Hymn Notes

June 7, 2021

Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ,

Our second Distribution Hymn for this past Sunday, the First Sunday after Trinity, was “O Jesus, Blessed Lord, to Thee.” TLH 309

“Kingo’s hymn expresses a profound gratitude for the manifold gifts the communicant receives in the Lord’s Supper. The poet captures the intimacy he shares with his Savior as he speaks directly to Jesus, his ‘blessed Lord,’ and offers ‘heartfelt thanks’ for the precious gifts Christ bestows in the Sacrament: His very body and blood.

The singers of the hymn understand their passive role in only receiving these gifts; they then address themselves and consider their union with Christ in the Eucharist. They command their soul to ‘break forth . . . for joy’ and confess three powerful realities they experience in the Sacrament. First, by partaking of Christ’s body and blood, they receive all the wealth that Christ offers: forgiveness of sins, new life, and salvation (Matthew 26:26-28). Second, beyond their reception of these riches, they also recognize that in this Sacrament, Christ, who in His incarnation takes on human flesh, now unites Himself with them through the real presence of His body and blood. Consequently, their Savior now dwells within their hearts (John 6:56). Finally, Kingo contrasts the roles of Christ and the communicants. In the Lord’s Supper, the communicants must humbly acknowledge that they are blessed by their passive receiving of Christ’s body and blood (I Corinthians 10:16-17). In distributing His gift of forgiveness of sins in the Sacrament, Christ bestows on Christians the goodness and mercy that flow from His atoning work on the cross. As they realize the means by which Christ fulfills His promises in the Divine Service, communicants would be hard pressed to find a simpler and more straightforward, profound, and comforting confession of Christological, incarnational, sacramental piety than the one Kingo offers in this text.” LSB Companion to the Hymns

1. O Jesus, blessed Lord, to Thee my heartfelt thanks forever be,

Who hast so lovingly bestowed on me Thy body and Thy blood.

2. Break forth, my soul, for joy and say what wealth is come to me this day!

My Savior dwells within my heart: how blest am I! How good Thou art!

God’s peace,

Trudy J. Schmalz

Director of Music