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Eternal Father, strong to save

The fine hymn “Eternal Father, strong to save” is much loved by sailors; it is sung on ships of the Royal Navy, and is the official hymn of the US Navy.

At the funerals of US Navy aviators, an additional verse is sung, according to Tom Wolfe in “The Right Stuff”. It was written by Mary Hamilton in 1915:

Lord, guard and guide the men who fly
Through 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!

The closing couplet is moving and is presumably the reason why the verse has gained liturgical use. It is unfortunately not matched by the inferior opening quatrain, which is weak in prosody, imagery and theological content. The final “air” of the closing couplet is not ideal on the falling note of the music, but that can’t be helped.

I have tried my hand at improving it, following the style of the original; the result is not poetry, but is I feel at least dignified and Biblical:

To glory soars the eagle’s flight,
The sparrow falls not from Thy sight;
In prison cage the captive sings
Beneath the shadow of Thy wings.

Oh, hear us when we lift our prayer,
For those in peril in the air!

Biblical references:
Line 1, Is. 40 v.31, also Ex.19 v.4, Deut. 32 v 11
Line 2, Matt.10 v.29, Lk. 12 v.6
Line 3, Acts 16 v.25
Line 4, Psalm 63 v.7, also 17 v.8, 36 v.7, 57 v.1, 61 v.4

Where the addition is thought appropriate – and I would stress that the hymn as it stands is complete and needs no correction – it would be inserted before the last verse, which already broadens the theme from the sea to other dangers. The prison couplet may appeal particularly to military aviators (cf. Vietnam and the Gulf); however, the imagery would I trust have a wider resonance.

James Wimberley

Strasbourg, October 1999



The original text is as follows:

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!

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!

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!

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.