Septimus Winner, one of the best known song writers of the nineteenth century, whose songs are still sung round many a campfire, has been rediscovered and inducted into the Songwriters’ Hall of Fame. His best loved and most enduring song was ‘Whispering Hope’, whose lyrics say:
‘Soft as the voice of an angel, breathing a lesson unheard,
hope with a gentle persuasion whispers her comforting word:
wait till the darkness is over, wait till the tempest is done,
hope for the sunshine tomorrow, after the shower is gone.

And then comes the haunting refrain:
Whispering hope, oh, how welcome thy voice,
making my heart in its sorrow rejoice.

His inspiration for that song came from the words in the Bible that speak of Christian hope as an anchor that will never fail. And our oh-so-sophisticated world still needs that anchor.