On Jordan's stormy banks

Jordan's stormy banks I stand, and cast a wishful eye
to Canaan's fair and happy land where my possessions lie.

Refrain:
I'm bound for the promised land,
I'm bound for the promised land.
Oh, who will come and go with me?
I'm bound for the promised land.

There gen'rous fruits that never fail, on trees immortal grow.
There rocks and hills and brooks and vales with milk and honey flow.


Refrain

All o'er those wide-extended plains shines one eternal day;
there God the Son forever reigns and scatters night away.


Refrain

No chilling wind nor pois'nous breath can reach that healthful shore;
sickness and sorrow pain and death are felt and feared no more.


Refrain

When shall I reach that happy place and be forever blest?
When shall I see my Father's face and in his bosom rest?


Refrain


The hymn was written by the Rev. Dr. Samuel Stennett (1727­1795). It first appeared in 'Selection of Hymns', a celebrated hymnal compiled by the Baptist editor John Rippon. Samuel Stennett was born in Exeter, but spent his childhood in London where his father served a Baptist church as pastor. In 1758, he succeeded his father in the pastorate of the Baptist church in Little Wild Street, London, where he served until his death. Stennett authored 39 hymns. This hymn is also known by the title Stennett gave it, "Promised Land."
More than any other of Stennett's hymns, "Promised Land" found enormous popularity in 19th-century America. The hymn has appeared in each American Methodist hymnal since Francis Asbury included it in his Supplement to the Pocket Hymn Book (1808). Stennett's eight stanzas are generally reduced to three or four, and several of these may be slightly altered. At some times in American history, evangelicals have reinterpreted Stennett's biblical metaphors with a this-worldly eye toward the promised land just over the horizon on the western frontier.