Rock of Ages

I want to make a list of my favourite hymns... so it's not just "oh yeah! I like that hymn" whenever we sing it Sunday and it's more like "I like these ones..."


Holy, Holy, Holy
Be Thou My Vision
Praise To The Lord The Almighty
Christ the Lord Is Risen Today
Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence
Once to Every Man and Nation
O Jesus, I Have Promised (modern tune)
The God Of Abram Praise
Rock of Ages (to the less popular, modern tune)



I've liked this one for a while, and it has special significance because when I saw Ret. Archbishop Harry Goodhew a few months back he mentioned it when the previous week I'd been struck by the words. It was doubly powerful hearing the words again being applied directly to my life by such a godly man.



Rev. Toplady - Rock Of Ages

Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
Let me hide myself in Thee;
Let the water and the blood,
From Thy riven side which flowed,
Be of sin the double cure,
Cleanse me from its guilt and pow'r.

Not the labours 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 Thy cross I cling;
Naked, come to Thee for dress;
Helpless, look to Thee for grace;
Foul, I to the fountain fly;
Wash me, Saviour, or I die.

While I draw this fleeting breath,
When my eyelids close 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.

Then above the world and sin,
Thro' the veil, drawn right within,
I shall see Him face to face,
Sing the story, saved by grace,
Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
Let me ever be with Thee.




Love is funny... I love my kids at work. I can point to so many moments with them and tell you "that is love" but in other things, I'm less all about love and more all about hiding. I'm sorry to all those that have felt the brunt of that. Love is a scary thing to give and accept. I don't accept praise well. I caught myself criticising myself today for being hard working and so dedicated to work and wondered at the logic of that thought... surely it's okay to be hard working? I don't need to feel bad that my actions might act as a rebuke to my coworkers. Infact, I hope it does. It's not a bad thing but somehow even my own mental praise of "yay, you're doing cool stuff at work with your kids" is not acceptable. When did good things become banned or relegated to the land of half-hearted jokes?

I've been that way for a long time. It's not a matter of being humble... it's just not accepting that I'm worth what I'm being told I am. Maybe I believe it a little, but in my head there is always a quick auto-prompt, a qualifying statement to reduce what you say by half. Or maybe I'll just say to myself, "It's what you should be doing anyway so the praise isn't special".

Life is funny like that.



That Rock Of Ages hymn has each of it's lines taken from Scripture. Check it. Could that be more nifty?


Bed time now,

Cathrine