“And God said, Let the waters under the heaven he gathered together unto one place.” “And it was so.” “And the gathering together of the waters called He seas.” “He gathereth the waters of the sea together as an heap; He layeth up the depths in storehouses.” [Gen. 1:9, 10; Ps. 33:7]

“Who shut up the sea with doors when it brake forth,” when I established My decree upon it, and “set bars and doors and said, Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further, and here shall thy proud waves be stayed?” “He gave to the sea His decree that the waters should not pass His commandment.” [Job 38:8, 10; Prov. 8:29]

He hath “placed the sand for the bound of the sea by a perpetual decree that it cannot pass it, and though the waters thereof toss themselves, yet can they not prevail; though they roar, yet can they not pass over it.” [Jer. 5:22]

“And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life.” “And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly. . . . And God blessed them and said, Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas.” [Gen. 1:20-22]

“O Lord, how manifold are Thy works! in wisdom hast Then made them all, the earth is full of Thy riches. So is this great and wide sea, wherein are things creeping innumerable, both small and great beasts. There go the ships: there is that leviathan whom Thou hast made to play therein. These wait all upon Thee, that Thou mayest give them their meat in due season. That Thou givest them they gather, Thou openest Thine hand, they are filled with good.” [Ps. 104:24-28]

“They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in the great waters, these see the works of the Lord, and His wonders in the deep. For He commandeth and raiseth up the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof. They mount up to heaven, they go down again to the depths.” “He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still.” [Ps. 107:23-26, 29]

“The Lord on high is mightier than the noise of many waters, yea, than the mighty waves of the sea.” “Thou rulest the raging of the sea; when the waves thereof arise, Thou stillest them.” [Ps. 93:4; Ps. 89:9]

DEAR CHILDREN:—

As the holiday season is here again, many of you are looking joyfully forward to your yearly visit to the seaside. Here you will see “the works of the Lord, and His wonders in the deep.” No doubt the beach will be the most attractive place to you, where you will spend most of your time, digging in the sand and hunting for pretty shells and jelly fish and other such treasures with which to fill your little pails. [Ps. 107:24]

Perhaps you will notice what it is that makes the beach, that part of the shore that is washed by the sea. It is the Tide, which you may see all day either “coming in,” or “going out.” The beach is the, strip of land between high water and low water marks, so that when the tide is at its height the beach is quite covered with water. In some places where the shore slopes very gently, there is a very wide beach, and at high tide boats can sail where a short time before you have been able to walk. But where the coast is very steep and formed by high cliffs, there is no beach, but the tide only causes the water to rise and fall.

The tide comes in regularly every twelve hours. It is six hours coming in and six hours going out, but if you stay some little time at the seaside you will notice that it does not come in at exactly the same time every day. Yet we can always find out beforehand when it will be “high tide” and “low tide.”

This is because there is a close connection between the tide and the movements of the sun, moon, and earth. At the times of the new and full moon the tide rises higher than usual; this is called the “spring-tide.” The lowest tide, called the “neap-tide,” is at the second and fourth quarters of the moon.

This earth, which seems to us so large, is but a tiny portion of God’s great universe. And God Himself fills all the things that He has made. “Through all created things thrills one pulse of life from the great heart of God.” There is one life in all things, the life of God, and this is why all move together in perfect harmony. [Thoughts From the Mount of Blessing, pg. 95]

He who “appointed the moon for seasons,” and makes the sun to know “his going down,” has also given “to the sea His decree.” We learned last week that it is the powerful word of God which does all His work. He says, “It shall accomplish that which I please.” Jesus says that the Word is “Spirit and life.” By filling all things with God’s life, His living Word works His will in all His works. [Ps. 104:19; Prov. 8:29; Isa. 55:11; John 6:63]

So as you watch the constant movement of the waters, you call see the Word of God working, the “Spirit of God moving upon the face of the waters,” [Gen. 1:2] and keeping them in the place appointed by God, drawing them backwards and forwards according to His will.

The waters of the ocean are full of life. In the beginning God said, “Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life.” This is why we find in the “great and wide sea things creeping innumerable.” [Gen. 1:20; Ps. 104:25]

At low tide you will find on the beach different kinds of shell fish and other tiny living creatures which, by the going out of the tide; are left out of the water. Some of these could not live if they were kept out of the water or in the water all the time. But by the coming in and going out of the tide they are kept a part of the time in the water, and a part of the time out of the water.

In this we see how that in all His great works, our Creator is working for the good of the tiniest of His creatures. We were talking last week of how the Lord cares for each little child, and takes care of all the little boys and girls that He brings into the world. But this will teach us that “The Lord is good to all, and His tender mercies are over all His works.” “Thou hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and all things that are thereon, the seas and all that is in them, and Thou preservest them all.” [Ps. 145:9; Neh.9:6]

The Present Truth – July 7, 1898
E. J. Waggoner

Story in pdf   Thoughts for the Seaside