A Voice From the Deep
"The overflowing of the water passed by: the deep uttered his voice." -- Heb. 3:10
Who has not heard that voice from the deep? From the hidden depths of every soul come murmurings, gentle but insistent, refusing to be quieted by the soothing sophistries devised by the wisdom of man. These murmurings are but echoes of the voice of God crying out within us and calling us unto Himself.
One of the most popular legends in Brittany is that relating to an imaginary town called Is, which is supposed to have been swallowed up by the sea at some unknown time. There are several places along the coast which are pointed out as the site of this imaginary city, and the fishermen have strange tales to tell of it. According to them, the tips of the spires of the churches may be seen in the hollows of the waves when the sea is rough, while during a calm the music of the bells rises above the waters. Reciting this legend in one of his books, Renan, the sceptic, says, "I often fancy in my calmer moments that I have at the bottom of my heart a city of Is, with its bells calling me to devotion. At times I stop to listen to these gentle murmurings, which seem to come from hidden depths, like voices from another world."
Such a confession, coming from such a sceptic, can be explained only in one way. Underneath his cynical thinking and irreverence for holy things, the voice of God was clamouring for homage. It is convincing proof that the soul was made for God and that only God can satisfy its longings.
Moody said, "God has made the soul a little too large for this world; roll the whole world in, and still there is room." The world exhausted itself on Solomon in wealth and fame and pleasure and worldly knowledge, and yet we hear him saying, "All is vanity."
"Attempt, how monstrous and how surely vain!
With things of earthly sort, with aught but God,
With aught but moral excellence, truth and love,
To satisfy and fill the immortal soul."
