God hides you in the cleft of a rock – the Rock of Ages, Jesus Christ. In him your soul is safe and secure, so take heart!
Hi, I’m Joni Eareckson Tada with a beautiful old hymn, a hymn with powerful words. Just listen.
(Joni sings:)
A wonderful Savior is Jesus my Lord,
A wonderful Savior to me;
He hideth my soul in the cleft of the rock,
Where rivers of pleasure I see.
He hideth my soul in the cleft of the rock
That shadows a dry, thirsty land;
He hideth my life in the depths of His love
And covers me there with His hand
And covers me there with His hand.
Isn’t that a beautiful image, how God hides us in the cleft of a rock, covering us with his hand? I love that image. It’s so comforting, reassuring, safe, secure. There is a place carved out, a niche that God has purposed just for you. Plus, there are so many wonderful Bible verses that come to mind whenever you sing this song. And if we were to do a little Bible study right here, we could actually flip first to 1 Corinthians 10:4 to discover that Christ is the rock. He is the spiritual rock in which the Father hides us. Which gives interesting insight into another fascinating passage in Exodus 33, where it says, “The Lord said, ‘There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock. When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand.’”
Oh my goodness, friend, no harm can come to you there. No evil can touch you. All of hell might rail against you, but in the cleft of that rock, Christ Jesus, you are safe. No matter how terrible the hardships, no injury can be done to your soul when you are hidden in Christ, the rock of ages. And I think that’s why I just love this hymn so much. It is a song of assurance; a song to instill confidence in God the Father, that nothing can hurt us when we are covered in Christ. Oh, and for me in this wheelchair, with quadriplegia and all that goes with it, this is such a marvelous reassurance.
Isaiah 25 says of God, “You have been a refuge for the poor, a refuge for the needy in his distress, a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat.”
And also, Psalm 32:7 says of the Lord, “You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance.”
Wow! Great Bible verses, huh? And this little Bible story has certainly underscored our theme today. So if you have time, later on, maybe, open up a hymnal and flip to this wonderful old hymn, “He Hideth My Soul.” The words, the words are so powerful. And you can offer them up to the Lord as a prayer. All the verses make a marvelous prayer. I do it all the time, and I would encourage you to do the same. Christ is our rock, immovable, unshakeable.
© Joni and Friends