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Hymns of Inspiration

Hymns – Holy Saturday – Bramwell

17. Be still for the presence of the Lord

Some people find ‘being still’ easy to do or be. I never have. 
As a child I was always running around and as an adult things didn’t change much. Ice-hockey, cricket, tennis, squash, swimming, walking, golf… I am never happier than when I am moving.  
Jennifer and I were walking on Dartmoor one day and as it grew towards the sunset we decided it best to head back to where we had left the car. As we approached the village of Widdecombe in the Moor we could hear the faint chime of church bells. The church at Widdecombe is sometimes called, ‘The cathedral of the moor’ because it has a tall tower and can be seen from a long way away. 
About fifteen minutes after the bells had first sounded we slipped into the back of the church.The church was empty and the only sound we could hear was the steady ticking of the very large clock. 
We sat down to be quiet and, as we did so, we heard what we thought was a voice. 

We listened more carefully and realised after a few moments that the voice was coming from the chancel . As we sat there, familiar words came to us from the voice and we realised it was the parish priest saying the words of Evening Prayer. 
When the priest had finished he stood up and was surprised to see the two of us sitting there. He came and spoke to us and we discovered that he did the same thing on his own every evening. There was something about the stillness of the place and the constancy of the priest that has stuck with me through the years. 

The Welsh poet R.S. Thomas wrote….

 To one kneeling down no word came,
Only the wind’s song, saddening the lips
Of the grave saints, rigid in glass;
Or the dry whisper of unseen wings,
Bats not angels, in the high roof.
Was he balked by silence? He kneeled long,
And saw love in a dark crown
Of thorns blazing, and a winter tree
Golden with fruit of a man’s body.
 
The priest in Widdecombe was not ‘balked by silence’ ; He ‘knelt long and saw love in a dark crown of thorns’. 
 
Be still for the presence of the Lord
The Holy One is here
Come bow before Him now
With reverence and fear
In Him no sin is found
We stand on holy ground
Be still for the presence of the Lord
The Holy One is here

Be still for the glory of the Lord
Is shining all around
He burns with holy fire
With splendour He is crowned
How awesome is the sight
Our radiant King of light
Be still for the glory of the Lord
Is shining all around

Be still for the power of the Lord
Is moving in this place
He comes to cleanse and heal
To minister His grace
No work too hard for Him
In faith receive from Him
Be still for the power of the Lord
Is moving in this place
Be still for the power of the Lord
Is moving in this place

Author: David J Evans. He was born in Kent in 1957 and he lives in Southampton. He is presently studying for a PhD in the psychology of music. 

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