Spirit Divine, Attend Our Prayers

Representative Text

1 Spirit divine, attend our prayer,
And make this house your home;
Descend with all your gracious pow'r;
O come, great Spirit, come!

2 Come as the light; to us reveal
Our emptiness and woe,
And lead us in those paths of life
Where all the righteous go.

3 Come as the fire and purge our hearts
Like sacrificial flame;
Let our whole soul an off'ring be
To our Redeemer's name.

4 Come as the dove, and spread your wings,
The wings of peaceful love;
And let your Church on earth become
Blest as the Church above.

5 Spirit divine, attend our prayer;
Make a lost world your home;
Descend with all your gracious pow'r;
O come, great Spirit, come!

Source: One in Faith #654

Author: Andrew Reed

Reed, Andrew, D.D., son of Andrew Reed, was born in London on Nov. 27, 1787, and educated for the Congregational Ministry at Hackney College, London. He was first the pastor of the New Road Chapel, St. George's-in-the-East, and then of the Wycliffe Chapel, which was built through his exertions in 1830. His degree was conferred by Yule College, America. He died Feb. 25, 1862. As the founder of "The London Orphan Asylum," "The Asylum for Fatherless Children," “The Asylum for Idiots” "The Infant Orphan Asylum," and "The Hospital for Incurables," Dr. Reed is more fully known, and will be longer remembered than by his literary publications. His Hymn Book was the growth of years. The preparation began in 1817, when he published a Supplement… Go to person page >

Text Information

First Line: Spirit divine, attend our prayers
Title: Spirit Divine, Attend Our Prayers
Author: Andrew Reed (1829)
Meter: 8.6.8.6
Language: English
Copyright: Public Domain

Notes

Scripture References:
st. 1 = Rom. 8:26, Eph. 3:16
st. 2 = John 16:13
st. 3 = Ps. 51:10-12, Ezek. 36:26, Acts 2:2-3

Although the text was written by Andrew Reed (b. St. Clement Danes, London, England, 1787; d. Hackney, London, 1862), it was published anonymously in the Evangelical Magazine, June 1829, with the heading "Hymn to the Spirit, Sung on the late Day appointed for solemn Prayer and Humiliation." The "late Day" referred to Good Friday of that year, which had been set aside by the Congregational clergy of London for prayer for "the renewal of religion in the British churches." The original text began "Spirit divine, attend our prayers" and had seven stanzas (st. 7 was a virtual repeat of st. 1), His stanzas 1-3 and 6 are included in modernized form.

The text begins with a prayer for the working of the Holy Spirit in our hearts (st. 1). It then uses the metaphors of light, fire, and the dove to enable us to see the Spirit's work more clearly: "Come as the light" is a prayer for illumination (st. 2); "Come as the fire" is a prayer for cleansing (st. 3); and "Come as the dove" is a prayer for peace and unity (st. 4).

The son of a watchmaker, Reed entered that profession until he felt a call to the ministry. Educated at Hackney College, London, he became a Congregational minister in 1811. He served a flourishing congregation in St. George's-in-the-East, London (later named Wycliffe Chapel), until his retirement in 1861. Known for his administrative skills, Reed founded various charitable institutions such as the London Orphan Asylum, the Asylum for Fatherless Children, the Royal Hospital for Incurables, the Infant Orphan Asylum, and the Asylum for Idiots. He published a Supplement (1817) to Isaac Watts' (PHH 155) hymns, which was enlarged in 1825 and called The Hymn Book; it included twenty-one hymn texts by Reed and twenty anonymous texts by Reed's wife (not properly credited until the Wycliffe Chapel Supplement of 1872), In 1842 Reed issued The Hymn Book, a compilation of his hymns as well as those by Watts and others.

Liturgical Use:
Pentecost; other services of prayer for the work of the Holy Spirit.

--Psalter Hymnal Handbook
==============================

Spirit Divine, attend our prayer. A. Reed. [Whitsuntide.] This hymn appeared, unsigned, in 7 stanzas of 4 lines, in the Evangelical Magazine for June 1829, with the heading, "Hymn to the Spirit. Sung on the late Day appointed for solemn Prayer and Humiliation in the Eastern District of the Metropolis". From the April number of the same magazine we find that the "Day appointed for Solemn Prayer," &c, was the Good Friday of that year, and that it was "cordially recommended . . . " as a day of humiliation and prayer, with a view to promote, by the divine blessing, a revival of religion in the British churches," by the Board of Congregational Ministers, resident in and about London, whose recommendation is dated "Tuesday, Feb. 10, 1829." The hymn was republished in Dr. Reed's Hymn Book, 1842; and again, in the Wyliffe Chapel Supply 1872. It is the most widely known of Dr. Reed's hymns, and is in extensive use. It is one of his best productions.

-- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)

===============

Spirit Divine, attend our prayer, p. 1074, ii. The form of this hymn most generally adopted in modern American collections is that rewritten by S. Longfellow, and I included in Longfellow and Johnson's Hymns of the Spirit, 1864. It is No. 67 in The Pilgrim Hymnal, 1904.

--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, New Supplement (1907)

Tune

NUN DANKET ALL (Crüger 16512)

Composed by Johann Crüger (PHH 42) as a setting for Paul Gerhardt's "Nun danket all’ und bringet Ehr," GRÄFENBERG was first published in the 1647 edition of Crüger's Praxis Pietatis Melica. The tune is arbitrarily named after a water-cure spa in Silesia, Austria, which became famous in the 1820…

Go to tune page >


Timeline

Media

You have access to this FlexScore.
Download:
Are parts of this score outside of your desired range? Try transposing this FlexScore.
General Settings
Stanza Selection
Voice Selection
Text size:
Music size:
Transpose (Half Steps):
Capo:
Contacting server...
Contacting server...
Questions? Check out the FAQ

A separate copy of this score must be purchased for each choir member. If this score will be projected or included in a bulletin, usage must be reported to a licensing agent (e.g. CCLI, OneLicense, etc).

This is a preview of your FlexScore.
The Cyber Hymnal #6282
  • Adobe Acrobat image (PDF)
  • Noteworthy Composer score (NWC)
  • XML score (XML)
Mawl a chân = praise and song : llyfr hymnau a thonau i Gymru ar Wasgar = hymnal for Welsh and English church worship / crynhoad pwyllgor Eglwys Gymraeg, Detroit, Michigan #139b
  • PDF Score (PDF)
Psalter Hymnal (Gray) #421
  • Full Score (PDF, XML)
  • Bulletin Score (PDF)
  • Bulletin Score (melody only) (PDF)
With Heart and Voice: songs for all God's children #110
  • Full Score (PDF, XML)
  • Bulletin Score (PDF)
  • Bulletin Score (melody only) (PDF)

Instances

Instances (1 - 38 of 38)

An Nou Chanté! #24

TextFlexScoreAudio

Ancient and Modern #260

Anglican Hymns Old and New (Rev. and Enl.) #671

Church Family Worship #309

Church Hymnal, Fifth Edition #341

Text

Church Hymnary (4th ed.) #583

Page Scan

Common Praise (1998) #646

TextFlexScoreAudioPage Scan

Common Praise #195

Page Scan

Complete Mission Praise #614

TextPage Scan

CPWI Hymnal #269

Text InfoTextFlexScoreAudioPage Scan

Glory to God #407

Hymnal #30

Hymns and Psalms #327a

Hymns and Psalms #327b

TextPage Scan

Hymns for a Pilgrim People #223

Hymns for Today's Church (2nd ed.) #240

Text

Hymns of Glory, Songs of Praise #583

Hymns of the Saints #288

TextFlexScoreAudio

Lift Up Your Hearts #617

TextPage Scan

One in Faith #654

Text InfoTune InfoTextScoreAudioPage Scan

Psalter Hymnal (Gray) #421

Santo, Santo, Santo #571

TextPage Scan

Seventh-day Adventist Hymnal #267

Text

Songs for Life #185

TextPage Scan

The A.M.E. Zion Hymnal #214

The Baptist Hymnal #612

TextPage Scan

The Book of Praise #390

TextScoreAudio

The Cyber Hymnal #6282

TextPage Scan

The Hymnal 1982 #509

Text

The Hymnal for Worship and Celebration #615

The Irish Presbyterian Hymbook #477

TextPage Scan

The Presbyterian Hymnal #325

Text

The Song Book of the Salvation Army #217

Text

Together in Song #406

Text

Voices United #385

TextScoreAudioPage Scan

With Heart and Voice #110

Text

Worship (3rd ed.) #476

TextPage Scan

Worship (4th ed.) #535

Include 349 pre-1979 instances
Suggestions or corrections? Contact us