Rock of Ages (Christian hymn) 1864697 202413716 2008-03-31T23:08:36Z 82.34.182.239 use standard format for titles, add context {{Infobox Hymn | Name = Rock of Ages | MusicBy = [[Thomas Hastings (composer)|Thomas Hastings]] | WordsBy = [[Augustus Montague Toplady]] | Published = 1775 | OrigLanguage = English | TranslatedBy = | TranslatedPub = | Meter = | TradMelodyName = Toplady | Misc = }} <div style="float:right; clear:right; border:1px solid gray; padding:1em 1em; margin: 1em 0 1em 1em; text-align:left; background:lightyellow"> "'''Rock of Ages'''"<br /> Rock of Ages, cleft for me,<br /> Let me hide myself in Thee;<br /> Let the water and the blood,<br /> From Thy riven side which flowed,<br /> Be of sin the double cure;<br /> Save from wrath and make me pure. Not the labour of my hands<br /> Can fulfil Thy law’s demands;<br /> Could my zeal no respite know,<br /> Could my tears for ever flow,<br /> All for sin could not atone;<br /> Thou must save, and Thou alone. Nothing in my hand I bring,<br /> Simply to the cross I cling;<br /> Naked, come to Thee for dress;<br /> Helpless, look to Thee for grace;<br /> Foul, I to the fountain fly;<br /> Wash me, Saviour, else I die. While I draw this fleeting breath,<br /> When my eyelids close in death,<br /> When I soar to worlds unknown,<br /> See Thee on Thy judgement throne,<br /> Rock of Ages, cleft for me,<br /> Let me hide myself in Thee. ''Augustus Montague Toplady'' </div> "'''Rock of Ages'''" is a popular [[Christian]] [[hymn]] by Reverend [[Augustus Montague Toplady]]. It can be sung to the [[hymn tune]]s "Toplady" by [[Thomas Hastings (composer)|Thomas Hastings]] or "Redhead 76" by Richard Redhead. The words of the hymn were written in 1763 and first published in ''[[The Gospel Magazine]]'' in [[1775]], with the music added in around [[1830]]. [[Image:Rockofages.jpg|thumb|The Rock of Ages, Burrington Combe where the Rev. Toplady is reputed to have sheltered from a storm]] According to a famous but largely unsubstantiated story, Rev. Toplady drew his inspiration from an incident in the famous gorge of [[Burrington Combe]], a [[Mendip]] gorge close to [[Cheddar Gorge]] in England. Toplady, a preacher in the nearby village of [[Blagdon]], was travelling along the gorge when he was caught in a storm. Finding shelter in a gap in the gorge, he was struck by the title and scribbled down the initial lyrics on a playing card. The fissure that is believed to have sheltered Toplady is now marked as the ‘Rock of Ages’, both on the rock itself and on some maps, and is also reflected in the name of a nearby tea shop. Others{{Fact|date=September 2007}} have viewed the hymn as a criticism of the theology of [[John Wesley]] and the early [[Methodism|Methodists]], citing the line, ‘Thou must save, and Thou alone’. This line was believed to refer to the Wesleyan notion that human beings may exercise free will and thus play a role in salvation, an idea which Toplady and his [[Calvinism|Calvinist]] colleagues rejected. The hymn was a favourite of [[Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha|Prince Albert]], who asked it to be played to him on his deathbed, as did Confederate General [[J.E.B. Stuart]]. It was also played at the funeral of [[William Ewart Gladstone]]. In his book ''Hymns That Have Helped'', W. T. Stead reported "when the [[The London|''London'']] went down in the [[Bay of Biscay]], [[11 January]] [[1866]], the last thing which the last man who left the ship heard as the boat pushed off from the doomed vessel was the voices of the passengers singing "Rock of Ages". == Lyrics == ''When my eyelids close in death'' was originally written as ''When my eye-strings break in death''.<ref>Barkeley, J.M. (1979) Handbook to the Church Hymnary, 3 ed. London: Oxford University Press, p.96</ref> ==References== {{reflist}} == Media == {{listen|filename=Toplady.ogg|title=Rock of Ages|description=organ solo}} {{listen|filename=EdisonMixedQuartet RockOfAges1913.ogg|title=Rock of Ages|description=Edison Mixed Quartet, 1913, Rock of Ages. Recorded on a [[Edison cylinder]]}} ==External links== * [http://www.ensignmessage.com/archives/rockofages.html The story behind "Rock of Ages" and a brief biography of Toplady] [[Category:Christian hymns|Rock of ages]] [[de:Rock of Ages]] [[sv:Klippa, du som brast för mig]]