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 wanderer on the deep,

Can tell of many an awful scene,  Where storms for ever sweep.

For many a fair, majestic sight  Hath met his wandering eye,

Beneath the streaming northern light,  Or blaze of Indian sky.

Go! ask him of the whirlpool's roar,  Whose echoing thunder

Loud, as if rushed along the shore  An army's chariot wheels;

Of icebergs, floating o'er the main,  Or fixed upon the coast,

Like glittering 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,  Formed by an insect's power;

Of sea-fires, which at dead of night  Shine o'er the tides afar,

And make th' expanse of ocean bright  As heaven, with many a star.

Oh 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 bidst 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!