| "Rock of Ages" | ||
|---|---|---|
| Music: Thomas Hastings | ||
| Words: Augustus Montague Toplady | ||
| Published | 1775 | |
| Language | English | |
| Melody name | Toplady | |
"Rock of Ages" is a popular Christian hymn by Reverend Augustus Montague Toplady written in 1763 and first published in The Gospel Magazine in 1775.
Traditionally, it is held that Rev. Toplady drew his inspiration from an incident in the gorge of Burrington Combe in the Mendip Hills 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.
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"When my eyelids close in death" was originally written as "When my eye-strings break in death".[1]
There has been speculation that, though Toplady was a Calvinist, the words, "Be of sin the double cure, Save from wrath, and make me pure," suggest that he agreed with the teachings of his contemporary, John Wesley, who taught the “double cure,” in which a sinner is saved by the atonement of Jesus, and cleansed from inbred sin by the infilling of the Holy Spirit.[2] However, the original line was "Be of sin the double cure, Save me from its guilt and power," as seen in the published works of Toplady in 1794.[3]
Some contemporary artists, including Amy Grant in her recent rendition, prefer the original words, "Be of sin the double cure, Save me from its guilt and power," possibly suggesting their disagreement with the holiness movement doctrine of two works of grace.
It is usually sung to the hymn tune "Toplady" by Thomas Hastings, the 1984 arrangement by James Ward or "Redhead 76" by Richard Redhead.
1. Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
Let me hide myself in Thee!
Let the Water and the Blood,
From thy riven Side which flow'd,
Be of Sin the double Cure,
Cleanse me from its Guilt and Pow'r.
2. Not the labors of my hands
Can fulfill thy Law's demands:
Could my zeal no respite know,
Could my tears forever flow,
All for Sin could not atone:
Thou must save, and Thou alone!
3. Nothing in my hand I bring;
Simply to thy Cross I cling;
Naked, come to Thee for Dress;
Helpless, look to Thee for grace;
Foul, I to the fountain fly :
Wash me, Saviour, or I die!
4. Whilst I draw this fleeting breath—
When my eye-strings break in death—
When I soar through tracts unknown—
See Thee on thy Judgment-Throne—
Rock of ages, cleft for me,
Let me hide myself in Thee ![4]
The hymn was a favourite of 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.[5]
In his book Hymns That Have Helped, W. T. Stead reported "when the SS 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".[5]
This hymn was regarded as one of the Great Four Anglican Hymns[6] in the 19th century.
St. John Rivers, whose sermons have a Calvinist fervor in Jane Eyre, compares himself to the Rock of Ages when asking Jane to join him as a missionary, "It is the Rock of Ages I ask you to lean on: do not doubt but it will bear the weight of your human weakness."[7]
Johannes Maas, a leader in the faith movement, commented on this hymn, "The words of this hymn are among the most profound, inspiring, encouraging, sacred, devotional, and precious words ever penned."[2]
Also, In his score for Altered States, John Corigliano made reference to this hymn many times, to symbolise the religious struggle of the hero, and the memories of his anti-religious father, which figures in one of his hallucinations.
In director Peter Bogdanovich's 1973 film Paper Moon, Rock of Ages is sang during the opening sequence at Addie Pray's mother's funeral.
The hymn has appeared in other languages including German (as “Fels der Ewigkeit”) and Swedish (“Klippa, du som brast för mig”).
There were also Latin translations by William Ewart Gladstone as “Jesus, pro me perforatus” and by Canadian linguist Silas Tertius Rand as “Rupes saeculorum, te.”[8][9] On reading this version, Gladstone wrote to Rand, "I at once admit that your version is more exact than mine".[10]