Center For Church Music, Songs & Hymns

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Some years ago there was a movie that included a restaurant scene. The owner was wiping the counter and complaining to a customer about the crooked politicians in his town. Another customer, who had recently been nearly destroyed for opposing corruption in the same town, asked if the owner had voted in the last election. "Nope, too busy," was his reply. "Then shut up and stay shut up!" the man expostulated.

Caustic, perhaps even rude – but true. "If you have no will to change it...

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Some years ago there was a movie that included a restaurant scene. The owner was wiping the counter and complaining to a customer about the crooked politicians in his town. Another customer, who had recently been nearly destroyed for opposing corruption in the same town, asked if the owner had voted in the last election. "Nope, too busy," was his reply. "Then shut up and stay shut up!" the man expostulated.

Caustic, perhaps even rude – but true. "If you have no will to change it, you have no right to criticize it." How can believers do that? One answer has already been given – vote. By one vote Texas was admitted to the Union: by one vote Hitler won leadership of the German Nazi Party; and by one vote the U.S. House of Representatives elected Thomas Jefferson as President. Your vote does make a difference!

Also, get involved. Is there some board in your community that would profit from your expertise and concern? There must be some child who would benefit from your tutoring, mentoring and attention. Send letters and emails to your newspaper and government officials, they really do make a difference. Even picking up litter from a public park or parking lot shows that you care for your community.

And most importantly, pray. Although not in the Bible, the familiar words of Tennyson are true: "More things are wrought by prayer than this world dreams of. Wherefore, let thy voice rise like a fountain … day and night…" Perhaps Tennyson had been inspired by the God-inspired words of James 5:13, "The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective." Begin by using these two hymns: pray for our country and for those who protect her.

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William Whiting grew up along the coast of England. He was very familiar with the ocean, having played in its waves and run along its beaches. But when he was thirty-five, he truly learned the power of the ocean. He was on a voyage and a storm blew in. The crew of the ship was powerless, fighting the wind and the waves, unable to control the ship. Whiting was able to remain calm throughout the storm, trusting in God. The storm abated and the damaged ship made it back to port. Whiting was chan...

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William Whiting grew up along the coast of England. He was very familiar with the ocean, having played in its waves and run along its beaches. But when he was thirty-five, he truly learned the power of the ocean. He was on a voyage and a storm blew in. The crew of the ship was powerless, fighting the wind and the waves, unable to control the ship. Whiting was able to remain calm throughout the storm, trusting in God. The storm abated and the damaged ship made it back to port. 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.

Later, a student came to Whiting and confided to him his overwhelming fear of the ocean. This fear had not been a problem before, but now this student had a ticket to sail to America. Whiting told him of his experiences on the ocean, and assured him: "Before you depart, I will give you something to anchor your faith."

Whiting wrote several stanzas of a poem, which he called "Eternal Father, Strong to Save." The first verse of his first version was as follows:

O Thou who bidd’st the ocean deep
Its own appointed limits keep,
Thou Who dost bind the restless wave,
Eternal Father, strong to save;
O hear us when we cry to Thee
For all in peril on the sea.

The compilers of Hymns Ancient and Modern revised it when they included it in their first edition in 1861 to the form we know it now. Whiting himself re-wrote the entire hymn in 1869, and it is this version which is found in most hymnals.

"Eternal Father, Strong to Save" is known as "The Navy Hymn." At the beginning of the twentieth century, it was played on most ships each day they were at sea. During World War II, it was used at the funeral for almost all sailors buried at sea. If there was no band or recording available, it was sung a cappella by the crew or the words were read by the commanding officer.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt requested it be played at the close of the meeting with Winston Churchill at the beginning of World War II. It was played at Roosevelt’s funeral, four years later. It was performed as President John F. Kennedy’s body was carried up the steps of the capitol to lay in state in November 1963, and also as his body was lowered into its grave. The fourth verse is always sung at shipboard Sunday services on the Cunard liner QE2 when it is crossing the Atlantic. This hymn remains a comfort to people who know that we serve a God who is greater than the forces of the earth.

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