Lyrics
Verse 1
Jesus keep me near the cross,
there's a precious fountain;
free to all a healing stream,
flows from Calvary's mountain.
Verse 2
Near the cross I watch and wait,
hoping and trusting ever;
'til I reach that golden strand,
it's just beyond the river.
Chorus
In the cross,
in the cross be my glory ever;
'til my raptured soul shall find,
one of these days I will find rest,
rest beyond the river.
Chorus (Repeat)
In the cross,
in the cross be my glory ever;
'til my raptured,
'til my raptured soul shall find
rest beyond the river.
Vamp 1
He'll give me wonderful rest.
He'll give me sanctified rest.
He'll give me glorious rest.
He'll give me everlasting rest.
Vamp 2
Rest, He'll give me rest.
Vamp 3
Rest, He'll give me rest.
He'll give me wonderful rest.
Rest, He'll give me rest.
He'll give me sanctified rest.
Rest, He'll give me rest.
He'll give me glorious rest.
Rest, He'll give me rest.
He'll give me everlasting rest.
Vamp 4
Rest, rest.
Rest, rest.
Outro
Rest beyond the river.
Video
Meaning & Inspiration
“Near the Cross,” sung by the Mississippi Mass Choir, takes up the well-known hymn and extends it with a long vamp on rest. The verses ask Jesus to keep the singer near the cross, where there is a precious fountain, a healing stream that flows from Calvary for all. The singer watches and waits, hoping and trusting, until reaching the golden shore beyond the river.
The chorus asks that the cross be the singer’s glory forever, until the soul finds rest beyond the river. The fountain image is close to Zechariah 13:1, and the cross as the object of glory echoes Galatians 6:14. The promise of rest recalls Matthew 11:28 and Hebrews 4:9.
The vamp lists the kinds of rest God will give: wonderful, sanctified, glorious, and everlasting. Its repetition gives a choir room to build the moment, and the song ends on the line “rest beyond the river.”
Related Scripture
- Galatians 6:14 Glorying only in the cross of Christ
- Zechariah 13:1 A fountain opened for cleansing from sin
- Matthew 11:28 Come to Me and find rest