03/02/2026
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The hymn “Rock of Ages” begins with those familiar words and continues, “Cleft for me.” What does that mean?
“Cleft” comes from the verb “cleave,” meaning to split or divide. The Rock of Ages that is “cleft for me” is a rock that has been split open.
The hymn’s author, Augustus Montague Toplady (1740–1778), was referring to Christ, our Rock of Ages. His side was “cleft” by the Roman spear as he hung upon the cross. From that wounded side, “at once there came out blood and water” (John 19:34).
But the hymn adds another image: “Let me hide myself in thee.”
This language reaches back to Exodus 33, one of the chapters we read today in Bible in One Year.
As Moses prepared for the LORD’s glory to pass by, God said, “I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by” (33:22). Moses could then only see God’s back, for the LORD had declared, “You cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live” (33:20, 23).
What a marvelous change occurred, however, when this same LORD also became man in the incarnation.
Now he has a human face that not only can be seen but also turns toward us in compassion and mercy.
We are hidden not merely in a rock but in the Rock of Ages himself, wounded for us, “and with his wounds we are healed” (Isa. 53:5).
No longer shielded from divine glory, we behold the glory of God in the crucified Messiah. In him we are purified, cleansed, saved, and hidden, secure in his sacrificial love.
