In the cleft of the rock...

1. by Elizabeth Stewart
   
   
   
   He Hideth My Soul by Frances J. Crosby
   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.
   • Refrain:
     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.
2. A wonderful Savior is Jesus my Lord,
   He taketh my burden away,
   He holdeth me up and I shall not be moved,
   He giveth me strength as my day.
3. With numberless blessings each moment He crowns,
   And filled with His fullness divine,
   I sing in my rapture, oh, glory to God!
   For such a Redeemer as mine.
4. When clothed with His brightness transported I rise
   To meet Him in clouds of the sky,
   His perfect salvation, His wonderful love,
   I’ll shout with the millions on high.
   
   
   Franny Crosby was the most prolific hymn writer in history.  She was also blind since her infancy.  Her perspective on her disability in her own words was, "It seemed intended by the blessed providence of God that I should be blind all my life, and I thank him for the dispensation. If perfect earthly sight were offered me tomorrow I would not accept it. I might not have sung hymns to the praise of God if I had been distracted by the beautiful and interesting things about me." It seems her troubles drove her to the cleft of the rock, the secret place of God's presence, where she saw, not with her physical eyes but with the eyes of her spirit, "rivers of pleasure".  It was there that she fell in love with the Lover of her soul, for she also said, "when I get to heaven, the first face that shall ever gladden my sight will be that of my Savior"
   
   
   I've too often resisted the very things that drive me closer to the heart of God. I've fought the testings and the trials. I've fought the loneliness that has often been my portion, yet it is the thing that drove me to know Jesus as my intimate friend since I was a little girl.  It's in the cleft of the rock, the secret place where we meet with God, that we are most close to Him.  It's there that He covers us gently with His hand, where He speaks tenderly to us, where He reveals His lovely and loving face to us.  Perhaps it's time for us to give up resisting and resenting the things that drive us near to God's heart, and to instead see them as gifts in disguise. 
   
   
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