“Standing on the Promises”: the hymn written by a man who expected to die

Doctors told him he was dying. In his twenties, Russell Kelso Carter, a former athlete and teacher at a military academy in Pennsylvania, suffered serious heart trouble. Carter later said he committed himself to God and was healed. Out of that experience came one of the most confident hymns in the church’s songbook: “Standing on the promises of Christ my King.”

Carter and certainty

Carter was born in 1849 in Baltimore, Maryland. He taught at the Pennsylvania Military Academy, studied and wrote on mathematics and science, and later became a Methodist minister. He was also a novelist and wrote widely on faith and healing. His life combined academic work with a lively, practical faith. “Standing on the Promises” was published in 1886 in Songs of Perfect Love, a collection Carter compiled with John R. Sweney. Carter wrote both words and music. The hymn is built on a single image: a believer standing firm on God’s promises while storms rage around.

The words

The first verse lets praises ring “through eternal ages”. Later verses describe standing when “the howling storms of doubt and fear assail”, and standing on promises that “cannot fail”. The final verse speaks of being “bound to Him eternally by love’s strong cord”. The chorus repeats the phrase “standing, standing”, so that singers almost march as they sing.

Healing

Carter was part of the divine healing movement in nineteenth-century America and wrote about it. Later in life, he moderated some of his earlier views, accepting that God also works through medicine. But the confidence of his hymn did not depend on a single theology of healing. It was about trusting God’s word. The hymn is lively and easy to sing. Its rhythm suits clapping, and its chorus is memorable. It is a favourite in revivals, crusades and youth services. In Ghanaian and Nigerian churches, it is often sung with drums and with great energy, sometimes in local language translations.

Standing today

The hymn does not list the promises. It invites singers to recall them: God’s presence, forgiveness, provision, strength and eternal life. Many preachers use the hymn as a starting point for teaching on specific promises in Scripture. For believers facing illness, financial hardship or fear, the hymn offers a simple posture: stand. Not run, not hide, not panic. Stand on what God has said.

Carter expected to die young. He lived until 1928 and left behind a song that millions still sing whenever they need to remind themselves that God’s word holds.