Inspired by a psalm, this hymn is now commonly associated with the armed forces (which explains the picture at the end of this post from my hymnal collection). In fact, the hymn has been used for so long by navies in both Britain and the United States that it has alternate names such as “Hymn of Her Majesty’s Royal Forces” and “The Navy Hymn.” The three original stanzas of “Eternal Father, Strong to Save” were penned in 1860 by William Whiting. He was a hymn writer and poet who had at least two collections of poems published. Today, though, this hymn is by far his most-remembered work. Whiting received some…