"Rock of Ages" is a popular Christian

hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn ...

written by the Reformed Anglican minister Augustus Toplady.

History

The first four lines for the 1st version of the 1st verse were published in ''

The Gospel Magazine The ''Gospel Magazine'' is a Calvinism, Calvinist, evangelicalism, evangelical Christian magazine from the United Kingdom, and is one of the longest running of such periodicals, having been founded in 1766. Most of the editors have been Anglicani ...

'' in October, 1775. The first publication in full was the following spring in the March, 1776 edition of ''The Gospel Magazine,'' with a revised first verse, plus three more verses. A slightly further revised version was published that summer in July 1776 in Toplady's hymnal ''Psalms & Hymns for Public and Private Worship.'' There is a popular story most hymnologists do not believe about the origin of this hymn text. That story was started 122 years after publication of the hymn text by a letter published in the ''Times'' f London June 3, 1898 from Dean Lefroy of Norwich, together with one from Sir W. H. Wills on the same matter. The burden of Lefroy’s correspondence is based on a claim made by Sir W. H. Wills regarding the origin of this hymn. Wills' claim asserted that Toplady drew his inspiration from an incident in the gorge of

Burrington Combe Burrington Combe is a Carboniferous Limestone gorge near the village of Burrington, on the north side of the Mendip Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, in North Somerset, England. "Combe" or "coombe" is a word of Celtic origin found i ...

in the

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in England. Toplady, then a curate (assistant Church of England preacher) in the nearby village of

Blagdon Blagdon is a village and civil parish in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Somerset, within the unitary authority of North Somerset, in England. It is located in the Mendip Hills, a recognised Area of Outstanding Natural ...

, 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. According to E. J. Fasham, a more likely inspiration for the text is a 1673 sermon by Daniel Brevint (who had been the Dean of

Durham Cathedral The Cathedral Church of Christ, Blessed Mary the Virgin and St Cuthbert of Durham, commonly known as Durham Cathedral and home of the Shrine of St Cuthbert, is a cathedral in the city of Durham, County Durham, England. It is the seat of t ...

). This sermon had been partially quoted in the preface to Charles Wesley's ''Hymns of the Lord's Supper'' (1745), which was in common use amongst a number of ministers of the period. The similarity between the passages from Brevint's sermon and the hymn suggests this was the starting point for Toplady's text.

Commentary on lyrics

The text of this hymn from Toplady's July 1776 'alt' version has been substantially edited since its publication by different denominations over the years creating a number of versions of the hymn text used by different churches around the world. An example of an edit made to Toplady's text is: "When my eyes shall close in death" was originally written as "When my eye-strings break in death". Not withstanding the bitter pamphlet war between Augustus Toplady and John Wesley over the correctness of Calvinist/Reformed theology versus Arminian theology, there has been speculation by some, that although Toplady was a

Calvinist Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John C ...

, the edited version of the words, "Be of sin the double cure, Save from wrath, and make me pure," suggest he agreed with the teachings of the

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...

preacher under whom he received his religious conversion, and of his contemporary,

John Wesley John Wesley (; 2 March 1791) was an English cleric, theologian, and evangelist who was a leader of a revival movement within the Church of England known as Methodism. The societies he founded became the dominant form of the independent Meth ...

, who taught the "double cure", in which a sinner is saved by the

atonement Atonement (also atoning, to atone) is the concept of a person taking action to correct previous wrongdoing on their part, either through direct action to undo the consequences of that act, equivalent action to do good for others, or some other ...

of Jesus, and cleansed from inbred sin by the infilling of the Holy Spirit. However, Toplady's own published 1776 hymn text, the version now referred to as 'alt', contains a variant different from Wesley's teachings and 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 A hymn tune is the melody of a musical composition to which a hymn text is sung. Musically speaking, a hymn is generally understood to have four-part (or more) harmony, a fast harmonic rhythm (chords change frequently), with or without refrai ...

TOPLADY by

Thomas Hastings Thomas Hastings may refer to: *Thomas Hastings (colonist) (1605–1685), English immigrant to New England *Thomas Hastings (composer) (1784–1872), American composer, primarily of hymn tunes * Thomas Hastings (cricketer) (1865–1938), Australian c ...

as revised by Lowell Mason or REDHEAD 76, also called PETRA (after Peter being referred to as the Rock by Christ), by Richard Redhead. TOPLADY is most typical in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

and REDHEAD 76 in the United Kingdom, although both tunes circulate in the churches of both countries. It is also sung to a number of additional tunes used in small numbers of hymnals. Perhaps the newest hymn tune for "Rock of Ages" is by James Ward included in the New City Fellowship's hymnal.Alternate tunes to Rock of Ages
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Notable recordings

*1914

Alma Gluck Alma Gluck (May 11, 1884October 27, 1938) was a Romanian-born American soprano. Biography Gluck was born as Reba Feinsohn to a Jewish family in Iași, Romania, the daughter of Zara and Leon Feinsohn. Gluck moved to the United States at a young ...

and Louise Homer – a popular version on the Victor label. *1949

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, musician and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwide. He was a ...

recorded it on 6 May 1949 for

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American Decca's president. ...

and it was included in his album ''

Beloved Hymns ''Beloved Hymns'' is a studio album by Bing Crosby released in 1951 featuring eight hymns recorded with the Ken Darby Choir and organ accompaniment on May 6, 1949. Reception Crosby researcher Fred Reynolds said of the recording session at which ...

''.

Uses

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 James Ewell Brown "Jeb" Stuart (February 6, 1833May 12, 1864) was a United States Army officer from Virginia who became a Confederate States Army general during the American Civil War. He was known to his friends as "Jeb,” from the initials o ...

. It was also played at the funeral of

William Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British statesman and Liberal politician. In a career lasting over 60 years, he served for 12 years as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, spread over four non-conse ...

. In his book ''Hymns That Have Helped'',

W. T. Stead William Thomas Stead (5 July 184915 April 1912) was a British newspaper editor who, as a pioneer of investigative journalism, became a controversial figure of the Victorian era. Stead published a series of hugely influential campaigns whilst ed ...

reported "when the '' SS London'' went down in the

Bay of Biscay The Bay of Biscay (), known in Spain as the Gulf of Biscay ( es, Golfo de Vizcaya, eu, Bizkaiko Golkoa), and in France and some border regions as the Gulf of Gascony (french: Golfe de Gascogne, oc, Golf de Gasconha, br, Pleg-mor Gwaskogn), ...

, 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". This hymn was regarded as one of the

Great Four Anglican Hymns The "Great Four" are four hymns widely popular in Anglican and other Protestant churches during the 19th century. In his ''Anglican Hymnology'', published in 1885, the Rev. James King surveyed 52 hymnals from the member churches of the Anglican C ...

of the 19th century.

Translations

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

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".

References

External links

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

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rock Of Ages (Christian Hymn)

Rock of ages Rock of Ages may refer to: Films * ''Rock of Ages'' (1918 film), a British silent film by Bertram Phillips * ''Rock of Ages'' (2012 film), a film adaptation of the jukebox musical (see below) Music * ''Rock of Ages'' (musical), a 2006 rock ...

18th-century hymns Protestant hymns