"Melita"

Instrumental performance by the U.S. Marine Corps Band in the early 1990s

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"Eternal Father, Strong to Save" is a Britishhymn traditionally associated with seafarers, particularly in the maritime armed services. Written in 1860, its author,William Whiting, was inspired by the dangers of the sea described inPsalm 107. It was popularised by theRoyal Navy and theUnited States Navy in the late 19th century, and variations of it were soon adopted by many branches of the armed services in the United Kingdom,the United States and Australia. Services who have adapted the hymn include theRoyal Marines,Royal Air Force, theBritish Army, theRoyal Australian Navy, theUnited States Coast Guard,United States Marine Corps and theUnited States Space Force, as well as the navies of many otherCommonwealth realms. Accordingly, it is known by many names, variously referred to as theHymn of His Majesty's Armed Forces, theRoyal Navy Hymn, theUnited States Navy Hymn (or simplyThe Navy Hymn), and sometimes by the last line of its first verse, "For Those in Peril on the Sea". The hymn has a long tradition in civilian maritime contexts as well, being regularly invoked by ship's chaplains and sung during services on ocean crossings.

The original hymn was written in 1860 byWilliam Whiting, anAnglican churchman fromWinchester, United Kingdom. Whiting grew up near the ocean on the coasts of England and at the age of thirty-five had felt his life spared by God when a violent storm nearly claimed the ship he was travelling on, instilling a belief in God's command over the rage and calm of the sea. As headmaster of the Winchester College Choristers' School some years later, he was approached by a student about to travel to the United States, who confided in Whiting an overwhelming fear of the ocean voyage. Whiting shared his experiences of the ocean and wrote the hymn to "anchor his faith".^[1] In writing it, Whiting is generally thought to have been inspired byPsalm 107,^[2] which describes the power and fury of the seas in great detail:

Within a year the text appeared in the influential first edition ofHymns Ancient and Modern (HA&M) in 1861 (the setting is reproduced below) and its circulation became widespread throughout England.^[3] The text was substantially revised by the compilers of that edition. In response Whiting continued to revise his own text, releasing another version in 1869 and a third in 1874, the last one incorporating most of the suggested changes by HA&M.^[4]

Meanwhile,John B. Dykes, an Anglican clergyman, composed the tune "Melita", in 88 88 88^[5]iambic meter, to accompany the HA&M version of 1861. Dykes was a well-known composer of nearly three hundred hymn tunes, many of which are still in use today.^[6] "Melita" is an archaic term forMalta, an ancient seafaring nation which was then a colony of theBritish Empire, and is now a member of theCommonwealth of Nations. It was the site of ashipwreck, mentioned inActs of the Apostles (chapters 27–28), involving theApostle Paul.

The original words of the 1861 version are:^[7]

The first verse refers toGod the Father fixing limits for the sea as described inJob 38:8-11 andPsalm 104:6-9. The second verse refers to Jesus'miracles of calming the storm inMatthew 8:23-27,Mark 4:35:41, andLuke 8:22-25 and walking on the waters of theSea of Galilee inMark 6:45-53,Matthew 14:22-34, andJohn 6:15-21. The third verse references theHoly Spirit's moving over the face of the waters in the Book ofGenesis 1:2, while the final verse petitions the Holy Trinity to protect all people wherever they go.^[2]

The adoption of the hymn for devotional use and benedictions in the armed services was first recorded in 1879. In that year, Lieutenant CommanderCharles Jackson Train was anavigation instructor at theUnited States Naval Academy atAnnapolis and the master of the Midshipman Choir. Train began the practice of concluding Divine Services with the 1861 version of the hymn every Sunday, whereby it eventually became an academy, and then a service-wide tradition, becoming known asthe Navy Hymn. The lyrics were altered to suit changes in the culture and technology of the navy.^[8] Additional variants have been written, often to specifically represent a particular branch of naval service.^[9]

Adoption of the hymn by theRoyal Navy may have occurred earlier than its use in the United States. Although no clear records exist for its first use, the hymn was in widespread use by the 1890s in the Royal Navy.^{[citation needed]} An extra verse was added duringWorld War I to reflect the introduction of theRoyal Naval Air Service.^{[citation needed]} The result today is a hymn somewhat different from its American counterpart, with the optional verse for specific service branches being sung between the second and third verses.

In 1940, the USEpiscopal Church altered three verses of the hymn to include travel on the land in the second verse (referencing Psalm 50) and in the air in the third verse (again referencingGenesis). This was published as Hymn No. 513 while the original lyrics were also published as Hymn No. 512 inThe Hymnal 1940.The Hymnal 1982, which is in current use by most Episcopal congregations in the US, has further revised this version(as Hymn #579) with opening line "Almighty Father, strong to save..." by adding the word "space" to the final verse, so it ends "Glad praise from space, air, land, and sea", acknowledging the possibility of space travel.^[10] The Hymnal also has a more traditional water-only version (as Hymn #608) with opening line "Eternal Father, strong to save..."^[4] The 1940 version—incorporating sea, land, and air is:

Several additional or variant verses are in use in the US military services, including the US Marines, US NavySeabees, submariners and US Coast Guard.^[8]

• The hymn appears in many hymnals, including theArmy and Navy Hymnal (1921), which was used by American forces duringWorld War II, andThe New English Hymnal (1986).^[11] The tune is also sometimes used for the text "Lord God of Hosts, within whose hand", written by Laurence Housman for the 1906English Hymnal.^[12]
• It was among the songs sung on 9 August 1941^[13] at a church service aboard the Royal NavybattleshipHMS Prince of Wales attended byWinston Churchill (who requested it be sung) andFranklin D. Roosevelt at the conference creating theAtlantic Charter.^[14]
• It was spoken in theCongressional Record the day after the attack on Pearl Harbor.^[15]
• It features as the climax ofBenjamin Britten's stagedcantata for church performance,Noye's Fludde (1958). At the height of the storm, accompanied by the sameostinato in the bass that has built up to this point, the cast sings the first verse in unison (Noye an octave lower). They are joined by the audience/congregation in the second verse. The third verse is accompanied by an organ instead of the orchestra, the boys of the cast singing adescant while everyone else sings in unison.^[16]
• Owing to its nautical theme, this hymn has been played or sung at a number of funerals for those who have served in or been associated with the Royal Navy or US Navy. Most notably, it was sung at the funerals of theEarl Mountbatten of Burma (1979),^[17]Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (2021),^[18] and of multiple US presidents, including Roosevelt,John F. Kennedy (1963),Richard Nixon (1994),George H. W. Bush (2018), andJimmy Carter (2025).^[19][20]
• The hymn features in the 1995 film,Crimson Tide, adapted by composerHans Zimmer.^[21][22]
• In the 1997 film,Titanic, the hymn is sung in the last service in the First Class Dining Saloon, just hours before theRMS Titanic sank. However, there is no indication that it was sung at that service in real life, with some passengers later noting they had been struck by its absence. It was, however, sung later that day by second-class passengers in a musical prayer service.^[23][24]

• Glover, Raymond F. (1994).The Hymnal 1982 Companion. New York: Church Hymnal Co. p. 608.ISBN 978-0898691436.
• Osbeck, Kenneth W. (1985).101 More Hymn Stories. Grand Rapids, Michigan:Kregel Publications.ISBN 978-0825434204.

EnglishWikisource has original text related to this article:

Eternal Father, Strong to Save

• Media related toEternal Father, Strong to Save at Wikimedia Commons
• "Eternal Father, Strong to Save" at CyberHymnal
• US Navy FAQ on the Navy Hymn

• 1860 songs
• Patriotic hymns
• British patriotic songs
• English Christian hymns
• Royal Navy traditions
• American patriotic songs
• United States Navy traditions
• 19th-century hymns
• Hymns in The New English Hymnal

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