Rock of Ages

Rock of Ages, cleft for me - was written by Augustus Toplady who was a curate in a village called Blagdon.

Rock of Ages

Story Behind This Christian Hymn

It is said that Augustus Toplady was taking shelter in a cave from a thunderstorm in Somerset when he penned this hymn.

Years later, he used this hymn to conclude an article in a magazine where he was emphasizing the fact that England could never repay its national debt just as man are never able to meet the requirement demanded by the justice of God.

To print this Christian hymn lyrics, just highlight the words of the hymn and copy and paste into your word editor like Microsoft Word or Pages (for Mac users).

Rock of Ages

Hymn Writer ~ Augustus M. Toplady, 1740-1778

Hymn Music ~ Thomas Hastings, 1784-1872

Tune ~ Toplady



Stanza 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.



Stanza 2:

Not the labor 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.



Stanza 3:

Nothing in my hand 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.



Stanza 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,

Rock of Ages, cleft for me,

Let me hide myself in Thee.



Food For Thought:

What a beautiful hymn! Only in Christ dare we stand before the just and holy God. We are hidden in Christ, sheltered by His bleeding side from the demands of God's law and the wrath of a righteous and holy God.

This is indeed a hymn that speaks of Christ as our Salvation, He is our refuge and only through His shed blood and broken body which He sacrificially offered up for us, can we find forgiveness for our sins.

We can never be saved by our own good deeds but only by the redemptive works of Christ on the cross at Calvary. Christ's work has a two-prong actions: appeased the wrath of a holy God and also cleansed us from all our sins, thus making us pure and righteous in Him.



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