THE OCEAN SPEAKS,
a hymn Devotion for 3 December 2024 Anno Domini,
the Anglican Orthodox Communion Worldwide
“ 8 Or who shut up the sea with doors, When it brake forth, as if it had issued out of the womb? 9 When I made the cloud the garment thereof, And thick darkness a swaddling band for it, 10 And brake up for it my decreed place, And set bars and doors, 11 And said, Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further: And here shall thy proud waves be stayed?” (Job 38:8-11; all scripture cited is from the King James Bible)
The Sea has always intrigued the soul of man and even shares some characteristic with man.
Arising early on this past Thanksgiving morning in our vacation cottage by the sea, I went out on the balcony and observed a thick fog had obscured the usual vivid view of the beach. The sea was obscured by that fog, but the sea’s restless raging was not impeded by the limited visibility, and could be heard, wave upon wave, crashing upon the beach just a hundred feet away. Though its boundary has been dictated by its Creator, its discontent never ceases in its attempt to break the bonds of nature , and of nature’s God, and to cover the mainland with flooding vigor. The sea reminds me of the restless soul of man that never ceases in its resolve to rebel against its Maker and break the bonds of love and righteousness that restricts its sinful disposition.
This hymn is taken from ‘Ocean Melodies, and Seaman’s Companion: a collection of hymns and music,’ (1854). The tune is that to which the 100th Psalm traditionally is sung an is, understandably entitled ‘Old Hundredth’. It is also the tune of the Doxology in the 1940 Hymnal and was composed by Louis Bourgeois in 1554.
THE OCEAN SPEAKS
The rolling waves of Ocean’s tide,
Thou mighty God of earth and sea,
Proclaim thy matchless wonders wide,
And raise their praises, Lord, to thee.
Thy voice is heard in thunder’s roar
In lightning’s glare thy glories shine;
The heaving billows, towering, soar,
And ever heed thy Word divine.
The rolling waves of Ocean’s tide, Thou mighty God of earth and sea, Proclaim thy matchless wonders wide, And raise their praises, Lord, to thee. All the powers of nature pay homage to the Lord God their Maker. The teeming tides rise and fall, and cater to the Master’s call. That horrific night on the Galilean Sea, the disciples frantically fought against the tumultuous waves and gale force winds to no avail. Exhausted and fearful of perishing, they spied what appeared to them to be a specter – it had to be a specter for no man could walk upon the waves of the Sea. But it was not specter. It was the only One who could assure their survival during such horror – the Lord Jesus Christ! During our storms upon the troubled seas of life, we may count on the Lord Jesus Christ to be right beside His elect child to smooth the seas and quiet the storm.
Thy voice is heard in thunder’s roar In lightning’s glare thy glories shine; The heaving billows, towering, soar, And ever heed thy Word divine. The powers of Heaven speak with the Voice of God in glorious profundity. His counsel is in the depths of the sea as well as upon the highest mountain peaks. In the winds of billows of the sea, men are more likely to turn to the Maker of those relentless storms. Psalm 107 describes it best: “23 They that go down to the sea in ships, That do business in great waters; 24 These see the works of the Lord, And his wonders in the deep. 25 For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, Which lifteth up the waves thereof. 26 They mount up to the heaven, they go down again to the depths: Their soul is melted because of trouble. 27 They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man And are at their wits’ end. 28 Then they cry unto the Lord in their trouble, And he bringeth them out of their distresses. 29 He maketh the storm a calm,
So that the waves thereof are still. 30 Then are they glad because they be quiet; So he bringeth them unto their desired haven.” (Psalms 107:23-30) The sea obeys only one word and that is the Word of its Maker.
