Poems (Dodd)/Hymn at Sea
HYMN AT SEA.
Our bark is moving o'er the mighty deep,While calm the waves upon its surface sleep.The sun is sinking to his briny rest,Dying with ruby hue the water's breast.God of the wide, and ever-heaving ocean,Hear thou the warm heart's hymn of deep devotion!
Whom shall we praise but Thee? the sea is thine;And though we toss upon the foaming brine,Which rises high around, like scattered dust,Thou art our refuge, and in thee we trust;For thou canst smooth the ocean-path before us,And bid the rainbow, love's own arch, bend o'er us.
Whom shall we fear but Thee? the winds are thine;Curling the sea in a long silver line;Dashing the waves o'er the devoted deck,Or howling wildly round the vessel's wreck:O'er the vexed waters then, thy spirit moving,Bids them be still, the angry surge reproving.
Whom shall we trust beside? alone with thee,Our bark is bounding o'er the solemn sea.On, let the waves heave on! Thou dost not sleep;Thy watchful love is with us on the deep;Guiding us safely o'er the billow's motion,Though dark our pathway on the midnight ocean.