O Holy Ghost! Thy heavenly dew - John Caspar Lavatar

O Holy Ghost! Thy heavenly dew
The hearts of sinners can renew;
Thou dost within our breasts abide,
And still to holy actions guide.

Thou makest the soul with joy to sing
When sorrow’s clouds are deepening;
With Jesus Christ Thou makest us one,
Earnest of Heaven, from God’s high throne.

Best Gift of God, and man’s true Friend,
Into my inmost soul descend;
The mind of Jesus Christ impart,
And consecrate to Thee my heart.

Teach me to do my Father’s will,
Beneath His guidance to lie still;
Lighten my mind, and O, incline
My heart to make His pleasure mine.

From spot and blemish make me pure,
My heavenly happiness secure;
When lost in darkness, give me light,
And cheer me through death’s dreary night.

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John Caspar Lavatar (1741-1801) Switzerland
Translated by Frances Elizabeth Cox
Source: Songs of the Spirit: hymns of praise and prayer to God the Holy Ghost, Edited by William Henry Odenheimer and Frederick M. Bird, Anson D.F. Randolph and Company, 1871