Realizing the presence, promise, and power of the Kingdom of God.
Realizing the presence, promise, and power of the Kingdom of God.

O Spirit of the Living God

Rusty Rabon
Rusty Rabon

The Indispensable Spirit

James Montgomery was born in Scotland in 1771 and died in England in 1854. The son of Moravian parents who died on a West Indies mission field while he was in boarding school, Montgomery inherited a strong religious bent, a passion for missions, and an independent mind. He was editor of the Sheffield Iris (1796-1827), and the editing of his paper, the composition and publication of his poems and hymns, the delivery of lectures on poetry in Sheffield (Yorkshire) and at the Royal Institution, London, and the earnest advocacy of Foreign Missions and the Bible Society in many parts of the country, gave great variety but very little of stirring incident to his life.[2]

Perhaps it was because of his parents’ example as missionaries, along with his own passion for the spread of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which led him to pen the words to the hymn, “O Spirit of the Living God.” In this hymn, we see how the Holy Spirit is indispensable to every aspect of Christian life and service. First, Montgomery writes that the Holy Spirit is indispensable as an agent of God’s grace in the salvation of humanity.

O Spirit of the living God, in all thy plenitude of grace
Where e’er the foot of man hath trod, descend on our apostate race.

Then, the Holy Spirit is indispensable in giving power to proclamation of the Word of God. Theologian J. I Packer references the apostle Paul, who writes in 1 Corinthians 2, “My speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and power, that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.” Packer then adds, “Because the Spirit does bear witness in this way, men come to faith when the gospel is preached. But without the Spirit there would not be a Christian in the world.”[3]  Without the power of the Holy Spirit, preaching has no effect.

Give tongues of fire and hearts of love to preach the reconciling word;
Give power and unction from above, when e’er the joyful sound is heard.

One of the ministries of the Holy Spirit is illumination, leading us out of the darkness of sin and unbelief into the light of grace. Where sin confuses our minds concerning God’s truth, the Holy Spirit opens our minds to the words and ways of God.

Be darkness, at thy coming, light; confusion, order in thy path;
Souls without strength inspire with might; bid mercy triumph over wrath.

In the next two stanzas, we see Montgomery’s passion for world evangelization, as he calls on the Spirit to “breathe” on the nations of the world to bring understanding and end confusion concerning the Gospel. Perhaps he was thinking of God’s word to his people in Ezekiel 36:26: “And I will give you a new heart and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh” (ESV).

O Spirit of the LORD, prepare all the round earth her God to meet;
Breathe thou abroad like morning air, till hearts of stone begin to beat.

Perhaps Montgomery was also thinking of John’s vision in Revelation 7, where he saw “a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands” (Revelation 7:9 ESV). Montgomery’s prayer is that “every kindred call him Lord.”

Baptize the nations; far and night, the triumphs of the cross record;
The name of Jesus glorify, ‘till every kindred call him Lord.

God’s plan to save humanity from sin is rooted in eternity past. Our salvation was the determined will of God the Father, accomplished through the death and resurrection of Jesus the Son, and administered through the agency of the Holy Spirit. As Montgomery closes this hymn, he acknowledges the Holy Spirit as the “fulfiller” of the Father’s loving will and the “crowner” of the sufferings of our Savior.

God from eternity hath willed all flesh shall his salvation see;
So be the Father’s love fulfilled, the Savior’s sufferings crowned through thee.

J. I. Packer asks, “Do we honor the Holy Spirit by recognizing and relying on His work? Or do we slight him by ignoring it and thereby dishonor, not merely the Spirit, but the Lord who sent Him?”[4] May this hymn by James Montgomery help us to truly honor the Spirit by recognizing and relying on His work.

Here is a recording of James Montgomery’s hymn, “O Spirit of the Living God.”
https://youtu.be/WGDlP8hZ7t4?si=h5g05RpcXrLsVrmh

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If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment and give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Corinthians 4.15).

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T. M. Moore, the Principal of The Fellowship of Ailbe, and Rusty Rabon host THE AILBE PODCAST which you can find on The Fellowship of Ailbe website here.

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[2] https://hymnary.org/person/Montgomery_James
[3] J. I. Packer, Knowing God, p. 63.
[4] J. I. Packer, Knowing God, p. 63.

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