Charles Wesley
(1707-1788)
Spirit of faith, come down,
Reveal the things of God,
And make to us the Godhead known,
And witness with the blood.
’Tis Thine the blood to apply,
And give us eyes to see;
Who did for every sinner die
Hath surely died for me.1
No man can truly say
That Jesus is the Lord
Unless Thou take the veil away
And breathe the living word:
Then, only then we feel
Our interest in the blood,
And cry with joy unspeakable,
“Thou art my Lord, my God!”
I know my Savior lives;
He lives, Who died for me.
My inmost soul His voice receives
Who hangs on yonder tree,
Set forth before my eyes.
Ev’n now I see him bleed,
And hear His mortal groans, and cries,
While suffering in my stead.
O that the world may know
The great, atoning Lamb!
Spirit of Faith, descend and show
The virtue of His name;
The grace which all may find,
The saving power impart,
And testify to all mankind,
And speak to every heart.
Inspire the living faith,
Which whosoe’er receives
The witness in himself he hath,
And consciously believes;
The faith that conquers all,
And doth the mountains move,
And saves whoe’er on Jesus call,
And perfects them in love.2
- This stanza is quoted in The Author and Finisher of Faith. ↩
- This stanza is also quoted in The Author and Finisher of Faith. ↩
Spirit of faith…which moves us all…and yet we find it hard to accept the unseen? We know that He accepts our weakened humanity and loves us beyond belief…
Christian greetings, Elizabeth!
May the Lord in His mercy continue to have the “Spirit of faith come down” to “reveal the things of God” to us.
I can’t tell you how much I appreciate the extraordinary ministry of your father, Rev. Percy Gutteridge. In his teaching? Yes, of course! But right now, as we’re considering this hymn, I marvel that, as he continued to visit our fellowship in California, he was able to instill such a love, appreciation, and embracing of the hymns of the faith in our hearts. Remarkable by itself? Maybe not. Remarkable because the group consisted largely of young “Jesus People,” most of whom were unfamiliar with these treasures? Yes, absolutely!
Yours,
Jim