Around the city - thoughts on Exeter’s Past 1

Rougemont Castle by Rev’d Paul Collings

Psalm 18:2 The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

There stands the castle of red stone,

On Isca’s mound, whilst years have flown;

If it could speak, what would it say

To those who pass it’s walls today?

What history would it now tell,

What tragedies, what joys befell

The passing crowds through many years;

I wonder, would its walls shed tears.

Wars, disputes and troubles rife,

With battles, fears and human strife

Have all played out upon it’s stage,

From distant years  down to this age.

And yet  from those historic walls

John Wesley preached, to crowd in awe,

Of happiness when sins erased, 

Forgiveness and new life is raised.

Would, Lord, that I today could share

Such gospel truth and show your care,

For those in need of lasting grace,

That they in truth would see your face. 

“From church I went to the (Rougemont) castle, where were gathered together (as some imagined) half the grown persons in the city. It was an awful sight. So vast a congregation in that solemn amphitheater! And all silent and still while I explained at large and enforced that glorious truth, “Happy are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered” [see Ps. 31:1]” John Wesley’s Journal on visiting Exeter

Faith in time of Crisis 17

Wignacourt Tower Fortress - St Paul’s Bay- Malta by Rev’d Paul Collings

Meditation by Dr J P Hunter

Psalm 28:1-2, 6-9. Of David. NIV translation.

¹ To you, Lord, I call;
    you are my Rock,
    do not turn a deaf ear to me.
For if you remain silent,
    I will be like those who go down to the pit.
² Hear my cry for mercy
    as I call to you for help,
as I lift up my hands
    toward your Most Holy Place.

⁶ Praise be to the Lord,
    for he has heard my cry for mercy.
⁷ The Lord is my strength and my shield;
    my heart trusts in him, and he helps me.
My heart leaps for joy,
    and with my song I praise him.

⁸ The Lord is the strength of his people,
    a fortress of salvation for his anointed one.

⁹ Save your people and bless your inheritance;
    be their shepherd and carry them forever.

Meditation

This Psalm is a song of praise and thanksgiving after waiting for prayer to be answered. It is likely written by young David himself after he was anointed king age 16, v8 his anointed one, but did not become king until he was 30. In the interim he was chased through the desert by jealous and murderous king Saul. David knew what waiting was. As we wait for churches to re-open, and they will, we can take comfort from the fact that during times of trial and trouble, prayer is our best help because it keeps us in communication with God, our Rock and sure helper. Then we too, might have a heart filled with joy and a song of praise.

Prayer

Lord, I come to you from the midst of trial and trouble in expectation of your guidance and help. 

Listen to my cry for mercy and do not turn a deaf ear to me. My heart trusts in you and I am waiting for your guidance for and in my daily life. May I sense your presence in all I have to do this day. Then I will be able to sing a song of praise because you heard my plea. You answered and guided me. You became my strength and shield.  Amen.

Singing the Faith 465, verse 1+2.

Guide me, O Thou great Jehovah,

Pilgrim through this barren land;

I am weak, but Thou art mighty,

Hold me with Thy powerful hand.

Bread of heaven, Bread of heaven,

Feed me till I want no more;

Feed me till I want no more.

Open now the crystal fountain,

Whence the healing stream doth flow;

Let the fire and cloudy pillar

Lead me all my journey through.

Strong Deliverer, strong Deliverer,

Be Thou still my Strength and Shield;

Be Thou still my Strength and Shield.

William Williamson (1717 – 1791)

Places on the Way - Artist Studio

Bucks Mill, North Devon - Artists Studio by Paul Collings

 Perched above the sea in the ancient fishing hamlet of Bucks Mills, North Devon, the Cabin was the studio and summer residence of painters Judith Ackland and Mary Stella Edwards from the 1920s until Judith's death in 1971. The interior and its contents have remained preserved, almost as the women left them, for over 40 years.

Exodus 31:1-5 Then the Lord said to Moses, “See, I have chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge and with all kinds of skills— to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, to cut and set stones, to work in wood, and to engage in all kinds of crafts.

The artist hand, the crafter’s skill,

Employed according to your will

Creates, designs a  lasting place

Where there your people raise their praise.

To each a talent, Lord, you give

There to employ each day we live;

An aptitude, of eye or hand

To use according to your plan.

Creation’s skill with me you share

And teach me too to use with flair

The inner artist quality

As by your hand you work with me.

Lord, help me use this gifts right here

And not to bury, but to share

In the completion of your aim,

The work of art that bears your name.

“The God who made us also can remake us.” - Woodrow Kroll

Places on the Way - Sacred Spaces

Church in Caleta del Sebo on La Graciosa in the Canary Islands

Joshua 5:15 The captain of the Lord’s host said to Joshua, “Remove your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so.

As I travel long life’s road

Burdened by my tiresome load

I often find upon the way

A Sacred Space, a place to pray.

Not always made of stone and wood

Where centuries long disciples stood

To worship God with heart and voice,

But neath the sky I sing, rejoice.

Though simple in it’s outward form

Each wayside chapel stands to warm

My very heart, my aching soul

And there in love to be made whole.

Help me dear Lord, to strand in awe

And for a moment there withdraw

As in each space assured I find

That sweet renewing of my mind.

On holy ground unshod I stand

To find your righteousness at hand;

Your presence and your lasting peace

That I in you may find release.

“Tread softly, all earth is holy ground.” Christina Rossetti 

Places on the Way - Memorials

Monument to Sir Alan Ball - Valletta Malta

1 Samuel 7:12 Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying, “Thus far the Lord has helped us.”

Each memory stone along the way

Speaks of lives lived in distant days,

They tell of hours, days, years long spanned

Of deeds encountered, met or planned

Embossed with name, birth date and years,

All but forgotten like the tears.

That once were shed upon this spot

Where grief and sorrow now forgot.

Memorials too without a name

Speak there  of long forgotten fame;

The faded  memory all but gone

It’s structure here  now says anon.

Lord, in the memory of my mind

Help me to keep the truth I find

Within the offered bread and wine

Your blood your body to enshrine.

O sacred Ebenezer, here

I call to mind and find you near

As in the hope of every day,

I see anew your holy way.

“Before one can walk as Christ walked, and talk as He talked, we must first begin to think as Christ thought.”  ― A A Allen

Places on the Way - The Seashore

A Mediterranean Seashore by Paul Collings

St Nicholas Methodist Church, Topsham 020820

Genesis 22:17 Indeed I will greatly bless you, and I will greatly multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your seed shall possess the gate of their enemies.

Mark 2:17 And He went out again by the seashore; and all the people were coming to Him, and He was teaching them.

To saunter ‘long a sandy shore

And listen to the waves that roar

Refreshes heart and mind and soul

That I again might, Lord, extol

Your wonderful creative power

And feel the blessings that you shower.

And as I walk across the sand

I marvel that with me you stand;

There calling  me to feed your sheep

To nurture lambs, with love so deep,

And in that ministry of grace

There see your ever present face.

Uncountable though are the sands

Each speck of grit finds in your hands

An all embracing love that binds

Each heart to you and therein finds.

The value of  each living soul

And how you will to make us whole.

“We know only too well that what we are doing is nothing more than a drop in the ocean. But if the drop were not there, the ocean would be missing something.” 

― Mother Teresa

Places on the Way - The City

Bath - Pulteney Weir by Rev’d Paul Collings 

“Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you.” And he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city how much Jesus had done for him.“ Luke 8:39

When I walk a city’s street

And listen there to it’s heart beat

My mind it pictures years gone by

When hawkers yelled, come look, come buy

I picture too a thoroughfare,

Where teaming crowds in need of care

Stood there to hear the Son of Man

Reveal his perfect saving plan.

O that our crowded busy streets

Would team with folk who listen, greet

The news that’s good, of way assured

Where saving truth their lives secure.

But as I walk ‘long city’s roads

I ponder. “how can truth be told?”

To passing crowds except I talk

With them of love’s redeeming walk.

Dear Lord, when words fail to impart

Create in me a speaking heart

Reflecting love you shine on me

That others too may be set free.

Paul Collings 

Cities have the capability of providing something for everybody, only because, and only when, they are created by everybody. - Jane Jacobs