PRINCE Philip’s funeral will feature the hymn Eternal Father, Strong to Save on Saturday, 17 April – potentially with an extra verse at his request.
Traditionally four-verses, the hymn is particularly poignant for sailors who have served in the military – the hymn is actually more commonly known by the title “For Those in Peril on the Sea” as a reference to the last line.
The lyrics to the hymn are as follows:
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 Christ, Whose voice the waters heard
And hushed their raging at Thy word,
Who walkedst on the foaming deep,
And calm amidst its rage didst sleep;
O 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;
O 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.
Amen.
However, the lyrics of the two additional verses which could feature at the Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral are:
O watchful Father who dost keep Eternal vigil while we sleep, guide those who navigate on high, who through grave unknown perils fly, receive our oft-repeated prayer – for those in peril in the air.
Lord, guard and guide all who fly, through the great spaces of the sky, be with them on their lonely flights, through darkening day and endless nights, O hear as we lift our prayers – for those in peril in the air.
The hymn was also sung by the congregation and choir during the funeral of U.S. Senator John McCain at the Washington National Cathedral on 1 September 2018 and at the funeral for former President George H. W. Bush at the Washington National Cathedral on 5 December 2018 as both were US Navy officers.
William Whiting was both a writer and hymnist, with his most notable work the hymn Eternal Father, Strong to Save has long been used by both Royal Navy for church services and later adopted by the US Navy.
Born in Kensington, England, Whiting would go on to display such musical prowess at Chapham and Winchester college, that he eventually became master of Winchester College Choristers’ School.
Whiting wrote the hymn for one of his students who was fearful of an overseas voyage.
As well as hymns, Whiting published Rural Thoughts (1851) and Edgar Thorpe, or the Warfare of Life (1867) before his death in Winchester in 1878 aged just 54.
