Last Sunday we celebrated Pentecost. The actual day of Pentecost was this last Thursday, 40 days after Easter, the Resurrection. We celebrated Ascension as recorded in Acts 1. That was when Christ ascended or returned to his original glory in heaven. Then the disciples returned to Jerusalem to wait for the gift of the Holy Spirit, recorded in Acts 2. One of the favorite Pentecost songs is “Spirit of God Descend Upon My Heart.” George Croly of Dublin, Ireland, who became an Anglican minister in the slums of London wrote the hymn in 1854 expressing his deep dependency on the work of the Holy Spirit in situations that seem hopeless. We had the hymn sung at our wedding as a prayer for our marriage. Perhaps it is appropriate for your situation today!
- Spirit of God, descend upon my heart;
Wean it from earth; through all its pulses move.
Stoop to my weakness, mighty as Thou art,
And make me love Thee as I ought to love. - Hast Thou not bid me love Thee, God and King?
All, all Thine own, soul, heart and strength and mind.
I see Thy cross; there teach my heart to cling:
Oh, let me seek Thee, and, oh, let me find! - Teach me to feel that Thou art always nigh;
Teach me the struggles of the soul to bear,
To check the rising doubt, the rebel sigh;
Teach me the patience of unanswered prayer. - Teach me to love Thee as Thine angels love,
One holy passion filling all my frame;
The kindling of the heav’n-descended Dove,
My heart an altar, and Thy love the flame.
On the Way to Wonder 