Navy Hymn
Navy Hymn
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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.
Eternal Father, strong to save,
Whose arm hath bound the restless wave,
Who bidd'st the mighty ocean deep
Its own appointed limits keep:
O hear us when we cry to thee
For those in peril on the sea.

O Christ, whose voice the waters heard
And hushed their raging at thy word,
Who walkedst on the foaming deep,
And calm amid its rage didst sleep:
O hear us when we cry to thee
For those in peril on the sea.

Most Holy Spirit, who didst brood
Upon the chaos dark and rude,
And bid its angry tumult cease,
And give, for wild confusion, peace:
O hear us when we cry to thee
for those in peril on the sea.

O Trinity of love and power,
Thy children shield in danger's hour;
From rock and tempest, fire and foe,
Protect them whereso e'er they go;
Thus evermore shall rise to thee
Glad hymns of praise from land and sea.





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© 2003 Paul Zeh | last modified on 07-03-2003