Come, Holy Ghost, God and Lord (Evangelical Lutheran Worship 395)
1 Come, Holy Ghost, God and Lord,
with all your graces now outpoured
on each believer’s mind and heart;
your fervent love to them impart.
Lord, by the brightness of your light
in holy faith your church unite;
from ev’ry land and ev’ry tongue,
this to your praise, O Lord, our God, be sung.
Alleluia! Alleluia!
2 Come, holy Light, guide divine,
now cause the word of life to shine.
Teach us to know our God aright
as loving Father, our delight.
From ev’ry error keep us free;
let none but Christ our teacher be,
that we in living faith abide,
in him, our Lord, with all our might confide.
Alleluia! Alleluia!
3 Come, holy Fire, comfort true,
grant us the will your work to do
and in your service to abide;
let trials turn us not aside.
Lord, by your pow’r prepare each heart
and to our weakness strength impart,
that bravely here we may contend,
through life and death to you, our Lord, ascend.
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Text: German Hymn, 15th cent., st. 1, Martin Luther; Music: Enchiridion; Public Domain
Devotion
We began this week with reflection on the story of the surprising outpouring of the Holy Spirit on Peter’s listeners at Caesarea—before Peter could even finish his sermon! So, in this Easter season—as we make our way toward Pentecost—it seemed good to follow the marks of the work of the Spirit in our readings and reflection. Martin Luther’s words in our hymn’s first verse certainly do that well. Through the Spirit, God’s graces have been poured out in the mind and heart of every believer, so they may be filled with God’s love, and united in that love for all people “in every land and tongue.” Additional verses go on to sing of the Spirit as teacher of how to know God truly as a God of love, and as the one who leads us to abide in our Lord Jesus through a living faith. Finally, through such abiding love, the Spirit fosters in us the strength to exercise that love in fruitful service.
Prayer
Come Holy Spirit, dwell within our hearts and minds, offering us the power to abide in God’s love and the will to faithfully exercise that love in service to one another. Amen.