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.
--
Augustus Toplady, 1776. An
unsubstantiated story says the lyrics
were inspired when
Toplady took shelter from a storm under a rocky
overhang near England�s Cheddar Gorge; he
reportedly wrote the words on a playing
card.
