THE SUBMARINER’S PRAYER
O Father, Hear our prayer to thee
For your humble servants
Beneath the sea
In the depths of oceans, as oft they stray
So far from night, so far from day
We would ask your guiding light to glow
To make their journey safe below
Please oft times grant them patient mind
Then ‘ere the darkness won’t them blind
They seek thy protection from the deep
Please grant them peace when ‘ere they sleep
Of their homes and loved ones far away
We ask you care for them each day
Until they surface once again
To drink the air and feel the rain
We ask your guiding hand to show
A safe progression sure and slow.
Dear Lord, please hear our prayer to thee,
For your humble servants
Beneath the sea.
Amen
The "Navy Hymn" is Eternal Father, Strong to Save. The original words were written as a poem in 1860 by William Whiting of Winchester, England, for a student who was about to sail for the United States. The melody, published in 1861, was composed by fellow Englishman, Rev. John Bacchus Dykes, an Episcopalian clergyman. The hymn, found in most hymnals, is known as the "Navy hymn".
Eternal Father was the favorite hymn of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and was sung at his funeral in Hyde Park, New York, in April 1945. It was also played by the Navy Band in 1963 as President John F. Kennedy's body was carried up the steps of the U.S. Capitol to lie in state. Roosevelt had served as Secretary of the Navy and Kennedy was a PT boat commander in World War II.
Navy Chapel, Garden Island NSW
Photo by CPOPHOT Cameron Martin
The Naval Ode
They have no grave but the cruel sea,
No flowers lay at their head.
A rusting hulk is their tombstone,
Afast on the ocean bed.
They shall grow not old, as we who are left grow old.
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun, and in the morning.......
We shall remember them.
" Lest we Forget "
Graphic by Mario Cicivelli - Defence Publishing Services
"We have lost a lot of brothers of late. Being a little bit of a muso, I put together this little video as a tribute for our fallen brothers."
Jay Rouse
† link to obituary
Eternal Father – The "Navy Hymn"
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.
And grant eternal life on high!
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Footprints in the sand
One night I had a dream. I was walking along the beach with the lord, and across the sky flashed scenes from my life. In each scene I noticed two sets of footprints in the sand, one was mine and one was the Lord's.
When the last scene of my life appeared before me I looked back at the footprints in the sand. To my surprise I noticed that many times along the path of my life there were only one set of footprints. I noticed that it was at my lowest and saddest times in my life.
I asked the Lord about it: "Lord, you said that once I decided to follow you, you would walk with me all the way, and yet I notice that during the most troublesome times in my life there is only one set of footprints. I do not understand why you left my side when I needed you most".
The Lord replied "My precious child, I never left you during your times of need. Where you see only one set of footprints I was carrying you."
