Text: Hebrews 11. Hymn: 344, On Jordan’s Bank, the Baptist’s Cry.
Hebrews 11 is a long chapter but worth it. All these wonderful deeds in the Old Testament happened by faith, yet those who have faith don’t necessarily have a victorious life. There is no promise of a “best life now.”
344 is simple and pretty, and one is tempted to belt out the last three notes of the first phrase.
On Jordan’s bank the Baptist’s cry
Announces that the Lord is nigh;
Awake and hearken, for he brings
Glad tidings of the King of kings!
Then cleansed by every life from sin;
Make straight the way for God within,
And let us all our hearts prepare
For Christ to come and enter there.
We hail Thee as our Savior, Lord,
Our refuge and our great reward;
Without Thy grace we waste away
Like flow’rs that wither and decay.
Lay on the sick Thy healing hand
And make the fallen strong to stand;
Show us the glory of Thy face
Till beauty springs in ev-’ry place.
All praise, eternal Son, to Thee
Whose advent sets Thy people free,
Whom with the Father we adore
And Holy Spirit evermore.
It’s an interesting progression between Stanzas 3 and 4. We go from “Like flow’rs that wither and decay” to “Till beauty springs in ev’ry place.”
Without Christ, we are Stanza 3.
Because of Christ, we are Stanza 4!
Theology aside, I really like the intro. I feel like I am in a canoe floating down a river, and I can hear John the Baptizer in the distance.
That is a really interesting description of the intro. I can definitely see what you’re saying and while I wasn’t thinking that specifically, it fits. The phrase in my head was “The voice of one crying in the wilderness.” It did end up sounding more lilting than wilderness-y, but that’s ok.