Beneath the Cross

Beneath the cross of Jesus I fain would take my stand,
the shadow of a mighty rock within a weary land;
a home within the wilderness, a rest upon the way,
from the burning of the noontide heat, and the burden of the day.

Upon that cross of Jesus, mine eye at times can see
the very dying form of One who suffered there for me;
and from my stricken heart with tears, two wonders I confess:
the wonders of redeeming love and my unworthiness.

I take, O cross, thy shadow for my abiding place;
I ask no other sunshine than the sunshine of His face;
content to let the world go by, to know no gain nor loss,
my sinful self my only shame, my glory – all the cross.

Whether you are fan of old hymns or not, I hope that you are familiar with many of the ones whose focus is the Cross.  Songs like “At the Cross,” “Near the Cross,” and “In the Cross” are not only important to our Christian Heritage, but remind us of the utmost importance of this event.  The Old Testament pointed to it.  Jesus spoke about it.  And Paul and the other New Testament writers made it the central part of their writings.  This particular hymn provides another perspective of the Cross – Beneath it.  I have often wondered about those who saw Christ on the Cross.  I am sure there were ones who saw from a distance – too scared to go near Him, or too afraid to see the brutal reality of it close up.  This author uses the phrase “Beneath the Cross” to remind us that this should be a place where we not only come and expect His free gift of salvation, but also speaks to the attitude in which we come – with a humble heart.  Not standing in arrogance as one who deserves to be there.  But kneeling down and bowing before the Creator of the Universe – the One who saved us from our sins.  What an important perspective of the Cross to never lose sight of.

In the second verse, the author talks about confessing two wonders, and I wanted to comment on both of those “wonders”:

• Wonder of Redeeming Love – One of the definitions of “wonder” is “something strange and surprising; a cause of surprise, astonishment, or admiration.”  In regard to Jesus’ great love, I would have to lean towards “astonishment” and “admiration.”  To think that God would send His son to save a sinner like me, it is hard to fathom.  It is truly astonishing that He loved us so much to pay the price for our redemption.  An old hymn says “I stand amazed in the presence of Jesus the Nazarene, and wonder how He could love me – a sinner, condemned, unclean.”  But that is truly what He did for you and for me.   It is truly wonderful. 

• Wonder of My Unworthiness –  However, when I think about this “wonder,” I probably lean towards the “strange” and “surprising” aspect of wonder.  I sometimes feel like Paul when he talks about sin in Romans 7.  I know what is right, but I don’t do it.  That which I know not to do, I continue to do.  He refers to himself, with exclamation when he says, “O wretched man that I am!”  He realizes, and so should we, that we are truly “wretched” and “sinful” and unworthy of God’s great redemption. 

This hymn made me thing about the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.  Do you know them?

• Two of them are essentially tombs – The Great Pyramid of Giza and the Mausoleum of Maussollos.  Christianity is unique among all world religions because our Savior is not in a tomb.  He is risen.  He is alive.  The “wonder” of these great man-made structures pales in comparison to the Empty Tomb that we celebrate today.

• Two of them are statues – The Statue of Zeus and Colossus of Rhodes.  We don’t worship a god made by human hands, but a God whose Hand created this great universe, and who is too great to be contained in the form of a statue. 

• One is a Temple – Temple of Artemis at Ephesus.  It is a temple to a god that doesn’t exist and did not dwell there.  We serve a God that dwells in each of us.  A God that has “tabernacled” with us.  The Bible says that our bodies are the Temple of God if we have asked Christ into our heart.

• One is a garden – The Hanging Gardens of Babylon – There are two prominent gardens mentioned in Scripture.  I refer to one as “The Sinning Garden” – The Garden of Eden, and the other as “The Saving Garden” – The Garden of Gethsemane – that place of prayer where Jesus came before He went to the Cross and provided a way of redemption from the sin that entered into the world.

• One is a Lighthouse – The Lighthouse of Alexandria – There is an old hymn who’s title is “I thank God for the lighthouse.”  Not a lighthouse that protects a ship from crashing.  No, a lighthouse that saves souls from sin.  A lighthouse that saved each of us from eternal damnation.  A lighthouse that leads us to God. 

I hope the Cross is still a wonder to you.  I hope that you are reminded of how wonderful God’s redeeming love is, but I also pray that it humbles us when we think about how “wonderful” our unworthiness is to receive so great a salvation.