The author and the composer of this hymn lived almost contemporaneously, and both died at age 53. First published in the original edition of Hymns Ancient and Modern, 1861, it bore the caption: “For those at sea. These see the works of the Lord, and His wonders in the deep” (Ps. 107:24). It was altered several times, once by the author, but except for a couple of small changes (“Our brethren” in stanza 4 becomes “All trav’lers”), SDAH uses the original version as found in the Episcopal Hymnal 1940. It has come to be known as the Navy Hymn and is sung regularly at the U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, Maryland.

William Whiting was born November 1, 1825; his father was a grocer in Kensington, London. At age 16 William entered the Winchester Training Institute; the very next year his musical ability got him the job of master of the Winchester College Chorister’s School, a 16-boy choir whose tradition went all the way back to 1382. Besides singing in the chapel, the boys waited tables for the college boys in the dining hall, wearing uniforms with swallowtail coats. Whiting stayed on as leader of this group for 35 years until his death, June 3, 1878.

Two collections of his poetry were published, but he is remembered solely for this hymn, which has found its way into countless hymnals. It is not so strange that a prayer for safety on the sea should come from an inland boys’ school. Winchester is only 12 miles from England’s second greatest port, Southampton, and 22 miles away is the great naval base at Portsmouth. Bailey, in The Gospel in Hymns, says: “I have crossed the Atlantic 49 times, and to the best of my recollection this hymn was sung at morning prayer every Sunday we were at sea under the British flag.”

MELITA is the Roman version of Malta, the island where Paul was shipwrecked while traveling as a prisoner to Rome (read the story in Acts 27 and 28). This tune was written by John B. Dykes (1823–1876; see Biographies) especially for Whiting’s words and was published with them. It has been one of those happy marriages of text and tune that is universally considered permanent. Dykes’s style, which greatly influenced later hymn tune composers, is characterized by interesting melodic parts for alto, tenor, and bass; and the use of chromaticism, considered by some to be too romantic but by others to be expressive and beautiful.