He Will Hold Me Fast

"He Will Hold Me Fast" has a remarkable two-part history spanning over a century. The original hymn was written by Ada Ruth Habershon (1861–1918), an English Bible teacher and hymn writer who worked closely with the American evangelists D.L. Moody and Ira Sankey during their campaigns in Britain. Habershon's original version was largely forgotten until Matt Merker, a hymnwriter and editor at Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington, D.C., discovered it and wrote an entirely new melody and additional lyrics in 2013. Merker preserved Habershon's core theme — the assurance that God's grip on the believer is far stronger than the believer's grip on God — while updating the language for modern congregations. The theological heart of the hymn is the doctrine of perseverance: "He will hold me fast, for my Saviour loves me so; He will hold me fast." Keith and Kristyn Getty championed the song, performing it at conferences and churches worldwide, which helped it become one of the most popular new hymns in Reformed and evangelical circles. It beautifully illustrates how the best of historic hymnody can be refreshed for new generations without losing its theological substance.