“And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so. And God called the dry land earth; and the gathering together of the waters called He seas; and God saw that it was good” (Genesis 1:9, 10). When, as recorded in the last part of the book of Job, the Lord would convince the patriarch of his weakness and dependence upon God, that he might know that righteousness comes from God alone, he referred to this gathering together of the waters as proof. “Who shut up the sea with doors, when it brake forth, as if it had issued out of the womb; When I made the cloud the garment thereof, and thick darkness a swaddling band for it, and prescribed for it My decree, and set bars and doors, and said, Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further; and here shall thy proud waves be stayed?” (Job 38:8-11, R.V).
When the psalmist speaks of the power of the word, by which God created the heavens and the earth, he says: “He gathereth the waters of the sea together as an heap: He layeth up the depth in storehouses” (Psalm 33:7). It may be well to notice here, in passing, the words, “And it was so,” with which the record of every new step in creation is closed. God said, “Let it be,” and “it was so.” His simple word was sufficient to establish it. Let it be remembered that this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto us. Its power has never diminished; it is as able to save as it was to create.
It is impossible that anyone who is acquainted to any degree with the Lord should stand by the sea without being reminded of the mighty power of the Creator. Yet many gaze upon the sea day after day with never a thought of its Maker, and even openly defy Him. To such the Lord says: “Hear now this, O foolish people, and without understanding; which have eyes, and see not; which have ears, and hear not: Fear ye not Me? saith the Lord: will ye not tremble at My presence, which have placed the sand for the bound of the sea by a perpetual decree, that it cannot pass it: and though the waves thereof toss themselves, yet can they not prevail; though they roar, yet can they not pass over it?” (Jeremiah 5:21, 22).
But it is not in order to produce the fright that the Lord reminds us of His mighty power that can set bounds for the sea, so that it cannot pass over in its fiercest tumult. No; it is that we may trust Him. Perfect faith and love drive fear away. So the power of God over the sea is referred to as evidence of His faithfulness. “O Lord God of hosts, who is a strong Lord like unto Thee? or to Thy faithfulness round about Thee? Thou rulest the raging of the sea: when the waves thereof arise, Thou tillest them” (Psalm 89:8,9). An example of this faithfulness is given in the gospels. “And the same day, when the even was come, He saith unto them, Let us pass over unto the other side. And when they had sent away the multitude, they took Him even as He was in the ship. And there were also with Him other little ships. And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full. And He was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake Him, and say unto Him, Master, carest Thou not that we perish? And He arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. And He said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith? And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?” (Mark 4:35-41).
This was but the manifestation of the original creative power. He who created the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that in them is, retains full control over all. In those words, “Peace be still,” we hear the same voice that said: “Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together into one place.” And this is the word which by the gospel is preached to us; so we are to learn from God’s power over the sea, which is His because He made it, His power over the waves of strife that surge through human hearts.
For the angry sea represents the wicked. “The wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt” (Isaiah 57:20). Christ is our peace. The word which He spoke to the sea of Galilee that night is the word which He speaks to us. “I will hear what God the Lord will speak; for He will speak peace unto His people, and to His saints: but let them not again turn to folly” (Psalm 85:8). Surely here is comfort for those who have long struggled in vain with fierce passions.
Not only is God’s power over the sea a symbol of His power to save men from the tide of sin, but it is also a pledge and surety of their final complete deliverance. It also shows the power with which God is going to clothe the preaching of the gospel message in the last struggle preceding His second coming. Read the following soul-thrilling words:
“Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the Lord; awake, as in the days of old, the generations of ancient times. Art Thou not it that cut Rahab [Egypt] in pieces, that pierced the dragon? Art Thou not it which dried up the sea, the waters of the great deep; that made the depths of the sea a way for the redeemed to pass over? And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy shall be upon their heads: they shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. I, even I, am He that comforteth you: who art thou, that thou art afraid of man that shall die, and of the Son of man which shall be made as grass; and hast forgotten the Lord thy Maker, that stretched forth the heavens, and laid the foundations of the earth; and fearest continually all the day because of the fury of the oppressor, when he maketh ready to destroy? and where is the fury of the oppressor? The captive exile shall speedily be loosed; and he shall not die and go down into the pit, neither shall his bread fail. For I am the Lord thy God, which stirreth up the sea, that the waves thereof roar: the Lord of hosts is His name. And I have put My words in thy mouth, and have covered thee in the shadow of Mine hand, that I may plant the heavens, and lay the foundations of the earth, and say unto Zion, Thou art My people” (Isaiah 51:9-16, R.V.).
Surely the fact that “the sea is His, and He made it” (Psalm 95:5), and that He “hath measured the waters in the hollow of His hand” (Isaiah 40:12), is sufficient ground for confidence in Him by any of His people, whether it be for deliverance from danger, for overcoming grace, or for help in carrying on the work to which He has called them.
Christ in the Tempest
Storm on the midnight waters.
The vast sky Is stooping with the thunder. Cloud on cloud
Reels heavily in the darkness, like a shroud
Shook by some warning spirit from the high
And terrible wall of heaven. The mighty wave
Tosses beneath its shadow, like the bold
Upheavings of a giant from the grave
Which bound him prematurely to its cold
And desolate bosom. Lo, they mingle now–
Tempest and heaving wave, along whose brow
Trembles the lightning from its thick fold.
And it is very terrible. The road
Ascendeth into heaven, and thunders break
Like a response of demons from the black
Rifts of the hanging tempest–yawning o’er
The wild waves in their torment. Hark! the cry
Of the strong man in peril, piercing through
The uproar of the waters and the sky;
As the rent bark one moment rides to view
On the tall billows, with the thunder-cloud
Closing round above her like a shroud.
He stood upon the reeling deck. His form
Made visible by the lightning, and His brow
Uncovered to the visiting of the storm,
Told of a triumph man may never know–
Power underived and mighty. “Peace, be still.”
The great waves heard Him, and the storm’s loud tone
Went moaning into silence at His will;
And the thick clouds, where yet the lightning shone,
And slept the latent thunder, rolled away
Until no trace of tempest lurked behind,
Changing upon the pinions of the wind
To stormless wanderers, beautiful and gay.
Dread Ruler of the tempest! Thou before
Whose presence boweth the uprisen storm;
To whom the waves do homage round the shore
Of many an island empire! If the form
Of the frail dust beneath Thine eye may claim
Thine infinite regard, O breathe upon
The storm and darkness of man’s soul the same
Quiet and peace and humbleness which came
O’er the roused waters where Thy voice had gone,
A minister of peace–to conquer in Thy name.
Early poem by J. G. Whittier