His children shall have a place of refuge. Proverbs 14:26
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.
O safe and happy shelter,
O refuge tried and sweet,
O trysting place where Heaven’s love
And Heaven’s justice meet!
As to the holy patriarch
That wondrous dream was giv’n,
So seems my Savior’s cross to me,
A ladder up to Heav’n.
There lies beneath its shadow
But on the further side
The darkness of an awful grave
That gapes both deep and wide;
And there between us stands the cross
Two arms outstretched to save
A watchman set to guard the way
From that eternal grave.
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 or loss,
My sinful self my only shame,
My glory all the cross.
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.
O safe and happy shelter,
O refuge tried and sweet,
O trysting place where Heaven’s love
And Heaven’s justice meet!
As to the holy patriarch
That wondrous dream was giv’n,
So seems my Savior’s cross to me,
A ladder up to Heav’n.
There lies beneath its shadow
But on the further side
The darkness of an awful grave
That gapes both deep and wide;
And there between us stands the cross
Two arms outstretched to save
A watchman set to guard the way
From that eternal grave.
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 or loss,
My sinful self my only shame,
My glory all the cross.
Elizabeth C. Clephane wrote the words to this hymn. The words were published post-humously in the Family Treasury, a Scottish Presbyterian magazine, in 1872, titled Breathing on the Border.
Ms. Clephane was a Scottish lass, who lived for only 39 years. She was a sickly lass known to have a cheery outlook on life. She was a devout Scottish Presbyterian and in her community was known as "The Sunbeam". She enjoyed writing poetry, unfortunately most of them were published after her death, in a magazine called The Family Treasury. Her parents died when she was young, her father being a sherrif. Along with her sister, she ministered to the poor and needy in her neighbourhood of Melrose.
The publisher of "The Family Treasury" had these words to say in regards to the poem that became the hymn Beneath the Cross of Jesus. “These lines express the experiences, the hopes and the longings of a young Christian lately released. Written on the very edge of life, with the better land fully in view of Faith, they seem to use footsteps printed in the sands of time, where these sands touch the ocean of eternity. These footprints of one whom the good shepherd led through the wilderness into rest, may, with Gods blessing, contribute to comfort and direct succeeding Pilgrims.” (source)
Ms. Clephane was a Scottish lass, who lived for only 39 years. She was a sickly lass known to have a cheery outlook on life. She was a devout Scottish Presbyterian and in her community was known as "The Sunbeam". She enjoyed writing poetry, unfortunately most of them were published after her death, in a magazine called The Family Treasury. Her parents died when she was young, her father being a sherrif. Along with her sister, she ministered to the poor and needy in her neighbourhood of Melrose.
The publisher of "The Family Treasury" had these words to say in regards to the poem that became the hymn Beneath the Cross of Jesus. “These lines express the experiences, the hopes and the longings of a young Christian lately released. Written on the very edge of life, with the better land fully in view of Faith, they seem to use footsteps printed in the sands of time, where these sands touch the ocean of eternity. These footprints of one whom the good shepherd led through the wilderness into rest, may, with Gods blessing, contribute to comfort and direct succeeding Pilgrims.” (source)
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