On Jordan's Bank the Baptist's Cry
John the Baptist's call to get ready, sung as a prayer for clean hearts to welcome Christ.
The words are public domain. We print a hymn only after checking it word for word against a dated old printing, and this one hasn’t been checked yet. Hymnary has it now.
“On Jordan's Bank the Baptist's Cry” at HymnaryAbout this hymn
The hymn repeats John the Baptist's message that the Lord is near. It asks God to clear away sin so that people are ready to receive Christ, and it ends with praise to the Trinity.
It rests on the Gospel accounts of John preaching at the Jordan River (Matthew 3:1-12; Mark 1:1-8; Luke 3:1-18), where John points away from himself to Jesus.
It is sung in Advent, often on the Sundays that read about John. Charles Coffin wrote the Latin text in 1736, and John Chandler translated it into English in 1837.
For musicians and planners
| Words | Charles Coffin, 1736 | Public domain |
|---|---|---|
| Translation | John Chandler, 1837 | Public domain |
| Tune | WINCHESTER NEW · Musikalisches Handbuch (Hamburg, 1690); adapted by William H. Havergal, 1690 | Public domain |
Checked 2026-09-27 against hymnary.org text, tune and person pages (attribution and rights only). The words are not transcribed here yet.
Hymn numbers checked against Hymnary.org’s index of Evangelical Lutheran Worship. Full record: Hymnary.