REFLECTION: “Sure and Steadfast”

An anchor of the soul…..

 

 

 

“Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which entereth into that within the veil” (Hebrews 6:19 KJV).

 

 

 

The writer to the Hebrews presents the believer’s “hope” as “an anchor of the soul” which is described as being “sure and steadfast” (Heb.6:19). An anchor is an integral part of a ship’s equipment. Obviously the anchor is stowed while the ship is sailing, but when it docks it is cast into the water to make the ship secure.

 

You may have watched a ship entering the harbour and berthing. Members of its crew deftly cast a rope to the quayside where a waiting dock worker catches it and ties it securely to a bollard on the pier. Until this work has been done passengers are not permitted to disembark – for reasons of safety.

 

Our lives resemble a ship on an ocean crossing with a destination ahead of us. We are familiar with the word “hope” which relates to the future. Although in everyday use it often refers to something vague and uncertain, biblical hope is an entirely different concept. Rather than being a sincere but unfounded wish for something better, biblical hope is as reliable as an anchor is to a ship. The verse above likens our “hope” to a ship’s anchor which, when grounded correctly, guarantees the safety of the ship and all on board.

 

 

CHRIST-CENTRED

The believer’s hope is centred in Christ and in what He has done. On the cross Jesus cried with a loud voice, “It is finished!” (John 19:30). We can add nothing to that work. It saves a believer for time and eternity. Christ, our “hope,” has risen from the dead and has gone “within the veil” into heaven itself. His presence in that holy place guarantees the safe arrival of all His believing people in His own good time. Our hope in Christ is “both sure and steadfast”. “Sure” means it is safe and certain, while “steadfast” indicates that it is firm and secure. The phrase “it cannot slip and it cannot break down” in the Amplified Bible helpfully explains the nature of this hope.

 

A HYMN WRITER

Priscilla Jane Owens was born in 1829 and died in 1907. She spent much of her life in Baltimore, U.S.A. where she worked as a teacher. She was very interested in Sunday School work and wrote a number of hymns which were intended for children. One of these was the majestic hymn “Will your anchor hold?” which develops the illustration found in Hebrews 6:19. Inspired by this nautical theme, Miss Owens produced a hymn that is both challenging and reassuring. It is good to see that the hymn is still included in a number of newer hymn books, even though it was written in a very different age.

 

The very fitting tune was composed by William J. Kirkpatrick (1838-1921) who was a carpenter and furniture-maker by trade and lived in Pennsylvania. At the age of 40 he dedicated the remainder of his life to music and compiled a number of gospel song collections. It has been suggested that the hymn was written in 1882. Although fewer people in the twenty-first century may travel by sea, this evocative hymn still contains a powerful message which we will consider.   

 

 

“WILL YOUR ANCHOR HOLD?”

Four different situations are described in the four stanzas of the hymn, with nautical analogies being applied to human life. The refrain following each stanza seeks to answer the questions raised with a bold, clear response.

 

1. Will your anchor hold in the storms of life?

When the clouds unfold their wings of strife;
When the strong tides lift and the cables strain,
Will your anchor drift or firm remain?

We have an anchor that keeps the soul
Steadfast and sure while the billows roll;
Fastened to the Rock which cannot move,
Grounded firm and deep in the Saviour’s love.

 

“The storms of life” are described graphically in this first stanza. We can picture dark clouds scudding across the sky as strong tides lift the ancient steamer, and we can hear the cables straining after the ship’s anchor has been cast. The challenge is this: In “the storms of life … will your anchor drift or firm remain?” Do we have stability when we encounter situations which threaten to overwhelm us? The answer in the refrain leaves no room for doubt. “We have an anchor” which will remain secure, whatever the circumstances.

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2. Will your anchor hold in the straits of fear?
   When the breakers roar and the reef is near;
   While the surges rave and the wild winds blow,
   Shall the angry waves then your bark o’erflow?

 

The second stanza takes us to “the straits of fear” as we picture the storm-tossed ship driven in the raging tempest towards the reef. Danger faces all on board the vessel. In times of fear, will we find “the angry waves” engulfing our frail lives, or will we know peace in the midst of the storm?

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3. Will your anchor hold in the floods of death,
   When the waters cold chill your latest breath?
   On the rising tide you can never fail,
   While your anchor holds within the veil.

 

In the third stanza we enter yet more dangerous waters with the chilling “floods of death” threatening to take our “latest breath” away. The “rising tide” may present fresh challenges, but the believer in Jesus need never fear. He is in the presence of God, and one day we will be with Him – beyond life’s storms.

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5. Will your eyes behold through the morning light
   The city of gold, and the harbour bright?
   Will you anchor safe by the heavenly shore,
   When life’s storms are past for evermore?

 

The final stanza takes us beyond death’s darkness to “the morning light” and to the dawn of eternity. Can we look forward to anchoring our souls “safe by the heavenly shore, when life’s storms are past for evermore?”

 

 

Miss Owens was certainly familiar with sailing the high seas and could have enthralled her classes of children with her vivid descriptions. But she also knew the eternal value of having Christ as her Saviour and of being fastened to the Rock which cannot move – absolutely secure “in the Saviour’s love” which is both “firm” and also “deep”. Yes, if Christ is truly our Saviour it matters little what this old world can hurl at us. We have “an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast” (Heb.6:19): blessèd be the Name of the Lord!