Today I'm combining two of our summer themes in one: the Holy Spirit, and Gospel songs. Most Gospel songs are about Jesus in some way: his life, his love for us, singing his praises, etc. There are some, however, that are not.This number in Gospel song style about the Holy Spirit first appeared in 1890 in a hymnal with a great title: Precious Times of Refreshing and Revival. The writer, Frank Bottome, emigrated to the U.S. from England and became a Methodist Episcopal minister in 1850. Composer William Kirkpatrick wrote tunes for just about all the popular text writers of the time.
O spread the tidings ’round, wherever truth is found,
Wherever human hearts and human woes abound;
Let ev’ry human tongue proclaim the joyful sound:
The Comforter has come!
Refrain:
The Comforter has come, the Comforter has come!
The Spirit come from Heav’n, the Savior’s promise giv’n;
O spread the tidings ’round, wherever truth is found—
The Comforter has come!
She comes, and softly sings, with healing in her wings,
To ev’ry captive soul a full deliverance brings;
And through the vacant cells the song of triumph rings;
The Comforter has come!
Refrain
O boundless love divine! How shall this tongue of mine
To wond’ring mortals tell the matchless grace divine—
That I, a child of God, should in God's image shine!
The Comforter has come!
Refrain
Sing till the echoes fly above the vaulted sky,
And all the saints above to all below reply,
In strains of endless love, the song that ne’er will die:
The Comforter has come!
Refrain
Frank Bottome, 1890; alt.
Tune: COMFORTER (12.12.12.6. with refrain)
William J. Kirkpatrick, 1890
4 comments:
Another new hymn for me. Interesting that the Holy Spirit is referred to as a "she."
I do confess that the feminine reference was put in when we were working on our hymnal project some years ago. I'm no theologian, but the concept of the Holy Spirit as female comes out of the Hebrew word ruach (orruah), a feminine-gendered noun more or less meaning "the Breath of God." More and more modern hymns use this imagery for the Spirit, so it did not seem out of place in this song.
The (originally second) verse* about the morning breaking is missing, but I like the feminizing touch. And I'm glad to see you have the fifth verse (although here it's the fourth), about singing, because it's rarely found (even The Cyber Hymnal lacked it until recently) and it makes a fine cap to a rousing round of this hymn. However, I can't condone your emending "I, a child of hell" to "I, a child of God", though I can imagine and sympathize with the motive.
This text, by the way, cries out for a good parodic treatment where the Comforter arrives UPS from Bed Bath & Beyond or someplace. I've started the work several times but never been able to sustain it.
Leland aka Haruo
* the missing verse goes
The long, long night is past, the morning breaks at last,
And hushed the dreadful wail and fury of the blast,
As o’er the golden hills the day advances fast!
The Comforter has come!
I can't see any justification for "child of hell" if one subscribes to inclusivity. We are all children of God.
The four verses I chose all have some reference to telling the good news through spoken word or song, while the omitted verse does not. Also, I'm not sure what the "dreadful wail and fury of the blast" refers to, so neither would the average singer. Sometimes writers put particular lines in only because they scan or rhyme.
Also, frankly, I like the overall text much better than the repetitive tune; four verses are enough! (and I don't say that often)
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