August 7

"They were all filled with the Holy Ghost."—Acts 2:4.

VENI, CREATOR SPIRITUS: breathe on me, life - giving Spirit of God.

Come as Wind. I am dead; quicken Thou me. I am listless, inoperative, lukewarm, indolent; revive Thou me. Sweep from my soul all its torpor, all its indifference, all its lethargy. Like the moaning of the pines in the dark, like the rush of the tempest, like the quiet footfall of the breeze, let me hear Thy goings. Blow, thou Wind of God.

Come as Fire. I need the Fire that destroys things rank and gross; there are many such elements in my heart. I need the Fire that purifies imperfect motives and an inconsistent life. I need the Fire that infuses a new warmth and glow. I live, I leap, I soar, I develop hidden powers, when I am touched by Thy flame.

Come as Speech. Give me utterance, that I may tell the wonderful works of God. Give me boldness, that no one may make me afraid. Give me the grace of witness-bearing, that my lips may testify gladly to the goodness of Christ my Saviour. This is the demonstration of the Spirit—these wide horizons, these great prospects, these thoughts that breathe and words that burn.

I would have a Feast of Pentecost in my soul. Franz Delitzsch, scholar and saint, says of himself: "In the Muldenthal I was, as a young man, a witness of spiritual struggles and triumphs. Still does my life find its root in the soil of that first love. Still to me is the reality of miracles sealed by the miracles of grace which I saw with my own eyes in the congregations of that blessed valley." I shall be happy if I can bear the same personal testimony.

Q