Rock of Ages
Do you remember a time, perhaps when you were a child, when you felt especially protected? This song evokes many of those similar feelings, because Christ is our ultimate protector and shelter.
1 Rock of Ages[1], cleft for me[2],
Let me hide myself in Thee;
Let the water and the blood,
From Thy wounded side which flowed,
Be of sin the double cure[3],
Save from wrath and make me pure.
[1] a Biblical phrase; many verses that speak to how the Lord is the eternal Rock, fortress, deliverer, our stronghold to take refuge in, and the One who is the “rock” for His people transcending time
[2] cleft = a shelter from a storm usually in a rock side that’s split or cracked open. In this case, Jesus’s pierced side providing shelter from judgment’s storm
[3] “double cure of sin” = how we died with Him: we are saved from God’s anger because Jesus took the full punishment for our sins in our place, and we are made pure because His death breaks sin’s power over us.
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[4].
[4] it is ultimately God who saves people, through the Holy Spirit. How beautiful that God gets the glory for us ending up in Heaven, instead of through anything we did.
3 Nothing in my hand I bring,
simply to the cross I cling;
naked, come to thee for dress[5];
helpless, look to thee for grace;
foul, I to the fountain fly;
wash me, Savior, or I die[6].
[5] those who are saved are now clothed in Christ’s righteousness
[6] memorize this and pray it often “O Lord, foul I fly to the fountain; wash me, Savior, or I die!” It acknowledges one missed the mark and helps to ask for forgiveness. While a spiritual fall can humble us, we don’t have to despair, because Christ can make us clean. The blood of Jesus purifies us from all sin (1 John 1:7).
4 While I draw this fleeting breath,
When my eyes shall close in death,
When I rise to worlds unknown
And behold Thee on Thy throne[7],
Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
Let me hide myself in Thee.
[7] How much do we look forward to seeing Jesus on His judgment throne. Where we can take shelter, just like a bird does under the wing of a parent.
In the late 1800s, the missionary Daniel Draper was on a ship with 250 people which was caught in a storm; the ship started to go down, he started to preach to the people, and many of the passengers sang this song. The 3 people who survived reported Draper’s last words to be “Those of you who don’t yet believe, now is the time; you don’t have a minute to lose.” May that kind of conviction inspire us.
Author: Augustus M. Toplady
Composer: Thomas Hastings
Meter: 7.7.7.7.7.7
Tune name: TOPLADY