Jesus, Keep Me Near The Cross
Jesus, Keep Me Near the Cross
Jesus, keep me near the cross—
There a precious fountain,
Free to all, a healing stream,
Flows from Calv’ry’s mountain.
In the cross, in the cross
Be my glory ever,
Till my raptured soul shall find
Rest, beyond the river.
Near the cross, a trembling soul,
Love and mercy found me;
There the Bright and Morning Star
Sheds its beams around me.
Near the cross! O Lamb of God,
Bring its scenes before me;
Help me walk from day to day
With its shadow o’er me.
Near the cross I’ll watch and wait,
Hoping, trusting ever,
Till I reach the golden strand
Just beyond the river.
THIS IS another Fanny Crosby/William H. Doane collaboration (see March 14). But with this hymn Doane’s tune came first and Crosby’s words came later. When hymns are composed this way, the words sometimes seem stilted and unnatural, but not here. Crosby was masterful at hearing the message in the music. She would often say, “That tune says to me . . . ,” and then write a stirring text.
Once again, the focus is the cross of Christ. Crosby realized that the Cross is the central point of history. Even in Crosby’s time, some scholars and preachers were beginning to focus on the moral teaching of Jesus, the virtue and goodness that He modeled for us. This was all well and good, but they were also seriously downplaying Jesus’ sacrificial crucifixion. But Crosby echoed the apostle Paul, “May I never boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Galatians 6:14).
Through [Christ] God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross.
Colossians 1:20
From the book
