Beneath the Cross of Jesus
A smiling Christian lady wrote a one of the great Good Friday hymns in the last year of her short life. Hear the story of her beautiful song in today’s episode.
It's Good Friday. On today's Friday Classic Hymns, I'd like to feature another great hymn about the cross. The previous two years I've done "The Old Rugged Cross" and "When I Survey the Wondrous Cross." But this year I'm doing a song that I've never learnt before until this week: "Beneath the Cross of Jesus."
Do you know the song? Because I didn't. Do you still sing it in church? I wonder if this one is still around, or if the very archaic language in the first line puts everybody off? I would love to know what your thoughts are on this song.
I think today, on Good Friday this year, this is a special one for us to look at. Share your reflections and thoughts on the song in the comments below. If you haven't already, please subscribe to the channel - I'd appreciate that. Let me tell you more about this classic hymn.
The Story Behind "Beneath the Cross of Jesus"
Elizabeth Clephane was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1830. Her father was a local sheriff and she had a difficult upbringing because her mum died when she was young. They ended up moving to a smaller part of Scotland as a family. But in the local town that Elizabeth settled with her family, she became known as "the Sunbeam" because, despite the difficulties that she faced, she had such a positive and happy disposition that she shone something of the love of Jesus even as a young girl.
She grew up as a member of the Free Church of Scotland and was well known in the community for doing good works. She and her sister would do a lot of charitable work in the town. When they had grown up, both of them gave away a lot of what they had because they didn't need much. They rather used their extra to care for the poor.
Elizabeth was a particularly gifted writer. She wrote quite a bit of poetry. Of course, a lot of those poems in those days ended up becoming hymns like this one we're looking at today. Sadly, Elizabeth fell sick and died at a young age, at the age of 39. It's likely that she died of tuberculosis, which was quite prominent in those days. It is said that she wrote this hymn in the last year of her life, when she was particularly struggling with her health. As we look at the lyrics, you'll see that if that's the case, that's very profound, because her words in that context take on a whole different meaning.
Sadly, it was only after she died that these poems of hers were published and became well known. It was a few years after she died that this poem was published and started to become popular. It was 16 years later that it was set to a tune by a man named Frederick Maker, and this is the tune that we still mostly sing it to today. It's a beautiful tune, and it's helped the hymn stay alive - the poem of hers stay alive - by setting it to such lovely music.
Once Maker had published it with his tune, it started to really pick up popularity in the Western world, especially in the UK and the States. It resonated with people. It's a song that really seems to speak to people, and it's often sung, of course, at this time of the year around Easter because of its strong focus on the cross.
Clephane also wrote another famous hymn, which is called "The Ninety and Nine," famously used by Dwight Moody in a lot of his evangelistic campaigns. But this is really the one that people think of when they think of her. Let me take you through the words that she wrote.
What Do the Lyrics of "Beneath the Cross of Jesus" Mean?
There are five verses, although usually hymnals only publish three. But let me take you through all five.
Verse 1
Beneath the cross of Jesus I fain would take my stand.
That's a kind of archaic word - "fain." Nobody ever uses this anymore, but it means "gladly," "willingly." Some modern publications of this hymn will use the word "gladly": Beneath the cross of Jesus I gladly take my stand. This is quite a beautiful line. She wants to draw near to Jesus. She wants to stand at the cross and behold Him. It's really about being close in a posture of worship and surrender under the cross. This is what our lives are - everything is, as Christians. Everything we do is in the shadow of the cross.
The shadow of a mighty rock within a weary land.
The cross is like a shadow falling over her. But it's the shadow of a rock - the Rock of Ages - within a weary land. Remember, she was going through a weary time. This must have given her comfort in her sickness. That the cross was like a rock - solid, dependable - and something she could hide under or take refuge in, the shadow falling over her being something she could take refuge in. Is the cross the same thing to you?
A home within the wilderness, a rest upon the way.
The cross for her is a safe place. A home in a wild world, in a wild season, perhaps in a difficult journey. This cross provides a place of refuge, a place to find rest. I know that in the book of Hebrews the writer talks about how Christ is our rest. Yes, beneath the cross of Jesus we find rest for our souls.
From the burning of the noontide heat and the burden of the day.
Again, imagery of a strong sun shining on you in the wilderness as you walk through a desert. But this cross is a home, a refuge for you to stay in. Today, on Good Friday, consider how the cross means you have a refuge in your wilderness. In the dark and dry land you walk, the cross is your refuge.
Verse 2
O safe and happy shelter, O refuge tried and sweet.
This theme continues. It's a shelter and a refuge, and it's safe. It's a happy place. Sometimes the cross makes us morbid, but it should be a joyful thing to know what Jesus' death on the cross bought for us. It's tried and it's sweet - it's proven to work, and it's sweet to the soul.
O trusting place where heaven's love and heaven's justice meet.
That's a brilliant line, isn't it? A place where heaven's love and justice meet. The love of God poured out, but the justice of God also poured out. Many of us know that the cross is where Jesus took our place as our substitute, died on the cross and took the wrath of God that we deserved. Sin will always be punished by a just God. He did that. He punished sin on the cross. There's justice that happens on the cross. But out of His love, He takes us out of the place of punishment and places Himself in the way. It's a beautiful mixture of love and justice, the cross.
As to the holy patriarch that wondrous dream was given,
so seems my Saviour's cross to me a ladder up to heaven.
She's referenced Genesis 28, where Jacob has this dream about the angels descending and ascending on this ladder between heaven and earth. Jesus in John 1 claims that He's the ladder and He's the one that bridges earth and heaven. The cross is how He did that, how He bridged earth and heaven. She brings it up here that the Saviour's cross is the ladder up to heaven. Ultimately, when we put our faith in Christ, we are saved. Ultimately, that means we have victory over death and we will cross over to heaven. We will go up the ladder, which is the cross, to heaven one day.
Verse 3
There lies beneath its shadow, but on the other side,
the darkness of an awful grave that gapes both deep and wide.
I love how profound this is. On one side of the cross, there's the shadow - the safe place. But on the other side, there's a darkness. There's a grave. She says it gapes. It's like a grave with a wide open mouth waiting to swallow up everything. I've used this picture before. Have you used this picture? If you're trying to tell somebody about Christ, you draw a person on the left side of the page with a cliff. On the right side of the page, you draw God - you just write "God" - and you draw another cliff. There's this big gap in between the two, and your good works can't get you over.
Everyone wants to get to God, but you can't get to God. There's no way for humans to get to God. It's a deep and awful grave that gapes between us and God. But the cross is the bridge. You draw the cross in the middle and you say, if you put your faith in Jesus, then you have a bridge to walk over to heaven. That came to mind as I read that line. On the other side of the cross, or off the edges of the cross, if you use that metaphor, there is this awful grave. For those who don't know Jesus, they don't end up with God. But the cross is there for us to cross over to God.
I love this next line:
And there between us stands the cross, two arms outstretched to save.
Jesus on that cross, with His arms outstretched, bridges the gap between us and God.
A watchman set to guard the way from that eternal grave.
This is a beautiful thought. Jesus is like a watchman who stands there to warn people: don't go off the edge of the cliff - cross over the cross. Isn't that a beautiful thing? That the cross protects us from eternal death and gives us eternal life? Praise God today for the cross.
Verse 4
Upon that cross of Jesus mine eye at times can see
the very dying form of One who suffered there for me.
This is deep. Verse four gets quite personal. I remember when I did the video for "The Old Rugged Cross," one of the criticisms of the song is that people say it's not the cross, it's Jesus. The cross is where Jesus was hanging, but it's Jesus, not the cross itself, that is our salvation. I think it's just semantics. But here she's bringing this up in the same sort of way. On that cross, I see the very dying form of the one who suffered there for me. It's not actually about the cross. It's about the one who is on the cross. He suffered for us.
In fact, this very day, I'm preaching at my church about the suffering of Jesus. That's my theme for this Good Friday 2025. He suffered in our place, and that suffering brought us life.
And from my stricken heart with tears, two wonders I confess:
the wonders of redeeming love and my unworthiness.
What a beautiful line. With tears she comes, confessing that she's seeing this redeeming love on the cross in the suffering of Christ. But it makes her realise her own unworthiness. I have done nothing to deserve what He's done for me. It reminds me of Romans 5, where Paul says, "Christ, while we were still sinners, died for us." See what great love the Father has lavished on us. Paul said that whilst we were still sinners, Christ died. We were totally unworthy, but He died in our place anyway. Perhaps we come with tears as we consider what a great sacrifice He made for our redemption.
Verse 5
I take the cross, the shadow for my abiding place.
Verse five is the last. We're not going to leave the shadow of the cross every day. We're going to live with the reality of the cross in our spiritual lives.
I ask no other sunshine than the sunshine of His face.
I don't need the world's sunshine on me. I'm in the shadow of the cross, but His face as I look at Him is sunshine enough. Isn't that a lovely picture? That in the shadow of the cross, His face is sunshine enough.
Content to let the world go by, to know no gain nor loss.
I don't need the world to satisfy me. Although, you know, she was very involved in the world in the sense that she did good in the world. To that end, we must always be involved in the world. We are not content to sit in a corner and let the world go by and do no good. I don't think that's what she meant here. She was saying the world has no real appeal to me in terms of success and trying to make something of myself. I am happy just here in the shadow of the cross. But it did lead her to go out and do good deeds as well.
There's no gain or loss. When you know Christ, He is your greatest gain and everything else is loss. That reminds me of Paul's words in Philippians 3 about counting all as lost compared to the worth - the surpassing worth - of knowing Jesus.
My sinful self my only shame, my glory all the cross.
The last line: You come with your sinful self, and you may be ashamed at what you've done, but the glory that God gives you, bestows on you by grace, is not because of what you've done. It's because in faith, you arrived and He poured out His love on you. Oh, wonderful, wonderful. My glory all the cross. Is your glory all the cross? Everything else in your life fades in comparison with the cross.
Conclusion
This is a stunning song. What stood out for you as you went through these words with me today? Did a certain line really speak to you? I really enjoyed that line about heaven's love and justice meeting on the cross. What stood out for you? Will you be bringing this song to church or trying to make it part of your life? It's kind of been my song this Holy Week. It's been on my mind as I've learnt it. Maybe it's touched you today. I hope so.
Thank you for supporting my ministry. By the way, many of you donate to me on PayPal or join my Patreon for all the downloads of all these things. Many of you also join my Daily Devotions channel and enjoy the content there. Thank you, thank you for supporting the work I do. I'm so grateful and humbled by that.
Come, let's sing the song together as we celebrate the cross this Good Friday.
References
- https://hymnary.org/text/beneath_the_cross_of_jesus_i_fain_would
- Osbeck, K.W. 1985. 101 Hymn Stories. Kregal Publications: Grand Rapids
- Limmer Shepherd, W.J. 1923. Great Hymns and their Stories. Lutterworth Press: London
