The Drop and the Ocean

Behold the vast, the sounding sea;
And tell me, can its boundless flow,
Great emblem of eternity,
A separation ever know,
From the small drops that with it go.

Oh no! The drops and sea are one;
And each from each existence take,
As to each other's arms they run;
And all their thirst of being slake,
In the great, unity they make.

And thus with thee, oh feeble man!
There is no reach, no power of art,
Which, variant from the heavenly plan,
Can give thee strength or life, apart
From life that flows in God's great heart.

Whate'er we call our own is Thine,
Oh, life of God! oh living sea!
We live, and with a life divine,
When our small drop flows into Thee,
Made one in heavenly unity.

— Christ in the Soul (1872) LXII.