Beulah Land

Beulah Land is a well-known gospel hymn written by Edgar Page Stites (1836–1921) in either 1875 or 1876. The hymn, Stites' most popular, is set to music written by John R. Sweney (1837–1899). The hymn concludes with the chorus:

The hymn derives from the King James Version of Isaiah 62:4; "Thou shalt no more be termed Forsaken; neither shall thy land any more be termed Desolate; but thou shalt be called Hephzibah and thy land Beulah; for the LORD delighteth in thee, and thy land shall be married."

The verse is in reference to the return of the Hebrew from their exile in Babylon in which the Hebrew shall no longer be called Forsaken, but Hephzibah (My Delight Is in Her), and Jerusalem shall no longer be called Desolate, but Beulah (Married). This implies that the Hebrews have turned back to the worship of God.

The idea the hymn presents that Heaven can be seen from Beulah land comes from John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress in which he states "Therefore it is, I say, that the Enchanted ground is placed so nigh to the land Beulah and so near the end of their race [i.e. Heaven]."

Edgar Page Stites was of English descent and was born at Cape May, New Jersey, where his ancestors had settled after coming over on the Mayflower. Edgar was converted to Christ at the age of 19 during the great revival of Philadelphia, often called the Awakening of 1857 and 1858. Shortly thereafter, he joined the Methodist Church of Cape May and became a local “lay pastor.” As a home missionary, he also was involved in the starting of new churches in the South Jersey area.

In 1869, Stites, along with other Methodist ministers and laymen, founded the “Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association” to run a Methodist camp meeting south of Ocean Grove, New Jersey. By 1875, the camp was quite active. Popular hymn writers of the day would visit each summer: Ira D. Sankey, William H. Doane, William J. Kirkpatrick, John R. Sweeney, Eliza E. Hewitt, Fanny Crosby, and others.

One version of the origin of "Beulah Land" has it written for the Ocean Grove Camp in 1875. John R. Sweeney, composer of the music, was the camp song leader, which lends credibility to this version.

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