Jesus promised that the Father holds us in His hands, and no one can pluck us out (John 10:29). What a powerful source of security that is for us when we encounter threats to our spiritual stability. Sometimes those are actual threats to our physical life and well-being, as must be real for believers in war-torn Ukraine as Russian bombs and missiles are exploding. But often the threats to our security that are the most intense and cause us the most anxiety are the ones that come from within, when Satan reminds us of our sin. When our conscience is shaken by the realization of how we have failed the Lord, succumbed to temptation, been afraid to speak up when confronted by ridicule for our convictions, and we ask ourselves, “How could I have done that … again? How can I hope that He will forgive me? Isn’t this evidence that either I don’t belong to Him, or that He must surely abandon me after this?”
One way of expressing this fear and finding consolation comes in the words of the 1907 hymn, “He Will Hold Me Fast.” The author, Ada Habershon (1861-1918), begins by setting the scene, “When I fear my faith will fail.” What sort of occasions would cause us to have that fear? It might be when ridicule or persecution pressures us to abandon our faith. It might be when some personal calamity has struck that made us question whether or not God was there. It might be when challenges to the truthfulness of the Scripture cause us to wonder if it really is God’s Word, and if it’s still true today. This could happen to a young Christian who begins to experience doubts. Or it might happen to a mature Christian who in a moment of uncertainty and weakness begins to question long-held beliefs. In either instance, it’s a time when God seems so distant, that one is uncertain if He’s even there.
Robert Ha rkness (1880–1961) was a gifted Australian pianist who traveled the world in his twenties with the famous evangelist R. A. Torrey (1856-1928). One night at an evangelistic rally in Canada, Harkness met a young man, recently converted, who feared he might not be able to “hold out.” Harkness longed for the young man, and countless others impacted by the revival meetings, to have confidence deep in their souls that their finishing the race, and keeping the faith, did not depend ultimately on themselves. He wanted this young man and others to know that God finishes what He starts (Philippians 1:6).
Since this hymn has only recently become popular, especially because of the new version by Matt Merker, there is not much in print or on the internet yet about its background. Much of these next paragraphs and following details in this study, are taken from this article published by David Mathis with Desiring God ministries.We see that struggle with doubt and the fear of falling away illustrated dramatically in the account of Peter walking on the water of the Sea of Galilee, recorded in Matthew 14. After hours of being trapped on that lake from a fierce storm, the disciples were still struggling to make it to shore sometime between 3 am and 6 am. When Jesus appeared walking on the water toward their boat, they were initially terrified, thinking they were seeing a ghost. But when they realized who it was, Peter asked Jesus, “command me to come to You on the water.” He stepped out of the boat and began moving toward Jesus with miraculously firm footing on the waves. But then, taking his eyes off of Jesus and looking at the waves around him, his faith began to fail, and down he went into the depths.
This is where many people miss the most important part of the miracle. It wasn’t that Peter reached out at the last moment and grabbed onto Jesus’ ankles, pulling himself up out of the water. No, the Bible’s account is very clear. It was Jesus who reached down to helpless Peter. When our faith fails, as it surely will at some time, it’s not that we must somehow pull ourselves up from those depths of despair and fear. No, as the hymn says, “When I fear my faith will fail, Christ will hold me fast.”
That young convert in Canada was not wrong to doubt his own ability to “hold out” or “hold on.” Indeed, he should have doubted himself, as we also should doubt ourselves. But what the young man didn’t yet know deep in his soul was that his perseverance in the faith wasn’t simply left to him. If Jesus has made us his own, he will be faithful to keep us till the end (1 Thessalonians 5:24; Hebrews 10:23). And not simply from our own sin and weakness and proneness to wander, but also from satanic attack. He will “guard you against the evil one” (2 Thessalonians 3:3). Jesus prayed for His people the night before He died, “I do not ask that You take them out of the world, but that You keep them from the evil one” (John 17:5). The Father never fails to answer this prayer for those who are truly his Son’s.
After the unsettling conversation with that Canadian convert, Harkness wondered how he might help other Christians celebrate the power of God’s sustaining hand in our perseverance and have this sweet truth bore deep into our souls. The answer was obvious for a musician like Harkness: a song. He mentioned the need in a letter to London hymnwriter (and friend of Charles Spurgeon) Ada Habershon (1861–1918) that there was a need for songs to encourage “definite assurance of success in the Christian life.” Inspired by the challenge, she wrote seven. One she called “When I Fear My Faith Will Fail.” Harkness then wrote the original tune (not the one we sing today).
Ada R. Habershon was an English hymnist best known for her 1907 gospel song, “Will the Circle Be Unbroken?” for which the tune was composed by Charles Gabriel (1856-1932). Gabriel, born on an Iowa farm, is said to have written between 7,000 and 8,000 gospel songs! “Send the Light” was his first commercial song. He worked for a time for the Homer Rodeheaver Publishing Company. In 1982, he was inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame. Habershon met Dwight Moody and Ira Sankey when they visited London in 1884. During the 1905 Torrey-Alexander mission, Charles Alexander asked her to write some gospel songs. Within a year she had supplied him with 200!
Ada Habershon was born in Marylebone, England on January 8, 1861. Her father, Dr. Samuel Osborne Habershon, was a noted physician; her mother was Grace Habershon. Ada was raised in Chelsea, London, in a Christian home. In her twenties, she was a member of the circle surrounding Charles Spurgeon. Habershon’s first foray into hymn writing came in 1899, when she wrote several hymns in the German language. She wrote her first English language hymns in 1901, while ill.
A century later, across the pond, an American worship pastor in Washington, D.C., Matt Merker (b.1984), took out Habershon’s words, given to him by a congregant, during a trying season in his own life. He found fresh comfort and hope in the lyrics, put new music to the old hymn, re-arranged the words, and added a third stanza. He shared the song with his wife and then senior pastor, Mark Dever at Washington, D.C.’s Capitol Hill Baptist Church, who thought the church should try singing it. He had been introduced to the song by a church member earlier, but forgot about it. Here is his account of how he returned to it and how it was received by the church.
I forgot about the song for a while, but later pulled it out again when I was walking through a difficult personal season of doubt and uncertainty. I was wrestling with the hard questions of the faith and struggling to place my trust in the enduring power of God’s preserving grace. John Piper’s sermon from T4G 2012 on Jude vv. 20-25 was a lifeline for me, and Jude 24 became an anchor for my soul in that trying time: “Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling and present you blameless before the presence of His glory with great joy . . .” . . . I pulled out “He Will Hold Me Fast” again and the words ministered to me deeply. I wanted to see the resurrection and return of Christ featured in the lyrics, since our hope is guaranteed by the reality that Christ has risen and is coming again. I first shared the song with my wife and then with our pastor, and he suggested we should try singing it as a congregation. We introduced the song to CHBC early in 2013 and the church quickly owned the song and began singing it with joy (and really loud voices!).
Not only is God “able to keep” His people, but He does so “with great joy” (Jude 24). Habershon’s hymn echoes the truth and beauty of Psalm 149:4, “The Lord takes pleasure in His people,” as she wrote, “Those He saves are His delight; He will hold me fast.” Not only will God keep His people, but He delights to do so. Not only does He hold us fast, but He does so with great joy. And there is no safer place to be in the universe than to be hidden with Jesus in the heart of God’s delight. Merker’s new tune has been welcomed by a wide audience today, in part, through his association with Getty music, and the inclusion of the song in concerts and on recordings. It is being increasingly included in recent hymnals. The practice of introducing new music to old texts has been more common, and such compositions are known as “re-tuned” hymns.
Matt Merker writes Christ-centered songs for churches. His goal is to compose hymns that express glorious truths about God with singable, timeless melodies. Matt’s music reflects the full spectrum of the Christian life, from sorrowful yearning to joyful hope. He prays that songs like “He Will Hold Me Fast,” “I Will Wait for You (Psalm 130)” and “Christ Our Hope in Life and Death” would encourage and comfort God’s people. Matt’s hymns have been recorded by artists including Keith and Kristyn Getty, Sandra McCracken, Selah, Shane & Shane, Sovereign Grace, and more.
God brought Matt to faith in Christ at a young age, and Matt has been leading corporate worship through song since he was a teenager. A native of Long Island, NY, he studied religion and music at Vanderbilt University and later earned a Master of Divinity degree from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, KY. He has performed classical, rock, pop and jazz in a variety of contexts, but his favorite musical setting is leading congregational singing with his church.
Matt is Director of Creative Resources and Training for Getty Music. He and his wife, Erica, have one daughter and one son. The Merkers are members of Edgefield Church in East Nashville, TN, where Matt also serves as Director of Congregational Singing. Previously, he served on the pastoral staff and as an elder of Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington, DC. Matt’s book, “Corporate Worship: How the Church Gathers as God’s People,” is available from Crossway/9Marks.
Merker’s “re-tuned” version not only provides an entirely new melody and harmony. He has also made a few slight revisions in the text, reducing the four stanzas to two and adding a new final stanza. But in both the original and in the new setting, the biblical themes (and even direct Scriptural allusions) stand out prominently. Here is the additional stanza that the Merker arrangement has added:
For my life He bled and died, Christ will hold me fast;
Justice has been satisfied: He will hold me fast.
Raised with Him to endless life, He will hold me fast
‘Till our faith is turned to sight, When He comes at last!
© 2013 Matt Merker
Here are the words as originally penned by Ada Habershon. In them, we find repetition of the central theme in a way that stamps it lastingly in our mind, so that we can recall it in the moments of weakness that threaten us.
Stanza 1 assures us that even when it seems like Satan will prevail, “He will hold me fast.”
When I fear my faith will fail, Christ will hold me fast;
When the tempter, would prevail, He can hold me fast.
He will hold me fast, He will hold me fast;
For my Savior loves me so, He will hold me fast.
Stanza 2 assures us that even when my love for Him grows cold, “He will hold me fast.”
I could never keep my hold, He must hold me fast;
For my love is often cold, He must hold me fast.
He will hold me fast, He will hold me fast;
For my Savior loves me so, He will hold me fast.
Stanza 3 assures us that because I am precious in His sight, “He will hold me fast.”
I am precious in His sight, He will hold me fast;
Those He saves are His delight, He will hold me fast.
He will hold me fast, He will hold me fast;
For my Savior loves me so, He will hold me fast.
Stanza 4 assures us that since He has paid so much to redeem us, “He will hold me fast.”
He’ll not let my soul be lost, Christ will hold me fast;
Bought by Him at such a cost, He will hold me fast.
He will hold me fast, He will hold me fast;
For my Savior loves me so, He will hold me fast.
What amazing grace! What amazing mercy! What amazing security! What amazing love!
Here’s the song with Matt Merker at the piano in a Getty-related concert.