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"Jesus, Keep Me Near the Cross"
In 2025, to help us focus our minds on the Lord’s Supper, we are connecting our Table Talks to the “Songs of the Cross.” Consider the classic hymn written by Fanny J. Crosby titled, “Jesus, Keep Me Near the Cross.” Let’s consider why it is good for us to keep ourselves “Near the Cross.”
Firstly, we need to stay “Near the Cross” because it keeps us humble. Jesus went to the cross because of our sins, not His own. We have no right to boast about our own righteousness. Instead, as the song suggests, “In the cross, in the cross, be my glory ever.” Paul wrote to Corinth, “…no flesh should glory in His presence…He who glories, let him glory in the Lord” (1:29, 31). Martin Luther once wrote in his commentary on Galatians 6:17, “We all carry about in our pockets his very nails.” So, our boast is not in what we have done, but in what He has done for us. Staying near the cross keeps us humble.
Secondly, we need to be “Near the Cross” because it makes us thankful. As we commune, we give “thanks” for the cup of which Jesus said, “this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins” (Matthew 26:28). The song reminds us of the blood when it states, “Free to all a healing stream, flows from Calv’ry’s mountain.” This song reminds us of “the healing stream” of blood that flowed down from the cross for the sake of all those who sinned after the cross. Further, we are thankful for the love and mercy the cross represents. As the song says, “Near the cross...love and mercy found me, there the Bright and Morning Star sheds its beams around me.”
Thirdly, we need to be “Near the Cross” because it keeps us focused daily. The song reads, “Near the cross, O Lamb of God, brings its scenes before me, help me walk from day to day with its shadow o’er me.” We need to consider the motivation of the cross more than just on Sundays. The cross is the motivation for our daily walk and our daily life. Jesus would say, in Luke 9:23, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.” The sacrifice and self-surrender of the cross is the ethic of our daily discipleship.
Finally, we need to be “Near the Cross” because it keeps us hopeful. Jesus went to the cross, but He rose again. One day He will raise us up in glory. So, we sing, “Near the cross I’ll watch and wait, hoping, trusting ever, ‘til I reach the golden strand, just beyond the river.” The “river” is mentioned several times in this song. What river? In religious poetry and symbolism, the Jordan River is often referenced as the barrier between us and heaven. The Israelites had to leave the wilderness, and cross the Jordan River, before they could enter into Canaan’s land. As we live for Jesus, we await that final Jordan River. It is when we die, cross to the other side of eternity, where we can live in a place of heavenly peace forever with our Savior. As Hebrews 4:9 states, “There remains therefore a rest for the people of God” (NKJV). The cross helps keep us hopeful as we await the promise of His coming.
