The Sound of the Sea

The sea awoke at midnight from its sleep,

And round the pebbly beaches far and wide

I heard the first wave of the rising tide

Rush onward with uninterrupted sweep;

A voice out of the silence of the deep,

A sound mysteriously multiplied

As of a cataract from the mountain’s side,

Or roar of winds upon a wooded steep.

So comes to us at times, from the unknown

And inaccessible solitudes of being,

The rushing of the sea-tides of the soul;

And inspirations, that we deem our own,

Are some divine foreshadowing and foreseeing

Of things beyond our reason or control.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Beauty is woken through lines of poetry. Stirring words to fill the soul. But something small inside each line bids us come closer to smell the sweet aroma of truth.

Not much is known about Henry Wadsworth Longfellow by some but to read his poem, “The Sound of the Sea” opens up a vast chasm of understanding between the reader and the artist of words.

The last six lines of Longfellow’s poem is what speaks clearest. The sea is understood, the soul is understood, and a small glimpse of a divine hand upon our lives is portrayed. With true solidity in the proper fashion much is gleaned. We are able to meditate on what matters most. “The rushing of the sea-tides of the soul” escalates on further examination of what the next three lines denote.

Our swelling cares and inspirations, tossed to and fro, as the white crests on the billowing sea, are believed to come so often from our own “ingenious mind.” This though is simply, as only Longfellow can portray, is naught but a “divine foreshadowing and foreseeing of things beyond our reason or control.”

The mighty hand of our Creator is always in complete control. Those beauties of inspirations and distending emotions are graced so often upon us by the ruler of heaven, earth, and the depths, yet we see it not. We place our belief in our own hands and imaginings, play-acting that such emerge from our own marvelous minds. We see it not that all these glories and inspirations are of things beyond our reason or control. This is how it could never come from ourselves, but must and always come from a divine and supernatural working through our Creator. Yet how, without such aid and precise design that our Creator has put into process through us would all of this come about? It would not, it could not. Blessed by the hand of the Almighty our eyes are opened and we are then able to understand what this divine foreshadowing and foreseeing is. We can then, and only then revel perfectly in our inaccessible solitude.

Resolved: The Way of Truth

Our lifespan on this earth has grown shorter through time. Methuselah lived to be 969, Adam was just a few years younger than that when he died, and even Noah lived until his death at the age of 950. But very quickly after the flood things began to change... and not just the fear of man instilled into animals. Abraham was but 100 years in his, what Noah would call "youth," yet when God informed him that his wife Sarah would bare a child the both of them laughed at the idea. They understood that at that age they were considered the elderly. Sarah was past her time to birth children , but one thing they both did not realize were the awesome miracles God had already and was about to perform. Sarah was governed by what she herself knew, seemed to understand and see around her, and even what she felt. This is why, to the face of her Lord, she lied by saying she did not laugh at what her Lord told her. How shameful, how humiliating, and mostly after the Lord said, “nay, but though didst laugh!”

How often we run on feelings. How often I myself run on my own comfort zone. How can we place our hope, faith, joy, and comfort in silver, timber or our own carcasses? But all of these run on feelings. If we feel that we don’t have enough silver we begin to fret. If we feel as though we will lose something we are clinging to we panic and do all we can to hold on to it or get it back. This goes on and on in many different ways in each of our lives resulting in abandonment to the Holy Spirit which has been placed in our lives for the sole purpose to guide us to cling to Christ in our ups and downs, not material objects or personal feelings that can change like the surf on the sand.

We each have our own comfort zones, whether it be in the rising of our financial situation, the “right here, right now” love of someone, or simply the next exciting joy and pleasure we can squeeze out of our “doldrum” life. Why do we have to do this? Why do we have to squeeze every fragment of our existence until we get what we want? We are never truly satisfied. Our excitement builds until what we have been waiting for is over. Perhaps that is why the divorce rate is so high. We are never fully satisfied because we have been wired from the beginning to find perfect contentment in Christ. Our true “comfort zone,” if that is what we could call it, should be in our Creator. If our earthly loved one is so much of a comfort and joy to us how much more should our heavenly Father, our true loved one, be of a comfort and joy to us? He knows us more than anyone on this earth knows us, why can He not be our full joy and contentment?

What about those who cling to their house? Their house, which will burn up in the conflagration (or perhaps sooner), is more of a comfort to them than having peace in the knowledge of spending eternity out of this communistic world and abiding in the perfect, heavenly Kingdom of our true Father!

Our frets are over our own desires, not fulfilling God’s desires. Do we ever say, “oh I have so little time on this earth. I must abandon all fleshly, selfish activities and quickly, quickly spread the Word. Quickly live out what Spirit abides within me, minister and show true love to others (mostly God’s people).” But how do we know they are Gods, you ask. That is why we must find out and plead with them for Christ’s glory.

How rapid life is, yet how slow it drags on through our worldly vision. We try to pull at each piece of time, making (or trying hard as we might) time all for ourselves all day, every day. What vain foolishness. We were not born simply because God knew of nothing else to do. But He gave us a purpose, and He graciously gives us His own strength to accomplish each and every purposeful task. We too should not spend life in frivolity, for if God has a plan for us then we have a plan. Will we follow His ordered plan with His ever abiding and upholding hand? Or will we strip ourselves from His law, turn from His perfectly planned ways, and shove our noses in the pigpen only pretending we are feasting on manna? God forgive us for following our own plan and shunning your peace and grace. With love, joy, and glory unto God, we are to commend our lives unto Him.

“Do what you will with me for your glory and my better good and pure joy!”