God of the Seas!

God of the seas! Thy thun­der­ing voice

Makes all the roar­ing waves re­joice

And one soft word of Thy com­mand

Can sink them si­lent in the sand.

If but a Mos­es wave Thy rod

The sea di­vides and owns its God;

The stor­my floods their mak­er knew

And let His chos­en ar­mies through.

The sca­ly flocks amidst the sea

To Thee

their Lord

a tri­bute pay;

The mean­est fish that swims the flood

Leaps up

and means a praise to God.

The larg­er mon­sters of the deep

On Thy com­mands at­tend­ance keep;

By Thy per­mis­sion sport and play

And cleave along their foam­ing way.

If God His voice of tem­pest rears

Leviathan lies still and fears;

Anon he lifts his nos­trils high

And spouts the ocean to the sky.

How is Thy glo­ri­ous pow­er ad­ored

Amidst these wa­te­ry na­tions

Lord!

Yet the bold men that trace the seas

Bold men

re­fuse their mak­er’s praise!

What scenes of mi­ra­cles they see

And nev­er tune a song to Thee!

While on the flood they safe­ly ride

They curse the hand that smoothes the tide!

Anon they plunge in wa­te­ry graves

And some drink death among the waves;

Yet the sur­viv­ing crew blas­pheme

Nor own the God that res­cued them.

O for some sig­nal of Thine hand!

Shake all the seas

Lord

shake the land;

Great Judge! des­cend

lest men de­ny

That there’s a God that rules the sky.