Monday, October 24, 2016


Could we with ink the ocean fill
And were the skies of parchment made,
Were ev'ry stalk on earth a quill
And ev'ry man a scribe by trade.
To write the love of God above
Would drain the ocean dry;
Nor could the scroll contain the whole
Though stretched from sky to sky.

"The Love Of God"

Message Summary: In the great hymn "The Love of God", the hymn writer extols the inexhaustible love of God. This is surely one of the most creative use of words in all hymnology. Let the words of its text bless you today as you personally apply God's enduring love to your heart.

Please note: Today we are still in San Diego California visiting with a friend and have not been preparing podcasts while we are away from our home "studio". Also since we are at a different time zone three hours earlier and working on only one computer the message delivery times may vary as well as the depth of our messages! We leave early tomorrow morning for our trip home to Pennsylvania and will not post a message. Today we are going to visit the San Diego Zoo!

"The seas have lifted up, O LORD, the seas have lifted up their voice; the seas have lifted up their pounding waves. Mightier than the thunder of the great waters, mightier than the breakers of the sea--the LORD on high is mighty" (Psalm 93:3,4).

As a family we, like the majority of people, thoroughly enjoy the mighty ocean. Brooksyne and I were both raised in the Midwest and I only saw the ocean a couple of times growing up. Brooksyne did not see the ocean till after we were married. That was a special trip to the Delaware shore back in 1979. Somewhere we have a primitive selfie of a slender young couple on the beach. (Selfies back then meant setting the camera on a timer and running to get in the photo before the picture was taken!)

However for over 20 years now we have lived relatively near the ocean and through the years have made frequent trips to the Atlantic shore from Florida up to Maine. However our visits to the Pacific Ocean have been much less frequent due to the long distance so this last week has been very special. Normally we have not been able stay right on the ocean as we have this last week.

No matter our age most of us never grow weary of seeing the ocean. It's no big surprise that the ocean has inspired quite a number of Scripture verses as well as hymns all throughout the ages. The Psalm used in our daily text extols the might of God. "The seas have lifted up, O LORD, the seas have lifted up their voice; the seas have lifted up their pounding waves. Mightier than the thunder of the great waters, mightier than the breakers of the sea--the LORD on high is mighty" (Psalm 93:3,4). The sea referred to by the Psalmist was likely the Mediterranean Sea. Israel is small geographically and Jerusalem is not far from the Mediterranean Sea.

The Psalmist had observed the might of the sea and I too am reminded of the awesomeness of God’s power when I look out over the vast ocean with the continuous pounding waves! As I type this I watch the great breakers crash into the shore and hear the force of the mighty waves over and over and over. Truly the waves are a great analogy of God’s constant and mighty power but the Lord on high is even mightier!

However, in the great hymn "The Love of God", it's the inexhaustible love of God that the hymn writer is extolling. This is surely one of the most creative use of words in all hymnology. Let the words of its text bless you today as you personally apply God's enduring love to your heart.



Be encouraged today,


Stephen & Brooksyne Weber

Daily prayer: Father, any words we speak or pictures we draw cannot fully describe your infinite love. Your boundless love reaches beyond the heavens and yet it penetrates our individual hearts. It is only in experiencing a personal relationship with you that we begin to sense the inexhaustible and pure love that comes only from You. Even as the mighty waves are unceasing and powerful, washing over the boulders and rocks in the seas, Your immeasurable love fills our lives to overflowing so that Christ’s mighty love is seen through us. In Jesus’ Name we praise and thank You. Amen.

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The Big Pond:  A favorite ocean memory many of us have is the first time we see the ocean. I was about 12 and it was in South Carolina at Myrtle Beach and then a few years later it was the Pacific Ocean when we went to California to visit my brother and his wife and their new baby.

Several years ago we took our Amish friends to the shore where the children saw the ocean for the first time. On the way Moses, who was five at the time, excitedly asked when he spotted a small body of water, "Is that the ocean?"  But when he and his younger sister, Sadie, saw the real thing the "Wow!" factor was evident in their approving expression. As expected all four children, ages 5 to 1, thoroughly enjoyed seeing and wading in the ocean.

When we got to the beach two year old Eli James took a look at the vast ocean by turning his head as far as he could from side to side. He took in a deep breath and flashed a big smile as his eyes grew big as saucers. The children loved playing on the shore as the water trickled over their feet. Each time Eli's parents would take him out of the water to rest a bit he'd cry out, "I want to go back in the big pond."

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Some more photos from our San Diego trip:

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"The Love Of God"  Video  Joy Gardner, Guy Penrod, David Phelps and Homecoming  Singers

"The Love Of God"  Video  MercyMe

* "The Love Of God" Lehman, Frederick M. © Public Domain