“O My dove, who is the clefts of the rock, in the recesses of the cliff, let Me see your countenance, let me bear your voice, for your voice is sweet and your countenance is comely.” (Songs Of Songs 2:14 ONM)
There are a few reasons that have been mentioned on what motivated Augustus Montague Toplady to write the hymn Rock of Ages. As historians try to figure it out, the only thing that really mattered to Toplady was that Jesus is the Rock of Ages and He is the Cleft that he wanted to live in. He knew that the blood and water that spews out of this Cleft cleansed and protected him over the guilt and power of sin; the two things that will bring death in the Glory of God’s presence.
The bible in Exodus 33:21-23 gives the account of the cleft being a hiding place in order to enable Moses to be in the presence of God’s precious Glory. And the Eternal said, “See, there is a place near Me. Station yourself on the rock and, as My Presence passes by, I will put you in a cleft of the rock and shield you with My hand until I have passed by. Then I will take My hand away and you will see My back; but My face must not be seen.” (Exodus 33:21-23)
This was a shadow of Christ, who now is our cleft that enables us to come into the presence of God’s Glory. Jesus came and sacrificed His life to become the spiritual crevice to lead us back into the presence of the Father. He is our shield that allows us to enter God’s Glory and live. God told Moses that he could not see His face. God’s love and desire to dwell with man is so strong, that Jesus let us know when we look upon Him, we see the Father. We can come before the throne of grace to have a face encounter with God. “Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?” (John 14:9). Praise the Lord, we can now bask in God’s Glory through His Son Jesus. He is the One that came and bridged the gap and brought us near the Father. “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ” (Ephesians 2:13 NIV). He is the cleft in which the Father dwells and allow us to come in with Him. “Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work” (John 14:10 NIV).
Unlike Moses with that one incredible cleft encounter of seeing God’s Glory, we now can cleft every single day in HIS Glory. God does his work through Jesus Christ because He is in Him. They are one in unity and in nature. So when we see the Son we also see the beauty and nature of the Father. “In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. 3 The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven” (Hebrews 1:1-3 NIV). Look at part of verse 3…. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. The glory of God shines out of the Son, the Holy Cleft. Hallelujah! In His intercessory prayer in John 17, Jesus mention how He wanted the Father to make us one like they were. If we allow the Lord to do that, the radiance of the Son will shine through us for the world to see His Glory. If we dwell in the Glory of the Lord, we can sing a different song as we all unite together in Jesus, the cleft of the Rock. We are family in the Cleft with all my brothers, sisters and me.
