Some went down to the sea in ships

I should have known.  The line Some went down to the sea in ships rang in my head all afternoon.  I did not know from whence it came.  So I googled it.  Then I read the rest of Psalm 107 and found the line nestled in the middle.  Unlike the others mentioned in the Psalm, the mariners already beheld God*s works and wonders, but still needed to be reminded his mercy.  They still needed to realize God was responsible for their being brought to safe harbor.  Me too.

Some went down to the sea in ship

And plied their trade in deep waters;

They beheld the works of the Lord

And his wonders in the deep. 

                                     Psalm 107:23-24

1979 Book of Common Prayer

God spoke to the complacent.

They plied their trade,

Amidst his works and wonders.

He tossed them high on the waves of the sea,

Crashed them down to the depths.

They too found the need for deliverance.

He stilled the storm in a whisper.

He brought them to safe harbor.

They too found themselves,

Despite themselves,

Delivered home.

There is no place God cannot find me,

No place I have put myself,

No place I find myself,

That God does not pour mercy,

That God

Does not do wonders,

That God does not remind me,

Even when I know I*ve seen it all

There is more mercy coming.

Despite myself,

I have seen nothing yet.

The quality of mercy

This reflection started as something else.  Sometimes they have that way about them.  We never spent time in seminary years and years ago now defining God by attributes.  In June I will be leading a provincial retreat  for Daughters of the King on what it means to love mercy (Micah 6:8) (last year*s retreat leader chose to walk humbly).  It is probably not a surprise that I began with Shakespeare, moved to Wheaton, then to Chippie, and landed on mystery.  I am still an Episcopalian.

The quality of mercy is not strain'd,
It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven
Upon the place beneath. It is twice blest:
It blesseth him that gives and him that takes (190)

William Shakespeare

The Merchant of Venice, Act IV, Scene I

In high school I missed the Shakespeare emphasis

That my siblings and my husband experienced.

Still it amazes me that Shakespeare returns

In snippets,

As truths,

Almost as much as the Bible.

This morning I think about the attributes of God,

Mercy in particular.

Before Wheaton I did not separate out

God*s attributes.

I did not consider His/Her qualifiers.

This morning I am stuck on adjectives, descriptors.

Shakespeare offers

Not strained

Like gentle rain,

Twice blessed.

I am not at Wheaton anymore.

Shakespeare would never

Pass muster.

I miss the professor*s dog Chippie.

He would allow me to run my fingers through his fur

A few times during that final term.

He barked at the men in class,

But let me run my fingers through his fur,

Particularly

When mystery was mentioned

As an attribute of God.