I’ve written before about how much I appreciate hymns, particularly the richness of theology that we find in many of the old ones. (You can read my thoughts on “O Worship the King” and “Praise to the Lord” if you missed those the first time.”) Tonight’s feature was “Rock of Ages”, and once again, I’m taken aback by both the fullness of the gospel presented in just a few short lines, and also how grounded in Scripture it is. (Take a look at lyrics and listen to Fernando Ortega’s rendition if it’s new to you.)
Right off the bat, we have a reference to the eternality of the Lord in the name Rock of Ages (Isa 26:4). There’s a possible allusion to Exodus 33, in which we read about the Lord in His kindness setting Moses in the cleft of a rock and shielding him with His hand – for the purpose of revealing Himself to Moses. That account in Exodus is always the one that comes to mind first, but more likely based on the overall theme and the words that follow is that it’s referencing Jesus’ body, broken and pierced on the cross. The next line, about the water and the blood, comes from John 19:34. My favorite line from verse 1 is the last one, in which we sing that the blood from Jesus’ side is the “double cure” – the remedy to sin’s guilt and also its power. There’s a myriad of verses of course that teach that His death pays the penalty for our sin (or cures our guilt); I’ll just list one (Matt 26:28) and trust your cross-reference skills to find more if needed. Romans 6 teaches more about Christ breaking the hold that sin has over us; v14 is probably the clearest, although again, this passage works together with an assortment of others to present the full doctrine.
There’s more of the same in verse 2 of this precious hymn. Truly we can’t save ourselves, no matter how hard we work or how deeply we mourn our sin (Eph 2:8-9). The only Savior is indeed the Lord Jesus Christ (1 Tim 2:5; Acts 4:12). Verse 3 emphasizes the same – apart from Christ, we are naked (clothed in unrighteousness or filthy rags would also be a good description) and need Him to dress us in righteousness (Isa 61:10, 64:6); helpless and dependent upon Him for grace (1 Cor 15:10 and others; this sermon (transcript available) ties various Scriptures together far better than I could); and in need of cleansing by His blood (1 John 1:7; Heb 9:14). Verse 4 then takes that to the end of time, standing before the judgment throne. This is when the proof is in the pudding, so to speak. At this moment, if our hope and trust is in the blood of Christ, that is when our justification becomes concrete. We KNOW we are guilty, and yet Christ’s righteousness becomes our own. Once more, we are hiding in the Rock cleft for us.
I love old hymns, and I love singing them, but taking the extra step to recognize and record the fullness of theology and grounding in them encourages me and gives me a renewed spirit of thankfulness not just for the writers, but for the God who reveals Himself in this way to me. Hope it does the same for you.
My favorite older hymn is “It is Well with My Soul”. The trials that the songwriter went through would be too much for many people. The simple refrain of whatever my lot it is well with my soul. No matter what situation we are in, tragedy or triumph, it is well with my soul.
Many of the songs of past years have a rich meaning to them, we just need to listen with our hearts and not just our ears. Thank you for explaining this so clearly.