Early printings of the hymn contain text only, although tune names were given twice in the church newspaper, the Messenger and Advocate. The January 1836 issue of the Messenger and Advocate specifies the tune American Star. On the other hand, the March 1836 issue specifies the tune Hosanna when it was sung for the dedication service of the Kirtland Temple. At least four tunes were associated with the hymn since it was written. While these tunes were likely familiar to many of the members of the church at the time, there is some ambiguity today as to how these tunes were sung. J. C. Little and G. B. Gardner published an unofficial hymnal 1844 in Bellows Falls, Vermont, which is the first Latter Day Saint hymnal to include any music. "The Spirit of God," is included as the very first hymn and it is set to the tune Hosanna, which is the same tune used today—although the notes in the refrain differ slightly from modern editions, and it contained only soprano and bass instead of the four parts typical of modern editions.
Lyrics and commentary
The hymn was a last minute addition to the first church hymnal, Collection of Sacred Hymns published in Kirtland, Ohio, 1835 or 1836. It appears as the last song and in a different typeset than the rest of the hymnal. This original version had six stanzas. In some cases the lyrics borrow from the words of its original tune, "The American Star."
Stanza one
The words of the first stanza capture the millennialist spirit of the early Latter Day Saint movement. Phelps supposedly wrote the words following a meeting during which the leaders of the church were overcome by the Spirit. Joseph Smith speaks of the meeting in his diary, 17 January 1836:
The Lord poured out his spirit upon us and the brethren began to confess their faults one to the other. The congregation was soon overwhelmed in tears and some of our hearts were too big for utterance. The gift of tongues come upon us also like the rushing of a mighty wind and my soul was filled with the glory of God.
The first words come from "The American Star" which begins, "The spirits of Washington, Warren, Montgomery" and "then goes on to praise these heroes of the Revolution who yet watch over nineteenth-century patriots."
Chorus
The chorus is sung as above after each stanza. However the first line becomes "We'll sing and we'll shout with His armies of heaven" for the last chorus in the original printing. The use of the phrase "armies of heaven" in first line is used to mean a "great multitude of angels," but also reflects the imagery of the original song, "The American Star." Musicologist, Michael Hicks, points out, "The choruses to both use military images. One speaks of the U.S. militia, the other of heaven." More recently, Andrew Bolton and Randall Pratt authored a revised or alternative version of "The Spirit of God" in 2003. This version offers the less militaristic wording, "angels of heaven," over "armies of heaven." It has been used in various Community of Christ gatherings, however the 2013 World Conference Hymnal and the new denominational hymnal Community of Christ Sings while including the Bolton-Pratt adaptation of stanza 6, do not contain the changes to the chorus.
Stanza two
The word "vail" is the spelling of "veil" as found in the original 1830 hymnal. The King James Version of the Bible uses both spellings of the word interchangeably.
Stanza three
Further parallels between patriotic "American Star" and "The Spirit of God" are found in stanza three.
Stanza four
This stanza is rarely sung today as most hymnals have omitted stanzas four and five. The first two lines of this stanza refer to ordinances of washing and anointing, and the washing of feet. The phrase "PENNY appointed" is a reference to the parable of the laborer in the vineyard. In this parable, laborers who start working during the eleventh hour receive the same reward of a penny as do the laborers who have been working from the very beginning.
Stanza five
This stanza is rarely sung today as most hymnals have omitted stanzas four and five.
Stanza six
The first two lines are a reference to Isaiah, which in the KJV reads, "The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them." Ephraim is one of the tribes of Israel. He is the second son of Joseph. The last line is a millennial reference to the second coming of Christ.
Note
Stanzas 1,2,3, and 6 appear in the LDS Church's hymnal as hymn verses 1 to 4. However, Hymns of the Saints, the Community of Christ hymnal from 1981 to 2013, did not include the sixth stanza. Community of Christ Sings, the current Community of Christ hymnal, includes the Bolton–Pratt revision of this stanza as the third of four verses:
