Lyrics - Rock of Ages

Verse 1
Rock of Ages, cleft for me,

let me hide myself in thee.

Let the water and the blood

from thy wounded side which flowed

be of sin the double cure:

save from wrath and make me pure.

Verse 2
Not the labors of my hands

can fulfill thy law's demands;

could my zeal no respite know,

could my tears forever flow,

all for sin could not atone;

thou must save, and thou alone.

Verse 3
Nothing in my hands I bring;

simply to thy cross I cling.

Naked, come to thee for dress;

helpless, look to thee for grace;

foul, I to the fountain fly;

wash me, Savior, or I die!

Verse 4
While I draw this fleeting breath,

when my eyes shall close in death,

when I soar to worlds unknown,

see thee on thy judgment throne,

Rock of Ages, cleft for me,

let me hide myself in thee.

Bible Memory Verses

‘The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.’

-  Psalm 18:2 (ESV)

Story Behind the Song

It has been said that Augustus Toplady, (English preacher and hymn writer) was inspired to write this hymn after taking shelter in a rock during a storm. We don’t know this for sure but we do know that the Bible repeats often this idea of God as our Rock - our Rock of refuge, of salvation, of life. 

Toplady built this hymn with that rock solid idea! He also helps us understand that there is nothing we can do to save ourselves. Christ must save us. And He does.

‘For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God’ (Ephesians 2:8)

The hymn ‘Rock of Ages’ was first published in full in 1776 (the same year America was founded!). It is most often sung to a tune by Thomas Hastings called ‘Toplady’. The tune is also called ‘Petra’, after the apostle Peter whose name means rock. In the UK the traditional way of singing this hymn is with a tune called Redhead 76 - see the link below if you would like to hear that tune as well. 

The text and the tune move with an emotion that is very personal and brings much comfort. Toplady printed a little piece of the hymn in ‘The Gospel Magazine’ in 1775 before releasing the whole hymn the next year. He wrote,

‘Yet, if you fall, be humbled; but do not despair. Pray afresh to God, who is able to raise you up, and to set you on your feet again. Look to the blood of the covenant; and say to the Lord, from the depth of your heart, 

Rock of Ages, cleft for me,

Iet me hide  myelf in thee! 

Foul, I to the fountain fly:

wash me, Saviar, or I die.’

Redhead 76 melody as a reference:

https://getty.pub/4a9D0Yu

Something to Think About

As a family we love going to the beach. Especially the beaches in Northern Ireland. They have lots of rocky cliffs. In those cliffs you can find places were the rock has split and formed crevices or hollowed and formed little caves. The girls like to hide in them, or shine a flashlight inside. Perhaps you like to do that too?! 

The first line of this hymn is ‘Rock of Ages, cleft for me’. ‘Cleft’ means split or divided. The lyric speaks of Jesus as our forever Rock, an image of strength and power. But it also speaks of that Rock as having a split in it - an image of brokenness and pain. When Jesus died on the cross a sword was put in his side and blood and water flowed out - he was split open like the rock the hymn-writer describes. But this is the place we hide - in His sacrifice for our sin. Isaiah 53 says ‘by His wounds we are healed’ (Isaiah 53)

Toplady goes on to call Christ’s sacrifice a ‘double cure’. Why two cures? One to take away our sin and the other to make us pure and righteous before God. All who come to Him as their Rock receive the gift of this double cure. What an amazing gift! This is our hope and our comfort each day whatever storm we face. 

Prayer

Father in heaven,

Thank you that Christ is our rock of salvation. May our souls seek rest in Him each day. When we sin may we run quickly to our Savior for grace. May His beauty and holiness be seen more and more in our lives. May we lead others to the Rock that is higher and greater than us.

In Jesus name,

Amen 

Teach your children to praise God with heart and voice! Click here to learn more about Kristyn Getty’s new book, We Sing!

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