Breathe on Me, Breath of God
A short prayer asking God's Spirit to give new life, a pure heart, and a will like God's.
The words are public domain. We print a hymn only after checking it word for word against a dated old printing, and this one hasn’t been checked yet. Hymnary has it now.
“Breathe on Me, Breath of God” at HymnaryAbout this hymn
This hymn is a prayer that God's Spirit would breathe new life into the one who sings it, making the heart pure and the will one with God's will.
It rests on John 20:22, where the risen Jesus breathes on his disciples and says, "Receive the Holy Spirit," and on Genesis 2, where God breathes life into the first human.
It is often sung at Pentecost, at confirmation, and through the season after Pentecost. Edwin Hatch, an English clergyman and scholar, wrote it in 1878.
For musicians and planners
| Words | Edwin Hatch, 1878 | Public domain |
|---|---|---|
| Tune | TRENTHAM · Robert Jackson, 1888 | Public domain |
Checked 2026-09-27 against hymnary.org text, tune and person pages (attribution and rights only). The words are not transcribed here yet.
Hymn numbers checked against Hymnary.org’s index of Evangelical Lutheran Worship. Full record: Hymnary.