One of the nineteenth century’s best known song writers was recently inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. His songs are still sung around camp fires the world over. But probably the best loved 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 the refrain: ‘Whispering hope, oh, how welcome thy voice, making my heart in its sorrow rejoice.’
His inspiration came from the Bible, which speaks of our Christian hope as an anchor that will never fail. And our world today, though very different from the one that Septimus Winner knew, still needs that message of hope.