A hymn reflecting on Hebrew scriptures – In the silent stillness
1 In the silent, stillness, listen,
God is calling will we hear?
All too often faith has foundered,
grace is muzzled by our fear.
In our rush and haste and hurry
we have lost the time for prayer;
lost the time for conversation,
then we think God is not there.
2 Yet our forebears grasped a promise
of a covenant of grace;
God is faithful to that promise
in this present time and place.
Limitless in application,
boundless in its scope and span;
grace is wide enough for thousands,
here there is no 'also ran'!
3 Spoken to a chosen people
for the nations of the earth,
see God's love is offered freely,
recognising all have worth.
More than milk, than wine or honey,
God has offered, God will give
bread that all may feast, and freely,
all rejoice, that all may live!
Andrew E Pratt (born 1948)
Words © 2013 Stainer & Bell Ltd, London, England copyright@stainer.co.uk . Please include any reproduction for local church use on your CCL Licence returns. All wider and any commercial use requires prior application to Stainer & Bell Ltd
Metre: 8 7 8 7 D
Tune: ABBOT’S LEIGH
Category: Bible
He could have walked the easy road – written by Marjorie Dobson – inspired by the temptation of Jesus in the desert
1 He could have walked the easy road
to fortune and to fame.
He knew he could work miracles,
to heal the blind and lame.
He could have fed the starving poor
with fish as well as bread.
But Jesus knew that life held more
and chose God's word instead.
2 He could have trusted angels' wings,
up on that Temple tower.
To save him from a fall to death
was well within God's power.
The people would have marvelled then
and guessed this was God's son.
But Jesus would not take the test
to prove he was that one.
3 He could have taken full control,
the world lay at his feet.
He only had to say the word:
his rule would be complete.
The mountain view had caught his breath..
Power was a word away.
But Jesus turned back from it all
and God had won the day.
Marjorie Dobson (born 1940) based on Matthew 4 vs 1-11
Words © 2019, Stainer & Bell Ltd, London, England copyright@stainer.co.uk . Please include any reproduction for local church use on your CCL Licence returns. All wider and any commercial use requires prior application to Stainer & Bell Ltd.
Metre: 8 6 8 6 8 6 8 6
Tune: KINGSFOLD
A hymn for Jesus’ temptation
Lent 1 – The temptation of Jesus
1 Jesus met supreme temptation,
countered subtlety with skill;
ever faithful to one purpose,
still committed to God's will.
2 With no food he soon was famished,
hunger racked him, filled his mind,
then a voice had come to taunt him,
'bread is there for you to find'.
3 Each illusion he would parry,
each temptation run to ground;
all the world was for the asking,
yet his faith was strong and sound.
4 Every miracle and wonder
he was tempted to perform
he rebutted, held the tension;
he would live beyond this storm.
5 And when we meet with temptation,
save us from each trial and test;
strengthen faith, God, give us courage,
help us strive toward the best.
Andrew Pratt (born 1948)
Words © 2010 Stainer & Bell Ltd, London, England copyright@stainer.co.uk . Please include any reproduction for local church use on your CCL Licence returns. All wider and any commercial use requires prior application to Stainer & Bell Ltd
Metre: 8 7 8 7
Tune: CROSS OF JESUS
Sometimes the bible seems confused – a hymn inspired by Luke 6: 39 – 49
1 Sometimes the bible seems confused
and full of contradiction
God give us grace to hear your word,
your clear resounding diction.
2 Give us the eyes to see your way
and follow where you lead us,
that through your word, the bread of life
you may fulfill and feed us.
Andrew E Pratt (born 1948)
Words © 2014, Stainer & Bell Ltd, London, England copyright@stainer.co.uk . Please include any reproduction for local church use on your CCL Licence returns. All wider and any commercial use requires prior application to Stainer & Bell Ltd.
Metre: 8 7 8 7
Tune: DOMINUS REGIT ME
A hymn for Transfiguration – ‘So tired with the heat and the height of their climbing’
So tired with the heat and the height of their climbing,
now resting where eagles might shelter their young,
disciples had followed, but Jesus now left them,
to wander yet higher, compelled he went on.
And now in a light that transfigured their vision,
the one they called Master was standing alone,
and yet it appeared that some others stood with him,
in whiteness, in brightness, the clouds like a throne.
The dazzle was blinding for those who were watching,
but then it seemed Jesus was heading back down,
the vision had faded, the moment was passing,
Messiah they’d called him who shunned any crown;
until on a hilltop, mid rubbish and slander,
this ‘king’ was hung out in the sun, set to dry;
crossed out between those others deemed rough and worthless,
the poor and discarded for whom he would die.
To those who had hung him, he offered forgiveness,
a crucified robber was paradise bound;
the poor he exalted, the widow, the stranger,
found love in this preacher who turns lives around.
Andrew E Pratt
Words © 2018 Stainer & Bell Ltd, London, England copyright@stainer.co.uk . Please include any reproduction for local church use on your CCL Licence returns. All wider and any commercial use requires prior application to Stainer & Bell Ltd
Metre: 12 11 12 11
Tune: STREETS OF LAREDO
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