![]() ![]() The particular rock is in Burrington Combe gorge in North Somerset, England, and it has a plaque on it with this claim to fame. There is a common story of the hymn being inspired by (and even written from within) a rock cleft that Toplady once took refuge in during a storm. #HYMN WORDS ROCK OF AGES FULL VERSION#The full version of the hymn was printed the following year in Toplady’s book Psalms and Hymns for Public and Private Worship. A 2006 Broadway musical about rock ‘n roll (and a corresponding Hollywood film in 2012) adopted the name “Rock of Ages.”Īs for the hymn, the first stanza appeared in public in 1775 in a periodical called The Gospel Magazine (a periodical which, incredibly, is still in print!). ![]() When Benson wrote about it in 1923, he claimed it “is to-day in more church hymnals than is any other English hymn.” Not only is it well know among churchgoers, but it is also recognizable in popular culture. Toplady wrote a number of hymns in his life, but “Rock of Ages” is by far his most famous. But God was pleased to use him to write a hymn that would so powerfully communicate the gospel and encourage the saints that his name and story have been preserved to this day. He never married, his life and ministry were short, and he certainly had his share of flaws. Toplady died in 1778 (aged 38) from tuberculosis. Unfortunately, towards the end of his short life, the debate grew increasingly ugly, resulting in a major and public rift between him and John Wesley that would never find resolution. The issue of Calvinism versus Arminianism was a hot topic in the church in those days, and for the remainder of his life Toplady would write and debate on the subject, arguing at length (and at times viciously) for the doctrine of election. But, as Louis Benson writes, after he studied the 39 Articles of the Church of England, he became convinced of the Calvinistic perspective and thus became a minister in the Church of England. The Methodist movement was decidedly Arminian, and Toplady, as an offspring of that movement, initially adopted that understanding. ![]() This changed, however, when he began to consider more closely the distinctions between Arminianism and Calvinism. Having been converted under Methodism, Toplady initially aimed to become a Methodist minister. Sponsor Show Your Support Become a Patron ![]()
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