ON JORDAN'S STORMY BANKS (I AM BOUND FOR THE PROMISED LAND)

          If you've ever taken children on a trip you probably remember their continual questions, "How much longer?", "Are we soon there?".  Today most cars have a GPS which answers those questions for you.  But when we are bound for a special destination we are generally all filled with anticipation and excitement, especially as we get closer.  I remember when I was a child how we traveled each Christmas Eve to Bethlehem to celebrate with my grandparents and other relatives.  On that trip we always watched to see the PPL building in Allentown with its lighted upper floors.  My parents said look for the building. When we finally saw it we knew we were getting close.  Today all children of God are also on a trip to a beautiful destination.   At times it can be a rough journey with many challenges.  But we are comforted knowing that we are bound for a promised land.  We don't know how long it will be until we finally reach that final destination.  For some of us it may be soon.  For others it could be many years.  But while we journey closer the Bible has revealed much about that promised land to us and we know it will be a perfect place where we will be with Jesus, forever.  In this week's hymn choice the focus is on heaven, the land to which we are bound. The singer stands on the banks of the Jordan River looking across to the "fair and happy land" of Canaan, a metaphoric mixture of images from the books of Exodus and Revelation. Our true "possessions" lie in Canaan (Heaven) and not on the earthly side of Jordan. In stanza two we find that Canaan is a land of "wide extended plains" where "the eternal day" is always shining. In this land Jesus ("God the Son") reigns. Stanza three tells us that Canaan is a spiritually healthful place to live: "No chilling winds or poisonous breath can reach that healthful shore." Therefore, "sickness and sorrow, pain and death" do not exist in Canaan. In the final stanza, the singer obviously cannot wait to get there. Upon arrival in the Promised Land, we will "see [our] Father's face, and in his bosom rest." The refrain gives the hymn a sense of marching forward to eternal life. Samuel Stennett (1727-1795), an English Baptist, came from a long line of ministers.  His song originally had the title of "The Promised Land" and had eight four-line stanzas.  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, he 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 many hymnals since that time.   As we get bogged down with the challenges of everyday living it often becomes easy to forget that we are just pilgrims here and that we, as God's children, are actually bound for a promised land.  Remembering that truth and following the Lord's leading will help you endure the disappointments that often come our way.   What a joy to remember that at the end of the journey we will see our Father's face.  Be encouraged and comforted by that truth this week.

(1)     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.

(2)      All o'er all those wide extended plains

Shines one eternal day;

There God the Son forever reigns,

And scatters night away.

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.

(3)     No chilling winds or poisonous breath

Can reach that healthful shore;

Sickness and sorrow, pain and death,

Are felt and feared no more.

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.

(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.

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.

This week's video is a little different than most that I've shared in my blogs because it's this week's hymn at the funeral of W.A. Criswell, former president of the Southern Baptist Convention and the former pastor of this church.       LISTEN