Cum Sancto Spiritu – Come, Holy Spirit
From Vivaldi’s Gloria
‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ declares the LORD Almighty. (Zech. 4:6).
This magnificent piece of music from Vivaldi’s Gloria, reminds us how much we need the Holy Spirit in our lives at all times. He is not an impersonal life force, but an integral part of the Holy Trinity. He empowers our worship and witness, and is our Comforter and Helper, as well as the One who inspires our words.
He it is who convicts us of our sin, and who opens our hearts and minds to the things of God. He it is who enables us to bear the many-fold fruits of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22), and who empowers us to discern between different types of spirits, and to grasp the spiritual dynamics that are at work in different situations.
He it is, too, who enables us to work miracles, participate in the ministry of healing, and understand and interpret unknown tongues. He is the One who tells us things that we could not possibly have known by any other means. (See 1 Cor. 12 and 14).
We see the redeeming and renewing work of the Holy Spirit throughout the Scriptures, equipping judges, inspiring artists, and empowering both prophets and warriors for their work – whether for external projects such as building the temple of God (Haggai 2:5) or for sanctifying and empowering individual souls. (Ezekiel 3:24a, 27a). He is likewise the One from whose all-seeing eye we can never hide! (Ps. 139:7)
No wonder David prayed that, so far from taking His Spirit from him, the Lord would renew a right and willing spirit within him. (Ps. 51:10-12) In all this work, the Holy Spirit (who Jesus calls ‘the Spirit of Truth’) does not operate on His own, but always in tandem together with the other members of the Holy Trinity as He unveils and reveals God’s heavenly truths to us. (John 16:13-14)
He is the breath and wind of God, who renews and gives life to all living things, as well as renewing the face of the earth. (Ps. 104:30). May we seek with all our heart to honour the Holy Spirit in our daily life by trusting in His nearness, and by calling on His help. Yes, Lord, cum Sancto Spiritu: with and in the power of the Holy Spirit, we offer all that we are and all that we do to Jesus for the glory of God the Father.
Musicians: Nicola Gerrard, Peter Richards, Anthony Thompson, Francis Cummings, Philippa Barton, Christiane Max, Jo Garcia