Spirit, spirit of restlessness, stir me from placidness, wind, wind on the sea.” Prayer “Spirit, spirit of gentleness, blow through the wilderness, calling and free. Verses 1 through 3 focus on God’s activity in the past, while verse 4 speaks of the activity of the Spirit now and in the future. When they were confounded with idols and lies, then You spoke through Your prophets to open their lives.” “You swept through the desert and stung with the sand and You goaded Your people with a law and a land. The allusion to the giving of the Law is found in verse 2. On the other hand, John Calvin placed the reading of the Law after the prayer of confession and assurance of pardon, viewing obedience to the Law as the people’s appropriate response to God’s mercy and grace. When placing the reading of the Law in worship, Martin Luther placed it before a prayer of confession to point out people’s sins. If I recall correctly from seminary, the great Reformers, Martin Luther and John Calvin, viewed God’s law as a gift differently. The law had commandments (one through four) for the ordering of the people’s life with Commandments (five through ten) were for the ordering of people’s lives with each other. Although some may regard the giving of the Ten Commandments as placing a burden on the people, the law was really God’s gift to the people for ordering their lives. The scriptural allusion today is God’s giving of the Law to the people. Even the music’s refrain has a gentle rocking motion as compared to yesterday’s percussive pulse.

Today’s hymn speaks more to the gentleness of the Spirit. Yesterday our hymn and the scripture spoke to the power of the Spirit. Devotions Based on Hymns from Glory to God and Their Scriptural Allusions

One spirit one church hymn