AMONG the manifold works of the Creator, there is none better calculated to lead the mind up to the great Original than the sea. Less marred than any of the works of his lower creation, the contemplation of it brings us nearer to him. More expansive than all else below, binding the earth in its crystal zone, it becomes a fit emblem of that love which invites all to its embrace. View it at morn, when peaceful as an infant in its slumbers, at noon, when the awakened winds have lashed its waves to madness, at eve, when its waters are softly sinking to rest, or at the solemn noon of night, when the heavens above, in all their deep and spiritual beauty, are mirrored in the wave below, and the mind must be enchained by its placid loveliness, or awe-struck by its wild and fierce commotion.

      Canst thou behold its vast expanse, without the thought of eternity pressing on thy soul? Canst thou gaze upon its foam-capped billows rushing to the shore, with a sweep as resistless as that of a band of white-plumed warriors rushing on the ranks of the foe, without thinking of the power of Him who controls its angry floods? or, hushed in the moon's pale beams, without thoughts of heaven and unutterable peace? Go forth at eventide to meditate on its sandy barrier, and, as the surges break on the shore, listen to their deep and solemn revealings: in the uplifted voice of the multitude of waters, hearest thou not the echo of the song of the redeemed? Hearest thou not in its hollow murmur the voice of Eternity speaking to Time? Indeed, gaze upon it when we will, its boundless expanse, its chainless freedom, the purity of its flashing waters, and the deep melody of its solemn voices, all combine to extort the exclamation, "Holy, religious, pure, unfallen sea!" How like God in its unsullied, unchangeable purity! How like the peace he imparts, when it sleeps in waveless splendor! How like his just indignation, when its billows are upheaved and dashed in wild and terrible confusion by the breath of the storm! Gazing on its vast immensity, man feels his own littleness, pride is changed to humility, boasting to shame, his tongue fails to interpret the feelings which rush over his soul, and his very silence is eloquent praise.

      How like the secrets of eternity those which are concealed in its bosom! How many of earth's fairest and bravest have their resting-place in its coral caves, and over what costly jewels and flashing gems do its waters sweep! To us in time, the ocean is a fit emblem of eternity; for every stream bears to it a tribute. The torrent which comes leaping down the mountain side, the streamlet that murmurs through the sequestered vale, and the river which marches on in majestic pride, all reach the sea at last.

      And thus it is with the children of time. The stream of every life, be it the brawling brook of gleeful childhood, the leaping torrent of ardent youth, the stately flow of manhood's river, or the sluggish stream of age, all, all, at last, are mingled in eternity's ocean.

      Does the sea tell of purity?--let us strive to be pure. Does it tell of peace?--let us seek to have the waves of passion lulled by Him who spoke to rest the waters of stormy Galilee. Does it speak of wrath when its waves dash high?--like him who in the deluge ship outrode the storm which swept myriads to destruction, let us fly to the ark which will survive the final storm, and bring us at last with joy to the sweet haven of peace. [64]

[The Ladies' Repository 10 (February 1850): 64.]

      William Baxter's "Short Sermons from the Poets: Number VI" was first published in The Ladies' Repository: A Monthly Periodical Devoted to Literature and Religion, Vol. 10, No. 2, February 1850, p. 64. This volume, edited by B. F. Tefft, was published in Cincinnati by L. Swormstedt and J. H. Power and in New York by G. Lane and L. Scott.

      Pagination in the electronic version has been represented by placing the page number in brackets following the last complete word on the printed page.

      Addenda and corrigenda are earnestly solicited.

Ernie Stefanik
Derry, PA

Created 15 April 2000.
Updated 28 June 2003.