Christ My Song - 2031
O Rock of Ages, since on thee - The Rock of Ages
(Ray Palmer/Johannes Thomas Rüegg)
The Rock of Ages.
"In the Lord Jehovah is the Rock of Ages." (Isaiah 26,4)
1. O Rock of Ages, since on thee
by grace my feet are planted,
'tis mine, in tranquil faith, to see
the rising storm, undaunted;
when angry billows round me rave,
and tempests fierce assail me,
to thee I cling, the terrors brave,
for thou canst never fail me;
though rends the globe with earthquake shock,
unmoved thou stand'st, Eternal Rock! PDF - Midi
2. Within thy clefts I love to hide,
when darkness o'er me closes;
there peace and light serene abide,
and my stilled heart reposes;
my soul exults to dwell secure,
thy strong munitions round her;
she dares to count her triumph sure,
nor fears lest hell confound her;
though tumults startle earth and sea,
thou changeless Rock, they shake not thee!
3. From thee, O Rock once smitten, flow
life-giving streams for ever;
and whoso doth their sweetness know,
he thenceforth thirsteth never;
my lips have touched the crystal tide,
and feel no more returning
the fever, that so long I tried
to cool, yet felt still burning;
ah, wondrous Well-Spring, brimming o'er
with living waters evermore!
4. On that dread day, when they that sleep
shall hear the trumpet sounding,
and wake to praise, or wake to weep,
the judgment-throne surrounding;
when wrapped in all-devouring flame,
the solid globe is wasting,
and what at first from nothing came
is back to nothing hasting;
e'en then my soul shall calmly rest,
O Rock of Ages, on thy breast.
1869.
Ray Palmer, in: The Poetical Works of Ray Palmer, 1876, 27-28.