River of Jordan

1

To the River of Jordan our Savior went one day

And we read that John the Baptist met Him there

And when John baptized Jesus in Jordan's rushing waters

The mighty power of God filled the air.

CHORUS 1:

I'm on my way to the River of Jordan

Gonna wade right in to the rushing waters

I'm going down to the River of Jordan

And let the cool waters cleanse my soul.

2

King Naaman was stricken with dreaded leprosy

And he sent for the man of God to pray

But Elisha said to Naaman "Go dip yourself in Jordan

And let the cool waters wash your spots away."

CHORUS 2:

So he went right down to the River Of Jordan

He waded right in the rushing waters

He dipped himself in the River of Jordan

And the cool waters made him whole.

3

Oh, the River of Jordan is many miles away

And this mighty river I may never see

But I'll find myself an alter in an old fashioned church

And my River of Jordan that will be...

Songwriter: Hazel Marie Houser

Here is a link to a YouTube video of Ricky Skaggs singing River of Jordan

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0E8PCmO3yA

2 Kings 5

1 Now Naaman, captain of the host of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master, and honourable, because by him the Lord had given deliverance unto Syria: he was also a mighty man in valour, but he was a leper. 2 And the Syrians had gone out by companies, and had brought away captive out of the land of Israel a little maid; and she waited on Naaman's wife. 3 And she said unto her mistress, Would God my lord were with the prophet that is in Samaria! for he would recover him of his leprosy. 4 And one went in, and told his lord, saying, Thus and thus said the maid that is of the land of Israel. 5 And the king of Syria said, Go to, go, and I will send a letter unto the king of Israel. And he departed, and took with him ten talents of silver, and six thousand pieces of gold, and ten changes of raiment. 6 And he brought the letter to the king of Israel, saying, Now when this letter is come unto thee, behold, I have therewith sent Naaman my servant to thee, that thou mayest recover him of his leprosy. 7 And it came to pass, when the king of Israel had read the letter, that he rent his clothes, and said, Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man doth send unto me to recover a man of his leprosy? wherefore consider, I pray you, and see how he seeketh a quarrel against me. 8 And it was so, when Elisha the man of God had heard that the king of Israel had rent his clothes, that he sent to the king, saying, Wherefore hast thou rent thy clothes? let him come now to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel. 9 So Naaman came with his horses and with his chariot, and stood at the door of the house of Elisha. 10 And Elisha sent a messenger unto him, saying, Go and wash in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean. 11 But Naaman was wroth, and went away, and said, Behold, I thought, He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the Lord his God, and strike his hand over the place, and recover the leper. 12 Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? may I not wash in them, and be clean? So he turned and went away in a rage. 13 And his servants came near, and spake unto him, and said, My father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it? how much rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash, and be clean? 14 Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times in Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God: and his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.

This is a contemporary gospel song. I don't have it in any of my songbooks, but for some reason it was playing in my head all morning, so I thought I would just go ahead and post it.

The photograph is a baptismal service in which my great-grandparents (Ulys and Annie) and my great-grandfather's brother (Felix Hicks) and his wife were baptized. I don't know who took the picture. Probably Ulys -- he was a photographer. I believe that is Felix actually being baptized in the photo.