 | Diana's Looking Glass and Other Poems by Charles D. Bell |  |
“AND THERE WAS NO MORE SEA.”
(Rev. xxi. I.)
Fain would I for a moment try to cope
With what it holds for us of happy hope,
The blessed promise full of melody
Of John in Patmos—“There was no more sea.”
With what it holds for us of happy hope,
The blessed promise full of melody
Of John in Patmos—“There was no more sea.”
I gaze upon wide ocean's gleaming waves,
Far as the verge where sea and sky are one,
And guess the secrets of its sunless caves
Below the bright green waters fathoms down.
What gorges deep! what hills and vales are there!
What wondrous creatures walk the shell-strewn floor!
What wealth of pearl, and gem, strange flow'rs and fair!
What hidden things the eye cannot explore!—
And hope of perfect knowledge seems to me
Borne on the promise, “There was no more sea.”
Far as the verge where sea and sky are one,
And guess the secrets of its sunless caves
Below the bright green waters fathoms down.
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What wondrous creatures walk the shell-strewn floor!
What wealth of pearl, and gem, strange flow'rs and fair!
What hidden things the eye cannot explore!—
And hope of perfect knowledge seems to me
Borne on the promise, “There was no more sea.”
As shapes of life all strange haunt those blue glooms
Silent as death, secret, and unrevealed;
As beauty, valour, strength, have there found tombs,
And 'neath the veiling waters lie concealed—
Just so God's ways are covered by the deeps,
The light too dim, our eyes too weak to scan
The wave of mystery that o'er them sweeps,
And hides them from the ken of mortal man—
How blessèd then when all shall fathomed be,
And in the future shall be “no more sea.”
Silent as death, secret, and unrevealed;
As beauty, valour, strength, have there found tombs,
And 'neath the veiling waters lie concealed—
Just so God's ways are covered by the deeps,
The light too dim, our eyes too weak to scan
The wave of mystery that o'er them sweeps,
And hides them from the ken of mortal man—
How blessèd then when all shall fathomed be,
And in the future shall be “no more sea.”
“His judgments are a deep,” the Psalmist says;
“His footsteps are not seen, His paths unknown,”
Past finding out His great transcending ways;
He holdeth back the splendours of His Throne.
But this shall pass, and we shall see His face,
And “know as we are known,” and in His light
Shall scale the heights, and scan the depths of grace.
God's ways shall all lie open to our sight,
Their mysteries unfolded, when that He
Fulfils the promise, “There was no more sea.”
“His footsteps are not seen, His paths unknown,”
Past finding out His great transcending ways;
He holdeth back the splendours of His Throne.
But this shall pass, and we shall see His face,
And “know as we are known,” and in His light
Shall scale the heights, and scan the depths of grace.
God's ways shall all lie open to our sight,
Their mysteries unfolded, when that He
Fulfils the promise, “There was no more sea.”
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The sea! it lifts its waters up on high,
Wild tempests o'er its surface rage and swell;
Its weltering foam is hurled up to the sky;
Its billows curl like seething waves of hell,
It dashes onward with a passionate force,
And is with many a wreck and corpse bestrewn;
Great ships it drives like playthings from their course,
Or into eddying whirlpools sucks them down;
The quelling then of lawless might to me
Breaks thro' the words, “And there was no more sea.”
Wild tempests o'er its surface rage and swell;
Its weltering foam is hurled up to the sky;
Its billows curl like seething waves of hell,
It dashes onward with a passionate force,
And is with many a wreck and corpse bestrewn;
Great ships it drives like playthings from their course,
Or into eddying whirlpools sucks them down;
The quelling then of lawless might to me
Breaks thro' the words, “And there was no more sea.”
“The floods have lifted up their voice, O God,
The floods have lifted up their voice,” one sings;
Proud men rebel, and chafe beneath Thy rod,
And of their actions boast themselves the kings:
But Thou, O Lord, art mightier far than all.
“So far,—so far,—no farther,” Thou dost say;
“And Thou dost blow,” and all at once they fall;
A word of Thine all lawless force doth stay;
So that Thy will omnipotent shall be,
Gleams in the vision, “There was no more sea.”
The floods have lifted up their voice,” one sings;
Proud men rebel, and chafe beneath Thy rod,
And of their actions boast themselves the kings:
But Thou, O Lord, art mightier far than all.
“So far,—so far,—no farther,” Thou dost say;
“And Thou dost blow,” and all at once they fall;
A word of Thine all lawless force doth stay;
So that Thy will omnipotent shall be,
Gleams in the vision, “There was no more sea.”
Restless, and sleepless under sun and star,
The sea is full of change, and wakens dread,
Now calm, now with the elements at war,
Now moaning wild as one that wails the dead;
And ever casting up dank weeds and mire,
As into fury lashed its waters break,
Spending themselves in wrathful, futile ire
Against the Rock they have no power to shake;
And thus a hope of times from unrest free
These words hold forth, “And there was no more sea.”
The sea is full of change, and wakens dread,
Now calm, now with the elements at war,
Now moaning wild as one that wails the dead;
And ever casting up dank weeds and mire,
As into fury lashed its waters break,
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Against the Rock they have no power to shake;
And thus a hope of times from unrest free
These words hold forth, “And there was no more sea.”
The sea divides, it separates us here
From those we love, and hold close to our heart;
It rolls between us and the near and dear;
Its cruel waters keep us far apart.
We gaze across its billows with a sigh,
In envy of the sea-bird's pinions fleet,
Wishing to borrow wings that we might fly
To those we yearn, but yearn in vain to greet;
But separation never more shall be
In the bright world “Where there is no more sea.”
From those we love, and hold close to our heart;
It rolls between us and the near and dear;
Its cruel waters keep us far apart.
We gaze across its billows with a sigh,
In envy of the sea-bird's pinions fleet,
Wishing to borrow wings that we might fly
To those we yearn, but yearn in vain to greet;
But separation never more shall be
In the bright world “Where there is no more sea.”
“And there was no more sea.” Thrice blessèd thought!
No wreck of life or hope on that fair strand;
No sad “farewells” with bitter anguish fraught:
No change or trouble in that glorious land;
No billows breaking at our feet in foam;
No partings of the loved and loving more;
No heart-sick longings for the dear old home,
But everlasting unions on its shore,
Circles unbroken—this, and more when we
Shall reach the haven, “Where is no more sea.”
No wreck of life or hope on that fair strand;
No sad “farewells” with bitter anguish fraught:
No change or trouble in that glorious land;
No billows breaking at our feet in foam;
No partings of the loved and loving more;
No heart-sick longings for the dear old home,
But everlasting unions on its shore,
Circles unbroken—this, and more when we
Shall reach the haven, “Where is no more sea.”
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I think of one wild storm: a darkling night;
A boat tossed on the waters to and fro;
Where stands a figure in the clear moonlight,
God-like unmoved, whose words majestic flow
Along the waves, in this sublime command,
“Peace, peace! be still!” The winds forget to sigh;
The waves sink to a murmur on the strand;
In the blue lake are glassed the stars on high,
And in that scene is pictured forth to me
The calm eternal “When there is no sea.”
A boat tossed on the waters to and fro;
Where stands a figure in the clear moonlight,
God-like unmoved, whose words majestic flow
Along the waves, in this sublime command,
“Peace, peace! be still!” The winds forget to sigh;
The waves sink to a murmur on the strand;
In the blue lake are glassed the stars on high,
And in that scene is pictured forth to me
The calm eternal “When there is no sea.”
All trouble gone, for mystery no place,
Rebellion silenced, cruel wrong no more;
Instead thereof the light from God's own face,
Eternal joy and rest; a tranquil shore
Where no storm drives, no brawling tempests come,
But all is peace, and blessedness, and calm;
The fair green pastures of our Father's home,
The river from the Throne and from the Lamb—
This, and all grace the promise holds in fee,
This glorious promise, “There was no more sea.”
Rebellion silenced, cruel wrong no more;
Instead thereof the light from God's own face,
Eternal joy and rest; a tranquil shore
Where no storm drives, no brawling tempests come,
But all is peace, and blessedness, and calm;
The fair green pastures of our Father's home,
The river from the Throne and from the Lamb—
This, and all grace the promise holds in fee,
This glorious promise, “There was no more sea.”
| Diana's Looking Glass and Other Poems by Charles D. Bell | |