Rock of Ages and Communion

Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
let me hide myself in thee;
let the water and the blood,
from thy wounded side which flowed,
be of sin the double cure;
save from wrath and make me pure.

Not the labors of my hands
can fulfill thy law's commands;
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 the cross I cling;
naked, come to thee for dress;
helpless, look to thee for grace;
foul, I to the fountain fly;
wash me, Savior, or I die.

While I draw this fleeting breath,
when mine eyes shall 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.

I was deeply moved by this hymn this last Sunday during communion.  I am hoping to commit it to memory.  In one of the complines my family does at night, God is referred to as a "crag" in which I hide and take shelter.  The image sticks with me when I think of my Rock of Ages.

I had someone ask me what "cleft" means.  I told them it was "split" or "divided."   The very place of God's brokenness, where he was "split" on the cross, is my hiding place and my place of security.  It is where his love shows best, where his utter humility led him, the only safe place for us to meet.  It is where he placed himself below me as a servant so that I might lay myself out beside him as a living sacrifice.

I never used to like this hymn because of of how it says I am saved from "wrath."  It used to bring pictures of God needing to punish someone, "Someone has to get a beating."  After I read the chapter "God Is Holy" in The Good and Beautiful God by James Bryhan Smith, I realized what wrath is.  It is not a quality of God nor is it a fuming, raging anger.  It is God's continual opposition to sin, which hurts and destroys people.  The cross is place where I am safe from God's opposition to sin because it is where I learn how to be crucified with Christ to sin in my own life.  I cannot start or finish such work, but I can labor with God by surrendering to his work in and on my life that will save me from this present evil age.

At a memorial service at the graveside of a friend of our family, I was asked to share a short devotion.  I was drawn to Revelation 5:9-10:

And they sang a new song:
“You are worthy to take the scroll
  and to open its seals,
because you were slain,
  and with your blood you purchased men for God
  from every tribe and language and people and nation.
You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God,
  and they will reign on the earth.”

She was a marvelous musician, so I thought of this "new song".  The Israelites sang new songs to celebrate each new work and wonder of God.  Of the many things this song says, one thing that hit me most was that Jesus is our Judge - "worthy to take the scroll and open the seals" - but he is also our Savior - "you were slain and with your blood you purchased men for God."  That is why in the last verse when I see him on the judgement throne I will be able to hide in him, the one I know as Savior.

What a great song for Communion.