On Jordan’s Stormy Banks I Stand

Moses Viewing the Promised Land (1846),
by Frederic Edwin Church

Tyranny, terrorism, massacres, corruption, financial collapse, riots, wars, environmental disaster, hunger, disease, earthquakes and storms--the world seems engulfed in a wave of calamity. Individuals are everywhere beset with personal crises as well--family discord, divorce, unemployment, bankruptcy, homelessness. So many desperate people, knowing not where to turn, take their own lives or turn on their neighbors in helpless rage. Is there any hope for the world, or for ourselves?

Blinded by our modern expectations and distractions, we forget that such troubles have been the common plight of mankind since we appeared on this earth. Yet, people of the past seem to have coped better with the trials of life; they were at once more accepting of adversity, and met challenges with greater resolve and endurance, than most people do today. Whence came that inner strength, that reservoir of hope and confidence?

I think it was faith in God, and in His assurance of a happier world beyond this one. As is stated in the letter to the Hebrews, the faithful:

not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, . . . were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. 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. (Heb. 11:13-16)

The believer's fervent longing to dwell in that city, that "better country," is often expressed in the hymns people wrote and sung in earlier, more spiritually "enlightened" times. A common theme, often appearing in the latter verses, is the joy of deliverance and perfect peace in the Lord's kingdom when our sorrowful sojourn here is over. In this theme death is not feared, but anticipated, as the doorway to eternal life and happiness--to "a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." (Luke 12:33, 34)

A marvelous example of this attitude is the hymn On Jordan’s Stormy Banks I Stand, written by English Baptist minister Samuel Stennett (1727 – 1795), one of the most respected and influential preachers among the Dissenting or non-conformist groups of his time.The text of this hymn was first published in John Rippon’s 1787 Selection of Hymns, with the title “Heaven Anticipated.” The tune to which the hymn was first set, called "Promised Land," appeared in William Walker's 1835 Southern Harmony, and was attributed by Walker to Matilda Durham (1815 - 1901 (of whom no known image exists), a music teacher from Spartanburg County, South Carolina. Later, prominent Southern musician Rigdon McCoy McIntosh changed the tune from minor to major and added 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

Rigdon M. McIntosh

Among the best known revival spirituals, this hymn was especially popular among 19th-century American Methodists, being sung in camp meetings and brush arbors, and is part of the American shape note tradition.

Below is the text to this delightful hymn, which points us to the true destiny of the believer and echoes the exultant cry of Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:55, "O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?"

On Jordan’s stormy banks I stand,
And cast a wishful eye
To Canaan’s fair and happy land,
Where my possessions lie.

Refrain
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.

O the transporting, rapturous scene,
That rises to my sight!
Sweet fields arrayed in living green,
And rivers of delight!

Refrain

There generous fruits that never fail,
On trees immortal grow;
There rocks and hills, and brooks and vales,
With milk and honey flow.

Refrain

O’er all those wide extended plains
Shines one eternal day;
There God the Son forever reigns,
And scatters night away.

Refrain

No chilling winds or poisonous breath
Can reach that healthful shore;
Sickness and sorrow, pain and death,
Are felt and feared no more.

Refrain

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.

Refrain

Filled with delight my raptured soul
Would here no longer stay;
Though Jordan’s waves around me roll,
Fearless I’d launch away.

Refrain

What I so love about this hymn is its joyful and sure conviction of the deliverance to come. As another astute observer has noted, "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." (an excellent analysis of On Jordan's Stormy Banks as expressing the believer's "anticipation of heaven" can be found here)

The Jordan River today

Perfectly complementing the text is the happiness and pleasing rhythm of the music. I can't imagine a better thing to sing to lift one's spirits and get through some trial of life, great or small.

You'll see what I mean in the following video by Bill and Gloria Gaither and Friends--this is my favorite rendition of the hymn:


Bill & Gloria Gaither - On Jordan's Stormy... by Bill-Official

Following is a very different take on the hymn; while basically faithful to the original text and tune, it's sung here in a very creative, vocally impressive performance arrangement by the Brigham Young University (BYU) Singers:

* * * * *

No matter how difficult and challenging life becomes, remember that there is always hope, always light, always life at the end of the tunnel--if you have faith, there IS a beautiful, happy, eternal home prepared just for you, where our Lord awaits with open arms!

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

What Wondrous Love Is This?

In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might
live through him.
Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us,
and sent his Son
to be the propitiation for our sins.
~ 1 John 4:9-10

Among the miracles of sacred music is that one doesn't have to have an extensive education in writing to compose inspiring text, nor in composition or arrangement to marry the text with a beautiful, moving tune. Nor is great skill or experience in musical performance needed to sing most of the exquisitely moving hymns that have come down to us over the centuries. Many of the most famous and moving hymns familiar to us today, sung in churches and in gatherings of Christian believers throughout the world, sprang from the spiritual experiences and sentiments of unknown humble people living otherwise ordinary lives, in remote times and places. These treasures have become enshrined in our culture through oral tradition, often aided by the work of more educated men and women who sojourned among the common people and preserved their best native music in compilations from which organized churches later drew much of the material for their hymnals and songbooks, thus bringing them out of obscurity and into the spiritual experience of believers everywhere.

A leading example of these "folk hymns" is the hauntingly beautiful What Wondrous Love is This?, often titled simply Wondrous Love. Its discovery and preservation are most widely attributed to William Walker (1809-1875), an American Baptist song leader, shape note "singing master," and compiler of folk music. A brief biography notes that while yet a teenager the musically gifted Walker led congregational singing at the First Baptist Church in his home town of Spartanburg, South Carolina; later he collected and arranged folk tunes, and participated in singing schools and compiled melodies from southern Appalachia and camp meetings. After moving to Hartford, Connecticut, Walker published The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion in 1835, using the shaped note music notation system that was for generations the foundation of musical teaching in rural America, and on which the "Sacred Harp" singing tradition is based. Wondrous Love was included in this compilation, and from it this hymn gained its first widespread exposure (although it may have first appeared in print in earlier, lesser-known compilations).

William Walker and his Southern Harmony and Musical Companion, 1835

True to its folk origins, the melody of Wondrous Love appears to be a variant of a once-familiar dance tune that was set to the text of a song called "Captain Kid." The tune is in a form of minor called Dorian mode, which gives the hymn its "haunting" or "plaintive" character. This mode also leaves an impression that the melody should end one step lower than it does, producing a sense of incompletion--when it is over, one feels as if there is still more to sing. This is serves as an invitation to repetition, which is central to the hymn's appeal.

This becomes clear from the text of Wondrous Love, which recounts and celebrates the central truth, and most precious miracle, of being: that Justice and Mercy are One, that God is love (1 John 4:8), and that to save every person from his own sins, the innocent Lord of All left His glorious throne in Eternity and, while we were yet sinners, gave His life for us (Romans 5:8).

What wondrous love is this, O my soul, O my soul!
What wondrous love is this, O my soul!
What wondrous love is this that caused the Lord of bliss
To bear the dreadful curse for my soul, for my soul,
To bear the dreadful curse for my soul.

When I was sinking down, sinking down, sinking down,
When I was sinking down, sinking down,
When I was sinking down beneath God’s righteous frown,
Christ laid aside His crown for my soul, for my soul,
Christ laid aside His crown for my soul.

To God and to the Lamb, I will sing, I will sing;
To God and to the Lamb, I will sing.
To God and to the Lamb who is the great "I Am";
While millions join the theme, I will sing, I will sing;
While millions join the theme, I will sing.

And when from death I’m free, I’ll sing on, I’ll sing on;
And when from death I’m free, I’ll sing on.
And when from death I’m free, I’ll sing and joyful be;
And through eternity, I’ll sing on, I’ll sing on;
And through eternity, I’ll sing on.

Despite the tune's minor key, which is often associated with sadness, Wondrous Love bursts with the redeemed sinner's joyful exultation, thankfulness, and praise for his Savior. This glorious theme is strengthened by the repetition in each stanza, which not only made the hymn easy to learn and remember for the 19th century Appalachian pioneers who first sang it, but also (as one observer notes), functions like a rhythmic incantation or mantra, building and reinforcing the power of the message as the hymn progresses. Beginning with a sense of wonder and awe, the hymn becomes a triumphant anthem that literally echoes "through eternity."

As this is a folk-based song published a number of times in various compilations and hymnals since the early 19th century, there are many additional or alternative verses, and there have been a number of arrangements.

Several excellent video performances of Wondrous Love are available; my only difficulty was choosing which to feature here. The rendition below is a capella by the fine bluegrass group Mountain Blue--and the video presents a host of inspiring images of our Savior:



The next rendition is by American folksinger and songwriter Connie Dover in a vaguely Celtic style, accompanied by uilleann pipes and synthesized background music. The verses here are more numerous and depart somewhat from the traditional text--focusing less on Christ's bearing of our guilt than on the joy of knowing His love--but are still historically grounded, and beautiful.The video features stunning images of Michelangelo's Pieta and other great works of Christian art:



Christian artist Fernando Ortega presents a unique and beautiful arrangement for solo piano and cello, accompanying his achingly expressive voice:



And now for something completely different--yet, perhaps, truest to its origins: Wondrous Love sung in the "Sacred Harp" style! This was recorded at the Southwest Theological Seminary, Fort Worth Texas, in January 2012:



As we remember the Passion of our Lord during this Lenten season, and approach the precious time of Easter, let us all "sing and joyful be," and keep always in our hearts and minds the Wondrous Love that makes possible life with Him "through all eternity"!

But we see Jesus,
who was made a little lower than the angels
for the suffering of death,
crowned with glory and honour;
that He by the grace of God
should taste death for every man.
~ Hebrews 2:9