This page is provided so that you can hear the tunes of items which we use in church. Mostly they are written by the vicar. Please note that they are copyright - we are very happy to give permission to you to use them, but we would like to hear about it. Please include any use on your Christian Copyright Licence returns.
Down this page:
- the words,
- the story,
- the sheet music,
- media player.
Spirit of God, we worship you
Spirit of God, we worship you
Spirit of God, we worship you,
you fill our hearts with praise.
You lift our feelings and our thoughts,
and give us joyful days.
You make us sure that we are Christ's,
and teach us what is true.
Spirit of God, we bless you now
that we are one with you.
Spirit of Christ, we worship you,
we give to you our love:
you give us Jesus' character
and strength, O Holy Dove.
You mould our lives on Him, that we
might show that He's our friend.
Spirit of Christ, we bless you now:
you're with us to the end.
Spirit of Truth, we worship you,
we welcome you within:
you are the one who prompts the heart,
convicting us of sin.
Presence of Jesus, messenger,
you show us all you hear,
Spirit of Truth, we bless you now,
we feel your presence near.
Spirit of Power, we worship you,
as Counsellor and Guide:
You are the one who fills our lives
with gifts we must not hide.
You work within us, changing us,
transforming us today.
Spirit of Power, we bless you now,
we welcome you to stay.
Words and tune copyright © John Hartley 2006.
Loosely based on verses from John 14 and 16.
Story behind the song
In the week after Pentecost Sunday 2006, my wife came back from a cell-group and said that the notes for the "worship" section of the group meeting had suggested that the group should worship the Holy Spirit for who he is and what he has done - and why weren't there any well-known hymns or songs which did this? There were songs which asked the Holy Spirit to do things, and there were songs which worshipped the Holy Spirit along with the Father and the Son, but why weren't there any songs which focussed on worshipping the Holy Spirit?
(Those familiar with "cell church" ideas will know that cell meetings have four sections: welcome, worship, word, and witness.)
So I saw this as a challenge, and turned to John chapters 14 and 16 in an attempt to get started. The Holy Spirit's ministry is to direct us to the Father and the Son, but this song attempts to focus on him, and give him worship and praise in the awareness of who he is and what he does for us in our lives.
There are several songs about the Holy Spirit which used traditional Scottish melodies - "Spirit of God, unseen as the wind" (to the tune of the Skye Boat Song), and "Spirit of Holiness, wisdom and faithfulness" (to the tune of Blow the Wind Southerly) - and I was trying to capture this type of feeling in the tune for this hymn.
John Hartley
Windows Media Player. When you click the left-hand "play" button your computer should have started to play the tune. If it didn't, you might be able to get the tune by clicking here, or by right-clicking the link, choosing "save target as", saving it onto your computer, and then opening it with a music-playing program.
Please remember that a midi file of a tune isn't supposed to be a state-of-the-art musical arrangement - it is only supposed to give a basic idea of how the tune goes. Any reasonable organist / keyboard player / music group could make it sound far better.