Biblical citations in the hymnal:
Genesis 1:1-10;
Psalm 3;
Matthew 8:23-27; 14:22-33
Genesis 1:1-10: "1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.
"3 And God said, 'Let there be light,' and there was light. 4 And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.
"6 And God said, 'Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.' 7 And God made the expanse and separated the waters that were under the expanse from the waters that were above the expanse. And it was so. 8 And God called the expanse Heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, the second day.
"9 And God said, 'Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.' And it was so. 10 God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good."
Psalm 3: "1 O LORD, how many are my foes! Many are rising against me; 2 many are saying of my soul, there is no salvation for him in God.
"3 But you, O LORD, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head. 4 I cried aloud to the LORD, and he answered me from his holy hill.
"5 I lay down and slept; I woke again, for the LORD sustained me. 6 I will not be afraid of many thousands of people who have set themselves against me all around.
"7 Arise, O LORD! Save me, O my God! For you strike all my enemies on the cheek; you break the teeth of the wicked.
"8 Salvation belongs to the LORD; your blessing be on your people!"
Matthew 8:23-27: "23 And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. 24 And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep. 25 And they went and woke him, saying, 'Save us, Lord; we are perishing.' 26 And he said to them, 'Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?' Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. 27 And the men marveled, saying, 'What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?'
Matthew 14:22-33: "22 Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. 23 And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, 24 but the boat by this time was a long way from the land, beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them. 25 And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. 26 But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, 'It is a ghost!' and they cried out in fear. 27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, 'Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.'
"28 And Peter answered him, 'Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.' 29 He said, 'Come.' So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, 'Lord, save me.' 31 Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, 'O you of little faith, why did you doubt?' 32 And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. 33 And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, 'Truly you are the Son of God.'"
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As this hymn appears in The Lutheran Service Book, only stanzas one and four are public domain:
1 Eternal Father, strong to save,
Whose arm hath bound the restless wave,
Who bidd'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.
4 O Trinity of love and pow'r,
Our people 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 praise from air and land and sea.
After the hymn, however, there's a note that "the following stanzas [two and three] from the original Navy Hymn may be substituted," and according to the publication data, these are also in the public domain:
2 O Christ, whose voice the waters heard
And hushed their raging at Thy word,
Who walkedst on the foaming deep
And calm amid its rage didst sleep:
O hear us when we cry to Thee
For those in peril on the sea.
3 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.
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The passage from Genesis 1, particularly verse 2, appears in the third verse from the original Navy Hymn: "Most Holy Spirit, who didst brood / Upon the chaos dark and rude." Verses 6-9 from this passage could also be cited for the hymn's first verse ("Eternal Father... Whose arm hath bound the restless wave, / Who bidd'st the mighty ocean deep / Its own appointed limits keep"), although Job 38:8-11 is more similar (especially verses 10-11): "8 'Or who shut in the sea with doors when it burst out from the womb, 9 when I made clouds its garment and thick darkness its swaddling band, 10 and prescribed limits for it and set bars and doors, 11 and said, "Thus far shall you come, and no farther, and here shall your proud waves be stayed?"'"
Psalm 3 appears rather generally throughout the hymn. The clearest resemblance is the line "Our people shield in danger's hour" in the hymn's fourth verse, which uses a similar image as Psalm 3:3 ("But you, O LORD, are a shield about me...").
The two passages from Matthew appear in the second verse from the Navy Hymn. Half of the verse comes from Matthew 8:23-27, but the line "Who walkedst on the foaming deep" refers to Matthew 14:22-33. Of course, the parallel accounts could be cited, too: calming the storm is also recounted in Mark 4:35-41 and Luke 8:22-25 (and Psalm 89:9), and walking on water in Mark 6:47-53 and John 6:16-21.
