Rock of Ages, Cleft for Me
A prayer to hide in Christ, since nothing we do can pay for our sin.
The words are public domain. We print a hymn only after checking it word for word against a dated old printing, and this one hasn’t been checked yet. Hymnary has it now.
“Rock of Ages, Cleft for Me” at HymnaryAbout this hymn
The singer says that his own work and tears cannot pay for sin, and asks to be washed and sheltered by Christ alone, in life and at death.
The picture of a rock split open recalls the rock that gave water in the wilderness, which Paul says was Christ (1 Corinthians 10:4), and the water and blood from Jesus' side (John 19:34).
It is often sung in Lent. Augustus Toplady, an Anglican priest, published the full text in The Gospel Magazine in 1776.
For musicians and planners
| Words | Augustus Montague Toplady, 1776 | Public domain |
|---|---|---|
| Tune | TOPLADY · Thomas Hastings, 1830 | Public domain |
Checked 2026-09-27 against hymnary.org text, tune and person pages (attribution and rights only). The words are not transcribed here yet.
Hymn numbers checked against Hymnary.org’s index of Evangelical Lutheran Worship. Full record: Hymnary.