Rock Of Ages

 

"The Lord is my Rock, my Fortress, and my Deliverer.  My God is my Rock in whom
 I take refuge, my Shield,  and the Horn of my Salvation.  My Stronghold."
(Psalm 18:2)

Scripture Vers

Lion's Head 

Cape Town, South Africa

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.

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.

Nothing in my hand I bring,

Simply to the 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.

While I draw this fleeting breath,

When mine eyes shall close in death,

(Originally "When my eye-strings break 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.

"Rock Of Ages"
(1776)
Augustus Montague Toplady
(1740-1778)
English Calvinist clergyman & hymn writer

The Story Behind The Song

The year 1887 marked the Jubilee Year of the reign of Great Britain's Queen Victoria.
Embassies from the chief courts around the world came to pay her homage.
  Among the many tributes  was a delegation representing the reigning 
monarchy of the island nation of Madagascar off the east coast of Africa.

Included in the group was an older gentleman named Hova. 
 Gracious and intelligent,  he took great care to make a good 
impression during his visit to the Court of Saint James.

 After offering his congratulations, he told of his journey around the 
 Cape of Good Hope,  the rocky headland on the Atlantic coast of the 
 Cape Peninsula in South Africa, known for its treacherous waters.

 He then asked permission to sing a special song, one he said
  he carried in his heart and which had often helped him
to navigate through the storms of life.

Many who had come to pay tribute to the Queen were from
European nations, and naturally assumed the man's odd request
would result in a heathenish chant or another song familiar with
the culture of his native land.

To their astonishment, in a thin tenor voice, the dark-skinned
Hova began to sing a sweet and familiar hymn.

"Rock of ages, cleft for me,
Let me hide myself in Thee!"

As the man sang through all the stanzas, with each verse his voice grew more
soft and reflective.  When Hova finished singing, the room around him was
  filled with a stunned silence. Many of his listeners had been moved to tears. 

This humble stranger's singing of one of the most beloved hymns of
the Christian church stood alone that day as a powerful testimony to the 
 often hard won harvests of faith in Christ sown within the foreign mission field.