August - On Jordan’s Stormy Banks

LYRICS

VERSE 1

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 

I am bound

I am bound

for the promised land, 

VERSE 2 

O'er all those wide extended plains 

shines one eternal day; 

there God the Son forever reigns, 

and scatters night away. 

VERSE 3

No chilling winds or poisonous breath 

can reach that healthful shore; 

Where sickness, sorrow, pain and death, 

are felt and feared no more.

VERSE 4 

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. 

Story Behind the Hymn

Samuel Stennett, an English man born nearly 300 years ago, wrote this exciting hymn lyric about heaven. When he was 10 years old he moved with his family from Exeter to London. There his father became the pastor of a Baptist Church on Little Wild Street. Samuel would later become pastor there too, staying there for the rest of his life and using his incredible gift with words.

It is said he was a friend to King George lll and had the ability and opportunity to have big, well-known jobs in politics. But his passionate commitment was to be a pastor like his father and his grandfather. He loved his wife greatly and died shortly after her when he was 68 years old.

John Rippin, who was also an English Baptist pastor, put together a very famous collection of hymns in 1787 and used 38 of Stennett’s hymns including this one. It was called ‘The Promised Land.'

When the hymn came to America in the 1800s it became a well-known shape-note hymn. (You can read more about this below). It had a different melody written by Miss M Durham (called ‘Promised Land’) and a new chorus written by a southern musician called Rigdon McIntosh. McIntosh also changed the melody from minor to major.

As you can see, hymns continue to be sung through the decades and can be sung in new ways! Twenty years ago, through his work with Indelible Grace, Christopher Minor wrote a beautiful melody that captures the soulful joy of the words. We have printed this version here in this resource with a new recording. We hope you enjoy singing it as much as we do!

August Bible Memory Verse

Philippians 3:20 (ESV)

‘But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.’

Something to Think About

Around the time this hymn was first used in America thousands and thousands of Irish people were crossing the Atlantic Ocean to find a new home in America. In fact between 1820 and 1860 about a third of all immigrants to the US were Irish! 150 years later Keith and I became two of them!

This summer we visited the Irish American Folk Park in Omagh, N Ireland. The girls were able to see old Irish cottages from the 1800s and then walked through a ship similar to the ones that carried Irish immigrants to America. On the other side, we found old American stores and houses similar to the ones the Irish would have known in the new world. We heard stories of families longing for a better place to live, a ‘promised land’.

All through history people have been looking for a home to call their own and often traveled far to find it. In the book of Exodus, we read how God called the children of Israel away from the slavery of Egypt to the promise of a new land where they would be free to live and worship Him. They would have to cross the Jordan river to find it—and here we find the theme of this hymn!

But we learn from their story that the Lord had much more than earthly homes in mind for all of us. Because of sin and death, any place in this world will never feel fully like home to us. It will never feel like a perfect fit. We were made to be close to the Lord and to His family in a perfect harmony we cannot make on our own. This is why Jesus left His home with the Father and came to this earth. He died and rose again to take away our sin so that we would be His children and not strangers.

We sing to remember who we are and where we are heading. Just like the Israelites looking over the Jordan river and longing for the promised land we long for our forever home in heaven. We are always traveling towards ‘that happy place.’

Prayer

Father in heaven,

Thank you for preparing a home for us that will never fade, a home with you and all your people forever.

When I get sad or scared, disappointed or distracted help me remember that you are on the throne and will stay true to all your promises. 

May our homes today show a taste of what will one day come. May they be filled with the hope of heaven as we sing and speak and serve one another with love and courage, 

In Jesus’ name,

Amen 

What is a Shape Note Hymn?

A shape-note hymn describes how a hymn is written down on paper. The notes are shaped in different ways to help a singer read each one more quickly. While there is a four-note system (‘Fa-So-La’), the most common number of shapes used is seven based on the Do-Re-Mi system made famous by Sister Maria in the Sound of Music - each shape tells you its sound in the scale. This is what it looks like:

This was a very common way of learning and passing on hymns in the much loved ‘singing schools’ that sprung up all across America from the late 1700s onwards to help congregations sing. Laura Ingalls Wilder talks about attending singing schools in the Little House books!

Missed a Previous Family Hymn of the Month?

Follow the Links Below to Get Caught Up!