1
Thou Breath from still eternity
Breathe o’er my spirit’s barren land—
The pine tree and the myrtle tree
Shall spring amid the desert sand;
And where Thy living water flows
The waste shall blossom as the rose.
Breathe o’er my spirit’s barren land—
The pine tree and the myrtle tree
Shall spring amid the desert sand;
And where Thy living water flows
The waste shall blossom as the rose.
2
May I in will and deed and word
Obey Thee as a little child;
And keep me in Thy love, my Lord,
For ever holy, undefiled;
Within me teach, and strive, and pray,
Lest I should choose my own wild way.
Obey Thee as a little child;
And keep me in Thy love, my Lord,
For ever holy, undefiled;
Within me teach, and strive, and pray,
Lest I should choose my own wild way.
3
Thy Spirit, Stream by Thee, the Son,
Is opened to us crystal pure,
Forth flowing from the heavenly throne
To waiting hearts and spirits poor;
Athirst and weary do I sink
Beside Thy waters, there to drink.
Is opened to us crystal pure,
Forth flowing from the heavenly throne
To waiting hearts and spirits poor;
Athirst and weary do I sink
Beside Thy waters, there to drink.
4
My spirit turns to Thee and clings,
All else forsaking, unto Thee;
Forgetting all created things,
Remembering only “God in me.”
Thy living Stream, Thy gracious Rain,
None wait for these, and wait in vain.
All else forsaking, unto Thee;
Forgetting all created things,
Remembering only “God in me.”
Thy living Stream, Thy gracious Rain,
None wait for these, and wait in vain.
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Toronto, ON, Canada
May I in will and deed and word
Obey Thee as a little child;
And keep me in Thy love, my Lord,
For ever holy, undefiled;
Cambridge, MA, United States
Lord, may my spirit turn and cling to Thee, forsaking all else unto Thee.
Forth Worth, Texas, United States
Remembering only 'God in me'!
Austin, Texas, United States
Forgetting all created things, remembering only “God in me. ”
Taiwan
Recently, I feel like I always choose my own wild way to do, to say whatever I want, it indeed is natural and wild, Lord, may I obey to Your tiny gentle voice in me always, that I won’t choose my own wild way.
SJ, CA, United States
Oh! The river flows not in vain!
Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa
Thank You Lord for breathing, springing, flowing, blossoming, keeping, teaching, striving, praying, streaming and living.
Within You I also obey, wait, drink, turn, forsake, forget and remember.
CA, United States
Lord, breathe on our spirit.
United States
Like this song, new to me but the words came to me like penetrating into my soul. God bless the writers.
White Rock, BC, Canada
This hymn was written in German by Gerhard Tersteegen (1697-1769), a German reformed Christian writer and preacher. It was translated by Frances Bevan (1827-1909).
Stanza one tells us that God, the Great I Am Who I Am, as the Spirit, breathes into us to enliven us (“the Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty has enlivened me” Job 33:4). Hallelujah! Our deadened spirit, once the barren land (desert sand) with no life and no fruit has been regenerated! Now, up springs the Pine tree and the Myrtle tree. (“In place of the thornbush, the fir tree will come up; in place of the brier, the myrtle tree will come up…. Isa. 55:13a. Some translate the fir as the pine, cypress, or juniper). The Pine tree grows by shooting upwards towards the heavens. The Fir tree never grows old, is an evergreen, signifying God in His freshness (“I am like a green fir tree” Hos. 14:8). The Myrtle tree is small, growing in the bottoms, signifying Israel in captivity. We are often so low down, in captivity, but Christ is riding on and standing among us, praying and interceding for us, to bring us out, and into the full enjoyment of Himself (cf. Zech. Ch. 1).
Christ, the smitten rock in Horeb (Exo. 17:6), the crucified One whose pierced side flowed out water for imparting life, overcoming death, and producing the church (John 19:34), is the fountain of life (Psa. 36:9a), the spring of the water of life (Rev. 21:6b). By continually enjoying Christ as the never-ending supply of living water, “the wilderness and the desert will be glad, and the desert will exult and blossom like the rose” (Isa. 35:1), “…for water will break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert” (Isa. 35:6b).
Tersteegen was one surely constituted with the Word, to be able to quote so much scripture in one little stanza. By singing this wonderful hymn, may we be encouraged to continually exercise our spirit to breathe in the Spirit, so that in the mingled spirit we may not only be in the good land, but also enjoy all the riches of this good land, Christ!