Ruach Breath of Life: Recent Episodes
Ruach Breath of Life
I love how deeply pairing is woven into the natural world. Not just the supposed ‘pairing’ of dock leaves and nettles, but the way in which so many things come in twos, whether for balance, survival, or fundamental physics – from the pairs of eyes, ears, and nostrils the Lord has given us, and which provide stereoscopic vision and directional hearing, to the two kidneys and lungs that provide vital backup should one fail. There is a God-inbuilt symbiotic mutualism that bonds pairs of distinct species so that they rely on each other for survival—like flowering plants and their specific pollinators, or fungi and algae as they form lichens. Chromosomes likewise exist in pairs (one set from each parent), just as DNA itself forms a double helix using complementary base pairs. In our own lives, too, we experience the God who not only opens doors for us, but who in His mercy closes others in His love and wisdom. He grants us seasons of intense wrestling – but also times of rich ‘nestling.’ Rest and work, night and day, the pairings are everywhere; each is different, but each has its own role to play, and all are linked. Pairs are a feature of biblical poetry. The opening verses of Psalm 19 are an example of this ‘parallelism,' pairing the heavens with the skies, and declaration with proclamation; just as day is paired with night, speech with sound, and voices with words.The heavens declare the glory of God;the skies proclaim the work of His hands.Day after day they pour forth speech;night after night they reveal knowledge.Without speech or language,without a sound to be heard, their voice has gone out into all the earth,their words to the ends of the world. (Psalm 19:1-4)in this parallelism, the one half of the pair invites the other; sometimes fulfilling our expectation, and sometimes taking us aback with an unexpected counterpoint. In Him, all things hold together: light and darkness, heights and depths, the truly ginormous and the microscopic.We have used a similar technique to craft this celebration of the magnificent riches of God’s character and the the riches of the world He has created. The exquisite music is Steve Jones’ arrangement for string quartet of the opening moments of Mahler’s fourth symphony, which is thought to depict a child’s vision of Heaven. One can hear in it a walk through the countryside, in broad views across a lake, or alpine meadows. Thank you, Grace and Jonathan Lee on violin, Cathie Muncie on viola, and Corinne Frost on cello for helping us to take great delight in the sights and sounds of God’s beautiful world!God of Heaven’s High Domain,Who delights to dwell with the lowly;God of raging, running watersGod of quiet, reflective lake and pool,God of mountain panoramaand God of darkest valley;God the first and God the last,Three in one, and one in Three;God of nurturing peace,who stirs and spurs us into action.God of awesome holiness,Who leads us with sweet hilarity.God of might and mystery –Gentle Shepherd who will not break a bruised reed.God of narrow, ancient paths:Who leads us along highly unorthodox trails;God of utmost joy and ecstasy:God of war and Man of Sorrows;God who crafted our intricate inmost being,tune our ears to catch the nearness of Your presence and the nowness of Your Word.Let our hearts beat in time and tune with Yours.
Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. (Rev. 22:1-2)Enjoy the lapping waters of the River Vltava, (‘Wild Water,’ in Czech but which is widely known by its German name, the Moldau). This music by the Czech composer Bedřich Smetana is iridiscent with love for his homeland, and beautifully captures the sound of the river as it gathers strength and momentum from its source in the Bohemian mountains, and wends its way through a landscape of forests and meadows before tumbling through the St John’s Rapids, and then before widening out again to pass through Prague on its way to the mighty River Elbe. This joyous piece reminds us of how the Holy Spirit illumines our lives with the prospect of our eternal home as He flows through our lives. How we need His water of life sparkling within us! At the scent of water, even that which is drooping and failing springs back to life. As the prophet Isaiah asks, 'Why spend our money and direct all our labour to that which cannot satisfy', when He invites us to receive so much more by His Spirit?See how the Spirit leads you as you listen . . . Moldau from Má Vlast (My Fatherland) is exquisitely performed for us here by Fontane Liang.
..... it was a deep heartfelt yearning for God - for He whom my soul loves..... a longing for Him as vital as the air that I breathe.....
In Your hands You hold all thingsAnd You hold me fast.You are my Shield and my DefenderYou are my Lord over allYou are the One Who knows the end from the beginning And You hold me fast.
Concerning the times and the seasons . . . you know perfectly that the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night. For when they say, “Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction will come upon them, as labour pains upon a pregnant woman. (1 Thess, 5:1-3) This intensely powerful piece by David Booth permits us for just a very few minutes to share in something of the intense alarm and shock that war brings. Central to this remarkable piece is time, as beaten out by minutes and seconds in an emphasised way. Suddenly the warning sirens sounds, and all becomes confusion and cacophony as destruction is visited on the nation, Bells continue to sound throughout the piece, while the drumbeat of war continues relentlessly on every hand. It would be natural and appropriate to apply this piece to Ukraine. Quite apart from the immense physical damage the unrelenting air raids on its cities have caused the degree of psychological distress they have unleashed exceeds anything one can imagine. The trauma will take those caught up in this maelstrom years recover from. But David had a broader vision even than the war in Ukraine as he prepared this remarkable piece - not least a deep concern for our own nation. The Westminster chimes symbolise home life being disturbed by the sirens; with the trumpet at the end sounding a military call.The clock continues its unabated beat, symbolic of life continuing in amongst the alarms, and the piece concludes with the sound of marching men: a reminder that though the long years of peace have been our familiar friend, the unwelcome sirens can sound at any time for any nation. The greed and cruelty of human rulers know no boundaries or limits.Again and again the Bible looks forward to a reign of peace when the Lord Jesus returns to Earth; but first the world must pass through many painful birth pangs. May the Lord direct and lead you in prayer as you experience the power of this piece.
May the Lord bless the land of Armenia.I improvised this piece a few weeks ago, and after Justin had transcribed it for me, and we have worked on it a bit, I felt it would be good to dedicate it to Armenia, a country with a long Christian tradition, which is taking the risky step of moving away from its heavy dependency on Russia and towards the West. May the Lord move in power to protect Armenia and to draw many more in that land to a living relationship with the Lord Jesus.
The trumpet is the most distinctive sound in the book of Revelation, more even than the harp. It has a long historical association with the divine, and has often been used to represent the voice of God and His angelic hosts.In the Baroque period, when this piece was written, the distinction between secular and sacred music was becoming more fluid, and pieces like this glorious sonata were soon adapted and played by the trumpet and organ during church services and religious processions. Let’s use this brilliant Sonata for Trumpet and Strings by Henry Purcell, beautifully played by Anthony Thompson, to declare afresh the victory of the coming Kingdom of God.
Grace Nadin brought us this profoundly beautiful song at the Symphony of Worship Conference in Malvern in 1996. May the words and the music combine to draw us deeper into a flow of Spirit-led prayer.
Grace Nadin brought us this exquisitely beautiful song at the Symphony of Prayer Conference in Malvern in 1996. More recently we recorded it with Megan Topper. May it become the prayer of our heart too.
What a special piece this is! You will love the dramatic fanfares and the lyrical dialogue with the solo instrument. It is very moving! Enjoy it for what it is, but as you listen, and almost certainly will want to listen again, see where the Lord might wish to direct you in prayer. It is a perfect music to accompany prayer to strengthen many people and situations, and to release the power of God far and wide.How special it is to combine music worship and prayer in this way!Thank you again Anthony Thompson, and all who played this piece so beautifully.
Canzon by GabrieliThe end of the 16th century found Giovanni Gabrieli combining the roles of organist and principal composer at St Mark’s Cathedral, where he was able to take full advantage of the superb acoustics in that majestic building. One commentator described his dialogues between different instruments as being the 16th-century equivalent to ‘surround sound.’May this piece, which is part of his Sacrae Symphoniae, bring a sense of the surrounding presence of Heaven.For there is joy and hope and a lovely sense here of being led by the Spirit. May God’s people everywhere press in to love and follow the Lord Jesus in the freedom of His Spirit.
David Booth has recently recorded a really special piece for Flamenco guitar. We called it 'Tender Flamenco!' I recorded this lament to accompany his beautiful guitar piece. It is inspired in part by the Lord's moving words in Jeremiah 2 and 3, where He looks back to the intimacy He used to enjoy with His people, and mourns how far they have backslidden. Let's use this moving piece to pray for people who once walked closely with the Lord, but who no longer do.Heart of my heart, I planted you as noble vine, a seed of the highest quality.I remember how you were, radiant in first love. and I was with you as Friend and Lover, a Mighty Warrior who saves,taking great delight in you,and rejoicing over you with singing;” but now you have turned your back and forgotten Me. (Jer. 2:21; 2-3, Zeph. 3:17)What fault did you find in Me, and what harm have I done that would cause you to stray so far from Me, turning to systems that cannot fail to fail,and building cisterns that contain no trace of My living word? (Jer. 2:5, 13) I went to such lengths to bestow great blessings on you – and if they had been too small, I would have added still more; (2 Sam. 12:8) but like a thoroughbred turning up its nose, you sought to beautify your way by the skill of your own hands (Jer. 2:32-33) and ended up despising all that I have given you. Will you not pause to reconsider, and pour out the gratitude that used to stream from your heart,lest all that is left be an empty shell that you seek to fill in a thousand different ways?I keep a chair reserved at My banquet table here in Heavenfor when you return to your Shepherd and your Guide. (Jer. 3:4) My hand is stretched out and My Spirit allures, (Hos. 2:14-15) but I can do no more until you are willing to acknowledge your need and reach out Your hand once more to receive the endless blessings that I have always had in store for you. (Jer. 3:13-14)
With politics so much to the fore in people's thinking at this time, I was reminded of this quote by the 17th century Anglican theologian Richard Hooker that ‘He that goes about to persuade a multitude that they are not so well governed as they ought to be, shall never want attentive and favourable hearers.’ Those who promise much by way of better things for society are always likely to be popular, initially anyway, until their ideas are exposed to realities that either prove their value or show them to be wanting. Each of us know where our heart veers in response to the events and challenges of our time, but may we always bear in mind that the anger of man can never bring about the righteousness of God; and that while hatred of ‘the other side’ can stir up feelings of superiority or contempt, nothing less than the working of God’s Holy Spirit can ever create anything that truly unites. Since we must always be in search of godly ways of expressing our concern, I thought that reminding ourselves of James Montgomery’s words in his famous Christmas carol would be an unusual but potentially fruitful way to join with the angels in celebrating that Jesus has come into our midst, and that He invites people everywhere to come and worship the One who is with us now, and who will suddenly appear again. Here’s a reminder of the lyrics:Angels from the realms of gloryWing your flight o'er all the earthYe who sang creation's storyNow proclaim Messiah's birthShepherds in the field abidingWatching o'er your flocks by nightGod with men is now residingYonder shines the infant lightCome and worshipCome and worship the Lord, our GodCome and worship the SaviorWorship Christ the newborn KingSaints before the altar bendingWatching long in hope and fearSuddenly the Lord descendingIn His temple shall appearCome and worshipCome and worship the Lord, our GodCome and worship the SaviourWorship Christ the newborn KingCome and worshipCome and worship the Lord, our GodCome and worship the SaviourWorship Christ the newborn KingJesus, we don't have to wait until Christmas to pray for You to rekindle the love of many to honour and worship You with all their hearts!
It is a great delight to share these three brief 'doodles' that I improvised on the piano with you. After recording them, I sent them to Justin Coldstream, who kindly transcribed them. I then sent them on to James Horsfall, a very talented pianist in Jersey, who shaped, sharpened and played them for us. They are lovely. I sent them to a dozen friends by Whats App, and everyone received clear leadings and impressions as they heard them. Why not put them on a Sound Cloud loop, soak in them for a while and see what moods, emotions, heart cries, people and situations come to mind as you listen!
girls and boys) before sin snares and sours. Let us join Hopkins in praying for many to be renewed in spirit, at this time when so much and so many find themselves engulfed in mayhem and destruction, and lift our hearts in praise and gratitude to the Lord for the wonders of His created world – and the wondrous ways by which He renews our life and hope.
As we enter the welcome season of spring in the northern hemisphere, it is precious to pause and notice all the vivid displays and explosions of colour around us, and to pray for a spiritual ‘burgeoning forth’ across the Earth. This is the time of year above all others when we celebrate the natural world emerging all its glory as it was created to do, breaking forth in its soft, downy abundance. Let’s pause and marvel at the quiet gentleness that is abroad in the whole of Nature: an iridescent playfulness that mirrors and accompanies the urgent need to reproduce and multiply.With the spring comes the fulsome joy of the dawn chorus as the birds gather in song. Isn’t it a joy to listen to them about their business? It is full of hope and expectation; a great settling and busyness as one generation prepares the way for the next. And Jesus says to us His followers, ‘Look at the birds as they get on with what My Father has made them to get on with. Don’t be afraid, and don’t worry – you are free to do the same!’ This invitation to freedom in Christ feels particularly poignant when we consider how inclined wee can be in the Church to build structures, and to rely on our plans and programmes, sometimes even to the extent of depriving ourselves of experiencing more of the joy of the intimate worship and encounter that flows in the immediacy of the Father’s presence. Let’s be sure to make room for it in our daily lives as well as in our meetings! As we listen to this second spring piece that Mike recorded for us, let’s pray for the Church in the light of the trusting freedom of the birds, and their selfless preparation for a new generation. May we be like the bird in this picture who is both rejoicing at the coming spring, and yet equipped to meet needs and situations that will call for great resolve and courage. And may the Lord grant our leaders, political and spiritual alike, all they need to sustain them in and through whatever situations we are called upon to face, decide upon and put into action in this and every season. Where the church is going: Looking beyond the global shaking. Somewhat along these lines, you may appreciate this far-reaching article by Rodney Woods on nurturing healthy freedom in the Church, at this time when much is being shown to be hollow because insufficiently hallowed. Rodney is the senior minister at City Temple in London: https://freedtolead.substack.com/p/where-the-church-is-going
Father, my Father, I love You by Huw HumphreysBack in the 1980s, when Robert was organising meetings for students and others, our worship was often led by Huw Humphreys, a talented wordsmith and composer. This is one of his exquisitely powerful and devotional songs. May we minister to Him and fill His heart with joy in all that we do.
Eternal Light - May we be light-bearers for You, Lord! (Part Two) by Ruach Breath of Life
Through the grace of God, the power of His Spirit and the hard work of those who have laboured to make Christ known, the gospel has spead from one community to another all around the world. You and I are invited into the Kingdom of the King of Kings, to honour, love and serve the great King who has passed triumphant through the grave, and before whom all Creation will one day bow. This is our deepest joy and our highest destiny. How can we not love and honour Him with all our hearts, and for His sake surrender everything else – even though many all around us choose to bar their hearts against Him. Whether we are privileged to be part of a strong fellowship, or more of a lone voice in a sea of unbelief, here is a beautiful song I first heard in Oxfordshire, and that lifts our heart to seek and worship Him. Having been unable to track the composer down, the piece must remain for the time being ‘Cop con’. I would be grateful to hear from anyone who might have information about it. May this lovely song lift your hearts and keep you focused on the Lord Himself. Vocals - Megan TopperViolin - Francis CummingsFlute - Nicola GerrardCello - Jo GarciaKeys - Christiane von AlbrechtGuitar - David Booth
Good people all who seek the Lord Consider well and bear in mindWhat our great God has done for usIn sending His beloved sonWith all the saints we love to prayTo God Most High who comes to us.In Bethlehem upon that mornThe bless’d Messiah was born for us, Near Bethlehem the shepherds keptTheir nightly watch o’er lambs and sheepWhen suddenly appeared a host: mighty angels praising the Lord 'Prepare and go,' the angels said'To Bethlehem, be not afraidFor there you’ll find God’s gift to all A princely babe, sweet Jesus born. With thankful heart and joyful mindThe shepherds went, this babe to findAnd as God's angel had foretoldThey did our Saviour Christ beholdWithin a manger he was laid,And by his side the virgin maid.Attending on the Lord of lifeWho came on earth to end all strife. Good people now and ev’ry dayConsider well and bear in mindWhat our great God has done for us In sending His beloved SonWith Mary holy now we prayTo God with love most every day. For now on Earth good will to men The bless’d Messiah was born to rule; And we can now rejoice and sing His heav’nly reign has come to us.Megan Topper takes the lead in singing this beautiful and ever popular ancient Irish rendering of the Christmas story. She is accompanied by Shirley Richards, Christiane Mueller, Jo Garcia on strings and by Christiane von Albrecht on keyboard.
Many radio stations and apps offer the chance to ‘relax and unwind’ with peace-inducing music and sounds – and such things definitely have their place, including within the Ruach Breath of Life Ministries. But many situations require us to ‘vent’ and cry out to the Lord for His power to break through. And for that, what we want are not smooth and soothing pieces, but those that are decidedly sharp and ‘spiky’!When we invited our dear musician friends to record the opening movement of Vivaldi’s ‘Winter’ concerto from the Four Seasons, it was because we sensed that this is a piece that will help us respond to circumstances that rouse the godly passion and righteous anger within us. Sometimes, it is necessary to cry out for the ‘storm of the LORD’ to come swirling in, and His anger to ‘fully accomplish the purposes of His heart,’ as the Lord declares through Jeremiah. (Jer. 23:19-20)How would the Lord have you pray for the situations and injustices you are aware of? May this music help you find ways to give voice to these things – and may the God of breakthrough come as you do so!Many thanks to Susanne Herzog, Shirley Richards Anne Seidler, Gabriele Kröhnert, Peter Richards and Alexander Koderich for this wonderful recording.https://on.soundcloud.com/Un1bFkNXJGN483tbU5
'The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it.' (Jn. 1:5)In the opening movement of Vivaldi's powerful Winter concerto we hear the sharp and strident sounds of a storm, prompting us to cry out to the Lord both for protection and for His justice to prevail in many challenging situations. This second movement offers a different perspective of winter. A lovely and lyrical violin sings over busy pizzicato (plucked) strings. Winter brings more than its share of icy storms and other hazards, but it also brings scenes of astonishingly beautiful crystalline transparency. May the Lord shed the light of His clarity and presence on many who find themselves either in the midst of a storm, or bowed down in unrelenting dreariness.'As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is My word that goes out from My mouth: It will not return to Me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.' (Is. 55:10-11)https://on.soundcloud.com/bOtxZQBkKdISMOiFEe
In 1752 the Moravian preacher and minister John Cennick wrote a hymn called 'Lo he comes with countless trumpets' based on Revelation 1:7, referring to Jesus coming with the clouds in such a way that every eye will see Him. Six years later in 1758, Charles Wesley, the prolific composer of over 6500 hymns, substantially revised the piece to make it what it remains to this day: one of the best loved and most anointed of all Anglican hymns, cram full of Biblical references. It was first published that same year in John and Charles Wesley's 'Hymns of Intercession for all Mankind', a publication that sought to honour Paul's command in 1 Timothy 2:1: ‘I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men’.Amongst the forty hymns in that volume can be found hymns for monarchs (George II and Frederick the Great), institutions (courts, parliament, the army and navy, universities), childbirth, young children, prisoners and captives, widows, ‘our Enemies, Persecutors and Slanderers’, and ‘our unconverted Relations’ - as well as praying for those caught up in theological tangle, such as ‘Arians, Socianians (Unitarians), Deists and Pelagians.' for some of those we can substitute modern heresies!This exultant rendering led into an extended improvisation that became a beautiful and intimate worship song without words, including a remembrance of 'When I survey the wondrous cross,' and a cello solo that Jo Garcia played, just a couple of weeks before she went to join the Lord in glory.This is the full version of the words. Lo! he comes with clouds descending,once for favoured sinners slain;thousand thousand saints attendinghail the King who comes again.Hallelujah!Hallelujah!Hallelujah!God appears, on earth to reign.2. Every eye shall now behold him,robed in awesome majesty;those who mocked, despised and sold him,pierced and nailed him to the tree,deeply wailing, deeply wailing,deeply wailing,shall the true Messiah see.3. Those deep wounds of cross and passionstill his dazzling body bears,cause of endless exultationto his ransomed worshippers:with what wonder,with what wonder,with what wonder,we shall see those glorious scars!4. Now redemption, long expected,see with solemn joy appear:saints, whose faith this world rejected,meet their Saviour in the air.Hallelujah!Hallelujah!Hallelujah!See the day of God appear.5. Yes, Amen! let all adore youhigh on your eternal throne!Saviour, take the power and glory,claim the kingdom for your own.Come, Lord Jesus!Come, Lord Jesus!Come, Lord Jesus!Everlasting God, come down!Enjoy and worship the coming King! 👑
A few years ago we released a beautiful sung version of the 9th century hymn by the Frankish Benedictine poet-theologian-abbot, Rabanus Maurus, who became archbishop of Mainz. The tune is a great example of Gregorian chant, and dates from a few decades later about 1000. It is sure to bless you! * Recently, I have found myself reflecting on the saintly life of Giuseppe Sarto, the barefooted country boy who remained a humble and holy man throughout his life, and rose, much to his surprise(!) to become Pope Pius X in 1903. Giuseppe had a particular heart to develop the role of music in the heart of the Catholic church, and has blessed so many by reintroducing the beauties of Gregorian chant. As early as 1911 the Lord warned him that a Great War was going to break out, which caused him immense distress. He did everything he could to plead with the European powers who were at odds with each other to humble themselves and to step back from careering down the path that would ultimately see 37,000,000 soldiers and civilians killed or wounded during that great war. He himself died in August 1914, many say of a broken heart, knowing that their pride would not permit them to back down. Some years I asked Geth Griffith to prepare an instrumental version of this ancient hymn for us to pray along with. This was the result.You might like to refer to the words in this mid nineteenth century translation by Edward Caswall as you listen to it. https://hymnary.org/text/come_holy_ghost_creator_blestMay I suggest that you then listen again and pray as the Spirit leads - for God's Holy Spirit to come and visit in power right across Europe and Russia at this tense and difficult time, when talk of war is again in the air, just as it was in the run up to war 1914, and again in the late 1930s. *https://ruachministries.co.uk/8272-2/https://piusx.pl/a-broken-heart-august-20th-1914/?lang=en
Come Holy Spirit,Come fill our heartsCome flood this day with light and love. Healing and releasing, Cleansing and dispelling, Come Holy Spirit, come fill our hearts.Ruach Hadesh, Holy Spirit, Come into the midst of our trialsHold us. Deliver us o Lord Restorer, Empowerer, keep my soul in peace.Lifter of my headCome Holy Spirit. Harmony Greenwood (vocals), Megan Mellamphey (flute) Nick Evans Pughe (viola), Corinne Frost (cello), Christiane von Albrecht (keyboard)
I am the Lord your God who takes hold of your right handand says to you, Do not fear: I will help you.After Laurie Klein recited soothing and reassuring words from Psalms 62 and 63 and Isaiah 41:3, the musicians struck up brief but moving improvisations, in this live recording from the Symphony of Worship Conference in Malvern in 2000. As the first of these improvisations unfold, this is an opportunity to let the Spirit of the Lord wash over you with His rest. When the second one draws to a close, however, you may wish to stay in a spirit of prayer for some time afterwards, and see how the Lord leads, and what comes to mind.Lord Jesus, thank You for the deep soothing rest that You give us. How can we ever thank You enough for all the help that You give, and the interventions that You send? We drink in Your presence now Lord, and ask You to be with every single person, place or situation that comes to mind, and that we lift to You now.
On the penal colony of Patmos for his faith, John and could easily have allowed himself to feel deeply discouraged, and even resentful at being ‘stuck’ in such a dreadful place. No wonder we find him speaking of himself as being ‘our brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus! (Rev. 1:9) How grateful we and countless millions are that John resolutely overcame the plaguing ‘if onlys,’ and kept his heart open to Jesus, thereby turning his disappointments into God’s appointments. Jesus rewarded him first with a glorious awareness of how He is now in His glorious heavenly state, and then with a long series of visions of Heaven winning through in the battles to come on Earth that culminate in his return to rule on Earth.
As I listened to this powerful piece of music by my first music teacher, Philip Spratley, it seems a poignantly perfect backcloth to help us pray heartfelt prayers for Ukraine at this time when it is under such intense pressure in so many directions.Please do take time out to sit in the Lord's presence, and to pour your heart out to Him and see how He leads you.The people of Ukraine need the Lord's help so badly.We have recorded many other prayer offerings to help us remember and pray for Ukraine. https://on.soundcloud.com/1c50pK1BRbt8rLY87H
Many of you will be familiar with the hymn 'Blessed be the tie', a very deep affirmation of the strength that comes when believers truly love each other. As so often there is a story behind the words. In the mid-eighteenth century, John Fawcett was a young Baptist preacher in poverty-stricken Wainsgate near Hebden Bridge in Yorkshire, when he received an invitation to come to a large and influential church in London. On the day of departure, with his family’s possessions loaded onto a waggon, the distraught congregation begged him to stay – and he did, passing over the opportunity to minister in more affluent surroundings. In a remarkable demonstration of how precious these godly ties were, he remained faithfully ministering there for the rest of his life. May we draw fresh inspiration from the words he penned concerning the strength of our own relationships. As you will hear, I have written my own words to the tune, but with an occasional reference to the powerful original words of the hymn: God of hope and Lord of life, dearest lover of my soulYou alone so worthy, You alone so dear.this is my ardent prayer: Jesus, make me evermore like You.No one else can fill my heart, no other passion satisfy; I am captured by Your beauty,and blessed by the tie that binds our hearts as one. Spirit-strong and Spirit-sure,Spirit-fired and Spirit-led, let all I am bow to serve and worship You.There is no splendour compared to knowing You,No lasting glory but Yours aloneI yield my life to worship YouClose companion, Shield, Defender, You confer such care on me.You reveal Yourself, dear Jesus, in speaking moments deep within my soul,that leave me trembling in awe and adoration,longing just to fill Your heart with joy.One thing I ask of You,One thing I desire:That you would open my eyes to see You in Your splendour,I want to gaze on Your beauty all the days of my life,and so become more like You, my Lord.Justin Coldstream wrote this musical arrangement for us, weaving in the theme of a popular folk song from Languedoc, (La Langue d’Oc), in the south of France. I had wondered if it might be possible to blend the two together, and he found a way to do it! Sue Harris reads the words I have written, and was joined by Thomas, Susanne and Julia Herzog, Ann Seifer, Alex Koderisch, Gabriele Kröhnert and Peter and Shirley Richards in this recent recording. These are the original words of the hymn:Blest be the tie that binds our hearts in Christian love; the fellowship of kindred minds is like to that above. 2 Before our Father's throne we pour our ardent prayers; our fears, our hopes, our aims are one, our comforts and our cares. 3 We share our mutual woes, our mutual burdens bear, and often for each other flows the sympathizing tear. 4 When we are called to part, it gives us inward pain; but we shall still be joined in heart, and hope to meet again. 5 This glorious hope revives our courage by the way; while each in expectation lives and waits to see the day. 6 From sorrow, toil, and pain, and sin, we shall be free; and perfect love and friendship reign through all eternity.
No matter how experienced we may be in terms of prayer and ministry, it is always a great source of joy when God moves in unmistakable ways. There is nothing quite like the sense of awe and astonishment we get when He comes in His beauty!Last Sunday, I was due to give a talk at church based around 2 Corinthians 10. I had worked hard to prepare it and focused particularly on the theme of demolishing strongholds. I also invited Sally Mowbray to come and lead the worship from the piano.The very moment Sally started playing, we became aware of a deep sense of the Lord’s presence, and a great freedom in the Spirit. We had planned three songs before the talk, but no one wanted to stop worshipping. I couldn't help wondering whether starting my talk would bring us back down to earth rather than allowing us to stay in this precious place before the throne of God.I had asked a few friends to pray for the meeting, and couple of them had messaged me beforehand to say that the Lord wanted me to speak from the heart. And that is just what happened! Instead of the somewhat formal talk I had prepared, I began to call on the Lord in an extended and impromptu prayer that covered many of the themes I had planned to speak on. I love how God meets with us unexpectedly! Our pastor told me that the Lord touched his knee during the evening, which meant he was able to play football during an outreach evening with local children. It reminded me of how the Lord healed someone of a long-standing ear problem while we were praying against the spread of Islam in this country many years ago. As we seek Him, He ministers to our needs! Of course, I still have all the notes for the talk I planned to give, and I hope to share them on another occasion. But talks can be read anytime, while the presence of the Lord is of the moment – may you encounter Him today.
I have no one else like-minded who will genuinely care about your interests; all others seek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. (Phil. 2:20-21) As much as these verses express a great commendation of his protégé, Timothy, they are also a sad indictment of others in Paul’s immediate entourage. It can be a distressing realisation to discover that people are more calculating and concerned for their own affairs and business than truly Christ-seeking. Set to a profound utterance in tongues that the Lord gave Linda Entwistle many years ago, and which is taken from a presentation called From the Depths to the Heights, this is a chance to, reflect, ponder and pray about what it means to put Christ’s interests first.
Inspired by the words 'Your Kingdom come' in the Lord's Prayer, this is a worshipful improvisation that Sally sung, accompanied by David Booth on guitar. It expresses our longing for more of God and His Heavenly Kingdom as we soak in His presence and seek His face - both for ourselves and for the many situations that we bring Him.
Many years ago, at the gates of the nursery that both Ruth and Tim attended, we enjoyed many precious moments of fellowship with a special group of parents. (We are still in touch with them all!) Amongst them was Sue Harris, who I was delighted to invite to record this poem-prayer that celebrates the "sacrament of the present moment": a lovely concept which Jean Pierre Caussade coined as a phrase three hundred years ago.Sue loves the Lord Jesus dearly, and we have paired her heart-felt recording with the music of one of Bach’s most beautiful Andantes, which Fontane Liang and Julia Herzog played for us on the harp and recorder.The music feels somewhat delicate and slightly fragile, like a bluebell just lifting its head, and inspires us to dwell on the tenderness of the Lord’s moment-by-moment love for us – and to remind ourselves that no lack of faithfulness on our part, or 'road block' that we face along life’s way can ultimately keep us from His unconditional love, if we will but resolve to reach out to Him. May this be a piece to which you often find yourself returning, and find in it fresh succour and sweetness in the Lord. It is beautiful.
Lord, you say, “This is the resting place. Let the weary rest. This is the place to be refreshed.” (Is 28:12 EHV)We are longing just to come and be refreshed.The Lord:Come aside a while and ponder My sovereignty. So far from being a distant or highfaluting concept, this is manna to your soul and truth to bring repose to weary hearts and minds. I am sovereign: this is the bedrock of everything in all creation. I am before all things and in Me, all things hold together. (Col. 1:17) The more you dare to believe this, the more it will focus your gaze on the Lamb upon His throne, and keep you from being led astray by every wind and whim.The believer:So here we are, Lord, bombarded on every side by make-believe reality and the strictures of a consumer society; immersed in the insistent mantras and populist slogans of governments and corporations, rights groups and movements – so many agendas, so many principles; so much intolerance, and fang-toothed, talon-clawed opposition.How we need not just a short-term break, but an eternal resting place deep within our hearts. Forgive us when we allow these things to impinge so strongly on our senses to weigh more heavily on us than the faith that beholds the invisible and perseveres accordingly.You are not a man that You should lie, nor the son of man that You should change Your mind. Have You not said, and will You not do it? The day will come when Your feet stand again upon the Mount of Olives, Lord Jesus, and Your glory fill the world.The Lord:My hand is on the tiller and My purposes cannot fail. I stand alone, and who can oppose Me? I do whatever I please and none can gainsay My word. (Job 23:13)Come near you nations and listen; you people, hearken to all I have to say; (See Isaiah 34 1-2)I brought Israel up from Egypt, the Philistines from Crete and the Syrians from Kir. It was I who delivered Israel from the tyranny of the Pharoahs, then from the Baals and then from Babylon – and it is I who rescue you from your many scrapes!The rulers of the world conspire together against Me (Ps. 2:1–2) but My anointed One is King over all the nations of the world. I have given Him the nations as an inheritance (Ps. 2:8) – yes even those nations that rage so loudly against Me.
The believerNot to us, O Lord, not to us but to Your name be the glory, for Your steadfast loving-kindness and for the sake of Your truth and faithfulness. (Ps. 115:1 AMPC)We are the inheritors of Your kingdom, and we live and move in Your glory, in the peace and security that comes from following the Prince of Peace.Voice: The LordThe eyes of the arrogant will be humbled and human pride brought low; the LORD alone will be exalted in that day.The LORD Almighty has a day in store for all the proud and lofty, for all that is exalted – and they will be humbled. (Isaiah 2:11-12)The believer:Yes Lord, scatter all that is proud and lofty in the imagination of our heart and bring us to that deeper place of knowing that we are living and praying according to Your will;no longer asking amiss by following our own desires but increasingly conformed to the image of Your Son,whose only desire is to do the will of the One who had sent Him.Rather than looking wistfully at someone else’s gifts and opportunities, or bowing down at the shrine of our own achievements, we cry out with the psalmist, ‘All our springs are found in You!’ (Psalm 87:7)You, who did not spare Your own and only Son, do not spare us from Your work of refining.Remove all bias and boasting from our hearts;fashion within us a true and lasting humility so that we are spared the fate of Aaron’s foolish sons and Eli’s licentious offspring. (Lev. 10:1-3)Keep us from becoming like Demas, who put love of worldly things ahead of serving You (2 Tim. 4:10).
2 Tim 2:19Though you see many things that might make you despair, when you indulge your woes and listen to your fears, and when your faults and failings shout aloud from the roof tops,and your senses are inclined to shrink in the face of all these discouragements,never forfeit the godly foundations I have procured for You:My arms beneath and My throne above undergirds all.There can no more be any such thing as ‘salvation by worry’ than there could be ‘salvation by works alone’. The fairest fruit comes when you admit your helplessness and look away to Me.How can you truly be free in My presence if you fix your eyes on earthly things and seek honour praise and approval more from one another than from Me? (John 3:12, 5:44)The believer:From heaven you make us hear Your voice to discipline us. (Deut. 5:24, 4:12, 36) You truly give and take away: blessed be Your name. (Job 9:12)Many plans occupy our hearts and minds: but may Your purposes alone prevail (Prov. 19:21).The LordI am the sure foundation for your times, a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge; and the key to this treasure is to be found by pressing in and onward to know still more of Me as I work all things together according to the counsel of My will, on behalf of those whom I have chosen from before the beginning of time itself. (Eph. 1:11)My foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: ‘I know those who are Mine – and everyone who confesses My name must turn away from wickedness.’ (2 Tim, 2:19) Those who believe and trust in the precious cornerstone of Christ need never be disturbed nor give way (Is. 28:16).
Comment by the photographer - Some time ago while I was walking along Calle Larios in Malaga, I was struck by the skill of this craftsman who, there in the middle of the street in a completely artisanal way (the lathe was a wheel that he rotated with his hands) of a shapeless piece of clay was used to make vessels and other useful and beautiful pieces.The believerYou are the Alpha and the Omega, the architect of all, and the potter who shapes and recreates all things for Your pleasure.Keep us from the barnstorming of the enemy’s thrusts and lies, swiftly acknowledging the things we need to repent of, and identifying those inevitable surprise attacks we need to rebuke.Grant us discernment to recognise Your strong hand behind the things that come upon us, to know that even our very afflictions are no chance or random event, but deeply disposed and ordained of You. May we not be unsettled by our trials, but recognise, for as Paul declared, we are indeed destined for them. (1 Thess. 3:3).If sometimes the measures You adopt feel extreme, and the situations we face most daunting, help us to maintain our confidence that You intend to be glorified through our surrendered lives. You do not err in what You allow to come our way. (Job 9:12) Even when our soul is sore and pressed with sorrow, yet we have but to look to You to find You drawing near.Even though this new found helplessness is not what we would have chosen, it is what You knew it would be needed to complete the cycle of things You intend us to overcome, and to turn from all the glorying and boasting in vain things that so characterises this present era.It is not so much that You help those who help themselves, but that You help those most willing to confess how unable they are to help themselves. For whatever our outward limitations our hearts and springs are at liberty to find their joy and freedom with You.
Seated on high You yet stoop so low to meet us as and where we are. No matter that may sometimes feel like worker bees, gathering but a fraction of a teaspoonful of honey in our lifetimes, yet we are doing and seek to do all that you have commissioned us to do as we look above and not at the things of life.You are our refuge and our fortress, O God, in whom we trust (Psalm 91:2). You are fully committed to take all that we give You and to work it out in ways that lie far beyond our understanding. You ride on the clouds in Your majesty yet come to our aid. (Deut. 33:26)Fickle and foolish our ways, but stable and strong Your throne – and set and secure Your far ranging purposes. Make us, each one, more patient in adversity, tossed no longer every which way by each fresh challenge, but pressing on to pursue the unsearchable riches we have received in Christ (Eph. 3:8).Lord of our hearts, and Lord of our destinies, You alone know the days allotted to us. (Job 14:5)Direct the flow of our days according to Your sovereign purposes, and just as You fine tune and regulate every living thing in all creation, regulate the precious hours that You have entrusted to us, as we wait for Your supreme and blessed hope to be revealed once more from Heaven (Titus 2:13).You alone our refuge, and Your everlasting arms will never let us down. You have made our hearts a resting place beneath the shadow of Your wings – and we ascribe glory to Your name, dearly beloved and Eternal God (Deut. 33:26-27).
My compassion is not dependent on what you do. Neither does My justice depend on human will or exertion. My compassion and mercy spring from My mercy seat. (Rom. 9:15-16) Seek My mercy on behalf of erring souls and nations, streets and towns and regions, careers and professions.My Sovereignty is not blunted or diminished by your failures. I can yet rearrange the strands of your lives, and ordain strength and fruitfulness even from the pits of your failure. Have I not brought you to this place where you have reached the end of your own resources, in order that I can rule and reign in your lives? Since nothing lies beyond My ability to redeem, can I not turn tragedy into triumph? I am and always will be, and those who submit to My leading will find themselves encompassed in My great purposes. Those who want to be My disciples must follow Me, because I desire My servants to be where I am. I will honour anyone who serves Me.Listen only for My voice: this is the way and you must have the courage to embark upon it. Allow no foothold to the forces of fear and disappointment, for they have the power to shut out the awareness of My presence.Come to Me afresh and learn of Me, for I am meek and lowly of heart, and you will find rest for your souls. (Matt. 11:29)
Miserere mei, Deus (‘Have mercy upon me, O God)Disaster! With one fell swoop, the second king of Israel broke three of the commandments God had given to help His people live in the light of His holiness.The enormity of what David had done in his sudden relationship with Bathsheba did not seem to strike his heart immediately, however. He had coveted another man’s wife, committed adultery, planned and plotted the death of one of his most loyal and upright followers – and then carried on as if everything was normal. But God knew, and in his love and holiness He sent the prophet Nathan to confront David. Gulp! It was a task that required courage, given the king’s sometimes domineering and even tyrannical tendency to exert his power in unkind and capricious ways. Nathan, who seems to have served as something akin to a court chaplain, knew that he was risking his life, and wisely approached the matter by telling David a riddle within a parable about a rich man stealing a poor man’s pet lamb, before pointing the finger squarely at him. Nathan’s words pierced the hardness in David’s heart, reminding him of the shepherd he had been, and the unfairness of the tale that he had just heard. The penny dropped. David heard and took the matter to heart – and his repentance was as profound and far-reaching as his faithfulness had been so outstanding on so many other occasions. Deeper far than mere remorse, the Holy Spirit has used David’s record of his repentance in what we know as Psalm 51 to touch and convict countless hearts ever since. As we reflect and pray, may the Lord help us to enter more deeply into a 360 degree awareness of own faults and failings, and to pray blessing upon blessing on those who we have hurt or maligned.Few pieces of music can help us to enter more deeply into this ‘mea culpa’ recognition of our own sins and shortcomings than Gregorio Allegri’s stunningly beautiful setting of this psalm. You will probably be familiar with the story of how this sublime music was discovered. Jealously guarded by the Vatican, and forbidden to be sung anywhere outside the pope’s own Sistine Chapel, (and even there only during Holy Week), the story goes that Mozart, the teenage musical prodigy, heard the Miserere being sung during a service, and promptly rushed home and wrote the whole complex piece out from memory. Whether or not the story depicts exactly what happened, the fact is that, thanks to Mozart, the music entered the public domain – for which we can never be too grateful. A devout believer, Allegri himself had trained as a priest, and worked with the Vatican’s Papal Choir. He has been described as a man ‘whose music was imbued with his religious faith and personal sense of justice, and who was ‘a model of priestly peace and humility, a father to the poor, the consoler of captives and the forsaken, a self-sacrificing help and rescuer of suffering humanity.’This combination of David’s words and Allegri’s heavenly music represent a wonderful opportunity for heart spring-cleaning. The music was recorded for us in Berlin in April 2025, and played by Susanne Herzog, Shirley Richards, Anne Seidler, Gabriele Kröhnert and Alexander Koderisch, with Julia and Thomas Herzog and Peter Richards making solo contributions on recorder, cor anglais and French horn.
Throughout this Mashal, we are thinking about how we can turn what we see into prayer. A while ago, I took a walk around the streets where I live, and took the opportunity to see – with my spirit as well as my eyes – the people I passed. My walk became slower and slower as I felt the Lord’s burden come upon me for these people, and He began to talk to me about these ones whose names I didn’t know, but He did; whose circumstances I could not tell, but He could.As soon as I got home, I wrote down what I had been sensing, and later set the words to a piece of music I had written three years earlier, called Lament and Light with great help and insight from Peter Richards. This too was inspired by the Lord as I sang to Him one day in the bath! I incorporated into this piece the poignant and beautiful melody of a Swedish lovsång (praise song) that somehow radiates the light of the Lord and His great love toward every person. The note of lament in other parts of the music reflects His grief and compassion towards those whose hearts are hard toward Him and each other.May this reflection bless you, and inspire you to pray as you move around your own streets and neighbourhoods.The piece concludes with Linda Entwistle singing a hauntingly beautiful theme in the Spirit, which leaves a profound aftertaste. Rebecca Whettam and Natalie Halliday played the cello parts in different locations, with Peter Richards on piano and Mike Halliday on clarinet also elsewhere, as we recorded this during the lockdown.
Set to moving music from Monteverdi's brilliant vespers of 1610, with Anthony Thompson and Kevin Ashman leading on the trumpets, join Robert and Elizabeth in this rendering of Isaiah 26, and Psalms 18 and 17:14-15. Biblical Hebrew does not have tenses in the way that most modern languages do, so I have at times turned the tense around to make it not only a reflection on past deliverances but an active declaration that the Lord is always able to help us, and will continue to do so in the future.
O Lord, You are my God;I will exalt You and praise Your name,for in perfect faithfulnessYou have done wonderful things,things planned long ago._With these words, Isaiah falls in worship before the Lord. You have been a refuge for the poor ,a refuge for the needy in their distress,a shelter from the stormand a shade from the heat.How beautiful the Lord is, and how kind! In His gentleness, He stoops down to lift us up and draw us into His own family. This exultant reflection, which is adapted from Isaiah 25, Luke 1:51 and Psalm 18:35, is set to the glorious music of Giovanni Gabrieli’s Canzon septimi et octavi toni a 12. Beloved, let us rejoice and be glad in His salvation!The words are read by Elizabeth Hume and Robert Weston, and the music is wonderfully performed for us by Nicola Gerard, Anthony Thompson, Mike Halliday, Peter Richards, Francis Cummings, Shirley Richards, Philippa Barton, Christiane Mueller, Jo Garcia and Corinne Frost.
What a gem Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians is, with his unsurpassed eulogy to love, his seminal teaching about spiritual gifts and the functioning of the Body of Christ, crowned with his deep understanding concerning the glory we will enjoy with the Lord in our heavenly home and in our resurrected bodies in. It soars to such heights that you might almost wonder what a second letter could add to it. But this was also the group of Christians with which he had more trouble than in any of the other fledgling churches. From our perspective today we can be grateful, because it led to some of his most profound and personal writing that is of great benefit to us today. In this talk, which I have called In Christ’s triumphal procession, some of the principal points that I have touched on include:•Remaining alert to the promptings of the Holy Spirit•The triumphant return of Christ, accompanied by His saints•Spreading the fragrance of Christ•Pondering Paul’s question concerning who is equal to the task we are called to•The importance and power of our words of recommendationThe talk finishes with the grande finale from our Transfiguration album – a magnificent improvisation that also brought Wellspring’s album ‘The Return’ to a triumphant close. The combination of the music and reading from the book of Revelation are stunningly glorious.
Just a few days ago, I knew next to nothing about this huge country that is the size of Western Europe, but whilst preparing to lead the prayer meeting I had been asked to lead for it, I soon ‘discovered’ the country (the last of the former Soviet republics to declare independence in 1991) and took it to heart. Kazakhstan, has the reputation of being the political and economic powerhouse of the central Asian nations, but there is a great deal happening in unseen spiritual ways too. From there being just thirteen known evangelicals in the nation at that time, to there being around 200,000 today, it will be good for us to take this nation into our hearts in prayer – especially because the Open Doors World Watch List of the 50 most persecuted countries warns that the country has shot up nine places in the last year to number 38. I think you will be blessed by join us in this impromptu prayer that I recorded after the prayer meeting I referred to, on behalf of the Kazak church and nation. We subsequently set the prayer to the music of Albinoni, Vivaldi, and an inspired improvisation for two recorders. The main sources that informed my understanding of the situation in Kazakhstan for this prayer are: Open Doors, Open Doors World Watch, Eurasia Mission, and Go Serve.
We pray for all who are shocked and shaken by items in the news, and by the state of the world. Renew the focus of our hearts and our flow of prayer, that it may be neither the swathed in sentimentality, nor swayed by prejudice, but founded in the spirit of truth and focused on the Prince of Peace.Answer when we call to You, O righteous God. Grant relief from our distress and hear our prayers, and let Your troops be willing for the day of battle. As the commander of Adonai's army, deploy Your forces as best may be.Let the army of Young people whom You are raising up serve with vision and compassion. Keep their mission vision clear, and their hearts free from all the distractions the enemy may want to send, and from key relationships from turning sour. Let these Young men and women be as arrows in Your hand, pioneers and spearheads for Your kingdom, and true soul shapers for You. For those in mature middle years, to administer and oversee many aspects of the work of Your church with clarity and humility. And for those more advanced in years, that they may pray prayers that You can answer and speak wisdom that lightens burdens, and imparts so much of what it means to wait on You.And because deliverance comes from You, we ask that Your blessing rests on these Your people as they serve Your kingdom purposes, all ages Lord working together, whether in frontline communications or strategically placed further back. We call out to You because You will answer from Your holy mountain.
As we pray for the mission of each church and movement that You've raised up, and that's truly reaching out for You, we pray that You will guard them from the shame of sordid squabbles and senseless splits. Guide them through and beyond each setback. Let's pray now for all who are feeling mixed up and muddled and alienated from church, from those who are holding back because of hurtful things that they have seen or heard. Find ways to minister to them, Lord. It's ever Your nature to seek to restore and redeem. Keep wooing and reaching out to their hearts, and work in such a way as to bring them to the point where they are willing to forgive those who have made life so hard for them, and are free to experience the blessings of life together in community again.
Your love Lord reaches to the heavens, Your faithfulness to the skies. Your righteousness is like the highest mountains, Your justice like the great deep, Lord. You preserve both people and animals; Your unfailing love is priceless!So many take refuge in the shadow of Your wings. They feast on the abundance of Your house, and You give them drink from Your river of delights. For with You is the fountain of life, and in Your light we see light. Continue Your love to those who know You, Your righteousness to the upright in heart. May the foot of the proud not come against me, nor the hand of the wicked drive me away.Lord Jesus, You warned those who felt secure in themselves that hearts would tremble at the tossing of the sea and the roaring of the waves, because all that can be shaken is being shaken in the lead-up to the great moment of Your return. . . . for harvests will fail, and idle merriment and debauched revelry will come to an end before Your spirit is poured out from on high, before the desert becomes a fertile field, and all flesh recognize Your leading. Behold, I will pour out my spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Even on My servants, both men and women, I will pour out my spirit in those days. I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth; blood and fire and billows of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord, and everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. For on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be deliverance, as the Lord has said, even among the survivors whom the Lord calls. (Joel 2:28-32)This is the time when Your justice will prevail and Your people will live forever in undisturbed dwelling places, for peace will be the fruit of righteousness, and quietness and confidence will take root and be established. When Your judgments come upon the earth we quake and fear, but let them teach us righteousness. and pay more attention to Your majesty. For even now Your hand is lifted up though they do not see it, let them recognize Your zeal for Your people and how You long to establish a way forward for them. And in that blessed place, the lion will lie down with the lamb, and the serpent won't bite. For creation itself will be restored from its bondage to decay.
This is the sketchiest of sketches, musically speaking, but I was looking for something that would reflect and speak into the unsettledness of our times. Obvious examples spring to mind, such as the grim situation on the battlefront in Ukraine, and the endless grief in the heart of that nation - but may the Lord lead you where He and you together would go in prayer. And may the musical fragments serve in this process!
When I wrote this piece, Stillness and Joy, I ‘bookended’ it with the theme from that wonderful hymn, 'I bind unto myself this day’ – the great ‘Breastplate’ prayer for protection that is widely accredited to St Patrick.* The Greek words I used in the title are hēsuchia (stillness, rest, quiet, silence) and charmolupē, a remarkable compound word that St John Climacus, a 7th century monk of Sinai, coined, which means a combination of joy and grief. Only in the Lord can we bear heavy burdens in the Spirit that move us to tears, and yet still know the deep stirrings of the Lord’s joy in our hearts. We only read twice in the gospels of Jesus weeping. The first time is when John records Him weeping when He hears of the death of Lazarus. The second, in Luke’s gospel, is the occasion when Jesus weeps over Jerusalem, because it had failed to recognise the hour of its visitation, and would pay a terrible price for its blindness and deafness. There are many things in the world around us, and perhaps in our own immediate circumstances too, to move us to tears. May we experience much of the Lord’s own hēsuchia-stillness as well as His charmolupē, joy-grief, as we draw close to Him –pressing through the challenge of external distractions and inner whirring thoughts, before we reach a place of greater settledness and closeness to the Lord who loves us so much, and who hears our every prayer. May this music help to focus the longings, emotions and deep concerns of our heart in prayer.See also our blog post from early in 2021 in the immediate aftermath of the election crisis in Washington DC, when we were led to pray with the words of the Lorica: ‘We arise this day a mighty army.’https://ruachministries.co.uk/we-arise-a-mighty-army-this-day-the-lorica-breast-plate-of-st-patrick/
Nebuchadnezzar's empire was as secure and far-reaching as any great world power in the ancient world, but in himself, the king was not at rest. Night after night, disconcerting dreams swirled round his head, robbing him of peace and well-being. Dreams not only reflect the preoccupations of our hearts, but sometimes contain within them significant prophetic pointers. By revelation, the Lord showed Daniel that Nebuchadnezzar had dreamt of an enormously large and imposing statue – which said a lot about what the king thought of himself and his works! All his energies had gone into building an empire that honoured his own name, and he was dazed and dazzled by his golden splendour.The Lord was less impressed, however, and drew Daniel’s attention to the image’s fallible feet of clay. Empires may dominate the world stage for a season, but flawed foundations make it impossible for them to endure forever, be they Babylonian, Alexandrian, Roman, Napoleonic, British, Third Reich or Soviet. Drawing on Daniel’s experiences in Babylon, and on his understanding of the way the Lord worked, in this presentation, Elizabeth and I ask the Lord to help us respond strategically to the challenges His people must deal with when living under ungodly regimes and empires: a very pressing question for millions of believers around the world today.Enjoy the lovely worship we have inlaid into our prayers toward the end too!
The scale of the depradations and sufferings in Ukraine has been astonishing as the result of Putin's invasion. These are offerings to help us keep all the citizens who are grieving at losing homes, families and loved ones as a result of the war. The suffering is by no means all one way. Whole Russian brigades have simply ceased to exist as a result of being wiped out in a war that they are not allowed to report to friends and family back home on pain of imprisonment. Could anything be more soul destroying? They too are bearing an immense cost. May the Lord meet with many on both sides of this demonically-inspired conflict. Can I suggest listening to the following as a piece of music and praying for as many dimensions to this whole conflict as come to mind?Then, when you have listened and prayed, hear it again in the next track called Russian Hymn with Words, in which it is revealed as an old Russian hymn from more stable times.
On both sides of the Conflict. Ongoing prayer for those caught up in the war in Ukraine by Ruach Breath of Life
With increasingly violent protests occurring on our streets in the UK, which once again greatly threaten people and properties, and stretch the police forces, let’s join in this prayer with considerable urgency. Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ . . . and if you call on Him as Father who judges impartially according to each one's deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile. here on EarthWith algorithms, news items and social media posts skilfully fuelling people’s prejudices, and so increasing their sense of outrage – and when even the spiritual discernment that enables us to recognise when things are not being built to according God’s plumbline – all such things can leave us feeling incensed rather filled with the passion of God – which itself includes righteous anger as opposed to mere rage. Each one of us faces the challenge of needing to be willing to take our stand for truth, (and against that which is not truth), but without allowing our hearts to become contemptuous and dismissive – or even consumed with hatred against those who think very differently from ourselves. It is really important to pray that the love of Jesus wins the day in so many peoples’ hearts, and in so many situations rather than the power of hatred. Please note that in this brief prayer along those lines, when I say that I am not praying primarily for such 'categories' as hypocrites, hackers and those infested with an overly partisan spirit, I am not saying that we should not pray for these people, for we are called to bless all who spitefully use and ill use others, but am simply directing the focus of the prayer elsewhere.One of Handel’s powerful Sarabandes provides a stirring backdrop for this prayer, with the musicians then expanding into a time of improvisation beyond it. May the Lord lead us to pray the love of God into many hate-fuelled and filled situations.
I love the fact that Paul speaks of the armour of God in Ephesians 6. It is His armour, His weapons and His Kingdom that we are called to share in and to fight for. Paul concludes his magnificent epistle to the Ephesians Paul ends on this note of warfare - and it is so appropriate for us to take time out to consider again this very well-known passage and to see what the Lord may have to say to us through it.
Set to the music of an exquisite Czecho-Slovak folksong, this presentation depicts a mother and another member of her Ukrainian family singing a beautiful lullaby to their child in the warmth and security of their home. Half way through, a great rupture happens, and the child, along with tens of thousands of other Ukrainian children is separated from her family and deported to Russia. There in the pit of loss and despair, the child hears in her spirit the song of her mother reaching across the vast distance that now separates her from all she has known and loved – and from somewhere a voice comes, bidding the child not to give in to despair but to trust and hope: reassuring her that the Lord knows all about her plight, and promising that He has all eternity in which to make it up to her. Dobru noc, ma mila, dobru noc; Necht' ti je sam Pan Buh na pomoc. Dobru noc, dobre spi; Necht' se ti snivaju sladke sny. Dobru noc, dobre spi; Necht' se ti snivaju sladke sny. Dobru noc, ma mila dobru noc. Necht' ti je sam Pan Buh na pomoc. Dobru noc, dobre spi; Necht' se ti snivaju o mne sny. Dobru noc, dobre spi; Necht' se ti snivaju o mne sny, o mne sny. Sleep, dear one, sleep, fair one, all this night; God hold you, God keep you, in His might. Now, good night, joy to thee. May slumber bring visions fair to see. Now, good night, joy to thee, May slumber bring visions fair to see. Sleep, dear one, sleep, fair one, all this night. God hold you, God keep you, in his might. Now, good night, joy to thee. May slumber bring visions all of me. Now good night, peace to thee. May slumber bring visions all of Me, all of Me.
This brief interlude of prayer and worship in the Spirit was recorded at the start of our 1998 conference in Malvern, ‘Symphony of Worship.’ May the Lord use it again now to still and prepare our hearts to soak in His presence afresh.
In the fourth chapter of Job, we see that a man of God who was going through hard times, hearing a whisper from a spirit telling him that he could not possibly hope to be right with God.How sickly subtle are the silent whispers that drip from the Accuser’s tongue. Staunch and strong must be our defence to lift the shield of faith and let the Word of life resound.As we cry out to the LORD in our trouble, and experience Your hand delivering us from our distress,Still the storm to a whisper; and hush the waves of the seaand let all grow calm again, as You guide us to the longed-for haven. (Ps 107:28-30) O Lord, we long for You.Be our strength every morning, our salvation in times of pressure and distress. (Isaiah 33:2) Yes, LORD, walking in the way of your laws, we wait for You;Your name and Your renown are the desire of our hearts;our souls yearn for You during the long night hours; in the morning our spirit longs for You.All that we have accomplished is the result of what You have done for us, Lord, and Your name alone do we honour.You have gained glory for Yourself by extending Your mercy to us, for when our hearts finally awake to our true distress and we recognise how far it is all being well with our soul, and that all our strenuous efforts to impress and succeed have been no more than giving birth to wind.Give us the courage not to turn away or to drown our sorrows in some other way, but to whisper a prayer to the One who is ever ready to intervene and save. For this fresh touch we pray, o great restoring God. You whose dew is like the dew of the morning and whose Spirit gives the sure and certain promise that You will raise from the dead all who look to You. Will You not keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in You, the One true and living God? Will You not dwell with those whose hearts are humble and contrite, and who mourn over their sins, And now, what else have we to do but to seek Your face, O Lord who seeks to save the lost? (Luke 19:10) And now, what else should we fill our hearts with in eager anticipation for Your coming but with instant prayer for those whose hearts are not yet prepared to come face to face with You, or to be ready for the great and glorious days that lie beyond?
As storms of all kinds rage across the world, and we pray for the Lord to bring His deliverance near to many in great need of it, let's take deeply to heart these words. They are primarily taken from the prophet Isaiah and the Revelation that brings the New Testament to its climax. We exalt and praise Your name, for in perfect faithfulness You have done such wondrous things, things planned long, which humble our pride but serve to make ready a people prepared for You.Therefore strong peoples will honour You;and cities of ruthless nations will revere You, for You have been a refuge for the poor, and a refuge for the needy; You will be a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat.The breath of the ruthless is like a storm driving against a wall,but You still silence the uproar of the nations and the war chants of the ruthless. We grieve for the many who will not turn to You, or receive Your gracious offer, foolishly preferring the broad and easy way, despite it leading only to destruction through the gates of hell. For straight is the gate that leads to life, and hard and difficult the narrow way You summon us to walk along. The proud and self-sufficient, who refuse Your offer of an eternal inheritance, will have no place at Your banqueting table, nor any part in the final victory of Your Kingdom of Light. (Matt. 7:13-14; Col. 1:12) For it will be on Your mountain LORD Almighty that You will prepare for all a feast of rich food for all peoples, a banquet of aged wine, with the best of meats and the finest of wines; and on this mountain that You will sovereignly destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples, and swallow up death forever. (1 Cor. 15:54) You will walk round about us and wipe away the tears from every person’s face; (Rev. 7:17; 21:4) and especially from those who have suffered most, as You take away the shame and insults Your people have endured. In that day we will say, “Surely this is our God; we trusted in You, and You saved us. This is the LORD, we trusted in You, We will rejoice and be glad in Your salvation. (From Isaiah 25) Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him for a thousand years. (Rev. 20:6)
Restore broken heartsHow right Job was when he said that those at ease have contempt for misfortune. Lord, we acknowledge our lack of compassion before you for those in need.And we pray to share more of Your heart, a Restorer of broken walls. You desire that our heart should be like well-watered gardens, springs whose waters never fail, but there is stuff that You need to do in our heart, Lord, to make it possible for us to share Yours.We remember how a hand touched Daniel and raised him up, causing him to stand, catching and strengthening him and all that came from that. We remember how You stretched out your hand and touched Jeremiah's mouth. And how you laid your right hand on John at the start of the Revelation. Jesus, friend of sinners and Re-mender of broken hearts, we pray today for those who are lonely and sinned, and who receive but little outside support and stimulus, and few if any visit. Jesus be the Visitor.Visit those whose relationships have broken asunder and whose hearts are raw, and whose prospects are bleak. Release the grief in their hearts, the tension in their muscles, the blockages in their hearts and minds, and draw as many as will let You do so fully under the shadow of your wing.Lay Your hand afresh on us now, Lord. Even as Jehoshaphat brought many people back to the Lord, we're asking you to restore those who've wandered from the truth, because it's Your word that restores the soul. And we pray that we may play our part by praying for You to restore those who are far from your presence.Your goodness and compassion never falter nor fail, so come by whatever guise You choose to adopt and bring the reality of Your goodness close to lonely souls this day.For these weary hearts, Lord, we pray, where the slightest thing requires a great effort. Draw people with cords of kindness.Their hearts are clashing, Lord, and out of alignment. So be a Shelter from the wind, a Refuge from the storm, a Stream of Water in the desert, and the Shade of a great Rock in a thirsty land. Oh Lord, open the eyes of those who are blind. Open the ears of those who aren't used to listening to things that actually matter most for life and eternity.Part the veils of deception. Put to flight the fears and the reluctance that hold You at bay, so that they can be all that You would have them be, and noble plans may be embraced and noble deeds be performed. Restore the confused to their rightful minds and the wasteful to the fear of the Lord. Let them recall moments when Your Presence has passed close by, or those times when they caught the whisper of a voice from heaven speaking truth to their inmost being.May they pay close attention to that light that shone in a dark place, so that in your great mercy they may embrace the new birth You are offering them, and receive the living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. May the morning star rise in their hearts, we pray.
Enlarge our hearts LordArise, O God, on behalf of the afflicted. In the morning hear our voice as we call to you, as we lay our requests before you and wait expectantly.By Your great love we come into Your House, bow down in reverence towards Your holy temple, and ask You to arise and administer this mighty life -changing power right into the heart of the situations that we bring You now. By Your great mercy Lord, most of us have not woken up this day to face direct physical threats to our homes and families. You have done so much to bring us to the place we are now in and to make all this possible. We worship and adore You and thank you Lord that you have not left us to labour or to journey on our own but have bound us to each other in the bundle of the living to share the precious life that You have given us.Enlarge our hearts now Lord, to more nearly resemble Yours so that we can pray in the power of Your Spirit. Balance the flow in our hearts of how we divide our time, between time spent worshiping You and about our own pursuits, so that we can bring the needs of those who are really hurting to You, and share your concern for them.We lift to You those who have not enjoyed the benefit of a good night's sleep, who are unspeakably weary, hungry and thirsty, displaced from home and families and all that makes for happiness and sound minds. We bring you the wounded, sick and shocked, who lack the basics of life and the fundamentals of life in Christ to sustain them. Deliver them from delusions and from putting other things before you.We pray for those who feel at the very end of their tether, who are seriously overstretched, overworked and under-resourced. Lead them, Lord, in your righteousness. Spread your canopy of protection over them. Arise, Lord, deliver them. Release grace from day to day.
Most of us will have known times when we regret things that we have said or done, or failed to say and do, and burst out, ‘Oh, if only I had . . .!’ Such idle regrets are usually an open invitation feels of worthlessness and condemnation – although they can serve some valid purpose if they make us more watchful and attentive in the future.As surely as those are empty regrets, there are occasions in Scripture when the Lord allows us to glimpse how deeply He regrets and mourns over the blindness and deafness of His people – not least because of all that we will are sure to suffer as a result. As He revealed to Asaph, “If My people would only listen to Me,if Israel would only follow My ways . . . But my people would not listen to Me;Israel would not submit to Me.So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts to follow their own devices. (See Psalm 81:11-13)Re-read the second and third chapters of Jeremiah and you are sure to hear more of the Lord’s deep heart cry, as He laments that after all He has done for the nation - and all that He was offering her – it had still turned away and refused to repent and return to Him. Hear the grief in the Lord’s heart as He expresses through Isaiah how things could have been: “If only you had paid attention to My commands, your peace would have been like a river.’ We are so sorry, Lord, for the grief that we have caused You, and the opportunities that we have missed. Thus too does Jesus grieve over Jerusalem, knowing well the utter disaster that its stubbornness and spiritual blindness would lead to. “If you had only known on this day what would bring you peace – but for now it is hidden from you.” (Jer. 3:7; Is. 48:18; Luke 19:42)It grieves the Lord when we fail to listen to His voice, and to turn to Him with all our hearts. And there can be no sadder words to hear than to be on the wrong end of the Lord saying, ‘If only you had . . .”Back in 1980, at a time when the Lord was showing us the urgency of our times and calling us to intercede seriously for the nations, He gave us a number of profound and prophetic songs to rally people to this call. Many of these were written by Huw Humphreys. This particular song was written by him, with additional words by Robert Weston. With the help of Mike Halliday on clarinet, Jo Garcia on cello and Christiane von Albrecht on keyboard, Megan Topper shares in the words of that song words and sentiments that speak of the Lord's grief - as well as of His desire for us to heed His call, adjust our heart priorities and respond to His summons to rise up as the army of the Lord. As He looks down over nations and individuals that are straying far from His ways, let’s commit ourselves afresh to giving Him the joy and solace of sharing whole heartedly in the things that He is seeing and feeling.
Continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfil His good purpose. (Phil. 2:12-13) What a blessing Paul’s letters are! Through them we get to know so much about the man, and feel his heart for the people and the churches he was writing to. How amazed he would have been then to learn how deeply the words that he dictated then from his place of confinement have touched by far the great majority of every Christian who has ever lived! With the book of Philippians being so particularly cram full of jewels, gems and reminders to rejoice in God, and to keep seeking Him whatever we are going through outwardly, you are sure to be blessed by this message I gave at our church from the second half of chapter two of Paul's letter to the Philippians.
If you are a sports fan, you will be more than familiar with this much-loved Welsh hymn. It is far less likely, however, that you will have come across the English translation of the words. the two million Welsh immigrants who made their home in America, (especially in New England, the Carolinas, Georgia and Alabama but also as representative of the multitude of nations that have combined to make America the nation that it is today. The title of the hymn Calon Lân, (which means a pure heart) makes it a particularly pertinent and poignant thing to pray for America at this time, as a kind of antidote to the prevailing materialism. I don't ask for a luxurious life,the world's gold or its fine pearls,I ask for a happy heart,an honest heart, a pure heart.A pure heart full of goodnessIs fairer than the pretty lily,None but a pure heart can sing,Sing in the day and sing in the night.If I wished for worldly wealth,It would swiftly go to seed;The riches of a virtuous, pure heartWill bear eternal profit.Evening and morning, my wishRising to heaven on the wing of songFor God, for the sake of my Saviour,To give me a pure heart.
The beautiful music is a Lullaby from Philip Spratley's Outlaw Suite, Opus 12. Lord, let me keep saying Yes to you! You have made known to me the paths of life; and You will fill me with joy in your presence. You reign over heaven and earth (Rev. 19:6), and I will give You thanks at all times, and in all places, for all things. In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ (Eph. 5:20). My heart pants after You, for though Your way is mysterious and leads through the sea where your footprints are not seen, and even in the whirlwind, Your love is stronger than death, and Your desire for me is so much keener than mine for You, yet always leading home to You. You are not a servant to do our bidding and yet You allow us to enquire of You and (Ezekiel 36:37), and You take into account the little that we offer You. Come in Your glory and fill our hearts. Refresh our spirits with sweet cordial and living water from Your heavenly streams. Lift us above our limitations to embrace Your limitless life, so from that resting place we in turn may cultivate faith and creativity in the hearts and lives of many. Shape the likeness of Your Son in us, so that we do not miss out on any part of Your wonderful, uplifting command to rejoice in You, yes to rejoice always in You: to rejoice – always – in You, O God our eternal resting place, for we dwell under the shadow of Your wing. (Phil. 3:1, 4:4).
More or less every day, and for some of us many times each day perhaps, we read or hear of examples of tyranny, corruption and injustice. When feelings of upset over specific situations combine with the accumulated weight of many such instances, it can easily get under our skin and leave us feeling very vulnerable. I was feeling this way the other day and felt the Lord directing me, as so often, to the Psalms for an antidote. Psalm 10 stood out in particular, so I have adapted verses from it for this very brief meditation, with a bit of help from Isaiah, and then continued by way of some much more soothing and uplifting promises that help us to take the longer-term view. How much better to take our feelings – and the situations themselves – to the Lord in prayer than to seethe and rage! After all human annoyance and anger can never of themselves bring about the righteousness that God desires! (James 1:20) ‘Peace to the soul’ is one of the very first pieces of music that I composed (as opposed to songs for the Lord) back in 2013. May the music minister to you, along with the words, which I read with Sally Mowbray.
Welcome to this opening track in the second part of our series on Yahweh-Mephalti: the Lord our Deliverer. We will be praying here for a whole selection of situations where people are in distress and in immediate need of His help. Prayer flows more deeply when it is soaked and wrapped in worship - and we are very pleased to share this really precious time of worship in the Spirit that Carol Sampson led at one of Colin Urquhart's Faith Camps in the early 1990s. It draws us deeply into the courts of the Lord - and who knows where that will take us, or how He will lead us from that precious place? Do be open to Him leading you far beyond the prayer suggestions that we offer here! Arise O God on behalf of the afflicted! In the morning, LORD, You hear my voice;in the morning I lay my requests before You, and wait expectantly.By Your great love, I can come into Your house,bow down in reverence toward Your holy temple and ask You to arise and send Your mighty life-changing power into the situations I bring to You this day.
Back in 1599, Philipp Nicolai, a Lutheran pastor who ministered in plague-struck communities, wrote the words of this hymn:How lovely shines the Morning Star!The nations see and hail afarthe light in Judah shining.O David's son of Jacob's race,my Bridegroom and my King of grace,for you my heart is pining.Huw Sung wrote an exquisite tune to accompany it, which Gerard le Feuvre and Sarah Blamire led us in at one of our conferences in the 1990s. Huw has kindly given us permission to use this version of it. Here are the rest of the words.Lowly, holy,great and glorious,O victoriousPrince of graces,filling all the heav'nly places.2 O highest joy by mortals won,true Son of God and Mary's son,the highborn King of ages!In your blest body let me be,e'en as the branch is in the tree,your life my life supplying.Sighing, cryingfor the savorof your favor,resting nevertill I rest in you forever.3 O mighty Father, in your Sonyou loved me ere you had begunthis ancient world's foundation.Your Son has made a friend of me,and when in spirit him I see,I joy in tribulation.What bliss is this!He is living,to me givinglife forever;nothing me from him can sever.4 Oh, joy to know that you, my friend,are Lord, beginning without end,the first and last, eternal!And you at length — O glorious grace —will take me to that holy placethe home of joys supernal.Amen, amen!Come and meet me,quickly greet me!With deep yearning,Lord, I look for your returning.5 Lift up the voice and strike the string,let all glad sounds of music ringin God's high praises blended.Christ will be with me all the way,today, tomorrow, ev'ry daytill trav'ling days are ended.Sing out ring outtriumph glorious,O victoriouschosen nation;praise the God of your salvation.
Throughout the course of human history, God has heard the cries of countless individuals and groups who have called out to Him for deliverance from unbearable circumstances, as well as from a crushing awareness of their own shortcomings and failings. Set to Gustav Holst’s beautiful Somerset Suite, this introductory track celebrates some of the Lord’s many acts of deliverance, from the days of Moses through to the miracles by which He delivered the apostles in their times of need. His arm is not shortened; He has not changed, and we seek Him with all our heart.
Featuring an instrumental version of the beautiful hymn, ‘O Sons and daughters of the King,’ this track narrates specific miracles of deliverance Yahweh Mephalti did on behalf of two very different people: the British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and the faithful Romanian pastor, Richard Wurmbrand. Not all of us will know of the miracles God did to protect Churchill’s life: they are a great testimony to His power. And though most of us will know how the Lord preserved Richard Wurmbrand through many years of brutal imprisonment, we may not be familiar with the extraordinary story of how God used His servant’s time in prison to bless others even on the far side of the world by spreading the liberating message of the gospel in a most unusual way. In all such acts of deliverance, the Lord’s angels, His ministering spirits, play a vital role: not only through their extensive worship and service in the courts of Heaven but in the way they protect and enable us during our service for the Lord on Earth. May the Lord send unseen angels even this day to aid and succour many who find themselves in great need of rescue and relief.
Many fake news reports, false doctrines and wicked forces bombard people’s minds as the enemy of souls attempts to lead even the elect of God astray. Mercifully, our Lord Jesus is able to increase our discernment and keep us free from deception – provided only that we are diligent and vigilant in seeking Him, so that He may be able to present us before His glorious presence without fault and with great joy. (Jude 1:4)The track features a brief extract from an improvisation that we called ‘Cacophonous Harmony (!)’ followed by the poignant opening theme of Frederick Delius’ ‘Florida Suite,’ which in turn leads on to Gareth Sampson’s deeply moving ‘Now the years have passed.’
There are definitely no prizes on offer for identifying the music on this track! It is the lovely aria, ‘Sheep may safely graze’ from Bach’s Cantata BWV 208. How precious it is to know that we have been delivered from the orbit of our preoccupations to become the beloved ‘sheep of the Lord’s pasture’ – and even, as He sees us, His crown and masterpiece; His living poem, as Paul puts it, created anew in Christ Jesus to do the good deeds He has planned and purposed all along for us to do. (Eph. 2:10)
Set to the exquisite Andante from Borodin’s second string quartet, this track explores one of the really great mysteries of the faith: that it was not by forcibly resisting the hostile authorities that Jesus accomplished the salvation of the world, but rather by handing Himself over to them. For more on this radical idea, see the chapter The Stature of Waiting in Ravens and the Prophet. https://ruachministries.co.uk/ravens-and-the-prophet-the-stature-of-waiting
Celebrating the truth that God is our everlasting refuge and strength, even in a world that appears to be spinning out of control, this track features a piece that I wrote for Thomas Herzog to play on the cor anglais, as well as Carol Sampson’s own arrangement of the joyous hymn ‘God is love.’
The magnificent opening movement of Vivaldi’s concerto for two trumpets, which is played for us here by Anthony Thompson and Kevin Ashman, accompanies an exploration of some of the apparent contradictions we so often feel between how things are now, and how they will be in God’s glorious future. He truly is the Lord of History – and in His sight there is no breech in the continuity between the way He leads us now and how He will do so later in Heaven. What an amazing thought it is that He delivers us from so much dross and so many dangers now in order that we may be with Him for eternity!
Revolving around an instrumental version of Et in Terra Pax from Vivaldi’s Gloria, (‘And on Earth peace and goodwill towards all’) this finale to part one in this series speaks of . . . Well, have a listen and hear for yourself. May Yahweh Mephalti bless you as you do so.
I woke up a few days ago thinking of this song that Huw Humphries wrote a few years ago. It feels a very relevant time to release this reminder to Israel of His kindness and goodness - and that even though they have so often failed to respond to Him, He has given them their land once again, and longs to draw many hearts there to worship Him. May it be a blessing to you, and a renewed incentive to pray.
The song started with God challenging me to sing at the keyboard one day when praying for a friend who was going through some very difficult things. It's a song that is highly appropriate for anyone going through hard times, as the Psalmist cries out to the Lord in anguish, declaring God's strength, and that He is our Rock and refuge.Written and sung by Sally Mowbray © 2022Jo Garcia - CelloNicola Gerrard - Flute
Leah’s Song set to a traditional Welsh melody, The AshgroveThe despairing words of the original song tell of a lover wandering in an ash grove, mourning the loss of the love of his life who has been taken from him too soon. I have given this beautiful folk tune a new focus, however, by taking for its subject the potentially tragic biblical figure of Jacob’s first wife, Leah.Subtly substituted for her more flamboyant sister into Jacob’s tent on his wedding night, on the pretence that local custom required the eldest daughter to be married first, Leah would forever live with the shadow of knowing that her husband infinitely preferred Rachel. She could so easily have wasted away under their withering disregard, especially as it was increasingly aggravated by Rachel’s sharp thorns and darts of envy toward her fertile sister.As one who must have suffered much in terms of feeling unwanted and rejected, Leah represents many who feel disregarded and mistreated. To her credit, she learned to praise God, even in her sorrow. The names she chose for her children reflect something of her journey: she knew that the Lord had seen that she was unloved and that He had opened her womb in response. (Gen. 29:31) She named her firstborn Reuben, which sounds like the Hebrew for ‘He has seen my misery.’ Her second was Simeon, for God is ‘one who hears,’ and her third Levi: ‘God will join,’ so named in the hope that God would finally cause her husband to love her.But her fourth son drew forth a new song from her – Judah: “This time, I will praise the Lord.” (Gen. 29:25) Well done, Leah! Your children were indeed amongst those who would become the founding fathers of Israel – and it was from Judah’s own line, of course, that would come not only King David, that great composer of psalms, but the Saviour of the whole world. You, like Leah, may not have been blessed with a strong constitution, but you learned where to direct your heart in praise, and in time you became the mother of a nation – and an inspiration for each one of us to praise the Lord when we find ourselves in strange and uncharted territory.The second verse of our re-rendering of this song gives voice to our praise, adapting the words of the prolific American composer, Katherine Davis, who used the melody to set one of her own hymns. Let us indeed raise our song of thanksgiving!To Leah was given a husband unbiddenIn the darkness he mistook her for the love of his lifeHe had waited for Rachel and longed to be her husbandBut then in the morning came the shock of his lifeThis shame, would it now consume her, not being beloved by Jacob He setting his heart on Rachel to be first and not her?In praise Leah found refuge, not heeding her sadness,For God saw her mis'ry and blessed her estate.Let all things now living a song of thanksgivingTo God the creator triumphantly raise;You fashioned and made us, protect and direct us, and guide us like Leah, to the end of our days.Your banner is o'er us, Your power goes before us,A pillar of fire shining forth in the night.Till shadows have vanished and darkness is banishedYour purposes prosper as we pour forth our praise.Words of the first verse by Robert WestonKeys and vocals - Sally MowbrayGuitar - David Booth
Music: Lauda 2, written and performed by Bill KleinGod, give us worthwhile work to do,and precious people to befriend for You.Meet with Your people, Lord, as they go to work this day.May all they do help to fulfil Your purposes in the world.Use us wherever we go today, more perhaps than we realise at the time.Grant to those who work in spiritually sterile places an awareness of Your presence and Your pleasure;a quiet determination to be there for You, rather than a slow counting of the hours.Bless those who are looking for work.Grant them hope and inspiration in their seeking – and joy and success in the finding.Help me not to try to play a role that is not mine to play.Let my heart be transparent so that people will trust me, and I can be open to them.Grant me grace to listen to what people have to say.It’s important to them and to You;And when I do speak, help me to bring Your love and wisdom.Fill the land with godly workers and God-inspired enterprise.Grant vision skill and good time management to the self-employed to fulfil their call.May our daily work and our spiritual vocation go hand in hand.Bless those who face ridicule or hostility for loving You.Help them know how to respond and proceed,and grant them opportunities to show and share the love of Christ.Help those who are wrestling with difficult or important decisions;and for those who have exams or interviews to sit.
Music: Lauda 3, written and performed by Bill KleinThis is an extract from an exhortation Hilda gave her monks and nuns in the seventh Century at the great double monastery of Whitby.So trade with the gifts God has given you.Bend your minds to holy learning that you may escape the fretting moth of littleness of mind that would wear out your souls.Brace your wills to action that they may not be the spoils of weak desires.Train your hearts and lips to song, which gives courage to the soul.Being buffeted by trials, learn to laugh.Being reproved, give thanks.Having failed, determine to succeed.
Music: Vivaldi: 'Autumn' - Concerto No. 3 in F major from The Four SeasonsMusicians: Shirley Richards, Suzanne Herzog, Helen Rees, Julian Chang, Jo GarciaLord, we remember those who have meant a lot to us but from whom we have grown apart. Help us not to resent those who, for whatever reason, appear to have distanced themselves from us. Help us to honour the stand that they take for You, and their desire to seek after You. In Jesus’ name - bless those who were once our close friends and who are still Your beloved ones to this day.
Music: Francis Cummings: Psalm 45Musicians: Francis Cummings, Cathie Muncey, Natalie Halliday, (strings) Mike Halliday (clarinet), Jane Horsfall (Celtic Harp) James Horsfall (keyboard)CS Lewis said, ‘God whispers to us in our pleasures; He speaks in our conscience, but He shouts in our pain; it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.’Lord, we ask that You will come especially close now to all who are in special need of grace: the bereaved and confused, the downtrodden and destitute,and those who are suffering for the sake of righteousness.Father, I confess that my heart is often cold and indifferent to those who are suffering for loving You.I pray now for those whose lives and liberty are at risk for loving You.As you strengthened Paul in his sufferings, abundantly comfort all imprisoned saints this day.Give them strength and health in their times of trial.Deliver them and their loved ones from the poison of fearful thoughts, and bless them,and the communities that they represent, for the costly stand that they have taken.May they never feel alone in their sufferingbut sense Your presence very close to them in this, the time of their ordeal.May hope continue strong in their hearts, and minds and spirits remain unfettered,whatever men would do to them.In the name of Jesus, who sets the captives free, lead us now as we pray.
Music: An oboe concerto by Marcello and a sonata by Jean Baptiste LoeilletMusicians: Amy Roberts (oboe), Francis Cummings, Claire Lewis Lim, Chian Lewis Lim, Corinne Frost, Matthew Deakin (strings)It’s been said that there are no atheists on the night before a battle. Help us to seek You, Lord, in our times of crisis.‘I cry out to God Most High, who fulfils His purposes for Me.’In all our distress You too are distressed. In all our hurting You are present.Be with us in all the unexpected difficulties and dangers that we encounter on our way.‘I cry out to God Most High, who fulfils His purposes for Me.’Be with all who wrestle with inner doubts and struggles today,or who are experiencing a sense of shame.‘I cry out to God Most High, who fulfils His purposes for Me.’Lord, I am susceptible to discouragement.It is the most insidious of all the devil’s temptations because it severs the nerve of kingdom love and enterprise.Stir my spirit to keep on trusting You, and not to succumb to the pangs of despondency.‘I cry out to God Most High, who fulfils His purposes for Me.’Help me to go on seeking You even when You seem very far way.‘I cry out to God Most High, who fulfils His purposes for Me.’Thank You that You are determined to drive complacency and unbelief far from our hearts.Beyond the turmoil, may we glimpse Your glory.Come, Spirit of fire, burn up the dross in our hearts.Send such people and circumstances into our lives as will help Your light to shine in our hearts.In the name of Jesus, the Refiner of His peopleOur needs are known to You, Lord, yet You want us to bring them to You.Grant us everything that will help us to do Your work most effectively.Your coming is sure but unannounced:come now and be glorified in the meeting of our needs.In the name of Jesus, the One who meets our needs.
Music: The Second movement of Torelli’s trumpet Concerto in D (Etienne), plusan improvisation on the theme.Musicians: Philippa Barton, Helen Rees, Julian Chan, Jo Garcia, (strings) James Horsfall (keyboard)Solzhenitsyn wrote, ‘The line dividing good and evil cuts through the hearts of every human being, and which of us is willing to destroy a piece of his own heart?’Make us willing to face the things we need to face.Help us to overcome evil not just by avoiding infringing specific laws,but by being diligent in seeking You.May no pressures from within or without blunt our zeal for You.Lord, deliver us from evil.Confound confusion and scatter all the powers that are arrayed against us.Increase the flow of trust and the spirit of prayer within our hearts.“No weapon forged against you will prevail, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you.This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and this is their vindication from me," declares the Lord.We pray for those whose days are spent in close proximity to scheming people and corrupt and evil systems.Remind and reassure them that their present condition will not last for ever,that You will find a way to break the chains that bind them and set them free.In their loneliness, draw near. Keep them from inner confusion and alienation.Help us not to be gullible in the face of evil, Lord, but to recognise it clearly for what it is –even if that means admitting that we ourselves have been at fault.Help us to avoid excuses and denials which hinder Your work of truth.
Music: A beautiful piece that Richard Williamson originally improvised, followed by further improvisationsMusicians: Julian Chang (viola soloist) Julia Herzog, Shirley Richards, Suzanne Herzog, (strings), James Horsfall (keyboard)Forgive us, Lord, that we are the generation that believes in our disbelief.There is no limit to the depravity that we have fallen into, Lord, or to the cynicism we have embraced.Are You not right when You decree your judgement against a land that has enthroned ways contrary to Your laws?Yet just as we have experienced Your mercy in our own lives, so we dare to pray that You will look with favour, even now, on our land.Be not a passing stranger or an unwelcome guest,but come as the Bright Morning Star, as the ruler and leader of Your people,and the Saviour of the Land.High King of HeavenRemember not what we have done,Nor all we deserve,But for Your own name’s sakeRenew and restore Your people.Send a fresh wave of Your Spirit,And raise up Your co-workers to rebuild Your church and win this nation for Christ.We ask in the name of Jesus and for Your glory, Lord.High King of Heaven, as nations rage in turmoil, we proclaim the coming KingWho has promised to return and who is standing at the door.Break open the doors that are closed to You, that those far away may be drawn to You,And those at odds with each other find each other again in You.Even though we live surrounded by people who love us, Lord, there come times when we feel utterly isolated, when only You can know the sorrow in our heart.Perhaps You have designed it like this, Lord, so that when the trials feel too heavy for us to bear on our own,we have to hand them to You.Help us not to doubt You in the darkness, nor to hold back from following You.And though it sometimes seems as though the hour of opportunity has passed us by,and darkness has tolled its bell, yet we praise You that You never change, You are always the same.Grant us courage to attempt what You have put within our hearts to do, for it is as we set out to do things that You send Your blessing.‘Do not be afraid,I have come to save you.You are special to me,and I know your name.When the deep dark waters of trouble swirl around you,I am with you.Water now the roots of our hearts, that our spirits may not wither.At the scent of water, let them spring back to life again.
Music: Albinoni: Opus 9, no. 2 D minor oboe concerto – 2nd movt. AdagioMusicians: Anthony Thompson, (trumpet) Philippa Barton, Helen Rees, Julian Chang, Jo Garcia (strings)Simon Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, where are You going?”Jesus answered him, “Where I’m going you cannot come, for the moment, but you shall follow me afterwards.”Death is not the extinguishing of light, but the blowing out of the candle because the dawn has come.’Father we place into Your hands all who are grieving now, who have had hopes or loved ones snatched away.Great heart of our heart, comfort and support them in their loneliness. May good memories live on and vain regrets be resisted.Grant them Your supernatural peace and the confidence to know that there will be new life beyond the loss and abandonment – and that You will somehow replace all that they have lost or had taken from them.Come Spirit of HopePour out Your Mercy on us.Come Spirit of GraceBid condemnation flee away.Come Spirit of GloryAnoint Your people now.There is no hopeUnless You provide it,There is no graceUntil You intervene.There is no gloryUntil Your Spirit comes.
Music: Vivaldi: Concerto in D minor Op. 8:7 2nd movement.Musicians: Shirley Richards, Helen Rees, Cathie Muncey, Chian Lewis Lim, Corinne Frost, (strings) Fontane Liang (harp)Bless all who even now are waking up on the far side of the world and looking to You.Hold our nation in the palm of Your hand.As night falls and the workers of darkness bestir themselves,Protect our land from their malice and from acts of wanton destruction.Loose each victim from those who send out tormenting spells,From all snares of seduction and bewitching,from lust and depravity,from despondency and despair.May the outstretched hand of the Lord push back the frontiers of darkness, and grant such strength and succour that those who follow You may never tire of serving You.Lord, we follow Your leading now, as You prompt our spirits to pray now,far beyond our place of work or neighbourhood,far beyond our Christian circles and connections,Holy Spirit of Prayer, set our hearts free to follow Your leading now.
Music: From the Oboe Concerto by CimarosaMusicians: Thomas Herzog, (oboe) Francis Cummings, Suzanne Herzog, Chian Lewis Lim, Corinne Frost, Jo Garcia (strings)In the stillness of my heart, Lord, I wait for You. I long to hear Your voice and to follow You.Help me to recognise and harness those emotions which are creativeand to avoid those which are destructive.When I’m feeling angry, let it make me more prayerful –but let it not consume me with resentment or leave me bent on vengeance.Deliver us from our fears, Lord, but help us to recognise which ones need to be resistedand which may be telling us something important about ourselves.May no lack of courage cause us to miss the opportunities that You send our way.Thank You that You guide us carefully and gently.If You had not refreshed us, we would not have made it this far.Help us to resist the many accusations and the guilt which the Accuser of the Brethren sends our way.Help us to overcome the nagging thought that we have nothing much to offer,for this makes us so much less willing to attempt things for You.Keep us from a “hardening of the oughteries” –that nagging sense that we ought to be doing more than we are,or be doing something else altogether.Develop within us a deeper sense of steadfastness and gratitudeas an antidote to these restless and compulsive thoughts.When I’m feeling hesitant and uncertain Lord, rebuke the fear.You are so much greater than my fears and dismal forebodings.Help me to notice who is fearful and drifting, and to go out after them,just like a sheep dog rounding up sheep.We declare war on those fears and worries which make us believe that all is at an end,when, in reality, You still have so much to do in and through our lives.
Music: Minor Muse by Colin OwenAlmighty God, give us grace to cast away the works of darkness and put upon us the armour of light.Lord, You alone know our inmost thoughts and the true condition of our heart.Overcome our reluctance to seek You and deepen our trust in Your dealings with us, Lord.For where we are tempted to see only difficulties You see a whole range of possibilities.Strengthen our will to serve You, that we may give no foothold to the watching powers of darkness.Stir up a worshipping warrior spirit within us.Where we have difficult choices to make and tasks to attempt,guide us in our decision-making and keep us diligent in seeking You.Grant me the strength to await Your timing, for if I insist on doing things my way,it’s much harder for You to be able to do them Your way.Help us to recognise when evil forces are at work, in our own hearts and situations,in our churches, and amongst the nations of the world.Help us to turn and face You, Lord,for even when evil does strike,You can still bring good out of it.Help us to take our stand for You against these things.Come by Your Spirit’s power to rescue those who are in the grip of evil forces.Grant courage to those who find themselves obliged to take a course of action which they would much prefer not to have to take. Help them know that if You have directed this course, then however hard the path, it will be safe and right and necessary.Be with them every step of the way.
Music: One thing I ask; Huw Humphries and Wellspring, ‘Echoes of Hildegarde’ (Improvisation by Linda Entwistle Jesus det eneste (Jesus, the only One, Norwegian hymn); Andreas Henkel, Wie lieblich sind Deine Wohnungen (Ps. 84)Musicians: Wellspring; Linda Entwistle; Mike Halliday (clarinet), Peter Richards (French horn), Teresa Brasier, Hilary Trotter, Helen Rees, Jo Garcia and Anna Frazer (strings), Nicola Gerard and Elizabeth Long (flutes), Justin Coldstream (keyboard), David Booth (guitar), Beth Davies (bassoon),As the waters flow each day into the harbour, so each tide marks a new beginning. We trust You Lord to make this new beginning in our hearts and to lead us on to glory. Let nothing and no one thwart Your purposes, but may You receive the joy and the praise as we become the people You long for us to be.In the name of the One who was, and is, and is to come. Amen.Jesus, lover of My soul, hold me in Your arms.Develop goodness in my heart through the fire of Your Holy Spirit.Keep me alert and watchful in my spirit.Let no fear hold me back from serving You,No harsh or unclean thought lodge within my heart.Lord, grant blessing to my feet to take me where they should go,To my heart to respond to You from one moment to the next,To my mind to think Your thoughts,To my spirit to know when someone is in need.Thank You that You wish to bless each day that lies ahead,And make it special in Your sight;I live it, Lord, for You.Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.Thank You that You do not close the gate of repentance in our faces.Therefore, I can bring You all the wrongs that I have done today:the thoughts that have wandered and strayed,the pains that I have caused myself, the mischief I have done to others,and all the subtle ways by which I betray You.Look not on my sins but on Your mercy.May many today experience afresh the joy of repentanceand discover that there is nothing You love more than giving people a fresh start.Thank You for Your constant love which welcomes us backand celebrates when we turn from that which is wrong.How can we love God if we hate our brother?Whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness;he does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded him. (1 John 2:9)We never touch Your heart so much as when we love our enemies.Lord, I set my will to bless those who have hurt me, and to love those who hate me,for I am, perhaps, no closer to You, than I am to the person I like least in the world.When people are determined to make life hard for us,may Your Spirit help us to find ways to turn even this hassle and aggression around for good.Forgive us for condemning in others the very things which we excuse in ourselves,or which we are most ashamed of in ourselves.Keep us open to the possibility that there may be other perspectives which are at least as true as our own.May there be no bitterness in my heart;no refusal to forgive or, where appropriate, to attempt reconciliation.Grant me grace to forgive myself, too, Lord Jesus, for all the foolish things I’ve said and done.Set Your people free from the tormenting shafts of condemnationand bring them into the full liberty of the sons of God.We forgive and pray Your special blessing onthose denominations, groups and individuals which we have been hurt by,or which we find it hard to relate to.Make them fruitful and full of joy in serving You.The Lord your God will take great delight in you.He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.Lord, I love You. As I wait on Your now, show me anything You would have me see.Is my desire for You still strong?Are my attitudes honouring?Are there things that You have shown me and that I have yet to respond to?Bring to mind the nudges that You have sent my way and such memories as You want me to ponder or enjoy.
When I hesitate, help me not to falter or to hesitate with what You have given me to do, for when I hesitate I give ground to the enemy. Free me from trying to carry responsibilities that are not mine to carry, and from avoiding those which are. Lord, free us from judgmental thoughts and assumptions, that trap us and others in unhelpful patterns of behaviour. Keep us from the pitfalls of pride and peer-group pressure. Confront our selfishness and purify our motives.Forgive the hard thoughts we harbour against those who do not readily think well of us; especially those who are in a position of authority or influence over us.Judge of all men, Fountain of Forgiveness, we lay down our prejudices and our judgemental criticisms. May the grace of the Holy Spirit set us free from ingrained responses which harden our attitudes. Break open such relationships as have become imprisoned in bitterness or deadened by years of mutual non-respect. Judge of all men, Fountain of Forgiveness, be glorified in giving us new ways of thinking and loving. Where my focus has shrunk and I have become obsessed with my own concerns, broaden my horizons again. We yield ourselves afresh to You, Lord; our hopes and dreams, our lives and reputations. You hold the key not only to our hearts, but to every situation that we will ever face. Lead us out to bless the people, and the nations that You would have us pray for – for this is the work of Heaven and joy to our soul. We give them all to You, because we love You with all the love of our heart. May the blood of Jesus cleanse and cover us, our loved ones, and all who seek to follow You.
Music: From the Oboe Concerto by CimarosaMusicians: Thomas Herzog, (oboe) Francis Cummings, Suzanne Herzog, Chian Lewis Lim, Corinne Frost, Jo Garcia (strings)Cleanse our inmost desires.Help us to love what You love and to hate the ways by which evil appeals to our senses.Straighten out our muddled longings, Lord – especially those which would make us quest after things which in reality would do us a great deal of harm.Lord, deliver us from evil.May humility, truth and love safeguard us from the evil one.When I see someone who is so much more obviously blessed and gifted than I am, help me not to feel rejected or passed over.Keep me from the sharp pangs of jealousy and envy. I hand these feelings to You now.Lord, deliver us from the power of envy and rejection.Release my heart to weep with those who weep and to rejoice with those who rejoice.
Music: Per Crucem (Taize)Musicians: WellspringDear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from him anything we ask, because we obey his commands and do what pleases him. [1 John 3:18]As we come to the end of this day, LordWe praise You for the grace that You have poured upon us.So many gifts and blessings that You have showered upon us.Thank You for all Your mercies, big and small.Lord, Your presence is strong now at the end of the day.Guard this fragile candle - let nothing put out its light.I hand back to You every hurt that I have sustained,Every situation that remains unresolved and every disappointmentthat has saddened and weighed me down.Draw their sting and turn them round for Your glory.Let no residue of bitterness or despair cloud my mind or cloak my spirit.Help me push through each obstacle on the way,Until what You have promised comes to pass.Where trust has been damaged, salve my wounds and repair the breach.May our deep desire to be with YouKeep us from evil and ward off danger,May Your angels stand guard over us.As we prepare to rest in You.Immerse us now in the depths of Your love.Cleanse the stream of our thoughts.And soak us in the life that is life.Settle our spirits in the Peace of all peace,In the stillness and awareness of the host of heaven.Quiet our minds from the cares and worries that we have borne this day.So much feels fragile -- Take care of that which we cannot for ourselves.Rest and restore our bodies in the warmth of Your presence.Put fears and fancies to flight that they may not haunt our sleep.Grant rest to all who have laboured this day in Your service.May their sleep be rich in the awareness of Your love.In the name of the Father, who gives sleep to His beloved,the Prince of Peace, who gives life to our souls,and the Spirit of Power, who gives meaning to our days, Amen.
Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love;according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions.Have mercy upon us, O Lord, have mercy, according to Your unfailing love have mercy,according to your unfailing riches in Christ, O Lord hear our prayer.Hear the longing of Your people for righteousness to prevail,and for Your glory to visit our land.May your mercy come quickly to meet us, for we are in desperate need.Fountain of FavourRenew the hearts of Your peopleFountain of WorshipRestore the hearts of Your peopleWellspring of JoyRenew and restore the hearts of Your peopleIn the name of the One who was, and is, and is to come. Amen.
Lord, I focus now on You, with all my heart and mind and soul.Teach me how to rest and play and prayand send my spirit soaring far and wide.Let Your angels inspire and direct meAnd bring the touch of heaven very near.Watch over my emotions, Lord,Let no wayward fears or longings rule my heart.Capture wayward thoughts and wild emotionsRestore my heart to silenceExpand my heart to love.Focus my heart on You, Lord,lest it seek wrong and foolish things.Still the darting flitting shafts of longingAnd fill my emptiness with the awareness of Your Presence.Focus my eyes, Lord,Lest they wander and strayRestrain and retrain my tongue, Lord,To speak words that strengthen and build others up.May no reckless decisions or rash and hurtful wordsBring trouble to myself or others today.Focus my mind, Lord.To think Your thoughts and to pray Your prayers.I offer You My eyes to see for YouMy heart to seek and rest in YouMy whole being to love You.In the name of Him who formed the eye and planted the ear, Amen.
As we know, David faced huge trials at every stage of his life: external ones, for sure, as wave after wave of devastating reverses came his way (along with unparalleled opportunities), but also internal ones, causing him to wrestle with both the challenges that faced him, and his own shortcomings. His perseverance and persistence in seeking the Lord in and through each such tossing tidal wave were what brought so many of his psalms to birth – and in such a way that they in turn have given us a voice and language with which to express our own journeys, turmoils and celebrations. What a debt we owe to this poet-warrior-king, and father of the nation! We are going to ponder here something of the accumulative toll that repeated shocks had taken on David’s hitherto resilient heart – most especially the impact that his son Absalom's revolt had on him, causing him to have to flee for his life into the wilderness. What we find in this track is David deliberately turning from despair to worship. We have set it to the final movement of Ludwig van Beethoven’s stunning Fourth String Quartet – for here is a composer who likewise suffered many deeply upsetting hindrances and relational challenges in his life. Together with his deafness, these seriously affected his mental and emotional state. Like David in this respect at least, Beethoven continued to find ways to set down on manuscript paper the vast span of his magnificent musical mind so that we might all benefit.
On this track we are taking something of an aside from the literal story of David’s time in the wilderness to imagine David being caught up in a ‘green pastures’ moments, pouring out his heart in love and trust to the Lord as he had done on so many previous occasions in less challenging circumstances, using Eugene Peterson’s paraphrase of the opening verses of Psalm 63 in The Message as the starting point for this reflection. We have set this outpouring of worship to the second movement of Sophia Dussek’s lovely Harp Sonata in C minor, which Fontane Liang plays beautifully for us here.
Learning to worship, and to be content in all circumstances is not something that comes easily to most of us. When we have endured many stern and bruising challenges, it can be hard to pursue and grasp hold of that spirit. Having found, or more probably rediscovered it, however, knowing when to rest in contentment, and when (and how) to resist something that is not right, is a matter of both experience and discernment. (Compare Luke 3:14, 1 Tim. 6:8 and Heb. 13:5 with James 4:7 and 1 Pet. 5:9) One thing is for certain, all who are eager to move in the power of God will inevitably find themselves going through many tests and trials, just as David did – however much smaller out own may be. As the Jewish sage Joshua ben Sirach reminds us,My child, when you come to serve the Lord, prepare yourself for testing.Set your heart right and be steadfast, and do not be impetuous in time of calamity.Cling to Him and do not depart, so that your last days may be prosperous.Accept whatever befalls you, and in times of humiliation be patient. For gold is tested in the fire, and those found acceptable, in the furnace of humiliation.Trust in Him, and He will help you; make your ways straight, and hope in Him.You who fear the Lord, wait for His mercy; do not stray, or else you may fall.You who fear the Lord, trust in Him, and your reward will not be lost. (Sirach 2:1-8 NRSV) The Scriptures remind us so often that we are not able ultimately to control events, and that we are not meant to be self-reliant but rather rooted and grounded in God – especially when inevitable tests come our way. It is so helpful to remember that, when the devil is tempting us, the Lord is often using the occasion to test and try our soul, so that we might ‘come forth as gold.’ (Job 23:10, 1 Pet. 1:7)
When Absalom launched his lethal attack against his father, and drove King David into the wilderness, we can imagine the pain in David's father heart.In this piece we have imagined David longing for his son in such a way that we can make it the basis for our own cries to God on behalf of those we love and are concerned for, but who are currently not walking with the Lord Jesus.The stunning first piece of music is by Francis Cummings and is called Síocháin: which evokes a calm and gentle peace in Irish Gaelic.As the name indicates, the music is in the Celtic tradition.This is followed by a lovely piece for piano by Justin Coldstream that we have called 'Inheritance.' It looks forward to our children and loved ones reaching out to receive the new birth that the Lord is offering them: 'a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade, and which is kept in Heaven for you, who, through faith, are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.' (1 Pet. 1:3-5)
Jesus boldly declared that ‘The meek with inherit the Earth.’ (Matt. 5:5) But who are the meek? It is not primarily people who have a particularly ‘docile’ nature whom Jesus is talking about here, but rather those who have deliberately humbled themselves before the Lord of Heaven and Earth, and asked Him to be Lord of their lives. Consciously and contritely, they have acknowledged their need of His cleansing and restoration – and in His love and mercy, God has noted and welcomed their reaching out to Him, and made them part of His eternal Kingdom. This lovely song, written by Francis Cummings and sung by Linda Entwistle, brings together twin themes: David’s plea of repentance in Psalm 51 following his moral lapse with Bathsheba, and his great thirst for the Lord, which we have been exploring in Psalm 63. May these qualities of profound repentance on the one hand, and spiritual thirst and desire on the other, be the ongoing stamp and hallmark of our lives – and, in time, of the many ‘prodigals’ we are praying for too.
Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings. (Ps. 63:7)What a blessing it is when, having been caught up in challenging trials and tribulations, there come times of deep such peace and settledness, when we sense the Lord as it were spreading His wings over us. As our friend, the poet Laurie Klein writes, we live in the shadow of God’s ‘wingdom.’ I love that thought! I wonder what the phrase ‘in the shadow of His wings’ speaks of to you?
Many of us will be in the habit of drawing up checklists before setting out on major trips. On a spiritual plane, it is worth checking, too, just what is it that our hearts are a-thirst for. Is it for the Lord’s presence and purposes, or for something more self-centred? May we continue to thirst, long and even pine for the Lord in the way that David speaks of in Psalm 63 – even in those times when we feel more aware of the Lord’s absence than of His presence! As we draw this series to a close, we read the psalm right through one final time, as interpreted by the NLT editors, occasional phrases from the CEV, along with many of the tremendous truths that David declares in Psalm 145. We have set the readings to a piece called Adonai, written and played for us on the Celtic harp by Jane Horsfall.
It can be tempting to put Biblical characters – as well as certain high-profile believers through – on a pedestal as we consider their great exploits and compare them with our own. But, as James writes concerning Elijah, they are people ‘just like us, and . . .’ (Jas. 5:17) I love that ‘and!’ Think of all God adds when we turn and seek Him!David is another such. Like many of us, he had to pass through many bleak and barren wildernesses, and knew His sustaining power even as the pressures piled on, and his life appeared on more than one occasion to be hanging by a mere thread, as the choices and decisions he had made over many years were all illumined by the stark desert light, that was itself a picture of God’s eternal searchlight. Whether as the result of some acute peril, or through the sheer monotony of life in the wilderness, there are crunch times when our human resources seem totally insufficient for the situation that we are facing. But never forget the ‘and.’ The Almighty God is always our refuge and strength. The words of this track are set to a beautiful piece of music by Gareth Sampson, which we recorded last year and feel speaks particularly to refugee situations, as well as an improvisation by Phil Steventon on percussion, with Fontane Liang on harp.
It is not until the last three verses of Psalm 63 that David hints at what he has really been up against, and all that he has to overcome. It is a powerful testimony of faith – as well as a sobering reminder of the fate that awaited those who were seeking his life.The music is from Robert Weston’s ‘Evin Suite,’ and a piece he wrote for cor anglais called ‘The Song of the Stranger in a Strange Land,’ written specifically to help us pray for people who have been displaced.
Finding ourselves in a wilderness of one sort or another can leave us inclined to look back nostalgically to those times when we have seen the Lord so clearly in His sanctuary, and known Him move so powerfully. We long to be back into that place where we delighted in the sense of His presence, and His ready provision that satisfies our needs. Whatever the origin of the wildernesses – yes, even those we have brought on ourselves by our own recklessness or neglect – the invitation to come into His sanctuary remains wide open to us. Beyond each wilderness lies a spacious place. The track is accompanied by a lovely Jewish-inspired piece written by Jane Horsfall, Chai Adonai. The Lord is the Lord of Life! (‘Chai’ means ‘life’ and Adonai is ‘Lord’).
The music that accompanies this outpouring of devotion to God is an instrumental version of a truly exquisite ancient Easter hymn in the Gregorian tradition, O Sons and Daughters of the King. (O filii et filiae).
We have no idea how long David spent in the desert on this occasion. How many nights did he spend out in the wilderness, at risk from animals and his foes alike? Yet, David found ways to strengthen himself in the Lord, even under the onslaught of devastating betrayal and attack. In his youth it had been from King Saul, and it had been from raiders at Ziklag, when even his own people were speaking of stoning him, and then there was this dreadful time when his own son led a full-scale rebellion against him. But always, David turned to the Lord. (1 Sam. 23:14; 30:6; 2 Sam. 15:23)
When pangs of despair press in hard on every side, mere knowledge about God is never going to help us; we must cry out to Him and thrust our way upwards through the darkness to come before the throne of God: “Bring me through, Lord. Open the way. Make it possible. Don’t abandon the work of your hands!” The Lord is no stranger to the desert. The ark of His presence hung suspended from poles as the Levites carried it through the wilderness, and His tent was pitched right in the middle of the Israelite camp each night. (1. Chron. 15:15; Num. 2:1) Seen and worshipped, or unseen and apparently absent, God does not abandon His children when they find themselves in barren wastes as different as can be from the Garden of Eden that He originally intended for them.
He was powerfully present with David in his various times in the midbar wilderness, even as He was with Jesus, during His extended sojourn praying and fasting in the wilderness of Sinai, where wild animals threatened, satan tempted and angels kept watch.
We love it when the water of life is flowing freely through us,’ when praise flows and prayer is just a sheer joy. But how do we cope when, for either a short or a long time, our ‘water levels’ seem to recede and, like David, we find ourselves in a dry and waterless place; when seeking the Lord feels dull, and our circumstances so cramping and constricting that it feels as though all the life is being squeezed out of us.
At times like these, we are more aware of the Lord’s absence than His presence, and even the thought of finding our joy in the Lord, and ‘riding in triumph on the heights of the land,’ as Isaiah puts it, seems a remote prospect. (cf Is. 58:14) In this waterless wilderness, a place of inner strife as well as outward hunger, thirsty and exhausted, David reached out beyond his own plight and deliberately ‘hooked’ himself into the Lord’s goodness by meditating on Him and clinging to Him, remembering all the help He had sent from His sanctuary. When we choose praise over despair, our worship becomes the crook that keeps us looking to the Shepherd. Our confidence grows as we remember how He has led and watched over us in the past, however far away He may feel now. Praise glorifies the Lord and is such an offence in the devil’s nostrils that it messes up his snares. Praise You, Father God. Nothing and no one else can ever satisfy my soul. No one else can deliver me over and over again from all that threatens and hangs over me. You have invited me to feast and drink at Your table – and there is such deep companionship there. But right now, I am so parched for You that my tongue and my body are black in the searing dryness. Keep me from slaking my thirst on things that fritter the time away and merely serve to fuel the desires of my flesh. I want to cultivate the minutes to seek You, Lord, and to escape the downward pull of my fears, the disquieting thoughts that make me focus on the dangers. Wrap yourself in light, Lord God. Show Yourself greater than these pressures. Come in the gentleness of Your presence, in signs and visions that impart the stirrings of fresh hope, and bring whispers of Your love, for it is those who hunger and thirst to be right with You who You promise to bless.
It is night. David is sitting in the doorway of the improvised tent he has pitched in the Judean wilderness, looking out at what lies in front of him. The moon and the stars are illuminating a sweeping expanse of bare sand and rock, a drear, dry and waterless place, as different as can be from the green pastures and still waters of the sheepfolds of his youth.
David was a poet at heart, and he sees in the landscape a mirror to the highly challenging circumstances he found himself in, and the barren condition of his inmost heart and mind. His resilience is at an all-time low, his faith and courage stretched almost to breaking point.
Is this where it will all end for him? He recalls all the wonderful times he used to enjoy in the sanctuary of the Lord: the brightly coloured robes and fragrant incense, the words and music flowing together; a place where the only overshadow came from the cherubim of God, not from any dark power trying to snuff out his life. He craves again that all-encompassing sense of the Lord ‘s presence.
As he gazes, he remembers. There have been many times when the Lord has had to discipline Him severely, but never once has He failed to rescue him. David gathers his thoughts, stretches out his arms, and pours out his heart:
O God, You are my God. Earnestly I seek You; my soul thirsts for You. My body yearns for You in this dry and weary land where there is no water. I have seen You in the sanctuary and beheld Your power and glory. Because Your loving devotion is better than life, my lips will glorify You. I will bless You as long as I live; in Your name I will lift my hands. My soul is satisfied as with the richest of foods. With joyful lips my mouth will praise You! When I remember You on my bed, I think of You through the watches of the night. You are my help. I will sing for joy in the shadow of Your wings. My soul clings to You; Your right hand upholds me. But those who seek my life to destroy it will go into the depths of the earth. They will fall to the power of the sword; they will become a portion for jackals and foxes. But the king will rejoice in God; all who swear by Him will exult, for the mouths of liars will be shut.
We are used to thinking of God as the All-mighty King. What a precious theme that is to ponder on! I have been reflecting recently on that word ‘all’, and the ‘allness’ – the completeness and totality – of God. John has such rich things to say about the all-encompassing intimacy and perfect love that exists between the Father, Son and Spirit, and the completeness of their plan in bringing Creation to birth.No wonder the word ‘all’ occurs so often in Scripture, including in well over three hundred verses in the psalms! Sally, Colin, Harmony and I in this selection of some of these, accompanied by lovely music that we recorded last year at House of the Open Door.Music:Torelli, Sinfonia in C, 3rd movementMusicians:Anthony Thompson on trumpet (all 4 of them!), Peter Richards on the organ, Francis Cummings and Shirley Richards on violin, Christiane Mueller on viola and Corinne Frost on cello.
Music: Mystery Improvisation Musicians: Christiane von Albrecht on piano and Shirley Richards on violinVivaldi, Cum Sancto Spiritu, from his Gloria in DMusicians: Nicola, Megan, Mike, Peter, Anthony, Francis, Philippa, Christiane M, Jo.
Featuring uplifting music for harp by the Spanish composer Manuel de Falla, that is wonderfully played for us by Fontane Liang, the title of the piece, La Vida Breve, reminds us that life is short – and that we are to respond to the Lord’s invitation to come and take the free gift of the water of life. MusicManuel de Falla: Vida BrevePerformed by Fontane LiangFather, at this time, when many people are feeling the lack of things, and the pressures of life are increasing, we want to respond to Your invitation to come to the waters of life and drink freely.The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” . . . To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life . . . Yes, let the one who is thirsty come and take the free gift of the water of life. (Rev. 21:6, 22:17) Do you remember the cry of Isaiah, Israel’s great prophet to the nations, announcing, “Ho everyone who is thirsty, come to the waters!”?We don’t say ‘Ho’ anymore, but it’s a really strong word in Hebrew - rather like God saying ‘Hoy’ to us, or like Jesus saying ‘Verily, verily.’ Most modern versions simply say ’Come,’ while the ultra-modern ones use some such expression as ‘Hey! Or ‘You there!’ It’s a call to take heed and listen. And what a warm and welcoming word ‘come’ is! And what it is we are being invited to come to do? To buy, and drink! In places where water is scare, we wouldn’t be in the least surprised to hear vendors crying out, ‘Drinking Water: come and get it!” But then we would expect to hear a hefty price tag attached: ‘Thirty shekels a hin!’ But not here. Here, we are invited to come without price – to receive and to drink. We’re talking about the river of life which Jesus promised would flow within the hearts of believers (John 7:37). All our springs are meant to be in Him, (Ps. 87:7) and we’re praying today that You will release more of the flow of Your Spirit directly into any areas of our heart where the water level has become cloudy, silted, damned up, or receded – just as water companies open the sluice gates and release additional reserves of water when it is required. Thank You, Jesus, that there is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, that holy place where the Most High dwells. (Ps. 46:4) I love the Hebrew word that is used here for ‘come:’ haw-lak or lə·ḵū. Forgive the pronunciation, but the lovely thing about it is that, depending on the context, it embraces both an invitation to come and a directive to go. In other words, it covers all eventualities. We are meant to come to the Lord to drink so that we can go out in the power of the Spirit. It is the direction of travel in our life that is the most important thing of all.And there are times when our thirst is quenched and we can be perfectly at peace and at rest in You – but Jesus, we’re sorry that so often, we come to You for a brief drink and then, as if satisfied that we have done our duty and had our weekly dose, before just carrying on again with our own concerns. Did You not tell us that it is the Spirit alone who gives life, and that the flesh counts for nothing? (John 6:63 NIV) We’re eager to enter into the fullness of that life, into Your vitality that revives our dull and self-satisfied souls.
The theme of the Lord’s invitation to us continues, this time accompanied by the lapping waters of the River Vltava, (which means ‘Wild Water,’ and is widely known by its German name, the Moldau) as depicted by the Czech composer Bedřich Smetana. Exquisitely performed for us by Fontane Liang, the music beautifully captures the sound of the river as it gathers strength and momentum from its source in the Bohemian mountains, wending its way through a landscape of forests and meadows. It tumbles through the St John’s Rapids before widening out again to pass through Prague on its way to the mighty River Elbe.It is music that is iridescent with Smetana’s love for his homeland, just as we are illumined by the joy of our eternal home as the Holy Spirit flows through our lives. How we need His water of life sparkling within us! At the scent of water, even that which is drooping and failing springs back to life. Why spend our money and direct all our labour to that which cannot satisfy, when He invites us to receive so much more by His Spirit?MusicMoldau from Má Vlast (My Fatherland) by Bedřich SmetanaMusician: Fontane LiangFrom the earliest verses in Genesis, right through to the very end of the Scriptures, we see the great benefits and blessings of water, both physically and spiritually. There are more than seven hundred references to it in the Scriptures – far more occasions than words such as faith or prayer or worship. Thank You Lord that You use water to bring healing, as Naaman discovered when he obeyed the prophet and was healed of his leprosy in the River Jordan, and the blind man likewise, when Jesus enabled him to wash in the pool of Siloam. Thank You that You brought about great deliverance for the people of Israel, first when they crossed the Red Sea and later, the River Jordan at a time when it was in spate. (2 Kings 5:1-14, John 9:1-7; Exodus 14:1-15, 21; Josh. 3:13-17)Rather as protective waters surrounded us in the womb, thank You, Lord, that water symbolises our own deliverance when we were baptised, dying to our old life, and being raised to our new life in Christ. Shepherd of our souls, lead Your people to still waters; give them water to drink even in desert places. How we need the water of life for our bodies and spirit alike! At the scent of water, even that which is drooping and failing springs back to life. Why spend our money and direct all our labour to that which cannot satisfy, when You invite us to receive Your Spirit? We want to listen carefully to You, and to eat what is good, so that our souls can delight in the richest of food, and You can have the joy of seeing a people who are hungering for Your presence, who really are looking for You all the time. So here we are Lord, coming with all our failings and contradictions to receive this soul-replenishing water; coming to buy the wine that gladdens our hearts, and the milk that nourishes our bones. We come to You, leaning in to hear You, listening closely, so that our soul may live. (Is. 55:1-3 BSB)
Water, and rivers, play a vital part in the history of humankind and it is good to celebrate them, but it is even more important to respond to the Lord’s invitation to come to Him and drink of the eternal water of life. In this second part of Smetana’s depiction of the Moldau river, you will love the rippling effects of the water that Fontane captures so beautifully. May you be refreshed in the depths of your spirit as you receive the sparkling water of life from the Lord’s own hands.MusicMoldau from Má Vlast (My Fatherland) by Bedřich Smetana continued.Performed by Fontane Liang.It is no coincidence that two thirds of the earth’s surface is given over to the oceans, nor that a similar percentage of our bodies consists of water, a figure that rises to 85% when it comes to our brains. Rivers have long been the hub of communities, both as a source of pleasure and of commerce. A river flowing safely within its banks is a beauty to behold, and a powerful force for good, bringing fertility and blessing. But rivers can also be dangerous. When flood water pours over the surrounding countryside, it saturates where it shouldn’t and causes great damage and even loss of life amongst the very people it had previously sustained. Lord, You intended that the rivers that sprang from Eden should water the Earth – and you desire that we should be life-giving too – neither full of froth and bubbles, nor surging into places we should not go, polluting and contaminating. Breathe Your quality of life into us now, as we come to the waters, and fill us afresh we pray with sparkling, refreshing life.Lord Jesus, long before there was any separation between land and sea, before there were any rivers or even rain, You were present. You are the Wisdom of God. Now, the wisdom the sages of our generation purvey appears tremendously attractive and even profound, but at heart, so much of it is overlaid with syncretistic and decidedly woke-ist tendencies. Without You, how can any of these things bring us the authentic blessings of eternal life?As Jeremiah challenged His people at a time when they, like so many today, were committing the cardinal mistake of forsaking Him, the spring of living water, and were busy digging their own broken cisterns and systems. ‘Why go to Egypt to drink the waters of the Nile? What will you gain by doing so? Or by going to Assyria to drink the waters of the Euphrates? These are bitter waters and your backsliding will find us out.’ (Jer. 2:13, 18-19)We’re so grateful that You are the Way, the Truth and the Life, Lord Jesus. It is in You alone that we find all that nourishes and enriches both us and the whole of Creation – and You are inviting us to come to You and drink from the water of Life. Why would we look anywhere else, or hold any part of our lives back from You? Help us to share every part of our lives with You, and to remember to look and to consult You about everything. May we be like those prophets of old, who drank deeply of Your words, and allowed them to penetrate to the depths of their being. Like them, may we draw up water with joy from the deep wells of salvation: (Jer. 15:16; Is.12:3) waters that become lifegiving streams and rivers in their own right. Yes Lord, we are thirsty, and we come to receive the water of life from Your hands, from Your fountain of life right now.
The Scriptures speak of a wonderful river of life in Heaven that is brim full of vitality and healing. This is an invitation to contemplate the river, and to picture it in our minds and spirits. It is set to beautiful music from Torelli’s Etienne Concerto, and the improvisation that follows it.MusicTorelli: Trumpet Concerto in D - ‘Etienne’ 2nd movt Musicians: Philippa Barton, Helen Rees, Julian Chan, Jo Garcia, James HorsfallThe closer we get to God the more we discover that there is nothing but life and vitality in Him. It is impossible to express either in words or on paper, the full sense of vitality His close presence brings, or how utterly strong and beautiful His angels are, so full of light and spiritual vim, uncorrupted as they are by the least trace of sin or death.Fill us and all Your people with this sense of vitality, Lord, just as each river brings life to the towns and settlements that spring up around it, its whole length long. May many be touched by those who are endued with the true anointing of Your Spirit, because they have taken time and delight to feast on the abundance of Your house, and to drink from Your river of delights. (Ps. 36:8) Most rivers reach their journey’s end when they flow into the sea, of course, but in Heaven the river of life flows continually on, full of life and vitality. This is the river of the water of life that the angel showed John, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb, right down the middle of the main street of the city, where His servants serve Him and reign with Him for ever. And it is there that John sees the Tree of Life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit and yielding a fresh crop for each month, whose leaves never wither, because the water from the sanctuary flows to them. Their fruit never fails and is used for food, just as their leaves are for the healing of the nations. (Rev. 22:1-2; Ez. 47:9,12) Wherever the river flows, there will be swarms of living creatures and a great number of fish, because it flows there and makes the waters fresh; so wherever the river flows, everything lives and flourishes. Let’s picture this river in our hearts, and how it will be, and come to the Lord of this river for healing and refreshment.
Set to gentle music by Linda Entwistle, here is an opportunity to ponder the river of God, and the spiritual flow we bring to others, even as rivers bring so many vital nutrients to the regions they pass through, and serve as vital hubs of communication. Where might the river of God’s Spirit be leading you?Music: Linda Louisa: Just Passing ThroughThe more profoundly rooted we are in Jesus, the more our spiritual lives are likely to impact others – and the fuller we are of His Spirit the more our lives will overflow with good things.But failing to seek and honour the Lord in all we do, and to respect the boundaries of Love – or, indeed, rejecting them altogether – cannot fail to introduce a very mixed spirit into the flow of our waters. The more we rely on our own experience and the wisdom of our own age, the greater the likelihood that we will end up sowing error and confusion – just as the spiritually naïve and ambitious stray beyond what is written, imagining themselves called to be and to do certain things that in reality God has neither called them to do nor equipped them to be. As for the spiritually lazy, they are content just to suppose that it does not matter much what they say or how they behave.Sooner or later, what is in our hearts heart becomes clear, for it is out of the abundance of the heart that our mouth speaks, whether for good and for ill. (Luke 6:45)Life is many layered, and many of us are involved in many ways with working out God’s will and purposes in our lives. Ponder for a moment the people, churches, streams, movements and ideas that have come your way, and which have played their part in contributing to making your river flow in the way that it does today.The water Jesus gives us becomes a spring of water welling up to eternal life – a river that allows no obstacle to block its onward progress. (John 4:13-14)My spirit is never more alive than when I am writing, whether free flow creating or in-depth editing. (John 5:17) I am doing what God has called and created me to do and I can feel the surge of the water of His life flowing through me as I do so. How about you? Where is your main flow? Where is the river of God taking you? Are there specific projects and concerns that you especially need to be in the flow of God’s spirit for?
Jane Horsfall’s exuberant piece, Adonai Elohai, provides the setting for this delightful opportunity to reflect on how God increases the flow and significance of His ‘river’ in our hearts, and the ways in which He distributes His gifts to us, and then enables us in turn to share what He has given us with others.Music: Jane Horsfall: Adonai ElohaiMusicians: Jane and James Horsfall, Helen Rees, Philippa Barton, Julian Chan, Jo Garcia, Mike Halliday, Anthony ThompsonThe source of our own spiritual river may well have been small at the outset – may well still seem so to this day; but is that not how all great rivers begin, before going on to reach a greater breadth and depth, and a stronger flow and greater momentum as their journey progresses?We have not been accumulating wisdom and knowledge through the years just to satisfy ourselves, or to impress others, let alone to compete with them, but to enrich and add to their flow. Praise God for all the ways in which we have contributed to promote a godly flow in certain other people’s lives.This is the work of a distributary river. A distributary is the opposite of a tributary, for instead of waters pouring in to become one with the main stream, now streams – and even rivers – branch off to flow into other channels. The river has reached a point where it is mature enough to distribute all the good things it has picked up along the way, and the natural terrain is such as to accommodate and make this possible.I love that word, ‘distributary!’ The Scriptures are full of pictures of the good things of God – land and food and spiritual gifts – being gathered and then divided and distributed with wisdom and generosity, or the tongues of fire being distributed on the disciples at Pentecost, and other gifts of the Holy Spirit being distributed amongst the Church. (Jn. 6:11; Acts 2:3; Heb. 2:4 (cf 1 Cor. 12:11))Think of Paul reminding Timothy to ‘instruct those who are rich in the present age not to be conceited but to be generous and ready to share, treasuring up for themselves a firm foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.’ The writer to the Hebrews likewise reminds us ‘not to forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.’ (1 Tim. 6:18, Heb. 13:16)Jesus, You blessed the loaves, and put them into the disciples’ hands, and then You instructed them to distribute them to all the vast crowd that had gathered to hear Your words and to see the signs Your Father did through You. And right there and then, the loaves were multiplied to feed all who were there and still there were leftovers to be gathered.We want to ‘ponder anew what the Almighty can do when with His love, He doth befriend’ us.As rivers gather up not only water but vital soils and sediments before distributing them, it’s good to think back to some of the things You have enabled us to gather and to distribute – and to ask You to keep on doing such things through us, in such a way as to empower and bless others.You are always about this work in our lives, Lord, distributing the gifts of Your love and presence through us in ways we may not even be aware of.
In our labours to extend the Kingdom of God, there are challenging times when it appears as though our best efforts are bearing little or no fruit, while others seem to spring up before our eyes and bear a mighty harvest. It is a wonderful and reassuring thought that, at any time, the Lord can intervene to water the seeds we sow and bring about a great blessing and release. Let us not give up on sowing, just because we cannot see any green shoots.Music: Colin Owen: AyreMusicians: Julia, Thomas and Susanne Herzog, Peter RichardsSome years ago, a friend told Robert how he had picked up a hitchhiker who he discovered was a Christian. When Robert’s friend asked his passenger how he had come to know the Lord, he was surprised to hear that a certain Robert Weston had given him a lift years before, and had witnessed to him . . . Robert had forgotten all about it, but the Lord hadn’t; He had gone on watering and nurturing the seed and now here it was bearing its own fruit. Praise God for the great life there is in the seeds that we sow.In Your resurrection body, Jesus, You gave Your friends and disciples a glimpse of the life-flow that belongs to Your children in the Heavenly Kingdom. And You instructed them in the way of the Kingdom, preparing them for their great mission. You meet with us, too, and send us out on many, many missions, many works and errands of mercy too.Thank You that even in these difficult times there is no cap or quota to the number of prayers that You are willing to respond to, no dam that brings the waters to a full-stop, because You answer when we call.I wonder if there are any obstacles and boulders, prejudices and unforgiveness that have been blocking the water flow in your life? God is a very present help in any kind of trouble – but we must keep pressing in and seeking Him. At any point the power of Heaven can intervene and break through.
As we invite the Lord into the deep places of our heart in this meditation, we are accompanied by a traditional tune called ‘To danton me.’ ‘Danton’ (or daunton or daunten) is an old Scots word meaning ‘to frighten, subdue, discourage or cast down in spirit.’ How blessed we are to be able to ask for the waters that Jesus gives us, for they spring up to eternal life, whatever our inward temperament, flowing over and around challenging outward circumstances even as mighty waters either wear rocks to pieces or flow around them.Why are you downcast, O my soul?Why the unease within me?Put your hope in God,for I will yet praise Him,my Saviour and my God. (Ps. 42:5,11)Music: Barsanti: To danton meMusicians: Francis Cummings, Catherine Muncey, Natalie Halliday, James HorsfallFather, come deep into the recesses of our heart. Come into those places that rarely, if ever, see the light of love, the places that we try to enclose and enfold in as if we could hide them from Your sight. We say, let Your light, the lamplight of Your Holy Spirit search where He needs, refine as He will and cause there to be a purer water, Lord.We want mineral water flowing through our hearts, Lord. Qualities that heal, a touch that refreshes. We are asking You to come upon each one now as we listen, as we ponder.We are so grateful that You don’t turn the tap off against us, but bid us to come. And we ask that You will expand our capacity to live in the flow of this life-imparting Spirit. Father, let the precious water that You give us will become a well of water within us, springing up into everlasting life to bless others as we wait for the blessed hope, the glorious appearing of our great God and Saviour, Jesus Christ. (John 4:14, Tit. 2:13,)You already see that moment, Lord, that moment when You will return to Earth. You see the moment when You will draw us up to Heaven. Lord, You see, as it were, with double sight: as things are now and as things will be then. And time is telescoped and time is one with You. Thank You, Lord. Take us onto Your wavelength. Let the water of life flow freely through our hearts, in Jesus’ Name. Amen.
Lord, you dwell in the heights,but also with those who are humble at heart.keep us walking humbly in Your way. let Your glory touch our heartsour homes, our travels, our relationships, our places of work.“Let nothing disturb you,nothing frighten you; all things pass,but God never changes. His Patience achieves all it intends; and He who has Godwill want for nothing.” Therefore, Father, we rest in the love that supports us all the days of our life, as we embark on all that you have called us to be and to do for You, may the joy of the Risen Transfigured Christ, the intimacy of the Father and the encouragement of the Holy Spirit be ours this day and forever; by day and by night, both waking and sleeping,until the morning star rises in our hearts, and we are transfigured into the likeness of our coming King. Lord, when You return to Earth, riding on the clouds of glory, with death defeated and every victory won, You will take captivity captive and recompense Your saints. Even so, come quickly Lord. It is fitting that we should prepare the way for His return by praying for the people and the land to which He will one day come; a nation that has suffered so much, but which has been miraculously preserved by the hand of God. We share Your heart cry, Father, for the moving of Your Spirit in Jerusalem and Israel.Awake, awake! Clothe yourself with strength, O arm of the Lord; awake, as in days gone by,Arise and have compassion on Zion, for it is time to show her favour; the appointed time has come.to those in Jacob who repent of their sins. (Is. 59:18-20) Let Israel yield to Yeshua,and let the surrounding nations, hear of Esa, Messiah, and learn to follow Him. In Jordan, the Lebanon, Syria and Palestine, let Your Church be a force for change,a fountain of hope and a stream of blessing. Prince of Peace, whose domain will extend from shore to shore, cleanse and prepare these nations as they await the day of Your return.
Transfiguration - track 1 - The Father reveals His GloryFlute music (Dave Hart) Track 1Rise up and see (Linda Entwistle)“Peter, who do people say that I am? And who do you say that I am?” “Lord, you are the Christ, the Son of God.” “‘Blessed are you, Simon, son of Jonah; for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood but by my Father in heaven. Now the Son of man must make His way to Jerusalem and suffer many things, before being put to death, and being raised from the dead on the third day.” “Peter, James, John; come with Me; we’re going up this mountain!”“Why this detour Lord? If You’re going to teach and feed the crowds again, where are they? And what about all the people in need down there in the valleys?”Peter and the others had no idea that they were about to witness something still more awesome than when the voice spoke from the cloud above Mt Sinai. The glory of the Lord was about to break through. As Jesus was praying, the appearance of His face changed; His face shone like the sun, and His clothes glowed whiter than light, brighter than the lightning’s flash. The Father had revealed His glory and set His seal of approval on His Son. Lord, at any moment, Your power and presence can break through. You could have met with Your Father on Your own, and we would have been none the wiser, but You wanted to share with us all that You received from Him.One moment a bare mountain, and then the veil parted, and suddenly the Shekinah glory that fills the heavens poured across the mountainside. You are surrounded with glory, Lord, and so, by Your mercy are we. Peter and his companions were heavy with sleep, but when they were fully awake, Moses and Elijah appeared in glorious splendour, talking with Jesus. They spoke about His suffering and departure, which He was about to bring to fulfilment at Jerusalem. (Luke 9:31) The era of the Law and the Prophets was passing away, for now the One the prophets had foretold was here – the Lord Jesus, to whom all majesty and Dominion are due.But what would we know of Your heart today if Your Son had not been willing to suffer? Just as You strengthened Moses and Elijah in their ordeals, and gave Jesus the strength He needed to continue on to Gethsemane, so You will send us, too, all we need to complete our journey. When trials and afflictions strike us, and all sense of glory fades, grant us faith to meet every challenge that lies ahead.Even though You lead us along surprising paths, You know exactly how to fulfil Your purposes. Add compassion to our wisdom and passion to our knowledge, so that we can follow courageously when You beckon us to venture out far beyond our comfort zone. Sometimes it takes more faith to lay a project down than it did to start it up. Shortly before he met a martyr’s death, Jim Elliot declared, ‘He is no fool who loses that which he cannot keep in order to gain what he cannot lose.’ As Elijah and Moses were leaving, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters–one for You, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” But Peter did not know what he was saying. While He was speaking, a cloud appeared and enveloped them all – and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. (Luke 9:34)Lord, we love the summits and the mountain tops. It’s hard when something that means a great deal to us comes to an end. Like Peter, we want to stay there forever, and build a shrine to preserve it. But just as You knew You had to go to Jerusalem, Lord Jesus, give us grace to embrace the next thing You are showing us, and not to continue one hour beyond Your anointing, for if we hold on to anything that You are asking us to lay down, the blessings will wither and become a burden.
Transfiguration - track 2 -Jesus - Life-bringer, Trail-blazerThe Blessing (Dave Hart) Celtic musicJesus told the disciples to keep quiet about what they had seen – but they were confused. None of them had understood what He meant when He told them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be killed, but that on the third day He would be raised to life. As friends so often do, they tried to steer Him away from the path that would lead to the Cross. They had no way of knowing that this was how God had planned to reconcile the world to Himself. Jesus, Life-bringer and Trail-Blazer, Hope-Giver and Soul Restorer, Open our eyes to see You as You really are. As we set our hearts to follow where You lead. Shine Your light into the dark places, where fear grips and doubts assail.Draw us after You, and we will run together through all life’s mazes and in all its joys, leading, guarding, guiding every day, every hour, every place.
Transfiguration - track 3 - Why are we so afraidFire from the North improvisation (led by Francis Cummings)Lord, why are we so afraid of Your leading? Lead us further on into Your purposes. When we come into the loveliness of Your presence, there’s nowhere we would rather be. Forgive us when we hold back on You, for You are always going ahead to plan and prepare new things. Keep our hearts focused, so that when strange and fiery trials come our way, we will not be overwhelmed. We worship and adore You, Lord,We dare not build booths,but we praise You, for the wonderful gifts you have given us. In our lives and in our homes,May we welcome angels unawares. May the gift of hospitality touch people’s hearts and bring lasting fruit from Heaven. We pray special blessings on all homes and families that are experiencing unusual trouble or prolonged stress. While the Lord Jesus was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice came from the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, whom I love; listen to Him.” (Luke 9:35) Lord, on the slopes of Mount Hermon, You showed Your Son how very much You love Him. This day we have seen that man can live, even if You speak to him. (Deut. 5:24) Lover of our souls, keep on loving us, and help us to realise how much it thrills Your heart when we give You the love of our hearts, seeking first Your kingdom, and not ours. Make our hearts soft towards You, Lord,yet utterly determined to accomplish all that You have put within them. One word from You imparts life to our souls. You love to speak, Lord, even beyond the need for words. You listen to our inmost thoughts and bring us to a place of stillness, where attentive listening ushers in the intimate communion that You are longing for. Enlarge our understanding, Lord. Never stop speaking: we need to hear what You are saying – even if that means saying the same thing over and over again. When the disciples heard the voice that came from heaven, they fell face down to the ground, terrified. But Jesus came and touched them. “Get up,” He said. “Don't be afraid.” (Matt. 17:6-7) Lord, we are only truly at home when we are in Your presence. Help us not to waste time living in dread of what You might ask us to do, for that would open our hearts to fear. Even as Your hand rests upon us, bring this same rest through us to many others. Show us what to do and how to do it, and may we take the beauty of Your presence with us wherever we go.
Music from The Return (Wellspring; reproduced with kind permission by Mike and Sally Thornton)The Transfiguration reminds us that at any time God’s power and glory can break through – but we will not always feel so intensely the nearness of heaven. When the voice from heaven had spoken, the disciples found that Jesus was alone. (Luke 9:36) We can no more hold on to these experiences than Peter could. God works according to His own timeframe. There are reasons for His delays, but we never feel more alone than when we set out in faith to accomplish something only to find that it has not worked out as we had hoped or expected. All the joy the disciples had experienced on the mountainside evaporated as they re-entered the world of illness sin and unbelief and found themselves unable to heal a boy. Lord, when we come down the mountainside and find ourselves confronted by pressing problems, may we continue to pursue the God of the Breakthrough, and yield no foothold to despair. Let us glimpse what You are doing, rather than reacting to what others are saying or demanding. Jesus warned, “Peter, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail – and when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.” Lord, Beyond the shame of Peter’s outward denials, You knew his desire to love and walk with You. You no more washed Your hands of him when He let You down than You do with us. You can pick always pick us up one time more than we can ever fall. Forgive us, Lord, when we speak and act as though our trials are too great when, in reality, it is our love which is too small. Help us to embrace the royal road of repentance, and the gritty road of perseverance – for somewhere along these paths Your presence will break through.We lift to You those who are in danger of falling from their first love. In Jesus’ name, let the warmth of Your presence steal upon them unawares. Speak words of freedom to those whose minds are haunted by thoughts of failure. Shake them free from all that oppresses them, and help them discover opportunities in every challenge.Just as You delighted to restore Peter to his rightful position, once he had acknowledged his failure, may the peace of Christ restore many to Your service, and grant them a willing spirit to sustain them. For You delight to weave new beginnings out of the tangled tissue of our failures, and ordain strength from the depths of our brokenness.There is hope for a tree. If it is cut down, it will sprout again, and its new shoots will not fail. Its roots may grow old in the ground and its stump die in the soil, yet at the scent of water, it will bud and put forth shoots like a plant.Even so let it be, that we who experience Your pruning may bear still more fruit in years to come. Lord, it is in the darkness that our faith and love are tested. When we know so little and find ourselves obliged to seek so much, when the pressures seem too strong, and we are unable to make any progress,enlarge our hearts to trust You in the confusion, for this is how we will experience treasures in the darkness. ‘Maker of me, go on making me, and let me help Thee. Come, oh Father, here I am: let us go on. I know my words are those of a child, but it is Thy child that prays to Thee. It is Thy dark I walk in – it is Thy hand I hold.’ Even when the days seem dark, You remain faithful.Therefore we must sow our seed in the morning, and again at even-tide, for we do not know which will succeed, whether this or that, or whether both will do equally well. Direct us, Lord, to reach out to those who are wandering in the dark, that they may be restored to minister in Your name. When opportunities are few and far between,use these quieter times to renew our strengthand to attend to matters we might otherwise have neglected. For as we are faithful in with what You give us to do today, You will bless our many tomorrows.
Transfiguration - track 5 - Purify our Hearts DesireHarp music from Lauda (Bill Klein)The miracle on the Mount of Transfiguration foreshadows not only the Cross but also the Resurrection itself. For the light of God’s glory to remain in us, we must keep our hearts pure and free from lust and bitterness. Lord, You taught us on another mountain, that the pure in heart are blessed. Purify our heart’s desire, that we may we see and understand Your ways, and overflow with a compassion that mirrors Your own. Help us bite back cutting words before they wreak hurt and havoc in people’s hearts and lives.Help us not to despise or disbelieve someone who is telling me truths beyond our present experience, but to be willing to embrace all that truly comes from You. “You shall not covet your neighbour's wife. You shall not set your desire on your neighbour's house or land, his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbour.”Lord, help us to see each other aright. May we not look on others as objects for our gratification. Keep us from filling our hearts and minds with fantasies that would lead us far astray if we were to act on them – for if the act is wrong, then so, too, must be the intention. Help us to confess our wrong thoughts and deeds to You before we forget or even deny that they are wrong. When our heart strays, and we allow someone or something too prominent a place, we ask for Your forgiveness and offer that person or situation back to You. Expand the flow of Your love within our hearts;make us quick to honour people’s good intentions, and slow to write them off. Set the hearts of Your people free from wounds of rejection and division that they have received. In Jesus’ name we forgive those whose words have shocked and wounded us: Our parents, relatives, children, friends, neighbours, teachers, colleagues, managers and leaders. “We bless and release you from our unforgiveness, and the churches, ministries, institutions and families that you represent.”We ask Your forgiveness, too, Lord, for all that we have done that has crushed or belittled others. Pour out a double blessing on those whom we have hurt and hindered. Where we are nursing hate and prejudice towards particular nations or people, we ask Your richest blessing on them. In the name of the Prince of Peace, Release the power of Your favour on these people.
Transfiguration - track 6 - The Mercy of the CrossFire from the North improvisation led by Francis Cummings(The God Who reconciles)The miracle on the Mount of Transfiguration points the way to ultimate Reconciliation. Through the mercy of the Cross, there is neither Jew nor Gentile, black nor white – though to our shame we continue to perpetuate such divisions. Forgive us where we build barriers instead of bridges, and fail to honour Your presence in each other.Where I can put wrongs right, let me reach out in love and forgivenessEspecially towards Christians of differing traditions, and toward those for whom I feel no instinctive affection. Wash me clean from words that defame, deeds that shame, and thoughts that defile. Cleanse me from the arrogance that insists on my own way,the prejudice that poses as wisdom,the contempt that stems from pride,and from the envy and ill will that lies so close beneath the surface of my heart. Cleanse me from all eagerness to indulge in gossip, slander and dubious practices;all tendencies to selfishness and greed, all bitterness and cynicism, all needless thoughts and activities that rob my soul of peace and purpose.Lord, let Your Kingdom come in our hearts, and our communities as we proclaim the victory of the Cross over the memory of past abuse and exploitation, and over present strongholds of fear, disease and death.Jesus was transfigured in the presence of three close friends, but it was to Mary that He first appeared after His Resurrection. In Christ we are one and there is neither male nor female, yet prejudice against women continues to hamper the Church. Worldwide, violence against women remains a greater cause of death and disability than cancer, malaria, or even war itself.Lord, You created woman in Your image. Protect all who are menaced by violence today; shield and protect their hearts and homes, honour their willingness to follow the wounded man from Galilee. We pray for all who labour long, yet can barely feed their families. Grant hourly grace to juggle competing claims; wisdom to know when to soothe and placate, and when to say ‘no’ to unfair demands. Save and empower women around the world who’ve been betrayed, or forced to sell their bodies to survive, or who live in bondage to rich and powerful overlords. Grant to those who have been denied justice and dignity, the special grace You gave to Mary and Joseph to endure the humiliation of becoming refugees and asylum seekers. Find ways to make their exile a chapter in their lives and not the end of the story. We lift before Your throne the plight of women who are shut off from a full and normal life; Women who suffer terrifying ordeals who are held against their will or seized for immoral purposes; We cry to You to let your Spirit flow to reach these women.Let men and women serve together in the power of the Spirit, the gifts of one complimenting the strengths and weaknesses of the other. As a man, I ask forgiveness for all the ways by which I degrade women, and do not honour them as I should. As a woman I ask forgiveness for all the ways by which I demean and make unfair demands on men, where I exert control and manipulate to get my way.
Transfiguration - track 7 - Stages of LifeInnocence (Dave Hart)Harp music from Lauda (Bill Klein)When I look into the eyes of a new born baby, I pray that the Lord will keep them from all that will defile their soul and spirit.I long for Jesus to take them by the hand, keep them in body soul and mind and make them men and women after God’s heart. May the Lord guard and guide them as they grow,Open their hearts to the wonder of His grace keep them seeking Him with all their being and fill them with insights into the heart of the Lord.For the LORD your God is living among you. He is a mighty saviour. He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.” For He is the Alpha and the Omega, Who sees the end from the beginning, yet walks with us through every delay and obstacle from the moment we are conceived to the moment He calls us home to glory. Thank You Lord that You delight to reveal Yourself to the very young and the very old just as much as to those who are in the prime of life.Bring joy to Your Son, Lord God, as babies are born into the world. Be with all midwives and doctors. Bless them with compassion as well as skill for the women whom they serve.I pray for young people who are facing pressures that are far beyond their years. Guide them through the turbulence of growth and change. Pour out Your blessing on every church and organisation that is reaching out to young people for Christ.We pray “Grace” in Jesus’ name for teenagers as they ride the swirling tides of adolescence. May they venture safely out on the cresting breakers of life. Guide these leaders of tomorrow’s Churches in the choices they must make. Keep their hearts wide open to You, and to each other. Favour them with mothers and fathers in Christ. Help them to overcome the spirit of the age, and to extend Your kingdom in this world. Come afresh into the hearts of those who were brought up believing, but who have wandered away. let disappointment not harden into unbelief. Remind them that You are there – the waiting Father,eager for them to bow their hearts and bend their knee. Overcome the passions that bewitch the heart, and the strongholds that bind the mind, restoring the language of love and the passion of faith.
Transfiguration - track 8 - Love that reaches outSacrifice (Dave Hart)At the constant risk of being rejected love always reaches out.As the Lord Jesus shared fellowship on the mountainside with His awe-struck disciples He foresaw the struggles they would endure as they sought to fulfil their God-given mission. Even as the glory shone upon the mountain of transfiguration, Moses and Elijah spoke about the suffering that Jesus was shortly to endure. For every person on a mountaintop today, many others find themselves in valleys filled with grief and mourning. Lord, the ways by which You lead us often seem mysterious, especially when precious things and people are taken from us and nothing makes sense any longer. We would not have chosen it this way, Lord, but because You make all things work together for good, we cry to You to turn these circumstances around for Your own good purposes.Lord of bruised and broken hearts, where threatening clouds overshadow, send Your light to oust the darkness and to bid all fears subside. Open wide Your arms of comfort, so that, in the shadow of Your unchanging love, aching souls may find true peace, and hearts begin to heal. Where loneliness encroaches, grant grace to accept changing roles.We hoist our sails to catch the winds You send, and refuse to let our sails billow with strange and sudden whims.May hope not wither with the advancing years,Neither let anxiety fill our days, Let happy memories fuel our faith in readiness for our eternal homecoming. For this God is our God for ever and ever; He will be our guide even to the end. (Psalm 48:14)
Transfiguration - track 9 - In the tossing of NationsSwedish Folksong (arranged by Francis Cummings)From the heights of Mount Hermon, the Lord Jesus looked down across the nation, knowing His disciples were soon to embark on the greatest mission of transformation the world has ever known. The Transfiguration reminds us that the final seat of authority resides in the courts of heaven. But Scripture also teaches us to pray for earthly seats of power, imperfect though they are. In the tossing of the nations and the pride of earthly kingdoms,we confess that we have set up laws that challenge the decrees of Heaven.Our guilt towers to the skies, and Your judgement rests heavily upon us. May lawmakers, politicians and reporters catch the echo of Your heart for the world, and reflect the principles of Your love and justice. Exert and establish Your will, in Westminster, Brussels, Strasbourg, and in all centres of power.From the storehouses of heaven, we ask You to champion the plans of godly men and women as they seek to impact society for You. Unblock hearts; resolve deadlocked situations, and release souls from oppression. Power that is above every power, shine Your light into the darkest places.restrain evil’s tyranny; thwart and rebuke ungodly plans.Overthrow the reign of lies and terror and usher in the day of hope and truth.Impart courage and resilience to all who suffer for their faith today. Protect and preserve both victims and their families.For all who are in confinement or enduring torture – the nearness of Your presence.and resilience of body soul and mind. For all who labour to see great wrongs put right, and loved ones set free from spite and injustice, Your comfort and empowering. For all who scour the rubbish tips for food, Your daily manna, Lord.For those carrying HIV and Aids, and the widows and orphans, that where the darkness is at its most intense, You will send the greatest strengthening; the care and comfort of a Father’s strengthand the tenderness of a mother’s soothing.Inspire and guide them by Your Spirit with the knowledge of the Most High,the nearness of Your loveand the friendship of Your Son Prosper Your work today, in Iran and Iraq; Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, and the Yemen; in Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Libya, Liberia, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia and the heartlands of Pakistan and Bangladesh – let people hear and receive the good news in all its fullness. Ignite faith in many hearts and homes and disciple those who respond to You. Keep the airwaves free in Jesus’ name, and bless all who prepare and transmit broadcasts, and the churches that form as a result of them. Send the convicting and converting powerof Your Spirit who knows no limit,Let souls be snatched from Mammon’s grasping ways,and embrace the Saviour of the World.Jesus, bring many millions of souls to Yourself in Russia, Restore the nation to be all that You envisaged it could be in the Redeemer, Shed Your love abroad in the former nations of the Soviet Union: Ukraine and Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Tajikistan. Send Your convicting and converting Spirit to protect precious souls from crushing and despotic powers.Touch a thousand million souls in China. Let the blood of the martyrs and the tears of Your saints, water this great work of Your Spirit. and propel the work of Christ in province after province.Let your Church spring forth in the midst of the millions who dwell in the Hindu heartlands of India and Sri Lanka. Bless all who seek to advance Your kingdom there and raise a mighty harvest to Your glory.
Transfiguration - Track 11 - Light Revival FiresFire from the North improvisation led by Francis CummingsEstablish outposts of Your kingdom in hurting communities we pray, in plush suburbia and on crack and violence-ridden estates.Extend Your covering over the Church that bears Your name, and over all who depend on livestock, soil or sea.,All hospitals and social services;all schools and universities, businesses and factories,that with the shops and civic establishments form the core of our communities. Forgive us, Lord, for forfeiting the faith foundations of our nation.We have been slow to proclaim Your Gospel, and quick to compromise.We have dethroned You in our land and in our lives, leaving broken homes and hurting children,and violence in our homes and streetsForgive us for tolerating injustice.As we repent of our many failures, come in mercy to cleanse and renew.We pray now for a fresh out pouring of Your Holy Spirit in Your Church and upon our homes.In Jesus’ name, send Your convicting and converting power and cause the leaders of our nation to humble themselves before You. Bless the prodigal peoples of our European continent: in France, Spain, Portugal, Germany, Austria and Switzerland; in Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland; Holland, Belgium and Luxembourg; Greece and Italy. Raise up a people for Your own possession, and a Church that bears Your name, as You glorify Your Son through a harvest in each one of these great lands. For the nations we once knew as Eastern Europe: Albania, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Serbia, Bosnia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, Slovenia, Rumania, Bulgaria and beyond to Turkey. Inspire and guide them by Your Spirit with the knowledge of the Most High, the nearness of Your love and the power of Your moving. Let the millions who own your name in North America heed the call to honour You, and place their resources at Your disposal. Stretch out Your hand across the African continent, where revolution, famine and violence continue to take their toll. Empower Your servants, and stem destructive ways. Illuminate teachers of Your Word so that the life of Jesus may shine forth through a multitude of souls, strong in doctrine yet sensitive in Spirit. Arise O Lord with healing in Your wings.Assuage the devastation in Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia, Rwanda, Zimbabwe, the Congo, Nigeria, Uganda, Mozambique and the Sudan. Let righteousness prosper and tyranny be checked, from Cape Town to Cairo, from one end of Africa to the other.In a continent where oil is revered as black gold, we pray for the oil of Your Spirit penetrate so-called closed countries with the message of Your love: Iran and Iraq, Morocco, Tunisia, Libya and Algeria, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Kuwait. Inspire and guide them by Your Spirit with the knowledge of the Most High, the nearness of Your love and the power of Your moving.
Transfiguration Track 12 - The Call Of God ResoundsCeltic Lament (Francis Cummings)The call of God resounds across the earth,from farthest east to deepest south,in faith-resistant West and hardened northern climes. Lord, light the fire of Your Spirit’s powerLet the people of God rise up this day.Let banners wave and trumpets sound,as the call extends around the world. Lord, light the fire of Your Spirit’s powerShow us Your strength, as You have done before.from one end of the earth to the other. Pour out Your anointing oil that the world may know that Jesus is alive. Lord, light the fire of Your Spirit’s powerGod of grace and Ruler of all, You love and weep for these people.Wash these nations clean,even as the waves of Your oceans scour the beaches of the world.High King of Heaven, hold them close to Your heart. Raise up missionaries for Your vineyards, O Lord of the Harvest,evangelists to make You known,and prophets, pastors and teachers to support and sustain the seeds they plant. Let the clarity of Your blessing rest on the centres You have raised up, to refresh the broken-hearted, and to inspire Your anointed ones. O Come, Holy Spirit, come!Come as fire and burn within us,Come as wind and cleanse us,Come as light and lead us,Come as truth and teach us,Come as forgiveness and free us,Come as love and enfold us;Come as power and enable us,Come as life and dwell in us.Convict us, convert us, until we are Yours, through and through. (Charles Whiston adapted an ancient prayer)‘For whoever would save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for Me will find it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.“What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of Man is going to come in His Father's glory with His angels, and He will reward each person according to what he has done. God raises mighty spreading trees from the smallest seeds. What only three people were privileged to witness on the Mount of Transfiguration, millions now have heard about. Lord, make Your glory known in our generation as we speak and sing of You. Direct singers, authors and producers to the themes that best reflect Your heart,and to sources that will inform our minds and fire our spirits to carry forward the work of Christ. Light fires of revival, and let the touch of heaven rest on all that we speak, write and create in Your name. Behind the welter of news items that we read and watch lie intensely personal stories.Each one of us is also living out our personal drama.Lord, we have only one life to lead;Help us make it count for You.In the name of the one true Head of the Church, Keep Your people from foolish entanglements,and from setting their hearts on personal gain.We lift our leaders now into the light of Christ,That they may embrace Your ideas and lay other ways aside, That in every way Your church may be as You intend it to be.
s we approach the first anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24th, Vladimir Putin has threatened to grab the attention of the world by doing something dramatic. From the beginning of the war, he has sought to intimidate the West and deter any decisive action against him, without actually doing so. Perhaps he is crying wolf this time also – but the fact remains that the Russian ‘bear’ is equipped with very sharp teeth. It is all the more precious and important therefore that we press in to seek the Lord at this time.What is happening in Ukraine is impacting the whole world. So much we can all see, but let’s remember that there are many unseen influences and effects at work too, from the effects of cyber warfare and the dangers of radiation, and through to influences that are overtly demonic inciting cruelty and hatred. It is not only what is evil that is at work, though, but also the unseen work of the Spirit of God, drawing many to Himself.The music reflects the beauty of His appeal. It is based on a beautiful medieval chant I came across from the Orthodox tradition, which Justin has kindly transcribed and arranged for us. It roots deep into the love of God, and ascends high into His abundant grace toward us. The musicians include Francis Cummings, Christiane Mueller, Corinne Frost, Jo Garcia, Nicola Gerrard and Anthony Thompson.
Not only has Stalin’s reputation experienced a resurgence of acceptability and admiration in modern day Russia, but Putin himself is waging war with a level of savagery that rivals that of his bloodthirsty and ruthless predecessor. Let’s pray for a rising up of voices from within Russia to cry out against the war: the power of grieving wives and mothers is perhaps still more potent than street protests. Even in this, the Holy Spirit will be at work in unseen ways.The solo flute piece you will hear is Debussy’s Syrinx, performed for us many years ago by Elizabeth Long.
Few, and certainly not the present writer, could have foreseen the emergence of President Zelensky onto the world stage in the starring central role that he has risen to. It takes an unusually gifted man to inspire and motivate American Congress and British Parliament alike to commit themselves to a distant campaign. Ever conscious of the need to win global support, Zelensky has also led the charge against swathes of corruption that had been plaguing the country. It is clearly both important and strategic to pray for this man and his family, who has mobilised the morale of his nation and brought about a release of armaments that would certainly not have otherwise come about. Pray for his protection and for good judgement and wise decision making concerning the many pressing matters he constantly has to deal with on all fronts. Oboe concerto, RV 447 (2nd movement) by Vivaldi Musicians led by Thomas and Susanne Herzog (oboe and violin)
Some trust in (rely on) chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God. (Some nations boast of armies and of weaponry, but our boast is in the Lord our God TLB)They are brought to their knees and fall, but we rise up and stand firm.LORD, give victory to the king! Answer when we call! (from Psalm 20) The verb to escalate is only acquired its modern usage in recent times. Deriving from the Latin scala ladder, and passing through ‘escalade’ (meaning ‘to assail a city by means of siege ladders), the West has been understandably cautious of escalating the conflict with Russia – but this at a time when that country has been throwing the entire weight of its considerable military weight and force against a nation many times its inferior in size and population.There has only been one country in this conflict guilty of escalation, and that is Russia, which has, effectively, declared war against the West. Ukraine has lost huge numbers of its fighting troops and remains heavily outnumbered and outgunned. At this time when Russia has effectively declared war against the West, Ukraine faces intense danger as this dedicated foe, who has learnt from his mistakes and is numerically far stronger than a year ago, intensifies its military push. Let’s pray for Ukraine to have both the skill and the resources with which to survive, and then one day to rise again and resume its place as the breadbasket of the world. The matter of being prepared to send the advanced weaponry that Ukraine is manifestly in need of is also a test of each nation’s commitment (and bravery). The West has been upping its response in terms of its willingness to provide Ukraine with what it needs to survive, but there are massive logistical challenges in this – not least in that the West has been sharing what it can spare, and drawing from a dwindling pool of resources, being neither able nor willing to restock at the pace at which these weapons are either being used or destroyed. In that sense the longer the conflict goes on the more it benefits Russia, who, so far from being completely defeated by the severe sanctions targeted against it has harnessed its industrial resources to massively increase weapons production, as well as obtaining supplies from similarly-minded nations. Pray too for those serving in the British Armed Forces, which have long been pared to the bone, as well as for effective supplies and resources. The music, the 1st movement of Manuel de Falla’s Harpsichord Concerto, was written just before the outbreak of the horrifyingly bloodthirsty Spanish civil war in the 1930. It is a difficult piece to listen to, because it resounds with the menace and tumult of both that time and our own. We chose this music deliberately because times are hard for so many and what is happening in China is of extreme importance to the whole world. The musicians were Justin, playing the virtuoso harpsichord part, Nicola Gerrard , Amy Roberts, Shirley Richards, Helen Rees and Corinne Frost.
This is also an important time to pray for Israel, not least in respect of its relationships with Ukraine and Russia. Therefore, you kings, be wise; be warned, you rulers of the earth.Serve the LORD with fear and celebrate His rule with trembling. (Ps. 2:10-11)The present administration in Washington has shown itself a faithful friend of Ukraine, and supporter of NATO. Prayer for America to continue to stand firm is vital.Pray for America to stand firm. It is easy for nations to backtrack on their commitments. Pray too for Israel, not least in respect of its standing in regard to Ukraine and Russia. Unique in its history as the chosen people and land of God, and unique in its eschatological role as the place to which the Lord Jesus will return to rule on earth, the in-between time remains fraught and complex for Israel. All the more so since the most right-wing government in the nation’s short history has come to power, one that very many in the country, let alone abroad, are exceedingly wary of as it rides roughshod over certain important safety checks and balances.Israel’s support for Ukraine has taken the form of humanitarian aid as well as receiving in numbers of refugees. Its reluctance to be more upfront in terms of military support is well known and requires consideration and prayer. Pray for the land of Israel, and for all who dwell there, for the Lord yearns for the land He set His heart upon as for a first-born child.In that day Israel will be the third (in a three-party alliance) along with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing on the earth. The LORD Almighty will bless them, saying, “Blessed be Egypt my people, Assyria my handiwork, and Israel my inheritance.” (Is. 19:24) The musicians were Sally Prittie, David Booth, Keith Entwistle, Nicola Gerrard, Jo Garcia, Geth Griffith, Grace Lee, Fontane Liang, Anthony Thompson and Teresa Brasier.
There are many unseen threats in our times. We have often asked for prayer to protect the world global network. Against external attack. An example from a dramatic example from the code breaking operations during the Second World War serves as an incentive to re-knew our prayers in this sphere There are many other threats, however, which are ultimately self-inflicted, but which equally serve to curtail the frontiers of free speech, and with it to threaten the freedom to preach the gospel.This section is accompanied by a powerful improvisation that Peter Richards played on his French horn.
The whole world is watching with concern as Sino-American tensions ramp up to dangerous high levels. Beyond mutual trade reprisals, the matter of Taiwan, and new US bases in the Philippines are among the bones of contention. It would not take much to tip the simmering hostilities over into a full-blown war between the two superpowers. There are many ways in which both the conflict in Ukraine and with China could escalate into global, as this prophecy from Norway in 1968 makes clear. http://www.inthebeginning.com/articles/norway1968.htmAs Paul put it in 2 Thessalonians 2:6-8), ‘You know what is holding [the man of lawlessness] back, for he can be revealed only when his time comes. For this lawlessness is already at work secretly, and it will remain secret until the one who is holding it back steps out of the way. Then the man of lawlessness will be revealed, but the Lord Jesus will slay him with the breath of his mouth and destroy him by the splendour of His coming. (NLT)Or as John foresaw, ‘Then another horse came out, a fiery red one. Its rider was given power to take peace from the earth and to make people kill each other. To him was given a large sword.’ (Rev. 6:4) It is really important to pray for what is happening in China, the Philippines and in Taiwan.The tension extends beyond trade wars to embrace Taiwan, the new US bases in the Philippines and in the Far East, the serious matter of the balloons over America that are capable of releasing deadly nuclear weapons, and even into space. Pray for the Lord’s mercy and restraint what is happening in China, the Philippines and in Taiwan, and for God’s grand scheme of preparing the way for His glorious return to continue apace. May many in those countries who love and serve Jesus faithfully rise up in love, embracing their role as priests in God’s righteous Kingdom.D’ror Yikra, the powerful music that accompanies this piece, is named from a song by a Jewish poet who lived in 10th century Spain. The words are ‘a plea to God to protect Israel and bring about its peace and redemption.’ Geth Griffith made the arrangement for us, which is played for us here by Geth Griffith, David Booth, Teresa Brasier, Keith and Linda Entwistle, Anna Fraser, Nicola Gerrard, Mike Halliday, Fontane Liang and Anthony Thompson.
As we round off this prayer presentation with this simple offering of praise, the music of our opening piece returns. Anthony exquisitely captures in the beautiful trumpet obligato that he improvised. It is exquisitely complemented by the beautiful trumpet obligato part that Anthony improvised around the piece we began this presentation with: the beautiful mediaeval Orthodox chant. The musicians were Francis Cummings, Christiane Max, Corinne Frost, Jo Garcia, Nicola Gerrard and Anthony Thompson. A huge thank you all the musicians who played at the various events which made these recordings.
Transfigurations - Track 10 - Let the Power of Your SpiritFire from the North improvisation led by Francis CummingsAcross the boundless steppes of Mongolia and Central Asia, and the teeming millions of South East Asia, Indonesia, the Philippines and Malaysia, let the power of Your Spirit sweep more and more into Your kingdom. Spirit of Love, strengthen all who are enduring the pressing vice of totalitarian regimes, that the faith of Your children in Vietnam, North Korea and Laos may not falter, but grow from week to week. Pour out Your strength and help them rise above the pressures that unjust leaders and evil ruling spirits send to crush their souls. Touch hearts and minds in Thailand, Cambodia and troubled Burma. Establish Your Church in purity and holiness;and rescue lives from depravity and oppression. Stoke revival fires in South and Central America that millions may cherish the name of Jesus In sprawling shanty towns and crowded metropolis.Let praises resound to You in both the Spanish and Portuguese tongues, in Mexico, Ecuador, Venezuela, Columbia, Guyana, Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, Peru, Paraguay, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador and Costa Rica. Spirit of God, sweep through Australasia. Guide and inspire ministries in Australia and New Zealand to be on the cutting edge for You. Make them strong in faith but compassionate of heart. Bear aloft our island nations: England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales. Let Your power flow from the north to meet the myriad streams You are raising up in the south. Bless all who are seeking to make You known in Scotland.Cause Your fire to blaze again in the heart of that nation; let Your people embrace Your full empowering. We pray for the land of Wales, where the tide of prayer is rising. Bless the tens of thousands who are entreating Your Spirit to come again to that parched but precious land.Gospel of full Salvation, take fuller root in Ireland’s soil and soul. Strengthen and unite believers in their walk with You.Spirit of grace, overcome the constraints of sectarianism.Spirit of conviction, save the land from Mammon’s taint.God of Hope and Truth, rescue England from our stubborn, sinful ways. Even as we reap the havoc we have sown, we cry out to You in these days of Your Spirit’s moving, that our hearts be opened wide to the life that is truly life.
My Heart is not proudLinda Entwistle wrote this exquisite setting of Psalm 131 in her early 20s. She writes, “It is a reminder that, although we get caught up in the challenging themes of life of the current day, it is vitally important to rest on God, as Mother and nurturer as well as to know Him as our Heavenly Father. Everything we have, and all our strength comes from Him.” David Booth has written and recorded a guitar part to accompany it.
As the war in Ukraine grinds on,locked in the melancholy of its bitter blood-soaked conflict,where the shock of each new pulverising strike fuels the bitterness and fans the hatred, like icebergs clashing and crashing against each other,let some manifestation of Your tendernesssteal over bruised and damaged hearts, and seal both inner and outer wounds, Utter knowing, utter caring,that knows exactly how things are;and which holds and guards us through the brutal storm and shaking assaults that are decimating the land and extending spiralling threats far beyond the fields of battle to menace the entire western lands, O God send some green olive leavesto betoken some hope beyond the horizon as a sign of better things to come. Unblock stunted sensesand grant grace to rise above brusque and sullen attitudes to glimpse Your warm embracing tenderness,that brings consolation beyond compare,unconditional support and the deep inner empowering of knowing that You are there.For it will be the seemingly slender fruit of tenderness Rather than the saying of mortal foes that best warm people’s heartsand which bids souls ‘Well-come’ to the Father’s own dwelling place.Words and music by Robert WestonJo Garcia - celloChristiane Von Albrecht - piano
God’s Dream by Charles Péguy(1873-1914)The lovely music is an improvisation by Julia Herzog and Fontane Liang that we have called 'Fields of Saffron.' The Lord God said: I Myself will dream a dream within you…Good dreams come from Me you know…My dreams seem impossiblenot too practicalnot for the cautious man or womana little risky perhapsa trifle brash perhapsSome of My friends preferto rest more comfortably,in sounder sleep,with visionless eyes…But from those who share My dreamsI ask a little more patience,a little humour,some small courageand a listening heartI will do the rest…Then they will risk and wonder at their daringRun – and marvel at their speed…Build – and stand in awe at the beauty of their building…You will meet Me often as you work…in your companions who share the risk…in your friends who believe in you enoughto lend their own handstheir own hearts to your building…In the people whowill stand in your doorway, stay awhile,and walk away knowing thatthey too can find a dream.There will be sun-filled days, and sometimes it will rain…A little variety…both come from me.So come now, be content,It is My dream you dream…My house you build,My caring you witness, My love you share,And this is the heart of the matter.
Lord, hear our prayer, how we long to worship You. Lord, hear our prayer, as we lift our hearts to You. O Lord, how Your Kingship carries on the wind, we long to be the whisper of the breeze You bring. Lord, hear our cry, how we long to walk with You. Lord, hear our cry as we lift our voice to You. O Lord, how Your presence hides us in Your wings; we long to be the feathers of the peace You bring.Lord, hear our song, how we long to bring You praise. Lord, hear our song as we lift our hearts and voiceO Lord, how Your loving pours on us like rain; we long to be the rivers flowing with the same.Vocals - Megan TopperViolin - Francis CummingsFlute - Nicola GerrardClarinet - Mike HallidayCello - Jo GarciaKeys - Christiane von AlbrechtGuitar - David Booth
Bach: Sinfonia from Cantata Ich hatte viel Bekümmernis (BWV 21)Musicians: Thomas Herzog (oboe) Susanne Herzog and Anne Seidel (violins) and Alex Koderisch (cello)Cleanse our inmost desires. Help us to love what You love and to hate the ways by which evil appeals to our senses. Straighten out our muddled longings, Lord, especially those which would make us quest after things which in reality would do us a great deal of harm. Lord, deliver us from evil. May humility, truth and love safeguard us from the evil one. When I see someone who is so much more obviously blessed and gifted than I am, help me not to feel rejected or passed over. Keep me from the sharp pangs of jealousy and envy. I hand these feelings to You now. Lord, deliver us from the power of envy and rejection. Release my heart to weep with those who weep and to rejoice with those who rejoice.
Torelli: Trumpet Concerto in D (Etienne), 2nd movementMusicians: Philippa Barton, Helen Rees, Julian Chan, Jo Garcia, (strings) James Horsfall (keyboard)Solzhenitsyn wrote, ‘The line dividing good and evil cuts through the hearts of every human being, and which of us is willing to destroy a piece of his own heart?’ Make us willing to face the things we need to face. Help us to overcome evil not just by avoiding infringing specific laws, but by being diligent in seeking You. May no pressures from within or without blunt our zeal for You.Lord, deliver us from evil. Confound confusion, scatter all the powers that are arrayed against us. Increase the flow of trust and the spirit of prayer within our hearts. “No weapon forged against you will prevail, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and this is their vindication from me," declares the Lord.We pray for those whose days are spent in close proximity to scheming people and corrupt and evil systems. Remind and reassure them that their present condition will not last for ever, that You will find a way to break the chains that bind them and set them free again. In their loneliness, draw near. Keep them from inner confusion and alienation.Help us not to be gullible in the face of evil, Lord, but to recognise it clearly for what it is – even if that means admitting that we ourselves have been at fault. Help us to avoid excuses and denials which hinder Your work of truth.
May the Lord draw close to you at the end of this day, as you join with Ros, Grace and myself in praying for His presents to and be with you through the night.It would be hard to imagine a more glorious piece of music than this chant from Taizé, which our friends from Wellspring sang, and which we are grateful to have permission to use here.
Join Ros, Grace, Sally and myself in this invitation to pray the Lord's covering over the span of our nation.Vivaldi: Concerto in D minor Op. 8:7 RV 242 2nd movt.Musicians: Shirley Richards, Helen Rees, Cathie Muncey, Chian Lewis Lim, Corinne Frost (strings) Fontane Liang (keyboard) Traditional: GreensleevesMusicians: Thomas Herzog (recorder) Susanne Herzog and Anne Seidel (violins) and Alex Koderisch (cello).Bless all who even now are waking up on the far side of the world and looking to You. Hold our nation in the palm of Your hand.As night falls and the workers of darkness bestir themselves, Protect our land from their malice and from acts of wanton destruction.Loose each victim from those who send out tormenting spells, from all snares of seduction and bewitching, from lust and depravity, from despondency and despair. May the outstretched hand of the Lord push back the frontiers of darkness, and grant such strength and succour that those who follow You may never tire of serving You. Lord, we follow Your leading now, as You prompt our spirits to pray,far beyond our place of work or neighbourhood,far beyond our Christian circles and connections,Holy Spirit of Prayer, set our hearts free to follow Your leading now.
Music: A beautiful piece that Richard Williamson originally improvised, followed by further improvisations Musicians: Julian Chang (viola soloist) Julia Herzog, Shirley Richards, Suzanne Herzog, (strings), James Horsfall (keyboard)Forgive us, Lord, that we are the generation that believes in our disbelief. There is no limit to the depravity that we have fallen into, Lord, or to the cynicism we have embraced. Are You not right when You decree your judgement against a land that has enthroned ways contrary to Your laws? Yet just as we have experienced Your mercy in our own lives, so we dare to pray that You will look with favour, even now, on our land. Be not a passing stranger or an unwelcome guest, but come as the Bright Morning Star, as the ruler and leader of Your people, and the Saviour of the Land. High King of HeavenRemember not what we have done,Nor all we deserve,But for Your own name’s sakeRenew and restore Your people.Send a fresh wave of Your Spirit, And raise up Your co-workers to rebuild Your church and win this nation for Christ. We ask in the name of Jesus and for Your glory, Lord.High King of Heaven, as nations rage in turmoil, we proclaim the coming KingWho has promised to return and who is standing at the door.Break open the doors that are closed to You, that those far away may be drawn to You,And those at odds with each other find each other again in You. Even though we live surrounded by people who love us, Lord, there come times when we feel utterly isolated, when only You can know the sorrow in our heart. Perhaps You have designed it like this, Lord, so that when the trials feel too heavy for us to bear on our own, we have to hand them to You. Help us not to doubt You in the darkness, nor to hold back from following You. And though it sometimes seems as though the hour of opportunity has passed us by, and darkness has tolled its bell, yet we praise You that You never change, You are always the same. Grant us courage to attempt what You have put within our hearts to do, for it is as we set out to do things that You send Your blessing. ‘Do not be afraid,I have come to save you.You are special to me,and I know your name.When the deep dark waters of trouble swirl around you,I am with you. Water now the roots of our hearts, that our spirits may not wither. At the scent of water, let them spring back to life again.
Music: Minor Muse by Colin OwenAlmighty God, give us grace to cast away the works of darkness and put upon us the armour of light. Lord, You alone know our inmost thoughts and the true condition of our heart.Overcome our reluctance to seek You and deepen our trust in Your dealings with us, Lord. For where we are tempted to see only difficulties You see a whole range of possibilities. Strengthen our will to serve You, that we may give no foothold to the watching powers of darkness. Stir up a worshipping warrior spirit within us. Where we have difficult choices to make and tasks to attempt, guide us in our decision-making and keep us diligent in seeking You. Grant me the strength to await Your timing, for if I insist on doing things my way, it’s much harder for You to be able to do them Your way. Help us to recognise when evil forces are at work, in our own hearts and situations, in our churches, and amongst the nations of the world. Help us to turn and face You, Lord, for even when evil does strike, You can still bring good out of it. Help us to take our stand for You against these things. Come by Your Spirit’s power to rescue those who are in the grip of evil forces. Grant courage to those who find themselves obliged to take a course of action which they would much prefer not to have to take. Help them know that if You have directed this course, then however hard the path, it will be safe and right and necessary. Be with them every step of the way.
When I hesitate, I give ground to the enemy. Help me not to falter or to hesitate with what You have given me to do. Free me from trying to carry responsibilities that are not mine to carry, and from avoiding those which are. Lord, free us from judgmental thoughts and assumptions, that trap us and others in unhelpful patterns of behaviour. Keep us from the pitfalls of pride and peer-group pressure. Confront our selfishness and purify our motives.Thank You that you can put right that which is wrong, and bring good out of every situation, especially those matters that we bring to You now . . . Forgive the hard thoughts we harbour against those who do not readily think well of us; especially those who are in a position of authority or influence over us.Judge of all men, Fountain of Forgiveness, we lay down our prejudices and our judgemental criticisms. May the grace of the Holy Spirit set us free from ingrained responses which harden our attitudes. Break open such relationships as have become imprisoned in bitterness or deadened by years of mutual non-respect. Judge of all men, Fountain of Forgiveness, be glorified in giving us new ways of thinking and loving. Where my focus has shrunk and I have become obsessed with my own concerns, broaden my horizons again. We yield ourselves afresh to You, Lord; our hopes and dreams, our lives and reputations. You hold the key not only to our hearts, but to every situation that we will ever face. Lead us out to bless the people, and the nations that You would have us pray for – for this is the work of Heaven and joy to our soul. We give them all to You, because we love You with all the love of our heart. May the blood of Jesus cleanse and cover us, our loved ones, and all who seek to follow You.
Music: The Second movement of Torelli’s trumpet Concerto in D (Etienne), plus an improvisation on the theme.Musicians: Philippa Barton, Helen Rees, Julian Chan, Jo Garcia, (strings) James Horsfall (keyboard)Solzhenitsyn wrote, ‘The line dividing good and evil cuts through the hearts of every human being, and which of us is willing to destroy a piece of his own heart?’ Make us willing to face the things we need to face. Help us to overcome evil not just by avoiding infringing specific laws, but by being diligent in seeking You. May no pressures from within or without blunt our zeal for You.Lord, deliver us from evil. Confound confusion and scatter all the powers that are arrayed against us. Increase the flow of trust and the spirit of prayer within our hearts. “No weapon forged against you will prevail, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and this is their vindication from me," declares the Lord.When I see someone who is so much more obviously blessed and gifted than I am, help me not to feel rejected or passed over. Keep me from the sharp pangs of jealousy and envy. I hand these feelings to You now. Lord, deliver us from the power of envy and rejection. Release my heart to weep with those who weep and to rejoice with those who rejoice. Help us not to be gullible in the face of evil, Lord, but to recognise it clearly for what it is – even if that means admitting that we ourselves have been at fault. Help us to avoid excuses and denials which hinder Your work of truth. Lord, deliver us from evil. May humility, truth and love safeguard us from the evil one. We pray for those whose days are spent in close proximity to scheming people and corrupt and evil systems. Remind and reassure them that their present condition will not last for ever, that You will find a way to break the chains that bind them and set them free. In their loneliness, draw near. Keep them from inner confusion and alienation.Straighten out our muddled longings, Lord – especially those which would make us quest after things which in reality would do us a great deal of harm. Cleanse our inmost desires. Help us to love what You love and to hate the ways by which evil appeals to our senses.
As we turn to You now, Lord, we praise You that Your presence is close at hand and the way to Your heaven wide open for us. We throw open the doors of our hearts and celebrate the love that has called us to Your service. May the grace of Christ light our paths; our journeys and encounters, our hopes and our plans. We offer them, Lord, to You; direct them for Your glory. The Music: Lauda 1, written and performed by Bill KleinWhen Ros and I met Bill and Laurie Klein in Spokane in 1995, we knew that the Lord was forming a special bond between us. It is lovely to share this beautiful piece of music that featured on the original recording, and which Bill Klein both wrote and performed on the harp.I long to meet with You today, Lord. In the stillness draw near,that my spirit may be refreshed in You.Renew my love, Lord Jesus; be the joy in my heart,the moment of my waking, and the power behind the day,Bless to me, Lord, the work of my hands. Bless to me, Lord, the ways of my mind. Bless to me, Lord, the affections of my heart, May Your kingdom come each moment of this day. (Anon)May we embark this day, Lord, in the flow of your Spirit’s leading.Unlock the springs of creativity in our hearts; ideas and inspiration that flow to Your glory.Let the power of God rise up as we worship, the love of God as we reach out to othersand the joy of Christ as we live this day for You. I welcome what You bring this day, be it inward joy or outward trial,May my thinking be true, my words and actions kind and my trust be strong. You have given me this day, this hour, this moment, I trust You now with that.
Lord, You have much for us to hear and do but our hearts must be very still and quiet to listen, like Mary, who chose the better part. Draw our souls to silence, that we may sit at Your feet and gain strength and direction.The Music: Largo from Vivaldi’s Concerto for piccolo and strings When I was a student, I watched a moving French film called L’Enfant Sauvage, about the real-life story of a boy who spent the first ten years of his life living on his own in a forest. The music touched me deeply and I prayed to find out what it was. One day, walking through the streets of Oxford, I heard someone playing the piece through an open window in St John’s College. I dashed up the staircase and discovered what it was. It has been a firm favourite ever since! Musicians: Nicola Gerard (flute), Shirley Richards, Teresa Brasier, Nick Evans-Pugh and Jo Garcia (strings)Lord, You have much for us to hear and do but our hearts must be very still and quiet to listen – like Mary, who chose the better part. Draw our souls to silence, that we may sit at Your feet and gain strength and direction. Lord, Your ways are past finding out, yet You share so much with us;Help me to live this day to the full for You, to heed the whispers and the warnings that You send our way; and to know that we are loved, and can rest in Your love. You know when I sit and when I rise; You perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; You are familiar with all my ways. Whom have I in heaven but You? And earth has nothing I desire besides You. (Psalm 139:2-3; Psalm 73:25)I praise You, Lord, for what I cannot yet understand; for the countless ways You guide and bless and the changes that have come my way.Make my heart more grateful, and help me to recognise the gifts and graces You give, and to express my appreciation for them.
No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what You have prepared for those who love You, Lord, but You have revealed it to us by his Spirit. The Music: Gabrielli’s Canzone primi toniThe end of the 16th century found Giovanni Gabrieli combining the roles of organist and principal composer at St Mark’s Cathedral, where he was able to take full advantage of the superb acoustics in that majestic building. One commentator described his dialogues between different instruments as being the 16th-century equivalent to ‘surround sound.’ This simple canzona perfectly offsets the theme of this short piece.Musicians: Julia Herzog, Jo Foote (recorders), Lizzie Attwood, Elizabeth Long (flutes), Francis Cummings, Claire Lewis Lim, Chian Lewis Lim and Suzanne Herzog, Jo Garcia, Matthew Deakin (strings)No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what You have prepared for those who love You, Lord, but You have revealed it to us by his Spirit. Lord, I’m eager to do Your will. Lead me to such people, places and sources of information that will increase my stock of wisdom and my store of learning. Help me to know what to say when people come to me in need. Grant me knowledge without pride and insight without suspicion. Keep me from spending too much time with people I can never really help, or be helped by. Help me to realise that when You say “No” or “Wait” You mean it, and that You have good reason for saying it. Help us to listen to You, Lord. May we hear You through the pages of Your Word,now wild and disturbing,now calm and reassuring,Let Your word enter the secret places of the heart, dispersing fear and condemnation,bringing light and love. Help us to perceive the links and connections amongst the turbulent affairs of mankind: between cause and effect, sin and consequence, mercy and the avoidance of disaster. For You are the stillness that comes after the turmoil;the peace at the end of the day,and the One who renews our hope.
The Music: Vitality – an improvisation, and an Extract from Brahms’s St Anthony Chorale (which itself was based on a theme by Haydn) Musicians: Vitality: Nicola Gerard, Megan Topley, Shirley Richards, Jane Horsfall, Nick Evans Pugh, Christiane von AlbrechtSt. Anthony Chorale: Amy Roberts (oboe), Nicola Gerard (flute), Beth Davies (bassoon) On all my many travels, Lord, be my travelling companion.In all my hours of working, Spirit guide the way, In all my times of study, Lord, anoint my mind. In all my times of waiting Help me to reach out to You. When sharp frustrations come my way, make me phlegmatic as I need to be, but still full of faith. In every time of change, keep us alert and ready.At every crossroads on the way,be my sign-post, guide and Comforter.For if You had come before the midnight hour, all the virgins would have been ready;It was the long delay which exposed their foolish short-sightedness.Make my heart a garden, Lord, of pleasure, not of pain of memories shared together of weeds removed and soil reclaimed.Dear Lord and Father of mankind, Forgive our foolish ways! Reclothe us in our rightful mind, In purer lives, Thy service find, In deeper reverence praise. Jesus, lover of our souls, let our earthly loves be true.As I draw near to those whom I love, may I draw still nearer You.Jesus, Son of Mary, we welcome You in our hearts and homes today. Has not the Lord made them one? In flesh and spirit they are His. And why one? Because He was seeking godly offspring . . . so guard yourself in spirit and do not break faith (Malachi 2:15-16). Bless all families today, Lord. They are jewels set in the heart of this land. Overcome all tensions and frustrations so that many may come to know You better because of the love that is found within their walls. Sanctify each Christian home, and let your peace and presence yield good fruit. Empower those whose marriages are struggling, and be with those which have failed. Give grace and patience to all who live in an unhappy environment. Bless those who are rearing children or awaiting new arrivals. Those who are unable to have children of their own.Those who are married to unbelievers. Those who have remained unmarried out of love for You.Babies who are turning into toddlers. Teenagers who are testing the boundaries as they develop into adults.Those who are sailing the highs and lows of the oceans of life, having left their family home. Those are finding their days long and dreary.Those who are awaiting their home-calling. Welcome them, dear Lord, with open arms, and strengthen the hearts and homes of Your chosen ones.
Back in the 1960s, Dad produced a beautiful Son et Lumière for a church in Nottinghamshire. As part of that presentation, the choir of Southwell Minister kindly agreed to sing some anthems which he recorded, including this exquisite one.
“Oh, the comfort, the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person; having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words, but to pour them all out, just as they are, chaff and grain together, knowing that a faithful hand will take and sift them, keep what is worth keeping, and then, with a breath of kindness, blow the rest away.” (George Eliot)The Music: A Theme for Oboe by Corelli, arranged by Jane MortimoreMusicians: Thomas Herzog, (oboe) Suzanne Herzog, Shirley Richards, Helen Rees, Julian Chang, Jo Garcia (strings)A look, a glance - I can tell at once When something’s on your mind – grant me the grace to handle it aright. I’m hurting, Lord today, I’m afraid to be noticed, I need to be noticed, Help me to share my needs and hurts appropriately.Thank You for friends who can lift the load and set me free again. Lord, we bless You for those You have used to draw us closer to Yourself. We bless You for their kindness and their care of us. Make us infectious for You, Lord, just as they were, so that many can recognise the beauty of Christ through us. Be glorified, Lord, in our friendships. Grant those special encounters which draw us close as soul-brothers and sisters, yet which never encroach upon each other’s own identity.Keep rivalry and striving far away, and all that would spoil our unity. Father, as our spirits sweep round like a radar scan, are there projects that You would have us attempt with our friends?Or any who are in special need today?I lift them now into the light of Christ and wait on You.
This is a prayer to pray for a special friend.The Music: Resting by David Booth; Reverent Whispers by Robert WestonMusicians for Resting: Jane Horsfall, (Celtic harp) Shirley Richards and Nick Evans Pugh, (strings) James Horsfall, (keyboard) Megan Topley (flute) Julia Herzog, (recorder) David Booth (guitar)Reverent Whispers: Fontane LiangThis is a prayer to pray for a special friend:Lord, protect and instruct her heart. Let Your Spirit minister to the depths of her spirit,Keep her from all beguilements and distractions. Watch over every detail of her life and relationships.Lead her, use her, guide her, protect her – at home, at work, at night, in prayer. Let Your anointing compensate for her weaknesses,Your comfort make up for her inadequacies, and Your power be at work from this day forward in her life.Sustain her in her moments of frailty, and strengthen her longing to serve You.Scatter foolish thoughts and vain regrets; inspire her with Your purposes.Direct her to the people and the projects that will bless her most and reap a harvest through that which you have sown in her lifeas Your glory shines through her. In Jesus' name, Amen. Lord, protect and instruct his heart. Let Your Spirit minister to the depths of his spirit,Keep him from all beguilements and temptations, watch over every detail of his life and relationships,Lead him, use him, guide him, protect him – at home, at work, at night, in prayer.Let Your anointing compensate for his weaknesses, Your comfort make up for his inadequacies,and Your power be at work from this day forward in his life.Sustain him in his moments of frailty and strengthen his longing to serve You.Scatter foolish thoughts and vain regrets, inspire him with Your purposesDirect him to the people and the projects that will bless him most, and reap a harvest through that which You have sown in His life.
For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised. The Lord made the heavens; splendour and majesty are before Him; strength and joy fill His dwelling! (Adapted from 1 Chronicles 1: 25-27) The Music: The first movement of Torelli’s beautiful Trumpet Concerto in D (Etienne) Musicians: Anthony Thompson, (trumpet) Shirley Richards, Helen Rees, Julian Chang, Jo Garcia (strings), James Horsfall (keyboard)Lord, thank You that genuine fun and simple pleasures are a powerful antidote against all gloom and despondency. Thank You that even a smile can make such a difference. A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones. Thank You, Lord, that a joyful church is a brilliant witness to outsiders. Grant us deep contentment, Lord, in simple things – and help us to remember the good things You send our way, every day. May the joy of the Lord be our strength.
Music: Schubert ImpromptuThis is a wonderful word of reassurance by Suzie Hunt; a love song from the Lord to us. With so many of us inclined to struggle with negative thoughts of one kind or another, this powerful poem by Suzie Hunt is a poignant and poetic reminder of Paul’s oft quoted statement that, ‘There is no condemnation now for those who live in union with Christ Jesus.’ (Rom. 8:1 GNT)You ARE beautiful my childbut it has nothing to do with you.You are beautiful because you are in Me.I know!We both see the you that makes you hide in shame,but it’s no matter to Me.It’s you who seeks to maim.I see you beautiful;in you My plan fulfilled.I see you changing.In you my heart is thrilled.I have chosen you. Do you not see?I don’t make mistakes.Your life is here in Me.I know you are distracted nowwhile upon the earth.You sin. You take your eyes off Me,yet still I see your worthand I repeat, “You are beautiful.”And your repentant tears melt my heartto a tidal wave of love.You cannot know yet how much I love you,how much I want you,but know I gave my life that you might do so.Not because of the you you know,but because of the you I know.And I call you beautiful.
Continuing the theme of coming to the waters, Fontaine Liang continues to play Smetana’s striking piece The Moldau, reflecting the beauties of the Czech countryside that the river flows through. If you missed the first in this series of reflections, I think you will appreciate it. Manuel de Falla's dramatic harp music is again played for us by Fontane Liang. May the river of the water of life flow freely in our hearts this and every day.
It is a joy to send you Part 2 in our series on ‘Come to the Waters.’ Britannica tells us that the sparkling music that accompanies both these pieces ‘evokes the flow of the Vltava River, from its source in the mountains of the Bohemian Forest, through the Czech countryside, and right into the capital city of Prague.’You may well know this piece as ‘The Moldau’ – which is the German name for the Vltava river. You will love its rippling effects that Fontane Liang plays so beautifully for us. Smetana’s love of his homeland shines through; as we celebrate our love of our eternal homeland - and the flow of His Holy Spirit in our lives.
All creation here belowConnections Track 21All creation here belowsings the glories of the heavens aboveand the One who hymns creation into being.By day, Your leading is clearby night it assumes more subtle shades,but both alike are open to Your Spirit,and so we can trust You,for just as we are wonderfully and fearfully madeso You are fitting together the full span of Your purposes for our lives.The heavens declare the glory of God;the skies proclaim the work of his hands.Day after day they pour forth speech;night after night they display knowledge.There is no speech or languagewhere their voice is not heard.Their voice goes out into all the earth,their words to the ends of the world.In the heavens he has pitched a tent for the sun,which is like a bridegroom coming forth from his pavilion,like a champion rejoicing to run his course.It rises at one end of the heavensand makes its circuit to the other;nothing is hidden from its heat.The law of the LORD is perfect,reviving the soul.The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy,making wise the simple.The precepts of the LORD are right,giving joy to the heart.The commands of the LORD are radiant,giving light to the eyes.The fear of the LORD is pure,enduring forever.The ordinances of the LORD are sureand altogether righteous.They are more precious than gold,than much pure gold;they are sweeter than honey,than honey from the comb.By them is your servant warned;in keeping them there is great reward.Who can discern his errors?Forgive my hidden faults.Keep your servant also from wilful sins;may they not rule over me.Then will I be blameless,innocent of great transgression.May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heartbe pleasing in your sight,O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.
I am going to My FatherConnections Track 20My children, I am going to my Father, and to your Father,to prepare the way for you.A little while and you will see me yet,and then another little while and you will not.Will you let me go? Do not be afraid; your love will survive the parting, for though you will not see Me often you will find it best that I return whence I came,to My Father and to your Father.Practice living with an open hand,not holding on too tight,but offering everything back to Me,so that when your work is done,and you are on the homeward run,you will have the grace to pass the baton on.Therefore since you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
Connections Track 19Prayer for Israel. You yearn for the land you set your heart upon as for a first-born child.Lord we declare your glory among the nationsYour marvellous deeds among all peoples,for You take especial careall Your hand has formed.We give you now the land You first set Your heart upon,whose soul Jesus quite reshaped,and for whom You yearn as for a first born son.We pray for its people, so long the despised among the nations,who all but wandered from their Messianic expectations;and Jerusalem, that You set in the midst of the nationswith hostile countries all around.We give You now its immediate future,its texture, soil and infrastructure.The outreach of Your people there,and the nation’s response to them,Pour out upon these mountainsthe longed for springs and fountainsthat the prophet Jeremiah foresawconcerning the promised Messiah,and whatever direction and protectionwill prove the keyto bring the nation to its knees.Whatever You desire the enemy opposes,and so we pray, let not those who gaze upon the land with envysucceed against Your will,but rather let Your full and perfect blessingrest upon the people and the land,and all the peoples of the Middle Eastwho are invited to Your feast.
Connections track 18Kyrie EleisonLord have mercyChriste EleisonChrist have mercyKyrie Eleison At the turning of the season;In the victory of your heartOver commonsense and reason.In the raking up of leaves;And the turning of life’s pages;In a whispered humble prayerOr our broken hearted rages. Kyrie EleisonLord have mercyChriste EleisonChrist have mercyKyrie Eleison In the way we make our choices;On that lonely, broken roadThrough the cries in children’s voices.In the beating of the rain;Or the burning of the stubble;In the perished, frightened eyesAnd the mists of tears and struggle. Kyrie EleisonLord have mercyChriste EleisonChrist have mercyKyrie Eleison In the breaking and the endingThe washing of all sorrowsThe healing and the mendingThe fading of the heartacheAnd the lifting of the shadowsThe hope upon the mountainsThe comfort in the meadows Kyrie EleisonLord have mercyChriste EleisonChrist have mercy Pour out your healing balmsOn each failure, fault and fearCome hold us in your armsAnd be forever near. Kyrie EleisonLord have mercyChriste EleisonChrist have mercy
Connections tracks 17Music by Linda Louisa This is a prayer for prodigalswho have walked away from the Lord anddrifted from the faith they once had,and those who were leaders of the work of God but who now, for whatever reason, no longer are.Pour out your love on those we are concerned for, Father.Forgive us all we have done,and all that they have experienced elsewhere that has caused them to turn away from You.We pray for clarity of faith to be restored,and the Spirit of Jesus to flow again in hearts grown cool.Send men and women of faithto touch them with the word of God.Speak to them in dreams by night and in visions by dayMay they know the love that never lets them down,and may they feel Your presence once againMake it easy for them to come back, Lordmay neither pride nor shame hold them at a distance,but may the Love of God make the connectionthat leads to eternal life,In Jesus Name, Amen.
Track 16Adagio by Alessandro Marcello 1669 - 1747 from a Concerto in D minor, second movementFrom daybreak till midnightthe tide will turn four times,even as the clock continues its chimes.Let nothing hinder the incoming tide,as You prepare Your Heavenly Bride.Draw close when the tide feels out, and we are tempted to begin to doubt.May we trust Your purposes in each low tide,when You appear to hide,then bravely catch each new wavethat You so lovingly provide.Even through the deepest drought,we owe it to You to seek You outlonging for the place of deeper release as we yearn for Your Spirit’s return. The prophet JONAH declared"When my life was ebbing away,I remembered you, LORD,and my prayer rose to you,to your holy temple."Those who cling to worthless idolsforfeit the grace that could be theirs.But I, with a song of thanksgiving,will sacrifice to you.What I have vowed I will make good.Salvation comes from the LORD."So often, Lord, when we are feeling insecure,it is because we are using the wrong set of measuring tools.Were we to see the weighing machinesthat You use to value all we do,we might not recognise them at all,for You evaluate by entirely different criteria,seeking less the outcomes the world considers goodthan the love and devotion with which we carry out our tasks,and the measure of obedience that lies within them.So realign our heart’s desireto be more in tune with Yours,for the more we succeed in doing thisthe more joy we will know in our spiritsand the deeper the comfort we will bring to others too.Lord, we often feel let down by others in the course of our pilgrimageand grieved by the way things work out.But it is amazing how you bring good out of seeming catastrophesand turn situations right round for your glory.Help me not to be disappointed but to praiseand to trust that You can turn our disappointmentsinto Your appointments.For this truly honours You.
Connections Track 15A Place near Your AltarWritten by Francis Cummings. Verses from Zephaniah; In the beginning, O Lord, you laid the foundations of the earth,and the heavens are the work of your hands. (Psalm 102:25)They will perish, but you remain;they will all wear out like a garment.You will roll them up like a robe;like a garment they will be changed.But You remain the same,and Your years will never end."(Psalm 102:26-27 and Hebrews 1:12) Gather together, gather together,O shameful nation, before the appointed time arrivesand that day sweeps on like chaff,before the fierce anger of the LORD comes upon you,before the day of the Lord’s wrath comes upon you.Seek the LORD, all you humble of the land,you who do what he commands.Seek righteousness, seek humility;perhaps you will be shelteredon the day of the Lord’s anger.Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD is the Rock eternal.You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you,all whose thoughts are fixed on you!Yes, LORD, walking in the way of your laws, we wait for You;Your name and Your renown are the desire of our hearts.My soul yearns for You in the night;in the morning my spirit longs for You.Lord, You will grant us peace,for all we have accomplished comes from You.O Lord, other lords have ruled us,but You alone are the one we worship.The LORD within her is righteous;He does no wrong.Morning by morning He dispenses His justice,and every new day He does not fail,yet the unrighteous know no shame."Then will I purify the lips of the peoples,that all of them may call on the name of the LORDand serve Him shoulder to shoulder.On that day you will not be put to shamefor all the wrongs you have done to me,because I will remove from this citythose who rejoice in their pride.Never again will you be haughtyon my holy hill.But I will leave within youthe meek and humble,who trust in the name of the LORD.Sing, O Daughter of Zion;shout aloud, O Israel!Be glad and rejoice with all your heart,O Daughter of Jerusalem!"Do not fear, O Zion;do not let your hands hang limp.The LORD your God is with you,he is mighty to save.He will take great delight in you,And quiet you with his love,As He rejoices over you with singing."
Connections Track 14Prayers by Richard Rolle and Bishop of ChichesterBack in the fourteenth century, while studying for the priesthood at Oxford, Richard Rolle came to hate the way his teachers spoke about God as if we were an intellectual concept rather than a living person. He went to live as a hermit on the Yorkshire moors, and came to know God in a deep and intimate way. He subsequently toured the country, praying for the people he met, and singing to them out of the sweetness he had experienced in the presence of the Lord.This is one of his prayers.I ask you, Lord Jesus, to inspire within me, Your lover,an affection that is unbounded,a desire that is unrestrained,and a yearning that throws discretion to the winds.May reason not hold my love in check.May fear not inhibit my devotion.May decorum not temper my fervour.The sweetness of Your love, my Beloved,so vastly exceeds the pleasure of any earthly joysthat if those who lust after the things of this worldand who know nothing of the delights of Your lovehad a single taste of Your sweetness,they too would become Your lovers.This is a prayer by Richard of ChichesterThanks be to you, my Lord, Jesus Christ, For all the benefits that you have given me; For all the pains and insults you have borne for me.O Holy Jesus, most merciful redeemer,Friend and brotherHelp me to see you more clearly,love You more dearlyand follow You more nearly.
Connections track 13Destiny - written by Francis Cummings (Verses from Psalm 45) Scottish Psalm Psalm 45My heart is stirred by a noble theme as I recite my verses for the king;my tongue is the pen of a skillful writer.You are the most excellent of menand your lips have been anointed with grace,since God has blessed you forever.Gird your sword upon your side, O mighty one;clothe yourself with splendor and majesty.In your majesty ride forth victoriouslyin behalf of truth, humility and righteousness;let your right hand display awesome deeds.Let your sharp arrows pierce the hearts of the king's enemies;let the nations fall beneath your feet.Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever;a sceptre of justice will be the sceptre of your kingdom.
Connections Track 12Music by Vivaldi. Winter, Four Seasons, lead violin, Francis Cummings
Connections Track 11 Thank you, Lord, that from times of old,You have raised up seers and prophets bold,who share Your heartand show what makes a people great.and yet the people's choice has all but swallowed the prophet's voice.Praise God for that company of prophetswho refuse to forsake their God-given task,who never cease to seek and askfor the removal of people’s masks.Raise up an anointed bandWho hear Your voice and stride out through the land.
Music by Linda LouisaThe roll call growsof those whose blood no longer flowsand who have moved on to higher things.I thank and praise You, Lord,for the memory of those heroic oneswho have passed at lastbeyond the ravages of time and dustto take their placein the great communion of saints.May we play our part now to the full,so that we ourselves will be no lesswhen our time comes. Lord God of History,Author of all Mystery,How fiercely the enemy seeks to smotherthe wisdom of every other time,so that each generation struggles up the climb,unable to perceive the clear connectionsthat deeper reflections would bestow.Lord, hold our spirits fastto lessons from the past,and then display true skillto implement Your will. God of our fathers,those pioneers and settlers,conquerors and seers,when my lens is trueI can begin to viewthe links and patternsthat perpetuate Your blessingas well as those that cause such strife in my life;strong invisible threadsthat Heavenly hands have meshed togetherbut which fleshly fingers seek to pull asunder,and demonic claws to shred.Free us from the deadweight of diseased inheritance,So that we, Your beloveds, can inheritthe blessings bestowed in prayerby those who learned to weep. God of History,when I am feeling daunted and tauntedand inclined to snap,help me call to mindthe memory of Your many past deliverances,and to trust that You will do the samewith the seeds I give you now.God of explanation,drop Your plumb line and open widethe lens that reveals our hidden pride,and the weaknesses that are our special temptation.Then let the searchlight of Your love enable us to face our deep seated dissonanceso that we may shine like the brightest starsand rise above our ever present scars. To those that are crying out for Gracebe assured there is no drought in heaven.No lessening of God's seventy times seven.You are indeed the God of the 2nd, 3rd and 30th chance.But we cannot ask You to re-strand and re-launch our livesunless we are willing to allow Youto apply Your lanceand resist all backward glance.
You yearn for our company more than we desire Yours,and Your Spirit constantly exploreshow to develop some new dimensionas You watch for our love and comprehensionYou love to speak, Lord,beyond the need for words.You listen to our inmost thoughtsand bring us to a place of inner quiet.Guard our hearingfor listening is the gatewayto the intimate communionthat both we and Youare longing for.
Music by J.S. BachDouble Concerto for Oboe and Violin in D Minor, Adagio, J.S.Bach, 1685 - 1750, second movement Adagio, BWV 1060;Thomas Herzog and Suzannah Herzog For those who feel the pull of too many pressuresand the pain of too many falls,let the companionable presence of the Lord restorethe sharpness of their soul.For those whose giftings have been laid asideand fallen out of use,we ask You to restore their desire and courageto serve in Your kingdom.Where the heart has lost its heartand is walking in defeat,may the longing arise to senseyour companionable presence once moreand to enter that stillness of soul where they knowboth the exaltation and the agonyof feeling as You feel,and of seeing as You see. Jesus said, "The Holy Spirit will bring glory to meby taking from what is mineand making it known to you.All that belongs to the Father is mineand that's why I said the Spirit will take from what is mineand make it known to you."Give us the discernment Lordto distinguish truth from untruthand those rather more complex half-truths.Especially we ask Youto direct our reading and to guide our footstepsthe the bruised and bleeding. Psalm 65Blessed are those you chooseand bring near to live in your courts!We are filled with the good things of your house,of your holy temple.You answer us with awesome deeds of righteousness,O God our Saviour,the hope of all the ends of the earthand of the farthest seas,who formed the mountains by your power,having armed yourself with strength,who stilled the roaring of the seas,the roaring of their waves,and the turmoil of the nations.Those living far away fear your wonders;where morning dawns and evening fadesyou call forth songs of joy.You care for the land and water it;you enrich it abundantly.The streams of God are filled with waterto provide the people with grain,You drench its furrowsand level its ridges;you soften it with showersand bless its crops.You crown the year with your bounty,and your carts overflow with abundance. Ps 66Come and listen, all you who fear God;let me tell you what he has done for me.I cried out to him with my mouth;his praise was on my tongue.If I had cherished sin in my heart,the Lord would not have listened;but God has surely listenedand heard my voice in prayer.Praise be to God,who has not rejected my prayeror withheld his love from me!
Connections, track 3Music by Peter Richards, played by Thomas Herzog Lord, I am working so hard for You,desiring just to play my partand striding our beneath Your banner,longing to be true in heart. Come apart, My child.Come apart and rest awhile.You're in this for the long haul,and I desire Your humble all. Lord, I need time out from the maul,so I will seek to heed this call.But can I learn to rest within Your grace and peace. Come aside, My holy bride,You have not missed My grace,or lost the right to seek My face,for a contrite broken heartwill surely beone that beats in time with Me. Dayspring from on high,draw Your presence night.To You goes all my longing,my treasured home and deep belonging.Sweep the dross from my soul,and take command and full control.Draw me deep beneath Your wingin fresh encounters with the King.Jesus, Lover of my soulI open wide my heartto embrace this intense adoring passion,for which Your blood was poured.For You have loved me even as the Father has loved you.Water the seeds I plantand grow them for Your glory,but let all You see in mebe a broken contrite heartthat beats in time with Yours. Press on, my child, into My heart.Let Christ be milestone guide and chart.Resist the sound of disappointment's chordsand the guilt and envy that cut you with their swords;allow yourself to doubt your doubtsand quiet the noise that darkness shouts.Sense the perfume that My love bringsand set your face to the coming King.
Lord, the stars can't warm our hearts,with tears of love or shouts of joy,but You stoop down to hearthe songs Your love imparts.We dare not waste our daysbewailing all we cannot do.But if we give You our heartsand we give You our hands,You will find the means to do the rest.And so we come as lovers to a tryst,in the company of a thousand million souls.Asking that you direct this flow of loveinto each encounter you lead us to.So that each one becomes a new and fulsome realityenthused with Your love. No seed we sow escapes Your eyeand passes unseen in Your courts, Lord.But many times You have watchedwhat the enemy has scorched,causing me to miss the goal,and leaving me quite afraid.So with great persistencebreak through the steep resistance.Cry long, cry loud,don't let your spirit be subduedor your heart be cowed.And if progress grinds to a halt,and it is not primarily your fault,remember that to win the prize,even precious seeds must die,for "What you sow comes not to life until it dies;"for only thus do single seeds expand and multiply. I am still the same childwho gladly seeks Your face;Your Spirit remains the threadthat holds me and sustains me.You free my soul from dreadand guide me through the mazewith head held high and heart ablaze. In quiet reflection that overcomes all condemnation,I will help you understand the links and connectionsthat stem from deep-seated rejections that war against My leading,and that blind your heart in guilt and dejection.Uncork all bottled anger, hurt and resentment that would blunt the flow of My loveand I will straighten the paththat leads through your heart.
Deep calls to Deep A traditional Orthodox chant, arranged by Justin ColdstreamI came across this beautiful ancient chant from the Orthodox tradition, which Justin kindly transcribed and arranged for us. It seems particularly relevant to meditate on this piece, and to use it to pray for Orthodfox believers in Russia, Ukraine and around the world at this time. Ruach Breath of Life 2022. Recorded at The House of the Open Door, Childswickham. With many thanks to Francis Cummings, Christiane Mueller, Corinne Frost and Jo Garcia (strings) and especially Anthony Thompson, who added the beautiful trumpet obligato.
Thirsty for GodThe Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” . . . To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life . . . Yes, let the one who is thirsty come and take the free gift of the water of life. (Rev. 21:6, 22:17)Welcome to this special presentation of prayer, reflections and music on the theme of receiving the waters of life that the Lord Jesus is offering us, and which we hear Isaiah, Israel’s great prophet to the nations, announcing. “Ho everyone who is thirsty, come to the waters!”We don’t say ‘Ho’ anymore, but it’s a really strong word in Hebrew: ‘Hoy’ rather like Jesus saying ‘Verily, verily.’ Most modern versions simply sayI while the ultra-modern ones use some such expression as ‘Hey! Or ‘You there!’And what a warm and welcoming word ‘come’ is! And what it is we are being invited to come to do? To buy, and drink! In places where water is scare, we wouldn’t be in the least surprised to hear vendors crying out, ‘Drinking Water: come and get it!” But then we would expect to hear a hefty price tag attached: ‘Thirty shekels a hin!’But not here. Here, we are invited to come without price – to receive and to drink. We’re talking about the river of life which Jesus promised would flow within the hearts of believers (John 7:37). All our springs are meant to be in Him, (Ps. 87:7) and we’re praying today that You will release more of the flow of Your Spirit directly into any areas of our heart where the water level has become cloudy, silted, damned up, or receded – just as water companies open the sluice gates and release additional reserves of water when it is required.Thank You, Jesus, that there is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, that holy place where the Most High dwells. (Ps. 46:4)I love the Hebrew word that is used here for ‘come:’ haw-lak or lə·ḵū. Forgive the pronunciation, but the lovely thing about it is that, depending on the context, it embraces both an invitation to come and a directive to go. In other words, it covers all eventualities. We are meant to come to the Lord to drink so that we can go out in the power of the Spirit. It is the direction of travel in our life that is the most important thing of all.And there are times when our thirst is quenched and we can be perfectly at peace and at rest in You – but Jesus, we’re sorry that so often, we come to You for a brief drink and then, as if satisfied that we have done our duty and had our weekly dose, before just carrying on again with our own concerns.Jesus, help us to recognise those times when You want us to press in and to push through, taking full advantage of Your invitation to come to the waters, looking to see where the Spirit would guide and lead us next. Did You not tell us that it is the Spirit alone who gives life, and that the flesh counts for nothing? (John 6:63 NIV) We’re eager to enter into the fullness of that life, into Your vitality that revives our dull and self-satisfied souls.
What a debt we owe to the nineteenth century poet, scholar and Anglican priest John Neale who translated this and so many really great hymns from the Latin. The original words of this much loved hymn, which has long been sung in schools, and at great occasions on behalf of Church and State, originally highlighted the continuity between the glories of the Heavenly city and God’s great power, ability and willingness to help His people now. The much shortened words that we have set it to here are the ones most commonly sung today. The powerful music is by one of England’s greatest composers: Henry Purcell, and set, most appropriately, to a tune called Westminster Abbey. Christ is made the sure foundation,Christ, our head and cornerstone,chosen of the Lord and precious,binding all the Church in one;holy Zion’s help foreverand our confidence alone.2 To this temple, where we call you,come, O Lord of hosts, and stay;come with all your lovingkindness,hear your people as they pray;and your fullest benedictionspeak within these walls today.3 Grant, we pray, to all your faithfulall the gifts they ask to gain;what they gain from you foreverwith the blessed to retain;And hereafter in your gloryevermore with you to reign.4 Praise and honor to the Father,praise and honor to the Son,praise and honor to the Spirit,ever three and ever one:one in might and one in glorywhile unending ages run!Recorded at The House of the Open Door, with Anthony Thompson (Trumpet), Peter Richards (Keyboard), Nicola Gerrard, (Flute) and Francis Cummings, Shirley Richards, Philippa Barton, Christiane Mueller and Jo Garcia (Strings). Ruach Breath of Life 2022,
As our tribute, prayer and celebration of the Queen’s gift to the nation, here is a superb piece of music we recorded recently. After a short and solemn march, the four trumpets in this Sinfonia in C by Giuseppe Torelli, sound out their glorious proclamation.Ruach Breath of Life 2022, Recorded at House of the Open Door Enormous thanks to Anthony Thompson (trumpet), Peter Richards (organ), Francis Cummings and Shirley Richards (violins), Christiane Mueller (viola) and Corinne Frost (cello) for their breathtaking playing.
Connections, track 1Music by Linda LouisaLord, as we embark on this prayerful journey,help us grasp the depth of Your loveand the sheer breadth of the romanceas You called the world into being.We praise You for Your glory in creationthe humility of the incarnation,the fact that time itself is in your trainand that You will one day wrap it up againwhen You come to assume Your full and final reign.Thank You for the rich continuitythat flows through all You doas You guide and confide in our livesas Your presence revives.No words can express how much Your courtship means;it constantly enriches our friendshipfirst with Your Son, and then with each other.Use these friendships for Your glory,and so write a whole new storyas we heed the hints Your Spirit grants,and perceive the links in the way You lead.
Autumn GlorySome years ago, I wrote a piece for Nicola which I called Japanese Peace. Unbeknownst to me, it so happened that I sent it to her on her birthday! She recorded this piece for us during our last such event, Heaven’s Kingdom.This year I felt to write another piece for her, which I called Autumn Glory, and this time, it arrived as Nick, Nicola’s husband, was showing her all their wedding memorabilia in celebration of their silver wedding anniversary. Amongst the list of presents was a crockery set called ‘Autumn Glory’! How precious is that? Bless Nicola as she plays it.
The roll call growsof those whose blood no longer flowsand who have moved on to higher things.I thank and praise You, Lord,for the memory of those heroic oneswho have passed at lastbeyond the ravages of time and dustto take their placein the great communion of saints.May we play our part now to the full,so that we ourselves will be no lesswhen our time comes. Lord God of History,Author of all Mystery,How fiercely the enemy seeks to smotherthe wisdom of every other time,so that each generation struggles up the climb,unable to perceive the clear connectionsthat deeper reflections would bestow.Lord, hold our spirits fastto lessons from the past,and then display true skillto implement Your will. God of our fathers,those pioneers and settlers,conquerors and seers,when my lens is trueI can begin to viewthe links and patternsthat perpetuate Your blessingas well as those that cause such strife in my life;strong invisible threadsthat Heavenly hands have meshed togetherbut which fleshly fingers seek to pull asunder,and demonic claws to shred.Free us from the deadweight of diseased inheritance,So that we, Your beloveds, can inheritthe blessings bestowed in prayerby those who learned to weep. God of History,when I am feeling daunted and tauntedand inclined to snap,help me call to mindthe memory of Your many past deliverances,and to trust that You will do the samewith the seeds I give you now.God of explanation,drop Your plumb line and open widethe lens that reveals our hidden pride,and the weaknesses that are our special temptation.Then let the searchlight of Your love enable us to face our deep-seated dissonanceso that we may shine like the brightest starsand rise above our ever-present scars. To those that are crying out for Gracebe assured there is no drought in heaven.No lessening of God's seventy times seven.You are indeed the God of the 2nd, 3rd and 30th chance.But we cannot ask You to re-strand and re-launch our livesunless we are willing to allow Youto apply Your lanceand resist all backward glance.
The Lord gave me this haunting theme and melody some time ago, but shaping and arranging it on paper proved more challenging - not least for Sally Mowbray, who took up the call to make it her own song and to sound forth the magnificence of our God, as well as reflecting some of His intercessory longings. Recorded at House of the Open Door (2022) with Sally Mowbray, (vocals and keyboard), Jo Garcia (cello), and Nicola Gerrard (flute).
Savour the powerful worship of this song by Huw Humphries, one of God's troubadours – and soak in the prospect of one day being part of the worshipping community in God's Heavenly Kingdom. Isn’t that a vision to rejoice our hearts? As this song indicates, God comes most richly and most deeply to those who are prepared to lay down their own idols, and to worship Him with all their heart. May this song enthuse and enable us to come before the throne of God afresh, lost in wonder, love and praise.1. All the hosts of Heaven sing their praises to Your throne. From the poor and lonely come the ones You call Your own.Jesus, Jesus Jesus, Jesus2. There within the centre reigns the Lamb who once was slain; Holy One, we sing our praise in honour of Your Name.3. Father, I draw nearer with my heart to bring to You. Take Your flame of suffering; with it my love renew.4. Laying down my idols, I embrace Your holy ways; Worthier than loved ones, You're the jewel of my praise.5. From the deepest hollow of my heart I sing to You;Purify my worship ‘til Your love has cleansed me through.(© Huw Humphries 1990, arranged by Justin Coldstream and recorded at House of the Open Door, April 2022, with vocals Megan Topper, Nicola Gerrard (flute), Anthony Thompson (trumpet), Peter Richards (French horn), Justin Coldstream (keyboard) and Francis Cummings, Philippa Barton, Christiane Mueller and Corinne Frost (strings).
Behind the seismic shifts that the world is handling, and all the social, political and military challenges it faces year after year, God is working His purposes out. Life, even in the relatively comfortable West, seems more fragile than it did, and certainties have become uncertainties, but the day is coming when the Earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of God. (Hab. 2:14)
This song by Linda Entwistle is based on Joel’s prophecy which speaks of a war that puts to an end all wars, for it culminates in the return of the Lord Jesus to Earth. (Joel 3) As Linda put it, “As the threat of war hangs heavy over the world in these days, this song looks at and beyond the catalytic events that will unfurl in the land of Israel, and affect the whole world.
There is so much that the Lord is doing as He prepares to usher in an entirely new phase of His Kingdom on Earth when He will put right all that has taken the world so far from his ways, en route to fulfilling the glorious promise of Isaiah 65:17-18 and Revelation 21 concerning the new heavens and the new earth that He will create, in which He makes everything new.’
I was looking for a piece that would help us to pray for Russia, and was reminded of a hymn we used to sing many years ago. It is a famous Russian folk tune, and the words are so powerful.
May it inspire us to see Russia in a good and godly way, but also to pray for other nations too.
The reference to grain in the mills is particularly poignant.
For background see, https://hymnary.org/hymn/PsH/595
Praise to God in the highest! Bless us, O Father: praise to you! Guide and prosper the nations, rulers, and peoples: praise to you!
2 May the truth in its beauty flourish triumphant: praise to you! May the mills bring us bread, for food and for giving: praise to you!
3 May the good be obeyed and evil be conquered: praise to you! Give us laughter, and set us daily rejoicing: praise to you!
4 Peace on earth and goodwill be ever among us: praise to you! Amen, alleluia, alleluia, amen.
A psalm of Robert the servant of the LORD, a prayer for a heart that is single-minded and free from deceit. To the Gregorian chant Veni Creator Spiritus.
(Musicians: Shirley Richards, Helen Rees (violin), Chian Lewis-Lim, Cathie Muncey (viola), Corinne Frost, Jo Garcia, Anna Frazer (cello), Geth Griffiths (double bass), Amy Roberts (oboe), Fontane Liang (harp), Beth Davies (bassoon), Phil Steventon (percussion))
I know my fickle nature, Lord God, and fear the damage it can do – not least the dishonour I bring Your name when I claim You as my Lord and God but fail to reflect Your likeness. My body will only last so long, but my soul will remain forever. Forgive the many times when my patience grows threadbare thin, and my faith begins to wilt. Grant rather that I learn to possess my soul with patience. (Luke 21:19)
Come, heal deluded deceitful hearts for which, in worldly terms, there is no cure. Attend to that sour-edged brittleness that so often surrounds and accompanies fickle hearts, and which finds new ways to impose its tyrannical constraints on others. Lift the deadweight of fickleness from their hearts I pray, and set free any I have unwittingly hurt and imposed upon. Then make of my heart a shining beacon of light, brim-filled with the treasures of eternity. ‘Batter my heart, Three-Person’d God, for You as yet but knock, breathe, shine, and seek to mend; that we may rise and stand.’ (John Donne)
For though my capricious ways cry out against me, You are the same Lord whose nature is always to have mercy, and whose constancy far outweighs my fickle ways. Look not upon my failure to reform, but upon Your own steadfast faithfulness; for Your faithfulness reaches to the heavens, and extends into the furthermost corners of Your still expanding universe.
Brittle times are revealing times, so build true to plumb in me, Oh Great Refiner. Heed not my foolish fickle words but honour each true intention to honour You, And implant such resilience in my heart that it can ride out the tremors when fierce oppressions bear down that shake the very ground of my being.
For have You not said: ‘Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen and uphold you with My righteous right hand.’ (Is. 41:10) Enfold me in Your love and strengthen my knees to move again with renewed vigour. I give You now all the fumbles that make my heart stumble, And most especially those issues that I name before You now . . . Selah I give these things to You now, Lord God, and ask You to shine Your light in and root them out so that I can grow upright toward You, setting my will afresh to seek Your face.
This is a really lovely improvisation, which leaves a precious aftertaste.
See where the Lord leads you as you listen to this beautiful piece, and who and what He might have you lift to Him.
Beginning with a powerful fanfare on the French Horn, and culminating in as astonishing virtuoso piece of improvisation by Julia Herzog on descant recorder, what came to our minds the moment we heard this piece was the Water Tower that is a major landmark in Prenzlauer Berg, the region of Berlin that the Herzog family live in.
It is a very atmospheric and evocative piece that will perhaps inspire you to pray in different ways. Do listen more than once to get the most out of it – perhaps to let the spirit of prayer stir in you on behalf of all who are suffering captivity and cruel treatment.
We had looked up the history of Prenzlauer, and had asked the players to capture something of the sound of Berlin, as well as Sounds of Heaven. This is the astonishingly powerful result.
At a folk dance on a village square in Majorca many years ago I heard this delightful piece being played, which we transcribed and arranged many years later for Julia Herzog (descant recorder) and Susanne Herzog (violin.)
Having come across this piece in passing we obviously do not know who wrote it, but assume it to be a traditional Majorcan folk tune.
A psalm of Robert the servant of the LORD, a prayer for a heart that is single-minded and free from deceit. To an improvisation on the music of ‘In Church’ by Pyotr (Peter) Ilyich Tchaikovsky.
Musicians: Christiane von Albrecht and Jo Garcia
You are trustworthy, tried and true; While I, as changeable as a weathervane, and only too capable of saying one thing but meaning and doing quite another, often blowing needlessly hot or needlingly cold. Lord of quite remarkable forbearance, Let me yield no place to thoughts and attitudes, or utter words that should find no welcome in my heart. Lord, you know only too well the many ways in which I fail You; The times I fret and worry, and fail to trust You. The times I speak ill of others, neither seeing Your call on their lives, nor heeding Your warning that if I bite and devour others, I risk being destroyed in turn by them. (Gal. 5:15)
The times I lash out, shrill and vindictive, my sensitivities bristling like so many quills, or, preferring to sulk, allowing bitter roots of resentment to inject its poison into my heart.
Since my conscience and my actions lie exposed before You Lord; how dare I set out to deceive?
For the sake of Your glory, and for love of those with whom I have to deal, let my conscience be swift to welcome Your correction.
Oh God, will You help me to cleanse my hands and purify my heart from these sins that lie crouching at the door? (Jas. 4:8, Gen. 4:7)
Teach me to see off bears and wolves, and to wrestle with other wild beasts – but also to recognise the seductive murmur of the siren serpent that led Demas to fall in love with the world and to turn away from serving You, and Judas to pin his hopes on agendas that were never Yours.
There are many fierce beasts, Lord, and many people have fallen prey; many whose hearts have exchanged truth for a lie and fickle flattery that embraces dark and shifting shadows.
You warned us that in the last days, deceitfulness would arise in many forms – not least when good people take on board beliefs that Heaven cannot own. Yet You choose to allow the wheat and the tares to grow together, and You ask that we remain true to our calling and constant in Your constancy. Fickleness and deception soon harden into a shameful constancy that is deeply resistant to the love notes and warnings that You send.
Spare me from the fate of Lot’s wife, casting her gaze backwards when You are summoning me upward and onward! Let my heart not crystallise in regret like ‘a pillar of salt standing as a monument to my unbelief! (Wisdom 10:7)
Oh God, will You set free many hearts that flit and flutter, and are so easily misled? Draw us instead to a place of constancy in You.
A psalm of Robert the servant of the LORD, a prayer for a heart that is single-minded and free from deceit. To the tune, St Denio, which is based on ‘Can mlynedd i nawr’ (‘A Hundred Years from Now’) and familiar to us in the hymn, ‘Immortal, invisible God only wise.’
Even many of those who instinctively enjoy and welcome change have found the upheavals and restrictions of the last few plague and climate-driven emergencies hard to endure in recent years. Not only does the Lord see the huge difficulties these events have engendered, but there is also the matter of people’s fickleness and unreasonableness to reckon with - hearts – including our own.
The word ‘fickle’ has an interesting history. In Old English word (f i c k o l) it meant not only ‘frequently changing our mind,’ and being ‘impulsive and unreliable,’ it also implied deliberate deceitfulness.
The Lord loves it when we keep the eyes of our heart fixed on Him, but He hates it when people deliberately set out to misrepresent facts and to conceal truth. It is more important than ever to remind ourselves and one another of the constancy of God. In this prayerful reflection, therefore, we will be pondering two main themes: the steadfast faithfulness of God, and our own tendency to be changeable.
Paul wrote that it was his goal that all God’s people might be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that we might have the full riches of complete understanding, and know the mystery of God, namely, Christ. (Col. 2:2). So we pray with the psalmist, ‘Teach me your way, O LORD, that I may walk in Your truth; unite my heart to fear your name.’ (Ps. 84:11 ESV) What a powerful phrase that is!
What a powerful phrase that is, so that all our concerns and actions spring from a heart that is at one, both with the Lord and within itself. There is a lot of talk today about being ‘true to ourselves’ and ‘following our hearts.’ But the Lord told Jeremiah that “the heart is deceitful above all things,” (Jeremiah 17:9), and even those of us who truly desire to love and serve the Lord can fail to notice the deceitfulness in our own way of thinking, and others things for which we need to repent. It is as if we are operating under artificial arc lights of our own making, as opposed to examining our hearts in the true light of God.
Jesus, You want us know the truth of what You find in our hearts, and we do well to recall how direct and specific You were in the heartfelt letters of warning You send to Your beloved Churches in Revelation chapters 2 and 3.
The writer to Hebrews urges us to avoid having our heart choked and hardened by ‘sin’s deceitfulness:’ the very things that quench the abundant life of Jesus and the flow of His Spirit (Heb. 3:13; cf Mark 4:19)
May the Lord be with us now as we seek to move away and beyond the things that make for unhappiness and which perpetuate an inner brittleness rather than a full-on trusting relationship with Him. May we be eager for all trace and shadow of deceitfulness to be driven out when He chooses to inspect our hearts, and to respond to His constancy by seeking to be constant and whole hearted in all that we do!
Thank You, Lord, that Your word is firmly fixed in the heavens. What a joy it is to know that although Heaven and Earth will pass away, Your words will never pass away. (John 1:2; Ps: 119:89; Matt: 24:35).
You are the immortal invisible God only wise. You are blessed and glorious, Almighty and victorious. You are the Ancient of Days in whom there is no shadow of change. (Dan. 7:13; Neh. 9:5; James 1:17)
(Music: Welsh hymn melody, St. Denio. With many thanks to James Horsfall (piano), Francis Cummings (violin), Cathie Muncy (viola), Natalie Halliday (cello), Jane Horsfall (Celtic harp), Mike Halliday (Clarinet)]
The New Testament is unique. It was written by people who walked with the Lord Jesus, or who came to know Him by revelation. Many believe the author of this book is someone who knew the Lord Jesus intimately, but who did not come to realise who He really was until after the Resurrection - in which case we are talking about James, Jesus’ own brother.
Come with me on this extended meditation that I recorded back in Shropshire days before we sailed to Shetland. It is set to lovely music by Tim Finch, and ponders a number of key themes that James raises: the need for wisdom and perseverance in the face of our trials and temptations, the twin themes of mercy and judgement, the extremely important and sometimes vexed matter of why we need to watch the things we say - and then at why some prayers are spectacularly answered and some are not.
The New Testament is unique. It was written by people who walked with the Lord Jesus, or who came to know Him by revelation. Many believe the author of this book is someone who knew the Lord Jesus intimately, but who did not come to realise who He really was until after the Resurrection - in which case we are talking about James, Jesus’ own brother.
Come with me on this extended meditation that I recorded back in Shropshire days before we sailed to Shetland. It is set to lovely music by Tim Finch, and ponders a number of key themes that James raises: the need for wisdom and perseverance in the face of our trials and temptations, the twin themes of mercy and judgement, the extremely important and sometimes vexed matter of why we need to watch the things we say - and then at why some prayers are spectacularly answered and some are not.
Rejoice, the Lord is King: Your Lord and King adore! Rejoice, give thanks and sing, And triumph evermore. Lift up your heart, Lift up your voice! Rejoice, again I say, rejoice!
Jesus, the Saviour, reigns, The God of truth and love; When He had purged our stains, He took his seat above; Lift up your heart, Lift up your voice! Rejoice, again I say, rejoice!
His kingdom cannot fail, He rules o'er earth and heav'n; The keys of death and hell Are to our Jesus giv'n: Lift up your heart, Lift up your voice! Rejoice, again I say, rejoice!
Rejoice in glorious hope! Our Lord and judge shall come And take His servants up To their eternal home: Lift up your heart, Lift up your voice! Rejoice, again I say, rejoice!
Rejoice the Lord is King (ii) Improvisation: With gladsome heart, lift up your voice!
Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice; let the sea resound, and all that fills it. Let the fields exult, and all that is in them. Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy before the LORD, for He is coming . . . (Ps. 96:11-12)
When God’s Kingdom comes, and Jesus is established as Lord over all the Earth, what rejoicing there will be! Not only will the redeemed of the Lord rejoice, but so will all creation, including the heavens themselves. God too will rejoice as He comes to dwell amongst those He loves.
He is coming, and the Earth will rejoice. Even now, the mountains are preparing for the day when they will burst into song! (Is. 49:13)
This lovely improvisation, based around the words of the hymn Rejoice the Lord is King, captures something of the dawn of that day. May your own heart and spirit leap in anticipation as you wait for His coming.
Blessings on Corinne Frost, Sally Prittie, Shirley Richards and Nicola Gerrard for improvising this piece on cello, keyboard, violin and flute.
Into this Morning . . .
Clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ. (Rom. 13:14 NLT)
What a difference it makes when we start each day by inviting the Lord Jesus to direct and lead us each moment of each day . . .
May this song, which I wrote with considerable help from David Booth, and that Megan sings so beautifully, serve as a clarion call to remind us to dedicate ourselves to the Lord Jesus so that we can be bearers of His peace and presence in each situation that we find ourselves in.
Robert Weston with David Booth. Ruach Breath of Life Ministries 2018.
Megan Topper (flute and vocals), Sue Brickwell (keyboard), Corinne Frost (cello).
The Mystery of God is accomplished - part(ii)I am making all things new by Ruach Breath of Life
Music by Henry Purcell; words translated from the Latin by John Neale.
What a debt we owe to John Neale, a nineteenth century poet, scholar and Anglican priest, who has blessed many by translating many of the really great hymns from the Latin. It is a joy to introduce this powerful hymn to a new generation of believers who have a heart for both Church and nation.
The full lyrics of the original hymn highlight the continuity between the glories of the Heavenly city and God’s great power, ability and willingness to help us now. The words we have set it to here, however, are the verses that are most commonly known and sung.
Christ is made the sure foundation, Christ, our head and cornerstone, chosen of the Lord and precious, binding all the Church in one; Holy Zion’s help forever and our confidence alone.
All that dedicated city, dearly loved by God on high, in exultant jubilation pours perpetual melody – God the One, in Threefold glory, Singing everlastingly.
To this temple, where we call you, come, O God of Hosts, today! With your constant, loving kindness hear your people as they pray, and your fullest benediction shed within its walls today.
Here vouchsafe to all Your faithful gifts of grace by prayer to gain; with the blessèd to retain those good things their prayers obtain, And hereafter in Your glory evermore with You to reign.
Praise and honour to the Father, praise and honour to the Son, praise and honour to the Spirit, ever three and ever one: one in might and one in splendour while unending ages run!
Musicians: Anthony Thompson, Peter Richards, Nicola Gerrard, Francis Cummings, Shirley Richards, Philippa Barton, Christiane Mueller, Jo Garcia
Aslan's Strength returns by Celia Redgate
"O children," said the Lion, "I feel my strength coming back to me. Oh children, catch me if you can!" He stood for a second, his eyes very bright, his limbs quivering, lashing himself with his tail.
Then he made a leap high over their heads and landed on the other side of the Table. Laughing, though she didn't know why, Lucy scrambled over it to reach him. Aslan leaped again. A mad chase began. (From The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, by C.S. Lewis.)
The whole thrust of the Christian faith depends on and revolves around Christ’s resurrection from the dead. So too in a greatly scaled down ways do we as individuals, communities and even nations go through times of renewed ‘resurrection’ after passing through various ordeals that may have lasted a very long time, emerging from them with renewed hope and strength.
In wild winter weather we once held a conference in a remote centre in North Wales. This was at the time when the Iron Curtain was on the point of coming down in the late 1980s, and we were praying hard for Eastern European countries to be set free from the communist yoke. At one point we found ourselves plunged into darkness as the power went off, giving us an additional sense of identification with Romania, which was suffering power outages as that time. Nothing daunted, the musicians promptly started playing Mozart’s Eine kleine Nacht Musik in the dark from memory!
Within the year, the profoundly repressive hold President Ceausescu had exercised for so long over the country was broken, and a new day dawned for Romania.
Celia Redgate had prepared some pieces for the under-10s to play at this event, based around CS Lewis’s tales of Narnia. The imagery and the music are so rich!
What a joy to have been able to record them now, many years later. May we likewise draw our strength in and from Him, whatever ordeals we may have to pass through in the course of our pilgrimage.
Musicians: Anthony Thompson, Francis Cummings, Philippa Barton, Christiane Mueller, Jo Garcia
Aslan's walk to the Stone Table - by Celia Redgate
Forward they went again and one of the girls walked on each side of the Lion. But how slowly he walked! And his great, royal head drooped so that his nose nearly touched the grass.
(from The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, by C.S. Lewis)
As Aslan, of his own volition, makes his way to the place where he will be slain, we are reminded of Jesus’ own stumbling journey along the Via Dolorosa, toward the place of His crucifixion. In this, He fulfilled His own words: “The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down My life – only to take it up again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of My own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.” (John 10:17-19)
The intense sadness of this piece makes it suitable for us to use as we pray for many other heavy, grievous situations.
Musicians: Mike Halliday, Peter Richards, Anthony Thompson, Francis Cummings, Philippa Barton, Christiane Mueller, Jo Garcia
Music by Celia Redgate
Huw Humphreys, arranged Justin Coldstream
But You remain the same, and Your years will never end. (Ps. 102:27 NIV)
Everything in life is changing and transitory . . . except the Lord, who is from everlasting to everlasting. This beautiful song is based on verses 18 and 27 of Psalm 102, and celebrates the wonderful truth that before our world came into existence, God was.
He is The ‘Ancient of Days’ and He, like His Son Jesus, are the same yesterday, today and forever. May the Lord root this glorious truth deep in our hearts – and let it be written (and sung!) in the generations to come, so that a people not yet created may praise Him.
Musicians: Megan Topper, Anthony Thompson, Peter Richards, Justin Coldstream, Francis Cummings, Philippa Barton, Christiane Mueller, Jo Garcia (© Huw Humphries 1990)
Time and again the Lord's sweet presence steals over us, often when we are expecting it the least, or are in greatest need of it.
He comes quite unexpectedly, sometimes when we know ourselves to be in great need of receiving a fresh touch from Him. As the melody of this piece passes from one instrument to another, and the strings play a joyful pizzicato, may it release fresh joy into our own hearts.
Musicians: Nicola Gerrard, Francis Cummings, Philippa Barton, Christiane Mueller, Jo Garcia
How kind the Lord is –and how well He knows what people used to call ‘our mortal frame.’ Life can sometimes bring us so many unexpected challenges and tumbles, with a result that we can end up as it were holding our breath and feeling afraid to laugh in case tomorrow’s trials prove still more sever. But the Lord’s grace is always fresh, and it is good to laugh and not fear sheer joy and pleasure.
“Laugh and fear not, creatures,” Aslan urges the newly created talking animals of Narnia. “Now that you are no longer dumb and witless, you need not always be grave. For jokes as well as justice come in with speech!”
(CS Lewis, The Magician's Nephew, Chapter 10, The First Joke and Other Matters.)
I have dedicated this piece to ‘Gioja,’ an unusual spelling of the Italian word for joy. Despite all that is serious and can even be grievous in life, the joy of the Lord remains our strength.
The Lord has always used the night hours to draw close to His children – but they can also be a time when cares and worries come to the surface. I have written a piece here that seeks to both soothe and reassure, and to welcome His presence with us, all through the night – for, truly, ‘He neither slumbers nor sleeps!’
Thank you so much to Megan Topper, Jo Garcia and Sally Prittie for singing and playing this spiritual lullaby so exquisitely.
As the Celtic tradition has it,
I am lying down tonight with the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit this night will lie down with me. I will lie down this night with the three of my love, and the three of my love will lie down with me. I will not lie down tonight with sin, nor shall sin or sin’s shadow lie down with me.
See https://www.northumbriacommunity.org/offices/tuesday-the-cuthbert-compline/ for an extended version of this prayer, as written and used by the Northumbria community.
Jesus is calling my name by Jane Charlesworth
This is a lovely song that draws us deeper into the precious and reassuring reality that Jesus not only calls us by name, but really does know everything about us. From the moment He began to knit us together in the womb, His call has shaped each of our lives in a unique way. It operates both directly and indirectly, and intersects perfectly with His purposes for others too, so that He might bring about the special thing He has had in mind for us to do from before the world began.
Vocals - Megan Topper Flute - Nicola Gerrard Clarinet - Mike Halliday Guitar - David Booth Violin - Shirley Richards Cello Jo Garcia Keys - Christiane von Albrecht
An improvisation inspired by Psalm 23 - by Sally Mowbray
Come and take a walk with the Lord alongside the springs of life!
Vocals and keys - Sally Mowbray Guitar - David Booth
I will pour out My Spirit An improvisation on an extemporé call from the Lord that Grace Nadin brought us from the Lord’s heart at the Symphony of Prayer Conference in Malvern in 1996
The Lord longs that we should see things with His eyes and share the pain He feels about many things too.
At the very beginning of one of the Sounds of Heaven recording venues, we invited Nicola, Shirley and Jo to wait on the Lord and to accompany Grace Nadin’s original recording. May we take this inspired message again to heart, and open the pores of our heart to receive all He has in mind for us to see and understand - and to let Him pour out His Spirit upon us afresh.
Vocals Grace Nadin (1996) Nicola Gerrard - Flute Shirley Richards - Violin Jo Garcia – Cello
Recorded at House of the Open Door 2022
Cum Sancto Spiritu – Come, Holy Spirit From Vivaldi’s Gloria
‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ declares the LORD Almighty. (Zech. 4:6).
This magnificent piece of music from Vivaldi’s Gloria, reminds us how much we need the Holy Spirit in our lives at all times. He is not an impersonal life force, but an integral part of the Holy Trinity. He empowers our worship and witness, and is our Comforter and Helper, as well as the One who inspires our words.
He it is who convicts us of our sin, and who opens our hearts and minds to the things of God. He it is who enables us to bear the many-fold fruits of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22), and who empowers us to discern between different types of spirits, and to grasp the spiritual dynamics that are at work in different situations. He it is, too, who enables us to work miracles, participate in the ministry of healing, and understand and interpret unknown tongues. He is the One who tells us things that we could not possibly have known by any other means. (See 1 Cor. 12 and 14).
We see the redeeming and renewing work of the Holy Spirit throughout the Scriptures, equipping judges, inspiring artists, and empowering both prophets and warriors for their work – whether for external projects such as building the temple of God (Haggai 2:5) or for sanctifying and empowering individual souls. (Ezekiel 3:24a, 27a). He is likewise the One from whose all-seeing eye we can never hide! (Ps. 139:7)
No wonder David prayed that, so far from taking His Spirit from him, the Lord would renew a right and willing spirit within him. (Ps. 51:10-12) In all this work, the Holy Spirit (who Jesus calls ‘the Spirit of Truth’) does not operate on His own, but always in tandem together with the other members of the Holy Trinity as He unveils and reveals God’s heavenly truths to us. (John 16:13-14)
He is the breath and wind of God, who renews and gives life to all living things, as well as renewing the face of the earth. (Ps. 104:30). May we seek with all our heart to honour the Holy Spirit in our daily life by trusting in His nearness, and by calling on His help. Yes Lord, cum Sancto Spiritu: with and in the power of the Holy Spirit, we offer all that we are and all that we do to Jesus for the glory of God the Father.
Musicians: Nicola Gerrard, Peter Richards, Anthony Thompson, Francis Cummings, Philippa Barton, Christiane Max, Jo Garcia
How great is the cry of grief and pain rising up from the Earth today – the howl of mothers whose children have been killed by hunger and violence and sickness; the wounded and dying sons and fathers and husbands crying out for comfort in trenches and POW camps; the refugees weeping for the loss of their unique distinctives to be tossed into a nameless mass of people who must be helped; the breadwinner whose winnings no longer pay for a loaf; the Creation which groans and writhes under the burdens of pollution and raped treasures and spilled blood . ..
The list goes on and on. How deep the ache in the heart of God for this, the home He planned made for Himself, and the people He made to dwell with Him. How profound the lament: may this song by Grace Nadine help us to sound it.
As we seek to tune in to the particular sound the Lord is laying on our hearts, it is clear from both the state of the world around us, and how the lord himself feels over it, that deep must call to deep and prayer and heart cry be offered to Him. Grace Nadin’s beautiful song is just such a cry from deep within the heart. May He use it to stir our desire to lift our heart and voice in prayer for many who are in urgent need of His reassuring touch and profound intervention.
Musicians: Megan Topper, Nicola Gerrard, Shirley Richards, Jo Garcia, Christiane von Albrecht.
Hallelujah and Fare Well
At the very end of our recent Sounds of Heaven recording event, we laid all prepared pieces aside and simply worshipped. Given the theme that Megan found as she sang, we originally called this piece Hallelujah, but we have added Fare Well, because all of us surely desire to 'fare well' in our service for God's kingdom and to finish our time on earth as well as we can - confident that He who began a good work in us will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus as we devote ourselves to seeking to do the will of Him who sent us and to finish the work He has given us to do on Earth. (Phil. 1:6. John 4:34, cf 5:36)
Of the Father’s love begotten
Scripture offers many examples of prayers of intercession in a time of national crisis. Yet they all manage to keep their primary emphasis on the Lord, even as those praying bring before Him the troubles they face. And so, as we lift the nation of Ukraine yet once more to the One who is King over all the nations, we begin with a wonderful translation of a Latin hymn celebrating the mystery of the incarnation, and the Father’s love for His Son.
It was penned in the late 4th century by Marcus Aurelius Clemens Prudentius, a lawyer from the north of Spain, but it would be many centuries before it was translated into English. In our recording, we read the words over an exquisite rendition of the music played by Christiane von Albrecht on keyboard, and Shirley Richards on the violin.
1 Of the Father's love begotten ere the worlds began to be, he is Alpha and Omega, he the source, the ending he, of the things that are, that have been, and that future years shall see evermore and evermore.
2 Oh, that birth forever blessed when the virgin, full of grace, by the Holy Ghost conceiving, bore the Savior of our race, and the babe, the world's Redeemer, first revealed his sacred face evermore and evermore.
3 This is he whom seers and sages sang of old with one accord, whom the voices of the prophets promised in their faithful word. Now he shines, the long-expected; let creation praise its Lord evermore and evermore.
4 Let the heights of heav'n adore him, angel hosts his praises sing, pow'rs, dominions bow before him and extol our God and King. Let no tongue on earth be silent, ev'ry voice in concert ring evermore and evermore.
5 Christ, to thee, with God the Father, and, O Holy Ghost, to thee hymn and chant and high thanksgiving and unending praises be, honor, glory, and dominion and eternal victory evermore and evermore.
The Lord upholds the righteous even in the face of wickedness: verses from Psalms 35 and 37
It is always good to declare Scripture, and perhaps especially so in times of crises. We have set these verses to the stately music of a sarabande by Handel, and they lead into the first of our prayers for Ukraine.
A prayer for the deliverance of Ukraine
There came a time when Jerusalem was under siege by Sennacherib. The king and the prophet ‘cried out to heaven in prayer’ and the Lord delivered them. (2 Chronicles 32) Our own cry for the deliverance of Ukraine is set to the intense and relentless music of Mussorgsky’s piano piece, The Oxcart.
A prayer concerning a spiritual imposition on the Russian soul
Our prayer begins with the Lord looking with pleasure upon the land of the steppes, and seeks the renewal of His purpose and calling for the region. It is set to two pieces by Mussorgsky: Une Larme (A Tear) and In the Village.
A lament for those who turn their back on God
It is truly sad when those who have grown up knowing and seeking the Lord, turn their faces away from Him and vigorously pursue their own wisdom and ways. Joseph Stalin was one such, Karl Marx another. This is a prayer for those who are led astray by propaganda and fallacious beliefs. It is accompanied by two laments: A lament for Reepicheep by Celia Redgate, and Dolens, which grew out of my own heartache over global events.
O Sons and Daughters of the glorious King (O filii et filiae) If you are not familiar with this exquisite Easter hymn, written according to an ancient Gregorian tradition, you will love getting to know it!
Many hymns were written in a ’macaronic’ style – that is that is, sung in two languages, Latin and English for example, but this version contains a compilation not in two different languages but rather a blend between the original words and fresh ones that I have added.
Many thanks to Anthony Thompson (trumpet), Peter Richards (organ) Francis Cummings and Shirley Richards (violins) Christiane Mueller (viola) and Corinne Frost (cello), who join Megan Topper, who sings it beautifully for us.
Religious life in England suffered great upheavals during the 17th century, during which many Puritans and Quakers were persecuted and banished. Amongst the many who were affected was Samuel Crossman who, uniquely, had been ministering to both an Anglican congregation in Sudbury and a Puritan one at the same time, until he, along with some 2,000 other Puritan-leaning ministers in the Church of England, was expelled by the draconian Act of Uniformity of 1662.
Crossman wrote this moving hymn during this period of forced separation from the Church of England. It speaks of how Jesus, too, was excluded and chased away from living amongst His own people – permanently as the leaders hoped, but only temporarily as God intended - for nothing could prevent Him from living in the hearts of those who loved Him by the power of His Spirit.
In this lovely new version that Carol has recorded for us, Carol Sampson is accompanied by Francis Cummings and Philippa Barton (violins), Corinne Frost (cello), Nicola Gerrard (flute), Mike Halliday (clarinet).
Patricia Corry is the soloist in this rendering of Vivaldi's beautiful Domine Deus from his Gloria .
How relevant the words are for us to proclaim and to hold onto to these days: 'Lord God, the Almighty Father.'
‘What are you doing Lord? A heart for Seeking God.’
Based loosely around the Hebrew word for seeking – baqash – the emphasis in this section is on how God uses low tides to further the work of His kingdom, in ourselves and in the world.
Baqash Part 2 - Seeking God in dry and arid times
Much of this nine-minute segment revolves around a powerful image drawn from one of CS Lewis’ poems, and focuses on our need to keep seeking God through dry and arid times. The music begins, accordingly, on a sombre note in a piece that Corinne improvised for us back in 2011, and which we called ‘Suffering Prophet’. The music then moves into Jane Horsfall’s beautiful piece, By the waters of Babylon.
One of the pieces our school choir used to sing in various churches around Leicestershire was Vivaldi’s beautiful and hugely popular Gloria, (RV 589). It is an altogether glorious piece, and in this short extract, as Patricia Corry and Harmony Greenwood sing their praises to God, how can we not join them in spirit in praising our ever faithful God?
We praise You We bless and thank You We adore You We glorify You
Welcome to the first in a series on seeking the Lord, loosely based around baqash - the Hebrew word for seeking. The music you will hear on this track is a beautiful piece by Gareth Sampson called called Black Hills, which we recorded some years ago.
This beautiful piece by Vivaldi the title of which may be translated as "In this world there is no honest peace." It is normally a sung piece for solo soprano, but we have recorded it here for instruments so that we can pray over it.
Wikipedia notes that, 'The text dwells on the imperfections of a world full of evil and sin, and praises Jesus for the salvation He offers from it.' (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nulla_in_mundo_pax_sincera)
There can certainly be no final peace in the world without Jesus, the Prince of Peace, for He alone is our peace, and the means of moving beyond all illusory quests for peace - but let's be sure to be praying for all initiatives that bring the prospect of peace and the hope of avoiding violent conflict for those at odds with each other - whether at a personal, church or diplomatic level between nations.
A big thank you to Shirley Richards, Nick Evans Pughe and Natalie, Halliday, (strings), Anthony Thompson (trumpet), Christiane Von Albrecht (keyboard).
May the Lord use this lovely song by Anne Laure Jackson to soothe and still our soul, and to strengthen our resolve to make Him the focus of our hearts, this and every day.
Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you without money, come, buy, and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. Why spend money on that which is not bread, and your labor on that which does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of foods.’ Incline your ear and come to Me; listen, so that your soul may live. (Is. 55:1-3)
With all that is going on in the world - quite apart from whatever we may be going through in our own lives - there are plenty of reasons for heads to hang low. I wrote this piece of music for just such times, to encourage us to lift our eyes toward the coming King.
I was inspired by John’s vision of ‘a door standing open in Heaven’ at the beginning of Revelation 4, which is when he heard a voice calling to him to ‘Come up here,’ and was privileged to see and experience the glories of the Heavenly Kingdom, as well as to glimpse the far-reaching events that were soon to take place on Earth.
For us too, there is a call to come up higher to see and know such things as the Lord desires to show and lead us into – things that are sure to transform our understanding and our prayers. So much changes when we share God’s perspective!
A big thank you to Nicola Gerrard (flute), Cathie Muncie (viola) Thomas and Julia Herzog, (Oboe and recorder) Heather Bradley (violin) and Sally Prittie (piano) for their beautiful playing.
I pray that out of His glorious riches, He may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ. (Eph. 3:17, cf Col. 2:17)
In these days, in which so much either is being uprooted, or has been uprooted, or is in danger of being so, it is all the more important that we dwell in the Lord Jesus, and let Him who is our Healer and Redeemer, our Friend and the Lifter of our heads, cleanse, renew and restore our roots – especially where they have been shaken, or saturated in anything other than His grace and truth.
Robert adapted the words from Paul's epistles, and he and David Booth wrote the music together. We are so grateful to Megan for ‘lending’ us her wonderful voice for this recording, and to Corinne and Colin for accompanying her.
Back in 1979 Ros and I were part of a lovely small community in Oxford set up by the Anglican church I was working for. We will always remember Martin Charlesworth writing this song and singing it to us for the first time. Megan kindly sang it for us at one of our recording events; it is as lovely as ever more than forty years later.
Since so many of have received rejections in one form or another, and been wounded by them, it can be really helpful to ask a friend, pastor or counsellor to minister lovingly into the depths of these hurts hurt. Perhaps you can send this tender prayer to someone you know who is in need of a deeper touch from the Lord.
Or why not pray it for each other, and then continue on where these words leave off.
If you have been in any kind of ministry, then you will almost certainly know what it is to have felt rejected and gossiped about. Some churches ought to have a notice posted on the door: ‘Here be dragons!’
How we need to guard our heart and be careful what we say and think, Lord! You know that our thoughts control our life, and that they lead to many consequences. (Prov. 4:23) Align our hearts with Yours so that we run in the freedom of Your leading, rather than toiling and labouring under the crushing impact of stinging words and actions reinforcing our sense of rejection.
Lead us to friends and counsellors with whom we are able share honestly about the pain that these stinging criticisms have caused, people who are able to lovingly tend our wounds and draw out darts and arrows that have pierced our soul. Help them to help us readjust burdens and deep concerns that we have allowed to slip from spirit to soul – for that is what it means to carry each other’s burdens and so walk in the way of the Lord. (Gal. 6:2)
Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? (Jas. 3:11)
Oh Father, how often salty, bitter words come out of my mouth! How often I have hurt and rejected others by not even just my words and deeds, but also by the subliminal messages and subtle expectations of my attitudes. I have pushed people away, people whom You want to welcome.
Forgive me. Face me with the reality of the injury I have caused and then open up Your springs of life in me so that, where I once spread shadows and darkness, I am able to bring light and restoration.
I pray especially for those closest to me, who have so often found themselves suffering as the result of my unhealed hurts and resentments. Forgive me for offending against and even rejecting these dear ones who You have brought so carefully into my life. I bring these people to You now, Lord, and ask You to set them free from the hurt I have caused them.
Pantete Chairete - Rejoice always (1 Thess. 5:16)
I had long wanted to record this gloriously dynamic movement from Bach’s magnificent 4th Brandenburg concerto, and was so grateful when the chance came along to do so. Massive thanks to the heroic musicians who played this challenging piece so beautifully for us - Julia and Thomas Herzog, (recorders), Susanne Herzog, Shirley Richards and Helen Rees (violins), Julian Chan (viola), Jo Garcia (cello) and Christiane von Albrecht (continuo). We hope the accompanying words will prove an inspiration too.
People are concerned to go to great lengths to use PC (Politically Correct) language these days – but here’s a radically different suggestion from the Greek New Testament. for how we might prefer to look on the abbreviation ‘PC’: Pantete Chairete - Rejoice always.
When Jesus first showed Himself alive from the dead to His disciples in Matthew 28:9, He used the word chairete ‘rejoice’ as His greeting to them. Paul likewise closed his second letter to the Corinthians by urging them to rejoice. (2 Cor. 13:11). This phrase became a watchword for the Early Church – and it is surely one we can take deeply to heart and make the refrain of our hearts: all the way from greetings to partings: Pantete Chairete Rejoice (be glad) always in the Lord - at all times and 'every when'.
Easier to say than to do at times, to be sure, but so worth the taking to heart. How lovely if, when we meet with fellow believers, instead of our usual ‘hellos!’ we can respond with a vigorous cheerful Pantete Chairete – rejoice always!’ no matter what outward circumstances we may be facing.
We are here because the Father asked You to press on with Your mercy mission, no matter what came against You. We are here because multitudes upon multitudes of Your spokesmen and women refused to give up in the face of the repeated threats and losses that each and every one of them faced. Jesus, help us to press on through the darkness and indifference and opposition to bring You, Jesus Christ, to people’s hearts. No matter how bruised, battered and empty our hearts feel, nor how much in need of an uplift, we want to push on through, because You honour those who persevere. My child, do you remember the question CS Lewis asked?
“Does there have to be so much pain in loving?” I have heard you ask that too. Come and look at it from My view of things: If you were to refuse to love, would that make things easier or better? If I had decided that the Pharisees were not for turning, that the Romans were too fierce, and that I wanted to return home to My Father – would that have been nobler? Would the world – and you as a child of the world – would the world not then have perished? That is not how I work with regard to you, dear one! It is not my heart toward you at all! My Father loved the world so much that He asked me to come. And I loved the world so much – and My Father so much – that I said yes.
Seek Me and I will give you the courage you need. Don’t underestimate My ability and desire to provide for you everything you need for the call I have given you. My love is sufficient for you even as the fiery darts of rejection pierce you. They can never, never pierce a hole in the fabric of My love for you or nullify the invitation I have given you to come boldly into My Father’s presence.
My strong hand is still upon you, and I will lead and guide you in and through every dark and painful situation.
It is a great delight to release this extract from Moneteverdi’s glorious Vespers.
I discovered from research that the whole piece was used for intercession for special needs facing the nation during the 16th and 17th centuries: especially wars, famines, plagues and such like threats. These prayers were written (and in many cases have been preserved) separately from the sung portions of the Vespers themselves.
At this time when the world is facing so many challenges, let’s write our own prayers and send them heaven-wards to accompany this glorious music!
With grateful thanks to Anthony Thompson and Kevin Ashman, who took the lead parts on the trumpet, and all the other anointed musicians.
Contemplación - en el silencio del corazón: Le Silence du Coeur
In the Lord’s deep presence (i)
Towards the end of March there was a National Day of Reflection to remember those who had died of Covid. We described this at the time as being as being about as near as our secular country can bring itself to go in terms of envisioning a Day of Prayer. Now, not long after Remembrance Day, this seems like a good time to release this piece of music, which I wrote to be an encouragement for us to seek a deep place in the Lord.
May the words and music alike wash over you, cleansing heart and mind, and strengthening your resolve to let nothing hold you back from pressing on to seek Him more.
With most grateful thanks to the musicians: Corinne Frost (cello), Thomas Herzog (oboe), Nicola Gerrard (flute) Catherine Muncey (viola) and Sally Prittie (piano).
Contemplación - En el silencio del corazón – Envers le silence du Coeur In the Lord’s deep silence (ii)
Many years ago, when we were deep in the Lord’s presence in one of our prayer and worship conferences, Richard Williamson played this beautiful improvisation, which we have transcribed and recorded here. Julian Chan plays it for us here supported by James Horsfall on keyboard, and Julia Herzog, accompanied by words that came to me a few years ago as I was sitting and praying on the Malvern Hills.
Be silent on your bed and commune with the Lord. (cf Psalm 4:4)
Come My son, My daughter: enter fresh depths of silence with Me, your heart entwined with Mine.
Enter in and stay awhile until the kindness of My presence percolates through – and you can seek and find and sense and know.
Let Me escort you through the arch into My inmost court; where I delight to expand your inner sight, your whole heart aglow to listen, as I fine tune your seeing and your hearing, your senses a faithful lens to grasp and mirror My perspectives. For it is here that you will find great freedom in this communion that is the union of our hearts.
Lord, since I am by Your call and for Your purpose, I will let no distraction dissuade me from this firm resolve to keep my heart fixed on You, and free from lesser things. For this is freedom, and this is faith, and this is rapture rolled in one.
As Your Spirit subdues and tempers the strivings in my heart, the softness of Your wind soughing through my spirit bids me not to stray but rather to stay and listen more.
For You are empowering me to attain the spirit of prayer. You’ve knit my heart with Yours, and to the hearts of companions pledged to walk this hallowed path with me.
So I step aside from all the striving; and bide in this less travelled way, carrying the blessing of this silence to those in need of head space; for Your silent touch and holy footfall bring grace beyond the need for words
And I will enter in and rest while in You – And You will come to me.
There are few pangs more painful than rejection, few things that knock our confidence so hard and batter our trust, especially when these things come from the hands of believers.
Whether or not you are active in ministry, it is highly likely that you will know what it is to have a loved one turn their backs on you, perhaps walk out on you or even betray you.
If you are one who has suffered the sharp stings of rejection, this is for you. As the prophet said, ‘These are the wounds I received in the house of my friends.’ (Zech. 13:6)
Jesus, many of us have been so hard hit by the power of rejection that we feel like deeply pin-pricked dartboards. We may even have grown used to burying the hurts and doing our best just to soldier on.
But You are life and hope, and these piercing darts are as nothing in comparison to the depths of Your love and acceptance of us. Nothing is able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Thank You Jesus, that You too have walked this way. You are deeply acquainted with sorrow and grief, and You know the effect rejection has on people’s bodies and souls and nervous system. You long to comfort us and make us whole again.
May we not take other people’s scorn and rejection of us into our inmost being so that it dominates our whole outlook on life. Help us to distinguish between deliberately hurtful comments that really do represent outright rejection, and challenges that actually contain more than a nugget of truth, which if we receive them aright, can lead to greater wisdom and deeper repentance.
It’s so helpful to remember how You helped David in his many times of distress, Lord, even though at first sight it must have appeared as though You were doing nothing of the kind.
After King Saul’s hatred and jealousy had driven David from the land and forced him to take refuge in the courts of the Philistine king, David experienced one of his most grievous trials. He had set off to take part in a battle against the men of Judah, but had been sent back as a result of King Achish’s senior advisers not trusting him to fight wholeheartedly against his own kith and kin.
It would have been easy for David to have taken this as a snub, and to feel rejected, but in reality, You were supernaturally intervening, Lord, to prevent His chosen one from having to wage war against his fellow countrymen.
While David and his men had been away, raiders came and attacked their settlement at Ziklag, reducing it to ashes, and taking away their wives and children.
Absolutely everything now in David’s life looked as though it had been taken away and crumbled into nothing – and as if that were not enough of a shock, his own men promptly rounded on him and blamed him for this disastrous turn of events, as if it could possibly have been his fault. In bitterness of spirit, they even spoke of stoning him to death. Just how bad could things get? Why had You allowed this, Lord?
David could so easily have given in to despair. He was certainly greatly distressed – ‘but David found strength in the LORD.’ (1 Samuel 30:6). I love that expression! What resilience it speaks of in the midst of such an ordeal. With the experience behind him of years of seeking You, Lord, in the face of multiple threats, he pushed beyond his pain to enquire of You.
As Matthew Henry delightfully put it, ‘when David was at his wit’s end, he was not at his faith’s end.’ Right in the eye of the storm, You met with him, and gave him a plan and the heart to rescue the captives. How magnificent are Your plans, O God our Saviour!
Father, we can never praise You enough for those crucial leadings and deliverances that You send our way. May we remember to take time out during our times of crisis to find strength in You. It is so helpful to bring to mind again the deliverances You have achieved and brought about. You can, and will, bring light out of darkness, peace out of trouble and good out of evil. You who have been so faithful to us in the past will not fail to be so again, today, tomorrow and right up until the time when You take us to be with Yourself. Amen!
Lord Jesus, every single time we reach out to someone, we risk having our words being misunderstood and our efforts rejected. It was no different for You, and You warned us that those who love darkness would hate us on account of You. You even said that we are blessed when this is so! (Mark 13:13, Luke 6:22) But it doesn’t always feel that way, Lord God, any more than it could have done for You when You first returned to Nazareth and everyone was praising You. (Luke 4:15,22)
But when You spoke the deeper truths the townsfolk needed to hear, they tried to throw You off a cliff, the very elders of the synagogue You had always attended at the front of the crowd.
You went travelling the length and breadth of the land, doing good, manifesting compelling evidence of the power of God at work in You . . . And yet so many turned their backs against You instead of their hearts toward You, fearing the disapproval of their leaders. It was easier to reject something so preposterous so threatening to their religion and the life they were familiar with.
There is a cost to pay in following You, and they were unwilling to pay it. If only they could have sought to understand You, been willing to grapple with the truth of Your words and life!
And me, Lord? Am I grappling with Your truths sufficiently? Am I truly willing to count the cost and continue to follow You when pressure and rejections come my way?
I want to walk with You in truth as well grace. Help me not to be surprised by the fiery ordeals and rejection that that will inevitably come. Grant me the courage to persevere through it all. And Lord, teach me through the rejections I suffer. Find ways to show me where my own words and attitudes have raised stumbling blocks and provoked unnecessarily strong reactions. Help me to notice the ways in which I put people off, instead of shining a light that leads to You.
Here's a piece to bless you: The Song of the Mountains. There is something about mountains that draws our hearts upward and onward – and how we long to go higher and meet the Lord on the mountain!
The starting thought that inspired me to write this piece was a picture I had in my mind of a community gathering together in the High French Pyrenees, caught up in joyous worship before the Lord. I often find that what I 'imagine' in such ways turns out to have some basis in reality. When I dug deeper, I discovered that there was indeed a period towards the end of the nineteenth century, when people had expressed their faith deeply in the region.
Being a lover of the recorder, I wrote the most prominent parts for Julia and Thomas Herzog. You will also hear Nicola Gerard alternating between flute and piccolo, with Heather Bradley on violin, Natalie Halliday on cello, with her father, Mike, conducting, and – as the piece is set in France – Sally Prittie playing the keyboard on an accordion setting!
May this light and airy piece bring joy and brightness into your day today, and help us to be caught up with Him in worship that touches both our heart and our mind. And let's pray for the time when villagers in one region after another across our continent lift their hearts and respond to the Lord Jesus’s invitation to ‘Come further up, and further in,’ so that we can keep our eyes fixed on Him, and know still more of the height and depth of His love, as well as its length and width as well! As we do so may He keep our hearts free from any tendency to disparage ourselves, or to look down on others, but rather to see in them more of His beauty and breath of life, so that together we may worship in the fullness of joy.
May you be rested, blessed and empowered as you feast on this short meditation which is part of a series that explores the word ‘nuach’ – the deep, settled and empowering rest that the Lord sends.
Father, Paul called You the ‘God of all comfort:’ elohei khol-nechamah in the language of his people. You had trained him deeply in the Hebrew scriptures, and he came to know and experience Your nuach (2 Cor. 1:3) and that You are Adonai Shalom, the ‘Lord of peace’ whom Gideon spoke of, the Prince of Peace foretold by Isaiah: (Judges 6:24, Isa. 9:6) the coming King who will proclaim shalom to the nations. (Zech. 9:10)
Jesus, You placed Your shalom on Your disciples after the resurrection (Jn. 20:19, 21, 26), and You desire to do so with us, and to empower us to live in peace with others. (Rom. 12:18)
How often we stand in need of the Lord’s rest to quieten our inner turbulence, and to rebalance us when everything seems to be careering in the wrong direction. Today, whether you are reading these words at the beginning middle towards the end of the day, bring an issue of concern to the Lord and pray for the quietness of His love to calm and restore you.
The music you will hear is Dios Nunca arranged for marimba and strings by Andrew Whettam.
May you be rested, blessed and empowered as you feast on this short meditation which is part of a series that explores the word ‘nuach’ – the deep, settled and empowering rest that the Lord sends.
Some time ago the Lord had warned me that we would be ‘shuffling about’ for some time to come – and sure enough we spent several years moving from one place to another. Twice within Devon, once to Kent, and then to a temporary location in Malvern before being led to our present home. When we got here we thought about calling it Makon because here was a house – and a word – that spoke of a fixed and settled dwelling place. It was the nearest I could get to ‘Dun Roaming’ in biblical Hebrew!
How faithful You are in placing Your people, Lord! Whether it is the street we live in, or the place where we work, the places we are able to visit, You situate us with pinpoint accuracy. Thank You for the blessing of safe dwelling places and quiet resting places. Thank You, too, for the way You weave us into a community of faith.
You are the One who makes a home for the refugee, Lord, the One who gives them a name and an inheritance. When Naomi prayed that her daughters-in-law would find rest in the homes of new husbands, she thought she was saying goodbye to them forever, but You had something entirely different in store for Ruth. You took both mother and daughter-in-law to a new and fruitful place of rest. Thank You for the way You led and cared for them both there – and for all that came from it.
We praise You for all those times when You keep us from settling, because You never intended the place that we were seeking to be our place of rest, and it is so much better for us to be in the land of promise than to put down our roots in the land of apparent plenty!
The music you will hear is the first movement of a sonata by Loeillet (Op.1, no. 1, Largo) played for us on the flute by Nicola Gerard.
May you be rested, blessed and empowered as you feast on this short meditation which is part of a series that explores the word ‘nuach’ – the deep, settled and empowering rest that the Lord sends.
May you be rested, blessed and empowered as you feast on this short meditation which is part of a series that explores the word ‘nuach’ – the deep, settled and empowering rest that the Lord sends.
May you be rested, blessed and empowered as you feast on this short meditation which is part of a series that explores the word ‘nuach’ – the deep, settled and empowering rest that the Lord sends.
May you be rested, blessed and empowered as you feast on this short meditation which is part of a series that explores the word ‘nuach’ – the deep, settled and empowering rest that the Lord sends.
Why not listen to the piece right through first, and then try hitting the pause button for a while to let different people and situations come to mind to pray for. Somewhere about 34 seconds might be a good time to do this?
The music you will hear is the slow movement from Vivaldi's exquisite mandolin concerto, played by Christiane von Albrecht, and then one of my all-time favourite Adagios by Jean Baptist Loeillet, played for us by Thomas Herzog.
May you be rested, blessed and empowered as you feast on this short meditation which is part of a series that explores the word ‘nuach’ – the deep, settled and empowering rest that the Lord sends.
In the midst of the global pandemic, it has been remarkable that it was possible for the Tokyo Olympic Games to have gone ahead. By and large they have been outstandingly successful, and conducted in a good spirit amongst the nations, with all the inevitable highs and lows, personal triumphs and heartbreaks.
We recorded this exuberant dance by Rameau some years ago, and, as it was written to celebrate the unifying power of love in exotic places, it seems a fitting piece of music to release as a tribute the enthusiasm of the games and a chance to pray for international peace at this deeply troubled time.
Lord, let nations honour one another we pray. Let the spirit that has driven so many to seek excellence, and to pursue their goals, inspire Your people too to profound and determined efforts to see the visions You have sown in their hearts fulfilled we pray. We pray especially for . . . and . . .
Olympian efforts: Pressing on to win the prize I happened to take a break from my labours this morning in time to see Adam Peaty retain his Olympic 100 metres breast stroke gold medal. It reminded me afresh of the rewards for perseverance. Every day serious swimmers, long distance runners, divers, ice skaters and so athletes and artists get up early and train, pummelling their bodies and foregoing many ‘normal’ pleasures in order to focus on winning the prize.
Paul uses athletic terminology too. ‘Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.’ (1 Cor. 9:25-27)
The Lord more than does His part, but we need too to persist and persevere. A few years ago I wrote a song called ‘Remember what I’ve done,’ to which I added the subtitle ‘I will lead you on to glory.’ Big thanks to Linda Entwistle, who both sang it and helped arrange it. It is good indeed to remember all He has done for us, and to use these memories to goad and inspire us to press on to all He has in store for us!
This is the first of a series of reflections and invitations from the Lord calling us to enter the Lord's rest inspired by the Hebrew word 'Nuach'. As this opening piece draws to a conclusion, it leads in to Huw Humphries lovely song 'Father, lead us on into Your heart.'
Into Your hands: Praying for Souls in Distress A passionate prayer for believers going through various different mills, set to equally passionate music.
This is an invitation to join in spirit in praying for and on behalf of people who are in great distress, whether in body, mind or spirit.
Some years ago, I heard an intriguing musical theme in my spirit. I jotted the notes down and wrote it up as a piece for piano, before passing it on to James Horsfall, who, with great skill and creativity, shaped it into the powerful piece of music that we were able to record. Recently I have been feeling the pain of those in great distress, and in need of both help and hope, and so I wrote this in-depth prayer to set to it.
Because the prayer was longer than the music that James and I had written, I brought in a short but lovely movement from a concerto by the English composer John Baston, which Thomas Herzog plays for us on the oboe. The presentation starts, however, with a most unusual rendering of the hymn, ‘O come, O come, Emmanuel’.
The tune for this hymn originated in Old French funeral processions – something that this largely improvised recording reflects, starting as it does in a very dark place, in keeping with the sense of souls in the utmost distress and in need of Christ’s help.
Occasional echoes of that hymn recur further on in the words of the prayer – along with nine precious words from Elizabeth Goudge, that together form three short prayers: Into Your hands. Thee we adore. Lord, have mercy.
See: https://ruachministries.co.uk/project/three-prayers-in-nine-words/
Other sources that I drew on in writing these words include the 19th century hymn writer, William Cowper, a genius who suffered from bouts of recurring mental illness, and King David, who knew from only too much experience what it was to be in deep distress.
The brief extracts from Psalm 22 anticipate Jesus Himself crying out from the Cross: “My God, my God, why have You forsaken Me?” In his cry of distress to the Lord to be close in times of trouble, the psalmist was unknowingly making highly prophetic allusions to the far-off events on Calvary, and speaking reassuringly of the Lord neither ‘scorning nor despising the suffering of His afflicted ones;’ not hiding His face from them but listening to their cry for help.
It is always good to ‘earth’ and apply the prayers we share, so may we suggest you ask the Lord to bring people to mind to name before His throne – either as you begin to listen to it, or after you have listened to the piece for the first time so that you can play the it again and lift them into the Lord’s hands at the same time.
May the Lord bring many people and situations to mind as you listen to this piece.
In all our distress You too are distressed, and the angel of Your presence saves us. In Your love and mercy You redeem us; you lift us up and carry us, all our days . Shout for joy, you heavens; rejoice, Earth, burst into song, you mountains! You comfort Your people and have compassion on Your afflicted ones, when You see that their strength has gone. (Isaiah 63:9, 49:13, Deut. 32:36 personalised).
As I was sitting beside a village duckpond not far from Malvern the other day, enjoying the warmth of the sunshine and the fresh green of the new leaves, I was struck afresh by the tenderness of God toward us.
This meditation springs from that time, and is accompanied by two exquisite pieces of music for oboe, that seem to breathe with the soft and clear life-giving ruach of the Lord. The first, played by Amy Roberts and Christiane von Albrecht, is by the Italian Baroque missionary musician, Domenico Zipoli, who found his life's calling ministering in South America.
The second is by one of my all-time favourite composers, Jean Baptiste Loeillet, from Flanders, and played by Thomas Herzog and Christiane.
May this reflection help prepare you to receive His tender touch once more.
As the harp sounds her opening chords, this immersive and reflective piece invites you to spend time savouring the tender favour of the Lord.
How has He shown His compassion toward you? What concerns might you bring to Him now?
Sing with Mary how He has helped His servant Israel, remembering to be merciful, for His loving devotion toward us is abundant! (Lk. 1:54; Ps. 106:45)
The presentation includes music for the harp by Dussek and Domenico Scarlatti, as well as an arrangement of Beethoven’s celebrated Moonlight Sonata, all of which Fontane Liang plays beautifully.
The final piece is played on the autoharp by Heather Farrell-Roberts. Not many of us, perhaps, are familiar with the sound of this instrument, but there is both joy and tenderness here in a piece called Hawker’s Dream, written by Mike Fenton.
Do share these precious pieces with people you sense would benefit from an opportunity to experience more of the Lord's great tenderness.
Lament and Light by Robert Weston, arranged by Peter Richards
It never ceases to amaze me how the Lord can be rejoicing with the bride and groom who are plighting their troth to one another, at the very same time as He suffers alongside those who are grieving the loss of the beloved partner. How is it that Heaven is able to delight in those who are coming to faith or entering its gates, even while another loved soul passes forever beyond the reach of Jesus saving grace? God is Spirit, infinitely pure and compassionate, and limited by none of those things that constrain us.
As we look around the world, we see many truly desperate situations. These may change over time, but the reality of a world in pain remains constant. We are sharing a precious offering in this edition that seeks to capture in music something of the grief of humanity whilst also drawing us into the light of God’s presence.
The theme came to me when I was singing and praying in tongues for a friend, and it developed into a piece for clarinet, cello and piano. The second movement draws us into the light, with the cello introducing the haunting melody of a Swedish lovsång (hymn), a resonant and deep reassurance that the Lord not only hears our lament but takes it to heart.
As the clarinet takes up the melody, we find solace in knowing that all is seen and understood in Heaven. From that moment on we begin to hear something of Heaven’s song of sparkling light and love, as the ruach breath of life alights upon the people and the places for whom the Spirit has stirred our compassion.
It is so fitting that songs of both lament and praise should have their place in the way we express our faith and longings. True lament is about far more than just songs that express our griefs and sorrows: it is a core aspect of prayer, as we see so often in the Psalms. Lament allows us to cry out to the Lord with tremendous intensity, trusting Him to hear even our inarticulate longings, to care that we hurt and to send His light right into the midst of so much that has failed and broken. May this simple piece of music help you to give expression to the cries of your own heart.
I am enormously grateful to Peter Richards for greatly improving my original piano score, as well as playing and recording it. Huge thanks too, to Rebecca Whettam, and Mike and Natalie Halliday who overcame the challenges of lockdown by recording the clarinet and cello parts in their own homes. How wonderful that our God is never locked down!
I recently made a study of more than ninety occasions when the word ‘sustain’ appears in English translations. (https://biblehub.com/hebrew/5564.htm)
So many around the world are in tight and uncomfortable places, in need of God’s special sustaining – whether physically, mentally or spiritually. Not only those who are physically confined, but those who have to trudge great distances to fetch food and water – and the millions who have been adversely affected, mentally as well as financially, by lockdown are in need of being upheld by the Lord when they are in danger of sinking.
May this selection of verses bring both comfort and inspiration for prayer as Sally, Colin and I read, and as you soak in the power of these wonderful truths, and the hauntingly beautiful music. May the Lord strengthen and sustain you through these verses as you wait on the Lord, and for His power and clarity to come.
To read the verses, and for the details of the music and the musicians, please go to our blog: https://ruachministries.co.uk/reflections-on-the-word-sustain/
Enjoy this extempore prayer that I recorded as part of a series of teachings and meditations on the theme of rest.
I wrote the first piece of music some years ago. In the second, Francesco Barsanti's setting of a lilting Scottish melody, Jane Horsfall plays the Celtic harp, Francis Cummings the violin, Catherine Muncey the viola, Natalie Halliday the cello, Megan Mellumphy the flute and James Horsfall the keyboard.
There remains a Rest I was struck this morning by these verses from Hebrews: 'There remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for anyone who enters God's rest rests from His own work. . . . Strive, therefore, (make every effort) to enter that rest!' (Heb. 4:9,11). As a result I recorded an extempore prayer along those lines.
It is set to a beautiful piece of music that Colin Owen wrote specifically for me. Jane Horsfall accompanies on the Celtic harp, with Grace and Jonathan Lee playing violin, Catherine Muncey, viola, Corinne Frost and Natalie Halliday, cello, and I play the recorder myself.
In this talk that was recorded early in 2011, Robert encourages us to look for where we might find rest for our souls. So many people live in a state of debilitating chronic fatigue, and even many parts of the Church sometimes appears to be in danger of both succumbing to it themselves and adding to people's sense of being overburdened.
It is so good to take time out to come apart with the Lord and allow Him to minister His rest to us so that we minister to one another from the living water of His Spirit, rather than out of our own exhausted emotions.
Jesus said, "Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” (Matt. 11:28-30) His yoke, that Matthew Henry poignantly describes as being lined with love' is made to measure, and takes our unique personalities, gifts, temperaments, abilities and resilience into account.
A Psalm for Storm-tossed Times
Many of the Biblical psalms begin with a superscription, giving a brief overview of the context of its writing, and its musical setting.
Noting that what I had written in many ways mirrored the framework that many of the ‘testimony-psalms’ employ, and well aware that I had been looking to find a way to capture something of the essence of a very turbulent period in our lives, a friend penned this introductory note:
"Of Robert, the servant of the LORD, who sang this song within a cloud of unknowing, following a sixth nerve palsy, which affected both his sight and his balance, so that he could neither see clearly nor stand steadily. To the tune, The Song of my Heart."
It is so precious to realise that when He helped me to write this piece of music six years ago, which I called The Song of my Heart, the Lord was already well aware that this season of testing was coming. We held back from releasing it immediately, sensing that the right words would come in time to accompany it. Little did I anticipate them coming as the result of something quite so eventful! It is a delight to see how well the intentional rawness of the music matches the rawness of the emotions that the words describe.
May this heartfelt piece help you, too, to face and overcome your own times of challenge and affliction. And may each one of us, like the psalmists of old, set our hope in the Lord, no matter what menacing waves and storms we may find ourselves having to plough through.
The Lord, whose way is in the whirlwind as well as the green pasture is with us through all the changing seasons of life.
The Song of my Heart: A Psalm for storm-tossed times
Words and music by Robert Weston, with Julia Herzog (recorder), Jonathan Lee (violin), Nick Evans Pugh (viola), Corinne Frost (cello), Megan Mellumphy (flute) and Christiane von Albrecht (keyboard).
A Pilgrim's Inn Psalm – A joyous Round! –
Here is something entirely uplifting: a tune to set your heart and feet a-dancing. We took 'Sellinger’s Round', a popular sixteenth century dance, and had fun arranging it for different instruments, including recorders, lutes, bassoons pretending to be crumhorns, percussion and trumpets.
Picture a cheerful innkeeper raising a measure to King Jesus, and inviting all who are bound toward Heaven to join him! Shades of 'Pilgrim’s Progress' and perhaps of Psalm 150 as well!
Psalm A psalm of praise is a door to life and a gate to Heaven, so let praise fill the air, and thanksgiving our hearts. Not to Bacchus will we raise our glass, but to Jesus Christ our Shepherd King.
With life springing forth from the wells of our hearts we uplift and exhort fellow pilgrims on the way. Unending streams of praise that rejoice the Lord’s heart as we raise our tankards to the Lamb’s own standard. (Lev. 7:12, Heb. 13:15)
La Sandanga Oaxaca is a set apart Mexican isthmus, of which this stirring piece of music that Andrew plays on the marimba might be said to be an unofficial anthem. The local word 'Sandunga' embraces the concept of gracefulness, elegance, charm, wit and celebration. See where the music takes you!
The song you are singing Reawakenings cd2 Vivaldi, recorder - trio sonata recorder, flute, cello and keyboard
Comparisonitis Reawakening cd2
Recorder improvisation that emerged from playing the trio sonata by Vivaldi
Saints on the seashore Reawakenings cd2
Memories of the sea shore. Composed by Japanese marimba player Keiko Abe, Memories of the Seashore started out as an improvisation for children. It is a hauntingly beautiful piece which evokes the sound of waves washing on the beach, pebbles rattling, breeze blowing, the sun setting in a blaze of glorious colour - eventually fading away to stillness.
A reflection loosely based on John 17, and on the hymn ‘O Jesus I have promised.’ Peter and Shirley Richards have beautifully blended two of the best-known versions of this, the tunes Wolvercote and Thornbury, while Robert and Ros Weston lead us in this reflection, which was recorded under lockdown conditions.
Turn to me and be saved Reawakenings cd 3 track 2 Dios Nunca Muere, recorded with Grace Lee. Andrew Whettam writes, 'This stately tune, composed by Andador de Macedonia Alcalá, is from Oaxaca in southern Mexico and is known as the "Oaxacan State Hymn". It is highly revered by the locals who stand en masse out of respect whenever it is performed. The title means “God Never Dies” and the song is about the pain of people forced to move from their homeland in search of better opportunities.
Sights and Sadnesses Reawakenings cd 3 track 5 Vivaldi Minuet - Trio sonata recorder, flute, cello and keyboard
Seet Free from Bondages Past Reawakenings cd 3 track 9 Slow movement from Bach's Brandenburg Concerto
Church at the Tipping Point Reawakenings cd 3 track 12 Inspired by Kol Nidri See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kol_Nidre for an understanding of this emotive musical concept.
Decontamination and Reawakening Reawakenings cd 3 track 15 Maria es libre - guitar: written and played by David Booth
New Conditions call for New decisions Reawakenings cd 3 track 18 Handel recorder sonata
Track 25 The Fallout from Loss and Change – and not letting the enemy hijack the process
Schop Variations on Dowland’s Lachrimae; Cello and strings. Loeillet Oboe Sonata. (Thomas Herzog and Christiane von Albrecht)
Track 26 Patmos flushes hidden things to the surface.
Continuing the theme of yielding to the Lord, Patmos experiences flush hidden things to the surface. This is opportunity to allow the Lord to track down things that have been set in motion in the past and to bring them to the Cross.
The gentle background music is an exquisite sonata for harpsichord by Scarlatti K85 played for us by Christiane von Albrecht.
Track 27 Developing our trust
To the accompaniment of a beautiful oboe sonata by one of my favourite composers, Jean Baptise Loeillet, this short meditation encourages us to develop our trust in areas where we are struggling.
Take time to pray and ponder where the words and music stop.
Loeillet Sonata in C (Thomas Herzog and Christiane von Albrecht).
Track 28 The Lord comes in surprising ways!
If you've never heard the Gondola Song by Mendelssohn (Opus 62:5) you will love this version that Jo Foote recorded for us.
This meditation celebrates the Lord's faithfulness and encourages us to yield everything to Him.
Track 29 Things that cause grief to go underground.
Handling grief triggers without letting other people’s expectations knock us off course.
Chopin Opus 72:1 (Jo Foote)
Track 30 Coming alongside people going through Patmos times.
Couperin Sicilienne (Corinne Frost and Peter Richards)
Track 32 Taking authority against giants!
The devil’s strategies against us. An exercise that has helped many to heal from past traumas.
Worship in the Spirit from For Those who seek His Face Flute and Harpsichord improvisation (Elizabeth Pocock & Christiane von Albrecht)
Track 33 The sovereignty of God
Understanding the frontiers and boundaries of this crucial topic, which is ‘a sure foundation of our times’.
Corelli Adagio from the Christmas Concerto
Track 34 Choices that lead to richer insight
Bach Double Violin concerto (Francis Cummings and Susannah Herzog)
Track 35 What fragrance do we exude through our trials?
Bach Double Violin concerto cont’d. (Francis Cummings and Susannah Herzog)
Track 36 The Sovereign Lord at work Improvisation and Chanson d’Aube by Linda Entwistle
Track 38 God at work in out of the way places
Improvisation by Linda Entwistle; Granados Valses Poeticos No. 6. (Jo Foote)
Track 39 At-one-ness with the Lord: Heaven is just another dimension!
Improvisation by Linda Entwhistle
Track 40 Expressing our Concern for others
Debussy Reverie (Corinne Frost and Peter Richards)
Track 41 Stepping out in the face of outright Hostility
Neither Jesus nor John allowed the pressure to hold them back. Missionaries who persevered until the gospel took root. Pray for today’s Pioneers and Settlers!
Corelli Pastorale from The Christmas Concerto
Track 42 Gospel Seeds Corelli Pastorale from The Christmas Concerto cont’d. John Baston Recorder Concerto in C (Julia Herzog)
Track 45 The acid test of relationships (1) Mozart Piano Concerto No.23, 2nd movt. (Jo Foote and Christiane von Albrecht)
Track 46 The acid test of relationships (2) Weeping with those who weep Mozart Piano Concerto No.23, 2nd movt. cont’d. (Jo Foote and Christiane von Albrecht)
Track 48 The Power of Gratitude and the Ministry of Heaven
Flute and piano improvisation (Elizabeth Long & Christiane von Albrecht) Gabrielli Canzoni Primi Toni
Track 49 Testimony to the Power of Prayer from a Soviet Labour Camp Improvisation by Carol Sampson
Track 43 Love is spelt RISK Where wisdom lies in a post-Christian society. Looking away unto Jesus and overcoming the power of envy
Loeillet Sonata for two flutes - flautists - Elizabeth Long, Lizzy Shipman and Christiane von Albrecht
Swilkering Priorities and Perspectives Reawakenings cd4 track 3 Cliff hanger and Joy - improvisation
Celebrity Street Reawakenings cd 4 track 5 Loeillet - sonata for treble recorder, keyboard and cello
Whatsoever things are lovely Reawakenings cd 4 track 8 Music and words by Carol Sampson
Behind the Scenes Reawakenings cd 4 track 10 Loeillet - sonata for treble recorder, keyboard and cello
Purified Gold Reawakenings cd4 track 19 Loeillet - sonata for treble recorder, keyboard and cello
6 Telemann - Suite In A Minor For Flute & Strings - Réjouissances by Ruach Breath of Life
10 Beethoven - String Quartet No. 4 In C Minor, Op 18 - Final Allegro by Ruach Breath of Life
12 Handel - Harp Concerto In B Flat Major, HWV 294, Op. 4, No. 6 - 1 by Ruach Breath of Life
13 Handel - Harp Concerto In B Flat Major, HWV 294, Op. 4, 2nd movt No. 6 - 1 by Ruach Breath of Life
7 Linda Louisa - I Lift My Eyes Up To The Hills - Deep calls to deep by Ruach Breath of Life
8 Francis Cummings - The Swallow (piano Improvisation) - Deep calls to deep by Ruach Breath of Life
16 Vivaldi - Violin Concerto In A Minor, RV365, Op. 3, No.6, 2nd Movement by Ruach Breath of Life
2 Handel - Harp Concerto In B Flat Major, HWV 294, Op. 4, No. 6 - 2nd Movement by Ruach Breath of Life
6 Vivaldi - Flute Concerto In D Major, 2nd Movement - Cantabile by Ruach Breath of Life
18 Brahms - Theme And Variations For Sextet In B Flat, 2nd Movement - Andante by Ruach Breath of Life
A gentle piece, robust in confidence and bubbling with hope. A tune for these times - we need the tender arms of gentle comfort as we navigate loss and pain, but we also need the robust rhythms of confidence to help us change what needs to be changed, and the bubbling melodies of hope to help us dance into the best that is yet to come.
7 Telemann - Concerto In A Minor For Recorder & Viola, 2nd Movement - Dolce by Ruach Breath of Life
9 Philip Spratley - Outlaw Suite, In Outlaw Country, Op. 12B - Notturno by Ruach Breath of Life
12 Philip Spratley - Outlaw Suite, In Outlaw Country, Op. 12B - Lullaby by Ruach Breath of Life
Jesus det enneste Enjoy this lovely Norwegian hymn that Mike Halliday arranged for us . . . it expresses well how grateful we are that Jesus really is the most important person in our lives.
Clarinet: Mike Halliday; Flute:, Nicola Gerrard; Harp: Fontane Liang; Violins: Teresa Brasier, Claire Lewis Lim; Viola: Grace Lee; Cello: Anna Frazer; Bassoon: Bethany Davies; Percussion: Keith Entwistle
15 Leclair - Violin Sonata In D Major, Op. 9, No.3 - 1st Movement by Ruach Breath of Life
16 Leclair - Violin Sonata In D Major, Op. 9, No.3 - 2nd Movement by Ruach Breath of Life
We recorded this in great haste for the funeral of a dear old saint in our home group, who died a couple of weeks ago.
It is a hymn that carries a deep anointing, and is an act of beautiful sacrificial worship in the midst of deep agony.
Please don't let the mistakes in the recording put you off from meeting with the Lord!
Love to you all, dear friends, Francis and Lindsay
When peace like a river attendeth my way When sorrows like sea billows roll Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say It is well, it is well with my soul
It is well (it is well) With my soul (with my soul) It is well, it is well with my soul
Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come Let this blest assurance control That Christ has regarded my helpless estate And has shed His own blood for my soul
My sin, oh the bliss of this glorious thought My sin, not in part, but the whole Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!
And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight The clouds be rolled back as a scroll The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend Even so, it is well with my soul!
The flautists are Nicola Gerard, Sarah, the violinists Shirley Richards and Helen Rees, the viola is played by Julian Chan, with Jo Garcia on cello and Peter Richards on harpsichord.
Vivaldi Two Flutes, second movement The flautists are Nicola Gerard, Sarah, the violinists Shirley Richards and Helen Rees, the viola is played by Julian Chan, with Jo Garcia on cello and Peter Richards on harpsichord.
This wonderful piece of music is an instrumental version of Monteverdi’s setting of Psalm 127, one of the Songs of Ascent. Isn’t it beautiful to think that the season of Advent that we are just entering, is actually the season when we celebrate Christ Jesus, who, existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but emptied Himself and descended to Earth in human form?
We are so grateful to the musicians who worked so hard to record this for us: Violins: Jonathan Lee, Shirley Richards, Rob Bilson, Amanda Bilson; Viola: Cathie Muncey, Christiane Max Cellos: Corinne Frost, Natalie Halliday, Rebecca Whettam; Woodwind: Julia Herzog (recorder); Mike Halliday (clarinet / sax); Trumpets: Anthony Thompson, Kevin Ashman. The players were directed by Andrew Whettam.
The piece was recorded at Regents Bible College, Malvern, in 2018
Jesus, found in appearance as a man, humbled, obedient, dying . . . And so God exalted You to the highest place, gave You the name above all names. Every knee – in heaven and on earth and under the earth – every knee shall bow to You. Every tongue will confess that You are Lord And God our Father will be glorified.
We are so grateful to the musicians who worked so hard to record this for us: Violins: Jonathan Lee, Shirley Richards, Rob Bilson, Amanda Bilson; Viola: Cathie Muncey, Christiane Max Cellos: Corinne Frost, Natalie Halliday, Rebecca Whettam; Woodwind: Julia Herzog (recorder); Mike Halliday (clarinet / sax); Trumpets: Anthony Thompson, Kevin Ashman. The players were directed by Andrew Whettam.
The piece was recorded at Regents Bible College, Malvern, in 2018
As the UK enters a second period of lockdown, we offer this wonderful piece of music that Vivaldi wrote and which Francis Cummings plays for us on behalf of those who are suffering as a result of Covid – but equally for the way the Lord is dishonoured in society - and whatever other griefs people are needing to give expression to.
One evening recently the Lord spoke these words very clearly to me: ‘All that we do is nothing worth unless God bless the deed.’ The words are taken from a really great hymn, God is working His purpose out as year succeeds to year. The theme is based on the verse in Habakkuk about the Earth being filled with the knowledge (yada) of the glory (kavod) of God as the waters cover the sea. (Habakkuk 2:14)(1)
Almost everyone I have shared this hymn with in the last couple of days has commented on how it has aroused distant echoes of what it means to them when they sang it at primary school. Well, the words will mean a great deal more to you now – but aren’t we blessed to have this repository of great hymns lodged deep down inside us? The tune (Benson) is a great one too.
It is sad to think that the present generation will not have this precious and godly heritage to draw on in later years. Today's songs may be better packaged and highly attractive but I very much doubt that they will impact the heart and memory in quite the same way.
Being so close to lockdown of course there is no way we could record this with live musicians, so for the first time in all our many years of partnership with us, we have had to work differently, with Colin taking a starting midi file for pipe organ, and then extracting the parts to turn them into musical instruments. What wonders of technology. We were greatly blessed that Carol was free to sing and record this special lockdown offering.
Carol and Colin sing it beautifully, and we ended up including not only a Yamaha concert piano and strings, but also an oboe, a clarinet, a Chinese flute, an Irish harp, a Fender Rhodes, French horns, a trumpet, a tuba, a cymbal, and - most importantly of course - a recorder(!) (We discarded others that we tried, including a snare drum and set of bagpipes!)
It goes without saying that the better the speakers you listen to this through the more you will be able to hear those parts.
May the Lord bless you at time when so many are feeling stressed, anxious and sad, and when prayer and godly endurance has never been more important.
1) Yada – ‘with the knowledge.’ This is not the kind of knowledge once gains from studying text books; it means to know (properly, to ascertain by seeing); and is used in the Scriptures in a great variety of senses, figuratively, literally, euphemistically and inferentially; ‘to know from experience and relationship’ in other words. May the whole earth be filled with people experiencing God through ever deepening personal relationship.
The Spirit and the Bride say "Come"
I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said,
"Come up here, and I will show you what must take place."
At once I was in the Spirit, and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it. And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian.
As I looked, thrones were set in place, and the Ancient of Days took his seat.
His clothing was as white as snow; the hair of his head was white like wool.
His throne was flaming with fire, and its wheels were all ablaze.
A river of fire was flowing, coming out from before His face.
Thousands upon thousands attended Him; ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him.
The court was seated, and the books were opened. Lord Jesus, This vision of You in Your glory takes me far beyond the trite and shallow, Your voice is like the sound of rushing waters, and Your face like the sun shining in all its brilliance.
You have opened the door for me to come into Your exalted courts to hear what Your Spirit exhorts; for this is where the real decisions are made as Your saints and angels gather round Your throne.
Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat!
Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labour on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare.
(Isaiah 55:1-2)
Music by Linda Louisa
Come up higher to seek My face; it is not chance that has brought you to this place, and I am waiting to meet You here.
High and mighty one, You place Your hand on us and call us secret warriors.
You pour out anointing oil from Your flask, and appoint us for a season to specific tasks.
It is here in your courts that I see how You hold all things together by Your sovereignty – and the profound and perfect interconnectedness of Your plans and purposes.
And just as You move the seasons forward, so Your guidance comes successively as and when we need to know it.
Lord Your Word reminds us that all things are ours (1 Cor 3:21) whatever we do or do not own; Establish in us the balance between simple spontaneity and profound inner order.
Place us in teams and trysting places where we can develop the strategies that will best direct and envelop our days, and cause the Spirit of prayer to draw near .
When condemnation snags my soul, restrain my fears and lift me to a higher plane again.
Remove the shackles of my fear: the overweight of former years, and the shock of heavy stumbling blocks; for You delight to gather a mighty harvest from even our simplest prayers.
You love to see us immersing all we do, and everyone You lead us to, in the light that comes from You.
In all things we extend earnest prayer, wrapped in the fragrance of thanksgiving.
Release afresh the freedom of the Spirit’s tears in the spirit of eternal prayer.
Overcome the peril of false attachments, until we truly want what You most want; for You miss us when we put anyone or anything ahead of You.
As we crystallise Your victories on this home run we celebrate the battles You have won; and when we fall and stumble, help us not to crumble but to start again; for Your ability to forgive is so much greater than ours to fail.
Ancient of Days, we rejoice in these moments You accord, when You direct seeming coincidences from the centre of Your throne; initiatives that love alone interprets and inspires, that lead toward Your throne. The writer to the Hebrews reminds us that we have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. We’ve come to God, the judge of all men, to the spirits of righteous men made perfect – and to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant.
I am with you today Lord Jesus, by the pool of Bethesda and You delight to share this time in the cool of the day not just to prepare me for some coming trial, but because even in the thick of the action You seek companions who share and understand Your heart.
I am with you today, Lord Jesus, by the pool of Bethesda and I need no angel to trouble the water on behalf of Your daughter, for the King of Kings has placed springs within my soul.
Lord of the still calm waters of this healing pool, You surround me with a love that confounds all hostile stares rescues me from deadly snares, and gives me the grace to endure in tribulation as in wealth – and a peace that passes understanding, which the world can neither give nor take away.
One Thing I ask by Francis Cummings
The Lord’s angels are closer than we think, strong to deliver God's help those who are on the brink
May our spirits be still and pure enough to catch glimpses of them in action and to follow any commands they direct our way.
Lord, we speak in Shetland of hamefaring, when thousands with links to the islands make their way home for a poignant and joyful reunion; and we too are hamefaring; making our way to Heaven where innumerable saints are pouring out their praise to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
And we, by grace, dwell in the company of this great cloud of witnesses whose prayers live on – for He is the God of the living, and not the dead, and we by grace share communion with this heavenly throng.
Teach us what it means to enter this sacred sanctuary, as Your Spirit shows us more of what it means to live with the nearness of the Host of Heaven.
One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek Him in His temple.
Knowing the eternal reward that awaited You You were prepared to leave the riches of Your heavenly home – as the vanguard for a thousand million souls who would also serve the largely unappreciative, and suffer at their hands.
Even so may we Your followers check from time to time whether what we are doing really is of eternal worth: loving Jesus, and serving those for whom He died.
Lord of my Life Words and Music by Carol Sampson
My Master, my Friend, my Brother Saviour, Redeemer and Lord My father, my King, my High Priest in Him my Peace and Refuge in the storm
My Rock, my Fortress, my Deliverer My Shield, my Salvation, my Strength My Shepherd, my Healer, my Joy and my Peace My Hope and the Light of my Life
You are the Lord of my life and in You I'm alive and I set my gaze on You trust only in You hide Your Word in my heart.
Lord of my life
Music by Linda Louisa
This is a prayer for those who are going through times of near intolerable pressure. If the Lord is moving the stage sets of our lives around, it is only because He is changing the scenery – and by His mercy the new scenarios will be good. By His grace may we let Him do whatever it takes to keep us moving forward.
To those who are feeling overwrought and pummelled, and only just keeping going, the Lord says,
Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,' says the LORD Almighty.
"What are you, O mighty mountain? You will become level ground. Then he will bring out the capstone to shouts of `God bless it! Grace to it!’
“Don’t despise the day of small beginnings!”
My children, many have come and many have gone without finding the place of inner release.
There are reasons for the blocks that keep them from standing on the Rock.
Some plans miscarry through failing to seek My plans and purposes; and insufficient tarrying in My presence.
So come, My child, over the shards, through the narrow places and across the broad slow plains until you find some quickening ray as you pray; for I too am paying a heavy cost to keep you in the fray.
Lord, with joy I receive Your love, for nothing else can satisfy my heart, and nothing less shall fill my day. I receive Your love; deep within my soul.
You do not give us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and self control. Rally our defences when the devil intrudes; challenge our complacency when we are tempted to go our own way. You want us to seek You, even in the most ordinary of events.
Therefore as you go, may you know His power in your life; as you live, may you yield up more of your heart and so receive His love – which nurtures like a mother and teaches like a father.
Celtic 1 by Francis Cummings
Lord Jesus by Your birth You earthed eternal love and sparked something new in each heart that You touched. The heart of the downcast disciples burned within them as You joined them on the road to Emmaus.
Just so do You shepherd our souls, exalting the humble but leaving the proud to stumble; for nine times out of ten the essence of judgement lies less in some external act than in the silent shrivelling of the soul.
Not knowing all You can do in the hearts of excluded ones, the teachers of the law browbeat those they regarded as scum; but You exalted them to be the salt and light of the world. Since You delight to evoke some higher way of seeing help us to tease out hidden gifts and talents in the hearts of valiant souls.
It is the way of love, and its deepest pain, that one partner often loves more than the other – and this is still more true for You, Lord. Help me play my part to requite, at least in part, this love that never shrinks from pouring out so much in return for so little.
Lord Jesus, You know what I must do to further Your work in my soul. Don’t let me skimp on spending time with You, or walk with a spiritual limp;
If I have allowed anything to die within my soul, reclaim that ground and fan the gift into flames – for You are my pilot through all my reefs and griefs.
Lord Jesus, You know what You must do to further Your work in the heart of the Church. Don’t let us skimp on spending time with You, or walk with a spiritual limp; We dedicate the projects You would have us undertake – orchestrate them to Your pulsating glory; for You are our pilot through all our reefs and griefs.
Increase the scope of our concern and send us where You will – but may we always have a special heart for the oppressed, misunderstood, excluded ones.
And when our particular race is run, You will welcome us to our place, removing every trace of all that is misplaced; for everything goes deeper as we deepen by Your grace.
Music by Linda Louisa
Lord Jesus, as surely You saved the wedding from disaster, You’re never short of plans for leading us on, so help us to look less at circumstances that oppress, and our own lack of resources, and more at the assurance of Your presence.
With what authority You sent Your disciples out, demonstrating that one plus You is still a majority.
Show us where we have under performed by being too slow to act on what You have bestowed.
Time and again You reproved Your disciples for their profound unbelief. May we make it our absolute priority to stretch out Your rod of authority, so You may never have to chide us for failing to move in the power You provide.
When we know not what to pray, may Your Spirit point the way, bidding us ask, seek and knock; to bind and release, in order that Heaven may have the increase.
Spirit of prayer, saturate our hearts with joy and fervour, so that whether we are giving birth through hardened earth or dancing for the sheer romance of loving You, our prayers may range wide and far, and match Your generous stride.
Come light that knows no night, whether we be introverts or extroverts, keep us in Your Spirit’s flow; so that all we do, and even think may be carried out beneath the banner of Your authority. For You have given us today and eternity.
And though it is right to take proper steps and to make proper plans You would rather have us fully engaged from day to day rather than holding out for some mythical moment when it all begins to happen.
Stir up in us this most precious habit of prayer, so that we may catch the many things we see and hear and unlatch them all in prayer.
You keep no record of our wrongs, but the recording of Your deeds and doings is a mighty springboard for our faith. We direct our spirits now to lift places and people before Your throne, who may even be unknown to us, but who are deeply known and loved by You. SELAH
Mozart oboe quartet slow movement
In the beginning, You laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands. They will perish, but You remain the same, and Your years will never end.
Lord, You never change, but I would not be the poet and prophet that I am were every day to be just as yesterday.
On dank drab winter’s days, when the sunlight lies hidden in the haze, keep me from the myth of the ‘but what if’s’, and the lonely ‘if only’s’.
Lift me afresh upon your shoulders, to behold Your power over all these boulders. Intervene in my daily routine whenever I am straying towards the ravine and whisper, ‘this is not the way.’ Thank You for the many ways you convey Your pleasure when I overcome self doubt and push the boat right out. May I never become so entrenched that I quench Your Spirit's fire or treat true prophecy with contempt. Give me the wisdom not just to hold on to what is true but to press through and appropriate that which comes from You.
High and mighty one, so glorious in apparel, from the storehouse of Your unseen observation dome send Your prime shalom.
And Lord, reshape every peril on the anvil of Your love. Impart fresh new dreams within our hearts on those long and dusty climbs when nothing seems to rhyme.
Celtic 2 by Francis Cummings
"What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from the evil desires at war within you?" (James)
"A patient man calms a quarrel, but starting a quarrel is like breaching a dam." (Proverbs)
"The Lord’s servant must not quarrel; instead, he must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful but patient with difficult people." (2 Timothy 2)
Paul reminds us that it is no longer we that live but Christ who lives in us. Since we are no longer our own, Christ’s interests should be our concern, and we should be willing to lay down the things that lead to quarrels and division.
Father, Your word says, Woe to him who quarrels with his Maker. You sent the Lord Jesus full of grace and truth, veering now in the direction of grace and now more towards truth, as wisdom required. Grant us more of this divine authenticity that moves in great simplicity more one way and then the other as wisdom requires, reconciling souls with their Maker.
Give us courage to contend for the faith, but keep us from flaring up in ire when people snipe and gripe, lest we end up fighting fire with fire.
Infuse Your grace and truth to defuse each of our temptations, but guard the flashpoints in our hearts lest the enemy’s battering ram appoints a quarrel that seeks to breach the dam.
Lord, we give you full permission to define and realign our onward mission. Grant us grace to embrace this glorious truth, that we were bought at a price to be our Beloved’s – and He is ours for ever.
Lord, am I the man of peace that you would have me be, or do I still both fret and regret? The man who lives and moves in peace reaches out to lend Your strength, so let Your life breathe through me today, transforming the churnings of my heart, augmenting the spirit of quiet content.
The woman who lives and moves in peace surrenders everything to God. She is patient and interruptible; she neither fears nor fawns but draws near to the sad and withdrawn. Lord, am I a woman who lives and moves in peace, or do I still both judge and grudge? Is there anything that I must yield afresh to You? I declare war on all in me that opposes You. and ask You to mould my temperament in the spirit of Your quiet content.
And Lord, where there is stress and sterility as the result of apparent incompatibility, help us develop ways of coping that will give us the ability to help each other through, and transform our differences into much appreciated features: a profoundly complimentary kaleidoscope.
Marcello 3rd movement oboe concerto in D minor
Lord, I cannot put this too strongly: I want to declare it to the deep places of my heart: I am not in charge! For every time I begin to act as though everything depends on me, I end up making mistaken demands: Forgive me every time I miss vital warning signs. and cross these hidden boundary lines.
My desire to follow Your will gives me no right to reproach or encroach for when I judge outward deeds and dealings it only serves to trigger unwise judgements that polarise matters still more; and though I see people’s faults so clearly, I often miss their inward humility.
Lord, You allow the most irksome things to come my way to reveal my tendency to fix. Help me move beyond the outward need for conflicts and to realise that what You actually want is for me to relinquish all control. I pray for that quality of grace that refrains from running down and gives to others far more space, honouring them to receive Your crown.
When everything inside is screaming that some extreme thing needs removing, You sometimes shelve my plea, permitting scenarios that appear to threaten everything.
Let’s not hear these words and think they must apply to some other soul who has gone awry – but rather pause awhile to confess our deadly soul attack.
Music by by Francis Cummings
Lord, drop Your still dews of quietness, till all our strivings cease; take from our souls the strain and stress, and let our ordered lives confess the beauty of Your peace.
Lord, I’ve often sung those words, but since dew never falls on stormy nights let my heart be still enough to receive the whispers of Your love.
Sometimes, Lord, Your silence is as eloquent as words, for You know what You are planning to do, as surely as You stilled the hunger of the crowds who followed You up the hill. You want us to trust You beyond all immediate signs of comfort.
Fishermen catch no fish until they cast their net, and since I will know no peace of mind until I place my burdens into Your powerful hands I cast all variety of anxiety upon You now, undeterred Shepherd of my soul.
King David said, “I delight to do Your will”; let his words be also true of me. If You had let me follow the devices and desires of my heart, I would never have reached the places You had in mind. So You have allowed strange disappointments to come my way in order to fulfil Your higher vision; and You want me to trust You in what comes next.
May we leave no stone unturned in following up Your leads; for though we never know which ones will succeed You give growth to the seeds we sow.
It’s so often when we go the extra mile that Your power breaks through, so help us follow every sign of Your Kingdom as we give You the people and situations we are involved in.
Music by Linda Louisa
Father, it is as natural for You to give of Your fullness as it is for us to breathe, for You are the very image of plentifulness, and when it comes to serving You, help us to put first things first, and last things last, lest anything become an idol or a snare; for You are from everlasting to everlasting, and Your years will never end.
Since You make use of even the trials and residues of life You declared: “Let nothing be wasted,” (John 6:12) – and the baskets were filled with the loaves that remained.
You remind us to launch out into the deep and to let down our nets for the catch. (Luke 5:4) It isn’t skill alone that will catch these fish but obedience to Your voice; so where would you have us cast our nets today, Lord?
It sometimes feels as though my giving to the poor and needy, and even to your Kingdom warriors, is but a drop in the ocean, yet even the Pacific is made up of so many drops, and Your word tells us to give and it will be given back to us: everything added because Your hand has guided; so I bow my knee afresh and await Your further instructions on who and what You wish me to support.
Grant us too the inner strength and resilience to reject the enemy’s assessment of the way things are – and to press on beyond every disappointment. Challenge and confront the ‘no go’ areas in our thinking patterns in order to give free course to Your thoughts and insights.
Grant us spiritual fathers, mothers and mentors – and the willingness to serve in this way ourselves, with steadily increasing influence in all the work You see fit to give us – and that we are seeking to do for You, abundant God.
The Lord's my Shepherd by Francis Cummings
Come to Me, My child; rest awhile from all the wild perplexing things that are robbing you of peace.
Rest awhile, for My sake as well as yours, for even when you’re feeling really down you will not drown;
I am still your Guide and Counsellor, who provides my child with all she needs.
Lord, You know all that has happened, what I have done, and what others have done to me; the profound hurts that have tossed my life this way and that. I know these sufferings will not thwart Your final plan, but right now I need to give expression to my pain. Selah Lord, You’ve brought me to this place where I need your healing embrace;
Let Your refining love console me when I am feeling out of control, and struggling to define my role.
When I feel exposed, and hanging by a thread You want to see me fight – but I can’t go on unless You send gold threads to stitch my rended heart.
So as we seek Your face, Refresh us with Your grace
Celtic 3 by Francis Cummings
When we are under extreme pressure, the Lord is our ever present help and refuge – but that does not mean that we will necessarily find it easy to feel His presence. May the pressures not hold us back from seeking Him – and from sharing what we are going through with at least one other person.
The prophet said, ‘In the shadow of His hand He hid me. He made me into a polished arrow, and concealed me in His quiver.’ (Is. 49:2)
Lord Jesus, we shelter beneath the refuge of Your Almighty hand – and find such sweetness there, but sometimes it is hard to stand, because it is so dark beneath Your hand. Forgive us when we fail to understand that You are using this narrowed time to prepare a polished arrow for Your very special plans.
When the ability to sense Your presence fades, help us proclaim that You are still the same, for even if it is dark beneath Your wing, You still want us to sing; and all that we have known of You still applies when You come in seeming disguise.
When You look back on those times of darkness, Lord, when our pathway narrowed and we were deeply harrowed; may You rejoice that we did not give in to the bleakness; for although the surface of our life was profoundly ruffled, and Your presence strangely muffled, deep down the water remained as still as ever.
Stir up in us the determination to hold fast until the darkness parts and the danger is past.
Give us grace to ride each millrace, until the waters slow and peace returns.
Grant us grace not to begrudge those days when we must trudge across the sandy expanse – for deserts end in Your fond embrace, and the only way to gain the reward is to take firm hold of Your pledge, and to tear all obstacles to shreds.
But the Warped One flees not before the uncommitted. He keeps his claws embedded in hearts too narrowly set on their own affairs. He only bows to those whose ambitions range beyond their own immediate sphere of service – and since he greatly fears souls who refuse to compromise, Lord, make us those whom both Heaven and hell acknowledge.
Lord Jesus, in my spirit I am back in places where I have met with You. I pray now for the joy of Your presence, the comfort of Your touch and the power of Your leading on all whom I bring to You in prayer.
Let Your compassion come upon them now, releasing souls from the deadweight of stifling tradition and turning the predictable into living encounter as the wind of Your Spirit blows through.
Arise my Love Words and Music by Carol Sampson
Arise, my love My beautiful one, come with me. See the winter, the winter has passed. The rains are over and gone. Flowers appear on the earth. The season of singing has come, has come.
You are, you are my love. You are the apple of my eye. Oh my beauty - my beautiful one - How I delight in you. Nothing can change what I say. My love is holding you safe.
Arise, my beautiful one. Come away and be with me. Show me your face so lovely. Arise, my beautiful one. Lift your voice and sing to me so i can hear your voice so sweetly. Cos I, I love you. I do.
Flowers appear on the earth. The season of singing has come.
Arise, my beautiful one. Come away and be with me. Show me your face so lovely. Arise, my beautiful one. Lift your voice and sing to me so i can hear your voice so sweet. Because I, I love you. I do.
Music by Linda Louisa
This is an opportunity to bless specific people who you care for deeply using various Scriptures as your starting point. May these prayers and meditations inspire you to turn many other verses in the Psalms, Proverbs, Prophets and New Testament into living prayer.
May the Lord, who has begun a good work in you, help you to work out your salvation with fear and trembling and bring His work to completion in Christ Jesus. (Phil:1:6, 2:12)
As you pass through the rushing waters may they not overwhelm you. May the Lord keep you from being burned in the fire (Isaiah 43:2)
May the troubles you go through achieve an exceeding and eternal weight of glory, as you keep your eyes fixed not on what is seen but on what is unseen. (2 Cor. 4:17-18)
As you wait on the Lord, may your strength be renewed, so that you can mount up on eagle’s wings, run and not grow weary walk and not grow faint. (Is. 40:31)
May your heart be discerning and acquire knowledge. (Pvbs 18:15) May the Lord keep you from answering before you listen, for that would be your folly and your shame. (Pvbs. 15:13)
May you learn from your afflictions (Ps. 119:67, 71) and when you feel offended, may you not bar the gates of your heart, for walls are easy to build but so much harder to dismantle. (Pvbs. 18:19)
I pray that God will bless you and enlarge your border, that His hand will be with you and that He will keep you from evil so it might not hurt you. (1Chron 4v1).
May the Lord build His hedge around you, and your house, and all you have on every side. (Job1v10).
May the Lord give you discretion and good judgement. May He give you success in building the house of the Lord. May you be strong and courageous and neither afraid nor discouraged. (1 Chron. 22:11-14)
May you have the tongue of one who is taught, and speak a word in season to him who is weary. May the Lord waken you morning by morning to listen to His voice. (Is. 50:4)
May your faith remain strong, even in the face of great sifting. (Luke 22:31-2). May you know authority and power to trample upon scorpions, and strength over all the powers that confront you. (Luke 10:19)
May the Spirit of Truth guide you into all truth and reveal the things that are God’s to you. (John16)
May it always be your goal to please Him, so that when you stand before the judgement seat, you may receive the rewards that are due to you. (2 Cor. 5:10)
As you contemplate the path of your life, may the Lord guide your steps. Through the fear of the Lord may you be kind to the needy, and (Pvbs. 16:6, and 1 Sam. 2:9) may He keep your spirit from being crushed (Pvbs. 17:22, 18:14); may your feet be beautiful as you walk in your destiny. (Is.52:7) and keep your heart at peace. (Pvbs. 14:30)
When we posted the draft of this, Soundcloud thought we were using a recording from one of the best ensembles of the world! Much praise to the musicians who were led on the oboe by Thomas Herzog, in this lovely rendering of Mozoart's oboe quartet.
First of all this is a piece to celebrate the glories of God's creation. He could have created one fern and one tree, and that would have been an amazing feat - but He created thousands!
The words are also a celebration of the glories of God's creation, but also a poignant reflection of the extreme variety of experience people are having in these uncertain times - from those enjoying deep friendships to those whose relationships feel as though they are spinning out of control. Likewise for those embarking on fresh adventures or racing from appointment to appointment whilst others are benumbed by boredom, and who would welcome the chance to come on board with some fresh venture.'
There are times in life of extreme suffering, but God also wants us to delight in His goodness, and in the wonder of his Creation.
Lord Jesus, You showed us in Your parables that You delight in finding things; coins, sheep and prodigal offspring.
Discover some new way to mastermind heavenly solutions to meet people’s deepest needs.
Be a finding God we pray – and direct the hearts of the inwardly homesick to respond to the wooing of your calling in image, word or music. We pray now for those you lead us to.
We pray for those with dates in their diary, and other lovely things to look forward to;
For those making deeper friendships – and for those whose relationships are spinning out of control;
For those with few encounters on their calendar, or who are unable to travel very far.
For those who are embarking on fresh adventures, and those benumbed with boredom, who would welcome the chance to come on board with some new venture.
Mozart Oboe Quartet first Movement
Words and music - Carol Sampson
Jesus - You are the Way, You are the Living God Jesus - You lead the way, and guide me by Your word
Jesus - You are the Truth, You are God revealed to man Jesus - You are the Truth, You fulfil the Father's plan
Jesus - You are the Light, you overflow in me Jesus - You are the Life, given so abundantly
Therefore God has exalted You to the highest place So that every knee should bow and every tongue confess That Jesus - You are the Lord. let every tongue proclaim Jesus - You are the Lord, for ever more the same
Yes Jesus- You are the One Who died to set me free Jesus - You are the One who makes my life complete.
Music by Francis Cummings
Samuel Johnson urged people “to keep their friendships in good repair.” So here is an invitation to pray for the friends the Lord places on our hearts.
Lord, the love that is burning in my heart today is so strong for the flagship friendships that You have taken such care to shape. As Your psalmist declared, the saints in the land are the glorious ones in whom You delight, So I lift these loved ones to You now. SELAH
From time to time these God-given partnerships dip from sight below the horizon, but You are always seeking fresh ways to bring about deeper union.
And just as officers on a warship’s bridge know their chain of authority within a combat zone, so You give special authority to those who worship in love and trust before Your throne.
Let our prayers be wind and Spirit-blown – dethroning hindering powers; and may our e mails, texts and calls have the stamp and seal of Heaven on them all.
The flow You direct between us is so precious, Lord.
Protect and preserve us when heavy hurtful rocks are lobbed our way –
Let no careless words or misunderstanding wreck the powerful vessel of our friendship; no indifference or rivalry shaft or scupper this sacred craft.
Rather let our awareness increase to the point where we can sense when our friends are in distress.
Father, use our times together, to release Your power and fervour; for You delight to grant much favour when two or three are gathered in Your love.
We promise to keep alert, and make the effort to connect whenever You direct – and then may abundant heavenly ointment grace each one of these most precious appointments.
Music by Linda Louisa
1 Come down, O Love divine! seek out this soul of mine and visit it with your own ardour glowing; O Comforter, draw near, within my heart appear, and kindle it, your holy flame bestowing.
2 There let it freely burn till earthly passions turn to dust and ashes in its heat consuming; and let your glorious light shine ever on my sight, and make my pathway clear, by your illuming.
3 Let holy charity my outward vesture be, and lowliness become my inner clothing; true lowliness of heart which takes the humbler part, and for its own shortcomings weeps with loathing.
4 And so the yearning strong with which the soul will long shall far surpass the power of human telling; for none can guess its grace till we become the place in which the Holy Spirit makes his dwelling.
Improvised music.
Jack Hayford put it well when he said,
“Where we are prepared to travail in prayer, life comes forth, and the kingdom of God extends its triumph,”
but the battle is intense, and the devil’s weapon is a magnifying glass!
He focuses it on a patch of dried out grass and then ignites some smouldering fire in our lives, affrighting souls that have not learnt to fight with visions dire – or exciting simple souls with visions far too bright.
When the Lord inspires some new venture, we can be sure the enemy will do his best to deter us. He’ll either tell us that what we are attempting is misguided and impossible, Or that we are the wrong people to be doing it; And if that doesn’t work, he’ll suggest we’ve got the timing wrong! Now there are times when we must hold some vision in our heart until the Lord gives the specific commission to act on it: but that’s very different from the enemy’s attempt to postpone it indefinitely.
Lord, You know exactly how we are wired; and when some idea or initiative really is of You, as opposed to some stray passing thought, give us the determination not to allow ourselves to be deterred, earthing overly optimistic hopes and shattering the fears which that lethal magnifying glass distorts and exaggerates.
Baptise our imagination to embrace the very deepest truths – May we never seek success to boost our power and fame, but equally may we not hold back when You are giving clearance to voice the things that You are showing us.
Lord, Help us make the most of every opportunity, for whilst missed moments may never be reprieved odd spare minutes can be gainfully employed.
Minister to the secretly bound who have grown so used to working their way around their restrictions, that they never quite fathom that it is the wounded bleeding Lamb of God, who knows every facet of their lives, who is seeking this intense inner cleansing.
Where we have been guilty of frustrating the grace of God, not only through overt sin and but also over indulgence, whereby we are effectively treating You as our servant, bring us rather to that place in prayer where we explore what is on Your heart.
If Your kindness does not lead us to true repentance, all we will be left with are regrets and remorse. And since it is those who have been forgiven most who love best, help us confess whatever we need to confess, and then move on again;
For seeking You increases our aspiration for fresh visitations of Your Holy Spirit among the nations.*
*The last two stanzas were inspired from the chapter A new kind of prayer meeting by Jack Hayford in Intercessory Prayer, edited by Leonard Le Sourd (Hodder, 1990)
Music by Francis Cummings
Show me your ways o Lord Teach me to walk in your righteous paths Turn my eyes from worthless things Let me not be put to shame
My eyes are ever on You because my hope is in You
To You, O Lord, I lift up my soul In You, O Lord, I put my trust Remember not the sins of my youth But lead me in the Way Everlasting.
Prayer for the Nations Music by Linda Louisa
Lord Jesus, the crowd cheered Your triumphal entry into Jerusalem, but You wept; for You knew that countless souls would lose their lives as the result of the nation rejecting the hour of her visitation.
Unaware of the centrality of Your desire to prepare them for eternity, the people quickly turned when Jesus failed to meet their immediate expectations.
How do we ourselves respond when You do not appear to meet our hopes and dreams?
Help us be willing to come to You on Your terms, not on ours – and so avoid falling into bitterness in a land where so few pay anything more than lip service to the King of Kings.
Lord, we remember how earnestly You worked to rescue Germany from the Nazi tyranny enabling her to take her place once more among the nations – and how You helped America and South Africa emerge beyond the lure of the racist call.
We celebrate Your grace and truth that have achieved so much, and ask for nations still skewed in the thrall of long held feuds, to have the grace to move on from conflicts past; fulfilling through forgiveness their God-given call.
Redemptive One, we offer you the weight of our own temptations to bitterness as an offering on behalf of wider issues – where severe deadlocks have gripped and divided, and situations risk being whisked into something infinitely combustible.
We give you the flashpoints around the world, and pray, “Intervene by Your mercy and defuse”, lest we ignore all safety limits, and descend into another bout of senseless blood letting: from the Archduke’s assassination, through the killing fields and holocausts to the lethal civil wars that ravage so many regions.
And as we pray, we ask that You will release us too from the wilderness of time and energy that every trace of bitterness represents.
Arise and show Your mercy and Your power as we gather round Your throne to present our cry. Lift the weak, humble the proud, unblock the stalled and deadlocked as Your Spirit sends seismic shocks to overturn wrong ways of thinking and usher in the new.
Prayer for the Persecuted Church Marcello first movement oboe concerto in D minor
I have given them Your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; Your word is truth.
Deep in his cell, Watchmen Nee fell to his knees to beseech Your grace; and beyond the enormous emotional trauma You dispelled great darkness and moved in power throughout the land of China; while far below ground Richard Wurmbrand resisted intense bleakness and filled the blackness with the sound of Your praise.
Refusing to be caged, such prisoners for the Lord remained fully engaged, enabling You to bring about a harvest of the brave.
As they sighed and soared in spirit, they saw beyond their prison walls and prepared the way for all that You are doing today.
Because Your word tells us to remember those who are ill treated as though we were suffering ourselves, we cry out to you for adjustment grace for all who find themselves deprived of all they hold most dear.
May the blood of the martyrs remain the seed of the mushrooming churches in the countries for which You call us to intercede. And now we lift our hearts to pray for Your heavenly increase, throughout the Middle East and all the countries You lead us to in prayer.
Make special use of the Internet and satellite dish and every other means of revealing your Word to guide people’s attention to the only dimension that really matters.
The Spirit and the Bride say "Come". cop con
When we come together, everyone should be free to bring a hymn, a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation – all for the strengthening of the church.
So many leaders, of churches, as of nations, have but one way of responding.
Father, grant to many the courage to give your Spirit room to move Rather than playing it safe, and chafing sensitive souls by over tight controls, the vision to draw people in, thus releasing fresh new roles and giftings.
Lord, You delight in the deeply ordered but also in the far more experimental, in which rich times of worship interweave with the gently instrumental.
Break open the treasure troves of creativity that hidebound churches have all but mislaid – and may we as leaders have the courage to search and follow where You lead.
We pray now for leaders as they come to mind, first in the Church and then in the world to develop a more participatory vision; and for those whose confidence has been knocked by deep division – get the devil off their back and restore them on track. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Selfless Prayer Marcello - Adagio, Oboe concerto in D minor
There are certain species of African ants that eat the insides out of wooden furniture. The chairs and tables look alright, but the termites have done their worst, causing them to burst apart when anything is placed on them.
Many lives appear strong, and even stately on the outside, yet are eaten alive on the inside by pride.
Since the attributes You most prize arise more from our character than our gifting: forgive us those many things we do that grate like a rusty gate.
Shift our focus from being too narrowly inward, lest our unseen faults and thoughtlessness mar our days and prove a snare to many others, without our even being aware.
Catch us these boring ants, and make our character more authentically sound – especially for those of us who easily get cross.
Subdued by stress or chronic complaint, or inflated by too high an opinion of ourselves we end up sounding increasingly doleful and run the risk of robbing our soul of brave and cheerful words.
Lord, let me be a lifeline to those who are caught in swirling floods. Jog my spirit to bring these ones to mind, and then to serve as a lifeguard to buoy them up in prayer.
Lord, direct my eyes to particular people, books or thing You wish to emphasize. Let Your arresting power lead me to discover what it is You have in store.
You only give us nudges when something matters enough to You; but You rarely fail to prompt us when something significant is looming.
Since the spiritual world is entirely real, and the battles hugely intense, keep us mentally alert and fighting fit, to arise as soldiers in your army, as well as worshippers before Your throne.
Prayer for the Land Music by Dvorak
My grief is beyond healing. My heart is broken. Listen to the weeping of My people. It can be heard all across the land. Has the Lord abandoned Jerusalem? Is her King no longer there?
“Oh why have they angered me with their carved idols and worthless gods,” asks the Lord. I weep for the hurt of people. I am stunned and silent, mute with grief. Is there no medicine in Gilead. Is there no physician there? Why is there no healing for the wounds of my people. Oh that my eyes were a fountain of tears. I would weep day and night for my people who have been slaughtered.
Therefore the Lord says, “See I will melt them in a crucible and test them like metal. What else can I do with them? Who is wise enough to understand all this? Who has been instructed by the Lord and can explain it to others? Why has the land been ruined so that no one even dares to travel through it?”
The Lord replies, “This has happened because my people have abandoned the instructions I gave them. They have refused to obey me. They have stubbornly followed their own desires. So now listen to what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel says. I will feed them with bitterness and give them poison to drink. Let not the wise man gloat in his wisdom, or the mighty man in his might or the rich man in his riches. Let them boast in this alone – that they truly know me, and understand that I am the Lord who is just and righteous, whose love is unfailing and that I delight in theses things. I the Lord have spoken.”
Lord, You search all hearts and examine secret motives. You give people their due rewards according to what their actions deserve. We know that our heart is utterly self-deceitful and desperately wicked. Forgive us Lord. We worship at your eternal high and glorious throne. Oh Lord, the Hope of Israel – all who turn away from you will be disgraced and shamed for they have forsaken the Lord, the Fountain of Living Water. You alone can heal me. You alone can save. My praises are for you alone.
Then the Lord touched my mouth and said, “See I have put my words in your mouth.”
Peace, be still . Words and music by Carol Sampson.
Darkness falls across the sky as the day begiins to fade. Jesus wants us to cross over to the other side - so we all get into the boat thinking it's gonna be alright. We see our master resting in the stillness of the night.
But something stirs the peaceful scene so very unexpectedly. The lashing wind a mighty gale. We're so afraid, our hearts they fail. So we cry out 'oh Master don't You care that we're gonna drown. Can't You do something to save us - 'cos this ship is going down?'
'Peace be still,' Jesus cries and the storm quickly subsides. 'Oh you of little faith, why do you fear? You ought to know by now I'm always here when you need me. Peace, be still. When the storms of life surround - peace be still.'
Still today, just like them, fear grips the heart of men. Because in our boats so tossed and torn, we find it hard to bear the storm so we cry out in desperation 'God where can You be?' If we take the time to listen He'll whisper quietly,
'Peace be still.' Hear Him cry. And your storm will quickly subside. 'Oh you of little faith, why do you fear? You ought to know by now that I'll be here when you need Me. Peace be still. When the storms of life surround, peace be still.'
Gethsemane Music by Linda Louisa
From time to time some of us go through Gethsemane experiences, not to substitute for Christ’s original sacrifice, but somehow to extend its scope in every generation. Such experiences not only make us eager to get to Heaven: they prepare us to meet Him there.
Lord Jesus, although some might foolishly claim that You only suffered pain and shame for a few short hours, the truth is rather that from the moment Gabriel declared that a sword would pierce Your mother’s heart, Gethsemane’s haze overshadowed even the most carefree days.
So certain they were right, the indignant Scribes and Pharisees poured out their spite on those who begged You to save their sight.
Quite failing to appreciate that You had come to set their captives free, they sought to shun Your light.
Even so will those who live and move in heavenly freedom be despised by some, and loved by others, for salt is both irritant and preservative. Inspire in us such fulsome hope that even when we are groping in the pain of being the butt of those who mock You keep our feet on the Rock. For with You is not only fullness of joy but also the ageless earnestness You displayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, when the pressures all but overwhelmed Your defences, and Your prayers drew blood to achieve the pardon for our offence.
Lord, since each one of us must choose how we will respond when the invitation comes to take our place in Your suffering bride, grant that our hearts become stronger and not harder through the things that we suffer – even as heat softens wax and strengthens clay.
Since the darkness is to You as light, give me grace to press on through the night, for if I take the route of opting out, I can never return.
But You are my Redeemer and my Intercessor, who can renew hope and mercy a thousand times, and so I choose life over death, using even these great pressures to purify my desire – for those who pay the price to endure will reign with You in Paradise.
TIMES OF PRESSURE
When too many pressures come my way, may my eyes not turn astray to envy others for what they have that I do not, for that would open the door for swift and silent adders to inflame my heart with maddening desires.
Before I foolishly absorb such toxic venom, I want to thank You for all You have given me – and the continual freshness of Your beautifully sculpted multi layered leadings.
Lord, since You are working out Your plans and purposes with far more precision than might at first appear, I will resist the temptation to cry out as Peter did, “But Lord, what of him?” for self pity is ever the gateway to inner disarray – and of what use are comparisons that make me feel smugly superior – or hopelessly inferior?
So in Your name we pour this poison down the drain, and bless the ones we are tempted to disdain. Where my chosen path has reached an impasse, with no room left to fulfil certain hopes, let me not pout or doubt, let alone whinge and whine, for Your plans will never be entirely short-circuited when we are absorbed in pursuing You.
If ever John on lonely Patmos felt inclined to envy Peter for being long since restored to Heaven’s sweeter shores, God knew that he was there to take possession of the Revelation and to see the Redeemer with new eyes – and we are where we are in order to receive the fresh ignition of His specific commission;
for truly, the Judge of all the Earth does only what is right.
Words and music by Carol Sampson
I don't know all the answers but I know that God is faithful. I don't know all the answers but I know that He is true. This trial that you're going through is tough and very scary. But you will feel the arms of Love that hold on tight to you. Yes you will. yes you will.
I don't know all the answers but I know that we don't need to. We've just got to trust that every word God says is true. And battles leave us bruised - hope hangs like a thread....this dark night of your soul will see the sun rise once again. Yes it will. Yes it will.
Because underneath the Everlasting Arms are holding you. They're carrying you. Underneath the Everlasting Arms are keeping you from falling, time and time again. Underneath the Everlasting Arms - they're holding you and carrying your pain.
I don't know all the answers but I know that you're so loved. A precious jewel, a treasure and the apple of God's eye. I don't know all the answers but I know He holds you closely. And whispers softly to your heart 'trust and do not fear, do not fear, do not fear.'
Because underneath the Everlasting Arms are holding you, they're carrying you. Underneath the Everlasting Arms are keeping you from falling - time and time again. Underneath the Everlasting Arms - they're holding you and carrying your pain. yes, underneath the everlasting arms, they're holding you and carrying your pain.
The Upside Down Kingdom Music by Linda Louisa
So many of the best things God does turn worldly standards upside down: The last shall be first, the weak strong, and the meek will inherit the earth. When everything feels strange, and makes no kind of sense, remember how the Lord has turned so many dilemmas around in the past. He delights in sending marvellous deliverances – even when He chooses to hide behind the event and remain anonymous.
Lord, there is much I do not understand right now, but You who gave fins to fish and wings to birds, always have things in mind for me to do; and even a mystery is only a mystery until revelation makes it part of Your living history.
Since it is not so much rules that I must follow as the willingness to seek and be surprised; grant me the time and energy I need to attend to such duties as You call me to – and put certain other things aside.
My richest awareness of You catches me unawares, but often disappears within the hour, whereas some trials last for months if not for years. What we so greatly fear, and man declares impossible, You delight to bring about, with a twinkle in Your eye.
When great ordeals come our way, grant us grace to round up praying friends, for though You sometimes afflict with hand picked trials, You always have some special end in sight; and when Your threshing tool has performed its trail blazing track, You return it to its rack.
Now that You have dried our eyes and moved threatening clouds aside it leaves room for Your Spirit to remove all limits – for our light and momentary afflictions are achieving an eternal weight of glory that far outweighs all trials.
Jesus has completed all His Father sent Him to do; He is risen indeed, in a love that knows no limits – and so we must seek to both love and forgive.
Your desire for us to be one is as strong as it is lifelong; and those who persist in pursuing unity will reign with You forever in the glory You enjoyed from before the creation of the world.
Jesus, You laid down Your life for us, and the time is near when You will send Your angels to gather Your elect from the uttermost parts of the earth; therefore we pledge not to shirk, but to watch and work until the times have reached their fulfilment, and You bring all things together under one Head, even Christ our King.
Music by Linda Louisa
It is tragic when believers view the world through a frame of their own making, rather than in the light of God’s self-revelation in His Word and through the ages. When John the Baptist sought reassurance that Jesus really was the Promised One, Jesus pointed him not to doctrines and dogma set in stone but to the living witness of His awesome power.
Forgive us, Lord, for all the ways in which we shrink You to fit our own small ideas. May our world view expand to embrace the reality of who You really are, and to proclaim the fulness of Your kingdom.
Lord, we are moving towards the place where we worship before Your throne, free from all the particles that sully the flow of Your rainfall. Drench and quench each one of us in the unending stream of Your waterfall.
Let the water of life flow out to all we are concerned for, Yes, let all who hear these words and music moisten dry parched lips and quench their thirst in You as they find and follow Your Spirit’s leading.
Sluice away the cloying dust and dirt as You rain your living water on us, Lord; clear refreshing liquid that cascades and thunders through our lives.
Give us the courage to leap with You outside our comfort zone, beyond the edge of human reason where faith and love hold sway.*
Let us be living stones, emerging from the ocean depths, once crushed and broken by the crashing waves and tides, but now smoothed and sculpted, honed in Heaven’s light to become sparkling jewels within Your Kingdom. (adapted from a poem by Nancy Brook)
Thank You that You have brought life and immortality to light through the gospel; (2 Tim. 1:10) and just as You raised Jesus from the dead, may You also raise my friends and neighbours with Him and present them alive in Your presence. May the veil that is over them be taken away. (2 Cor. 4:14)
Harness all the learning You would imbue our minds with, express all the virtue You would weave in our soul. Radiate Your presence to a people devoid of You; for although their needs are often inconvenient, You want us to be more lenient: for people matter most of all to You.
Lord, one drop of Your inspiration dispels the inner strife that is so rife. We pray for that living water to envision and empower all who proclaim Your name; and, whatever may befall, let us be carriers of Your Kingdom call
Lord, let good sense prevail in the decisions that we face; bucketfuls of common sense when all around are feeling tense.
We ask for God-given sense to prevail in matters still in great suspense. In human terms they may appear too close to call: but we plead with You to establish outcomes that bring glory to Your name.
May those afraid to enter the water, turn at last to You and reach their heart’s true centre: the One who sees and hears their inner plea.
Since ingrained ingratitude makes us unclean, may we never take our clean running water for granted, at this time where death and disease lie hidden in the mud when the great floods rush by. Thank You Lord for its constant provision when it is such a scant commodity in so many parts of the world.
Lord, the water You gave to be a blessing has all too often become a means for repressing, in both spiritual and political realms.
Overrule the pressures that are building; guide and challenge those who control the water flow. Raise up springs where none existed before; Re-open wells where You are not worshipped any more and be especially with those who walk enormous distances hoping not to be turned away as hindrances; Yes, overrule the pressures that are building; guide and challenge those who control the water flow.
Benediction Music by Linda Louisa
Lord, If there is any theme You would have us develop, any dream envelop; if there is any person You would have us visit, or cup of suffering You would have us drain; any truth You wish to make explicit, any terrain claim by Your Spirit, then stretch out Your hand to achieve these holy purposes.
Lord, I place this trusted friend in the care of healing love. I pray that You will lead him every minute of his day, and as I carry him in my heart, alert me when he stands in special need of grace, so that he may make the most of every chance that You direct His way. Bless, cherish and embolden him to be all that You can make him be.
And Lord, I place my precious friend in the care of Love eternal. Place her like a seal over my heart, for love is as strong as death, burning like a blazing fire that many waters cannot quench. Thank You for all the love she brings, and all the things we do together; all the service she performs for You. Help me carry her in my heart, and lift her daily before the throne of grace. Bless, cherish and replenish her to be all that she can be for You.
Let the peace of Your music and the truth of your word address the emptiness in people’s lives Enfold in love the weighed down crowds who know so little of Your saving touch. Reach out to the overlooked ones and replace dejection with entirely fresh new direction as we commit them to Your threefold care.
Release the fullness of Your power and presence in the spheres and regions we hold most dear: each one of these villages, towns and cities, and the professions that need the touch of Your refreshing.
Bless, too, this place: and let each room become the place of Your embrace: a firebase that inspires many to draw near to Your courts.
Let Your special blessing rest on each person who has heard these words and music. Let them bear much fruit as they receive afresh the Spirit of prayer and come up higher to see what must soon take place
Now may God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful, and He will do it.
Marcello 1st movement oboe concerto in D minor
We focus so much of our energy on our external appearance; how we are coming across, what we are wearing and so on. As a dear friend used to say, ‘If we could just get that amount down by a few percent, it would leave so much more room for the Lord to work.’
We can’t afford to underestimate how much effort the powers of darkness put into distracting us. The devil knows how to spin a plausible yarn, and how to level his guns at us. It takes courage to call his bluff, and to realise that these guns may not be loaded – or, if they are, that the Lord can still deflect and protect us. This is serious spiritual warfare.
Lord, we want to ask that You will help us discern what is our task and what is Yours and to really know the difference. For this will help us to be clear when it is right to take steps to defend ourselves, and when we can safely leave You to do all the defending for us.
Provide close confidants with whom we can pour out our hearts, without needing to adjust our terminology, and worrying whether we are getting our politics and theology quite right; for this is this flow of trust that You love to honour most.
O Lord, there are so few in love with You So few to worship You, Whose hearts touch Yours in purity and prayer and Lord, lead us on high upon the heights and take us down into the valley that we may worship You that we may worship You
O Lord our God, your holy love is spurned and righteousness despised. So let our hearts be filled with love for You And Lord, lead us on high upon the heights and take us down into the valley that we may worship You, that we may worship You.
O Father, we give ourselves to You accept our heart's desire. May we be true and just in all we do and Lord lead us on high upon the heights and take us down into the valley that we may worship You that we may worship You.
O Lord, there are so few in love with You so few to worship You. Whose hearts touch Yours in purity and prayer, and Lord, lead us on high upon the heights and take us down into the valley that we may worship You that we may worship You.
Written by Robert Weston in 1983 with Linda Entwistle (2019) and Colin Owen (2020)
May the Lord lead us into great heights of worship - and then outwards as He leads in fervent prayer for many.
At this time when millions are feeling deeply unsettled by so much that they had taken as normal being suddenly removed, Joshua’s tremendous and challenging declaration came to mind as I was pondering these things:
‘Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve . . . but as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.’ (Josh. 24:15) Like Joshua, though so much remains uncertain, may we find many ways to serve Him!
There are numerous occasions when this phrase is used in the Bible. You will be familiar with them, of course, but I have drawn many of them together in this presentation and set them to beautiful music, like ornaments in a band. Sometimes, like Joshua, the verses are markers laid down for us as we determine to move purposefully forward, embracing our calling and commission. At other times they are a cry from people in intense and immediate need.
As Sally Mowbray, Colin Owen and I read, the music ranges from the contemporary to the very ancient, beginning with Maria es libre, a lovely piece of music composed and played by David Booth from Malvern for guitar; a powerful piece called The Scottish Connection that our friend James Horsfall from Jersey wrote; a beautiful Song without Words by Mendelssohn – and then the oldest extant piece of music in existence: Seikilos, which was found on a tombstone in Turkey and dating from the first or second century.
How amazing that this has survived – and that it still sounds so contemporary! The whole is beautifully resolved by a wonderfully ‘settling’ piece composed in lockdown itself, by Justin Coldstream.
Here are precious truths and promises to hold on to and apply!
Psalm 116 the God who rescues us part 2
I turned this yesterday into a blended version of the traditional version and then from the message as well, set to the slow version of zipoli elevazione.... If ever a piece was made to measure to suit!
I was feeling very low yesterday morning and the Lord gave me that psalm so powerfully
'A tempestuous piece for our times'
The music of Beethoven's world-renowned Pathetique sonata is restless and probing, conveying something of the anguish as well as the triumphs that Beethoven was experiencing at the time when he wrote it, yet still brings joy, pleasure and consolation.
For that reason, it struck me as being a particularly poignant and appropriate piece to release in the tempestuous times that we are going through.
Stella commented, “It reminds me of how anxious – terrified even – the disciples were when they were in the storm boat with Jesus. They felt panic-stricken, fearing that their end was looming near – yet all the time, Jesus was in complete control despite what was going on around Him, even when He appeared to be asleep.
“How anxious we get, the moment we take our eyes off the Lord, or when we look at things through our narrow, tunnel vision. Yet He remains in total control, able to calm the raging seas and enable us to complete our journey.”
Special thanks to Sam Booth, who made this recording with us some years ago.
May Francis Cumming's powerful rendition of Psalm 45 touch our hearts today.
Psalm 45 Your Throne, O God, Is Forever To the choirmaster: according to Lilies. A Maskil[a] of the Sons of Korah; a love song.
My heart overflows with a pleasing theme; I address my verses to the king; my tongue is like the pen of a ready scribe.
You are the most handsome of the sons of men; grace is poured upon your lips; therefore God has blessed you forever.
Gird your sword on your thigh, O mighty one, in your splendor and majesty!
In your majesty ride out victoriously for the cause of truth and meekness and righteousness; let your right hand teach you awesome deeds!
Your arrows are sharp in the heart of the king's enemies; the peoples fall under you.
Your throne, O God, is forever and ever. The scepter of your kingdom is a scepter of uprightness; you have loved righteousness and hated wickedness.
Therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions; your robes are all fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia. From ivory palaces stringed instruments make you glad; daughters of kings are among your ladies of honor; at your right hand stands the queen in gold of Ophir.
Hear, O daughter, and consider, and incline your ear: forget your people and your father's house, and the king will desire your beauty. Since he is your lord, bow to him.
The people of Tyre will seek your favor with gifts, the richest of the people.
All glorious is the princess in her chamber, with robes interwoven with gold.
In many-colored robes she is led to the king, with her virgin companions following behind her.
With joy and gladness they are led along as they enter the palace of the king.
In place of your fathers shall be your sons; you will make them princes in all the earth.
I will cause your name to be remembered in all generations; therefore nations will praise you forever and ever.
Musicians: Francis Cummings, Grace and Jonathan Lee - Violins Catherine Muncey - Viola Corinne Frost and Natalie Halliday - Cellos James Horsfall - Keyboard
Many of us deal with 'heavyweight' issues on a daily basis; so here is a little antidote we would like to offer you: the recording we made at our last get together of a famous old hymn set to music by Thomas Tallis: "All praise to You my God and King.'
Traditionally regarded as an 'evening' hymn, let's savour its freshness at any time of the day or night!
Shaping Worries into Prayer and turning Disappointments into Appointments.
'It is finished' by Linda Entwistle
God has got a box of tools.
Diamonds are formed out of coal coming under pressure: what God can achieve through Patmos times in our lives.
Flute and harpsichord improvisation cont’d. (Elizabeth Long & Christiane von Albrecht)
Track 22 Overcoming the if only’s and taking thoughts captive.
I receive Your love by Linda Entwistle cont’d; Chopin Opus 65 (Corinne Frost and Peter Richards)
Track 21 Coping with change (2)
David and Daniel’s ‘Patmos’ experiences.
I receive Your love by Linda Entwistle
Track 20 The tricks the mind plays during Patmos times.
Francis Cummings’s version of The Lord’s my Shepherd
Track 19 Coping with change (1) “You need to persevere.”
All my days by Linda Entwistle
Track 17 What Patmos experiences represent to you
My soul finds rest by Francis Cummings
Track 16 A meditation on yielding to the Lord.
Despite the presence of Judas in the room, John experienced intimacy with Jesus at the Last Supper.
Improvisation by Carol Sampson
Track 14 The Sword of the Lord. Faithfulness is rewarded and love does not go unrewarded.
Pepusch Opus 8:1 (Thomas and Julia Herzog)
Track 13 Moving in the dimension of His glory: Pepusch Opus 8:1 (Thomas and Julia Herzog)
Track 12 John turned round and saw the Lord.
Remembering examples of God’s faithfulness can be a valuable springboard for the future. Our future does not lie in the past: we can never exhaust His willingness to give! Each fellowship is God’s handiwork, and has its own characteristics. God wants His church to be open to His leading and His people to practise encouraging each other.
Pepusch Opus 8:1 (Thomas and Julia Herzog)
Track 10 The power of praise in narrow times. A chance to draw close to the Lord.
Music from Behold Your King
Track 9 Patmos times are times of Transition!
Prayer for Christians in ‘closed’ countries
Vivaldi Concerto RV 565
Track 7 Write what you see!
Discerning the Still Small Voice
Corelli Adagio from Christmas Concerto
Track 6 A Voice came from Heaven like the sound of many waters: Wouldn’t it be boring if God’ didn’t speak?
Flute and harpsichord improvisation (Elizabeth Long & Christiane von Albrecht); Improvisation by Linda Entwistle
Touchiness: The Tripwire of Satan: God is not a ‘tut and frown father’!
Vivaldi Recorder Sonata cont’d. (Julia Herzog)
Who am I?
Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote this poem in prison shortly before Hitler ordered his execution.
Handel Sarabande; Vivaldi Recorder Sonata (Julia Herzog)
Track 2 Loneliness or Solitude? Patmos: place of exile, place of revelation.
Marcello Oboe Sonata, Allegro (Thomas Herzog); Chopin Opus 72 cont’d. (Jo Foote); Flute Improvisation (Elizabeth Pocock & Christiane von Albrecht)
It had happened to him! In exile on Patmos – the beloved disciple John.
Improvisation on Schopfer alle Himmel; Chopin Opus 72 (Jo Foote); Marcello Oboe Sonata (Thomas Herzog)
Waiting for You
There is something about this exquisite 'stilling' song by Anne Laure Jackson that both soothes and inspires. May it particularly encourage us during our times of waiting to entwine ourselves in the Lord who loves us so much.
Written and sung by Anne Laure Jackson, accompanied by Megan Mellamphy, Julia Herzog, Shirley Richards, Jonathan Lee, Grace Lee, Nick Evans Pughe, Corinne Frost and Christiane von Albrecht. Recorded at Brockhill, Malvern. Ruach Breath of Life Ministries 2017.
Trade with the gifts God has given you.
A powerful exhortation from the sixth century by Hilda of Whitby.
Celtic music by Francis Cummings followed by The Last Rose of Summer
Music (for Preface) composed especially for this project by David Booth of Malvern
Welcome to this heartfelt compilation of mineral-rich meditations which set out to capture the yearning of our heart for God, and of His towards us.
As we tune our hearts to the Eternal Rock from which we were hewn lets embark on the greatest love story of them all, exploring far ranging themes, that take us far beyond the purely personal to the prophetically panoramic, allowing their poetic reality to sharpen our capacity for contemplation, as the fragrance of Heaven draws near.
The themes are too nutrient rich to absorb at one sitting, but you’ll find the words online, and you can always press the ‘Pause’ or listen again, allowing fresh associations to come to mind until these precious truths become embedded in your heart.
Since we have been raised with Christ, let’s set our hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the Father’s right hand and think for a while about the things of Heaven, for we have died to this life, and our real life is hidden with Christ in God – and when Christ who is our life is revealed, we too will share in His glory. (Col. 3:1-4)
So many people argue the toss about whether they are pre or post tribulationalists, but let’s focus less on the means by which God will bring about the promised signs of the times.
freefoto.com and more on how things will be beyond the labour pains as the result of the Cross, when Earth itself is rebirthed as the home of perfect righteousness
Music written by Francis Cummings for 'Fire from the North' Conference 2005
The new heavens and the new earth
Look, I am creating new heavens and a new earth, and no one will even think about the old ones anymore. (Is. 65:17-18)
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared. The sea also was gone. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.
I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be His people.
God Himself will be with them. He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All those things are gone forever.”
And the one sitting on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new!” “Write this down, for what I tell you is trustworthy and true.” (Rev. 21:1-5)
Reawaken us, Lord Jesus, to the call of how Heavenly things will truly be. Selah Where the limitations of our earthly roles and responsibilities have placed too tight a constriction on our perspective, and led to so many routine repetitions, we choose now to eagerly consider the heavenly rewards you spoke so much about and to anticipate the Epiphany of our Lord.
We discard from our hearts all that tends to the ‘What’s the point?’ – and even the assumption that all will be so well catered for in Heaven that there will be nothing for us to do.
Expand in our mind the Narnian cry of “Further up and further in;” for even in Heaven You have so much more in store for us.
For nothing of value that You direct us to on Earth will ever be lost, in a Kingdom where seeds acquire their fullest expression and all we long for finds its richest outworking.
Harp played by Bill Klein from the album Lauda
On the night before He died, the Lord Jesus said, “I will not drink the fruit of the vine again until I drink it anew with you in My Father’s kingdom” (Matt. 26:29).
Food and drink must therefore have their place in that utterly grace-filled sphere that You have prepared for the redeemed human race where God-belovèd animals will lie down at peace with each other and at ease with us. leaving us free to enjoy whatever rewards and commissions the Lord may choose to apportion as He ushers in the new heaven and the new earth.
When souls saved by Christ fall asleep they emerge from the tent of their bodies and enter the realm of Paradise: a place of parkland rest and refreshment, of blissful reunions with those in Christ whom we have loved, and with those who persevered beyond their trials to the infinitely better resurrection beyond. (Heb. 11:35,38)
Let’s not end the story at what may prove to be but the end of the beginning: the call of God will appoint the meek to return with Christ to reign and rule on Earth.
This is our ultimate calling, and how we respond in life will determine our fitness for service there, where Beauty personified renews the earth in glory, and so fulfils the prophecies of old. (Hab. 2:14)
Taken from Lauda, an album of harp music played by Bill Klein
Then I saw thrones, and the people sitting on them had been given the authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their testimony about Jesus and for proclaiming the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or his statue, nor accepted his mark on their forehead or hands. They came to life again, and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.
This is the first resurrection. (The rest of the dead did not come back to life until the thousand years had ended.)
Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. For them the second death holds no power, for they will be priests of God and of Christ, the Messiah, and will reign with Him a thousand years. (Rev. 20:4-6)
By Your Spirit’s grace enable us to play our part in this first and greatest resurrection.
By Your Spirit’s power be BOTH deposit and bridge between these two worlds;
Reawaken our heart to these unseen heavenly realms, and draw us into Your courts to reflect on what it means to live and move in Your power and authority; for anything that we lose now for the sake of the King will be amply reaccredited then.
'Fire from the North' Music by Francis Cummings
In the Courts of Heaven I heard a sound from heaven like the roar of mighty ocean waves or the rolling of loud thunder.
It was like the sound of many harpists playing together. (Rev. 14:2)
God, You preside in the courts of highest Heaven, and soon the kingdoms of this world will become the place where You reside and reign forever;” (Rev. 11:15)
Your angels worshipping now before Your throne, now waging war as mighty warriors, sounding the seven last trumpets and swinging sickles right across the planet to gather the clusters of grapes from the vines of the earth, then pouring out the bowls that represent the seven last plagues, before consigning Your foe to the bottomless pit. (Rev. 14:18-19)
You made our world out of nothing, Lord, but this time round You intend to send such an intense fire that the elements themselves will be melted bare. (2 Pet. 3:10-13)
For just as wild fire consumes dead wood in the forest, and redwoods release the seeds that spawn the highest trees, so You will purge both Heaven and Earth to make Your home on newly refashioned Earth.
Reawaken our hearts to advance through life in the knowledge that we may well be destination-bound to reign on fire-cleansed Earth, the true home of righteousness, to which we belong by faith and love.
Not in vain does Creation long for the mighty verve of Your redemptive touch: Earth is not bound for destruction, like some disposable item, but is rather a jewel that will sparkle in the freedom and glory that lie beyond the flames.
Supreme over Creation You hold all things together by Your power, Lord Jesus, as You labour to restore creation to its Maker. (Col 1:15-20)
“Inspire us to work for the renewal of Your world, and for justice within that creation” for we how can we fully love the Lover if we do not also ‘love what the Lover has made,’ and hate what He hates?
You are just, and everything about the world to come will reflect this fact. All that was truncated, maimed and foreshortened in this life will reappear in its fullest finest form: unborn foetuses grown tall, the old grown young, martyrs highly honoured, and all that is broken and polluted renewed, as Creation itself is set free from the curse of decay.
Then the LORD will go out and fight against those nations as when he fights on a day of battle.
On that day his feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives that lies before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall be split in two from east to west by a very wide valley, so that one half of the Mount shall move northward, and the other half southward. (Rom 8:21)
Since death itself has been defeated we will rise again on the renewed Earth in a body that will not wear out or die.
Transform us now, Lord Jesus, to the ways of Eternity, so that one day we may govern the Earth on Your behalf.
That which is not born of Your Spirit will have no place there, any more than vultures swim beneath the waves or sharks nest in lion’s dens.
Keep blessing in and the enemy out.
Cover us with the outermost fringes of Your glory as You direct our days.
In the twinkling of an eye You will swallow up death in victory and clothe our decaying bodies with imperishable immortality.
By the power that enables You to bring everything under Your control, You will transform our lowly bodies so that they are like Your glorious body.
Just as You restored Your people to their land so Your great desire is to restore them to You, and Earth itself to its highest calling.
You are steering the whole of human history to the moment when you reunite it under the rulership of Messiah, Christ, drawing all the holy ones to dwell together in this perfectly reshaped world.
Through our union in Jesus we will freely work and converse with those from traditions we might once have demeaned or deemed to be wrong, our hearts and relationships reflecting all that You intended them to be.
Here will be found no trace of the unredeemed to haunt our days, and no memory of failed objectives to taint or taunt, for all that is sordid, suspicious or satanic will have been left behind, along with all our rage and spite.
In this glorious continuity, in the age to come the specific concerns that Living Trust placed uppermost in our hearts on Earth will but sharpen their thrust, just as a message once conveyed by semaphore does not cease to convey the truth it held before when sent by other means.
Your eyes will see the king in his beauty and view a land that stretches far.
Then the eyes of those who see will no longer be closed, and the ears of those who hear will listen. The fearful heart will know and understand, and the stammering tongue be clear and fluent.
No longer will the fool be called noble nor the scoundrel be highly respected. But the noble will make noble plans, and by noble deeds they will stand. (Isaiah 33:17, 32:3-5,8)
'Fire from the North' 3
Lord save us from falling for the Platonic ideal of assuming a purely spiritual afterlife, lest we become too individualised in our outlook as a result.
Like a brilliant musician who sees no need to relate to other players, and thereby robs the symphony of their love and prayer, how sad when people hear distressing news, and find no need to turn it into prayer and compassionate concern.
You are supremely there for those who have nothing and no one in this world.
For in Your Kingdom the formerly unimportant will occupy centre stage, while some of the seemingly more magnificent will be shown to be no more than wolves in sheep’s clothing.
So help us to prepare without pride or possessiveness for this life of eternity, leaving behind all that would slur or slurry, so that even in our secret hearts we prefigure the age that is to come; for it is only with our hearts thus set that we can fully appreciate the riches of life as You have desired and designed it, on the sacred space that is Earth.
You spoke of the time when You will return to Earth in great power and glory in just the same way by which You left it, to rule in power and to make all things new. (1)
Therefore in faith we look forward not so much to escaping from this world, than to playing our part in its glorious transformation, grateful for our allotted station, not missing our reward through failing to heed Your commands, or envying others who are bound for more senior reward, but devoting our utmost to Your highest.
Listen to me, all you in distant lands! Pay attention, you who are far away!
The LORD called me before my birth; from within the womb he called me by name.
He has hidden me in the shadow of His hand. I am like a sharp arrow in His quiver.
'Fire from the North' 4
“I will purify your lips to call on My name, and to serve Me shoulder to shoulder as one holy nation. (1) Where nation states still subsist, they will do so as outposts of the saved, their only desire to do My Father’s will.” (2)
I will be there to welcome each one of you, and to put to rights all that is undergrown or overblown as you walk in a sea of delight without your many limps, My presence pervading all that you do, and your souls caught up in the Song of the Lamb.
This is where you belong in the land of the living, where Earth and Heaven meet.(3)
While twenty-four elders and the four living beings fall down and worship God, who is sitting on the throne.
They cry out, “Amen! Praise the LORD!” For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns. Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to Him. For the time has come for the wedding feast of the Lamb, and His bride has prepared herself.
She has been given the finest of pure white linen to wear,” the fine linen representing the good deeds of God’s holy people.
And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding feast of the Lamb.”
And he added, “These are true words that come from God.”
Linda Entwistle - The Earth beneath our feet
We've been raised up to a new life in Christ In the same place with new perspectives and new sights Knowing He is reigning and is seated on His throne And we are with Him in His kingdom
We can move out with the earth beneath our feet We can reach up and touch His Mercy Seat We're growing in His Wisdom We are growing in His Power Our eyes on heaven Our life is hidden in Christ
And we will learn we have a new identity Born of His Spirit, who shows us what is real When Christ, who is the true life, is revealed to the whole world Through His story we'll share His glory
And now we come to the Holiest Place What He has done can never be erased Believing in our Saviour we can now go through the veil And learn the secrets of His Kingdom
Majesty and Dominion Fire from the North
Moses looked to the burning bush and saw My presence in most unlikely form.
Elisha looked up in time to see the chariots of Heaven, while Peter James and John climbed an ordinary mountain and saw Me transfigured before their eyes
Thus will I turn sight into insight and make the ordinary extraordinary as you look to Me.
For I am the faithful and trustworthy Witness, the Firstborn of the dead, the Prince and Ruler of the kings of the earth, I have loved you and set you free from your sins by My blood, and formed you into a kingdom of priests. To Me belongs glory and power, and majesty and dominion throughout all ages.
Behold I am coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Me, even those who pierced Me, and all the tribes of the earth shall gaze upon Me and beat their breasts and mourn and lament over Me.
Even so must it be. Yea and Amen. The Lord laid his right hand on me and said, “Don’t be afraid I am the First and the Last: the Living One. I died, but look . . . . I am alive forever and ever!
And I hold the keys of death and the realm of the dead. (1) And over you the second death shall have no power.
Dave Hart - For God alone my soul waits
For You alone my soul waits in silence; for to You belongs silence as well as vigorous praise, and in You we experience our deepest insights in the vaults of this precious silence.
Blessed are those whom You choose and draw near to dwell in your courts. We shall be satisfied with the goodness of Your house, Your holy temple.(1)
Love one another deeply, for love covers a multitude of sins.
Share all you have with each other, and open your hearts and your homes without complaining.
Whatever gifts you have received, minister them to one another, as stewards of My manifold grace with the ability which I supply, so that in all things I may receive the credit, and be glorified through your lives. (2)
Do not think it strange that you go through these fiery trials, as though some strange thing were happening to you.
These have been sent to test you . . . Don't be afraid of all you are about to suffer, but be faithful to Me, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life.
After you have suffered a while, the God of grace, who has called you to eternal glory, will strengthen and establish you and settle you again, this time forever. (3)
Be strong; not discouraged. The work that you do will be fully rewarded. (4) I will never leave you nor forsake you (5)
Let the spirit of Heaven settle on you now in the spirit of faith and forgiveness.
Ask whatever you will, in trust that Your Heavenly Father will take and shape your request and find the very best way to answer it. (6)
My word helping you see that what you regarded at the time as a disaster actually formed part of My perfect plan, causing you to exclaim, “Oh now I see what you are doing!”
We give you the fragments and the jagged edges for You to shape and piece to Your highest will.
Let the Spirit of heaven settle on you now in faith and forgiveness.
Ask whatever you will in trust that your heavenly father will take and shape your request and find the very best way to answer it.
Improvisations around a theme by Thomas Tallis.
Listen as Wisdom calls out! Hear as understanding raises her voice!
On the hilltop along the road, she takes her stand at the crossroads.
By the gates at the entrance to the town, on the road leading in, she cries aloud, “I call to you, to all of you! I raise my voice to all people.
The Lord formed me from the beginning, before he created anything else.
I was appointed in ages past, at the very first, before the earth began.
I was born before the oceans were created, before the springs bubbled forth their waters.
Before the mountains were formed, before the hills, I was born — before he had made the earth and its fields and the first handfuls of soil.
I was there when he established the heavens, when he drew the horizon on the oceans.
I was there when he set the clouds above, when he established springs deep in the earth.
I was there when he set the limits of the seas, so they would not spread beyond their boundaries.
And when he marked off the earth’s foundations, I was the architect at his side. I was his constant delight, rejoicing always in his presence.
And how happy I was with the world he created; how I rejoiced with the human family!
And so, my children, listen to me, for all who follow my ways are joyful. Listen to my instruction and be wise.
Fear of the Lord is the foundation of wisdom. Knowledge of the Holy One results in good judgment.
Wisdom will multiply your days and add years to your life. If you become wise, you will be the one to benefit. But if you scorn wisdom, you will be the one to suffer.(1)
Each day activate some fresh working of Heaven, to demonstrate Your kingdom at each person’s point of need.
Each day weave circumstances that will draw Your people to cleave to You in the fullest and most joyful surrender.
God of great and little things, Source of living water, with all my heart I adore You. Let me not shy away from opportunities to strengthen souls on their quest for You.
My children, Yours is the story of small initiatives attempted for love of Me, and of great help received to make all possible.
When you feel overwhelmed by your nothingness, and when what you have feels far too small for what you face, remember how I strengthened David at Ziklag, when his rag tag army resolved to stone him.
Lord, we have grown so used to rushing through our days, dashing from one appointment to the next; now as we slow the pace of our activity and make these times of meditation a truly holy consecration, pour ointment on our heads as we lift before You the people we chance to meet, and the tasks we hope to complete.
Come right into these things I know about, but also into those of which I know precisely nothing.
May I not be taken by surprise or caught unprepared – or at least be quick to recover when I am.
Haydn
Jesus said, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." (1)
George Macdonald said that half the misery in the world comes from people trying to look, or to be, what they are not. We are never more fully what God has designed us to be than when, like Mary of Bethany, we devote ourselves to being at Jesus’ feet:
“Mary has chosen the better part, and it will not be taken from her.” (2)
The true contemplative spends time apart on behalf of the many, bringing those who either cannot or will not come for themselves; they are thus never more in company than when they appear most on their own.
This is the time and this is the place to receive the flow of your leading
when your thoughts glide in on the high tide of your grace, one idea intersecting and interconnecting with another.
Let the stillness hold me.
Confirm and reaffirm this contemplative calling. Expand my heart to embrace your grace until your love becomes the air that I breathe and the peace I exude.
Lord, you are happy that I am here, and because You are who You are, open the deep places of my heart
first to explore Your love, and then to abide much more in that realm
Vivaldi Allemande
Seek the Lord your God in the place that he chooses for you to worship in: the place where His name will be honoured
Many of us find mountain tops an excellent place for meeting the Lord and getting rid of persistent worries.
But since we can't all go and climb literal mountains right now, but there will always be ways in which we can make time to be with Him
and to find places where we can go to gain more of His strength and perspective.
Lord show us where they are and help us to make haste to find them
Bless the places we hold special, Lord, where our spirit communes most deeply with You.
We sanctify our homes to You, and ask that they be noble places for You to dwell.
Make some special part a resting place for love, and a furnace to inspire the fire of prayer.
Lie beneath a tree.
Admire its shape.
Marvel at the changing seasons
Let your bare soles discern the beauty of the rocks beneath your feet,
the intricate patterns I have woven in that all I have shaped.
Marimba improvisation
I push a little way behind the thing I see, and something seems to say, "hush," very quietly. That is God's private secret. He has not told it to me. For the secre things belong to God, whereas the things He has revealed belong to us and our children forever. The writer of Proverbs mentions various things that he couldn't fathom. I'm acutely conscious of countless things I cannot grasp. Sharpen my perspective, Lord, on the way that You concealed Your Son until the right time came to announce Him to the world. The patience by which You shape Your people wholly in preparation for the plans You possess for us beyond the edge of time. Praise You for Your purposes for Israel; for the time when the hardening of their hearts becomes a thing of the past. Thank You too for the time when all secrets are revealed on the great and final day when You overthrow all foes by the splendour of Your coming. Keep us in the meantime from the harm of the viper's charm and the secret power of lawlessness. For it is where there is care and kindness and heart-concern that You are to be found. Not in the concrete jungle of sharp business deals or the entanglements of ecstatic party-land. And where pleasure is no longer the main yard-measure, You bestow a very great deal to enjoy. You find so many ways to affirm those who look to You to make their utimate choices, who cleave most closely to receive Your still small Voice and kindly leading. While the waves are lapping softly on ancient shores, entire new realms are opening up and You are seeking the staunch and brave to launch the next phase of Your final purposes. To them You show Yourself as You really are and whisper words of we'el and welcome.
Albinoni
Just as the Lord Jesus admired the faith of the centurion, He is often dismayed as His children shrink back through lack of faith. He was outstretched for us so that we can stretch out the rod of authority and decree His word of release into tightly shut situations.
The dragon hates those who respond in such faith, and thrashes them with the scaly horror of his tail.’
Don’t let his dragon flicks of grief or wounded pride push you off course.
From his cave of sad and sorry memories he bids you lower the scope of your expectations and diminish your hope.
Continue to trust when dark clouds surround His throne. He is still the God who speeds to save His children, testing the bonds of all we hold most dear as we endure beyond the tightening pinch.
Despite all abominations that bring desolation, the Lord is moving things towards the final consummation; and when the times have reached their fulfilment, He will bring all things in Heaven, and all bridgeheads on Earth, together under one Head.
Loeillet oboe concerto
Time is of the essence, My children, and you will not want to waste a single moment of it. But when you really do not have any to spare, continue to feed on the wing, and hasten slowly lest rash rapid rushing leads headlong to a crash – and then, when times of special strain are past, take care to tend your soul again.
Since the onslaught has been so intense, So too is your need to rest and immerse yourself in Me.
The day will come when I measure grace back to you in long precious stretches of uninterrupted time.
I am not like the planners of this world – who easily forget the past and misread the future. With Me, the past, present and future flow as one continual river, so that what I do today impacts on some more distant event downstream, even as the things that come your way today have their roots entwined in the far distant past.
Time is of the essence, but I am calling you now to sit and be.
Let Me be the chronometer that keeps the time and the metronome that strikes the balance in your days.
Beyond Isaiah 50 - Improvisation that led on from one of Linda Entwistle's songs
Whatever is worthy of praise, noble, kind, inspired; Whatever bears the stamp of Your Spirit’s likeness there let our hearts dwell, our lives caught up in Your creative purposes,– our hearts a true reflection of Your own.
If anyone lacks wisdom, let him ask Me for it, for I know where it dwells and I alone understand the way to it. (Job 28:23)
If you can corral your thoughts and focus on whatever is true, this will keep you from many a mistaken point of view, and overwrought distress as you try to second guess what others might have thought and meant.
Repent and nurture trust and confidence by choosing to see situations through the cleansing lens of truth and benevolence.
My wisdom comes wherever souls are sufficiently empty to receive it, even as the wind sweeps through the most remote regions, and the waters reach their greatest depths in the vast ocean troughs – and lightning strikes along the lines of least resistance.
The awareness of all that you are lacking represents a fresh opportunity – and I will gladly impart all your heart is longing for
My children, what you are so benefitting from in this phase of your life, is deeper and richer far, but there were aspects in your previous role that are missing in your new experience. Draw without pining on this memory store, and make the most of every opportunity - for past and present alike add to the riches of wisdom’s store.
You so often want all the ends to be neatly tied together, but when I confirm the call to step out of where you are, do not rationalise the call away.
Be prepared to reach out, even when a blinding smothering mist descends, obscuring the way ahead.
It is only when you take those first important steps that you find the firmer rock beneath your feet.
I meet you where you are but invite you to where I am, So turn not just your face but your whole being towards Me.
When what you are most deeply counting on falls apart, I will still find ways for the ship that bears the flag of the Lamb to sail straight through.
Don’t get in a fury when someone crucial leaves their post, or resent the ones who have gone. They may have had more wisdom than you know. Even if the manner of their parting left much to be desired, I will make the help of other pilgrims available to you.
However holed you feel below the waterline I have dates and rendez-vous in mind and am already thinking how and what threads to rethread.
That is why you must continue to sail the shipping lanes until you obtain your heart’s desire; for how could it be that you would not receive that which you most desire?
Burst into Song - Linda Entwistle
Shout joyful praises to God, all the earth! Sing about the glory of His name Tell the world how glorious he is Say to God how awesome are your deeds Your enemies cringe before your mighty power Everything on earth will worship you They will sing your praises shouting your name in glorious songs Come and see what our god has done What awesome miracles he performs for people He made a dry path through the red sea and his people went across on foot By his great power he rules forever He watches every movement of the nations Let no rebel rise in defiance. Let the whole world bless our God and loudly sing His praises. Our lives are in his hands and he keeps our feet from stumbling Knock on the doors of rich and poor alike, Lord Jesus – right across the world, from Southend to South America, let a profound reawakening arise.
Let no soulish power cause godly longings to take wrong turns, lest those who You are drawing turn aside after lesser goals, or be hijacked by other powers, and promising starts prove but the falsest of dawns. In all things keep the stream of our longings within the safety bounds of holy ground as they arise to this awakening call.
In the power of conquering compassion, in the first light of glimmering dawn, whisper precious insights that will survive the noonday heat and reach their highest peak.
Many people have been making great use of Psalm 91 recently. We hope you will find this reflection an encouragement to dwell in the Lord at this time.
These are the lovely pieces of music that you will hear:
Holy is the Lord of Hosts by Kevin Sumpter He holds me in His arms: Improvisation by Christiane von Albrecht Wie lieblich by Andreas Henkel The Lord is my Shepherd by Francis Cummings La Vide Breve by Manuel de Falla Day is Done by Linda Entwistle Harp and flute Improvisation by Fontane Liang and Nicola Gerard Birdsong: Improvisation by Christiane von Albrecht Thy Holy Wings by Lina Sandell
The End of the Rope With businesses crashing daily, or threatening to do so, and unemployment rates soaring around the world, many are feeling desolate and desperate. Ros and recorded this piece several years ago. I called it The End of the Rope, and I have been waiting the right time to release it. Let's pray it on behalf of many who are feeling under great pressure at this time and in need of a miracle from the Lord.
I have always loved the way Jesus declared on occasion, 'Marvel not that . . .' He is our Head, the One in whom all things hold together, our crowned king, and His 'Marvel nots! are like His 'verilys' - proclaiming truths we need to hear.
These were the words that inspired a couple of reflections which we are glad to share with you. They make a very different sound from the endless updates on the spread of Corona, and bid us rather to contemplate the voice that goes out into all the earth, even to the ends of the world! (Ps.19:4)
The music is ‘Latakia,’ a short piece Geth Griffiths led at one of our recording sessions, on behalf of Syria. Latakia is the principal sea port of Syria, and was the Laodicea of Revelation.
In the light of the spread of Covid-19 and many other challenges, the Church needs a vigorous response. Here is the first of a three part prayer response to some of the challenges the Church and the nations are facing at the moment, set to beautiful music.
Set to Linda Entwistle’s ‘Nunc Dimittis’
The crowds were cheering themselves hoarse as the Lord Jesus His triumphal entry into Jerusalem – but inwardly, He was weeping, because Jerusalem was about to reject the hour of her visitation, and He foresaw the ravages and loss of life that would soon afflict her.
They had not understood how You longed to draw them into the shelter of Your wings. They were open to ungodly forces, hostile to You. Lord, have mercy!
Mighty God, we cry to You on behalf of lands where plagues of one kind and another are flailing through; rain and firestorms, imperilling regions and lives, huge immense of locusts in Somalia, Kenya, Tanzania and elsewhere in East Africa against which there can be no defence, and now the chorus of coughs that characterise the Corona Virus, striking fear and strangling breathlessness right across the world.
Redeeming God, You somehow brought the nations through the bubonic plagues that wrought such havoc and threatened to blot out all civilisation out as they scythed their way through western Europe. You saw the arrogance of proud rulers drawing the nations into entirely avoidable conflicts, and even the horrors of the Great War, which in turn made the Spanish flu so much worse when it followed hard on its heels.
In Your mercy, You finally stilled those storms, just as You rescued us from war mongers who held so many in an evil thrall: Genghis Kahn, Napoleon, the Kaiser, and then Hitler Stalin, and so many others.
Lord, Your hand steered England, France, Spain and Germany through terrible years of civil wars in years gone by; and despite bloodstained fields of battle and families riven by the divisions, You worked powerfully, Lord – not least to rescue Germany from the Nazi tyranny so that she could take her place once more among the nations; and You it was who transformed South Africa to emerge beyond the evils of the apartheid regime, and have blessed us with many years of peace. (Ps 29:1-3,9-10)
In the light of the spread of Covid-19 and many other challenges, the Church needs a vigorous response. Here is the second of a three part prayer response to some of the challenges the Church and the nations are facing at the moment, set to beautiful music.
Set to the Music of an Adagio from Albinoni’s Oboe Concerto Opus 9 Number 2 - Adagio Anthony Thompson (Trumpet) with Shirley Richards and Rob Bilson (violins), Cathie Muncey (viola), and Corinne Frost (cello)
Lord Jesus, we bring to You now each flashpoint around the world: all those places where peace has yielded way to violence, and nations descended into the maelstrom of fear and panic. We cry to You that You would intervene in mercy to dissipate these deadly perils that are assailing the nations of the world, lest unseen scourges plunge the Earth into an ever-deepening mayhem of disintegration, stealing Kingdom gems and diadems and the glory due Your Name.
We pray for how the resource-rich nations maintain the balance of personal freedoms with the need to avoid overwhelming finite health resources – and for speed and skill in developing a vaccine. Your power and blessing on each country as they come to mind: For Britain, Spain, France, Germany, and Italy . . .
For Your grace and power to be at work in Denmark and the whole of Scandinavia in its various stages of lockdown. We pray for Hungary, Poland, Austria and Switzerland, and bring You all the nations and peoples You place in our hearts.
We pray for countries less well equipped to survive this pandemic, where resources are fewer and aggressive sub-plots and agendas hold sway.
Let grace rain down on Africa, Asia and the Americas; may Iran find its true peace and purpose – not in the push to be the regional super-state, exporting the tools of violence, but rather its truest calling in You, Lord, the Prince of Peace, who loves the people of Iran so dearly, and longs for them to fulfil the call on their lives that You have given.
Arise O Lord and show Your protection and Your power in practical supplies and spiritual comfort, in one country after another as each one struggles to absorb the exodus of fleeing refugees.
Lift the weak and comfort and accompany those who are displaced as only You are able to do. What are our short-lived discomforts compared to their utter lack of all essential needs?
Lord, as we gather round Your throne, we cry out, ‘Guide and guard the leaders of the nations. We intercede for Presidents Putin, Erdogan, Assad, Trump and Xi, along with Macron, Boris Johnson and all their EU counterparts and successors, each one with their own plans and agenda, but each obliged to wrestle with a raft of difficult decisions, balancing one option with another, and knowing well that their decisions cannot fail to affect many lives.
In the light of the spread of Covid-19 and many other challenges, the Church needs a vigorous response. Here is the third of a three part prayer response to some of the challenges the Church and the nations are facing at the moment, set to beautiful music.
Set to the music of Bach’s concerto for oboe and violin, BWV 1060 With Thomas Herzog (oboe), Susannah Herzog, Shirley Richards and Helen Rees (violins), Julian Chan (viola), and Jo Garcia (cello).
Lord, You warn in Revelation of seven last deadly plagues, those plagues are the completion of Your wrath, and the last of the seven seals, when You permit that sickly, pallid horse and its deathly rider to have authority to kill one-quarter of the world by famine, war and plague. (Rev. 6:8)
Covid 19 may not be on that sort of scale, but even those terrors did not lead the greater part of humanity who survived to humble themselves and turn to You. (Rev. 9: 20-21) We cry out for many turn to You while there is yet time.
Then I heard the angel in charge of the waters say, “Just and true are You in all these judgments, O Holy One, You who are and who were; for they have shed the blood of Your holy people and Your prophets. (Rev. 16:5-6) The voice of the LORD is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, the LORD thunders over the mighty waters. The LORD sits enthroned over the flood; the LORD is enthroned as King forever. (Ps. 29:3,10)
Comfort the hearts of the fearful, Lord Jesus. Soften the selfish and stubborn, Especially those most directly afflicted or infected by Covid; Yes, humble the proud, and save to the uttermost those in isolation, or awaiting test results; those separated from loved ones by distance or restrictions. Show Yourself greater than all human and viral limitations and continue Your mighty work of bringing in a glorious harvest, we pray.
Help us in our communities to pull together to meet our neighbours’ needs, and to watch out for one another’s wellbeing, so that in all things the Body of Christ may function as one. May we not lose our sense of focus, momentum and compassion as we respond to these unprecedented times. We pray especially for all doctors and nurses and all in any way associated with caring for others, with the huge responsibilities so suddenly thrust upon them: carers, cleaners, teachers and their organisations, matrons, care home supervisors, pastors and priests and house group leaders . . . Those losing work and pay; service industries, travel firms and airlines, hoteliers and the whole tourist scene; taxi drivers, carpet fitters, estate agents . . . Lord, for the homeless and for the foodbanks, that they may be manned and restocked.
It has been wonderful to hear reports from Wuhan about the numbers of people who have been turning to Christ as a result of daily prayer meetings that have been being held online, and the great opportunities that have opened up to reach out to bring others to Christ.
Thank You Lord that You used a stable for the birth of Your Son, a Cross as the means of salvation for the world, and the crisis of a pandemic as the means of bringing spiritual life to many. What we hear from Wuhan Lord, You will be doing in other places too.
The voice of the LORD is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, the LORD thunders over the mighty waters. The LORD sits enthroned over the flood; the LORD is enthroned as King forever. (Ps. 29:3,10)
Ascribe to the LORD, O families of the peoples, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength! Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; bring an offering, and come into his courts! Worship the LORD in the splendour of holiness; tremble before him, all the Earth! and say among the nations, “The LORD reigns! (Ps. 96: 7-10)
We first published this prayer for our land in the aftermath of a particular atrocity some years ago. It remains raw and relevant in the face of the particular challenges the nation is facing at the moment. May this cry to the Lord ascend before the throne of the Lord and draw down His great mercy. The powerful music is by Corelli, followed by Colin Owen's ‘Minor Muse.’ The words can also be found below. Transcript Broken and open lies our land in Your sight; clouds pressing down, light dim, darkness rising.
For through our own deliberate fault we have rejected Your ways and laid our inheritance bare to powerful forces sweeping through the land; while aimless souls scuttle and hustle in self-imposed blindness deafened by the endless jangle that disentangles souls from Me
And the holy ones lament, for this is not the destiny God prepared for us, when first He brought His word to these shores. Lord of hosts, in acts of mercy beyond marvel, You who have foiled and thwarted so many seeming perfect plots, renew now Your works of interception and intervention.
We dare not take Your grace for granted, or say, ‘Protecting our land is the work of those paid and appointed to do so’, when You are looking to Your anointed ones to be watchmen on the towers.
Dear Lord, we cry out for all afflicted by loss, for in all our distress, You too are distressed, and in our grief, You too are grieved. For those provoked to lash out and respond in spite as the result of heavy hammer blows, with all our might we pray: Lord, ‘Stay their hand,’ – and stay Yours, too, we pray.
Let Your brooding compassion be renewed across our nation despite this latest loss: from the uttermost north of Cape Wrath Sutherland and the islands beyond, to the softer turf and the southern surf; from eastern Wash to craggy west; and crowded metropolis to folded hills. We implore the power of Your yearning, and the breadth of Your moving.
Shine brilliant Light into our overcrowded land and break through the lowering clouds drawing hearts in profound soul searching to Yours, dear Father, in the light that knows no night.
Drop down, ye heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness: let the earth open, and let them bring forth salvation, and let righteousness spring up together; I the Lord have created it. (Is. 45:8 KJV)
(Alternative version):
Sky above, make victory fall like rain; clouds, pour down victory. Let the earth receive it, and let salvation grow, and let victory grow with it. I, the Lord, have created it. (Is. 45:8 NCV)
I love the verse in Psalm 110:3 where it says that the Lord’s troops will be ‘willing on the day of battle.’ It is a powerful verse, although precisely what it means will vary for each of us according to our circumstances and calling. Nothing can be more important for any of us, though, than our willingness to serve the Lord, provided only that it be coupled to the much-needed perseverance to keep going when times are challenging.
If willingness is a heart response of love to love, then perseverance is a dogged determination not only just to keep going but to go the extra mile whenever it is called for. May the Lord make us willing to persevere, and add perseverance to our willingness in order to see the Lord break through in one situation after another.
May we be swift to volunteer for all the Lord directs our attention to, and strategic in our efforts.
Join Robert, Sally Mowbray and Colin Owen in this meditation on the twin themes of willingness and perseverance. It is set to music written by Robert Weston and James Horsfall.
When we turned to Christ for the first time we came to understand that there is a radiant light way beyond anything that we had ever known, greater even than the sun, for that can only be with us for some many hours in the day. Jesus truly is the Light of the world, and as we follow His light we hear Him make the astonishing claim that we too are called to be light to the world. (Matt. 5:14) In this edition, we are offering a meditation on the precious theme of being and bearing Christ’s light to the nations. The words Ros and I read are accompanied by truly exquisite music, beginning with extracts from the first movement of Mahler's lovely fourth symphony, sensitively arranged for string quartet, and played by Grace and Jonathan Lee, Catherine Muncey and Corinne Frost. The piece climaxes with Handel's exquisite Eternal Source of Light, in which Anthony Thompson on trumpet and Grace Lee on her violin wheel in wonderful arcs of musical light. This was the piece of music that inspired me to compose this meditation. May your spirit soar as you listen and reflect, on the Kingdom of Light to which we already belong by faith in Christ. (Col. 1:12) The path of the righteous is like the morning sun, shining ever brighter till the full light of day. (Prob. 4.18)
I love the light that is kept continually lit in chapel sanctuaries to remind us of the Lord’s presence, and I love the expression in Psalm 104:2 that tells us that the Lord ‘wraps Himself in light.’ Our eyes register an astonishing number of colours; even our computers can display tens of thousands. Yet what are they compared with the greater glory of Heaven’s light? The night will give way to the dawn, and all that is grey and faded will pass, and we will experience far more splendid spectrums of light than ever we could know on Earth. There are few more wonderful themes to study in the Scriptures!
Here is a prayer from the heart, calling out for the Lord to shine His light into the lives of those who find themselves cloaked and surrounded by darkness.
Thank you, Lord, that light was the first thing that You called into being, and the first thing that You pronounced good – You who dwell in unapproachable light . (1 Tim. 6:16). Let Heavenly light break through into the dreary and disordered situations that we bring to You now.
We come boldly before You with the dark places of the world on our hearts: people in inward and external prisons. Visit those souls who find themselves in the grip of profound loneliness or trapped in poverty.
Come into isolation wards where victims of contagious diseases are confined, and where carers as well as sufferers are shut off from comforting touch, and encumbered by protective suits. Visit those who are passing their days in the intense distress of cancer’s distress or fever’s hold – and those who fear its onset.
Visit those who are regarded as pariahs, or who regard themselves for whatever reason, as outcasts. May they may know themselves to be not forgotten but rather, beloved of the Lord. Lord, touch those who have been betrayed or pushed out to the margins.
Raise up those on the seeming margin of things to speak truth to centres of power. Intervene on behalf of those who want to move on or to move out of their present circumstances: be their Placer and Provider.
Move in power to turn things round on behalf of those who know that only You can turn things around. Come as Rescuer and Comforter to those under the shadow of controlling superiors and stifling structures. Provide a strategy for those oppressed by constant demands and discouraging comments.
We worship You, King of Glory, as You hear our praise and heart felt cries. Dispense a sense of Your tender presence to those in hospital or doing long and boring night time shifts, who find themselves longing for the dawn to break.
For those in the grip of those predawn fears which so easily assume faith-dampening proportions, make use of these dread hammer blows to goad and propel them to cry out long and loud to You – and then scatter dark their thoughts by the power of Your Word.
Thank You for the refreshment and new mercies of dawn, when fears recede, and faith and hope and trust resume their life-giving flow.
Thwart evil plots that are hatched and evil deeds that are undertaken in darkness.
Father, we grieve that so many choose to follow the works and practices of darkness rather than to embrace the Light. They resist Your advance, fearing the exposure of the dark within them.
Light has come and You have overcome the darkness, Lord Jesus, and all that belongs to it. We know something of the radiance of Your glory every time we worship You. May we keep our eyes firmly on You and on your Word, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in our hearts. Even so, come Lord Jesus!
Behold, bless the Lord, all you servants of the Lord, who by night stand in the house of the Lord! Lift up your hands in the sanctuary and bless the Lord. (Psalm 134:1)
The night belongs to the Lord just as does the day. It is a great joy to release this lovely song by Sue Perks that she recorded with us some years ago. May it bless you greatly!
St Paul urges believers to ‘put on the armour’ of light. As we contemplate the Lord Jesus, in whom there is no darkness at all, may we be filled with the light of God, and so shine in the world.
The music accompanying this prayerful and thought-provoking reflection by Ros and I is Franz Liszt’s much loved Le Rossignol (The Nightingale) – the song of the bird that sings at night. Fontane Liang’s rendering of it on the harp bubbles with life and light!
This is the first part of a talk Robert gave recently in church to help those who are are standing alongside people who are going through the mill, as well as those who are suffering themselves.
In case this sounds a rather daunting theme, we have made it more attractive by adding some of the exquisite music we recorded in our recent gathering at Regents Bible College. Amongst the fine music are pieces by Torelli, Handel and the beautiful Coventry Carol. Anthony Thompson was the trumpeter.
Processing grief and handling loss - part three
When someone or something deeply precious is wrested from us, it leaves a deep wound. The very word ‘bereaved’ derives from the Dutch berauben - to rob or to plunder. We urgently need to let Christ’s love fill the hole.
If we turn inwards in the wrong way, the ensuing isolation leads to a hardening of the heart which effectively hinders the re-energising vitality of God. We need to allow ourselves appropriate time and space in which to grieve. In her excellent book ‘To live again’ (a book that is well worth tracking down) Catherine Marshall records how, when she lost her famous preacher husband, she made the conscious decision – much against her natural temperament – to allow other people to come close and walk the journey with her. Where love is, God is. Nothing means more to those who are grieving, and the presence of prayers and presence of loved ones to love us back to strength.
This brief extract is accompanied by a particularly moving piece of music written by a local composer and violinist, Michael Burnham.
Processing Grief and Handling Loss - part four.
How many people does it take to change a ….? I mean, how many sections can you divide one normal length sermon into?
In this instance five . . . We hope you will find this brief fourth part a blessing.
The trumpet music is by Torelli, beautifully played by Anthony interspersed with the opening movement of Cimarosa's magnificent oboe concerto, with our friend Thomas from Berlin playing.
Processing Grief and handling loss - part 5
Here is the final part of the Talk on Grief which I gave recently in church. It looks at various ways in which we can minimise grief.
Adjusting to Changing Horizons
This is the second part of a talk Robert gave recently in church to help those who are are standing alongside people who are going through the mill, as well as those who are suffering themselves.
In case this sounds a rather daunting theme, we have made it more attractive by adding some of the exquisite music we recorded in our recent gathering at Regents Bible College. Amongst the fine music are pieces by Torelli, Handel and the beautiful Coventry Carol. Anthony Thompson was the trumpeter.
Linda Entwistle: Let nothing disturb you Pepusch: 3rd Mvt. for 2 recorders, 2 violins and cello, Op. 8:1 Robert Weston: Cantus (Instrumental Version) Linda Entwistle: It is finished Dusseck: 2nd Movt, Sonata in C minor, Op. 2, Fontane Liang, Harp Robert Weston: Beyond Silver Lining
My Presence will go with you - Cantabile by John Weston
Why do you complain that He answers none of Your words? For God does speak, again and again, though people may not recognize it. He speaks in dreams and visions of the night, and whispers in their ears to turn them from wrongdoing; and to keep them from pride.
I weep and you are too blind to see but I will always draw near to the one who most desires to feel as I feel and to see as I see.
If we are faithful in little things, we will also be faithful in larger ones. But if we are untrustworthy in small matters, and in worldly wealth, who will trust us with greater responsibilities and true spiritual riches? In great distress Moses cried out,
“Lord, If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here. How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? The LORD replied, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”
In the book of Job, Elihu declared: I sinned and twisted the truth, perverting what was right, but I soon discovered that it was not worth it.
God delivered me from going down to the pit, He shone His light into my life, not once but many times,
and He does these things again and again, to turn people back from the pit, so that we may enjoy the light of life.
It is also a joy to share with you two exquisite recordings Dad made in the 1960s with the choirs of Southwell Minster and Lincoln Cathedral. They accompanied Son et Lumiere performances that he devised for Norwell Church in the Diocese of Southwell in Nottinghamshire, tracing its history in colourful sound and story.
Enjoy this a particularly sensitively sung setting of Richard of Chichester’s well-known prayer.
Dad recorded this exquisitely sung setting of Psalm 84 with the choir of Southwell Minster in Nottinghamshire in the 1960s to accompany Son et Lumiere performances that he devised for nearby Norwell Church.
My father was particularly fond of the recorder and he played his Sonata for Recorder at the Holywell Music Room in Oxford. I have gladly inherited his love of the instrument, and was pleased to have the opportunity to record the Cantabile from that sonata a few years ago.
In the summer of 1914, my great uncle Frank, Bishop of Zanzibar and Tanganyika, delivered a series of retreat addresses to the Associates of the Community of the Sacred Passion, an order of sisters he had founded a few years previously. The talks were delivered without notes, arising spontaneously from his own meditationS on the Scriptures and close walk with the Lord. Providentially, one of the Associates transcribed his words at the time. They were later published under the title In his Will.
Over the course of this coming year I hope to send out many extracts from his writings, sometimes sticking close to the original, and at other times freely adapting beyond Frank’s original inspiration
The beautiful oboe music that accompanies this first offering is by Corelli and Sammartini, played for us by Thomas Herzog. The piece concludes with Grace Nadine’s song, ‘Lord Hear us,’ sung by Sue Perks, and with Simon Bernard Smith on the panpipes.
These are words and music that bring the stillness of the Lord. We pray you will find them a doorway into spending time in communion with Him, so that they bring a rich flavour of retreat rhythm into everyday life.
Come beside Me: My face is peace Philip Spratley was the music teacher at my middle school, who I had the opportunity to meet again a few years ago. This lovely Lullaby is from ‘In Outlaw Country,’ (Opus 12b), which he kindly gave us permission to record. You can also hear this piece at the conclusion of The Resting Place. May this beautifully played piece both soothe and inspire.
Musicians: Grace Lee leading (viola), Helen Rees and Teresa Brasier, (violins), Jo Garcia and Anna Frazer (cellos), Geth Griffith (double bass), and Fontane Liang (Harp) Recorded at From the Heart (Regents College 2013)
Soak in this meditation on the comforting and far-reaching doctrine of the sovereignty of God
Written and read by Robert Weston, with Colin Owen as the voice of the Lord.
The full list of pieces you will hear are:
Bells Innocent: Wings of the Wind Immortal invisible God only wise (hint of) Hail to the Lord’s Anointed He holds me Storm Petrel Lullaby by Philip Spratley (from his Outlaw Suite)
Amongst the musicians were Christiane von Albrecht, Megan Mellamphey, Julia Herzog, Thomas Herzog, Peter Richards, Francis Cummings, Jane Horsfall, Shirley Richards and Corinne Frost
The Parousia: Welcome Him!
For the best part of a thousand years, Christians have spoken of there being three comings of Christ: in the flesh at Bethlehem, in our hearts daily, and when He comes in glory at the end of this era. The season of Advent has long been celebrated as a time to ponder all three of these ‘comings,’ and to be alert to the signs that lead up to His return.
Jesus spoke so much about the Parousia because He wants it to be a living hope in our hearts. The actual phrase the Second Coming is not used in Scripture; instead the Greek text refers to parousia which then became widely known by the Latin word adventus.
Parousia speaks of a ‘coming alongside’ as when a royal king or governor comes into a province not as a constitutional monarch, waving politely from the balcony, but as an absolute monarch to rule.
Linda's lovely song Welcome Him, which we have not featured before, is an Advent song that looks forward to the Parousia of Jesus.
The Parousia: Welcome Him!
For centuries Christians have spoken of there being three comings of Christ: in the flesh at Bethlehem, in our hearts daily, and when He comes in glory at the end of this era - which is itself, of course, the dawn of a new and yet greater one, when God and humankind dwell together. The season of Advent has long been celebrated as a time to ponder all three of these ‘comings,’ and to be alert to the signs that lead up to His return.
Jesus spoke so much about the Parousia because He wants it to be a living hope in our hearts. The actual phrase the Second Coming is not used in Scripture; instead the Greek text refers to parousia which then became widely known by the Latin word adventus.
Parousia speaks of a ‘coming alongside’ as when a royal king or governor comes into a province not as a constitutional monarch, waving politely from the balcony, but as an absolute monarch to rule.
Linda's lovely song is perfect for Advent, but also one we can sing all the year round, as we welcome Him from day to day, and look forward to the Parousia of Jesus.
Nothing on Earth can compare with the welcome we will receive in Heaven as a reward for being faithful!
Robert gave this talk recently on the twin themes of Heaven and some of the End time scenarios that precede the parousia: the Second Coming of Christ.
The words and music of this incredibly powerful Kyrie were written by Huw Humphries and are sung by Linda Entwistle. May it bless you as you listen and take its call to heart.
Linda Entwistle (vocal and keyboard) Thomas Herzog (oboe) Anthony Thompson (trumpet) Nicola Gerrard (flute) Susanne Herzog, Catherine Muncie and Corinne Frost (strings).
Given how strong the feelings and the anger are that have been aroused by the whole Brexit process we thought something soothing and smoothing might be in order. Enjoy this exquisite piece of music by Michael Burnham, a local Christian composer. It is on our set of Chrism CDs.
Arranged by Geth Griffiths. Ruach Breath of Life 2013. This Jewish phrase refers to the 'Psalms of Ascent.' May the Lord be with so many who are being forced to flee and in due time restore their fortunes. (Ps. 126)
Lord Jesus, be with all who are even now being forced to flee for their lives - by car, on foot, with old, and young alike. Guard, guide and overrule in this their time of fear and distress. Show yourself as the God who saves. In Your mercy, Amen.
The more we know about the needs and the evils in the world, the more we need to pray. But to do this effectively we don't necessarily need to know every detail. So I wrote this prayer-poem especially to encourage those who are eager to to pray about Brexit, and other 'wider' matters, but who hold back because they feel they are not very clear about all the details.
One of the sources I had in mind when I came to write this prayer-poem was an episode from Sister Kirsty’s book, ‘The Choice,’ (p134-5) in which she tells of the effect it had on her when she spoke with a saintly old monk about the agony of spirit she so often felt in prayer, especially when she heard tales of cruelty to children.
The monk surprised her greatly by withdrawing deep into his cowl and remaining silent for a long time. The advice he gave her wasn't in the least what she had been expecting: it was to stop reading newspapers and watching the news for a whole year. This shrewd and prayerful man knew that we do not necessary to be aware of every horrible detail of what is happening in the world in order to pray for it effectively. From deep within the depths of his cowl, he could bring it all to the Lord, confident that this would move His hand to act – rather as when I go on retreat I do so as it were with my friends and on behalf of those in special need of prayer.
All of us can pray, ‘Your Kingdom come, Your will be done on earth – and in Britain – as it is in Heaven. I can repent for the abuse that is going on, the failure to adhere to God’s word. I can declare His Lordship over the earth and all that it contains – and so on. We don’t have to know and understand all the details to be able to pray in accordance with His will. His word teaches us how to pray.
The reference I have made in this prayer to a 'template' concerns my long standing hope that as we pray for one specific person or situation, the Lord take these prayers and use them as a ‘template’ to minister to many others in similar situations.
On a completely different level I was also inspired by two Old Irish poems. The first that describes the ideal abode of a hermit set apart to seek the Lord, while the second celebrates the close affinity between a hermit scholar and his cat, both remain intent on their work!
I hope this very brief prayer poem will inspire you to carry your own petitions to the Lord where the words and music leave off . . . The ‘still-fully’ passionate music that accompanies this prayer-poem is Sergei Rachmaninov’s Great Ektenia. ‘Ektenia’ simply means Litany: that is, a series of petitions in the Eastern Orthodox and Byzantine church.
Soundcloud link here
From deep within my cowl
Hooded by Your hand, hidden deep within my cowl, travelling far in spirit from my regular routine ways, in prayer, O God, I seek to move Your hand.
In the depths of my cowl I have no need to hear the full-blown tale of the awfulness that snares and befouls. This I trust, that in these heart-felt pleas, that stem from bended knees – You will discern the tenor of Your own petition for blocked and beleaguered souls.
Offered on the altar of my heart, in the temple of my soul, make of these cries from one enclosed within, Incense that rises before Your throne,a wider template that tips the bowl to pour afar Your presence and Your aid.
This is a version of Your Face O Lord will I seek, but this time played on the keyboard only. Let's soak and rest in the Lord's presence and keep seeking His face! Played and improvised around on piano by Christiane.
In the midst of all the intense issues that surround us, many of which may be affecting us directly, let's pause and seek God's face, because that is what David encourages us to do in this well known psalm - and what the Lord Himself tells us to do in 2 Chronicles 7:14.
Join Christiane von Albrecht, Megan Topper, Shirley Richards, Jane Horsfall and Nick Evans Pughe as they improvise on the keyboard, flute, violin, Celtic harp and viola around a theme by Kat Mills.
Hear my voice, LORD, when I cry out! Be gracious to me and answer me. You have said, “Seek my face.” My heart says to you, “Your face, Lord, do I seek.”
GK Chesterton was a great apologist for Christianity, in may ways perhaps a Catholic forerunner and inspiration for CS Lewis.
I commend the passionate words of this hymn that he wrote, which feel so timely for our riven nation. We have reinterpreted it here in a more contemporary style, beautifully sung by Megan Topper (nee Mellamphey), accompanied by David Booth.
Chesterton's original words are on the left here, with my infinitely inferior version below this: O God of earth and altar, Bow down and hear our cry, Our earthly rulers falter, Our people drift and die; The walls of gold entomb us, The swords of scorn divide, Take not thy thunder from us, But take away our pride.
From all that terror teaches, From lies of tongue and pen, From all the easy speeches That comfort cruel men, From sale and profanation Of honour and the sword, From sleep and from damnation, Deliver us, good Lord.
Tie in a living tether The prince and priest and thrall, Bind all our lives together, Smite us and save us all; In ire and exultation Aflame with faith, and free, Lift up a living nation, A single sword to thee.
My Version: O God of Earth and altar, incline Your ear to hear. Our earthly leaders falter; and people turn their backs the lure of fame entombs us, the swords of scorn divide, take not Your blessing from us, but take away our pride.
From all that terror wages, from lies of tongue and pen; From all deceitful promises that comfort, lure and lie; From all that's lewd and crude, that mocks Your Name O Christ; From sleep and from damnation, Deliver us, Good Lord.
Tie in a living tether the Church that bears Your Name. Bind all our lives together, release and use us all; in praise and exultation aflame with faith fire, raise up a holy nation, to seek You in love.
The more we know about the needs and the evils in the world, the more we need to pray. But to do this effectively we don't necessarily need to know every detail. So I wrote this prayer-poem especially to encourage those who are eager to to pray about Brexit, and other 'wider' matters, but who hold back because they feel they are not very clear about all the details.
One of the sources I had in mind when I came to write this prayer-poem was an episode from Sister Kirsty’s book, ‘The Choice,’ (p134-5) in which she tells of the effect it had on her when she spoke with a saintly old monk about the agony of spirit she so often felt in prayer, especially when she heard tales of cruelty to children.
The monk surprised her greatly by withdrawing deep into his cowl and remaining silent for a long time. The advice he gave her wasn't in the least what she had been expecting: it was to stop reading newspapers and watching the news for a whole year. This shrewd and prayerful man knew that we do not necessary to be aware of every horrible detail of what is happening in the world in order to pray for it effectively. From deep within the depths of his cowl, he could bring it all to the Lord, confident that this would move His hand to act – rather as when I go on retreat I do so as it were with my friends and on behalf of those in special need of prayer.
All of us can pray, ‘Your Kingdom come, Your will be done on earth – and in Britain – as it is in Heaven. I can repent for the abuse that is going on, the failure to adhere to God’s word. I can declare His Lordship over the earth and all that it contains – and so on. We don’t have to know and understand all the details to be able to pray in accordance with His will. His word teaches us how to pray.
The reference I have made in this prayer to a 'template' concerns my long standing hope that as we pray for one specific person or situation, the Lord take these prayers and use them as a ‘template’ to minister to many others in similar situations.
On a completely different level I was also inspired by two Old Irish poems. The first that describes the ideal abode of a hermit set apart to seek the Lord, while the second celebrates the close affinity between a hermit scholar and his cat, both remain intent on their work!
I hope this very brief prayer poem will inspire you to carry your own petitions to the Lord where the words and music leave off . . . The ‘still-fully’ passionate music that accompanies this prayer-poem is Sergei Rachmaninov’s Great Ektenia. ‘Ektenia’ simply means Litany: that is, a series of petitions in the Eastern Orthodox and Byzantine church.
Pouring out our hearts in prayer for Brazil The first piece of music that accompanies this prayer for the vast nation of Brazil is by Linda Entwistle, which she called 'Burst into song.' It is followed by Dios nunca muere: the best known waltz in the state of Oaxaca in Mexico. The phrase means ‘God will never die’, and it was written to celebrate surviving a serious illness. The words go on to say that although life is in a hurry, and the sun dies in the mountains, a new light will reach us, and although we must leave our loved ones and native land we will find bliss and peace in God, for God never dies. Andrew Whettam heard this piece when he was in Oaxaca, and made this arrangement, which he plays on the marimba, with Grace Lee on the violin.
Since countless millions declare each week in the words of the Creed their belief in the ‘communion of saints’ it can only be right to pray that this precious concept will come to mean all that it could and should to us. The Lord really will be coming with thousands upon thousands of His holy ones! (Jude 1:14, cf Rev: 1:7, cf Luke 21:27)
I wrote ‘Host of Heaven’ (Ruler of the Spheres) both as a cry to the Lord for His help in our troubles on Earth, and as celebration of His coming to our aid with the help of His heavenly armies. It is a joy to share it with you now!
I could not resist adding extracts from a very familiar hymn: Martin Luther’s Ein Fester Berg – ‘A mighty fortress is our God.’ Commentators suggest that Luther wrote the hymn during a time of intense trial following the outbreak of plague in Wittenberg, and a prolonged (and, humanly speaking, vain) battle to save his sickly daughter Elizabeth. Her death hit him very hard, at the very time when he was facing the loss not only of his reputation but also his very life by the stand he was taking for the Reformation. Like Paul, he was seeking to oversee fledgling churches whilst under significant pressure from both worldly and demonic forces.
May we have the faith and resolve to lift up the name of Jesus and His truth to counteract whatever lies the enemy suggests and sows to beguile and dishearten us. Even though I can’t even begin to do justice to such a mighty and magnificent topic, we hope you will be blessed by this piece. May the Lord make us truly aware of the Host of Heaven - and able to discern His presence guiding, warning and inspiring us from one day to the next.
Music written by Francis Cummings for 'Fire from the North' Conference 2005 The new heavens and the new earth
Look, I am creating new heavens and a new earth, and no one will even think about the old ones anymore. (Is. 65:17-18)
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared. The sea also was gone. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.
I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be His people.
God Himself will be with them. He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All those things are gone forever.”
And the one sitting on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new!” “Write this down, for what I tell you is trustworthy and true.” (Rev. 21:1-5)
Reawaken us, Lord Jesus, to the call of how Heavenly things will truly be. Selah Where the limitations of our earthly roles and responsibilities have placed too tight a constriction on our perspective, and led to so many routine repetitions, we choose now to eagerly consider the heavenly rewards you spoke so much about and to anticipate the Epiphany of our Lord.
We discard from our hearts all that tends to the ‘What’s the point?’ – and even the assumption that all will be so well catered for in Heaven that there will be nothing for us to do.
Expand in our mind the Narnian cry of “Further up and further in;” for even in Heaven You have so much more in store for us.
For nothing of value that You direct us to on Earth will ever be lost, in a Kingdom where seeds acquire their fullest expression and all we long for finds its richest outworking.
Harp music composed and played by Bill Klein
On the night before He died, the Lord Jesus said, “I will not drink the fruit of the vine again until I drink it anew with you in My Father’s kingdom” (Matt. 26:29).
Food and drink must therefore have their place in that utterly grace-filled sphere that You have prepared for the redeemed human race where God-belovèd animals will lie down at peace with each other and at ease with us. leaving us free to enjoy whatever rewards and commissions the Lord may choose to apportion as He ushers in the new heaven and the new earth.
When souls saved by Christ fall asleep they emerge from the tent of their bodies and enter the realm of Paradise: a place of parkland rest and refreshment, of blissful reunions with those in Christ whom we have loved, and with those who persevered beyond their trials to the infinitely better resurrection beyond. (Heb. 11:35,38)
Let’s not end the story at what may prove to be but the end of the beginning: the call of God will appoint the meek to return with Christ to reign and rule on Earth.
This is our ultimate calling, and how we respond in life will determine our fitness for service there,
where Beauty personified renews the earth in glory, and so fulfils the prophecies of old. (Hab. 2:14)
Harp music composed and played by Bill Klein
Then I saw thrones, and the people sitting on them had been given the authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their testimony about Jesus and for proclaiming the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or his statue, nor accepted his mark on their forehead or hands. They came to life again, and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.
This is the first resurrection. (The rest of the dead did not come back to life until the thousand years had ended.)
Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. For them the second death holds no power, for they will be priests of God and of Christ, the Messiah, and will reign with Him a thousand years. (Rev. 20:4-6)
By Your Spirit’s grace enable us to play our part in this first and greatest resurrection.
By Your Spirit’s power be BOTH deposit and bridge between these two worlds;
Reawaken our heart to these unseen heavenly realms, and draw us into Your courts to reflect on what it means to live and move in Your power and authority; for anything that we lose now for the sake of the King will be amply re-accredited then.
'Fire from the North', Music by Francis Cummings
In the Courts of Heaven I heard a sound from heaven like the roar of mighty ocean waves or the rolling of loud thunder.
It was like the sound of many harpists playing together. (Rev. 14:2)
God, You preside in the courts of highest Heaven, and soon the kingdoms of this world will become the place where You reside and reign forever;” (Rev. 11:15)
Your angels worshipping now before Your throne, now waging war as mighty warriors,
sounding the seven last trumpets and swinging sickles right across the planet
to gather the clusters of grapes from the vines of the earth,
then pouring out the bowls that represent the seven last plagues, before consigning Your foe to the bottomless pit. (Rev. 14:18-19)
You made our world out of nothing, Lord, but this time round You intend to send such an intense fire that the elements themselves will be melted bare. (2 Pet. 3:10-13)
For just as wild fire consumes dead wood in the forest, and redwoods release the seeds that spawn the highest trees, so You will purge both Heaven and Earth to make Your home on newly refashioned Earth.
Reawaken our hearts to advance through life in the knowledge that we may well be destination-bound to reign on fire-cleansed Earth, the true home of righteousness, to which we belong by faith and love.
Not in vain does Creation long for the mighty verve of Your redemptive touch: Earth is not bound for destruction, like some disposable item, but is rather a jewel that will sparkle in the freedom and glory that lie beyond the flames.
Supreme over Creation You hold all things together by Your power, Lord Jesus, as You labour to restore creation to its Maker. (Col 1:15-20)
“Inspire us to work for the renewal of Your world, and for justice within that creation” for we how can we fully love the Lover if we do not also ‘love what the Lover has made,’ and hate what He hates?
You are just, and everything about the world to come will reflect this fact.
All that was truncated, maimed and foreshortened in this life will reappear in its fullest finest form: unborn foetuses grown tall, the old grown young, martyrs highly honoured, and all that is broken and polluted renewed, as Creation itself is set free from the curse of decay.
Then the LORD will go out and fight against those nations as when he fights on a day of battle. On that day his feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives that lies before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall be split in two from east to west by a very wide valley, so that one half of the Mount shall move northward, and the other half southward. (Rom 8:21)
Since death itself has been defeated we will rise again on the renewed Earth in a body that will not wear out or die.
Transform us now, Lord Jesus, to the ways of Eternity, so that one day we may govern the Earth on Your behalf.
That which is not born of Your Spirit will have no place there, any more than vultures swim beneath the waves or sharks nest in lion’s dens.
Keep blessing in and the enemy out.
Cover us with the outermost fringes of Your glory as You direct our days.
In the twinkling of an eye You will swallow up death in victory and clothe our decaying bodies with imperishable immortality. By the power that enables You to bring everything under Your control, You will transform our lowly bodies so that they are like Your glorious body.
Just as You restored Your people to their land so Your great desire is to restore them to You, and Earth itself to its highest calling. You are steering the whole of human history to the moment when you reunite it under the rulership of Messiah, Christ, drawing all the holy ones to dwell together in this perfectly reshaped world.
Through our union in Jesus we will freely work and converse with those from traditions we might once have demeaned or deemed to be wrong, our hearts and relationships reflecting all that You intended them to be.
Here will be found no trace of the unredeemed to haunt our days, and no memory of failed objectives to taint or taunt, for all that is sordid, suspicious or satanic will have been left behind, along with all our rage and spite.
In this glorious continuity, in the age to come the specific concerns that Living Trust placed uppermost in our hearts on Earth will but sharpen their thrust, just as a message once conveyed by semaphore does not cease to convey the truth it held before when sent by other means.
Your eyes will see the king in his beauty. and view a land that stretches far.
Then the eyes of those who see will no longer be closed, and the ears of those who hear will listen. The fearful heart will know and understand, and the stammering tongue be clear and fluent.
No longer will the fool be called noble nor the scoundrel be highly respected. But the noble will make noble plans, and by noble deeds they will stand. (Isaiah 33:17, 32:3-5,8)
Lord save us from falling for the Platonic ideal of assuming a purely spiritual afterlife, lest we become too individualised in our outlook as a result.
Like a brilliant musician who sees no need to relate to other players, and thereby robs the symphony of their love and prayer, how sad when people hear distressing news, and find no need to turn it into prayer and compassionate concern.
You are supremely there for those who have nothing and no one in this world.
For in Your Kingdom the formerly unimportant will occupy centre stage,
while some of the seemingly more magnificent will be shown to be no more than wolves in sheep’s clothing.
So help us to prepare without pride or possessiveness for this life of eternity, leaving behind all that would slur or slurry, so that even in our secret hearts we prefigure the age that is to come; for it is only with our hearts thus set that we can fully appreciate the riches of life as You have desired and designed it, on the sacred space that is Earth.
You spoke of the time when You will return to Earth in great power and glory in just the same way by which You left it, to rule in power and to make all things new. (1)
Therefore in faith we look forward not so much to escaping from this world, than to playing our part in its glorious transformation, grateful for our allotted station, not missing our reward through failing to heed Your commands, or envying others who are bound for more senior reward, but devoting our utmost to Your highest.
Listen to me, all you in distant lands! Pay attention, you who are far away!
The LORD called me before my birth; from within the womb he called me by name.
He has hidden me in the shadow of His hand. I am like a sharp arrow in His quiver.
References (1) Matt. 19:28, Luke 21:26-27, Acts 1:11 (2) Is. 49:1-4
“I will purify your lips to call on My name, and to serve Me shoulder to shoulder as one holy nation. (1) Where nation states still subsist, they will do so as outposts of the saved, their only desire to do My Father’s will.” (2)
I will be there to welcome each one of you, and to put to rights all that is undergrown or overblown as you walk in a sea of delight without your many limps, My presence pervading all that you do, and your souls caught up in the Song of the Lamb.
This is where you belong in the land of the living, where Earth and Heaven meet.(3)
While twenty-four elders and the four living beings fall down and worship God, who is sitting on the throne.
They cry out, “Amen! Praise the LORD!” For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns
Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to Him. For the time has come for the wedding feast of the Lamb, and His bride has prepared herself.
She has been given the finest of pure white linen to wear.” the fine linen representing the good deeds of God’s holy people.
And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding feast of the Lamb.”
And he added, “These are true words that come from God.”
References (1) Zeph. 3:9 (2) Michael Green, The Second Epistle of Peter and Jude Tyndale New Testament Commentaries, IVP 1987, p. 155; cf David Lawrence’s book Heaven: it’s not the end of the world (1995 and 2002) Scripture Union triggered many of the thoughts and associations in this meditation – especially pages 50-1, 61, 71,85, 88, 93-99, 109, 121, 134-137, 140-141. (3) From Psalm 27:9, 12-14
Written and performed by Linda Entwistle.
We've been raised up to a new life in Christ In the same place with new perspectives and new sights Knowing He is reigning and is seated on His throne And we are with Him in His kingdom
We can move out with the earth beneath our feet We can reach up and touch His Mercy Seat
We're growing in His Wisdom We are growing in His Power
Our eyes on heaven Our life is hidden in Christ
And we will learn we have a new identity Born of His Spirit, who shows us what is real When Christ, who is the true life, is revealed to the whole world Through His story we'll share His glory
And now we come to the Holiest Place What He has done can never be erased Believing in our Saviour we can now go through the veil And learn the secrets of His Kingdom
Majesty and Dominion Moses looked to the burning Bush, and saw My presence in the most unlikely form. Elisha looked up in time to see the chariots of Heaven. Peter James and John climbed an ordinary mountain and saw Me transfigured before their eyes. Thus will I transform sight into insight and make the ordinary extraordinary. For I am the faithful and trustworthy Witness, the Firstborn of the dead, the Prince and Ruler of the kings of the earth. (Rev. 1:5) I have loved you and set you free from your sins by My blood, and formed you into a kingdom of priests. (Exodus 19:6) To Me belongs glory and power, and majesty and dominion throughout all ages. Behold I am coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Me, , even those who pierced Me, and all the tribes of the earth shall gaze upon Me and beat their breasts and mourn and lament over Me; even so must it be; Yea and Amen. (Rev. 1:7. Cf Matt. 24:30 and Daniel 7:13) The Lord laid his right hand on me and said, “Don’t be afraid! I am the First and the Last: the living one. I died, but look: I am alive forever and ever, and I hold the keys of death and the realm of the dead. (Rev.1:6-7, 18) — and over you the second death shall have no power. (Rev. 20:6)
For You alone my soul waits in silence. Music by Dave Hart.
For You alone my soul waits in silence; For to You belongs silence as well as vigorous praise. And in you we experience our deepest insights in the vaults of this precious silence
Blessed are those whom You choose and draw near to dwell in your courts. We shall be satisfied with the goodness of Your house, Your holy temple. (based on Psalm 62:1 and 65:1-4)
Love one another deeply, for love covers a multitude of sins. Share all you have with each other, and open your hearts and your homes without complaining.
Whatever gifts you have received, minister them to one another, as stewards of My manifold grace, with the ability which I supply, so that in all things I may receive the credit, and be glorified through your lives. (From 1 Peter 4:7-11)
Do not think it strange that fiery trials come your way, as though some strange thing abnormal were happening to you. These have been sent to test you. Don’t be afraid of all you are about to suffer, but rather be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life.
After you have suffered a while, the God of grace, who has called you to eternal glory, will strengthen and establish and settle you again, this time forever. (1 Peter 4:12, Rev. 2:10, 1 Peter 5:10)
Be strong not discouraged. The work that you do will be fully rewarded. I will never leave you nor forsake you.
Let the spirit of Heaven settle on you now in the spirit of faith and forgiveness. Ask whatever you will, and trust that your Heavenly Father will take and shape your request and find the very best way to answer it, (Mark 11:24-26) My Word helping you to see that what you regarded at the time as a disaster actually formed part of My perfect plan, causing you to exclaim, “Oh now I see what you are doing!”
We give You the fragments and the jagged edges for You to shape and piece to Your highest will.
Let the spirit of Heaven settle on you in faith and forgiveness. Ask whatever you will, and trust that your Heavenly Father will take and shape your requests and find the very best way to answer it.
Wisdom calls out Listen as Wisdom calls out! Hear as understanding raises her voice! On the hilltop along the road, she takes her stand at the crossroads. By the gates at the entrance to the town, on the road leading in, she cries aloud, “I call to you, to all of you! I raise my voice to all people. The LORD formed me from the beginning, before he created anything else. I was appointed in ages past, at the very first, before the earth began. I was born before the oceans were created, before the springs bubbled forth their waters. Before the mountains were formed, before the hills, I was born — before he had made the earth and fields and the first handfuls of soil. I was there when he established the heavens, when he drew the horizon on the oceans. I was there when he set the clouds above, when he established springs deep in the earth. I was there when he set the limits of the seas, so they would not spread beyond their boundaries. And when he marked off the earth’s foundations, I was the architect at his side. I was his constant delight, rejoicing always in his presence. And how happy I was with the world he created; how I rejoiced with the human family! And so, my children, listen to Me, for all who follow my ways are joyful. Listen to my instruction and be wise. Fear of the LORD is the foundation of wisdom. Knowledge of the Holy One results in good judgment. Wisdom will multiply your days and add years to your life. If you become wise, you will be the one to benefit. But if you scorn wisdom, you will be the one to suffer. (From Proverbs 8 + 9) Each day activate some fresh working of Heaven, to demonstrate Your kingdom at each person’s point of need. Each day weave circumstances that will draw people to cleave to You in the fullest and most joyful surrender. God of great and little things, Source of living water, with all my heart I adore You. Let me not shy away from opportunities to strengthen souls on their quest for You.
My children, Yours is the story of small initiatives attempted for love of Me, and of great help received to make all possible.
When you feel overwhelmed by your nothingness, and when what you have feels far too small for what you face, remember how I strengthened David at Ziklag. when his rag-tag army resolved to stone him.
Lord, we have grown so used to rushing through our days, dashing from one appointment to the next; now as we slow the pace of our activity and make these times of meditation a truly holy consecration, pour ointment on our heads as we lift before You the people we chance to meet, and the tasks we hope to complete.
Come right into these things I know about today, dear Lord – and also into those of which I know precisely nothing about as yet. May I not be taken by surprise and caught – or at least be quick to recover when I am.
The Contemplative Calling
Jesus said "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." (Matt 11:28)
George Macdonald said that half the misery in the world comes from people trying to look, or to be, what they are not. We are never more fully what God has designed us to be than when, like Mary of Bethany, we devote ourselves to being at Jesus’ feet: “Mary has chosen the better part, and it will not be taken from her.” (Luke 10:42) The true contemplative spends time apart on behalf of the many, bringing those who either cannot or will not come for themselves; they are thus never more in company than when they appear most on their own. This is the time and this is the place to receive the flow of Your leading, when Your thoughts glide in on the high tide of Your grace, one idea intersecting and interconnecting with another.
Let the stillness hold me. Confirm and reaffirm this contemplative calling, expanding my heart to embrace Your grace, until Your love becomes the air that I breathe and the peace I exude.
Lord, you are happy that I am here, and because You are who You are, open the deep places of my heart, first to explore Your love, and then to abide much more in that realm.
The Trysting Place Allemande Vivaldi Seek the LORD your God at the place of worship that He chooses for you: the place where His name will be honoured (Deut. 12:5) Many of us find mountain tops an excellent place for meeting the Lord and getting rid of persistent worries. Not all of us may be able to climb literal mountains right now, but there will always be ways in which we can make time to be with the Lord, and places we can go to gain more of His strength and perspective. Lord show us where they are and help us to make haste to find them. Bless the places we hold special, Lord, where our spirit communes most deeply with You. We sanctify our homes to You, and ask that they be noble places for You to dwell. Make some special part a resting place for love, and a furnace to inspire the fire of prayer. Lie beneath a tree. Admire its shape. Marvel at the changing seasons Let your bare soles discern the beauty of the rocks beneath your feet, the intricate patterns I have woven in that all I have shaped.
The Secret things belong to God
I push and probe a little way beyond the thing I see. Sometimes something seems to whisper very quietly: “Hush, that is God’s private secret: He has not told it to me – for the secret things belong to God, whereas the things that He has revealed belong to us and our children forever. (Deut. 29:29, cf Pvbs. 3:32)
The compiler of the Proverbs mentions various things he could not fathom. (Pvbs. 30:18ff). I am acutely conscious of countless things that appear precarious in the extreme. Sharpen my perspective, Lord, concerning the way You concealed Your Son until the right time came to announce Him to the world; (Rom. 16:24-26, 1 Cor. 2:6-8) the patience by which You shape Your people holy, in preparation for the plans You possess for us beyond the edge of time. (1 Cor. 15:50-52)
Praise You for Your purposes for Israel, for the time when the hardening of their hearts becomes a thing of the past. (Rom. 11:24-26)
Thank You, too, for the time when all secrets are revealed on that great and glorious day, when You overthrow all foes by the splendour of Your coming. (2 Thess. 2:6-8; Rom. 2:15-16)
Keep us in the meantime from the harm of the viper’s charm, and the secret power of lawlessness.
For it is where there is care and kindness and heart concern that You are to be found – not in the concrete jungle of sharp business deals, or the entanglements of ecstatic party land. And where pleasure is no longer the main yard measure You bestow a very great deal to enjoy.
You find so many ways to affirm those who look to You to make their ultimate choices; who cleave most closely to receive Your still small voice and kindly leading.
While the waves are lapping softly on ancient shores, entire new realms are opening up – and You are seeking the staunch and brave to launch the next phase of Your full and final purposes. To them You show Yourself as You really are and whisper words of we’el and welcome.
Dark Clouds and Dragon Tails
Just as the Lord Jesus admired the faith of the centurion, He is often dismayed as His children shrink back through lack of faith. He was outstretched for you so that we can stretch out the rod of authority and decree His word of release into tightly shut situations. The dragon hates those who respond in such faith, and thrashes them with the scaly horror of his tail.’ (Gold Cord) Don’t let his dragon flicks of grief or wounded pride push you off course. From his cave of sad and sorry memories he bids you lower the scope of your expectations and diminish your hope. Continue to trust when dark clouds surround His throne. He is still the God who speeds to save His children, testing the bonds of all we hold most dear as we endure beyond the tightening pinch.
Despite all abominations that bring desolation, the Lord is moving things towards the final consummation; and when the times have reached their fulfilment, He will bring all things in Heaven, and all bridgeheads on Earth, together under one Head. (cf Eph 1:10).
Time is of the Essence. A meditation accompanied by Loeillet oboe concerto
“Time is of the essence, My children, and you will not want to waste a single moment of it. Value treasured time and you will be less inclined to fritter it away, but when you really do not have any to spare, continue to feed on the wing, and hasten slowly lest rash rapid rushing leads headlong to a crash.
And then, when times of special strain are past, take care to tend your soul again. Since the onslaught has been so intense, So too is your need to rest and immerse yourself in Me. The day will come when I measure grace back to you in long precious stretches of uninterrupted time.
“I am not like the planners of this world – who easily forget the past and misread the future. With Me, the past, present and future flow as one continual river, so that what I do today impacts on some more distant event downstream, even as the things that come your way today have their roots entwined in the far distant past.
Time is of the essence, but I am calling you now to sit and be. Let Me be the chronometer that keeps the time and the metronome that strikes the balance in your days.
Beyond Isaiah 50 - Improvisation that led on from one of Linda Entwistle's songs. Whatever is worthy of praise, noble, kind, inspired; Whatever bears the stamp of Your Spirit’s likeness there let our hearts dwell, our lives caught up in Your creative purposes,– our hearts a true reflection of Your own. (Phil. 4:8-9)
If anyone lacks wisdom, let him ask Me for it, for I know where it dwells and I alone understand the way to it. (Job 28:23)
If you can corral your thoughts and focus on whatever is true, this will keep you from many a mistaken point of view, and overwrought distress as you try to second guess what others might have thought and meant.
Repent, and nurture trust and confidence by choosing to see situations through the cleansing lens of truth and benevolence.
My wisdom comes wherever souls are sufficiently empty to receive it, even as the wind sweeps through the most remote regions, and the waters reach their greatest depths in the vast ocean troughs – and lightning strikes along the lines of least resistance.
The awareness of all that you are lacking represents a fresh opportunity – and I will gladly impart all your heart is longing for.
My children, what you are so benefitting from in this phase of your life, is deeper and richer far, but there were aspects in your previous role that are missing in your new experience. Draw without pining on this memory store, and make the most of every opportunity - for past and present alike add to the riches of wisdom’s store.
You so often want all the ends to be neatly tied together, but when I confirm the call to step out of where you are, do not rationalise the call away. Be prepared to reach out, even when a blinding smothering mist descends, obscuring the way ahead. It is only when you take those first important steps that you find the firmer rock beneath your feet.
I meet you where you are but invite you to where I am, So turn not just your face but your whole being towards Me. When what you are most deeply counting on falls apart, I will still find ways for the ship that bears the flag of the Lamb to sail straight through.
Don’t get in a fury when someone crucial leaves their post, or resent the ones who have gone; they may have had more wisdom than you know. Even if the manner of their parting left much to be desired, I will make the help of other pilgrims available to you.
However holed you feel below the waterline, I have dates and rendez-vous in mind – And am already thinking how and what threads to rethread. That is why you must continue to sail the shipping lanes until you obtain your heart’s desire. For how could it be that you would not receive that which you most desire?
Music (for Preface) composed especially for this project by David Booth of Malvern
Welcome to this heartfelt compilation of mineral-rich meditations which set out to capture the yearning of our heart for God, and of His towards us.
As we tune our hearts to the Eternal Rock from which we were hewn lets embark on the greatest love story of them all, exploring far ranging themes, that take us far beyond the purely personal to the prophetically panoramic, allowing their poetic reality to sharpen our capacity for contemplation, as the fragrance of Heaven draws near.
The themes are too nutrient rich to absorb at one sitting, but you’ll find the words online, and you can always press the ‘Pause’ or listen again, allowing fresh associations to come to mind until these precious truths become embedded in your heart.
Since we have been raised with Christ, let’s set our hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the Father’s right hand and think for a while about the things of Heaven,
for we have died to this life, and our real life is hidden with Christ in God – and when Christ who is our life is revealed, we too will share in His glory. (Col. 3:1-4)
So many people argue the toss about whether they are pre or post tribulationalists, but let’s focus less on the means by which God will bring about the promised signs of the times beyond the labour pains as the result of the Cross, when Earth itself is rebirthed as the home of perfect righteousness.
Music by Linda Entwistle. Narration, Robert and Ros Weston, Harmony Greenwood and Andrew Whettam.
Shout joyful praises to God, all the earth! Sing about the glory of His name, Tell the whole world how glorious He is, say to the Lord how awesome your deeds your enemies cringe before your mighty power everything on Earth will worship you they will sing your praises. shouting Your name in glorious songs.
Come and see what our God has done what awesome miracles He performs for people, He made a dry path through the Red Sea and His people went across on foot. By his great power He rules forever He watches every movement of the nations. Let no rebel rise in defiance. Let the whole world bless our God and loudly sing his praises. Our lives are in his hands and He keeps our feet from stumbling. Knock on the doors of rich and poor alike, Lord Jesus – right across the world, from Southend to South America, let a profound reawakening arise.
Let no soulish power cause godly longings to take wrong turns, lest those who You are drawing turn aside after lesser goals, or be hijacked by other powers, and promising starts prove but the falsest of dawns.
In all things keep the stream of our longings within the safety bounds of holy ground as we arise to this reawakening call. In the power of conquering compassion, in the first light of glimmering dawn, whisper insights that will survive the noonday heat and reach their highest peak.
Inspiring reassurance that the Lord is with us in our times of trial, summoning us to 'pedal' on no matter what the conditions we are facing. The music is by Vivaldi (op. 242), beautifully played for us by Grace Lee.
My Father in Heaven Linda Entwistle was inspired by Jesus' own words when she wrote this refreshingly different rendering of the prayer everyone refers to as the 'Lord's Prayer.' May it speak to our hearts. The music is an improvisation led by Sally Mowbray.
While he was teaching in a primary school in Sussex, Dad pioneered the use of the tape recorder in the classroom for educational purposes. He wrote the seminal book on the subject, having won both the British and the World Amateur Recording Championships. He entered the contest with two really special productions in 1958 and 1959 with his class of primary school children. The first was called Life in a Medieval Town, and the second Journey So Long. This latter one is all about his class setting off to visit the imaginary country of Beldavia in the Alps. Colin kindly transferred the reel-to-reel tape recording to CD in time to make it available at Dad’s funeral, and Sally has now made it available to all as a soundcloud. Enjoy these 16 minutes of sheer delight!
Kyrie Eleison - 'Lord, have mercy' Savour to the full Huw Humphrey's powerful and beautiful take on one of the best known and used of all Christian phrases, sung here by Linda Entwistle. Ruach Breath of Life 2018
Francis Cummings composed this beautiful piece of music. May its lilting refrain lift your heart and soul to the presence of God.
May this lovely piece that Jane Horsfall both composed and plays inspire our hearts, minds and spirits to pray for God's purposes to be fully done in the land of Israel and in the city of Jerusalem. Ruach breath of life Ministries 2018
As we turn to You now, Lord, we praise You that Your presence is close at hand and the way to Your heaven wide open for us. We throw open the doors of our hearts and celebrate the love that has called us to Your service. May the grace of Christ light our paths; our journeys and encounters, our hopes and our plans. We offer them, Lord, to You; direct them for Your glory.
I long to meet with You today, Lord. In the stillness draw near, That my spirit may be refreshed in You
Renew my love, Lord Jesus; Be the joy in my heart, The moment of my waking, And the power behind the day,
Bless to me, Lord, The work of my hands. Bless to me, Lord, The ways of my mind. Bless to me, Lord, The affections of my heart, May Your kingdom come Each moment of this day. (Anon)
May we embark this day, Lord, into the flow of your Spirit’s leading, Unlock the springs of creativity in our hearts, Ideas and inspiration that flow to Your glory Let the power of God rise up as we worship, The love of God as we reach out to others And the joy of Christ as we live this day for You.
I welcome what You bring this day, Be it inward joy or outward trial, May my thinking be true My words and actions kind And my trust be strong. You have given me this day, this hour, this moment, I trust You now with that.
Music by Bill Klein
I had long wanted to write a song about verses that mean a lot to me from Job 14:7-9, how the Lord loves to revive and restore the roots of that which has suffered loss pruning or and other froms of setback.
The musicians you will hear in this recording are Harmony Greenwood, Nicola Gerrard, Thomas Herzog and Natalie Halliday, with Sally Prittie on piano.
Recently we provided an extensive series of pointers to help us pray for the land of Japan. With the abdication a few days ago of the long serving Emperor, and to follow on from a powerful prophetic and intercessiory trip our friend Sheena Tranter and others made there, we are releasing this extended extempore prayer that we set to a piece of music I wrote with the nation of Japan and her people in mind. Japan has often earned itself the unwelcome name of being largest unevangelised country in the world, where barely 0.5% of the nation are active believers, and millions know next to nothing about the Lord Jesus. Set aside some time to join in this heart cry for the Lord Jesus to be known in a land that is famed for its mountainous beauty and fiery colours of autumn forest and flowering cherry trees, as well as for its fishing and industrial savvy but also for its earthquakes and tsunamis. At this time when much that has given Japan stability in recent times is now being shaken to the core let's push in and pray for Jesus to be known more widely!
Here's another of Carol's lovely songs that brings deep peace and hope to all in need of strength and encouragement. Singer and Composer Carol Sampson, taken from her album 'Always Near' https://www.carolleesampson.co.uk/
The Lord is the Everlasting God. Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and His understanding no one can fathom.
He gives His strength to the weary one. Increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall.
Have you heard, do you not know? The Lord is The Everlasting God, and those who place their hope upon the Lord will find their strength renewed.
They will soar on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will soar on wings like eagles. Yes those who place their hope upon the Lord will find their strength renewed.
Copyright Carol Sampson / Ruach Breath of Life Ministries 2018
Savour to the full Carol Sampson’s version of this powerful hymn by Anna Laetitia Waring, who must have been a very special Welsh poet and hymn writer.
Singer and composer Carol Sampson, taken from her album 'Always Near' https://www.carolleesampson.co.uk/
In heavenly love abiding No change my heart shall fear; And safe in such confiding for nothing changes here. The storm may roar without me; My heart may low be laid; But God is round about me And can I be dismayed?
Wherever He may guide me, No one shall turn me back; My Shepherd is beside me, And nothing shall I lack. His wisdom ever waken His sight is never dim; He knows the way He's taking, and I will walk with Him.
In heavenly love In heavenly love I abide; In heavenly love In His heavenly love I abide Forever.
Green pastures are before me Which yet I have not seen. Bright skies will soon be over me Where darkest clouds have been. My hope I cannot measure; My path to life is free; My Saviour has my treasure And he will walk with me.
In heavenly love In heavenly love I abide In heavenly love In His heavenly love I abide Forever, Forever, Forever.
Copyright Carol Sampson / Ruach Breath of Life Ministries 2018
Christ is risen from the dead . . . He is risen indeed. Under Soviet rule, it was all but impossible to share one's faith in public, but after a university lecturer had poured forth his atheistic indoctrination for a long lesson, a student asked for the right of reply. Very grudgingly the lecturer replied that he could have a maximum of two minutes. "Oh I won't need anything like as much as that," the student replied. Turning to the rest of the class he declared, Christ is risen!" Almost everyone responded immediately, "He is risen indeed!" The lecturer didn't know where to look or what to say." Enjoy this trumpet piece by Torelli, played by Anthony Thompson, that we recorded at the House of the Open Door some years ago.
Drawing from chapters nine to fourteen of the prophet Jeremiah, this is a call to pray for everything relating to the future of the EU and Britain’s relationship with it. The prayer is set to stunning music by, amongst others, Justin Coldstream, Corelli and Monteverdi. May this piece stir your spirit afresh to pray for this ongoing saga!
Here is a really precious way to start a new day: it draws on the long monastic tradition of a specially appointed brother or sister waking each member of the community with a call to greet the morning in the name of the Lord. All of us could find this really helpful too!
The beautiful music is by Thoinot Arbeau, the anagrammatic name of the French cleric Jean Tabouret. It is taken from his Orchésographie, and dates from the late sixteenth century.
Readers: Robert and Rosalind Weston, Elizabeth Hume
Amongst the Musicians: Susanne Herzog (Violin) Catherine Muncey (viola) Corinne Frost, (Cello) Nicola Gerrard (piccolo) Anthony Thompson (trumpet)
Ruach Breath of Life Ministries 2019
The older I get the nearer and dearer Heaven becomes! May Sally Mowbray's lovely new song inspire us to draw close to Heaven, not just to refresh our spirits but to pray that He who is holy will stride forth in might and majesty into the tangled affairs of humankind as we seek His face in praise, prayer and worship.
Creator of the Heavens The One who made the world You’ve wrought such great things in me that angels want to sing aloud of all You’ve given me: of the Love that never ends. For you, O Lord, fulfil my deepest prayer there are no words my heart can find; To you, O Lord, belongs my sweetest song In reverence I stand and worship You.
Creator of the Heavens You who made the world, Your face lights up the darkest night. I've loved You so very much since I found You, my heart longs after You. For you, O Lord, fulfil my deepest prayer there are no words my heart can find; To you O Lord belongs my sweetest song Full of awe I stand and worship You.
The Artist's Brush draws for inspiration on three themes: a children’s poem by Amy Carmichael on the secret things belonging to God, the concept of being ourseles a 'brush' that the Lord uses to paint His purposes, and a reminder that in any relationship – especially where there is a degree of misunderstanding – the Lord is always at work at both ends.
Rosalind and Robert Weston are joined here by Elizabeth Hume.
Enjoy James Horsfall playing one of Mendelssohn’s Gondola Songs, followed by an improvisation that Andrew Whettam plays on his marimba.
Andrew Whettam improvises this atmospheric piece on his marimba - may it take your spirit somewhere special!
Let Your special blessing rest on each person who hears these words and music.
Let them bear much fruit as they receive afresh the Spirit of prayer and come up higher to see what must soon take place.
Now may God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful, and He will do it.
Enjoy this lively rendering of the lovely hymn 'God is Love His the care' by Sally Prittie, Nicola Gerrard, The Herzog family, Anthony Thompson, Mike Halliday, Catherine Muncie and Corinne Frost.
This delightful song that Linda Entwistle wrote seems particularly appropriate for the Christmas season, calling us to become as little children before the Lord - for children see and marvel with fresh eyes, and a faith that is dearly pleasing to the Lord Jesus.
Jesus invited a little child to stand among them. “Truly I tell you,” He said, “unless you change [turn] and become like little children, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven (Matt. 18:2-4 BSB)
In His great mercy Jesus has already gone ahead to prepare a place for us in Heaven for all who will turn and look to Him. But He is also concerned to prepare us to be with Him in that place.
Huw Humphries wrote this sumptuous song of prayer. I love that he wrote Lead US on rather than just lead ME on, encouraging us to align ourselves with the Lord and His people everywhere. At this time when so many tensions are rising and opinions are swirling - to say nothing of deliberately false news masquerading as truth - it is so important to keep looking to the Lord, and asking Him to lead us. - both indivdually and as wider churches, organisations and nations. May it bless deeply and become part of the rhythm of our prayer as we seek to draw close to God's heart 'right across the board' - in His joys and sorrows as well as our own.
I wrote this lovely piece with David Booth as a song we can use to bless each other. He is our ‘Healer, Redeemer, Friend, Liberator and the Lifter of our heads.
May the Lord cleanse and heal our ‘roots’ wherever they have been soaked in anything other than His grace and truth
We are so grateful to Megan Mellamphy for ‘lending’ us her wonderful voice, and to Corinne Frost and Colin Owen for accompanying her.
The music is played for us by Corinne Frost, to whom I dedicated the piece. Robert Weston Ruach Breath of Life Ministries 2018
The writer to the Hebrew Christians reminds us to remember and “identify with those who are in prison as though you were there suffering with them, and those who are mistreated as if you could feel their pain.” (Heb. 13:3 TPT).
The Aramaic version here can be translated “as if you were people who wear their bodies" (vulnerable to their pain). What a powerful concept!
We used to pray in infant school ‘for those in peril on the sea.’ This is a prayer for all who are in peril as a result of being detained for their faith, or who are being pursued by people with violence and vengeance in their hearts for no 'crime’ other than that of loving the Saviour of the world, who gives freedom in this world and the next.
Join Ros and I in this prayer that the power of God may surround and strengthen each one who is suffering for their faith.
The music is played for us by Corinne Frost, for whom I wrote this piece. The second piece of music is from a concerto for two cellos by Vivaldi, with both parts played again by Corinne.
Robert Weston (Ruach Breath of Life Ministries, 2018)
Back in our days in community in Oxford in 1980, at a time when we were being called to deepen our life of prayer for the nations, Martin Charlesworth wrote this powerful call from Lord to be intercessors for Him. With Megan singing it for us, this is a really beautiful as well as a powerful call from the Lord. You’ll want to hear it more than once to take the powerful words, as well as the lovely melody, deeper into your heart.
Feast on these reflections on prayer set to a beautiful trio by CPE Bach. The voices you will hear are those of Robert Weston and Andrew Whettam.
Everyone can surely see that things are not progressing easily with the Brexit negotiations, and that this is a situation that calls for prayer. Beyond the immediate matter of Britain leaving the EU, however, we are sowing in prayer for God's blessing to rest both on Britain and on the European nations in the years ahead. Share in this call to pray - and then pray on from where the words and music leave off!
Loeillet First Movement Oboe Isn't it wonderful that we can use music that was inspired even centuries ago to inspire our prayers and meditation? See where the Holy Spirit might lead you in prayer as you seek Him with the aid of this piece for oboe by Jean Baptiste Loeillet of Ghent that Thomas Herzog plays for us.
Carol Sampson - Miracle Working God Joining Carol Sampson in this powerful song are Sally Prittie, The Herzog Family, Catherine Muncie and Corinne Frost As you listen to this song, be blessed by Carol's faith and anointing in this heart-felt cry for God - and let the Lord direct your heart and attention to people and situation that require His direct intervention. Bring those people and situations to Jesus with renewed confidence. He is able to reach out and touch it and to bring about some entirely new release as a result of seeking Him.
Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life. (Phil. 4:7-8 The Message) Photo by Bobby Johnson on Unsplash
Carol Sampson - Wings like Eagles
Copyright Carol Sampson and Ruach breath of life Ministries 2018
Treasures old and new - what a joy it is to be able to share this new settting of this really exquisite hymn with you. Drink deeply from its riches!
Hymanry.org tells us that the inspiring words were written by Bianco da Siena, a 14th century Italian poet, who was also a worker in wool, from the Tuscan city I love dearly: Siena. (See below for more detail).
The opening stanza calls on the Holy Spirit, who is both ‘Love divine’ and ‘The Comforter,’ for more of His presence in our lives. It then goes on to ask the Holy Spirit to consume all vestiges of pride and evil passion in us; to purify our love and to light our path. As a result of this longing for greater purity, the final stanza goes on to anticipate the greater love for God that ensues from such purification, and recognises that “our body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within us” (1 Corinthians 6:19) – and that none can guess the amazing grace God has in store for us as the Holy Spirit makes His dwelling in us.
Linda Entwistle set the words of this powerful hymn to this new melody. Those of us who know and love it consider to be even better than the well-known one by Ralph Vaughan Williams.
Bianco was a member of an order of laymen that John Colombinus of Siena set up, following the rule of St. Augustine. This order ended up being suppressed by the authorities, quite possibly because they feared they could not control its fervour – a pattern that has been repeated only too often in the course of history when the Holy Spirit is poured out on a church or community, only for the authorities to go to great lengths to try first to rein it in, and then, all too often, to try to supress it altogether.
It was not until the mid-nineteenth century that Bianco's hymns were published in Lucca, another city that means a great deal to me personally. From there it came to the attention of Richard Frederick Littledale, an Irish scholar who served for a time as a vicar in the Anglian church, before being obliged to lay that ministry down as the result of a chronic illness. Richard spent the rest of his life authoring many books and pamphlets on Anglican liturgy, theology, and the Church’s engagement with society.
He also completed the work that his friend John Neale had done in translating many of the really great ancient hymns from the Latin. Praise God that the Lord used even his indisposition to set him apart for a work he might not have been able to complete had he still been caught up in the regular ministerial round! We hope this new version of the hymn blesses you greatly.
Sung and composed by Linda Entwistle with John Hume, Catherine Muncey and Corinne Frost - Strings The Herzogs - Recorders Nicola Gerrard - Flute Sally Prittie - Keyboard Recording and Post production Colin Owen Ruach Ministries 2018
Sung and composed by Linda Entwistle with John Hume, Catherine Muncey and Corinne Frost - Strings The Herzogs - Recorders Nicola Gerrard - Flute Sally Prittie - Keyboard Recording and Post production Colin Owen Ruach Ministries 2018
Sung and composed by Linda Entwistle with John Hume, Catherine Muncey and Corinne Frost - Strings The Herzogs - Recorders Nicola Gerrard - Flute Sally Prittie - Keyboard Recording and Post production Colin Owen Ruach Ministries 2018
We are releasing this exquisite viola theme in the summer of 2018, when devastating wildfires have claimed lives all around the world, most notably in Greece.
May the music - which is timeless - minister, and continue to minister, into many situations where grief has struck ,and where people find themselves in utterly changed landscapes as the result of loss and setbacks.
The music was inspired by an original improvisation at one of our prayer conferences, and played by Julian Chan(viola)with Julia and Susanne Herzog and James Horsfall.
Into this Morning . . . What a difference it makes when we start each day by inviting the Lord Jesus, who dwells within the heart of believers, to direct and lead us each moment of each day . . . May this song, that Megan sings so beautifully, serve as a clarion call to remind us to clothe and arm ourselves in the Lord’s peace and presence so that we can be bearers of His peace in each situation that we find ourselves in. Ruach Breath of Life Ministries 2018, Robert Weston, with David Booth.
Megan Mellamphy (flute and vocals), Sue Brickwell (keyboard), Natalie Halliday (cello).
What can be more precious than the friendships the Lord gives? They are not only a great joy in themselves, but are also a strategic resource for the Kingdom.
In this celebration of friendship Ros and I are accompanied by beautiful music by Francis Cummings, a canzona from one of Henry Purcell’s trio sonatas, and Francois Couperin's 'Les Bergeries.'
This beautiful melody, written and played for us on the autoharp by Heather Roberts, must be one of the more unusual uses to which Robbie Burns' poem Red Red Rose'has ever been put . . . But since our purpose in releasing it now is to encourage us to pray around our homes, and it speaks of a 'melodie that's sweetly play'd in tune' let's go for it, and ask the Lord to fine tune anything that is out of kilter in our homes or households!
All who are led by God’s Spirit are God’s children. (Rom. 8:14 ISV) Remember what He’s done / I am leading you on to glory I wrote this song with the intention of helping us to remember at least some of the amazing ways by which the Lord Jesus has so thoughtfully and lovingly led each one of us. This then leads into the second theme, which is to rejoice in His wonderful promise that He is leading us on in glory and to glory. Many thanks to Linda Entwistle for both arranging and singing this song, and to all the musicians who played, including Rob and Amanda Bilson (violins), Mike Halliday (clarinet), Cathie Muncie (viola), Natalie Halliday (cello) Jane Horsfall (Celtic harp) and Andrew Whettam (percussion).
If there is one way above all by which most of us grow into the likeness of Jesus, it is by taking the Word of God deep into our hearts and letting the Lord shape and work in us through it. Anne Laure Jackson, an anointed song writer and singer from Jersey wrote this song which she recorded it with us last year along precisely this theme.
This lovely song by Linda Entwistle only fully 'cuts in' when we are going through the mill - and then we are so grateful to know that the Lord Jesus 'takes over when we hurt!" Just as an angel was sent to strengthen the Lord Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, and the Lord Himself stood beside Paul when he went through a court hearing - despite being abandoned by all others - so He draws close to us during our times of greatest need. 'The name of the Lord is a fortified tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.' (Prov.18:10)
This is a prayer poem set to improvised music to encourage those who feel they are under such intense pressure they might be on the dark side of the moon!
Part 1 – Good Friday: Reflections at the Cross
The music is the second movement from by Torell's Etienne concerto.
Imagine yourself in the sandals of a disciple of Jesus, and standing on a bare hill outside Jerusalem, watching as your dearest friend is nailed to a tree. You have long walked with Him, and watched Him set His face like flint to follow His Father’s will into many dangerous situations – but you never imagined it would end like this in this place of public disgrace and torture.
Jesus is shuddering with pain as death triumphs over life. Around you, soldiers are heedlessly throwing dice, gambling for His very clothes as the heavens grow ever darker.
Jesus is looking out over the Jerusalem His Father has loved since David’s day, and which He will go on loving to the ends of the age. Can you share His yearning as He gazes out in agony, longing, grieving and aching that none be lost, yet grieving that His beloved city had been unable to recognise the hour of its visitation!
And so He endures the pain of body, mind, soul and spirit, far beyond anything we can imagine, so that He might prepare a way for all to come to Him and receive mercy, forgiveness and release, and the promise of His presence forever – all obtained through this sacrificial suffering that is ordained in Heaven from before the foundation of the world.
Hear Him now as He calls your name – not that of a disciple of two thousand years ago, but your name today. Hear Him call you to draw near, to touch His cross, to worship at His feet, knowing that His perfect surrender and subsequent agony has reconciled you to the Father. Come with sorrow and love mingling, gratitude flowing through every cell of your being because mercy flows from this place. He hears all that You give to Him, despite the rage and mocking of those who do not share your love for Him. Come and worship the Son of God who looked at a world locked fast in its sinfulness and said to His Father, “Let Me go there.”
You watch as deep and final convulsions shake the Lord Jesus’s body, and deep darkness falls across the face of the land. And out of the darkness you hear the cry from the cross: “Father, forgive them they know not what they do. Into Your hands I commit My spirit!” You weep, broken and prostrate with grief as His speared and bloodied body is taken down.
Part 2 – Easter Saturday: In the Tomb
The accompanying music is a Grave by Henry Purcell.
Now the disciples’ desolation is complete as Jesus’ body is taken down and laid in a tomb. Everything they had hoped and believed for lies in ruins, cruelly snatched away. Is this how it was all destined to end?
Grief overwhelms me as I gaze on the sealed tomb. The last three years flash before me as I recall all His promises, all the miracles that He did, the supreme love and tenderness He showed to us and to many: truth woven in love that has set captives free; the voice of authority that made the demons tremble. How can He who broke the bread that fed the crowds, spoke to the storms and stilled the waves, and even raised the dead Himself be dead?
Cruel men have extinguished the Light of the World and sealed Him up in darkness, the unyielding rock confining the One who had stirred and fired our hearts but who now lies cold and lifeless. The very air around us is empty and void of life. I will return tomorrow to anoint His body – my last respects to the One who brought such love to us all.
But even though Jesus lies entombed, I marvel at the astonishing things that have marked His death. The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom as the King of the Ages breathed His last; the earth shook and the rocks split apart. Some are even saying that tombs have broken open and that the bodies of many holy people have been raised to life. (Matt 27:51-53) Even in death He is touching those around Him - like the centurion whose heart was touched to recognise Him for who He really is.
Part 3 – Heaven prepares to trumpet the resurrection
Torelli's music seems to suit the Easter theme particularly well. This movement is from one of his Trumpet Sonatas.
When certain scribes and Pharisees asked Jesus to demonstrate a supernatural sign, Jesus made what must have seemed a most surprising comparison between Himself and a prophet who had himself gone through a sort of resurrection experience when a large fish swallowed him before finally vomiting him onto dry land after three agonisingly long days beyond the reach or sight of any man.
Well over half a millennium later, Jesus declared, “For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. (Matt. 12:40)
Reflecting on his experience Jonah cried out:
“To the roots of the mountains I sank down; the earth beneath barred me in forever. But You, O Lord, brought my life up from the pit.”
Jesus not only ascended on high, He also descended into the lower parts of the earth – though as David rightly prophesied his body would never be abandoned to Hades, and neither would it see decay (Acts 2:31).
So far from being the utter defeat that it appeared to be, this day was rather a time of solemn eager anticipation, undergirded by the invincible strength of God’s awesome promises. His great and mysterious work of salvation was reaching its climax - and the Father was preparing the way for Jesus to burst forth from the grave.
Part 4 – Easter Sunday: The Resurrection
To accompany the glorious news of the Resurrection of Jesus we are playing the third movement from Torelli’s Etienne concerto.
The shepherds heard the voices of angels singing the night Jesus was born at Bethlehem. Can you hear them now? Can you hear the skies ringing with their praise and worship as He rises from the dead?
As the two Marys made their way to the tomb there was a violent earthquake, as an angel of the Lord came down from Heaven and rolled back the stone that had been placed in front of the tomb. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow.
“He is not here,” the angel declared as he sat astride the stone. “He is risen from the dead, just as He said He would!” (Matt. 28:2-6)
We heard with our ears and we worshipped, our hearts filling as we dared to hope, then overflowing with ever more joy as it all sank in. And then Jesus Himself was there in our midst. “Greetings,” He said. We came to Him, clasped His feet and worshipped Him. “Peace be with you,” Jesus breathed, and our whole being leant into the power of that peace.
Jesus hasn’t let us down – He’s set us free from the grip of grief’s captivity. He is risen from the dead – and all is possible! Never again will we be called unloved, abandoned, lost or rejected. We are redeemed and saved, forgiven and restored: loved with a love that will never let us go. That which we thought we had lost for ever has been returned to us, for death itself has been defeated and the way into the holy of holies made open.
It is finished – and there is nothing we can add to what He has accomplished. It is only for us to yield in surrender and to worship the One whose testimony shakes the heavens and the earth. Through the victory won at Calvary we too will one day be one in spirit with Him as He reunites our spirits with our new heavenly bodies forever.
You were dead, Lord Jesus, and now behold You are alive for ever and ever – and You hold the keys of death and Hades. Thank You, Lord, for the bread and wine – Your body and Your blood – broken and poured out for me.
It is my deepest desire to do all that I do for love of You; to abide in Your resurrection power, and to rise afresh with You each day in all that I am and seek to do, in the power of Your victory.
To aid our thoughts and prayers in the aftermath of the atrocity that took place in Salisbury on March 2018, we are releasing a recording we made at The House of The Open Door in 2014. Banks of the Green Willow, by George Butterworth, is one of this country’s most loved pieces of music, taking its inspiration from folk-music he collected in the early years of the twentieth century. The peaceful opening evokes the ancient and rolling green meadows around Salisbury. At a certain moment, though, the pastoral idyll is shattered by a deeply agitated ‘shriek’ – and the emergence of a much more sombre mood that captures for us the crisis that has struck this much loved cathedral city. The piece ends with a somewhat hesitant return to the lyrical mood of the opening. Mike Halliday is the clarinettist and Nicola Gerrard the flautist. We have previously released the second part of this music in a Sound Cloud we wrote to help us pray for people who find themselves caught up in the swirl of desperate situations: Pounding thoughts and desperate needs. See https://ruachmin.wordpress.com/2016/03/01/pounding-thoughts-and-desperate-needs/
This Soundcloud, less than a minute long, is an encouragement to be swift to spot and seize the tiny 'pause' moments in life, to let His stillness enfold us with God's word, His love, His plans. Christiane von Albrecht improvised the piece ‘Heed the call.’
The Lord wants us to discover the secrets of His world! I love this quote by George Washington Carver: “I love to think of nature as an unlimited broadcasting station, through which God speaks to us every hour if we will only tune in.” How can such an understanding not lead us to worship? There is a God in heaven who reveals secrets (Daniel 2:28). Think of us as servants of Christ who have been given the work of explaining God’s mysterious ways. (1 Cor. 4:1 CEV) I love the thought that the Lord is a Creator. He has such joy in coming up with new plans and ideas for His children that He delights to see us discovering. It is the same in the natural world. Just consider all the minerals and resources God has created in, on and under the earth to help to discover ever more possibilities of how they can be put to use. Sadly, millions today would call themselves agnostics simply because of the supposed incompatibility between faith and science. Keep praying for the Lord to raise up bridges to help cross this apparent gap! See this powerful testimony to the fruit of the research carried out by George Washington Carver for inspiration – and then, as the website below puts it, ‘Bring it into your world’ by drawing on the wisdom of God and seeking the Creator’s wisdom for different areas of life. http://www.truenorthquest.com/george-washington-carver/ Enjoy this offering that I wrote on this subject and that we sent out on the Reawakenings CD: Digital Electro Servants! http://www.ruachministries.org/reawakening.htm You will surely find a thousand things to continue exploring in prayer beyond the themes I mentioned on the recording – not least the absolutely crucial issues of how AI (Artificial Intelligence) develops and is used around the world. All new technologies have the possibility of being, abused, misused or disused or put to gloriously good use! At the same time as praying for the research itself, and those who carry it out, we are right to pray for people who grapple with not only prioritising what to research but the often highly complex moral and ethical issues involved.
May this love song draw you into His presence and inspire your heart. My Soul Rejoices in You. Text and music by Robert Weston, sung and arranged by Linda Entwistle. With Nicola Gerrard (flute), Kevin Ashman (trumpet) Steph Halliday (clarinet), Rob and Amanda Bilson (violins), Catherine Muncie (viola), Corinne Frost (cello), James Horsfall (piano) & Jane Horsfall (Celtic harp).
Sally Mowbray writes . . . .
I wrote this as a song of faith that the Lord will keep and carry me in every situation and in all circumstances of life. It is a conversation where He declares it to me and then I sing it back to Him. May He surround you with His presence and lead you on!
I am coming soon. Hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown. (Rev 3:11)
'Christ is faithful as the Son over God’s house. And we are his house, if indeed we hold firmly to our confidence and the hope in which we glory.’ (Heb. 3:6)
A year or so ago I set out to write a song along the lines of Jesus’ words to those who are weary: ‘Come unto Me and rest.’ Both the words and the melody went through a series of stages, taking shape with help from David Booth. As we worked on it together, it became much rawer: the cry of someone calling and crying out to the Lord from the very depths of a heart full of pain and facing trouble - whether internal, external or both.
David’s guitar playing and Megan Mellamphy’s beautiful voice convey the import powerfully. We hope this song will not only bless and touch you, but also be a resource you can offer to others who are going through the mill, and needing grace to hold on.
O Sacred Head Sore Wounded Based on a thirteenth century poem and a sixteenth century melody, Johann Sebastian Bach arranged this marvellously moving hymn that helps us to contemplate the ultimate sacrifice the Lord Jesus made for us as He gave His life to free us from the pains of sin and death . It is a particularly poignant piece to play when we are going through times of strain or loss. Sue Perks is the soloist.
Follow this link for a version illustrated by Sally Mowbray: http://www.ruachministries.org/reawakening/cd3illustrated/cd3track16pics.htm
This lovely carol dates back to the middle ages, and was incorporated into the nativity scenes at the mystery plays set in Coventry, representing the women of Bethlehem singing a lament in the form over their young babies who were soon to be massacred by Herod.
The Coventry Carol was sung and on Christmas Day in the bombed out ruins of the Cathedral in the aftermath of the blitz on Coventry in 1940. The broadcast went out right across the British Empire.
Apart from being a beautiful song in its own right, the Coventry Carol makes a powerful starting point to pray for those who have lost young ones and family members. There are so many in so many parts of the world for whom that is only too true. Why not ask the Lord to lead you somewhere with this music, and the brief improvisation that follows it? Ruach Breath of Life Ministries 2013
May the Lord bless you with this powerful concerto for Christmas Eve night by the late seventeenth century Italian composer Giuseppe Torelli, played for us by: Shirley Richards, Teresa Brasier, Helen Rees, Claire and Chian Lewis Lim, Grace Lee, Jo Garcia, Anna Frazer, and Peter Richards.
Ruach Breath of Life Ministries 2015
Prayer for Prodigals Originally recorded for our CD Connections, and featuring music by Linda Louisa. May this prayer inspire you afresh to pray for loved ones - or those whom you are aware of - who are no longer walking closely with the Lord.
In the first part of the prayer the emphasis is on identifying these people and lifting them to the Lord, and petitioning Him to touch them afresh. The tonality changes in the second part. As the musicians improvise, Robert 'improvised' in prayer as we enter in to their emptiness and turmoil , and hear afresh the call of God.
We can only go so far with these suggestions – but may this be a powerful springboard from which the Holy Spirit utters groans and longings through you that will be heard in Heaven.
Here are the words of the first part of the prayer:
This a prayer for prodigals who have walked away from the Lord and drifted from the faith they once had - especially for those who were once leaders of the work of God but who now, for whatever reason, no longer are.
Pour out your love on those we are concerned for, Father – we bring some of these to You now by name.
Forgive us for anything that we have done to blur and deter their following of You - and all that other people groups and churches have done – or not done – that has caused them to lose their sharpness for You.
Where their hearts have grown cold and distracted, forgive all that they have allowed to fill their mind.
We cry out to You: restore clarity of faith and strength of heart and minds and vision, and let the Spirit of Jesus flow again.
Speak to them in dreams by night and in visions by day. Send men and women of faith to touch their hearts and to stir their conscience with the word of God by the love and example of lives spent serving You.
Make it easy for them to come back to You, Lord. Let neither pride nor shame hold them back from seeking You again, but may the Love of God make the all-important connections that lead to eternal life, May they know the love that never lets them down, and feel Your pleasure and Your presence once again. In Jesus Name, Amen.
Led by Andrew Whettam, with Robert and Ros Weston, this is a prayer for those who are going through times of nearly intolerable pressure.
If the Lord is moving the stage sets of our lives around, it is only because He is changing the scenery – and by His mercy the new scenarios will be good. By His grace may we let Him do whatever it takes to keep us moving forward.
To those who are feeling overwrought and pummelled, and only just keeping going, the Lord would say:
Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,' says the LORD Almighty.
"What are you, O mighty mountain? You will become level ground. Then he will bring out the capstone to shouts of `God bless it! Grace to it!’
“Don’t despise the day of small beginnings!” (Zech. 4:6-7,10)
My children, many have come and many have gone without finding the place of inner release.
There are reasons for the blocks that keep them from standing on the Rock.
Some plans miscarry through insufficient tarrying in My presence and failing to seek My purposes.
So come, My child, over the shards, through the narrow places and across the broad slow plains until you find some quickening ray as you pray; for I too am paying a heavy cost to keep you in the fray.
Lord, with joy I receive Your love, for nothing else can satisfy my heart, and nothing less shall fill my day. I receive Your love; deep within my soul.
You do not give us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and self control. Rally our defences when the devil intrudes; challenge our complacency when we are tempted to go our own way. You want us to seek You, even in the most ordinary of events.
Therefore as you go, may you know His power in your life; as you live, may you yield up more of your heart and so receive His love – which nurtures like a mother and teaches like a father.
Praying for a nation rather than just hearing or reading facts about them takes a country much more deeply into our heart. May this prayer, that we have set to poignant music, focus our prayers on Zimbabwe, and from there extend across the whole of the African continent. The music we have chosen adds poignantly to the power of the words. The musical pieces are Tchaikovsky Op 39, 24, no. 3 'In Church' played by Christiane von Albrecht and Jo Garcia, an oboe sonata by Telemann played by Amy Roberts, and 'Rejouissances' from Telemann's A Minor suite for flute, played by Nicola Gerrard.
No short prayer or summary can even begin to do justice to the full complexities of all that China is, let alone all that the Lord is doing there, but we pray that these simple thoughts may prove a worthwhile offering.
Prayer and music written by Robert Weston and played on the harp by Fontane Liang. Copyright Ruach Breath of Life Ministries 2017. Free to use for non profit purposes.
Written by Robert Weston and played on the harp by Fontane Liang. Copyright Ruach Breath of Life Ministries 2017. Free to use for non profit purposes.
Many Chinese Christians are indeed dwelling deeply in Christ; may each one of us do so too. We hope you will really appreciate this new version of the well known hymn that Carol Sampson has written. You are again free to use it for non profit purposes. Copyright Carol Sampson 2017.
The words were written in the nineteenth century by Anna Waring, (originally a Quaker but later an Anglican) who did much sterling service visiting jails and helping with the Discharged Prisoners Aid Society in the Bristol region.
The words were written in the nineteenth century by Anna Waring, (originally a Quaker but later an Anglican) who did much sterling service visiting jails and helping with the Discharged Prisoners Aid Society in the Bristol region.
This exquisite ‘Berceuse’ (the word means a lullaby or cradle song) is based on a traditional Russian folk song. It, and the improvisation that follows it, can hardly fail to minister deep peace and solace to our hearts. At the same time as nurturing our spirits, however, we can surely find ways to use this inspiring music to lift all who are suffering before the throne of God: whether on account of their faith, through illness, oppression or any kind of lack. May the Spirit of the Lord settle on you as you enter into the riches of this piece.
Copyright Ruach breath of life Ministries 2012,2017.
Waiting for You
Written and sung by Anne Laure Jackson, accompanied by Megan Mellamphy, Julia Herzog, Shirley Richards, Jonathan Lee, Grace Lee, Nick Evans Pughe, Corinne Frost and Christiane von Albrecht.
May the Lord Jesus be with you in your waiting times and draw you close to Him.
Manual de Falla’s somewhat ‘fiendish’ Harpsichord Concerto dates from just before the Spanish Civil War. (It is certainly fiendishly difficult to play!) Although it was written just before the Civil War broke out, it resounds with the tumult and trouble of the period. It was originally inspired by the image of a Corpus Christi procession moving slowly through the arches of a Gothic cathedral.
When you first hear this you may be inclined to think that it sounds like a cacophony. Listen to it a few more times, however, and you can sense the beauty of it as well as the compulsiveness of its intensity. It is quite a piece to contemplate in the light of recent tensions in places such as Spain and Catalonia!
I wrote Clear Air (Clean clear air!) on behalf of situations where oppressive heaviness predominate - and especially situations where abuse is involved - with a view to bringing the Lord's freedom and fragrance.
I originally had in mind personal, family, business and even church situations – but it feels increasingly appropriate to post it on behalf of national situations too for the Lord to sweep away so much that is prejudiced, strained and strident.
I originally wrote Clean Air for solo recorder, but Peter Richards then brilliantly shaped and arranged it for strings. We pray that as you play and replay this music that you will find the peace and presence of the Lord coming into the very midst of darkness and dispelling it.
Julia Herzog is the soloist in this recording, with Grace and Jonathan Lee, Nick Evans Pughe and Corinne Frost. Here is the 2nd movement: In the Flow of the Spirit. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWVCQyMuCX0&t=34s
It is so good to designate our favourite places - or parts of our houses - as 'trysting places' where we go to meet with the Lord. Jacqui Hyde joined Rosalind and myself in recording this track, which is part of the Reawakenings series. http://www.ruachministries.org/reawakening.htm
This short meditation by Michel Quoist draws us beyond our distractions to focus on Christ. The music is by Henry Thornowitz, played for us by Julia Herzog and Christiane von Albrecht. Lord, here we are . . . Caught between the infinity of our desires and the limitation of our means, torn, pulled here and pulled there, confused and exhausted.
So Lord, here we are, finally still, and finally ready to listen. You’ve seen how dissatisfaction has made us suffer.
You’ve seen how fear has led us astray in choosing our commitments.
You’ve seen how we were afraid of doing too little. And You’ve seen the cross imposed by our limited means.
Lord, make us strong enough to do what we should do calmly, simply, without wanting to do too much, without wanting to do it all ourselves. In other words, Lord, make us humble in our wish and Your will to serve.
Help us above all to find You in our commitments. For You are the unity of our actions; You are the single love in all our loves, in all our efforts. You are the wellspring, and all things are drawn to You. So we have come before You, Lord, to rest and gather strength.
Join in this prayer by the eleventh century abbot of Bec and Archibshop of Canterbury. We have set the prayer to music by Henry Thornowitz, played for us by Julia Herzog and Christiane von Albrecht.
Lord, we’re hungry to turn aside from what we’re doing and from our restless thoughts, and to hide ourselves awhile in You.
Enter the secret chamber of your heart, shutting out everything but God, and that which may help you in seeking Him. And when you’ve closed the door, seek Him.
Now my whole heart says to God: ‘I seek Your face, Your face, O Lord, do I seek.’
I will seek You by desiring You, and desire You in seeking You. I will find You by loving You, and love You in finding You . . .
I do not seek to understand so that I may believe, but believe that I may understand. For this I know to be true, that unless I first believe I shall not understand.
Michael and Esther have a remarkable testimony of being carried by the Lord through many extremely dangerous and challenging situations. So too in a completely different way does the writer of this remarkable song, our dear friend Carol Sampson from Malvern. We think you will find her deeply candid testimony extremely moving and will want to pass it on to others. Copyright 2017 Carol Sampson / Ruach Breath of Life Ministries.
It was back in 2009 that Rosalind and I, together with Robert Eggleston and an exceptionally talented group of musicians, recorded the Connections CD. This track speaks of seeking to become worthy successors of those heroes of the faith who have preceded us to Heaven; the words are powerful, and the music, by Linda Louisa, is stunning. In those days we recorded everything live, without the benefit of the multi track equipment we now have access to, and so the balance is not quite as we would wish. Drink deep - and please don't let the sound of my voice deter you!
The roll call grows of those whose blood no longer flows and who have moved on to higher things. I thank and praise You, Lord, for the memory of those heroic ones who have passed at last beyond the ravages of time and dust to take their place in the great communion of saints. May we play our part now to the full, so that we ourselves will be no less when our time comes.
Lord God of History, Author of all Mystery, How fiercely the enemy seeks to smother the wisdom of every other time, so that each generation struggles up the climb, unable to perceive the clear connections that deeper reflections would bestow.
Lord, hold our spirits fast to lessons from the past, and then display true skill to implement Your will.
God of our fathers, those pioneers and settlers, conquerors and seers, when my lens is true I can begin to view the links and patterns that perpetuate Your blessing as well as those that cause such strife in my life; strong invisible threads that Heavenly hands have meshed together but which fleshly fingers seek to pull asunder, and demonic claws to shred.
Free us from the deadweight of diseased inheritance, So that we, Your beloveds, can inherit the blessings bestowed in prayer by those who learned to weep.
God of History, when I am feeling daunted and taunted and inclined to snap, help me call to mind the memory of Your many past deliverances, and to trust that You will do the same with the seeds I give you now.
God of explanation, drop Your plumb line and open wide the lens that reveals our hidden pride, and the weaknesses that are our special temptation. Then let the searchlight of Your love enable us to face our deep seated dissonance so that we may shine like the brightest stars and rise above our ever present scars.
To those that are crying out for Grace be assured there is no drought in heaven. No lessening of God's seventy times seven. You are indeed the God of the 2nd, 3rd and 30th chance. But we cannot ask You to re-strand and re-launch our lives unless we are willing to allow You to apply Your lance and resist all backward glance.
Amid the whirl of many political uncertainties, Rosalind and I would like to invite you to join us in this prayer we recorded with the great help of these anointed musicians, including the trumpeters Anthony Thompson and Kevin Ashman as they play this stunning piece of music from Monteverdi's Vespers.
A Cry for the Nation
Prayer for the nation Based on words from the prophet Jeremiah with music by Monteverdi
Give glory to the LORD your God before He brings the darkness, before your feet stumble on the darkening hills.
But if you will not listen, I will weep in secret because of your pride; my eyes will weep bitterly, overflowing with tears.
Because Your law is not obeyed, our eyes will flow unceasingly with tears until You look down from heaven. We will sit alone in silence, for You have laid this on us. We will humble ourselves and pray and seek Your face — that there may yet be hope (Jer. 13:6-7; Lam 3:28-29,49-50, Ps. 119:136).
Raise up much that will speak of You in music song and dance, in word and film and mime and rhyme. For You who set the whole of created universe on its sacred way watch us on our way, and long to draw us close as the climax of this age draw near.
“If anyone is in Christ they become a brand new creation” (2 Cor. 5:17). Therefore our repentance is no wasted effort, for it leads us straight to Your feet, Lord Jesus. The very memory of all Your mercies gives us confidence to plead Your pardon for our hardened state.
It is Your kindness that sets us free the blindness and helps us recognise Your leading throughout our history. And still You are attentive to the cry of those who mourn before You for our sins and deep indifference.
These longings that burn within the hearts of those prepared to face such things are but the foretaste of great riches beyond, when we will behold the King in His beauty and delight in Him who delights in us.
Lord, be gracious to us; we long for You.
Be our strength every morning, our salvation in time of distress.
“Now will I arise,” says the LORD. “Now will I be exalted; now will I be lifted up.
Those who walk righteously and speak what is right, and refuse entry to even the thought of evil deeds - they are the ones who will dwell on the heights, whose refuge will be the mountain fortress. Their bread will be supplied, and water will not fail them. Their eyes will see the king in His beauty and view a land that stretches afar (Is. 33:1, 10-11, 14-17).
Lord of the nations, as Your Name is proclaimed throughout these islands and right across this continent, may we fulfil our redemptive callings and send forth many teachers of Your Word.
Extend and prolong Your mercy, that many who are not yet reconciled to You may be empowered to name the Name the politically correct would seek to shun.
Direct the flow of Your mercy to all realms and regions of our life today.
Defuse the powers that are at work in and behind many layers of danger.
Choose to keep watching over our lands. Father God, renew Your wonders in our day and bring about the greatest harvest we have yet seen. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Carriers of Your Kingdom Call Set to the beautiful tune 'Waterfall,' composed by Linda Entwistle.
Make us wells of living water, Lord; carriers of Your Kingdom call. Let many right across our continent see You as You truly are. Let shafts of holy light prevail beyond the dominant ethos of the day, and enable many to grasp the tender goodness that You have shown throughout the ages. Bring revelation of Yourself through Your Word, Lord Jesus. Forgive us, Father, where we have shrunk our concept of You to fit our own ideas and convenience – and then made frameworks that shut You out from all that You are wanting to do. May our world view expand to embrace the reality of who You really are, and to proclaim the fullness of Your kingdom, in an unending stream of love and worship.
Even as the waves that are shaking the nations grow stronger, our hearts ache for You to reverse the worst of secular thinking, and quench the thirst of yearning souls.
Slake our dry and parched land, and lead souls to follow You, Lord Jesus, even when You lead along paths that lie beyond the edge of human reason, to the realm where faith and love hold sway.
Guide and challenge the powers and authorities who seek to control the water flow. Overrule in all the dominant pressures that are building across our continent.
We pray especially Your nearness to all who are experiencing profound oppression, whether as the result of spiritual, political, financial or family pressures.
Draw aside the veil that lies over the hearts of young and old alike in our nation, so that we may worship and proclaim You as our one and only Lord. (2 Cor. 4:14)
Yes, guide and challenge the powers and authorities who seek to control the water flow. Make highways for Your people through the rising waters, and in all the tensions and pressures that the enemy is devising.
You do not lightly hand Your people over to those who revile Your ways. Do not lift Your hand from us or leave us in the power of disarray.
Teach us to examine our ways and hand all resentments and frustrations back to You, lest they become habitual strongholds underlying all they are. Make the wellspring of our hearts a pure and limpid stream, wherein You can whisper the secrets of Your heart - and Your voice sound through our lives.
Known and loved by millions, the memorable words of the Anglican Collects inspired me to have a go at writing something that would incorporate many of the stirring words of the original Second and Third Collects for Peace. The emphasis in the opening line, however, is my own.
Linda Entwistle arranged the song beautifully, adding the piano and cello parts. When we came to record the piece, we invited three of the instrumentalists, who were not required to play in it, to join in singing it.
We love the way this picture opens out onto the wider view. We hope you will find the words and melody memorable enough to open out likewise into your everyday walk with the Lord, as we pray to be 'always pleasing in His sight'.
Morning Prayers, written by Robert Weston and arranged by Linda Entwistle, Solo Vocalist Linda Entwistle Other Singers: Nicola Gerrard, Catherine Muncey and Amanda Bilson Keyboard: James Horsfall Cello: Corinne Frost Recorder: Robert Weston
Ros and I have recorded this simple lament for the nation. It cannot even begin to encompass all the opportunities awaiting us as a nation, or to extend cover over the dangers facing us - may the Lord hear the cry from our heart. The beautiful music is by Gareth Sampson, Carol’s husband. We have deliberately allowed plenty of time to soak in the Lord's presence, and to the let the Spirit direct you where He will in prayer. copyright Ruach Breath of Life Ministries 2017
Handel originally composed this exquisite piece of music as an Ode for Queen Anne's birthday in 1713, but it makes an ideal platform to pray for the grace and mercy of the Lord to move in power in our own generation.
Eternal Light is part of our Chrism series. See http://www.ruachministries.org/Chrism.htm Anthony Thompson is the trumpeter and Shirley Richards the violinist in this recording that we made at Regent's College, Malvern. Copyright Ruach breath of life Ministries 2015. The piece may be freely shared.
We pray you will be blessed by this beautiful Adagio by Albinoni, in which Anthony Thompson plays the (enormously challenging) trumpet part. Enjoy and worship.
The musicians who scaled the heights of Mount Albinoni were: Anthony Thompson - Trumpet Shirley Richards and Robbie Bilson - violins Catherine Muncey - Viola Corinne Frost - Cello Copyright Ruach Breath of life Ministry 2017
Scottish Connection by James Horsfall
Recorded at Regent's College, Malvern
Those taking part were: Nick Evans Pughe and Catherine Muncey - Violas Natalie Halliday - Cello Kevin Ashman - Trumpet Julia Herzog - Recorder Mike Halliday - Saxophone James and Jane Horsfall - Keyboard and Harp
Copyright Ruach Breath of life Ministry 2017
Harmony Greenwood arranged this delightful movement from Vivaldi’s mandolin concerto for the marimba. The whole concept of the ‘treasures of darkness’ comes to mind - I will give you hidden treasures, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the Lord the God of Israel, who summons you by name (Isaiah 45:3). Andrew Whettam is the marimba player, accompanied by Corinne Frost (cello) and James Horsfall (keyboard). Copyright Ruach Breath of life Ministry 2017
The moment Corinne Frost and Natalie Halliday had finished playing and improvising around this exquisite theme, the presence of the Lord came down and settled on all who were present – and we remained in this rich silence for an extended time. We hope this piece will have something of the same effect for you too. May we suggest playing it much more than once to give the Lord the chance to come in whatever way He wishes, and to lead you into wider prayer. Recorded at Regent's College, Malvern 2017. Composer unknown.
Love Divine, written by Francis Cummings
Francis writes that he has had a deep touch from the Lord over the course of the last few years concerning the city of Manchester. The Lord reminded him just what a debt of gratitude he owes the city: he lived there for nearly three decades, received his education there, became a Christian and was filled with the Spirit there. He met his wife there and their three children were born there. Ever since the fullness of this realisation struck him, his heart has been soft towards this wonderful city.
Like so many across the world, he feels so broken over the tragedy that happened in the Manchester Arena, and prayer is rising in his heart. He very much hopes that this piece of music will inspire many hearts to turn to the Lord in prayer.
Manchester is one of those cities that people tend to either love or not. May Francis' words have the effect of helping us all to overcome any prejudice and to love it still more with Jesus' love at this time when trauma has struck the city through the bomb in the Manchester Arena. May the sorrow somehow lead to greater unity and compassion - and the love of the Lord touch many.
Francis Cummings, Jonathan and Grace Lee (violins) Catherine Muncey (Viola) Natalie Halliday (cello) James Horsfall (keyboard) Copyright Ruach Breath of Life Ministries 2016
The second piece reflects the fact that there are few instruments that better celebrate Christ’s victory than trumpets! We thought you might also enjoy this voluntary for two of them by William Boyce, an eighteenth century English composer who edited a lot of church music. In this jubilant recording, Anthony Thompson and Kevin Ashman play the trumpets, with Christiane von Albrecht on the organ. Copyright Ruach Breath of Life 2017. They may be freely played or passed on for non profit purposes.
This lovely old hymn, beautifully sung by Megan Mellamphy, was originally a medieval French New Year carol, but set here to powerful Easter words. May it bless you greatly! “Stunning. Love the Celtic sound and beautiful clear voice. It was so powerful that everyone gathered to express their love and worship to God even as ripples of fear spread across the world with so much political turmoil. May there be ripples of faith and hope spreading out from this love offering to the Lord.” Nancy B. Copyright Ruach Breath of Life 2017. They may be freely played or passed on for non profit purposes.
Adagio by Alessandro Marcello 1669 - 1747 from a Concerto in D minor, second movement. Oboe solo by Amy Roberts.
It draws us into a place of peace where we are reminded that He is the One who holds all times and seasons in His hands.
Everyone is aware of the restless tides that current currents are stirring up throughout the world - so we wanted to share this beautiful meditation that will bring deep peace to the soul and stir us in godly ways. The oboe solo is played by Thomas Herzog. Adagio by Alessandro Marcello 1669 - 1747 from a Concerto in D minor, second movement. You can also find this piece is on our CD Connections, http://ruachministries.org/connectionstracks.htm
Here is something really special: an old French song that Tchaikovsky discovered and arranged. Christiane von Albrecht and Jo Garcia were so stirred by the Lord when they came to play and record it that they found themselves 'rearranging' it again in the Spirit - adding a cello and more! Be blessed and really blessed, and let let the Spirit take you where He will through it.
The firm foundation that God has laid stands sure and unshaken [despite attacks], bearing this seal: “The Lord knows those who are His,” and, “Let everyone who names the name of the Lord stand apart from wickedness and withdraw from wrongdoing” (2 Tim. 2:19 Amp). At a time when world events feel highly fluid and uncertain, let's take Paul's promise above to heart, and enjoy Moldau, a piece for harp by Smetana, that evokes the flow of the Vltava River (the Moldau in German) and pray as the Lord leads us. The piece is played for us by Fontane Liang.