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The "Navy Hymn"


The "Navy Hymn" is Eternal Father, Strong to Save. The original words were written as a poem in 1860 by William Whiting of Winchester, England, for a student who was about to sail for the United States. The melody, published in 1861, was composed by fellow Englishman, Rev. John Bacchus Dykes, an Episcopalian clergyman.

The hymn, found in most hymnals, is known as the "Navy Hymn" because it is sung at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It is also sung on ships of the Royal Navy (U.K.) and has been translated into French.

Eternal Father was the favorite hymn of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and was sung at his funeral in Hyde Park, New York, in April 1945. It was also played by the Navy Band in 1963 as President John F. Kennedy's body was carried up the steps of the U.S. Capitol to lie in state. Roosevelt had served as Secretary of the Navy and Kennedy was a PT boat commander in World War II.

The original words are:

    Verse 1:

    Eternal Father, strong to save,
    Whose arm hath bound the restless wave,
    Who bidd'st the mighty ocean deep
    Its own appointed limits keep;
    Oh, hear us when we cry to Thee,
    For those in peril on the sea!

    Verse 2:

    O Christ! Whose voice the waters heard
    And hushed their raging at Thy word,
    Who walked'st on the foaming deep,
    And calm amidst its rage didst sleep;
    Oh, hear us when we cry to Thee,
    For those in peril on the sea!

    Verse 3:

    Most Holy Spirit! Who didst brood
    Upon the chaos dark and rude,
    And bid its angry tumult cease,
    And give, for wild confusion, peace;
    Oh, hear us when we cry to Thee,
    For those in peril on the sea!

    Verse 4:

    O Trinity of love and power!
    Our brethren shield in danger's hour;
    From rock and tempest, fire and foe,
    Protect them wheresoe'er they go;
    Thus evermore shall rise to Thee
    Glad hymns of praise from land and sea.

    There are have been alternate verses. These and their authors are:

    Lord, guard and guide the men fly
    Though the great spaces in the sky.
    Be with them always in the air,
    In darkening storms or sunlight fair;
    Oh, hear us when we lift our prayer,
    For those in peril in the air!
    Mary C. D. Hamilton (1915)

    Eternal Father, grant, we pray,
    To all Marines, both night and day,
    The courage, honor, strength, and skill
    Their land to serve, thy law fulfill;
    Be thou the shield forevermore
    From every peril to the Corps.
    J. E. Seim (1966)

    Lord, stand beside the men who build,
    And give them courage, strength, and skill.
    O grant them peace of heart and mind,
    And comfort loved ones left behind.
    Lord, hear our prayers for all Seabees,
    Where'er they be on land or sea.
    R. J. Dietrich (1960)

    Lord God, our power evermore,
    Whose arm doth reach the ocean floor,
    Dive with our men beneath the sea;
    Traverse the depths protectively.
    O hear us when we pray, and keep
    Them safe from peril in the deep.
    David B. Miller (1965)

    O God, protect the women who,
    In service, faith in thee renew;
    O guide devoted hands of skill
    And bless their work within thy will;
    Inspire their lives that they may be
    Examples fair on land and sea.
    Lines 1-4, Merle E. Strickland (1972) and
    adapted by James D. Shannon (1973)
    Lines 5-6, Beatrice M. Truitt (1948)

    Creator, Father, who dost show
    Thy splendor in the ice and snow,
    Bless those who toil in summer light
    And through the cold antarctic night,
    As they thy frozen wonders learn;
    Bless those who wait for their return.
    L. E. Vogel (1965)

    Eternal Father, Lord of hosts,
    Watch o'er the men who guard our coasts.
    Protect them from the raging seas
    And give them light and life and peace.
    Grant them from thy great throne above
    The shield and shelter of thy love.
    Author unknown

    Eternal Father, King of birth,
    Who didst create the heaven and earth,
    And bid the planets and the sun
    Their own appointed orbits run;
    O hear us when we seek thy grace
    From those who soar through outer space.
    J. E. Volonte (1961)

    Creator, Father, who first breathed
    In us the life that we received,
    By power of thy breath restore
    The ill, and men with wounds of war.
    Bless those who give their healing care,
    That life and laughter all may share
    . Galen H. Meyer (1969)
    Adapted by James D. Shannon (1970)

    God, Who dost still the restless foam,
    Protect the ones we love at home.
    Provide that they should always be
    By thine own grace both safe and free.
    O Father, hear us when we pray
    For those we love so far away.
    Hugh Taylor (date Unk)

    Lord, guard and guide the men who fly
    And those who on the ocean ply;
    Be with our troops upon the land,
    And all who for their country stand:
    Be with these guardians day and night
    And may their trust be in thy might.
    Author Unknown (1955)

    O Father, King of earth and sea,
    We dedicate this ship to thee.
    In faith we send her on her way;
    In faith to thee we humbly pray:
    O hear from heaven our sailor's cry
    And watch and guard her from on high!
    Author/date Unknown

    And when at length her course is run,
    Her work for home and country done,
    Of all the souls that in her sailed
    Let not one life in thee have failed;
    But hear from heaven our sailor's cry,
    And grant eternal life on high!
    Author/date Unknown



(Information from The Presbyterian Hymnal Companion by LindaJo H. McKim, Westminster/John Knox Press, Louisville, Ky. 1993)