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17 Wherein God, willing more
abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel,
confirmed it by an oath: 18 That by two immutable things, in
which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who
have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us: 19 Which hope we have as an anchor
of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the
veil; 20 Whither the forerunner is for us
entered, even Jesus, made an high priest for ever after the order of
Melchisedec. (Heb 6:17-20)
One of the most rousing marching songs of my youth, and one that continues a
favorite of mine, was composed by LT Zimmerman in 1906 in the Naval Chapel at
the US Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland. It was written as a fight song for
the Academy when confronting their arch enemy in sports, the US Military
Academy at West Point, NY. The song later became the official march tune of the
US Navy. The Song – Anchors Aweigh.
Anchors Aweigh
Stand
Navy out to sea,
Fight
our battle cry;
We'll
never change our course,
So
vicious foe steer shy-y-y-y.
Roll
out the TNT,
Anchors
Aweigh.
Sail
on to victory
And
sink their bones to Davy Jones, hooray!
Anchors
Aweigh, my boys,
Anchors
Aweigh.
Farewell
to foreign shores,
We
sail at break of day-ay-ay-ay.
Through
our last night ashore,
Drink
to the foam,
Until
we meet once more.
Here's
wishing you a happy voyage home.
Blue
of the mighty deep:
Gold
of God's great sun.
Let
these our colors be
Till
all of time be done, done, done, done.
On
seven seas we learn
Navy's
stern call:
Faith,
courage, service true,
With
honor, over honor, over all.
There are a number of relevant points in that fight song that applies to the
Christian life as well. To ‘weigh anchor’ means to hoist the anchor up from its
fixed point in the bed of the sea. Anchors ‘aweigh’ means that the anchors of
the battleship have been weighed and are secured aboard the ship. To weigh
anchor means to prepare for sailing. The Christian has his anchor in that
immovable Rock of their Salvation – the Word of God, the Lord Jesus Christ.
That Rock will forever hold the Anchor secure and, subsequently, the great Ship
of Church, from drift into uncontrolled waters. But the ship must weigh Anchor
when the winds of the Spirit are right. We leave not the Anchor behind, but
secure it aboard the ship of Church in our travels.
“Stand out to Sea” is the place of the battleship, but the sea of life is also
the proper place of the Ship of Church. We cannot forever remain in protective
anchor at port; but we always have with us the Anchor of the Word when we
encounter storms and maelstroms of doubt and false doctrine. Under such
conditions, the ship at sea, and the Church of Life, drop anchor and stand into
the storm to weather it.
“Stand Navy out to sea, Fight our battle cry; We'll never change our course,
So vicious foe steer shy-y-y-y.” The Battle Cry of the Church is “God, our
Refuge and Strength!” “1 God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble. 2 Therefore will not we fear,
though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst
of the sea; 3 Though the waters thereof roar
and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. Selah. 4 There is a river, the streams
whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of
the most High. 5 God is in the midst of her; she
shall not be moved: God shall help her, and that right early. (Psalm
46:1-5) When
the earth be removed, as it surely shall be at the Last Trump, where shall our
feet find firm foundation if not anchored in the Word of God?
We sail into the battles of life with the following winds of
the Holy Ghost. “Though the earth be moved,” the Seat of the Sovereign
Power shall stand Immovable and Permanent. Compromise is not an option for the
Church. The leaven of the rich and compromising churches is precisely what
Christ made reference to in the Gospels: 6 Then Jesus said unto them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and
of the Sadducees.
….. 11b. I
spake it not to you concerning bread, that ye should beware of the leaven of
the Pharisees and of the Sadducees? 12 Then understood they how that he
bade them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the
Pharisees and of the Sadducees. (Matt
16: 6, 11b-12)
Well, there are more parallels in that great song that escapes the notice of
the modern, dumb-downed theologian or professing Christian; but I will leave
those to the committed Christians (as opposed to professing) who usually take
time to read these devotions (or better still – the Holy Bible), of mine
though poorly written.
Every ship at sea has an intended destination. So does the Ship of the Church.
Its port offers a happy rest of comfort and security from the storm. It also
allows for the sharing of its cargo with the merchants thereof and the
acquisition of other cargo to be carried abroad. In port facilities, the
maneuver space is illiberal and any drift may result in collision with other
vessels secured in port; so the anchor is necessary to prevent that drift. The
Anchor of the Church is defined by Hope and assured by the cable of Faith!
When the Lord appeared to Abraham in the guise of Three Angels and informed of
His plan to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah for the filthy sins of the place
(including sodomy), Abraham was confused that the Lord, contrary to His nature,
might destroy the righteous with the wicked. (see Genesis 18:23-33) With the
assurance of God that the city would be spared even if only ten righteous were
found therein, Abraham was convinced that God’s character had not changed. But
God found not ten righteous in Sodom, so He spared the only righteous man of
the city by escorting Lot out in the company of Angels. The Anchor of God never
moves, only our perceived reference to a false horizon.
The secure hold of the Anchor is fixed on the unseen Rock at the bottom of the
sea and out of sight of the seaman; yet, the seaman puts his trust that the
anchor will hold in that fixed position. There are mysteries associated with
God’s Word that we may not fully comprehend, but we trust in the veracity of
that anchor nonetheless.
The component of faith must not be dismissed in understanding the efficacy of
the Anchor of God’s Word for our souls. Faith is that strong cable that holds
the ship to the Anchor of Hope. Without Faith, hope would be forlorn.
In order to properly secure the vessel of our souls, the Anchor must be
deployed by trained hands. The Word of God, to be properly understood by the
initiate, must be taught by those who both love the Word and are accomplished
in the study of it. If propagated in love and fervency, it cannot help but
accomplish the thing and purpose for which God intended. It is sad to witnessed
men preaching false conclusions today from the Word of God, or even a false
word itself. The Ship of the Church is drifting aimlessly on the modern
sea because the Anchor has not been set in the unchanging Rock that is Christ.
May our Church and people settle for no other Anchor than that of the Word of
God as personified in our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ and His unchanging
Word!
