This article was originally posted on my Authorsville website, but I thought it fit well here as well. Enjoy!
The Sound of a Waterfall
His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and His voice as the sound of many waters; ~Revelation 1:15
And I heard a voice from heaven, like the voice of many waters, and like the voice of loud thunder. And I heard the sound of harpists playing their harps. ~Revelation 14:2
When they went, I heard the noise of their wings, like the noise of many waters, like the voice of the Almighty, a tumult like the noise of an army; and when they stood still, they let down their wings. ~Ezekiel 1:24
Deep calls unto deep at the noise of Your waterfalls;
All Your waves and billows have gone over me. ~Psalm 42:7
The Lord on high is mightier
Than the noise of many waters,
Than the mighty waves of the sea. ~Psalm 93:4
What is it about the sound of water that is so powerful and yet so soft, mighty and yet peaceful, shaking and yet soothing, fierce and yet gentle. From the mighty thundering waterfall to the small tinkling stream or babbling brook, the sound of water is often used in Scripture to describe the voice of God. At times, it is thundering and quaking as in some of the examples above, or at other times, it is, “a still small voice” (1 Kings 19:12). His voice is a gentle hush, a whispering trickle, a sprouting stream. His voice is a thundering echo, a hastening river, a torrent of waterfall that is spilling over the edge of a cliff and rushing forward.
Water is not only a substance God has given to us as a means of life. It is also a symbol to us of who God is. He says, “They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters,” Jeremiah 2:13. And again, “but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.” ~John 4:14. And again, “For with You is the fountain of life; In Your light we see light.” ~Psalm 36:9. Jesus says, “‘If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’ But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.” ~John 7:37-39
As the above text says, the Holy Spirit is also compared with living water. “And there are three that bear witness on earth: the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and these three agree as one.” ~1 John 5:8. As the Spirit continues to sanctify us, it is very much like the washing with water that cleanses our bodies. This is also a great symbolism in the holy sacrament of Baptism. One of the signs of the covenant uses water to symbolize what the Lord does with His people; He washes them and makes them clean.
As you watch the below YouTube video with a waterfall stream and listen to its sound, think about the below verses:
Ho! Everyone who thirsts,
Come to the waters;
And you who have no money,
Come, buy and eat.
Yes, come, buy wine and milk
Without money and without price.
Why do you spend money for what is not bread,
And your wages for what does not satisfy?
Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good,
And let your soul delight itself in abundance.
Incline your ear, and come to Me.
Hear, and your soul shall live;
And I will make an everlasting covenant with you—
The sure mercies of David.
~Isaiah 55:1-3.
~From the Proprietor ~ Joshua Reynolds
Joshua Reynolds on Conservative Cornerstones – Author of Children’s Books / Family Stories – Finding Conservative Thought in Olde Books. Check out my Authoring Conservatism Post. Look up my two books, The Williams House and Treasure on the Southern Moor in my bookstore!