"Rescue me and deliver me in Your righteousness; turn Your ear to me and save me." Psalm 71:2
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Words: William Whiting, 1860. He wrote the lyrics as a poem for a student about to sail for America.
Music: "Melita," John Bacchus Dykes, 1860
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In America, "Eternal Father" is often called the "Navy Hymn," because it is sung at the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It is also sung on ships of the British Royal Navy and has been translated into French. It was the favorite hymn of U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt and was sung at his funeral in Hyde Park, New York, in April 1945. The Navy Band played it in 1963 as U.S. President John Kennedy's body was carried up the steps of the U.S. Capitol to lie in state. Roosevelt served as Secretary of the Navy and Kennedy was a PT boat commander in World War II.
It was reported (and disputed) that this hymn was sung as the Titanic sank. It was sung during the film Titanic, which won the Academy Award for best picture of 1997.