Spirit of the Living God
Fall on me
Spirit of the Living God
Fall afresh on me.
In the beginning
The earth was a formless void
And there was monstrous darkness
Over the deep
It was all chaos and disorder
Emptiness and nothingness
Until the Spirit came along
And hovered over the water
Like a mother bird
Hanging in the air over its young
Now with the eagle eyes of the Spirit
It was time
To utter those thunderous words:
"Let there be light"
At once
Order came out of chaos
And there emerged the dispensation
Which we call creation
It was the masterpiece
Of the divine craftsman
And God fashioned a creature out of clay
And breathed into his nostrils
The breath of life
And man came alive
In His own image
With His own Spirit
Man came alive
And God Himself nodded in contentment
For each creature was good
Men and women were good
The entire creation was very good
It was all the work of the Spirit
Who gave them life and light
It is the same Spirit who today
Will give us life and light
Oh Spirit of the living God
Fall afresh on us.
When men and women violated the Spirit
When they desecrated the temple within
When they made war with the Spirit of God
They lost their dignity and identity
They were driven out of the garden of bliss
They were abandoned to the cold
Empty inside and naked outside
They thrived in hate
And made war with all
The fathers ate sour grapes
And the children's teeth were on edge
To the third and fourth generations
They reaped where they sowed
The fruit of the passions of the flesh
From Cain to the sons of Solomon
And up to Judas Iscariot
They harvested from the vile garden
Of disorder
But the merciful Lord
Did not let them perish
In Prophet Joel he promised that
I will pour out my Spirit on all mankind
Your sons and daughters shall prophesy
Your old men shall dream dreams
And your young men shall see visions
Even on the slaves, men and women
I will pour out my Spirit in those days
And in those days
Prophet Isaiah says that
The land shall be filled
With the knowledge of the Lord
As the waters cover the sea
Oh Spirit of the living God
Fall afresh on us.
When in the book of Numbers
The Lord Yahweh appeared
To the seventy elders chosen by Moses
The Spirit descended all of them
As He spoke to them
Even the two elders
Who stayed in the camp
Who could not join the others
In the tent of meeting
They too received the Spirit
And they all began to prophesy
When Moses was told:
See Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp
And Joshua made to stop them
Moses answered:
"If only the whole people of Yahweh were prophets
And Yahweh gave his Spirit to them all!
Oh Spirit of the living God
Fall afresh on us.
It was prophet Ezekiel
Who had the encounter with the dry bones
It was in the middle of a valley full of bones
The bones were dead as rock
And the voice came:
Son of Man
Can these bones live?
And Ezekiel said "You know Lord
So the Lord said:
Prophesy over these bones and say -
I shall put sinews on you
I shall make flesh grow on you
I shall cover you with skin
And give you breath
And you will live
And you will learn
That I am the Lord
The prophet breathed on the dry bones
He breathed the Spirit of life on them
And they came to life again
And stood up on their feet
And they were a great and immense army
This was the work of the Holy Spirit
We want the same effect in our lives today
So Spirit of the living God
Fall afresh on us.
I remember the promise of the Lord
To King David
He promised through prophet Nathan
To raise a King after His own heart
An everlasting kingdom
Shall be established through him
An everlasting covenant
Shall be established through him
A new covenant in Spirit and in truth
A covenant which Jeremiah says
Shall be written
On the heart of the people
The Lord says:
It is then I shall be their God
And they shall be my people
There will be no need for neighbour to teach neighbour
For they will all know the Lord
From the least to the greatest
And referring the promised Messiah
The one to inaugurate this new covenant in the Spirit
Isaiah wrote that
The Spirit of the Lord
Has been given to me
For Yahweh has anointed me
He has sent me to bring good news to the poor
To bind up hearts that are broken
To proclaim liberty to captives
Freedom to those in prison
Comfort to those who mourn
And to declare a year of favour for Yahweh
We ask to be anointed
By the same Spirit today
So Spirit of the living God
Fall afresh on us.
It is the Spirit that came upon Elizabeth
Making her conceive in her old age
Giving birth to the forerunner of Jesus Christ
John the Baptist
The greatest of men born of women
It was by the power of the Holy Spirit
That he led an uncompromising life
Of witnessing to the Truth
And giving up his life
Without looking back
It was the Holy Spirit that came Mary
Making her conceive in innocence
The only Son of God
It was the Holy Spirit that led Jesus into the desert
Where he fasted for forty days and forty nights
It was by the power of the Spirit that he overcame
The temptation of the devil
And conquered the concupiscences
Those inordinate desires for pleasure, power and security
That lead human beings to sin, to war and to self-destruction
We seek the same power today Lord
So Spirit of the living God
Fall afresh on us.
It was by the power of the Holy Spirit
That Jesus carried out his teaching and healing ministries
He taught with authority
Like no one else ever did
Because he had the fullness of Spirit in him
He performed miracles of healing and multiplication of loaves
Like no one else ever did
He commanded the troubled sea and turbulent storm
Like no one else ever did
He drove out devils from many who were possessed
He even raised the dead back to life
It was by the power of the Holy Spirit
That he did it all
And when it was time
To empty himself completely
In accordance with the Father's will
It was by the power of the Holy Spirit
That he took upon himself the cross
Of human prodigality
And suffered a vicarious death
To win for us eternal salvation
It was also by the power of the Holy Spirit
That three days after his crucifixion
He rose back to life
And henceforth he is the giver of life
It was all the work of the Holy Spirit
So Spirit of the living God
Fall afresh on us.
Jesus did say
That unless a man is born
Of water and the Spirit
He has no life in him
For what is born of flesh is flesh
And what is born of Spirit is spirit
He identified the Holy Spirit
As the wind which blows wherever it wills
He said it is so with all who are born of the Spirit
Before he left this world
Jesus promised to send the Paraclete
He also called Him the Advocate and the Comforter
The Counsellor and the Spirit of Truth
Who will lead us to all truth
When he appeared to his disciples after the resurrection
Jesus breathed on them and said
Receive the Holy Spirit
For those whose sins you forgive
They are forgiven
He commissioned them
To go and make disciples of all nations
Baptising them in the name of the Father
And of the Son and of the Holy Spirit
On ascension day in Jerusalem
He declared that the disciples shall receive power
When the Holy Spirit comes upon them
And then they shall be his witnesses
In Jerusalem, in Judea, and throughout the world
And on Pentecost day
The Spirit of promise came along
In the form of a powerful wind
Thundering through the closed doors
And resting on each believer's head
Like tongues of fire
And they were filled with the Holy Spirit
Their lives were radically transformed
And they were not the same again
We want a repeat of this experience
So Spirit of the living God
Fall afresh on us.
On Pentecost day
The day the Holy Spirit came
The apostles received a new sight
And had a new vision
The darkness of doubt disappeared
And the light of faith shone around them
As the disciples got new strength
And spoke new in tongues
The disintegration of Babel
Was reversed
It was all amazement
When the people from Mesopotamia
Heard the message of salvation
Announced in their own language
It was all astonishment
When the visitors from Cappadocia
Heard the marvels of God
Told in their local dialect
Yes it was all bewilderment
When the strangers from Pamphylia
Heard the gospel of Christ
Preached in their own native tongue
As the Spirit gave them utterance
Some thought they were the latest clowns in town
Others thought they were filled with strong wine
But in truth they were drunk with the Holy Spirit
So Spirit of the living God
Fall afresh on us.
With the new life of the Spirit
They bore witness to Jesus
With ardent faith...
With lively hope...
And with sacrificial love...
They preached the Gospel of Christ fearlessly
They faced the Jewish persecution courageously
And the Lord worked among them mightily
Peter and John, Paul and Barnabas
Philip and James, Timothy and Titus
They all burned with zeal for the Lord Jesus
Afire with the Holy Spirit
With the new life of the Spirit
The blind got new sight
The lame were healed
The weak were strengthened
Captives were set free
Mourners were comforted
And there was an explosion of joy
In the community of believers
Because of the Holy Spirit
So Spirit of the living God
Fall afresh on us.
We have come a long way Lord
And for many
It has been a protracted midnight
Tired and weary, timid and faint-hearted
We are in desperate need of a new Pentecost
So kindle the fire of your love among us
And let it burn
Until our sinful desires and passions
Are reduced to ashes
Ignite the light of holiness in us
And let it shine
Until darkness of hatred and wickedness
Is totally consumed
Fan the flame of joy in our lives
And let it glow
Until all the tears of pain
Are wiped away from our faces
Breathe your powerful breath on us
And keep blowing it Lord
Until we can feel
The gentle breeze of peace
Let the water of life flow Lord
Let it flow
Until all corruption
Is swept away from our midst
Rain down the seven gifts of the Spirit Lord
And let them tumble down
Until we are totally overwhelmed
By wisdom and understanding
Knowledge and good counsel
Piety and fortitude
And the fear of the Lord
Go ahead Lord
Pour forth the nine fruits of the Spirit Lord
And let them roll in
Until we are truly united
In love, in joy, in peace,
In patience, in kindness, in goodness,
In trustfulness, in gentleness and in self-control
Oh Spirit of the living God
Fall afresh on us.
