JESUS, keep me near the cross

John 19:38-42New International Version (NIV)

The Burial of Jesus

³⁸ Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jewish leaders. With Pilate’s permission, he came and took the body away. ³⁹ He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds.^{[a] 40} Taking Jesus’ body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen. This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs. ⁴¹ At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid. ⁴² Because it was the Jewish day of Preparation and since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.

“JESUS, KEEP ME NEAR THE CROSS”

Text: Fanny J. Crosby, 1820-1915
Music: William H. Doane, 1832-1915

Verse 1:
Jesus, keep me near the cross,
there a precious fountain,
free to all, a healing stream,
flows from Calvary’s mountain.

Chorus:
In the cross, in the cross,
be my glory ever;
’til my raptured soul shall find,
rest beyond the river.

Verse 2:
Near the cross, a trembling soul,
love and mercy found me;
there the bright and morning star
sheds its beams around me.

Chorus

Verse 3:
Near the cross! O Lamb of God,
bring its scenes before me;
help me walk from day to day,
with its shadows over me.

Chorus

Verse 4:
Near the cross I’ll watch and wait,
hoping, trusting ever,
’til I reach the golden strand,
just beyond the river.

Chorus