The Third Day-The Sea by W. A. Sweany

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Apr 1, 1903

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 29, No. 13.

The Third Day—The Sea

By W. A. Sweany

THE GOSPEL IN CREATION. NO. 4.

The Third Day—The Sea.

And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear; and it was so. And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called He Seas; and God saw that it was good.” Gen. 1:9, 10. No more impressive manifestation of the power of God has been nor can be seen than that which forms and controls the mighty waters. Until the mandate of the Creator gathered the waters together unto one place and caused the dry land to appear, the face of the whole earth was covered by the waters of “the great deep.” Let us now study carefully in the words of Inspiration how all this was accomplished. “God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and [as a result of this] let the dry land appear.” “He gathereth the waters of the sea together as an heap; He layeth up the depth in storehouses.” Ps. 33:7. “Who shut up the sea with doors, when it break forth, as if it had issued out of the womb? When I made the cloud the garment thereof, and thick darkness a swaddling-band for it, And brake up for it my decreed place, and set bars and doors, And said, Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further; and here shall thy proud waves be stayed?” Job 38:8–11. “He hath compassed the waters with bounds” (Job 26:10), and “gave to the sea His decree that the waters should not pass His commandment” (Prov. 8:29). The literal truth and deep significance of these statements will be more fully realized when the scientific fact, well known to scholars, is learned and remembered, that the surface of the sea is not level, but is literally piled up, being much higher along the equator than elsewhere. To be level, the surface of the sea must be equally distant at every point from the center of the earth, or exactly round. But that this is not the case is a well-known fact, the earth being materially flattened at the poles. That the waters of the ocean are piled up is seen in the fact that the Black Sea (part of the ocean) is eighty-four feet higher than the Caspian Sea, which is an inland body of water; and the Mediterranean Sea is nearly 1,400 feet higher than the near-by Dead Sea.

“Centrifugal force” generated by the revolution of the earth is the cause assigned by scientific men for this piling up of the waters. But “centrifugal force” is only a scientific technical term for what is really the power of God whose word piled up the water in heaps, and whose decree and commandment prevented them from finding a level that water continually seeks. It was the exercise of this power that “divided the waters of the Red Sea,” causing them to stand upright as an heap—“a wall on either side” of the marching hosts of Israel. And when that power was withdrawn, the waters immediately sought and found their former place, drowning the pursuing Egyptian host. Ex. 14:21–31; 15:8, 19; Ps. 78:13. Again, the waters of Jordan, when at flood-tide, were divided and piled up that the host of Israel might pass through to possess a goodly land. Joshua 3:1–17. And this wonder

was twice repeated that Elijah and Elisha might pursue their journey unhindered. 2 Kings 2:1–15.

We are wont to speak of these events as miracles, and properly so, for such they truly were. But let us not make the mistake of thinking that the day of miracles is past, while overlooking the operation of God’s wondrous power in the great waters as well as in all the other works of His hands. “He gathereth the waters of the sea together as an heap; He layeth up the depth in storehouses. Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him.” Ps. 33:6–8. “Fear ye not Me? saith the Lord; will ye not tremble at My presence, which have placed the sand for the bound of the sea by a perpetual decree, that it can not pass it; and tho the waves thereof toss themselves, yet can they not prevail; tho they roar, yet can they not pass over it?” Jer. 5:22. In the symbolism of Scripture waters represent peoples and nations. Dan. 7:1–3, 17, 23; Isa. 8:5–8; Rev. 17:1, 15. And so while the experience of the imperiled disciples on storm-tossed Galilee (Matt. 8:23–27), as well as many other tempest-driven mariners before and since that time (Ps. 107:23–31), assures us that He “rulest the raging of the sea; when the waves thereof arise, Thou stillest them” (Ps. 89:9), it also teaches us that He is able to still “the tumult of the people.” Ps. 65:7. When the disciples, realizing their peril, called upon the Master for deliverance, His “peace be still” “made the storm a calm,” and “brought them to their desired haven.” And so when the wicked, who have no peace, but “are like the troubled sea, when it can not rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt” (Isa. 57:20), truly call upon God He will speak peace unto them, as He does to His people and His saints, “but let them not turn again to folly.” Ps. 85:8. To those who hearken to God’s commandment the promise is given that their peace shall be as a river, which unceasingly flows on and on, unhindered by what its surroundings may be. “Great peace have they which love Thy law; and nothing shall offend them.” Ps. 119:165. Such can truly sing with the spirit and with the understanding (1 Cor. 14:15), with grace in their hearts (Col. 3:16), making melody to the Lord (Eph. 5:19).

“As flows the river calm and deep, In silence toward the sea, So floweth ever and ceaseth never The peace of God to me.”

All who have ever stood on the sea-beach have noticed how the swells or waves unceasingly roll upon the shore, even tho there be not sufficient breeze to create a ripple on its glassy surface, and the becalmed boat with drooping sails still rises and falls in the swells that never entirely subside. In the presence of this fact how precious is the promise that the righteousness of those who hearken to His commandments shall be “as the waves of the sea.” Isa. 48:18. And so in all the everchanging features of the mighty deep, the bounding billows, or the quiet calm, we may see the wisdom and power of Him “who hath measured the waters in the hollow of His hand.” Isa. 40:12.

W. A. SWEANY.