Come, Holy Ghost, Creator, come

Representative Text

Come, Holy Ghost, Creator, come,
And visit all the souls of Thine:
Thou hast inspired our hearts with life;
Inspire them now with life divine.

Thou art the Comforter, the gift
Of God most high; the fire of love,
The everlasting spring ofjoy,
And holy unction from above.

Thy gifts are manifold; Thou writ'st
God's laws in every faithful heart;
The promise of the Father, Thou
Dost heavenly eloquence impart.

Enlighten our dark souls, till they
Thy love, Thy heavenly love embrace;
And since we are by nature frail
Assist us with Thy saving grace.

Drive far from us the mortal foe,
And grant us to have peace within;
That, with Thy light and guidance blest,
We may escape the snares of sin.

Teach us the Father to confess,
And Son, who from the grave revived;
And, with the Father and the Son,
Thee, Holy Ghost, from both derived.

With Thee, O Father, therefore may
The Son, who was from death restor'd,
And sacred Comforter, One God,
To endless ages be adored!



Source: Chorale Book for England, The #86

Author: Anonymous

In some hymnals, the editors noted that a hymn's author is unknown to them, and so this artificial "person" entry is used to reflect that fact. Obviously, the hymns attributed to "Author Unknown" "Unknown" or "Anonymous" could have been written by many people over a span of many centuries. Go to person page >

Translator: Catherine Winkworth

Catherine Winkworth (b. Holborn, London, England, 1827; d. Monnetier, Savoy, France, 1878) is well known for her English translations of German hymns; her translations were polished and yet remained close to the original. Educated initially by her mother, she lived with relatives in Dresden, Germany, in 1845, where she acquired her knowledge of German and interest in German hymnody. After residing near Manchester until 1862, she moved to Clifton, near Bristol. A pioneer in promoting women's rights, Winkworth put much of her energy into the encouragement of higher education for women. She translated a large number of German hymn texts from hymnals owned by a friend, Baron Bunsen. Though often altered, these translations continue to be used i… Go to person page >

Text Information

First Line: Come, Holy Ghost, Creator, come, And visit all the souls of Thine
Title: Come, Holy Ghost, Creator, come
German Title: Komm, Gott Schöpfer, Heil'ger Geist
Author: Anonymous
Translator: Catherine Winkworth (1863)
Source: Veni, Creator Spiritus
Language: English
Copyright: Public Domain

Tune

MELCOMBE (Webbe)

Also known as: ST. PHILIPS BENEDICTION GRANTON NAZARETH MELCOMBE was first used as an anonymous chant tune (with figured bass) in the Roman Catholic Mass and was published in 1782 in An Essay on the Church Plain Chant. It was first ascribed to Samuel Webbe (the elder; b. London, England, 1740; d.…

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Timeline

Instances

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Chorale Book for England, The #86

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The Scottish Hymnal #93

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