On Jordan's Stormy Banks
On Jordan’s stormy banks I stand,
And
cast a wishful eye
To Canaan’s fair and happy land,
Where my possessions
lie.
I am bound for the promised land,
I am bound for
the promised land;
Oh who will come and go with me?
I am bound for the promised
land.
All o'er those wide extended plains
Shines one eternal
day;
There God the Son forever reigns,
And scatters night away.
No chilling winds or poisonous breath
Can reach
that healthful shore;
Sickness and sorrow, pain and death,
Are felt and feared no
more.
When I shall reach that happy
place,
I’ll be forever blest,
For I shall see my Father’s face,
And in
His bosom rest.
BIBLE
REFERENCE:
For they that say such things declare plainly that
they seek a country.
Hebrews 11:14
But now they desire a better country, that is, an
heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a
city.
Hebrews 11:16
Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe
in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would
have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will
come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.
John 14:1-3
He that hath an ear, let him hear what the
Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life,
which is in the midst of the paradise of God.
Revelation 2:7
Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God
chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to
them that love him?
James 2:5
Samuel Stennett -
Lyrics
1727-1795
Born: June 1, 1727, Exeter, England.
Died: August 24, 1795, London, England.
Buried: London, England.
Rigdon McCoy McIntosh -
Composer
1836-1899
Born: April 3, 1836, Maury County, Tennessee.
Died: July 2, 1899, Atlanta, Georgia.
Buried: Oxford, Georgia.
HYMN
HISTORY:
Anticipation has always been an important characteristic
of God’s people. In the Old Testament, it was Israel’s anticipation of the promised
land, Canaan, For the New Testament believer, it is the glorious hope of one day sharing eternity
with our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ.
This hymn text, written by an English Baptist minister, Samuel Stennett, first appeared in John
Rippon’s Selection of Hymns, in 1787, with the title “Heaven Anticipated.” It has
been joyous favorite with evangelical people everywhere.
Samuel Stennett was one of the most respected and influential preachers among the Dissenting or
non-conformist groups of his time. He was highly esteemed by all religious groups and classes of
people; it was said that he was even a personal friend of the reigning monarch, King George III. Not
only was Stennett know as an outstanding evangelical preacher, but he also used his influence among
his statesmen of the time in vigorous support of social reforms and religious freedom.
Samuel Stennett was born, in 1727, in Exeter, England, the son of a Baptist Minister. Later, his
father received a call to pastor the Baptist Church on Little Wild Street, London, and at the age of
twenty, young Samuel became his father’s assistant there. Upon his father's death, in 1758,
Samuel became the pastor and continued this ministry, until his own death thirty-seven years later.
Among his influential parishioners was John Howard, the noted English philanthropist and prison
reformer.
Throughout his ministry, Stennett also authored thirty-nine hymns, most of which he contributed to
one of the most important evangelical hymanls of the eighteen century, John Rippon’s Selection
of Hymns, pulished in 1787. Stennett’s two most popular hymns still in usage are
“Majestic Sweetness Sits Enthroned” and “On Jordan’s Stormy Banks.” In
1763, the University of Aberdeen conferred the Doctor of Divinity degree upon Samuel Stennett, in
recognition of his accomplishments.
The tune, “Promised Land,” is one of the many traditional melodies used in the United
States during the early part of the nineteenth century. There are several secular songs from this
time that closely resemble the “Promised Land” melody. Its first appearance as a hymn
tune can be traced back to 1835 in a hymnal called Southern Harmony, where it is shown with sharped
notes. Late, a noted Southern musician named Rigdon M. McIntosh altered the tune by changing the
tonality from minor to major as well as by adding the refrain. The hymn was first published in its
present form, in 1895, in a hymnal called The Gospel Light, edited by H. R. Chrisite.
Samuel Stennett completed his faithful and effective ministry for God and reached
“Canaan’s fair and happy land” on August 24,1795.
Dear Brothers and Sisters in
Christ,
Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God,
believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told
you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come
again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.
John 14:1-3
The happiness of heaven is spoken of as in a Father's
house. The reason there are many mansions is because all His saints though the ages that will be
there. Mansions are lasting dwellings and we will live eternally with Christ. Christ will be
the Finisher of that of which he is the Author or Beginner; if he has prepared the place for us, he
will also prepare us for heaven.
In the Scriptures Heaven is described as:
-
"My Father's House".
In my Father's house are many mansions: if it
were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
John 14:2
-
"Paradise".
He that hath an ear, let him hear what the
Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of
life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.
Revelation 2:7
-
"The heavenly Jerusalem".
But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the
city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of
angels.
Hebrews 12:22
-
The "kingdom of heaven"
. Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened
unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.
Matthew 25:1
-
The "eternal kingdom"
. For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you
abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
2 Peter 1:11
-
The "eternal
inheritance"
And for this cause he is the mediator of the
new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that
were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of
eternal inheritance.
Hebrews 9:15
-
The "better country"
For they that say such things declare plainly
that they seek a country. But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly:
wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a
city.
Hebrews 11:14,16
Jesus told his disciples,
"And whither I go ye know, and the way ye
know."
John 14:4
Thomas was confused by what he had heard and asked Jesus,
Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way? can we know the way?
John 14:5
Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the
truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
John 14:6
-
THE WAY
Jesus Christ is the sinner's Way to the
Father and to heaven.
-
THE TRUTH
Jesus Christ is the Truth, fulfilling all the
prophecies of a Saviour.
-
THE LIFE
Jesus Christ is the Life, by whose
life-giving Spirit the dead in sin are quickened.
By Christ, as the Way, our
prayers go to God, and his blessings come to us; this is the Way that leads to rest. He is the
Resurrection and the Life. All that saw Christ by faith, saw the Father in Him. The holiness of God
shone in the spotless purity of Christ's life.
Do you know Jesus Christ as you personal savior?
If not read our Salvation page and accept
Him today.