The Rotary Hymn was last published in the Rotary Songbook in 1984. The music was written by John B. Dykes, 1823-1876. The lyrics by A. R. Moore
The Rotary Hymn
Eternal God, we look to Thee
That true and steadfast we may be.
Grant us Thy strength to make us strong,
To serve the right and shun the wrong.
Help us to keep a noble aim,
And through our work our faith proclaim.
Grant us the ready heart that heeds,
And swiftly serves another's needs,
Through kindly deed and loving thought,
So may our help be freely wrought;
That in our lives truth be known
"Man lives not for himself alone".
God of all nations hear our prayer
For all thy people everywhere,
And grant that we through Rotary ways,
May lead the world to better days,
When hatred, strife and war shall cease
And all the world shall know thy peace.
Notes:
The music is from a hymn entitled "Melita" by John
Bacchus Dykes,
1860. Dykes fittingly named the tune after a locale associated
with a
Biblical shipwreck. Melita was the island the Apostle Paul reached
after his
ship went down (Acts 28:1); today we know it as the isle of Malta.
Here in
the USA, we also know it as the "Navy Hymn" as it is
sung by the Midshipman
at Annapolis.
The words from this hymn were:
Eternal Father, strong to save,
Whose arm hath bound the restless wave,
Who biddest the mighty ocean deep
Its own appointed limits keep;
Oh, hear us when we cry to Thee,
For those in peril on the sea!