God’s Plummet
by Bill Whittington
A poem dedicated to Dr. Malcolm Guite.
Thank you for helping me recover wonder and creativity!
I heard a preacher share a word
On using poetry as prayer.
The way he spoke on depression
Gave me hope over despair.
He spoke about an ancient tool
That sailors used to inspect
The depths of seas unexplored
Hidden dangers to detect.
He talked about a plummet,
An instrument made of lead,
Which they’d lower to the bottom
Of the sea on knotted thread.
And the chap who held the line
Counted knots so he would know
The fathoms between the ship
And the mysteries below.
Thus, they plumbed the unknown depths
Moving cautiously and slow,
And the man who held the line
Took care never to let go.
For that leaden tool was key
To travel seas uncharted
Whose unclear waves no ship’s bow
Had ever before parted.
The preacher then compared this
To God’s children in despair
Who have plumbed depression’s depths
Afraid they would be left there.
These serve as God’s plummet
So the Church can plainly see
Jesus’ words on display,
“I will never forsake thee.”
Though He takes His children down,
In suffering lays them low,
The Lord will not abandon.
He will never let us go.
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