Rock of Ages (Christian hymn)

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‘Rock of Ages’ is a popular Christian hymn with lyrics by Reverend Augustus Montague Toplady, and music by Thomas Hastings. The lyrics to the hymn were first published in The Gospel Magazine in 1775, with the music added in around 1830.

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 the Cheddar Gorge. 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 have viewed the hymn as a criticism of the theology of John Wesley and the early 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 Calvinist colleagues rejected.

The hymn was a favourite of Prince Albert, who asked it to be played to him on his deathbed, and it was also played at the funeral of William Ewart Gladstone.

In his book Hymns That Have Helped, W. T. Stead reported that:

when the London went down in the Bay of Biscay, January 11, 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’.

Another meaning of the hymn could be drawn from the ideas presented in the LDS standard hymn book.

Rock of Ages, cleft for me, (Jesus who died on the cross)

Let me hide myself in Thee; (Please protect and guide me)

Let the water and the blood, (Water=baptism, blood=Atonement of Christ)

From Thy wounded side which flowed, (Jesus was speared while on the cross)

Be of sin the double cure; (Allow me to repent)

Save from wrath and make me pure. (Allow me to get to heaven, purify though repentance)

Not the labour of my hands (Nothing I could do would equal what Jesus did)

Can fulfil Thy law’s demands; (Could atone for all sin)

Could my zeal no respite know, (I wish my faith was pure)

Could my tears for ever flow, (I wish I was long suffering)

All for sin could not atone; (Could not save me from sin)

Thou must save, and Thou alone. (Only Jesus can save us)

While I draw this fleeting breath, (When I die)

When my eyelids close in death, (*) (When I die)

When I soar to worlds unknown, (When I rise to heaven)

See Thee on Thy judgement throne, (Finally meet God)

Rock of Ages, cleft for me, (Jesus who died on the cross)

Let me hide myself in Thee. (Please protect and guide me)

[edit] Lyrics

Rock of Ages, cleft for me,

Let me hide myself in Thee;

Let the water and the blood,

From Thy riven side which flowed,

Be of sin the double cure;

Save from wrath and make me pure.

Not the labour of my hands

Can fulfil Thy law’s demands;

Could my zeal no respite know,

Could my tears for ever flow,

All for sin could not atone;

Thou must save, and Thou alone.

Nothing in my hand I bring,

Simply to the cross I cling;

Naked, come to Thee for dress;

Helpless, look to Thee for grace;

Foul, I to the fountain fly;

Wash me, Saviour, else I die.

While I draw this fleeting breath,

When my eyelids close in death, (*)

When I soar to worlds unknown,

See Thee on Thy judgement throne,

Rock of Ages, cleft for me,

Let me hide myself in Thee.

(*) This line was originally ‘When my eye-strings break in death’.

There are various modernised versions, including this one from Hymns for Today's Church (London: Hodder, 1982):

1 [mf] Rock of ages, cleft for me,

hide me now, my refuge be;

let the water and the blood

from your wounded side which flowed,

be for sin the double cure,

cleanse me from its guilt and power.

2 Not the labours of my hands

can fulfil your law's demands;

could my zeal no respite know,

could my tears for ever flow,

all for sin could not atone:

you must save and you alone.

3 [mp] Nothing in my hand I bring,

simply to your cross I cling;

naked, come to you for dress,

helpless, look to you for grace;

stained by sin, to you I cry:

'Wash me, Saviour, or I die!'

4 While I draw this fleeting breath,

when my eyelids close in death,

[mf] when I soar through realms unknown,

bow before the judgement throne:

hide me then, my refuge be,

Rock of ages, cleft for me.

[edit] Media

[edit] External links

• The story behind "Rock of Ages" and a brief biography of Toplady