SENSES OF THE SEA, No 4 – ‘SOUND’
The sound of the sea can be calming or terrifying, depending on the strength of the wind and the swell. It can soothe you to sleep or keep you awake!
Many artists, musicians and writers have been able to express the sound of the sea to great effect. Benjamin Britten captures the sound of the waves in his opera, ‘Peter Grimes’. You can almost hear the monstrous waves when you see William Turner’s ‘Snow storm’ (contemporary of J.M.W. Turner).
In ‘On the seashore’, Tagore writes ‘the sea surges up with laughter’, so there are many sounds that the sea makes, from crashing to gurgling, from swishing to sploshing.
I remember a holiday in Cornwall where we walked on an enormous, deserted beach in full sunshine, but in a fierce gale, with the sight of a gigantic sea of Atlantic rollers. The experience was so glorious, and I so felt the presence of God, that I found myself singing, at the top of my voice, (the wind was so loud, no one could have heard me!)
‘My Jesus, my Saviour,
Lord , there is none like you’ ( STF 363) which goes on …
‘Shout to the Lord, all the earth, let us sing,
Power and majesty, praise to the King,
Mountains bow down, and the sea will roar,
At the sound of his name’
Whenever I sing that hymn in church, I am transported back to that walk on the beach in Cornwall. Maybe God’s voice can speak to us through the sound of the sea.
Certainly John, thought so as he vividly describes his vision of Christ (Revelation 1: 15) ‘and his voice was like the sound of many waters’.
God speaks to us in many ways, through his Word, through the words or actions of others, when we are listening whilst we are praying, and sometimes in dreams, but the next time you hear the sound of the sea, listen for God’s voice.
P.S. If you live away from the coast, and because of current restrictions, you are unable to take a trip to the seaside, then please get in touch joanna.jacobs222@btinternet.com and I will make a recording of the sound of the sea for you. You may hear God’s voice too.
Blessings, Jo