Psalm 107

  • Keith Payne
  • Jun 17, 2011

Psalm 107:23, 24

"Those who go down to the sea in ships, who do business on the great waters, they have seen the works of the Lord and His wonders in the deep."

 

For 10 years I worked as a commercial fisherman off the coast of Oregon and California. I saw the awful power of the sea when I was caught 100 miles off shore by an unpredicted storm. I have also seen its placid beauty when the wind ceased and an emerald green carpet stretched to the horizon.  This Psalm tells us that both the ocean's fury and its serenity are from the hand of the Lord.

 

My interest in the ocean has been renewed recently when I purchased the book Waves.  It is a popular treatment of Oceanography, but a fascinating one. In the book the author investigates the occurrences of rogue waves around the world and the forces which create them.  She has interviewed the leading oceanographers and those whose professional lives have been spent studying waves; those specialists who consult and advise shipping and oil companies as they work on the ocean.

 

I was amazed that when it comes to large waves that there is currently no physical explanation as to how they can exist.  It was thought for a number of years that a wave in excess of 80 feet (except for a tsunami) was impossible. That was until measurements on North Sea oil platforms proved that theory incorrect.  It astounded me that the prominent group of scientists now trying to explain large waves is theoretical physicists.

 

As I read the book, I was again reminded of the power and majesty of the God we worship.  A natural phenomenon that has impacted our world for centuries still evades the sharpest minds of the scientific community.  But for the community of faith, "we see His wonders in the deep".