GHS 127 : Rock Of Ages Cleft For Me Lyrics
GHS 127, “Rock Of Ages, Cleft For Me,” is one of the most enduring hymns in Christian history. Written by Augustus Toplady in 1776, the hymn is a sustained meditation on the total helplessness of the sinner before God and the total sufficiency of Christ as the only hiding place. Every stanza strips away another false refuge: human effort, religious zeal, tears of remorse, and good works. None of them can satisfy God’s law or atone for sin. The sinner comes to Christ with nothing in hand except the plea that Christ’s blood was shed and that His cross is the only ground of hope.
The final stanza carries this trust all the way to death and judgment, making it one of the most personally honest declarations of faith in the entire hymn tradition. This hymn appears as number 127 in the Gospel Hymns and Songs (GHS) collection, used in Deeper Life Bible Church and related assemblies across West Africa.
Hymn Lyrics – GHS 127: Rock Of Ages, Cleft For Me
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Rock of Ages, cleft for me, Let me hide myself in Thee! Let the water and the blood, From Thy riven side which flowed, Be of sin the double cure; Cleanse me from its guilt and power.
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Not the labours of my hands, Can fulfil Thy law’s demands; Could my zeal no respite know, Could my tears for ever flow, All for sin could not atone; Thou must save and Thou alone.
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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, Saviour, or I die.
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While I draw this fleeting breath, When my eyelids 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.
