For Those in Peril on the Sea
November 30, 2023 11:02 PM
Anno.Domini.144K
November 30, 2023
In a word of knowledge, the Holy Spirit awoke me yesterday morning with the sound of a hymn in my ears. As I sat up in bed, I repeated the melody in my mind, trying to remember any lyrics that went with it. At first I heard the words, “those in peril on the sea,” and slowly other words from the lyrics came to me. I suddenly remembered a scene from the movie, Titanic, and wondered if this was the song sung by the passengers of that doomed ship.
Later in the morning, I checked on the computer and found the exact hymn I’d heard. Originally written in 1860 by the British Anglican churchman William Whiting, for the purpose of fortifying the faith of a young man who was fearful of crossing the Atlantic by sea, the hymn—known as “Eternal Father, strong to save” and “For Those in Peril on the Sea”, and going by several different hymn numbers over the years—was soon adopted and eventually customized by both the Royal Navy and the U.S. Navy. Today, it is often referred to as the Navy Hymn.
I asked the Holy Spirit why He placed this particular hymn into my mind as I was awakening. “People need to pray for those in peril on the sea,” he said. In recent conflicts, ships—both military and commercial, from a range of nations—have been targets in the Black Sea and the Red Sea. Now ships in the Mediterranean Sea and the Persian Gulf (where the Strait of Hormuz is located) are potential targets. Some of the nations linked to these ships are overt belligerents, others are covert. It is clear which nations’ ships may suffer, yet some targets may be less expected. The Holy Spirit shared that ships of the United Kingdom are also possible targets.
Lord God the Father, we ask for the protection and for the salvation of the souls of those in peril on the sea, in Jesus’s name. Amen.
The original wording of the hymn by William Whiting:
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.
Scripture:
Psalm 107:23-30 NIV
23 Some went out on the sea in ships;
they were merchants on the mighty waters.
24 They saw the works of the Lord,
his wonderful deeds in the deep.
25 For he spoke and stirred up a tempest
that lifted high the waves.
26 They mounted up to the heavens and went down to the depths;
in their peril their courage melted away.
27 They reeled and staggered like drunkards;
they were at their wits’ end.
28 Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble,
and he brought them out of their distress.
29 He stilled the storm to a whisper;
the waves of the sea were hushed.
30 They were glad when it grew calm,
and he guided them to their desired haven.
Jonah 2:1-10 NIV
2 1 From inside the fish Jonah prayed to the Lord his God. 2 He said:
“In my distress I called to the Lord,
and he answered me.
From deep in the realm of the dead I called for help,
and you listened to my cry.
3 You hurled me into the depths,
into the very heart of the seas,
and the currents swirled about me;
all your waves and breakers
swept over me.
4 I said, ‘I have been banished
from your sight;
yet I will look again
toward your holy temple.’
5 The engulfing waters threatened me,
the deep surrounded me;
seaweed was wrapped around my head.
6 To the roots of the mountains I sank down;
the earth beneath barred me in forever.
But you, Lord my God,
brought my life up from the pit.
7 “When my life was ebbing away,
I remembered you, Lord,
and my prayer rose to you,
to your holy temple.
8 “Those who cling to worthless idols
turn away from God’s love for them.
9 But I, with shouts of grateful praise,
will sacrifice to you.
What I have vowed I will make good.
I will say, ‘Salvation comes from the Lord.’”
10 And the Lord commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.
Matthew 8:23-27 NIV
23 Then [Jesus] got into the boat and his disciples followed him. 24 Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. 25 The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!”
26 He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.
27 The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!”
2 Corinthians 11:25 NIV
25 Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea
1 Timothy 1:18-19 NIV
18 Timothy, my son, I am giving you this command in keeping with the prophecies once made about you, so that by recalling them you may fight the battle well, 19 holding on to faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and so have suffered shipwreck with regard to the faith.
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