CHRISTIAN LIFE >> FAITH & TRUST
SDAH 525
O safe to the Rock that is higher than I,
My soul in its conflicts and sorrows would fly;
So sinful, so weary, Thine, Thine, would I be;
Thou blest “Rock of Ages,” I’m hiding in Thee.
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For Worship Leaders
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Hymn Spotlight: Hiding in Thee
Written in 1876 by William Orcutt Cushing in response to Ira D. Sankey’s request for a new gospel solo, this hymn emerged from Cushing’s own seasons of tears, spiritual conflict, and deep yearning for God’s refuge. He later testified that the hymn grew out of personal battles known only to the Lord. Its repeated images of Christ as the Rock—drawn heavily from the Psalms—underscore the soul’s need for a safe hiding place amid life’s storms. Cushing, also author of “There’ll Be No Dark Valley,” “When He Cometh,” and “Under His Wings,” poured into this text a heartfelt longing for divine shelter. Sankey composed the tune, first published in Welcome Tidings (1877), giving the hymn its warm, pleading melody. Together they offer a powerful expression of trust in Christ, our Rock and refuge, in every trial.
📖 Reference: Feel free to share but please cite hymnsforworship.org when reproducing.
Introductions for Sabbath School Song Service (based on specific lesson quarterlies):
William Orcutt Cushing (1823-1902; see SDAH 208) was requested by Ira D. Sankey (1840-1908; see Biographies) to send something new to help him in his gospel work of singing sacred solos at evangelistic revival meetings. Cushing accepted this request as a call from God, and prayed that the Lord would give him a song that would glorify Him. He later said that this hymn, written in 1876 in Moravia, New York, was the outgrowth of many tears, heart conflicts, and soul yearnings, of which the world could know nothing. The history of many spiritual battles was behind it. Note the constant reference to Christ as the Rock—four times in three stanzas and once in the refrain, plus one reference to Him as a refuge. Cushing drew most of his allusions from the Psalms. Three more of his hymns in SDAH ate No. 208, “There’ll Be No Dark Valley”; No. 218, “When He Cometh”; and No. 529, “Under His Wings.”
The tune, sometimes called HIDING IN THEE, was composed by Ira D. Sankey and first appeared in Welcome Tidings, 1877, a collection of Gospel songs compiled by Sankey and two Colleagues.
📖 Reference: Companion to the Seventh-day Adventist Hymnal by Wayne Hooper and Edward E. White. Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1988.
Text
1
O safe to the Rock that is higher than I,
My soul in its conflicts and sorrows would fly;
So sinful, so weary, Thine, Thine, would I be;
Thou blest “Rock of Ages,” I’m hiding in Thee.
Refrain
Hiding in Thee, Hiding in Thee,
Thou blest “Rock of Ages,”
I’m hiding in Thee.
2
In the calm of the noontide, in sorrow’s lone hour,
In times when temptation casts o’er me its power;
In the tempests of life, on its wide, heaving sea,
Thou blest “Rock of Ages,“ I’m hiding in Thee.
3
How oft in the conflict, when pressed by the foe,
I have fled to my Refuge and breathed out my woe;
How often, when trials like sea billows roll,
Have I hidden in Thee, O Thou Rock of my soul.
Hymn Info
Biblical Reference
(a) Ps 61:2 (c) Ps 62:7 (r) Ps 27:5
Author
William O. Cushing (1823-1902)
Year Published
1876
Metrical Number
11.11.11.11.Ref.
Composer
Ira D. Sankey (1840-1908)
Year Composed
1876
