The Seafarer, part IV

We all fear God.
He turns the earth,
He set it swinging firmly in space,
Gave life to the world and light to the sky.
Death leaps at the fools who forget their God.
He who lives humbly has angels from Heaven
To carry him courage and strength and belief.
A man must conquer pride, not kill it,
Be firm with his fellows, chaste for himself,
Treat all the world as the world deserves,
With love or with hate but never with harm,
Though an enemy seek to scorch him in hell,
Or set the flames of a funeral pyre
Under his lord. Fate is stronger
And God mightier than any man's mind.
Our thoughts should turn to where our home is,
Consider the ways of coming there,
Then strive for sure permission for us
To rise to that eternal joy,
That life born in the love of God
And the hope of Heaven. Praise the Holy
Grace of Him who honored us,
Eternal, unchanging creator of earth. Amen.

* * *

Finally I manage to finish my series on "The Seafarer."

This section is basically the summary and the moral. The speaker has told us about the ocean, about life, and about death, and now he tells us what we need to do: set our minds on heaven, not on earth. We have to live our lives in a way that will lead us to heaven. It is a struggle. But God is so powerful, the maker of the earth and the source of all things, so that following Him is our natural duty.

It concludes with a short prayer in praise of God the Creator: Praise the Holy Grace of Him who honored us, eternal, unchanging creator of earth.

Amen.