I’m singing the offertory Sunday, doing one of my favorite songs, but with a new melody. I wrote about it earlier, in this blog post, but the text bears repeating here. The lyrical melody line is nothing like what you’ve sung in the past or heard on “Little House On the Prairie” and breathes new life into this text written by Augustus Toplady in 1763. That means it was already over 100 years old when sung on the American frontier!
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.
All the labors of my hands
could not fill 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.
Nothing in my hands I bring,
Simply to Thy cross I cling;
Naked, come to Thee for dress,
Helpless, look to Thee for grace;
To Thy fountain, Lord I fly,
Wash me Savior, or I die!
While I draw this fleeting breath,
When my eyes shall close in death,
When I soar to worlds unknown,
See Thee on Thy judgement throne,
Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
Let me hide myself in Thee.
What a prayer the last lines of this hymn should be for each of us: “Rock of Ages, cleft for me, let me hide myself in Thee!”
