My dear friend, the term “Rock” is a Biblical metaphor referring to God. In the New Testament, this term is identified specifically with Christ in 1 Corinthians 10:4 which says, “And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.”  The phrase “Rock of Ages” is not found in the Bible per se, but again refers to God (Christ) as to His everlasting, stable and strong character. In the famous hymn “Rock of Ages”, written by Augustus M. Toplady, God is thus referred to, as well as the analogy of a cleft in the rock which God provides to shelter His children from the storm. In Deuteronomy 34:4 we see God identified as the “Rock”, “He is the Rock, His work is perfect: for all His ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is He,” (see also Psalms 16:20-21, Psalms 61:1-2, and 62:5-6 and in many other verses).

Isaiah 26:4 tells us, “Trust ye in the LORD for ever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength.”  Here we do not see the specific reference to a rock, but rather we see a description of the attributes of God which we might associate with a solid rock…the everlasting strength of God which is unmovable and unchanging, and can be relied upon always. In the hymn “Rock of Ages,” the first line reads: “Rock of Ages cleft for me; let me hide myself in Thee.” I believe that this reference is to highlight that in the redemptive work of our Lord Jesus at Calvary, believers are, as it were, hid in a cleft in a rock which shelters us from the stormy wrath of God over our sins.  In Colossians 3:3 we read, “For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.” An Old Testament reference to a cleft in the rock can be found in Exodus 33:20-22 when Moses desired to see the LORD’s glory but could not see His face lest he die.  So, God provided for the protection of Moses’ life by hiding him in the cleft in a rock: “And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see Me, and live…And it shall come to pass, while My glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a clift of the rock, and will cover thee with My hand while I pass by….”

And now, my dear friend, I must ask, “Are you saved?”  If you are, then you can know that you have been sheltered from the stormy blast of judgment, safely hid by His amazing Grace, in the cleft of the Rock, which cleft is Christ (1 Corinthians 10:4). The true children of God are sheltered from the righteous judgment of God which we all deserve due to our sins (Romans 3:23; Romans 6:23). And while in Romans 6:23 we learn that the wages of sin is death, we also can hold to the blessed truth that the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord—He is our Rock and praise Him forever for His lovingkindness and grace.  And how might I be saved you might ask? I say again, this is through faith alone in the finished work of Christ Jesus, as we read in Ephesians 2:8-9, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” (Read also John 5:24; Acts 16:31; John 3:16; 1 John 4:9).  (SF)  (602.2)