When Peter Walked the Stormy Sea

When Peter touched the stormy sea
He surely felt the cold—
With violence the windy blasts
And billows round him rolled. 

When Peter walked the stormy sea
His eyes upon the Christ,
Not wave nor roiling foam he feared—
Afflictions were but light.  

When Peter watched the stormy sea
Then he began to think:
It’s dark and deep, how can I stand?
Oh Lord, I’m going to sink! 

When Peter felt the stormy sea
Soak cold around his waist,
His empty hand in desperate plea
Reached out with tiny faith. 

But Jesus on the stormy sea
Remains the Lord of all!
Though Peter looked away in doubt 
He did not let him fall. 

My God commands the stormy sea—
He guides it as it rages;
And every wave casts me upon
That blessed Rock of Ages. 

I was thinking about this quote recently: “I have learned to kiss the wave that throws me against the Rock of Ages.” I’ve seen this attributed to Spurgeon but according to this website he never said it. He did, however, write this in one of his sermons: “The wave of temptation may even wash you higher up upon the Rock of ages, so that you cling to it with a firmer grip than you have ever done before, and so again where sin abounds, grace will much more abound.” Either way, these quotes inspired the last verse of today’s poem.

It’s been a frigid and snowy winter here, though our polar bear-ish dogs would probably choose to describe it as “cool and pleasant.” Even in -25 degrees they keep at their usual raccoon hunting adventures.

From the archives, a poem on the same Bible passage, but from a different angle: