We conclude our week of thinking about the poetry of the English-language hymn tradition with what’s often called “The Navy Hymn,” or “The Royal Navy Hymn,” or just by its first line, “Eternal Father, ...

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!