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| If you prefer there is an easy to read and print READER version RIGHT HERE! |
1 Hear my cry, O
God; attend unto my prayer. 2 From the end
of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the
rock that is higher than I. 3 For thou hast
been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy. 4 I will abide
in thy tabernacle for ever: I will trust in the covert of thy wings. Selah. (Psalm
61:1-4)
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Here
is a Gospel song which closely resembles a prayer of praise to our God. The
lyrics are by William O. Cushing in 1876, and the music by the renowned Ira
D. Sankey (1877). It should serve to remind us of the Solid Rock which is
Christ – the Foundation and Fountainhead of all of our faith. As regards the
circumstances of its composition, I share the comments of the Cyberhymnal
Website:
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‘Hiding in Thee’ was
written in Moravia, New York, in 1876,” writes Mr. Cushing. “It must be
said of this hymn that it was the outgrowth of many tears, many heart-conflicts
and soul-yearnings, of which the world can know nothing. The history of many
battles is behind it. But the occasion which gave it being was the call of
Mr. Sankey. He said, ‘Send me something new to help me in my Gospel work.’ A
call from such a source, and for such a purpose, seemed a call from God. I so
regarded it, and prayed: ‘Lord, give me something that may glorify Thee.’
It was while thus waiting that ‘Hiding in Thee’ pressed to make itself
known. Mr. Sankey called forth the tune, and by his genius gave the hymn
wings, making it useful in the Master’s work. Sankey, p. 149
The
Rock that is Higher than I
O safe to the Rock that is higher than I,
My soul in its conflicts and sorrows would fly;
So sinful, so weary, Thine, Thine, would I be;
Thou blest “", I’m hiding in Thee.
Refrain
Hiding in Thee, hiding in Thee,
Thou blest “Rock of Ages, ”
I’m hiding in Thee.
In the calm of the noontide, in sorrow’s lone hour,
In times when temptation casts o’er me its power;
In the tempests of life, on its wide, heaving sea,
Thou blest “Rock of Ages,” I’m hiding in Thee.
Refrain
How oft in the conflict, when pressed by the foe,
I have fled to my refuge and breathed out my woe;
How often, when trials like sea billows roll,
Have I hidden in Thee, O Thou Rock of my soul.
Refrain
O
safe to the Rock that is higher than I, My soul in its conflicts and sorrows
would fly; So sinful, so weary, Thine, Thine, would I be; Thou blest “Rock of
Ages,” I’m hiding in Thee. There is abundant protection
and security in the presence of a great Rock. The Rock of Gibraltar broods in
majesty above the straits of the same name. My father used to tell me stories
of the old west that were factual and unusual. One such story was of the Great
White Rock of Acoma (pronounced Ah-ko ma). The Acoma Pueblo is located about 80
miles west of Albuquerque, New Mexico, atop a 360 ft. mesa. The Acoma tribe of
Indians is made up of about 5,000 souls as of the 2010 U.S. census. The only
access to the high city pueblo atop Acoma Rock was by means of near vertical
steps cut into the stone face of the Rock. It was a safe haven for centuries to
the Acoma Indians – perhaps the oldest continuously inhabited communities in
the United States (since the 13th century and
most likely long before).
The
Acoma Indians were protected for those many centuries by their safe refuge atop
the mesa. But with the coming of Spanish missionaries, they were also blessed
with another Great Rock – that of Jesus Christ! The first Spanish friar gave
them a large portrait of Saint Joseph during the 16th century – a
portrait which they revered as a thing that brought them good fortune. In
simple terms, this portrait became an idol. The Mesa of Acoma always produced a
bountiful supply of food and vegetables – the rains always came on time. The
Acoma Indians carried this portrait to stand guard over them while they worked
the fields of the mesa. They believed it gave them ‘good luck.’ Finally, the
great portrait was stolen by a nearby tribe of Indians from the Laguna Pueblo.
This tribe had experienced draught and want while the Acomas enjoyed plenty.
They wanted the portrait to bless them as it had the Acomas.
Suddenly,
the Laguna Pueblo began to flourish under the watchful eyes of the portrait of
Saint Joseph and the Acomas, on the contrary, lost hope and suffered failures
in their crops. Brought to the brink of war between the two pueblos, an old
Spanish friar interceded. He told the people that it was not the portrait of Saint
Joseph which caused the prosperity of the pueblos in its presence, but the
faith in the One who was greater than Saint Joseph. It was God who gave them
hope and inspiration to work more heartily and energetically that resulted in
the greater harvests. They broke the arrow and peace was restored. This
is the provision of the Rock that is higher than us. Faith in Him blesses all
who place their trust in His name – and not some Roman superstition.
In the calm of the
noontide, in sorrow’s lone hour, In times when temptation casts o’er me its
power; In the tempests of life, on its wide, heaving sea, Thou blest “Rock of
Ages,” I’m hiding in Thee. There is no cooler place in all of the desert
wilderness than the refuge of a great stone. The desert traveler can rest
safely under that great stone until the evening shadows lengthen and travel is
again possible. So, in our lives, troubles and the heat of life grow intense,
and we seek the shelter of the Great Rock of Christ in the shadow of the
noon-day sun. Loneliness is not always a detriment – it is often a blessed time
to stop our worldly pursuits and attune our hearts to the Voice of God. To the
wandering ship, aimlessly drifting on the stormy seas, a great rock will break
her apart and all aboard perish; but the ship, well mastered and navigated,
seeks the shelter of the great rocky coast to hide from such stormy blasts. The
greatest Rock we can know is that of Christ. He offers blessings of rain, sun,
and shelter. And He offers a sure Foundation upon which to build our lives.
How
oft in the conflict, when pressed by the foe, I have fled to my refuge and
breathed out my woe; How often, when trials like sea billows roll, Have I
hidden in Thee, O Thou Rock of my soul. During the Battle of
Fredericksburg during the War Between the States, the Confederate Army found
shelter behind a great stone wall at the base of Marye’s Heights and were
thereby enabled to hold off the relentless waves of a far greater force of the
Union army. The stone wall was their advantage and protection, and so is Christ
a far greater protection from our enemies in the battles of life. There is
relief in finding solid and sound protection in the Lord. The billows of the
sea have beaten for centuries against the craggy stones of the New England
coastline, yet the stones remain as evidence that the mighty sea is no match
for the stones. Christ is the Rock of the Christian’s soul, and when our
anchors are fastened on that Rock at the Sea bottom, we shall not drift – our
souls are anchored on that Rock! . . . . we might have a strong
consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us:
Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast,
and which entereth into that within the veil. (Heb 6:18-19)
Refrain
Hiding in Thee, hiding in Thee,
Thou blest “Rock of Ages,”
I’m hiding in Thee.
This
very proper refrain summarizes, as all refrains should, the context of the
entire hymn. If we are hiding in the Rock of Ages which is Christ, we are
invisible to the things of the world. Our works are those of Christ and not our
own. We are small to the world, but large in the eyes of the Lord. In fact, we
are the “Apple of His Eye.”
