Creator Spirit, Heavenly Dove (Evangelical Lutheran Worship 577)
1 Creator Spirit, heavenly dove, descend upon us from above;
with graces manifold restore your creatures as they were before.
2 To you, the Comforter, we cry; to you, the gift of God most high,
true fount of life, the fire of love, the soul’s anointing from above.
3 In you, with graces sevenfold, we God’s almighty hand behold;
while you with tongues of fire proclaim to all the world God’s holy name.
4 Your light to every sense impart, and shed your love in every heart;
your own unfailing might supply to strengthen our infirmity.
5 Keep far from us our cruel foe, and peace from your own hand bestow;
upheld by you, our strength and guide, no evil can our steps betide.
6 Teach us to know the Father, Son, and you, of both, to be but one;
that through the ages all along your praise may be our endless song.
7 Praise to your eternal merit,
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.
Text: Rhabanus Maurus; Music: Sarum plainsong, mode VIII; Public Domain
Devotion
Have you ever wondered if the Holy Spirit is a bit tired of living in you? For many years now, on Good Friday, our congregation has had a practice of members writing down manifestations of our sinfulness on a piece of paper and then nailing them to a cross. Each year it seems, I have written down either some of the same sins or ones close enough to those of the year before. I wonder if this causes the Spirit to be weary of me. The Spirit calls us to new life, and we just pour that bottle of sin into our hands and rinse and repeat as if the Spirit has no power to work the promises of our Lord in us.
Verse three of our hymn breathes with hope and comfort as it remembers and affirms:“In you, with graces sevenfold, we God’s almighty hand behold.” As the Spirit pulses within, our eyes tear up to experience God’s perfect grace like a lullaby singing peace and comfort to that wearied soul that dwells within our being. O Comforter, stir us to live and proclaim this good news.
Prayer
Come, Holy Spirit, come. Amen.