Hymns
"Rock of Ages"
words: Augustus M. Toplady
music: Thomas Hastings
Background music: Joyful Noise Music
"This fervent plea for Christ our eternal rock to grant salvation through His sacrifice and to be a place of refuge for the believer is one of th emost popular hymns ever written. With strong emotional impact, it proclaims Christ's atonement on the cross to be the only means of salvation, making man's tears and efforts to justify himself of no avail. Also it urges us to find consolation and security in Christ our rock--even at the time of death.
Augustus Toplady's strong and passionate lines were actually written as the climax to an article that he wrote in The Gospel Magazine in 1776. In the article, he argued that just as England could never pay her national debt, so man through his own efforts could never satisfy the eternal justice of a holy God. God has preserved this hymn for more than 200 years to bring blessing to believers around the world.
At the age of 16, as he sat in a barn and listened to the preaching of an uneducated man, Toplady was dramatically converted. Later, he became a powerful and respected minister. While he was busy pastoring several churches in England, Augustus Toplady wrote many hymn texts, but few have survived. 'Rock of Ages' is the one for which he is known today."
Taken from Amazing Grace: 366 Inspiring Hymn Stories for Daily Devotions © 2002 by Kenneth W. Osbeck. Published by Kregel Publications, Grand Rapids, MI.
Used by permission of the publisher. All rights reserved.
