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
