As things continue to deteriorate in the world around us, as our own health struggles increase with age, and as the evil one appears to be growing in influence throughout our culture, who among us does not long for that time when we will be able to cross the Jordan of death and enter the promised land of eternal life in heaven? Yes, we are still to be fully engaged in the work of evangelism and in being light to a dark age and salt to a decaying culture. But as we continue the fight as the church militant, how we long for the day when we will join the church triumphant. Jesus has promised that it will come, and has assured us of the certainty by His own physical resurrection.
Our hymnals contain wonderful songs of heaven and of the songs of the saints there, hymns like “For All the Saints” (William Walsham How) and “Who Are These Like Stars Appearing” (Heinrich Schenk) and “How Bright These Glorious Spirits Shine” (Isaac Watts) and “The Sands of Time Are Sinking” (Anne Cousin). Hopefully we will sing them frequently to whet our appetite for that great day and to keep our minds oriented toward our eternal home, and not save these for use only at funeral services, where they are certainly wondrously appropriate. Having them regularly on our tongues in Lord’s Day worship will call us from the woes of this life to the glory that awaits us.
Central to the history of Israel in the Old Testament is the powerful deliverance God brought in the Exodus. At the same time that it is real history, the whole event is also an enacted parable of redemption. How can we not see the parallels? Set free from bondage to slavery by the lamb eaten in the Passover meal and the blood applied to the doors of believers’ homes, the people were not only spared from death that night, but then led out to Mount Sinai to receive God’s law and begin their march through the wilderness until they reached the Jordan River and crossed over into the promised land. In all of this they were led by God’s chosen servant, Moses. Jesus, our Moses, is now leading us through the wilderness of this fallen world to the day we will cross over the stormy banks of the Jordan to enter into the promised land of heaven.
And that has become the imagery frequently used in the songs of the church, singing of our longing for heaven, the promised land. It was common in many of the 19th century “slave songs” as they longed for release from the cruel tyranny of human masters and for a life of freedom, something that they knew for many would not come until the day they could ultimately be set free to enter heaven as that longed-for promised land. But as John Bunyan wrote in “The Pilgrim’s Progress,” it’s true for every one of us who look for the day when we are called home, to cross the proverbial Jordan River to enter into the Celestial City. We stand today on the stormy banks of a dying world.
This is the imagery of Samuel Stennett’s marvelous hymn, “On Jordan’s Stormy Banks I Stand,” most often referred to by the repeated phrase from the refrain, “I’m Bound for the Promised Land.” Stennett (1727-1795) was what we know as a “Seventh Day Baptist” ( a few of which can be found today), maintaining the observance of Christian worship on Saturday, the seventh day, as had been the law and practice for Israel before the coming of Christ. Other than this group and the Seventh Day Adventists, the universal practice of Christian churches from the apostolic period to this day has been to worship on the first day of the week, Sunday, the day Jesus rose from the dead.
Stennett was born in Exeter, but when he was 10 his family moved to London, where his father served as pastor of the Baptist church in Little Wild Street. After serving as the assistant for ten years, he succeeded his father there as pastor, where he continued until his death at the age of 68. The meeting house was rebuilt during his ministry. His father, Joseph Stennett, D. D.; his grandfather, Joseph Stennett; his great-grandfather, Edward Stennett; his brother, Joseph, and his son, Joseph, were all Baptist ministers, and “Sabbath-keepers.” He wrote 39 hymns, but is best remembered today for “On Jordan’s Stormy Banks I Stand” and for “Majestic Sweetness Sits Enthroned upon the Savior’s Brow.”
He was converted and was baptized at a young age. Like his father he was a man of superior talents and great erudition. That was especially evident in his proficiency in Greek, Latin and Oriental tongues and extensive acquaintance with sacred literature. It was said of him that “he had been accustomed to move in the society of persons of refinement; and on entering upon his pastoral duties in London he was remarkable for the ease and suavity of his manners, for the good breeding, the polished language, and the graceful ways of the true gentleman. He was frequently in company with persons enjoying the highest social distinction and in such situations as gave him an opportunity to commend Baptists and aid Dissenters of all denominations.”
Because dissenters could not attend universities at that time, Samuel was educated by John Hubbard at Stepney and by John Walker at the Academy of Miles End. In 1736, young Stennett was invited to speak at the Sabbatarian Baptist Church where his grandfather, Joseph Stennett had also produced hymns and had been minister there for 23 years. Samuel continued to preach there every Saturday until 1747 when he became assistant to his father.
In 1763 he was made a Doctor of Divinity by King’s College, Aberdeen. Although a personal friend and supporter to the reigning monarch, George III, Stennett refused political opportunities so that he could devote himself to ministry. When Samuel was 34 years old, King George II died, and he was called to preach at the funeral. His sermon spoke highly of the king, even though he was known for his immorality. As his fathers before him, Samuel was outspoken in support of the government. His sermon was immediately published and in two months received a second edition. This sprung the young pastor into the national spotlight and into the publishing world. Pastor Stennett was not only an outstanding pastor, but he used his influence to bring social reforms and religious freedom. One of the members of his church was the noted English philanthropist and prison reformer, John Howard.
He attained prominence among the Dissenting ministry and used his influence with political figures on behalf of Dissenters. Being numbered among Dissenters prevented from fully participating in society. His grandfather, Joseph Stennett, had also been a prominent Dissenting hymn writer. Samuel continued this tradition, although with less passionate language than had marked his grandfather’s Puritan-influenced notions of Christian experience. More than any other of Samuel Stennett’s hymns, “On Jordan’s Stormy Banks”, found enormous popularity especially among 19th century American Methodists. It was sung in camp meetings and brush arbors, and also found its way into the 1835 “Southern Harmony” and thus became part of the American shape note tradition. Several of Stennett’s hymns are preserved in the “Sacred Harp.” The hymn text was published in John Rippon’s “Selection of Hymns” in 1787 with eight stanzas under the title “Heaven Anticipated,”
On the 16th of March, 1795, he was deprived of the wife of his youth. The blow proved too much for his infirm constitution, and he sank under the weight of that loss, surviving her by only a few months. He died in joyful anticipation of the blissful world of which he had so sweetly sung, in his own well-known hymn, “On Jordan’s Stormy Banks I Stand,” at the rural retreat that, for several years, he had occupied, near Highgate. He breathed his last on August 25, 1795 in his sixty-eighth year. His Works, with an “Account of his Life and Writings” by W. Jones, were published in 1824, in three volumes.
Of the original eight stanzas, most hymnals today only include the four below. Before examining them, here are two others seldom sung today.
Oh, the transporting, rapturous scene That rises to my sight!
Sweet fields arrayed in living green, And rivers of delight!
Filled with delight my raptured soul Would here no longer stay;
Though Jordan’s waves around me roll, Fearless, I’d launch away.
There is a beautiful progression in the four stanzas, with each focusing on another reason that we look across the Jordan toward heaven with such joyful anticipation. It’s not just that we long to be delivered from the pains and fears on these “stormy banks” on this side of glory. It’s what we look forward to that lies on the other side!
In stanza 1, we look across to that “fair and happy land” because that’s “where my possessions lie.” As we have served the Lord in this life, we have been laying up treasures in heaven. In this life where “moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal,” we have only temporary pleasures. But our truest possessions, the love of God and fellowship with the saints and the robes of perfect righteousness are being stored up now as an eternal possession. (Matthew 6:19-20 and Hebrews 10:34)
On Jordan’s stormy banks I stand, and cast a wishful eye
to Canaan’s fair and happy land, where my possessions lie.
In stanza 2, we look across to “those wide, extended plains” to an “eternal day” filled with the light of the presence of God Himself. And isn’t that the main thing we long for in heaven? To see the Lord Jesus in all His risen, divine glory (Revelation 21:23). It reminds us of the prayer in Psalm 27:4, where we profess that what we want most is to gaze on the beauty of the Lord.
One thing have I asked of the Lord,
that will I seek after:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord
and to inquire in His temple.
O’er all those wide extended plains shines one eternal day;
there God the Son forever reigns, and scatters night away.
In stanza 3, we look across to the rest we will enjoy in a land and life of incomprehensible beauty and perfection, that will have been permanently cleansed of every source of unhappiness. That heavenly Canaan’s “healthful shore” will be devoid of “chilling winds” or “poisonous breath,” and we will never again have to deal with “sickness and sorrow, pain and death.” More than that, we read in Revelation 21:4 that “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
No chilling winds or poisonous breath can reach that healthful shore;
sickness and sorrow, pain and death, are felt and feared no more.
In stanza 4, we look across to the day we “shall see my Father’s face, and in His bosom rest.” This is the testimony of Scripture, confirmed in the heart of every believer.
If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth (Colossians 3:1-2).
And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied. But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep (1 Corinthians 15:17-20).
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.
The repeated refrain places the prayer in our own minds and on our own lips, with the confident assurance that “I am bound for the promised land.” I may be struggling in the wilderness now, but my destination is set, and every day brings me closer to my eternal home. And the refrain adds to my prayer the invitation that I extend to those around, that they would make that wonderful choice to “come and go with me.”
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.
The hymn as it first appeared in America looked and sounded much different than when originally sung. William Walker’s “The Southern Harmony” (1835) was the first to include “The Promised Land.” This was one of the most popular of the 19th century oblong tune books with shaped notes. The tune PROMISED LAND was paired with the text. It has many of the characteristics of traditional folk melodies of the time. “The Southern Harmony” attributes the tune to Miss Matilda T. Durham (1815-1901), but we know little about her. She was described as a woman of remarkable intelligence and talents with a most colorful personality. She wrote interesting articles for the religious papers of the day, and was noted for the witty repartee that characterized her work. She was well-regarded as a music teacher and composer. She was from Spartanburg, South Carolina, married Andrew Coan Hoy (1819-1890), and later lived in Cobb County, Georgia.
Originally written in a minor mode, Rigdon M. McIntosh, a Southern musician, altered the tune to the major mode, and as was customary among American evangelicals in the 19th century added a refrain, beginning with “I am bound for the promised land.” This version was published in 1895 in H. R. Christie’s “Gospel Light” and has become the standard version for hymnals since that time.
Here is the hymn as it was sung by choir and congregation at the beginning of a funeral service at First Baptist Church in Dallas, TX.