There Is a Sea
The following song is in our books at church. I have never heard it sung before, but I love the words.
“There is a sea which day by day
Receives the rippling rills,
And streams that spring from wells of God,
Or fall from cedared hills;
But what it thus receives it gives
With glad unsparing hand;
A stream more wide with deeper tide,
Flows on to lower land.
There is a sea which day by day
Receives a fuller tide;
But all its store it keeps, nor gives
To shore nor sea beside
Its Jordan stream, now turned to brine,
Lies heavy as molten lead;
Its dreadful name doth e’er proclaim
That sea is waste and dead.
Which shall it be for you and me,
Who God’s good gifts obtain?
Shall we accept for self alone,
Or take to give again?
For He who once was rich indeed
Laid all His glory down;
That by his grace, our ransomed race
Should share His wealth and crown.”
-Lula Klingman Zahn, 1921
The above photo is from the Atlas Tours website and is of the Sea of Galilee. Did you pick up on the comparison between it and the Dead Sea?
7 comments:
I've heard it sung, and sung it myself. Mostly, this was at Sunday afternoon "sangins" when I was a kid.
A great metaphor.
We sing this song at Bella Vista sometimes. At first I didn't pay close enough attention to the words, and found them incomprehensible. Then I figured out it was a comparison between the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea. But I still don't like the song; it's way too slow. We sing it almost as slowly as "God's Family."
Tom,
I remember the days of Sunday afternoon singings. I don't especially miss those days, however.
J-red,
A curse upon you for comparing this song, even indirectly, to "God's Family."
Apparently, some words are better read than sung.
Good lyrics. I'd like to hear it sang.
I recall, during my youth minister intern at N. Richland Hills us singing this oftenly. Ok, I listened, seeing that I am vocally challenged
Kenny,
Apparently, the words are better than the music, but that's all I was going on anyway.
Edward,
I'm right there with you as far as being musically challenged.
It's not a bad tune! I've sung it many times when I was young. In the chorus the bass voices really get to boom, but it's not fast and country-sounding like some of the ones where the bass voices do that thing and then the female voices echo. I really like it and used to Google it all the time to no avail. Apparently it is a COC exclusive, like "Angry Words." (Another one I like.)
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