O come, Eternal Spirit

Representative Text

1 O come, Eternal Spirit
Of truth, diffuse Thou light!
Shine in our soul and banish
All blindness from our sight!
Thy holy fire pour o'er us,
Touch heart and lip, that we
With faithful, good confession
Acknowledge Christ and Thee.

2 O Thou, whom our great Monarch
Hath promised unto us,
Blest Comforter, come to us,
And make us chivalrous.
In these times of indiff'rence
And dearth of faith, O come!
And ply the keen-edged weapons
Of early Christendom.

3 Rank unbelief is rampant,
Mad folly storms the sky,
Hence Thou Thyself must arm us
With weapons from on high:
With wisdom, grace, endurance,
And faith robust, and then
Entirely banish from us
All false respect for men.

4 These times call for decision,
Though foes 'gainst us inveigh;
For open, bold confession,
Whate'er the world may say:
In spite of all the glitter
Of gilded heathendom,
To praise, defend, and cherish
Christ's Gospel till He come.

5 Afar, o'er heathen darkness,
The powerful Word breaks day;
They cast, with Satan's shackles,
Their household-gods away;
From every side they hasten
Into the Savior's fold,
And oh! shall it close to us
As to the lost of old!

6 Alas! we truly merit
Such judgment as our lot;
To us the light is shining,
But we receive it not!
O grant us greater fervor
T' impolre Thy grace, dear Lord,
That from us be not taken
The light of Thy blest Word.

7 Pour, Spirit, o'er all nations
A Pentecostal shower,
The Word of testimony
Accompany with power,
The heart and lips may open—
The nations' and our own—
And we, through joy and sorrow,
Make Christ's salvation known.

Source: Evangelical Lutheran hymnal: with music #160

Author: Karl Johann Philipp Spitta

Spitta, Carl Johann Philipp, D.D., was born Aug. 1, 1801, at Hannover, where his father, Lebrecht Wilhelm Gottfried Spitta, was then living, as bookkeeper and teacher of the French language. In his eleventh year Spitta fell into a severe illness, which lasted for four years, and so threw him back that his mother (the father died in 1805) abandoned the idea of a professional career, and apprenticed him to a watchmaker. This occupation did not prove at all congenial to him, but he would not confess his dislike, and his family were ignorant of it till an old friend, who was trying to comfort him after the death of a younger brother, discovered his true feelings. The younger brother had been preparing for ordination, and so Carl was now invited… Go to person page >

Text Information

First Line: O come, Eternal Spirit
German Title: O komm, du Geist der Wahrheit
Author: Karl Johann Philipp Spitta
Language: English
Copyright: Public Domain

Tune

ST. THEODULPH (Teschner)

Now often named ST. THEODULPH because of its association with this text, the tune is also known, especially in organ literature, as VALET WILL ICH DIR GEBEN. It was composed by Melchior Teschner (b. Fraustadt [now Wschowa, Poland], Silesia, 1584; d. Oberpritschen, near Fraustadt, 1635) for "Valet wi…

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Instances

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Evangelical Lutheran Hymnal #160

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Evangelical Lutheran hymnal #160

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Evangelical Lutheran Hymnal. 9th ed. #a160

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