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#756: Eternal Father, Strong to Save
Feb. 26th, 2019 11:59 pmIs this mostly a product of its time?
Yes and no.
Like 755, it's a prayer asking for God's help when travelling the waters, although this one is more about literal waters (and refers to various Bible stories in which God, in various facets, demonstrates control of them), whereas the previous one was more about the metaphorical voyage of life. So to me, the imagery of "sailing across the ocean is a thing we humans can do, it's just really dangerous sometimes!" maybe ties it to a specific era. But the Bible stories still work as allusions in any time.
What's interesting is that this song has been rewritten to add zillions of additional verses for specific petitioners. A lot of (naval) militaries expand on it, which, I guess they're in "peril," but still is kind of :/. The Episcopal church has verses about land and air. And then there are others about astronauts and Antarctic explorers! Even Terry Pratchett (not big on religion) got in on the game, bringing it full circle with a verse about land! (I haven't actually read the book in question.)
Yes and no.
Like 755, it's a prayer asking for God's help when travelling the waters, although this one is more about literal waters (and refers to various Bible stories in which God, in various facets, demonstrates control of them), whereas the previous one was more about the metaphorical voyage of life. So to me, the imagery of "sailing across the ocean is a thing we humans can do, it's just really dangerous sometimes!" maybe ties it to a specific era. But the Bible stories still work as allusions in any time.
What's interesting is that this song has been rewritten to add zillions of additional verses for specific petitioners. A lot of (naval) militaries expand on it, which, I guess they're in "peril," but still is kind of :/. The Episcopal church has verses about land and air. And then there are others about astronauts and Antarctic explorers! Even Terry Pratchett (not big on religion) got in on the game, bringing it full circle with a verse about land! (I haven't actually read the book in question.)
