Come, Holy Ghost, God and Lord
A single medieval stanza the people already sang, opened out into a whole hymn.
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.
“Come, Holy Ghost, God and Lord” at HymnaryAbout this hymn
Before the Reformation, German congregations mostly listened. There was one stanza of this they were allowed to sing at Pentecost, and they had been singing it for centuries.
Luther kept it and wrote two more, which is a small act with a large meaning: the thing you already had is not being taken from you, it is being given more of.
Pentecost, ordinations, and any moment when a congregation is about to have to decide something difficult.
For musicians and planners
| Words | Martin Luther (stanza 1 a pre-Reformation German Leise; stanzas 2-3 Luther), 1524 | Public domain |
|---|---|---|
| Translation | Catherine Winkworth, 1855 | Public domain |
| Tune | KOMM, HEILIGER GEIST, HERRE GOTT · Pre-Reformation melody (Erfurt Enchiridion / Walther, 1524); no named composer, 1524 | Public domain |
Checked 2026-09-27 against hymnary.org text, tune and person pages (attribution and rights only)
Hymn numbers checked against Hymnary.org’s index of Evangelical Lutheran Worship. Full record: Hymnary.