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A City To Dw

ell In A collection of poems from

the Jesus Fellowship

A City To Dwell InA collection of poems from the Jesus Fellowship

Some wandered in desert wastes,Finding no way to A city to dwell in;Hungry and thirsty,Their souls fainted within them.Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,And He delivered them from their distress;He led them by a straight way,Till they reached A city to dwell in.Let them thank the Lord for His steadfast love,For His wonderful works to the sons of men!For He satisfi es him who is thirsty,And the hungry He fi lls with good things.

Psalm 107:4-9 RSV

A City To Dwell InA collection of poems from the Jesus Fellowship

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A MULTIPLY ‘Let’s talk’ booklet for those want ing to experience living Christianity

If you would like a free subscription to Jesus Life magazine and modern Jesus army Streetpaper, write to: Jesus Fellowship, Nether Heyford, North amp ton NN7 3LBTel: 0845 123 5550 Fax: 0845 166 8178www.jesus.org.uk email: [email protected] Also available is a range of free Flame leafl ets produced by the Jesus Fellowship to build you up in your Christian faith. Please ask for details.

Price £4.50

Chap

ter 2

2At home in

mysteryExploring and knowing God

“ Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and

knowledge of God! How unsearchable His

judgements, and His paths beyond tracing out! ”

Words Paul the Apostle wrote in a letter to the

Roman church in the fi rst century

(Romans 11:33 RSV)

A City To Dwell In Page 9

Taste of Things to Come

Rested in my Father’s arms,At home in mystery,Lifting every breath to Him,My spirit, roaming free.

Roaming upon heaven’s fields, Exploring azure mountains,Climbing lofty hills of praise,Enjoying crystal fountains.

Peace and love, the fruits of God,Are tasted in this orchard,And rest, once more, found in His plan,And strength, to carry onward.

The light is glimpsed of brighter thingsA window to the future, A hope, a taste of things to come,When mysteries are over.

Living Faith, Oxford, 1999


The Mad and the Wild

The mad mainLashing and thrashingWith a million briny whipsPounding and grinding with foaming fistsWild white water tearing down the ramparts and cliffs.

Oh God the sea is like a poolCompared to YouI look upon Your waves with dreadBut if they break upon my soulLet me quickly now be spedTo the shoalsSheltered in Your heart’s sea bed.

Wild wild windWho can tame your breathless raceOr match your madcap motion’s paceA devastating dance of strange and dangerous grace.

My God the storm is like a summer breeze compared to YouWho is not felled before Your blast?But let me be a tiny seedBorne upon Your breath and blown at lastTo grow amidst the meadows of Your forest.

Living Stones, Northamptonshire, 1997


Romance

A life lived without kisses,Is like a land in drought.So let me take You LordAnd yield my thirsty lipsUp to Your sweet mouth.

My Lord I could not liveWithout the embrace of a lover.So let me melt before Your strength,Dying gladly in Your armsAnd I shall crave no other.

There must be consummation,Or I have lived in vain.Your seed must clasp this aching wombYour nature and Your children born To perpetuate our name.


Conviction

Dear Father, Your convicting handUpon my soul again I find,Your gentle touch I understandConveying thoughts from Your great mind,As in this moment You compressInto my tiny soul’s confineA weight of mercy, fathomlessTo mould my heart like unto Thine.

Harvest House, Warwickshire, 1979


Lord of Tides

I fear to walk into Your majesty,though my heart longs for Your mystery, Your waves, churning up my soul,move the very depths of me.

Your power, Lord of tides, washes over me,cleansing the pages of my history, desiring to drown in Your deepest part,as salted pain remakes my crying heart.

Moving deeper in, fearing lost control,of the strands that keep me feeling whole,wanting to drift, fearless in You,reborn at bright day’s dawning new.

Sea of love help me to trust,fear still stands but know I must,let Your sun and waves seep in,a fresh walk into dawn begin.

Living Faith, Oxford, 1998

Many Waters

Many waters cannot quench love,nor floods sweep it away;In deep valleys or high mountainswe know the Father’s love.See the fire, deep within our hearts, which storm or tempest cannot subdue;Love and glory go together,these abide eternally.

Harlestone Road, Northampton, 1978


Eternal Truth

Like a shimmering golden fall,a thick and glorious liquid gold,it pours from heavenly unreachable heightsbeyond the clouds, the starry realms.Pouring through the ages,a force, a mighty unquenchable stream,rushing from age to age, an endless tidean awesome liquid light drawing to it yearning hearts,reaching upwards, cupped handsto take the liquid to their lips.Gushing onwards, its course unchangingalready traced before time,warming hearts, never stopping,seeping through outstretched fingersto rush on and on towards eternity.

Bright Flame, Coventry, 1996.

Secret Place

In the secret place of the soulThere is a wayThat purity and passionCan be friends.

In the secret place of the soulThere is a wayThat anger and loveCan agree.

In the secret place of the soulThere is a wayThat God can meet a manAnd make him free.



Lights

CandlelightSoftens the faceGives a glowCreates a peaceful atmosphereRelaxes those who sit in itMakes you forgetPacifiesFalse security

Electric LightHarsh on the faceIlluminatesShows every fault and failureMakes the working easierCan’t relaxNo graceCruel reality

SunlightLights up the faceMakes it shineInvites a joy in creationCheers the heart of every manCreates shadowsSoon fadesDisappointment

God’s lightShows the true faceNothing can hideShows up every detailMakes uneasy those who sit in itBrings hopeOpennessTrue security



Adventure Stirs Our Bones

Embark with me, with usupon our voyageWe set our courseby chart and dreamCast overboardall weight, for stormspursuemake roomfor sinking soulsCome toil and rowtied one to onewhen gales blowand far from homeCome count the starsand scan the shimmering horizonCome share the brazier’s glowplain rations for a feastlaugh with companionsAdventure stirs our bonesPain and fear we choose to despisebecause we have a destinationwe have a prizeIt is the voyageIt is the love that drives

Promise House, Coventry, 1997


How Could I Miss You?

I don’t,never have, and never willunderstand You.For some reason which I have attempted, with fake confidence (or Your gracious outpouring) to explain to a troubled soul, that’s the way You like it.I don’t like it God.Throughout this undulating journey of icy heights and grimy lows, You like to keep a safe distancebut if I think, accept the words of a thousand well meaning preachers or a million sugared paperbacks, I know that You love me. So why do You hurt me? In this book of answers I have been compiling over the years, on this well thumbed page, I find what I am looking for. I have to listen for Youbecause all the people around me are shouting different things. You understand, You bring peace.I like to think I can lie in Your arms and, despite my fighting, You make me still.You are the place above the city line, above the place where the pollution gathers. You are in the shrill quietness of the mountaintop. You must have a place as vast and un-peopled for each of us to sit, with Youand yet You are in the filth of the city below, in the foulness and the heat of all that our humanity generatesin the place of savage lovelessness in the warmth of touching hands and hearts. So how could I miss You?

Springfield, Leicester, 2002


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