Rock of Ages (Christian hymn)


"Rock of Ages" is a popular Christian hymn written by the Reverend Augustus Toplady in 1763 and first published in The Gospel Magazine in 1775.
Traditionally, it is held that 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.
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. The German translation is called "Fels des Heils".

Commentary on lyrics

"When my eyes shall close in death" was originally written as "When my eye-strings break in death".
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 the Methodist preacher under whom he received his religious conversion, and 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. Toplady's own published hymnal of 1776, however, contains a variant which reads: "Be of sin the double cure, Save me from its guilt and power".

Music settings

"Rock of Ages" is usually sung to the hymn tune "Toplady" by Thomas Hastings or "Redhead 76", also called Petra, by Richard Redhead or "New City Fellowship" by James Ward. "Toplady" is most typical in the United States and "Redhead 76" in the United Kingdom, although both tunes circulate in the churches of both countries.

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,
Cleanse me from its guilt and power.
Not the labour 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.
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!
While I draw this fleeting breath,
When mine eyes shall 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.

Film appearances

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 Gladstone.
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".
The opening lines of the hymn are used in the chorus of "Birmingham" by the band Shovels & Rope.

Other

1980s British rock band Def Leppard were inspired by the ancient hymn's text when a member of a choir left their hymn book in their recording studio. Joe Elliott later wrote the lyrics to their song "Rock of Ages" after reading it and in their music video the band members dress up as monks.
This hymn tune was featured throughout the Westminster location in the game Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate. It is heard from the music boxes as well atop Buckingham Palace at the vantage point.
This hymn was regarded as one of the Great Four Anglican Hymns of the 19th century.
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."
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.
A large rounded stalagtite in Carlsbad Caverns is named "Rock of Ages." Rangers leading tours would stop there, turn out the lights, and lead the group in singing the hymn.

Translations

The hymn has appeared in other languages including German and Swedish.
There were also Latin translations by William Gladstone as "Jesus, pro me perforatus" and by Canadian linguist Silas Tertius Rand as "Rupes saeculorum, te." On reading this version, Gladstone wrote to Rand, "I at once admit that your version is more exact than mine".
This hymn was also translated to Tamil, a south Indian language spoken by nearly by 120 million people. The hymn is included in Christhu Sabai Paamalai, the hymnal of the Church of South India headquartered in Chennai. It is titled Pilavunda malaye and is hymn number 350.
This hymn was also translated to Telugu, a south Indian language spoken by nearly eighty million people. The hymn is included in Andhra Christava Keerthanalu, the hymnal of the Andhra Evangelical Lutheran Church headquartered in Guntur. It is titled Naakai cheelcha badda and is hymn number 342. It was translated into Mizo by Rev. Rohmingliana as Chatuan lungpui, aw Krista and appears in a hymnbook called Kristian Hlabu.

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