I cannot locate my copy of Routley’s 1979 A Panorama of Christian Hymnody, but this is what the revised and expanded Routley/Richardson (2005) gives as the original Andrew Reed hymn, “Spirit Divine, Attend Our Prayers,” published in 1829.

I wonder if chemical fertilizers were in use in 1829, or just the natural variety?

Perhaps this is a good Pentecost/Holy Spirit hymn to discuss?

Spirit divine, attend our prayers,
and make this house thy home;
descend with all thy gracious powers,
O come, great Spirit, come!

Come as the light – to us reveal
our emptiness and woe;
and lead us in the paths of life
where all the righteous go.

Come as the fire – and purge our hearts
like sacrificial flame;
let our whole soul an offering be
to our Redeemer's name.

Come as the dew, and sweetly bless
this consecrated hour;
may barrenness rejoice to own
thy fertilizing power.

Come as the dove – and spread thy wings,
the wings of peaceful love;
and let thy Church on earth become
blest as the Church above.

Come as the wind – with rushing sound
And Pentecostal grace;
That all of woman born may see
The glory of thy face.

Spirit divine, attend our prayers,
make a lost world thy home;
descend with all thy gracious powers;
O come, great Spirit, come!

Words: Andrew Reed
Evangelical Magazine, June, 1829
(as published in A Panorama of Christian Hymnody, Erik Routley, Edited and Expanded by Paul A. Richardson, © 2005, 1979, GIA Publications, Inc.)


Worship II (1975) used stanzas 1, 2, 3, 5, 7
The only variation from what is above is in the last two lines of stanza 2:
and lead us in those paths of life
whereon the righteous go.


Worship III (1986)
Changed “thou/thy” to “you/your”
Changed “attend” in the first and final stanzas to “accept”

Worship III

Spirit divine, accept our prayers,
and make this house your home;
descend with all your gracious powers,
O come, great Spirit, come!

Come as the light; to us reveal
our emptiness and woe;
and lead us in those paths of life
where all the righteous go.

Come as the fire, and purge our hearts
like sacrificial flame;
let our whole soul an offering be
to our Redeemer's name.

Come as the dove, and spread your wings,
the wings of peaceful love;
and let your Church on earth become
blest as the Church above.

Spirit divine, accept our prayers,
make a lost world your home;
descend with all your gracious powers;
O come, great Spirit, come!

Worship IV
GIA's English Text Review Committee discussed this hymn on Jan. 21, 2010
Reconsidered restoring “attend” in the first and final stanzas, but thought it better to ask the Spirit to “inspire” our prayer in the first stanza, and “accept” it in the final. (The use of “inspire” is from the 1992 Brethren/Mennonite Hymnal: A Worship Book.)
Removed the “s” from “prayer” and “pow’r” in the first and last stanzas (as WLP has it in its hymnals)
The alterations made in stanza 3 (“fire”) are basically those included in the 1992 Brethren/Mennonite Hymnal: A Worship Book.

What some may see as the most significant alteration is the final line of the first and last stanzas: Come, Holy Spirit, come! The ETRC felt strongly that “Holy Spirit” should be used in this hymn, rather than “great Spirit.”
There is also a tune consideration. Try singing this “CM” text to the “CM” tunes AZMON, LAND OF REST, McKEE, MORNING SONG, and a host of others. The opening “Spirit” does not work, and the second word in stanzas 2-5 (“as”) falls on a downbeat – not good. What this demonstrates is the fact that a number of basically iambic tunes and texts substitute a trochee for the initial iamb: DIADEMATA is a fine example. But the tune GRÄEFENBURG seems to call for this trochee and iamb combination both for its first and last musical phrases, and “Cóme, Holy, Spír-” works better than “Ó come, great Spír-”

Worship IV

Spirit divine, inspire our prayer,
and make this house your home;
descend with all your gracious pow’r,
Come, Holy Spirit, come!

Come as the light; to us reveal
our emptiness and woe;
and lead us in those paths of life
where all the righteous go.

Come as the fire and cleanse our hearts
with purifying flame;
let all our lives an offering be
to our Redeemer's name.

Come as the dove and spread your wings,
the wings of peace and love;
and let your Church on earth become
blest as the Church above.

Come as the wind, with rushing sound
And Pentecostal grace,
That all the human race may see
The glory of your face.

Spirit divine, accept our prayer,
And make this world your home;
descend with all your gracious pow’r,
Come, Holy Spirit, come!