THE OCEAN.
“They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great
waters; these see the works of the Lord, and his wonders in the deep.”
Psalm, cvii. 23, 24.
He that in venturous barks hath been
A wand'rer on the deep,
Can tell of many an awful scene,
Where storms for ever sweep.
For many a fair, majestic sight
Hath met his wand'ring eye,
Beneath the streaming northern light,
Or blaze of Indian sky.
Go! ask him of the whirlpool's roar,
Whose echoing thunder peals
Loud, as if rush'd along the shore
An army's chariot wheels;
Of icebergs, floating o'er the main,
Or fix'd upon the coast,
Like glitt'ring citadel or fane,
'Mid the bright realms of frost;
Of coral rocks, from waves below
In steep ascent that tower,
And fraught with peril, daily grow,
Form'd by an insect's power;
Of sea-fires, which at dead of night
Shine o'er the tides afar,
And make the expanse of ocean bright,
As heaven, with many a star.
O God! thy name they well may praise,
Who to the deep go down,
And trace the wonders of thy ways,
Where rocks and billows frown!
If glorious be that awful deep
No human power can bind,
What then art Thou, who bidd'st it keep
Within its bounds confined!
Let heaven and earth in praise unite,
Eternal praise to Thee,
Whose word can rouse the tempest's might,
Or still the raging sea!
