Classic Poem

JESUS WALKS ON THE SEA, AND CALMS THE STORM .

Loud blew the storm of night; the thwarting surge
Dash'd, boiling, on the labouring bark: dismay,
From face to face reflected, spread around:
When, lo! upon a towering wave is seen
The semblance of a foamy wreath, upright,
Move onward to the ship: the helmsman starts,
And quits his hold; the voyagers appall'd
Shrink from the fancied Spirit of the Flood:
But when the voice of Jesus with the gale
Soft mingled, " It is I, be not afraid,"
Fear fled, and joy lighten'd from eye to eye.
Up he ascends, and, from the rolling side,
Surveys the tumult of the sea and sky
With transient look severe: the tempest awed
Sinks to a sudden calm; the clouds disperse;
The moon-beam trembles on the face divine,
Reflected mildly in the unruffled deep.