Music by J.S. Bach

Double 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 pressures

and the pain of too many falls,

let the companionable presence of the Lord restore

the sharpness of their soul.

For those whose giftings have been laid aside

and fallen out of use,

we ask You to restore their desire and courage

to serve in Your kingdom.

Where the heart has lost its heart

and is walking in defeat,

may the longing arise to sense

your companionable presence once more

and to enter that stillness of soul where they know

both the exaltation and the agony

of feeling as You feel,

and of seeing as You see.

Jesus said, "The Holy Spirit will bring glory to me

by taking from what is mine

and making it known to you.

All that belongs to the Father is mine

and that's why I said the Spirit will take from what is mine

and make it known to you."

Give us the discernment Lord

to distinguish truth from untruth

and those rather more complex half-truths.

Especially we ask You

to direct our reading and to guide our footsteps

the the bruised and bleeding.

Psalm 65

Blessed are those you choose

and 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 earth

and 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 fades

you call forth songs of joy.

You care for the land and water it;

you enrich it abundantly.

The streams of God are filled with water

to provide the people with grain,

You drench its furrows

and level its ridges;

you soften it with showers

and bless its crops.

You crown the year with your bounty,

and your carts overflow with abundance.

Ps 66

Come 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 listened

and heard my voice in prayer.

Praise be to God,

who has not rejected my prayer

or withheld his love from me!

It has been said, ‘Come apart before you come apart!’ This piece, set to a lovely tune that Peter Richards has written, and which Thomas Herzog plays for us, is a powerful reminder of the Lord’s call to daw close to Him.

Lord, I am working so hard for You,

desiring just to play my part

and 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 heart

will surely be

one 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 wing

in fresh encounters with the King.

Jesus, Lover of my soul

I open wide my heart

to 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 plant

and grow them for Your glory,

but let all You see in me

be a broken contrite heart

that 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 chords

and the guilt and envy that cut you with their swords;

allow yourself to doubt your doubts

and quiet the noise that darkness shouts.

Sense the perfume that My love brings

and 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 hear

the songs Your love imparts.

We dare not waste our days

bewailing all we cannot do.

But if we give You our hearts

and 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 love

into each encounter you lead us to.

So that each one becomes a new and fulsome reality

enthused with Your love.

No seed we sow escapes Your eye

and passes unseen in Your courts, Lord.

But many times You have watched

what the enemy has scorched,

causing me to miss the goal,

and leaving me quite afraid.

So with great persistence

break through the steep resistance.

Cry long, cry loud,

don't let your spirit be subdued

or 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 child

who gladly seeks Your face;

Your Spirit remains the thread

that holds me and sustains me.

You free my soul from dread

and guide me through the maze

with head held high and heart ablaze.

In quiet reflection that overcomes all condemnation,

I will help you understand the links and connections

that 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 love

and I will straighten the path

that leads through your heart.

Deep calls to Deep

A traditional Orthodox chant, arranged by Justin Coldstream

I 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 God

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)

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 forever

and 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 benediction

speak within these walls today.

3 Grant, we pray, to all your faithful

all the gifts they ask to gain;

what they gain from you forever

with the blessed to retain;

And hereafter in your glory

evermore 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 glory

while 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 1

Music by Linda Louisa

Lord, as we embark on this prayerful journey,

help us grasp the depth of Your love

and the sheer breadth of the romance

as You called the world into being.

We praise You for Your glory in creation

the humility of the incarnation,

the fact that time itself is in your train

and that You will one day wrap it up again

when You come to assume Your full and final reign.

Thank You for the rich continuity

that flows through all You do

as You guide and confide in our lives

as Your presence revives.

No words can express how much Your courtship means;

it constantly enriches our friendship

first with Your Son, and then with each other.

Use these friendships for Your glory,

and so write a whole new story

as we heed the hints Your Spirit grants,

and perceive the links in the way You lead.

Autumn Glory

Some 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 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.