In Times Like These

In times like these you need a Savior
In times like these you need an anchor;
Be very sure, be very sure
Your anchor holds and grips the Solid Rock!

In times like these you need the Bible,
In times like these O be not idle;
Be very sure, be very sure
Your anchor holds and grips the Solid Rock!

In times like these I have a Savior,
In times like these I have an anchor;
I’m very sure, I’m very sure
My anchor holds and grips the Solid Rock!

Chorus
This Rock is Jesus, Yes, He’s the One;
This Rock is Jesus, the only One!
Be very sure, be very sure
Your anchor holds and grips the Solid Rock!

I have been contemplating sharing this hymn for the past few weeks, and received confirmation yesterday morning at the His Hands Extended Devotion when we sang this great hymn in closing.  With the violence in Aurora, Colorado last week, I kept thinking – “What do we do in times like these?”  With the turmoil in Syria and other places around the world, I keep wondering – “What do we do in times like these?”  I then wondered about this particular song.  During what kind of “times,” did the author of this hymn pen this song?  Was it in the midst of the Great Depression where the economy was terrible and people relied on government cheese to survive?  Was this song written during a time of pestilence and disease when the Bubonic Plague or Typhoid fever was rampant around the world?  Was it during the Civil War or Revolutionary War when people wondered, would we survive as a nation?  Well, I did a little research on this song and found out what kind of “times” they were.

In 1944, a housewife named Ruth Caye Jones was concerned about the state of the world.  The country was in the middle of World War II.  Hitler, the Nazi army and the Japanese military were waging war around the globe.  Mrs. Jones was at home completing her daily household tasks.  She was burdened and stressed by the turmoil and evil in the world, but felt the Holy Spirit speak to her and brought these comforting words to her.  She stopped what she was doing and wrote down both the words and the music to this song.

The Bible speaks often about certain kinds of “times.”

Perilous Times – 2 Tim 3:1-5 says “This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.”  Are we living in “times like these?”  I think the answer is Yes.

Last days – 2 Peter 3:2-3 says “Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, And saying, Where is the promise of His coming?”  Are we living in “times like these?”  Once again, I believe the answer is Yes.

End Times – Jesus said in Mark 13:7-8 “When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places, and famines. These are the beginning of birth pains.”  Are we living in “times like these?”  Once again, I say Yes.

But I am grateful today that this great hymn reminds us what we need “in times like these.”  We need a Savior.  We need the Bible.  We need an anchor.  Hebrews 6:18-19 tells us “so that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge would have strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us. This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil…”  We can testify with the author of this hymn.  In times like these, we have a Savior and we have an anchor.

Couple of comments on the lyrics:

• “You need the Bible” – In a world where we are constantly bombarded with depressing news about our country and our world, there is a place we can go to receive rest and comfort for our soul.  We can’t get it from television, the newspaper or the internet.  Those things cannot bring inner peace in a world of turmoil.  Those things do not bring encouragement to our soul.  The Word, however, is a lamp and a light.  It is healing for our bones.  It brings comfort and peace.  We do need the Bible in times like these.

• “O be not idle” – The Bible has plenty of warnings for the idle and the slothful.  There is work to be done.  There are laborers needed in the vineyard.  We must not sit idly by in times like these.  We must not let the negativity and sin of this world cause us to throw our hands up as people with no hope.  No, we have a master who has called us to work.  Some at the third hour, some at the sixth hour, the ninth hour, and even at the eleventh hour.  But woe to those who are found idle when the Master is needing workers in the vineyards.

I pray that during times like these, you can speak confidently with the author of this song.  We have a Rock in times like these.  This rock is Jesus.  Yes, He’s the One.  The Only One.