More Than The Sound Of Many Waters

Within each of us are emotions that scale the heights of praise then sink so deep we are beyond the reach of light. In those depths we hold a notion that we cannot lift ourselves out, but there must be a power that can save. "Follow me," Jesus said. From the first immersion that birthed earth from water, to the Hebrew mikveh that requires baptism in a natural body of water, to the Pentecost immersing believers into the age of the church, water is the signature of God. The ocean is the heartbeat of earth, covering 70 percent of the planet, pulsing warmth to the continents, wearing the moods of the sky, answering only to heaven. As the ocean becomes laden with contaminants and the bonds of family unravel, science and scripture merge in an ongoing conversation about the water that both separates and unites humanity. More Than the Sound of Many Waters reflects the challenge for us to let go of the shore, entirely submerge, breathless and weightless, transforming beyond the shallows into the covenant of salt. The water of judgment is held back as the people of God pass through.

Within each of us are emotions that scale the heights of praise then sink so deep we are beyond the reach of light. In those depths we hold a notion that we cannot lift ourselves out, but there must be a power that can save. "Follow me," Jesus said. From the first immersion that birthed earth from water, to the Hebrew mikveh that requires baptism in a natural body of water, to the Pentecost immersing believers into the age of the church, water is the signature of God. The ocean is the heartbeat of earth, covering 70 percent of the planet, pulsing warmth to the continents, wearing the moods of the sky, answering only to heaven. As the ocean becomes laden with contaminants and the bonds of family unravel, science and scripture merge in an ongoing conversation about the water that both separates and unites humanity. More Than the Sound of Many Waters reflects the challenge for us to let go of the shore, entirely submerge, breathless and weightless, transforming beyond the shallows into the covenant of salt. The water of judgment is held back as the people of God pass through.

Our beliefs determine how we behave personally, and also our lawful standards as well. Misplaced faith and worship has led many far from truth. God is not tolerant toward sin or the rejection of truth. His ways are not our ways, and wisdom and salvation only come through His way. Christ is the fulfilment of God's love for us and His word which is the guide. God has made Himself known to all through nature, His written word, and in the person of Christ. Our understanding and acceptance of God will determine our lives as individuals and as a society more than any other beliefs. God has set the standard for love and moral living, and when we honor Him, we will become what's needed by our fellow man. Wisdom and truth are God's, and all substitutes will not stand. Only in God should we trust.

The final book of the Bible, Revelation prophesies the ultimate judgement of mankind in a series of allegorical visions, grisly images and numerological predictions. According to these, empires will fall, the "Beast" will be destroyed and Christ will rule a new Jerusalem. With an introduction by Will Self.

One of Newsweek’s Best Books of the Year and winner of the Robert Kirsch Award for Lifetime Achievement. A cornerstone of the scriptural canon, the Book of Psalms has been a source of solace and joy for countless readers over millennia. This timeless poetry is beautifully wrought by a scholar whose translation of the Five Books of Moses was hailed as a “godsend” by Seamus Heaney and a “masterpiece” by Robert Fagles. Alter’s The Book of Psalms captures the simplicity, the physicality, and the coiled rhythmic power of the Hebrew, restoring the remarkable eloquence of these ancient poems. His learned and insightful commentary illuminates the obscurities of the text.

Reprint of the original.