Lament for the Middle East by Ruach Breath of LifeBy Ruach Breath of Life

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…

Shine Your Light into the darkness - Eliakim 2010 by Ruach Breath of LifeBy Ruach Breath of Life

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…

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 th…

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 L…

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 …

Redeeming at the end of the day by Ruach Breath of LifeBy Ruach Breath of Life

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 precio…

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 accompan…

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…

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 di…

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 be…

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 masterp…

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 Statur…

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.’By Ruach Breath of Life

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 th…

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.By Ruach Breath of Life

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…

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 su…

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 o…

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 …

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.B…

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 …

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 t…

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, wh…

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…

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 h…

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 …

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…

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 …

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 s…

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 Trotte…

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…

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…

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 heart…

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 glo…

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 hear…

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 Lo…

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 openi…

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 some…

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 no…

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 c…

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…

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 Davi…

When life is hanging by a thread (The Wilderness of Failure ) It is easy to put Biblical characters (or certain high-profile believers) on pedestals as we consider their great exploits and compare them with our own. But, as James reminds us concerning Elijah, they are people ‘just like us' (Jas. 5:17) - and the Bible is so honest about showing us t…

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 …

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. Whate…

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).By Ruach Breath of Life

In a ‘dry and weary land’ David faced many dangers. In this track he reflects on his own physical and emotional exhaustion as a result of being ousted from Jerusalem as the result of his son Absalom’s revolt. For us, too, weariness may often come in waves: when the tide flows in we feel invigorated and motivated – but when it goes again, our energy…