LORD, GUARD AND GUIDE THE MEN WHO FLY (the U.S. Air force Hymn), 15 July 2025, the Anglican Orthodox Communion Worldwide

“And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly: yea, he did fly upon the wings of the wind.” Psalms 18:10

 

            This is the official U.S. Air Force hymn, but it began as a prayer written in 1915 during World War I by Mary C. D. Hamilton. The original tune was set to Mozart’s Dona Nobis Pacem. During the Second World War, the U.S. Navy adapted the first stanza for their Naval Aviation Hymn. There is one glory of the sea, and another of the vastness of the heavens. There remains a certain level of uncertainty in launching out into the deep as well as the boundless skies.

 

LORD, GUARD AND GUIDE THE MEN WHO FLY

 

1 Lord, guard and guide the men who fly
Through the great spaces of the sky;
Be with them traversing the air
In dark'ning storms or sunshine fair.

 

2 Thou who dost keep with tender might
The balanced birds in all their flight,
Thou of the tempered winds, be near,
That, having thee, they know no fear.

 

3 Control their minds with instinct fit
What time, adventuring, they quit
The firm security of land;
Grant steadfast eye and skilful hand.

4 Aloft in solitudes of space,
Uphold them with Thy saving grace.
O God, protect the men who fly
Through lonely ways beneath the sky.

Amen.

 

1 Lord, guard and guide the men who fly Through the great spaces of the sky; Be with them traversing the air In dark'ning storms or sunshine fair. The earth and sea belongs to the Lord, and so does the Wild Blue Yonder  - the vast air masses that cover both - which beckons the aviator to his domain between Heaven and earth. God is with His elect on ground, sea or air with constant care and watchful fellowship. Just as He was with the disciples on the storms of Galilee, He is with His own in the airspaces above the plains and mountains.

2 Thou who dost keep with tender might The balanced birds in all their flight, Thou of the tempered winds, be near, That, having thee, they know no fear. God engineered the first airborne life in the great eagles, sparrows and doves. In observing His wonderful aerodynamic models in birds, man’s first dreams of flight were made a reality. Christ is Master of the Air in the same sense as He is Master of the Seas. The fowl of the air know, by nature, the security of their Maker in their aeronautical exploits and the example they have been in both design and action has opened the eyes of man to the challenge of exploiting those same surly bonds of space.

3 Control their minds with instinct fit What time, adventuring, they quit The firm security of land;
Grant steadfast eye and skilful hand. The Creator has equipped man with marvellous facilities to exercise dominion over the world into which God has placed him. Flight is a fearful undertaking to the uninitiated. Without proper training in the craft and knowledge of the spatial environment, man is unqualified to invade the airspace above us. He must learn to gage the pitch of the plane with the visible horizon of the earth in flight. Without that visual reference, he becomes and unheralded statistic for the record book. The pilot must learn to trust the instruments shen outside visibility is obstructed by rain, fog and storm. Under flight condition in which outside references cannot be viewed, the pilot must trust the instruments to correct the false sensations of flight which the human senses tell him. The navigational and flight instruments of an airplane are very similar to the Holy Spirit in teaching us to deny our unwholesome urges and depend upon the Lord and His Word in all things.

4 Aloft in solitudes of space, Uphold them with Thy saving grace. O God, protect the men who fly
Through lonely ways beneath the sky. Amen. The laws of physics and aerodynamics enable man to fly, but those laws were made by an all-wise Father who has allowed our minds to harness those laws. Regardless of the altitude men may achieve in flight, there is always a higher Heaven, and the limits of man’s reach is governed from that Higher Heaven. But the same Divine principle applies not only to mankind in flight, but to each of us om land or sea. The Creator is Sovereign of the elements of His Creation. He is our Keeper in the physical realm and, more importantly, in the spiritual. AMEN

Bishop Jerry Ogles