Traditional: Collected Lyrics
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Public-domain lyrics

Rock of Ages, Cleft for Me

Traditional

“Rock of Ages, Cleft for Me” as printed in The Army and Navy Hymnal (1920).

Traditional: Collected Lyrics Text 370 1920 · historical text
Public domainHymnSacred song
Complete public-domain lyrics

This text comes from The Army and Navy Hymnal, a historical songbook transcribed on Wikisource and reproduced from the pinned revision linked below.

Verse 1

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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 power.

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.

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. Amen.

Credits

Written by Traditional

Traditional words. Historical text published in The Army and Navy Hymnal (1920); public domain. No claim to a modern recording or arrangement.

Source & text edition

The Army and Navy Hymnal (1920), “Rock of Ages, Cleft for Me”

The 1920 published edition is in the public domain in the United States (pre-1931 publication). Entries whose credited author died more than 70 years ago are also in the public domain in life-plus-70 jurisdictions; traditional and anonymous entries are public domain. Pages whose scan quality is below the proofread threshold are held for review.

How to read this historical text and its source

Read the source on Wikisource

View copyright evidence · Transcription terms (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Retrieved 2026-10-26. Line spacing and section labels are adapted for reading. The displayed text follows the linked edition. Editorial notes and abstract artwork are by 52lyrics.
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