"Breathe on Me, Breath of God" is an English Christian hymn. It was written by

Edwin Hatch Edwin Warren Hatch (4 September 1835 Derby, England – 10 November 1889 Oxford, England) was an English theologian. He is best known as the author of the book '' Influence of Greek Ideas and Usages Upon the Christian Church'', which was based ...

, a

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

vicar and the Professor of Classics at the University of Trinity College in Canada. It was first published privately in 1878 and publicly published in 1886.

History

Edwin Hatch spent his childhood in a non-conformist background before being ordained into the Church of England. In 1876 he wrote "Breathe on Me, Breath of God" and published it privately in a pamphlet entitled "Between Doubt and Prayer". giving it the Latin title of "Spiritus Dei" (Spirit of God). The hymn was later published into the public sphere in 1886 in

Henry Allon Henry Allon (1818–1892) was an English Nonconformist divine. Life He was born on 13 October 1818 at Welton, Elloughton-cum-Brough, near Hull, in Yorkshire. Under Methodist influence Henry Allon decided to enter the ministry, but, develop ...

's "''The Congregational Psalmist Hymnal''". It was republished posthumously by Hatch's widow in 1890 in "''Towards Fields of Light: Sacred Poems''". The handbook to the ''Psalter Hymnal'', where "Breath on Me, Breath of God" was later published, referred to the oft quoted statement about Hatch's faith being "as simple and unaffected as a child" being an appropriate description of the hymn. it was also described by the

United Methodist Church The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was a leader in evangelical ...

as: "The simplicity of this profound hymn belies the education and knowledge of its author". Hatch's simple words refer to the accounts of the creation of man by God in ''

Genesis Genesis may refer to: Bible * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book of ...

'' and of the spiritual breath of God which came to humanity via

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

Pentecost Pentecost (also called Whit Sunday, Whitsunday or Whitsun) is a Christianity, Christian holiday which takes place on the 50th day (the seventh Sunday) after Easter Sunday. It commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles in the Ne ...

Music

"Breathe on Me, Breath of God" has been set to a number of tunes. The most commonly used ones are John Chetham and S.S. Wesley's 1718 "''Aylesbury''" and blind London organist Charles Lockhart's "''Carlisle''". Other tunes include "''Veni Spiritus''" by

Sir John Stainer Sir John Stainer (6 June 1840 – 31 March 1901) was an English composer and organist whose music, though seldom performed today (with the exception of ''The Crucifixion'', still heard at Passiontide in some churches of the Anglican Communi ...

and "''Trentham''" by Robert Jackson. The use of "''Trentham''" was criticised by hymnologist Donald Webster in 1980 who stated "One might conclude from his tuneand the way it is sung that the breath of God was an anaesthetic, not a 'Giver of Life'."

References

{{authority control English Christian hymns 1878 songs Hymns for Pentecost 19th-century hymns Hymns in The New English Hymnal