Psalm 8: 8 “The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passes through the paths of the seas.”
We have long promoted the belief that life’s most pressing questions are answered in the Holy Bible. Simply stated, God in His omniscience knew everything long before mankind discovered the simplest of facts.
We know from simple observation, God tells us the future and the future is now. Bible prophesies are happening before our very eyes. I hope to live long enough to see what other secrets of nature and future events will be discovered and happen only to find they were foretold long ago in the Bible.
A very prominent character in oceanographic history and science was Matthew Fontaine Maury. Being born an American in Spotsylvania County Virginia, he was also an oceanographer. His love and curiosity of the seas led him into the United States Navy. He joined the Confederacy in 1861 during the American Civil War.
Maury was nicknamed “Pathfinder of the Seas.” Being a student of the Bible, he discovered Psalm 8: 8 and his curiosity was piqued to never be satisfied until he found those paths in the sea as described in the scriptures written by King David nearly 3000 years ago.
Maury believed with great certainty that those “paths” did exist in the seas and he set out to find them. And that he did! His success at those discoveries led him to be considered the founder of modern oceanography. His book “The Physical Geography of the Sea” published in 1855 is still used as a text in universities.
Maury also published “The Wind and Current Chart of the North Atlantic.” His system of recording oceanographic data was adopted by navies and merchant marines worldwide. Charts for major trade routes were developed using his research findings.
Maury also made important contributions to the charting of wind currents and air movements. By his discoveries, navigation of the oceans was greatly aided for sailors. His study of prevailing winds also validates the meanings of Ecclesiastes 1: 6 written by Solomon. By using his discoveries, sailing ships could cross oceans in fewer days by navigating according to those findings.
All this was done, because Matthew Fontaine Maury read the Holy Bible, and took it very seriously. He believed as most of today’s Judeo-Christians believe, the Bible was inspired by God and written by men. Why else might he have invested a major part of his life to seeking out the ocean currents? Maury completely believed in 1 Corinthians 10: 31 “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.” He credited his discoveries to God because God foretold of those “paths” and established them at creation.
Maury’s research proved God’s foreknowledge of the earth and how its physical design was perfected to balance nature in ways man could never imagine. Even the cycle of the moon determines many characteristics of the seas, primarily the tides. The moon’s orbital path, speed and distance from the earth are perfectly balanced.
He was criticized for implying a Biblical and scientific connection and it was not in his lifetime other scientists began to realize the connection between the two. To say he was alone in his thinking at the time would be accurate.
An example of his findings is the Gulf Stream, an ocean current originating in the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean. It progresses along the coast of North America and eventually ends in the polar regions of the North Atlantic. Ponce de Leon actually was the first to notice the Gulf Stream in 1513 and used it to navigate ships back to Europe from the New World.
An example of God’s amazing creation, the Gulf Stream carries nutrients from the Gulf of Mexico to the North Atlantic benefiting numerous birds and sea creatures. Matthew 8: 27 “But the men marvelled, saying, what manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him!” The power of our Creator is often demonstrated (John 1: 3) in the Bible.
As we study the Holy Bible and scientific principles in depth, we find that the balance and synchronization of creation must have had a creator. The perfection in which nature operates is beyond accidental, coincidental or in any way possible without intelligent design. Things just don’t fall perfectly into place! God is in control!
Many non-believers are today claiming the Bible is not a scientific book. Findings of men such a Matthew Maury conclusively dispute this shallow belief.
Man’s attempts to outwit and outsmart God have always miserably failed. Writing our own set of rules for science or life in general is foolish and the scripture advises against it (Revelation 22: 18b-19a).
When we consider King David and his son Solomon probably never saw an ocean, the only acceptable rationale for Psalm 8: 8 and Ecclesiastes 1: 6 is that God “told” those writers what to write.
I was once asked “Why do you believe in God?” At that time my answer was “Because there is no other reasonable or logical explanation for why we exist.”
The answer is still the same but now includes the amazingly accurate information in the Holy Bible that was written 2000 to 3500 years ago.
The concept of eternity and eternal life is difficult for the analytical mind to grasp. Yet what the Bible tells us is very real. We must always teach that eternal salvation is attained by a faith based belief (Ephesians 2: 8) in Christ Jesus crucified (Matthew 27: 35) for the remission of sin (1 John 1: 9) and resurrected (Matthew 28: 6).
If more of us would take God’s word as factual as did Matthew Fontaine Maury, instead of trying to debate Him, our lives would improve tremendously.
Van Yandell is a retired Industrial Arts teacher, an ordained gospel evangelist and commissioned missionary. His email: vmy2121@outlook.com