Eternal Father, Strong to Save (The Navy Hymn)

Eternal Father, Strong to Save, a moving Veteran's Day tribute performed by the Sacred Heart Choir as the second Communion Hymn during the Veterans' Day Mass at Sacred Heart Church in Norfolk, VA. Recorded November 9, 2025.
Organist: Anthony Asmar

Written in 1860 by William Whiting, and set to the tune "Melita," the text is based on Psalm 107, and has since been referred to as the "Navy Hymn" by the navies of both Great Britain and the United States.

LYRICS:

Eternal Father, strong to save,
Whose arm hath bound the restless wave,
Who bid'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 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.

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.

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.