God the Holy Ghost

The Holy Spirit as a dove in the Heavenly Trinity, joined to the Holy Family through the Incarnation of the Son, in The Heavenly and Earthly Trinities by Murillo, c. 1677 PUBLIC DOMAIN

When I was a boy growing up in Emmanuel Pentecostal Church, we called Him, "the Holy Ghost."

• And like a Ghost He did weird things, like make people shake, fall down and speak gibberish.

• He was scary too, frightening as there was no doubt there was power when He showed up.

• When He came to me, fell upon me, we used to say, His divine power filled me.

• I became a new man, and was changed from death unto life.

That power cleansed my, healed me and brought Jesus into my heart. He taught me the Divine.

Hail, Holy Ghost: A Hymn by Samuel Wesley

Introduction

Among the treasures of early English hymnody, few poems lift the heart to heaven like this one by Samuel Wesley (1662–1735). The father of John and Charles Wesley,* ( 1707-1788). Samuel was himself a poet, pastor, and scholar of deep conviction. Before his famous sons were born, he was already laboring as an Anglican clergyman devoted to Scripture and to the classical order of the Church.

An asterisk* after a name means the person is in my book SPIRITUAL LIVES.

He wrote hymns rich in Trinitarian theology, expressing both the majesty and intimacy of God. His “Hail, Holy Ghost! Jehovah! Third in Order of the Three” is a profound meditation on the Person and work of the Holy Spirit, the often-forgotten Third Person of the Trinity.

📜 About Samuel Wesley (1662–1735)

Samuel Wesley was an English Anglican clergyman, writer, and poet—best known today as the father of John and Charles Wesley, founders of the Methodist movement. Educated at Oxford, he was deeply committed to the Church of England and to the renewal of spiritual life within its fold.

He served for nearly forty years as rector of Epworth in Lincolnshire, where he faced poverty, opposition, and even imprisonment for debt. Yet his devotion never faltered. His home life was marked by both struggle and piety: his wife, Susanna Wesley, became one of the most remarkable Christian mothers in history, instructing her many children in the faith.

Samuel wrote theological treatises, verse paraphrases of Scripture, and hymns celebrating the Trinity, the Incarnation, and the work of the Holy Spirit. His poetry anticipated much of what his sons would later bring to the world in song—a union of sound doctrine and heartfelt devotion.

The Poem:

Hail, Holy Ghost! Jehovah! Third

In order of the Three;

Sprung from the Father and the Word

From all eternity!

Thy Godhead, brooding o’er th’ab­yss

Of form­less wa­ters lay;

Spoke in­to or­der all that is,

And dark­ness in­to day.

In low­est hell, or Heav­en’s height,

Thy presence who can fly?

Known is the Father to Thy sight,

The depths of Deity.

Thy pow­er thro’ Je­su’s life dis­played,

Quite from the Virgin’s womb,

Dying, His soul an offering made,

And raised Him from the tomb.

God’s image, which our sins destroy,

Thy grace restores below,

And truth and holiness and joy

From Thee their fountain flow.

Hail, Holy Ghost! Jehovah! Third

In order of the Three,

Throned with the Father and the Word,

Through all eternity.

The Holy Spirit in Creation

Wesley begins at the dawn of time. “Thy Godhead, brooding o’er th’ab­yss…” recalls Genesis 1:2, when “the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.”

Before light or life existed, the Spirit hovered like a mother bird over the unformed world, preparing it to receive the Word of God.

Even now, that same Spirit brings light out of darkness and order out of chaos in the hearts of believers.

The Holy Spirit in Redemption

In the fourth stanza, Wesley turns our eyes to Christ* (4BC-30AD). The Spirit was active at every stage of the Redeemer’s life:

Conceiving Him in the Virgin’s womb (Luke 1:35),

Empowering His ministry (Luke 4:18),

Sustaining Him at the Cross (Hebrews 9:14),

And raising Him from the tomb (Romans 8:11).

Here, the Spirit is not a mere influence or force, but God Himself, eternally united with the Father and the Son in the saving of mankind.

The Holy Spirit in Renewal

“God’s image, which our sins destroy,

Thy grace restores below.”

The Spirit who created the world now recreates the human heart. Through His indwelling, the ruined image of God is restored, and from Him flow “truth and holiness and joy.”

Every act of repentance, every moment of peace, every surge of holy love is the work of the Holy Spirit moving within us.

The Spirit’s Eternal Glory

The final stanza is pure worship:

“Throned with the Father and the Word,

Through all eternity.”

Wesley ends where all Christian worship should — at the throne of God, before which Father, Son, and Holy Spirit reign together forever. The Spirit is not lesser than the others but coequal, coeternal, and consubstantial, to use the old creedal words.

We are invited to worship Him with the same awe and reverence as we do the Father and the Son.

Reflection

How seldom we pause to “hail the Holy Ghost.” Yet without Him, our faith would be lifeless. He is the Breath of God in creation, the Power of God in redemption, and the Presence of God in the soul.

Let us, with Wesley, adore Him:

“Hail, Holy Ghost! Jehovah! Third

In order of the Three.”

Closing Prayer

Come, Holy Spirit,

Breathe upon us anew.

Bring order to our chaos, light to our darkness,

and holiness to our hearts.

Restore within us the image of Christ,

that we may walk in truth and joy.

Amen.

Discussion Question

How have you experienced the Holy Spirit’s renewing presence in your life — perhaps in conviction, comfort, or courage?

Share your story in the comments. It may inspire someone else to listen for His voice.

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Hover o’er me, Ho­ly Spir­it,

Bathe my trem­bling heart and brow;

Fill me with Thy hal­lowed pre­sence,

Come, O come and fill me now.

Refrain

Fill me now, fill me now,

Jesus, come and fill me now;

Fill me with Thy hal­lowed pre­sence,

Come, O come, and fill me now.

Thou canst fill me, gra­cious Spir­it,

Though I can­not tell Thee how;

But I need Thee, great­ly need Thee,

Come, O come and fill me now.

Refrain

I am weak­ness, full of weak­ness,

At Thy sac­red feet I bow;

Blest, di­vine, eter­nal Spir­it,

Fill with pow­er and fill me now.

Refrain

Cleanse and com­fort, bless and save me,

Bathe, O bathe my heart and brow;

Thou art com­fort­ing and sav­ing,

Thou art sweet­ly fill­ing now.

Refrain

Words: Ell­wood H. Stokes, 1879.