On Jordan’s Bank 

On Jordan’s bank the Baptist’s cry
Announces that the Lord is nigh;
Come, then, and hearken, for he brings
Glad tidings from the King of kings!

Then cleansed be every breast from sin;
Make straight the way for God within;
And let us all our hearts prepare
For Christ to come and enter there..

Stretch forth Thine hand, our health restore
And make us rise and fall no more;
O let your face upon us shine,
And fill the world with love divine.

By Charles Coffin.                                            

What was the work for which John the Baptist was created? What happened when John’s father doubted, before John was born, God’s perfect plan for John?

Why is the experience of Zechariah, John’s father, poetically appropriate as the consequence of his doubts?

According to this hymn, what was the objective of the work of John the Baptist?

How does this hymn summarize the meaning of the common message of John the Baptist and Jesus the Messiah? (See Matthew 3:2 and 4:17)