Re: [TruthTalk] Rock of Ages

[LaurHamm]

In a message dated 7/15/2004 1:18:58 PM Central Daylight Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: Rock of Ages, cleft for me, Let me hide myself in Thee; Let the water and the blood, From Thy wounded side which flowed, Be of sin the double cure; Save from wrath and make me pure. Not the labor of my hands Can fulfill Thy lawâs 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 the cross I cling; Naked, come to Thee for dress; Helpless look to Thee for grace; Foul, I to the fountain fly; Wash me, Savior, or I die. While I draw this fleeting breath, When mine eyes shall close in death, [originally When my eye-strings break in death] When I soar to worlds unknown, See Thee on Thy judgment throne, Rock of Ages, cleft for me, Let me hide myself in Thee. -- Augustus Toplady, 1776. An un­sub­stan­ti­at­ed sto­ry says the lyr­ics were in­spired when Top­la­dy took shel­ter from a storm un­der a rocky over­hang near Eng­landâs Ched­dar Gorge; he re­port­ed­ly wrote the words on a play­ing card. My pastor wrot a book called Then Sings My Soul  with our Music Minister.  This song is in there.  He wrote that Augustus's father died in a war and he ws spoiled by his mother.  Hardly anyone liked him.  At 11 he was interested in the Lory, by 12 he was preaching and began writing hymns at 14.  At 16 he was converted in a service in a barn.  At 22 he became an Anglican Priest.  He was a Calvinist and despised John Wesley's theology and brote an article about God's forgiveness intenting it to be a slam against Wesley.  This article was ended with the poem above.     My pastor said it is oddly similar to something Wesley had written 30 years before.  He didn't mention the playing card or the storm.   Laura