God of the Sea

Last night Susan Hardman Moore (someone with whom we Conventiclers work very closely) presented a portion of her new book to a group gathered at New College, Edinburgh. The new book is called Pilgrims: New World Settlers and the Call of Home. It chronicles the compelling stories of those who migrated to the New World in the 1630s...and decided not to stay. For many different reasons, a great number of early puritan settlers in New England felt the 'call of home' and journeyed back to Old England.

As I read the prologue to the book (an account of Susanna Bell's journey to America and back to England), a quote struck me. As Susanna left the shores of her native England, surrounded by only water, she was overwhelmed:

'We were eight weeks in our passage, and saw nothing but the heavens and waters. I knew that the Lord was a great God upon the shore: but when I was upon the sea, I did see then more of his glorious power than ever I had done before...' (quoted from Susanna's deathbed speech. See p. 4 of Pilgrims)


The thought of being far from shore, heading to a world unknown, is daunting. But it is interesting that as the creation became more vast, so did their view of God.