We Have an Anchor -- Priscilla Jane Owens

Was she a sailor, or just a fascinated observer of the sea? Or, perhaps she envisioned the words would be meaningful to the audience for whom she most often wrote – children. At least two organizations from her ancestral homeland have seemed to confirm that resonance. Did some of the members of those groups contact Priscilla Jane Owens in the latter half of the 19^th Century when she composed the poetry for “We Have an Anchor” (aka “Will Your Anchor Hold?”)? It would not have been surprising if that was so. It seems that she was also immersed in some Bible study, from where some of the words of her composition have a familiar ring.

Priscilla Owens most often wanted to instruct or inspire children when she wrote her verses, a mode that she recognized not only on Sundays but in her vocational walk too. As a teacher in Baltimore, most prominently in Sunday schools where she introduced songs for her young charges, she must have seen thousands of children come and go. Even by the time she was a mid-40-ish schoolmarm, this must have made an impression on her emotionally, psychologically. What was the best way to steer kids, who from any generation in any era have presented challenges for the adults? She must have been reading what Paul the Apostle wrote to a crowd (Hebrew 6:19) when she penned the words ‘steadfast and sure’ in describing an ‘anchor’. It must have struck her with some force, for she keeps up the mental imagery of the sea and how He protects us from the various hazards there. Had she experienced a seaborne trauma herself at some point, or were there children she knew to whom a seafaring experience was familiar? Priscilla must have been gratified to know that soon after her composition, the Boys Brigade adopted a motto and her hymn’s message as their own when that group was spawned by William Smith in Scotland (in 1883). The Dollar Academy’s adoption of her hymn in Scotland just a few years ago (2007) would have given Owens some joy, too, had she realized her teaching was still continuing 100 years after her death.  The Dollar Academy (founded in 1818), like the Boys Brigade, existed during Owens lifetime. Did she have the Boys and the Dollars in mind, among others, when she wrote?

‘We have an anchor’, Priscilla wrote, a reassurance that feels more meaningful amongst a group of believers, frankly. No one rides a boat alone. Were the Straits of Fear and Floods of Death (verses 3 and 4) real places in Owens’ experience? Maybe they were only imaginary, metaphorical, yet they need not be tangible to be dangerous, even deadly. She had never seen God, either, in human form, but believed in Him obviously, and in His capacity to gird us, though unseen. We’re all in this boat together.     

A very brief biographic note on the composer, plus all 5 verses that she wrote for the hymn:

http://www.hymntime.com/tch/bio/o/w/e/owens_pj.htm

More biography on composer: http://www.hymnary.org/person/Owens_Priscilla

Some background on the song’s inspiration: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Will_Your_Anchor_Hold

The hymn is also closely associated with the organization described at the following link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boys%27_Brigade

The hymn is also an anthem at the following academy: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dollar_Academy