This elegant, poetic line conjures up the sense of rising anger being quelled by the calming inner voice. The heathen is our unbalanced self, the emotional brain taking control of the rational. Too easily we can succumb to our internal heathen, letting our anger surge up and explode, hurting those we love. This may be triggered by discontent, oppression, a sense of injustice, or simply by personal physical pain, as I experienced recently. The heathen raged and I lashed out. The kingdom of my family was affected, moved from its stable foundation, left temporarily fragile. Listening to God takes effort. It takes pause. There is a battle going on within and I can't win it alone. When I release myself to God, as manifested by my inner voice of love and reason, I can find calmness, rationality, peace. The world melts. If on those more difficult occasions I could speak less, listen a little sooner, some hurt would be avoided, and the bonds of love strengthened.