CHRISTIAN LIFE >> LovING SERVICE
SDAH 584
In our work and in our play,
Jesus, ever with us stay;
May be always strive to be
True and faithful unto Thee.
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For Worship Leaders
Make each hymn more meaningful with these helpful tools: Short, ready-to-use hymn introductions for church bulletins, multiple ways to introduce a hymn based on your worship theme and in-depth history and insights to enrich your song service.
📖 Reference: Feel free to share but please cite hymnsforworship.org when reproducing.
Introductions for Sabbath School Song Service (based on specific lesson quarterlies):
It was Pentecost Sunday in 1969. Brian Wren (1936- ; see Biographies) was the pastor of a Congregational church in Hockley, Essex, England. In the hymn book the church was using, there were no hymns that showed the Holy Spirit “living, working in our world,” no hymns about the influence of the Holy Spirit on history, or on any event outside the church and the individual person. So he wrote this hymn for that purpose, hoping it would be singable, enjoyable, and easy. He says, “I wrote it in a simple structure, with the alternating repetition of two choruses, a device I borrowed from Isaac Watts’s hymn ‘Give to Our God Immortal Praise’ [SDAH 106]. (referring to the last half of each stanza as a chorus)”
Because of the hymn’s emphasis on feeding the hungry, setting things right, and love “working in our world,” it is placed in the Loving Service section. Obviously, it can also be used in the section on the Holy Spirit.
John Wilson (1905-; see SDAH 397) composed LAUDS in 1969 for the hymn text “Songs of Praise the Angels Sang.” It first appeared in the book Hymns and Songs. But married to Wren’s text, it seems to express perfectly the joyful affirmation the author intended.
📖 Reference: Companion to the Seventh-day Adventist Hymnal by Wayne Hooper and Edward E. White. Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1988.
Text
1
There’s a Spirit in the air,
telling Christians everywhere
“Praise the love that Christ revealed,
living, working in our world.”
2
Lose your shyness, find your tongue;
tell the world what God has done:
God in Christ has come to stay,
we can see His pow’r today.
3
When believers break the bread,
when a hungry child is fed:
Praise the love that Christ revealed,
living, working in our world.
4
Still His Spirit leads the fight,
seeing wrong and setting right:
God in Christ has come to stay,
we can see His pow’r today.
5
When a stranger’s not alone,
where the homeless find a home,
Praise the love that Christ revealed,
living, working in our world.
6
May His Spirit fill our praise,
guide our thoughts and change our ways.
God in Christ has come to stay,
we can see His power today.
7
There’s a Spirit in the air,
calling people everywhere;
Praise the love that Christ revealed:
living, working in our world.
Hymn Info
Biblical Reference
(b) 2 Cor 5:19
Author
Brian Wren (1936-)
Year Published
1974
Copyright
Words and music copyright 1979 by Hope Publishing Co., Carol Stream, IL 60188. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
Hymn Tune
LAUDS
Metrical Number
7.7.7.7.
Composer
John Wilson (1905-)
Year Composed
1969
