_The Descent of the Spirit._ (375)
Spirit of pow'r, and truth, and love,
Who sitt'st enthroned in light above!
Descend, and bear us on thy wings,
Far from these low and fleeting things.
2 'Tis thine the wounded soul to heal,
'Tis thine to make the hardened feel;
Thine to give light to blinded eyes,
And bid the groveling spirit rise.
3 When faith is weak, and courage fails,
When grief or doubt our soul assails,
Who can, like thee, our spirits cheer?
Great Comforter! be ever near.
4 Come, Holy Spirit! like the fire;
With burning zeal our souls inspire;
Come, like the south-wind, breathing balm,
Our joys refresh, our passions calm.
5 Come, like the sun's enlightening beam;
Come like the cooling, cleansing stream;
With all thy graces present be:--
Spirit of God! we wait for thee.
William Lindsay Alexander, 1867.