Independent

SPIRIT DIVINE, ATTEND OUR PRAYER

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Spirit divine, attend our prayer,
And make our heart Thy home;
Descend with all Thy gracious power;
Come, Holy Spirit, come.

Come as the light! to us reveal
The truth we long to know;
Reveal the narrow path of right,
The way of duty show.

Come as the dew, and sweetly bless
This consecrated hour;
May barrenness rejoice to own
Thy fertilizing power.

Come as the dove, and spread Thy wings,
The wings of peaceful love;
And let Thy Church on earth become
Blest as Thy Church above.

Spirit divine, attend our prayer;
Make a lost world Thy home;
Descend with all thy gracious powers,
O come, great Spirit, come.

About the writer: Andrew Reed, an English Independent minister, was born in London in 1787. He graduated from Hackney College and soon afterward became pastor of a Church in East London where he remained for fifty years. He died in London in 1862. He is best known in England as the founder of the London Orphan Asylum. He wrote nearly 30 hymns.

Key Verse: Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm in the skies above them, and it filled the house where they were meeting.  –Acts 2:2

Perronet, Edward

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Edward Perronet (1726-1792), an Independent English clergyman, was the son of Vincent Perronet, vicar of Shoreham, who was a friend and supporter of the Wesleys. Edward was educated in the Church of England but became a Wesleyan preacher. In 1756 the question arose among the Methodists concerning separation from the Church of England. The Wesleys strenuously opposed this move; Perronet just as strongly favored and urged it. He later joined the Independent or Dissenting Church, where he remained until his death. He is the author of the beloved hymn “All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name.” His convictions helped to give a further distinction between the Methodist and Anglican churches.