Smetana - The River of Life

Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. (Rev. 22:1-2) Enjoy the lapping waters of the River Vltava, (‘Wild Water,’ in Czech but which is widely known by its German name, the Moldau). This music by the Czech composer Bedřich Smetana is iridiscent with love for his homeland, and beautifully captures the sound of the river as it gathers strength and momentum from its source in the Bohemian mountains, and wends its way through a landscape of forests and meadows before tumbling through the St John’s Rapids, and then before widening out again to pass through Prague on its way to the mighty River Elbe. This joyous piece reminds us of how the Holy Spirit illumines our lives with the prospect of our eternal home as He flows through our lives. How we need His water of life sparkling within us! At the scent of water, even that which is drooping and failing springs back to life. As the prophet Isaiah asks, 'Why spend our money and direct all our labour to that which cannot satisfy', when He invites us to receive so much more by His Spirit? See how the Spirit leads you as you listen . . . Moldau from Má Vlast (My Fatherland) is exquisitely performed for us here by Fontane Liang.