various Psalms, including 3:3; 28:7; 33:20; 73:26; 84:11; 119:57 and 142:5.

The line "Bright shining as the sun" in the fifth verse is drawn from Matthew 13:43:  "'Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father.  He who has ears, let him hear.'"

"St. Peter" (TLH #364)

Transposed from E flat major to F major