Of the three persons in the Holy Trinity, the Holy Spirit tends to be the one who receives the least amount of attention. This is partly by divine design: his function is to put Christ forward; in fact, He is often described as the Spirit of Christ. Moreover, He is also confessed in the Nicene Creed as the one “who proceeds from the Father and the Son.” Rightly or wrongly, this procession is sometimes understood as putting the Holy Spirit in a background position. The Father and the Son are seen as the primary persons. This is especially so when it comes to our worship. Some argue that we may pray and sing to the Father and the Son, but this cannot be done with the Holy Spirit. In this article, I will advance four arguments as to why we can and should pray and sing to the Holy Spirit in exactly the same manner that we pray and sing to the Father and the Son.

An Argument from the Reformed Principle of Worship⤒🔗

The Reformed principle of worship is found in several places in the confessions of the Reformed churches. For example, we find it in Lord’s Day 35 of the Catechism: “We are not to make an image of God in any way, nor to worship Him in any other manner than He has commanded in his Word.” This finds a slightly different expression in Belgic Confession Article 32, “Therefore we reject all human inventions and laws introduced into the worship of God which bind and compel the consciences in any way.” Some interpret this Reformed principle rather strictly: every element of Reformed worship requires an explicit command or example in Scripture. Since there is no explicit command in Scripture to worship the Holy Spirit through prayer and song, then the conclusion must be that this is forbidden.

However, such an interpretation fails to do justice to this Reformed principle of worship as understood historically. The Westminster Confession of Faith 1.6 gives some helpful direction:

The whole counsel of God, concerning all things necessary for his own glory, man’s salvation, faith, and life, is either expressly set down in Scripture, or by good and necessary consequence may be deduced from Scripture.

This concept provides guidance when we seek to apply the Reformed principle of worship. For instance, there is no direct command or clear example in Scripture compelling us to baptize infants. However, in the same line as our confessions, we deduce this practice by “good and necessary consequence.” To borrow an example from John Calvin: there is no direct command or example in Scripture of women partaking in the Lord’s Supper. However, we deduce this practice by “good and necessary consequence” from Scripture passages such as Galatians 3:28.

So, even though there is no command or example in Scripture of prayer or song to the Holy Spirit, can this practice be deduced by good and necessary consequence from Scripture? From Scripture three things are apparent:

• First, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are the three persons who make up the one true God.

• Second, in the words of the Belgic Confession, these persons are “equal in eternity. There is neither first nor last” (Art 8).

• Third, we have very clear examples of the early Christian church worshipping the Father and the Son. From these three premises, we can conclude by good and necessary consequence that the Holy Spirit may be worshipped in exactly the same way as the Father and the Son are worshipped. If the Father and the Son are to be worshipped through song and prayer, and all three are equal, then it follows that the Holy Spirit may also be worshipped through song and prayer.

An Argument from the Covenantal Structure of Worship←⤒🔗

In our short history, the Canadian Reformed churches have strongly emphasized the covenantal structure of worship. Thanks to the emphases of the late Rev. G. VanDooren and the late Dr. K. Deddens, we see our worship services as being a covenantal dialogue between God and his people. God speaks and his people respond. This is typically reflected in the way we organize the elements of our worship services.

From this perspective as well we can make a case for prayers and songs to the Holy Spirit. After all, we learn from 2 Peter 1:21 that the Holy Spirit is the primary author of Scripture. In the worship service, we read from this same Scripture. From 1 Corinthians 2:13 we can infer that there is also a connection between the preaching of Holy Scripture and the Holy Spirit. Therefore, we may conclude that the Holy Spirit speaks to God’s people through the reading and preaching of the Word.

If this is the case, then the covenantal structure of worship would give us the freedom to respond to the Holy Spirit through song and prayer. We are not commanded to do this any more than we are commanded to offer up a prayer or hymn to the Lord Jesus in every worship service. However, the freedom is there do this on occasion. The fact that the model prayer of the Lord Jesus teaches us to call on the Father suggests that addressing the Holy Spirit and the Son in prayer would not be our regular practice. But the fact that the early church did call on the Son in prayer (e.g. Acts 7:59, 1 Corinthians 16:22) says that the freedom is there. If the freedom is there to call on the Son in prayer (and song), then why not also the Holy Spirit?

A Confessional Argument←⤒🔗

Our creeds and confessions provide a helpful summary of the teaching of Holy Scripture, also when it comes to our approach to the Holy Spirit. In this respect, the Athanasian Creed is particularly apropos. Article 19 states,

We are compelled by Christian truth to acknowledge each separately to be both God and Lord.

We confess in Articles 25 and 26,

And in this trinity there is nothing before or after, nothing greater or less, but all three persons are co-eternal with each other and co-equal.

With these articles we do away with any notion of the Father and the Son being the “primary” persons of the Trinity. We also do away with any notion that we cannot worship the individual persons of the Trinity separately. This is likewise confessed in Article 27: “Thus in all things, as has been stated above, both trinity in unity and unity in trinity must be worshipped.” I would especially draw your attention to the last three words: “must be worshipped.” Worship naturally includes song and prayer. From the Athanasian Creed, then, we can conclude that we are standing on solid Scriptural ground when we pray and sing to the Holy Spirit.

An Argument from Church History←⤒🔗

Admittedly, this last argument is the weakest. However, as those who confess a catholic church, a church that spans the ages, we are compelled to take the practices of our ancient brothers and sisters seriously. Our forebears were not always correct in their practices and beliefs, but especially if we see a correlation between their practices and the teaching of Scripture, we should pay attention. As the saying goes, if the shoe fits...

Augustine of Hippo (354-430), one of the well-known early church fathers, composed the following prayer to the Holy Spirit:

Breathe in me, O Holy Spirit, that my thoughts may all be holy.
Act in me, O Holy Spirit, that my work, too, may be holy.
Draw my heart, O Holy Spirit, that I love but what is holy.
Strengthen me, O Holy Spirit, to defend all that is holy.
Guard me, then, O Holy Spirit, that I always may be holy.
Amen.

Note that Augustine lived during the fourth and fifth centuries. During this time, it does not appear to have been controversial to pray to the Holy Spirit in this fashion.

During the ninth century a well-known Latin hymn, Veni Creator Spiritus, was penned. Its authorship cannot be ascertained with certainty, but most likely rests with Rabanus Maurus (776-856), Abbot of Fulda and Archbishop of Mainz. The first verse reads thus in the English translation of John Dryden:

Creator Spirit, by whose aid
The world’s foundations first were laid,
Come, visit every pious mind;
Come, pour Thy joys on human kind;
From sin and sorrow set us free,
And make Thy temples worthy Thee.

This hymn has had wide circulation in the Roman Catholic Church, but there is evidence that this hymn was also sung from the earliest days of Protestantism, particularly in Germany. It continues to be found in many Protestant song books, including those used by several churches with which we have ecclesiastical fellowship.

Other examples could be given. However, these two sufficiently demonstrate that the catholic church (using the word in the good Christian sense) has seldom had a difficulty with prayers or songs to the Holy Spirit. If nothing else, this should caution us against insisting that such prayers or hymns are forbidden today.

To conclude, if the singing of hymns and the praying of prayers are scripturally warranted, then also hymns and prayers to the Holy Spirit may be seen as faithful acts of worship. In fact, if this is true, is it not then sad that we have only two hymns to the Holy Spirit in our Book of Praise? As the days for a revised church book draw closer, it would be good to see our Committee add the ancient hymn Veni Creator Spiritus – particularly since this hymn finds a place in the Psalter Hymnal used in many United Reformed Churches (Blue #393). So, praise the Holy Spirit? By all means and with all your heart!