Hymn #236 in Celebrating Grace Hymnal — “Gracious Spirit, Dwell with Me”
[pullquote_center width=”80%”]Gracious Spirit, dwell with me, I would gracious be;
Help me now Thy grace to see, I would be like Thee;
And, with words that help and heal, Thy life would mine reveal;
And, with actions bold and meek, for Christ my Savior speak.[/pullquote_center]
Some folks say ‘You are what you eat.’ I tend to think ‘You are who you hang with’ is a truer thing. Think about how often, after time spent with someone else, you find yourself using their slang, or even their vocal inflections. Think how often your thinking falls into step with theirs, your actions mirror their actions. Now, think for a minute — who do you want dwelling with you?
In this lovely hymn to the Holy Spirit, Thomas Toke Lynch makes his choice — the Spirit, gracious, truthful, holy, mighty — will be his yearned-for companion. And, in inviting the Spirit to dwell in him, Lynch eagerly anticipates, longs for, transformation by the Spirit. The hymnist desires to be gracious, truthful, holy, mighty. What do you want to be today? I want to be gracious, truthful, holy, mighty.
Spirit, dwell with me, I would be like Thee.