Ada R. Habershon – He Will Hold Me Fast

Ada R. Habershon was a late 19th to early 20th-century hymnist, Bible study author, and great friend of D. L. Moody, Charles H. Spurgeon, R. A. Torrey, and Ira Sankey.  She is best known for her 1907 Gospel hit Will the Circle Be Unbroken?.  her works include:

• Types in the Old Testament (1898)
• Vorbilder: Christus im alten Testament (1899)
• The Study of the Types (1898)
• The Study of the Parables (1904)
• The Bible and the British Museum (1904)
• The Priests and Levites, a Type of the Church; a Bible Study (1908)
• The Titles of the Lord of Glory (1910)
• Study of the Miracles (1911)
• Exploring in New Testament Fields (1912)
• A Sevenfold Method of Studying the Epistles to the Seven Churches (1914)
• Hidden Pictures: Or, How the New Testament is Concealed in the Old Testament (1916)
• The Day of Atonement in Its Prophetic Aspect (1916)
• A Gatherer of Fresh Spoil; an Autobiography and Memoir (1918)
• I Am a Prayer and Other Poems (1918)
• Israel’s Exodus: Past and Future (1918)
• Outline Study of the Tabernacle (1923)
• The Victorian Handbook of Types (unknown year)

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1. What message does the song communicate?

This song follows basic format and follows in the footsteps of Psalm 136, where half the lines express a singular idea (and derivatives), namely, “Christ will hold me fast”, and the other half gives several reasons why Jesus should/must hold her fast:

• Assisting Habershon’s faithlessness, cold love, and unfitness for salvation
• Resisting Satan
• Christ loves her and will not let her go
• Habershon is worth Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross

I like the alternating point/reason format, especially when Habershon uses derivatives to make the same argument.

Score: 10/10

2. How much of the lyrics line up with Scripture?

The whole song is Biblical.

This song is public domain.

[Verse 1]

When I fear my faith will fail
Christ will hold me fast
When the tempter would prevail
He can hold me fast
I could never keep my hold
Through life’s fearful path
For my love is often cold
He must hold me fast

Jesus holds Habershon amid her faithlessness (Psalm 73:21-23, Psalm 139:7-12, and 2 Timothy 2:13) and Satan’s attacks (Isaiah 59:19, 1 John 3:8, and 1 John 4:4).  This hints at Habershon’s unworthiness (Isaiah 64:6, John 15:5, Romans 3:10, 2 Corinthians 3:5, 2 Corinthians 12:9, and Ephesians 2:8).  If Jesus doesn’t hold Habershon, then she fears that her love will grow cold (Matthew 24:12 and Revelation 2:4-5).

[Chorus]

He will hold me fast,
He will hold me fast;

Essentially repeats Verse 1, line 2.

For my Savior loves me so,

Verse 2 explains how much Jesus loves us.

He will hold me fast.

Repeats line 1.

[Verse 2]

Those He saves are His delight

The Son of God takes pleasure in the rescued (Psalm 149:4 and Zephaniah 3:17).

Christ will hold me fast

Repeats Verse 1, line 2.

Flowers in His sight

Essentially the same idea as line 1.

He will hold me fast

Repeats Chorus, line 1.

He’ll not let my soul be lost

Jesus loses none that are His (John 6:39).

His promises shall last

God keeps all His promises (Joshua 21:45, Joshua 23:14, 1 Kings 8:56, Romans 4:21, 2 Corinthians 1:20, Hebrews 10:23, and 2 Peter 3:9).

Bought by Him at such a cost

This statement alludes to Christ’s sacrifice on the cross.  In one sense, value begets cost.  If I was willing to pay $10 for a mechanical pencil, then my payment shows $10 of economic worth.  Similarly, if I was willing to pay nothing for it, then it has zero value to me.

How much value does Habershon have?  What price was Jesus willing to pay?  Jesus wasn’t just spouting nonsense when he talked about counting the cost in Luke 14:25-33.  Paying for Habershon’s sins cost Him everything, showing how much He loves and cares for her (Isaiah 53:1-12, Matthew 20:28, Mark 10:45, John 1:29, John 3:16, John 19:30, Acts 4:12, Acts 20:28, Romans 5:6-10, Romans 6:23, 1 Corinthians 1:30, 1 Corinthians 6:20, 2 Corinthians 5:21, Galatians 1:3-4, Galatians 3:13, Ephesians 1:7, Colossians 2:14, 1 Timothy 2:6, Titus 2:14, Hebrews 9:12, Hebrews 9:15, Hebrews 9:22, Hebrews 9:26, 1 Peter 1:17-21, 1 Peter 2:24, 1 Peter 1:18-19, 1 John 1:7, 1 John 2:1-2, and Revelation 5:9).

He will hold me fast

Repeats Chorus, line 1.

[Verse 3]

For my life He bled & died

See commentary on Verse 2, line 7.

Christ will hold me fast

Repeats Verse 1, line 2.

Justice has been satisfied

The justice that Habershon deserves (Matthew 18:8, Matthew 25:41, Matthew 25:46, Mark 9:43, Jude 1:7, Revelation 14:11, and Revelation 20:10) was laid upon Jesus.  There was a certificate of debt with decrees of Habershon’s wrongdoing that was paid in full (Colossians 2:14).  Also, when Jesus said “it is finished” in John 19:30, he used the word “tetelestai”, meaning “paid in full”, which appeared on the backs of 1st-century legal documents indicating satisfactory payment of debt.

He will hold me fast

Repeats Chorus, line 1.

Raised with Him to endless life

That is, Habershon receives eternal life (Mark 10:29-30, John 3:15-16, John 3:36, John 4:14, John 5:24, John 5:39-40, John 6:27, John 6:40, John 10:28, John 17:3, John 20:31, Romans 5:21, Romans 6:22-23, Romans 8:18, 2 Corinthians 4:16-18, Galatians 6:8, 1 Timothy 1:16, 1 Timothy 6:12, 2 Timothy 2:11, Hebrews 5:9, 1 Peter 5:10, 1 John 2:23-27, 1 John 5:10-13, 1 John 5:20, Jude 1:20-21, Revelation 3:5, Revelation 7:16-17, and Revelation 21:3-4).

He will hold me fast

Repeats Chorus, line 1.

‘Til our faith is turned to sight
When He comes at last

Habershon will see the second coming of Christ (Matthew 24:43, Acts 1:9-11, 1 Corinthians 11:26, 1 Thessalonians 5:2-4, 2 Peter 3:10, and Revelation 16:15).

Score: 10/10

3. How would an outsider interpret the song?

Habershon uses everyday language in her lyrics.  Despite its 100+ year stretch from release to today, unbelievers will easily comprehend every jot and tittle in her song, even if they do not personally experience it.

Score: 10/10

4. What does this song glorify?

It glorifies Christ as the One who holds Habershon, despite her failures.

Score: 10/10

Closing Comments

Ada R. Habershon’s He Will Hold Me Fast is a great song.  It provides rationale for why Jesus holds us.  He mends faithlessness, squashes Satan’s attacks, and demonstrates His love towards us through sacrifice, grants us eternal life, and will come again, all of which bring glory to God.  Unbelievers will have little to no problem interpreting similarly.

I highly recommend this for corporate worship, especially for seeker-sensitive congregations.

Final Score: 10/10

Artist Info

Track: He Will Hold Me Fast (listen to Keith & Krystyn Getty’s version of this song)

Artist: Ada R. Habershon

Album: N/A

Genre: Hymn

Release Year: 1907

Duration: N/A

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