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Gleanings From The Word

Tag: Kevin Corbin

  • Down to the River

    Down to the River

    the river - an invitation

    I caught an old spiritual on YouTube last night, “Down to the River to Pray.” The version I listened to was far too slow for my personal taste, but it got me thinking. It’s been around since the late 1800s, but got a revival of sorts with the movie “O Brother, Where Art Thou?”

    This is Alison Krause’s version . In case you aren’t familiar with the song, the lyrics are:

    As I went down in the river to pray
    Studyin’ about that good ol’ way
    And who shall wear the starry crown?
    Good Lord, show me the way

    [Verse 1]
    O, sisters, let’s go down
    Let’s go down, come on down
    O, sisters, let’s go down
    Down in the river to pray

    It then repeats with sisters being replaced by brothers, fathers, mothers and sinners.

    “As I went down to the river to pray…” is a call to repentance and prayer.

    The river is a place of seeking God. Throughout Scripture, rivers are associated with cleansing, renewal, and God’s saving work. The emphasis is not merely on water but on approaching God in humility and prayer. 

    The imagery naturally evokes baptism, especially the outdoor river baptisms common in the American South. Baptism symbolizes repentance, identification with Christ, cleansing from sin, and entrance into the covenant community (Matthew 3; Acts 2:38; Romans 6:3–4). The song itself does not claim that baptism saves; it uses baptismal imagery as part of a broader call to seek God. 

    “Studyin’ about that good old way.” The phrase is an invitation to faithful discipleship. It refers to learning and walking in God’s ways. It echoes passages such as:

    •          Jeremiah 6:16 (“Ask for the ancient paths…”)

    •          John 14:6 (“I am the way…”)

    •          Acts, where Christianity is repeatedly called “the Way.”

    “Who shall wear the robe and crown?” This points to the believer’s future inheritance. The imagery comes from Revelation:

    •          White robes symbolize those cleansed by Christ (Revelation 7:13–14).

    •          Crowns symbolize the reward of faithful perseverance (Revelation 2:10; 2 Timothy 4:8; James 1:12). 

    Some older versions sing “starry crown” rather than “robe and crown”. While the precise meaning is uncertain, most Christian interpreters understand it as another image of heavenly glory.

    The verse addresses a different group each time: sisters, brothers, mothers, fathers and sinners. This reflects the inclusive call of the gospel: everyone is invited to come to God in repentance and faith.

    Its weakness, if one were looking for doctrinal precision, is simply that it is a spiritual rather than a systematic theological statement. It never explicitly mentions Christ’s atoning death or justification by faith. 

    Instead, it functions as a communal invitation to seek God and walk “the good old way,” using biblical imagery familiar to Christian worshipers.

    In that spirit, allow me to extend an invitation.

    For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16 ESV

    Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. John 14:6 ESV

    The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price. Revelation 22:17

    … if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. Romans 10:9-10

    My brothers and sisters, if you have not already done so, I invite you, and Jesus calls you to come down to the river.

    Be blessed today,

    Kevin

    You might also like: The Gospel, the best news you will ever hear.

    SUMMARY

    I caught an old spiritual on YouTube last night, “Down to the River to Pray,” and it got me thinking well past the melody. Behind its simple imagery of sisters, brothers, mothers, fathers, and sinners going down to the water lies a real call to repentance and discipleship, and I wanted to trace that call back to Scripture and extend it to you.

    TAKEAWAY

    The river imagery in the old spiritual echoes baptism throughout Scripture: cleansing, repentance, and entrance into the covenant community.

    “Studying that good old way” points to walking in God’s truth, from Jeremiah’s ancient paths to Jesus as the Way in John 14:6.

    The song’s inclusive call to sisters, brothers, mothers, fathers, and sinners mirrors the gospel invitation extended to everyone, which the post carries forward with a direct call to salvation.

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  • In the Beginning

    Gleanings had an inauspicious beginning. I had decided to try writing, and I knew that doing so would require writing regularly. So, on January 1, 2001, I committed to writing a short daily devotional online at a site that let anyone post. 

    This was in the days long before things like blogs existed. I managed to do it, and some people even read it. It wasn’t the best of Gleanings, but it was a start that carried on for nearly 4000 issues before I hung up my writing spurs for a while.

    The Bible starts, of all places, in the beginning of the story.

    In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Genesis 1 ESV

    Those few words start the initial revelation of God and His plan of redemption for fallen humanity. They are also very controversial words.

    What God? When was the beginning? Hasn’t the universe always existed? Surely there is no God. How long did it take? How did He do it? Isn’t that just another myth? … and so on.

    I’m not even going to attempt to answer those questions this morning. Some of them are quite valid questions, and some of them involve logical fallacies. All are beyond the scope of the short space we have.

    “In the beginning” tells us that there was a point when the material universe as we know it did not exist, and yet something (someone) was there. Even good science affirms that; I may disagree with their explanation and their time frame, but they acknowledge there was a time of nothing.

    God created. This says so much about God. He is complete in and of Himself, yet He must also be a God of incredible power and creativity. He conceived of something that had never existed, in its myriad forms. Then He made it happen on a mind-blowing scale.

    This wasn’t a child making something with Lego or Playdough. He created a universe so vast that NASA says it is at least 28 billion light-years across. Traveling at the speed of light, it would take 28 billion years to get from one side to the other. I can’t fathom the speed of light, let alone traveling 28 billion years. Let’s just leave it as God created something so big that we can’t fathom it.

    He put into place all the laws of physics and mathematics that govern how the material world functions. He created life and everything needed to sustain it. 

    Things that we take for granted, like daylight and oxygen and gravity, were made from nothing.

    He created the heavens and the earth in all their vast array. He put life here on this little blue planet. 

    All of that is incredible. Even if we knew nothing other than the beginning sentence of the Bible, we would have enough to ponder and marvel about for eternity.

    Of course, we know that the God who reveals Himself in the Bible didn’t just create the world, wind it up and let it go. He stays intimately involved in the lives of His creation, and He loves us.

    It is no wonder that the Scriptures themselves declare God and His Word as marvelous in many places.

    As Christians, we also have a second beginning. We are born again into a Living Hope. That is a miracle on par with the creation of everything. People often cry out that they want to see a miracle. Every time a sinner is reborn as a believer and given the righteousness of Christ, there is a powerful new beginning and a miracle of incredible power.

    Until next time, take some time to ponder the God who is so powerful and creative that He spoke everything into existence. The same God who brings wretched, depraved sinners out of bondage into freedom with Him forever.

    May He forever be given the honor and glory due His name.

    Blessings,

    Kevin

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    SUMMARY

    I look back at Genesis 1:1 and marvel that God spoke the heavens and earth into existence out of nothing, creating a universe so vast we can’t even fathom its size. That same all-powerful God gives every believer a second beginning, a new birth into a living hope through Jesus Christ.

    TAKEAWAY

    Genesis 1:1 declares that God created the material universe from nothing, revealing His limitless power and creativity.

    The vastness of creation, at least 28 billion light-years across, points to a God far beyond our ability to fully comprehend.

    Salvation is a second beginning, a miracle equal to creation itself, when a sinner is reborn into new life in Christ.

    Soli Deo Gloria (For the glory of God alone) 

    All contents, “Gleanings From the Word” and “Experience an Extraordinary God in Ordinary Life,” are © 2001, 2026 K.F. “Kevin” Corbin, “Gleanings From the Word.” All rights reserved.

    From Gleanings From The Word (Kevin Corbin, 2001– ), a Scripture-based devotional work.

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