The old river of the Jordan.
There are 960 hymns in Caneuon Ffydd, each one of them worthy of discussion. It may seem odd, therefore, to some, that i have chosen a hymn which isn’t included in Caneuon Ffydd.
Do you have fond memories of your grandmothers and grandfathers, or one or the other, perhaps?
I have fond memories of my grandfather (my father’s father). The two of us were very close and so enjoyed being in each other’s company.
He lost his wife soon after he retired, and as a result we grew closer.
When my work permitted, we would both attend morning services at Salem (Capel y Cwm) Bonymaen, Swansea.
After supper on a Sunday, we would sit at his home, putting the world to rights, as i listened intently to his stories. He would often recite this hymn:
Hen afon yr Iorddonen!/ Rhaid imi groesi hon;/
Wrth feddwl am ei dyfnder,/ Mae arswyd dan fy mron;
Ond im’ gael ‘nabod Iesu,/ A’m carodd cyn fy mod,/
Af trwy-ddi’n ddigon tawel,/ A’r gwaelod dan fy nhroed.
The old river of the Jordan!
I must cross this;
While thinking about its depth,
There is horror under my breast;
If only I get to know Jesus,
Who loved me before I was,
I will go through it sufficiently quietly,
With the bottom under my foot!
Paham yr ofna’i’r afon,/ Wrth weled grym y dŵr?
Mae’r gwaelod wedi ei g’ledu,/ A’r Iesu’n flaenaf Gŵr!
Yr afon goch lifeiriol/ A darddodd dan ei fron, –
Mae miloedd yn myn’d adref/ Yng ngrym yr afon llon.
Why do I fear the river,
While seeing the force of the water?
The bottom has been hardened,
And Jesus the foremost Man!
The red, flowing river
That issued under his breast, –
Thousands are going home
In the force of the cheerful river.
tr. Richard B Gillion, 2018
It was first published in Llawlyfr Moliant (1880), a Baptist publication.
Since all my family were all Calvinistic Methodists, it remains a mystery to me how and why this hymn became so dear to him, although I am grateful to him for sharing it with me so that I may share it with you.
The hymn wasn’t published in the Methodist and Wesleyan hymnbook, Llyfr Emynau’r Methodistiaid a Wesleaid (1929), either, although a similar verse, which follows below, was published in a collection, Casgliad o Emynau Wesleaidd, in 1844.
Er dyfned yw’r Iorddonen,/ Rhaid imi groesi hon;
Wrth feddwl am ei thonau,/ Mae ofnau dan fy mron:
Ond im’ gael nabod Iesu,/ A’m carodd cyn fy mod,
Af trwyddi’n ddigon tawel,/ A’r gwaelod dan fy nhroed!
Although so deep is the Jordan,
I must cross this;
While thinking about its waves,
There are fears under my breast:
If only I get to know Jesus,
Who loved me before I was,
I will go through it sufficiently quietly,
With the bottom under my foot!
The author compares crossing beyond the veil to crossing the Jordan and the idea fills him with dread.
He reasons that the journey would be so much easier were he to know the Lord Jesus, and his unfailing, unceasing love.
It is a source of comfort to the author to believe that believers no longer need to fear the river and its power. Through the sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross, the way has been prepared, and the journey to meet the invisible cloud of witnesses is made easier.