The Anchor of the Soul
J. T. Davidson, D. D Hebrews 6:17-20 Wherein God, willing more abundantly to show to the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath:… There are many things which a sailor holds to be essential when he goes out to sea. The captain who should go out to sea without an anchor would be decreed a madman. Life is a restless, unquiet sea, full of trouble and danger. You are the ship, that sail this sea, and are exposed to its changes and storms. Many of you are now just leaving the peaceful harbour of home with all its tender influences, and are putting forth upon the wide and open main. I remember hearing of an infidel who, when laid upon his last bed of sickness, was urged by his godless companions not to show the white feather, but to hold on. What do you think was the answer of the dying man? With a face fuller hopeless dismay, he looked at them and said, "How can I hold on when I have nothing to hold by?" Ah! he felt the need of a spiritual grapnel, something " sure and steadfast" to which he could cling. But it is not only in the hour of death we require it; we need it all through life. Let us then have a little talk together about this "anchor of the soul." I. WHAT IS IT MADE OF? You all know what ordinary anchors are made of. In very early times there were no such things known; but large stones with a rope attached to them were used for the purpose. By and by the Greeks began to make them of iron, and their example has been followed by all maritime nations. If anything in the world needs to be robust and reliable it is an anchor, for on its strength hundreds of precious lives may depend. Well, what about our spiritual anchor? Ah! of how much more importance it is that it tie durable, seeing the interests here at stake are everlasting. You cannot afford to run any risks with the soul, for it is more valuable than the whole world. Now, having seen what the anchor of the soul is made of, I want you think of this question. II. WHY DO YOU NEED IT? Why does a ship need an anchor? To keep it steady, yet say, and save it from being carried away by wind and tide. Oh, how many influences there are around us that put us in danger. Then an anchor is of great value in preventing a ship from drifting. Young converts will soon find themselves in danger of backsliding. When you get out into the world you will find a strong current running dead against you; the influence of irreligious society, and of a spurious charity, will tempt you to abate your zeal, and to give up, one by one, holy practices and vital truths which once were dear to you as life, and you will glide unconsciously back into an easy-going formalism; and then, alas! for your spiritual and eternal interests! Therefore, as St. John says, "Look to yourselves, that ye lose not those things which ye have wrought, but that ye receive a full reward." Keep fast hold of your hope in Christ, and you will be able to maintain your ground, Never let go your spiritual anchor and you win successfully resist the strong currents around you. Now we come to the last point. III. WHERE ARE YOU TO CAST THIS ANCHOR? The same apostle speaks of it "entering into that within the veil"; and, perhaps, the expression strikes you as a very" curious one. Undoubtedly it is not usual to east anchors within curtains or veils. But when you think over it the meaning is clear and beautiful. The meaning of the word "veil " takes us back to the worship of the ancient Jewish sanctuary. Although the pious Jewish worshipper never entered within that curtain, never saw behind it, yet he knew perfectly what was there; he knew the blessed truth set forth by that mercy-seat, and all his spiritual hope was based upon it. The anchor of his soul entered into that within the veil and took hold of the blood-besprinkled mercy seat of God. Ah! it won't do to throw out your soul's anchor upon the mere clemency or indulgence of an amiable God. The anchor must be fixed in the ground God has provided, and nowhere else. It must lay hold on covenant mercy, on nothing less than the finished work of Jesus. Ah! perhaps some of you have as yet got no anchor! You are going forth into the future, with its unknown dangers and storms, and are wholly unprepared! Oh! it is a sad thing to live " without God, and without hope in the world." Sir Humphrey Davy, a brilliant and successful man of science of last century, with almost everything that the world could give t, make a man happy, once wrote to a friend, "There is but one person I envy upon earth, and that is the men who has a clear and fixed religious belief." Alas! how many all around us who will still lack this. Intelligent and amiable and with much to make them happy, but still dark within. "All at sea" in very deed as regards spiritual things, and with no anchor to cling to! What are you going to do in the coming storm? To-day the air may be calm and the sky serene; but the clouds are gathering for such a tempest and riot of elements as earth has never seen; and woe betide those who in that hour have no Saviour they can call their own! (J. T. Davidson, D. D,) Parallel Verses KJV: Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath: WEB: In this way God, being determined to show more abundantly to the heirs of the promise the immutability of his counsel, interposed with an oath;