Spirit of God, Descend upon My Heart

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Spirit of God, descend upon my heart

Author: George Croly (1854)
Tune: MORECAMBE
Songs of Illumination
Published in 338 hymnals

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	Spirit of God, Descend upon My Heart

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	Reflections on the Holy Spirit (Hymns of…

Choral
	Spirit of God, Descend upon My Heart

Representative Text

1 Spirit of God, who dwells within my heart,
wean it from sin, through all its pulses move.
Stoop to my weakness, mighty as you are,
and make me love you as I ought to love.

2 I ask no dream, no prophet ecstasies,
no sudden rending of the veil of clay,
no angel visitant, no opening skies;
but take the dimness of my soul away.

3 Did you not bid us love you, God and King,
love you with all our heart and strength and mind?
I see the cross— there teach my heart to cling.
O let me seek you and O let me find!

4 Teach me to feel that you are always nigh;
teach me the struggles of the soul to bear,
to check the rising doubt, the rebel sigh;
teach me the patience of unceasing prayer.

5 Teach me to love you as your angels love,
one holy passion filling all my frame:
the fullness of the heaven-descended Dove;
my heart an altar, and your love the flame.

Psalter Hymnal, 1987

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Author: George Croly

Croly, George, LL.D., born in Dublin, Aug. 17, 1780, and educated at the Dublin University (M.A. 1804, LL.D. 1831). After taking Holy Orders, he laboured in Ireland till about 1810, when he took up his residence in London, and devoted himself to literature. In 1835 he succeeded to the united benefices of St. Stephen's, Walbrook, and St. Benet Sherehog, retaining the same till his death, which occurred suddenly in the public street, Holborn, Nov. 24, 1860. His prose publications, in addition to contributions to Blackwood's Magazine, were numerous, and dealt with biographical, historical, and scriptural subjects. His hymns were given in his— Psalms and Hymns for Public Worship. Written and compiled by the Rev. George Croly, LL.D. London… Go to person page >

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Related Texts

First Line:	Spirit of God, descend upon my heart
Title:	Spirit of God, Descend upon My Heart
Author:	George Croly (1854)
Meter:	10.10.10.10
Place of Origin:	Ireland
Language:	English
Notes:	Spanish translation: See "En mi alma mora, Santo Espíritu" by Efrain Martínez
Copyright:	Public Domain
Liturgical Use:	Songs of Illumination

Year A, Epiphany season, Baptism of the Lord (First Sunday)
This is recommended for Year A, Epiphany season, Baptism of the Lord (First Sunday) by 2 hymnal lectionary indexes including Glory to God: the Presbyterian Hymnal #688.
Year A, Epiphany Season, Transfiguration Sunday
Year A, Lent, Ash Wednesday
This is recommended for Year A, Lent, Ash Wednesday by 2 hymnal lectionary indexes including Glory to God: the Presbyterian Hymnal #688 and Lift Up Your Hearts: psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs #618.
Year A, Lent, Third Sunday
This is recommended for Year A, Lent, Third Sunday by 2 hymnal lectionary indexes including Glory to God: the Presbyterian Hymnal #688 and Lift Up Your Hearts: psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs #618.
Year A, Ordinary Time, Proper 6 (11)
This is recommended for Year A, Ordinary Time, Proper 6 (11) by 2 hymnal lectionary indexes including Glory to God: the Presbyterian Hymnal #688 and Lift Up Your Hearts: psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs #618.
Year A, Ordinary Time, Proper 25 (30)
This is recommended for Year A, Ordinary Time, Proper 25 (30) by 3 hymnal lectionary indexes including Lift Up Your Hearts: psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs #618.
Year A, Ordinary Time, Proper 25 (30)
Year B, Advent, Second Sunday
Year B, Lent, Ash Wednesday
This is recommended for Year B, Lent, Ash Wednesday by 2 hymnal lectionary indexes including Glory to God: the Presbyterian Hymnal #688 and Lift Up Your Hearts: psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs #618.
Year B, Ordinary Time, Proper 9 (14)
This is recommended for Year B, Ordinary Time, Proper 9 (14) by 3 hymnal lectionary indexes including Glory to God: the Presbyterian Hymnal #688 and Lift Up Your Hearts: psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs #618.
Year B, Ordinary Time, Proper 11 (16)
Year B, Ordinary Time, Proper 14 (19)
Year B, Ordinary Time, Proper 27 (32)
Year C, Epiphany season, Baptism of the Lord (First Sunday)
This is recommended for Year C, Epiphany season, Baptism of the Lord (First Sunday) by 2 hymnal lectionary indexes including Glory to God: the Presbyterian Hymnal #688.
Year C, Lent, Ash Wednesday
This is recommended for Year C, Lent, Ash Wednesday by 2 hymnal lectionary indexes including Glory to God: the Presbyterian Hymnal #688 and Lift Up Your Hearts: psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs #618.
Year C, Easter season, Day of Pentecost
This is recommended for Year C, Easter season, Day of Pentecost by 2 hymnal lectionary indexes including Glory to God: the Presbyterian Hymnal #688 and Lift Up Your Hearts: psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs #618.
Year C, Ordinary Time, Proper 8 (13)
This is recommended for Year C, Ordinary Time, Proper 8 (13) by 2 hymnal lectionary indexes including Glory to God: the Presbyterian Hymnal #688.
Year C, Ordinary Time, Proper 8 (13)

English

10 shown out of 246

Spanish

Santo, Santo, Santo: cantos para el pueblo de Dios = Holy, Holy, Holy: songs for the people of God #277

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Notes

Scripture References:
st. 1 = Ps. 51:10-12, Rom. 8:26, Eph. 3:16
st. 2 = Luke 11:13
st. 3 = Matt. 22:37
st. 4 = Ezek. 36:27
st. 5 = Rom. 5:5

This hymn is an intense, personal prayer for the working of the Holy Spirit (st. 1), for illumination (st. 2), for more fervent love for Christ (st. 3), for greater holiness in our walk with the Lord (st. 4), and for the fullness of the Spirit (st. 5). The first line was changed from "Spirit of God, descend upon my heart" to "Spirit of God, who dwells within my heart."

This text was ascribed posthumously to George Croly (b. Dublin, Ireland, 1780; d. Holborn, London, England, 1860) when it was published in Charles Rogers's Lyra Britannica (1867). Croly was educated at Trinity College, Dublin. After serving in Irish Anglican churches from 1804-1810, he moved to London and began a successful literary career as poet, novelist, conservative journalist, and editor of The Universal Review. In 1835 he returned to pastoral work and served a poor parish in London, where he became a very popular preacher. Croly published a number of his hymns in a collection he edited, Psalms and Hymns for Public Worship (1854).

Liturgical Use:
Pentecost; worship services at other times of the year because anytime is renewal time!

--Psalter Hymnal Handbook, 1988

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Spirit of God! descend upon my heart. G. Croly. [Holiness Desired.] From his Psalms & Hymns, 1854.

--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, Appendix, Part II (1907)

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Tune

MORECAMBE

MORECAMBE was composed in 1870 by Frederick C. Atkinson (b. Norwich, England, 1841; d. East Dereham, England, 1896) as a setting for Henry Lyte's "Abide with Me" (442). It was first published in G. S. Barrett and E.J. Hopkins's Congregational Church Hymnal (1887). The tune is named for a coastal tow…

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LONGWOOD (Barnby)

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For Leaders

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In this prayerful hymn, we ask God to move within us so that we may live a life of whole-hearted devotion to Him, bathed in His presence and motivated by His love. We recall the “first and greatest commandment” to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Matthew 22:37, 38 NIV).

Text:

George Croly wrote this text on Galatians 5:25, and it was first published in 1867 in Lyra Britannica. It has five stanzas. All of them are usually sung, though some hymnals omit one of the last four. This hymn is a prayer addressed by the singer to God. The first stanza is a petition that the Spirit of God would become active in one's life, but the second is a clarification that the singer is not asking for a spectacular sign. In the third stanza, he or she recalls the “first and greatest commandment” on how to love God (see Matthew 22:37-38). The fourth and fifth stanzas are requests that God would teach the singer to be conscious of the constant presence of God, and again, to love God whole-heartedly.

Tune:

MORECAMBE is by far the most popular tune to which this text is sung. It was composed in 1870 by Frederick C. Atkinson for another hymn, “Abide with Me.” The tune is named for a town on Morecambe Bay near Bradford, England, where Atkinson served as organist. The tune has a soft mood, but can sound doleful if sung too slowly.

When/Why/How:

The topic of this hymn is the presence of the Holy Spirit. One liturgical occasion for which this hymn is very well suited is Pentecost. The quiet nature of the tune does not lend itself well to festive settings, but works well for congregational singing, preferably in parts. It can also be used for quiet moments in the service in settings such as the organ offertory in “Praise to the Lord,” or the idiomatic piano arrangement in “Hymns for Piano.”

Tiffany Shomsky,
Hymnary.org

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Psalms and Hymns to the Living God (2023), p.369

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Instances

Instances (1 - 100 of 338)

Hymnal of the First General Missionary Convention of the Methodist Episcopal Church, Cleveland, Ohio, October 21 to 24, 1902. #29

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Piano/Organ Reflections on the Holy Spirit (Hymns of Prayer and Inspiration for Piano) Hymn Harmonizations, Set 5 COLLECTED WORKS OF DON HUSTAD More Piano/Organ...
Choral Spirit of God, Descend upon My Heart More Choral...
Instrumental SPIRIT OF GOD, DESCEND UPON MY HEART TRUMPET STYLINGS More Instrumental...
Handbells Spirit of God, Descend upon Our Hearts Through Darkness to Light (Reproducible Hymn Settings for Lent, Holy Week, Easter, Ascension, and Pentecost) Through Darkness to Light (Reproducible Hymn Settings for Lent, Holy Week, Easter, Ascension, and Pentecost) More Handbells...
PowerPoint SPIRIT OF GOD, DESCEND UPON MY HEART (Worship & Rejoice 2003 - 132) SPIRIT OF GOD DESCEND UPON MY HEART (The Worshiping Church 290) SPIRIT OF GOD, DESCEND UPON MY HEART (United Methodist Hymnal 500) More PowerPoint...

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