The Spirit of Old

Representative Text

1 Spirit, by whose operation
Faith and holiness proceed,
Source of heav’nly conversation,
Strength in weakness, help in need;
Spirit, by whose inspiration
Prophets and Apostles spake;
Martyrs bled, and tribulation
Saints endured for Jesus’ sake.

2 Lord, endue us with Thy blessing;
That, though babes we be in grace,
Faith and love and zeal possessing
For Thy house and holy place,
We may give our dearest treasure,
All the good things of this life,
Honor, wealth, and dearest pleasures,
In the great and holy strife.

3 Give us Abrah’ms faith unshaken
That Thy promise must be true,
And what God has undertaken
He assuredly will do;
Which not only could unmoved
Trust the covenant of grace,
But the thing which he most loved
At the Lord’s disposal place.

4 Give us Joseph’s chaste behavior
When the world with crafty wiles
Seeks to draw us from the Saviour
To herself with frowns or smiles,
Give us grace and strength for shunning
This ensnaring Potiphar,
Wisdom to elude her cunning,
Strength her open hate to bear.

5 Give us David’s bold defiance
Of the Lord’s and Israel’s foes;
And in trouble, the reliance
Which in God, his Rock, he shows;
His right princely disposition,
Friendship, constancy, and truth;
But still more, his deep contrition,
For the errors of his youth.

6 Arm us with Thy true discernment
As Elijah, in these days
When men, led by superstition,
To false idols altars raise.
Let us shun the mere profession
Common in our days and land,
Witnessing a good profession,
Even if alone we stand.

7 Give us the Apostles’ daring
And their bold, undaunted mood,
Threats and fierce reproaches bearing
To proclaim the Saviour’s blood;
Let us to the truth bear witness;
Truth alone can make us free;
Nor leave off until its sweetness
All shall taste and know through Thee.

8 Give us Stephen’s look collected
And His calm and peaceful mind,
When we meet with unexpected
Trials of the fiercest kind;
In the midst of shouts and crying,
Let us with composure stand;
Open heav’n to us in dying;
Show us Christ at God’s right hand.

9 Spirit, by whose operation
Faith and hope and love are giv’n,
Source of holy conversation,
Bearing seed and fruit for heav’n;
Spirit, by whose inspiration
Prophets and apostles spake,
Visit us with Thy salvation,
Dwell with us for Jesus’ sake!

Source: Zion's Harp: a collection of hymns and songs for the Apostolic Christian Church of America #175

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Translator: Richard Massie

Massie, Richard, eldest son of the Rev. R. Massie, of Goddington, Cheshire, and Rector of Eccleston, was born at Chester, June 18, 1800, and resides at Pulford Hall, Coddington. Mr. Massie published a translation of Martin Luther’s Spiritual Songs, London, 1854. His Lyra Domestica, 1st series, London, 1860, contains translations of the 1st Series of Spitta's Psalter und Harfe. In 1864 he published vol. ii., containing translations of Spitta's 2nd Series, together with an Appendix of translations of German hymns by various authors. He also contributed many translations of German hymns to Mercer's Church Psalter & Hymn Book; to Reid's British Herald; to the Day of Rest, &c. He died Mar. 11,1887. -- John Julian, Di… Go to person page >

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 >

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Text Information

Text Information

First Line:	Spirit, by whose operation
Title:	The Spirit of Old
German Title:	Geist des Glaubens, Geist der Stärke
Author:	Karl Johann Philipp Spitta
Translator:	Richard Massie
Language:	English
Copyright:	Public Domain