The famous
hymn, “Eternal Father, Strong to Save,” also called “The Navy Hymn,” has been a
favorite of mariners and heads of state since it was put to music in 1861. Breakpoint reports:
It’s one of the
most famous hymns in Christendom: “Eternal Father Strong to Save.” It’s often
called “the Navy hymn” because it’s sung at the U.S. Naval Academy in
Annapolis. But how many of us know the
story behind this moving hymn?
The hymn’s author
was an Anglican churchman named William Whiting, who was born in England in
1825. As a child, Whiting dodged in and out of the waves as they crashed along
England’s shoreline. But years later, on a journey by sea, Whiting learned the
true and terrifying power of those waves. A powerful storm blew in, so violent
that the crew lost control of the vessel. During these desperate hours, as the
waves roared over the decks, Whiting’s faith in God helped him to stay calm.
When the storm subsided, the ship, badly damaged, limped back to port.
The experience had
a galvanizing effect on Whiting. As one hymn historian put it, “Whiting was
changed by this experience. He respected the power of the ocean nearly as much
as he respected the God who made it and controls it.”
The memory of this
voyage allowed Whiting to provide comfort to one of the boys he taught at a
training school in Winchester.
One day, a young
man confided that he was about to embark on a journey to America—a voyage
fraught with danger at that time. The boy was filled with dread at the thought
of the ordeal to come. A sympathetic Whiting described his own frightening
experience, and he and the other boys prayed for the terrified student. And
then Whiting told him, “Before you depart, I will give you something to anchor
your faith.”
Whiting, an
experienced poet, put pen to paper, writing a poem reminding the boys of God’s
power even over the mighty oceans.[i]
Whiting’s first verse begins:
Eternal Father,
strong to save,
Whose arm does
bind the restless wave,
Who bids the
mighty ocean deep
Its own appointed
limits keep;
O hear us when we
cry to Thee
For those in peril
on the sea.
This verse refers to Job 38:11, where God shows
that the Creator alone knows the
mysteries of the deep, because it was God who established the limits of the
sea, saying, “This far you may come, but no farther, And here your proud waves
must stop!”
[ii]
The Navy Hymn
continues:
O Savior, whose almighty word
The winds and waves submissive heard,
Who walked upon the foaming deep,
And calm amid the rage did sleep;
O hear us when we cry to Thee
For those in peril on the sea.
In these lines, Whiting refers to Matthew 14:22-36,
where Jesus’ disciples were struggling against a violent storm, tossed back and
forth in their boat. In the darkness,
they saw the form of Jesus coming to them, walking on the water. When Jesus got into the boat, the wind
ceased.
The hymn goes
on:
O Holy Spirit, who did brood
Upon the waters dark and rude,
And bid their angry tumult cease,
And give for wild confusion peace;
O hear us when we cry to Thee
For those in peril on the sea.
Here, the hymn
writer causes us to remember the watery chaos of pre-creation, where Genesis
1:2 says, “The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the
face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the
waters.” That brooding Spirit of God
took wild confusion and breathed peace upon it, so that the world might receive
life.
Finally, the
hymn concludes:
O Trinity of love and pow'r,
Your children shield in danger's hour;
From rock and tempest, fire, and foe,
Protect them where-so-e'er they go;
Thus, evermore shall rise to Thee
Glad hymns of praise from land and sea.
Whiting wrote four
original verses, but others added on to the hymn, so that today the song has at
least eighteen verses,[iii] asking God’s assistance for those in peril on
the sea. The hymn is reminiscent of
Psalm 107:23-30, which speaks of the dangers of sea travel, and the
faithfulness of God who calms the storm.
Those who go down
to the sea in ships,
Who do business on
great waters,
They see the works
of the Lord,
And His wonders in
the deep.
For He commands
and raises the stormy wind,
Which lifts up the
waves of the sea.
They mount up to
the heavens,
They go down again
to the depths;
Their soul melts because
of trouble.
They reel to and
fro, and stagger like a drunken man,
And are at their
wits’ end.
Then they cry out
to the Lord in their trouble,
And He brings them
out of their distresses.
He calms the
storm,
So that its waves
are still.
Then they are glad
because they are quiet;
So He guides them
to their desired haven.
What do people do when
they’re about to get shipwrecked? They
cry out for help. They send out a
distress signal. A few years ago I wrote
in my blog: The traditional SOS has been
misunderstood to mean “Send Out Succour,” “Save Our Ship,” and “Save Our
Souls.” Actually, was officially
ratified as the universal distress signal in 1908, and was chosen simply
because it was easy to send the morse signal that consisted of only three dots,
three dashes, and three dots, and it could not be misunderstood.[iv]
The distress call “mayday” is
actually an English version of the French m'aidez (help me) or m'aider (to
render help to me).[v]
Each of these distress signals
anticipates help that may come from nearby ships or other rescuers.[vi]
What do you do when
you’re about to get wrecked? When the
storms of life threaten? Like the
disciples in the boat, you send up a distress signal to God. Like the sailors in the psalm, you find
yourself at wit’s end, so you cry out to God.
Like Paul in the storm, just before the shipwreck, you can say, “Take heart…for I believe God (Acts 27:25).” When you find yourself in life’s storms, you
can be confident that God’s got you. You
can relax, “casting all your care upon
Him, for He cares for you (1 Peter 5:7).”
[i]
Metaxas, Eric. “The Story Behind the
Navy Hymn.” Breakpoint. Nov 11, 2015.
http://www.breakpoint.org/2015/11/story-behind-navy-hymn/. June 21, 2018.
[ii]
Scripture quotations taken from the NKJV.
[iv]
“What is the Meaning of SOS?” Krzenski, Jim. http://www.boatsafe.com/nauticalknowhow/060199tip6.htm. April
19, 2011.
[vi]
The above paragraph taken from my blog post, “My Help Comes from the Lord,” May
2, 2014. http://revgregsmith.blogspot.com/2014/05/my-help-comes-from-lord.html. June 21, 2018.
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