Scripture Verse

He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon Him. Matthew 3:16

Introduction

Words: Ado­ni­ram Jud­son, cir­ca 1829, alt. Ap­peared in Win­chell’s Col­lect­ion, 1832.

Music: Ma­ry­ton H. Per­cy Smith, in Church Hymns with Tunes (Lon­don: 1874) (🔊 pdf nwc).

If you know where to get a good pho­to of Smith (head & shoul­ders, at least 200×300 pix­els),

portrait
Adoniram Judson (1788–1850)

Lyrics

Come, Ho­ly Spir­it, Dove di­vine,
On these bap­tis­mal wa­ters shine,
And teach our hearts, in high­est strain,
To praise the Lamb for sin­ners slain.

We love Your name, we love Your laws,
And joy­ful­ly em­brace Your cause;
We love Your cross, the shame, the pain,
O Lamb of God, for sin­ners slain.

We sink be­neath the wa­ter’s face,
And thank You for Your sav­ing grace;
We die to sin and seek a grave
With You, be­neath the yield­ing wave.

And as we rise with You to live,
O let the Ho­ly Spir­it give
The seal­ing unc­tion from above,
The joy of life, the fire of love.