Augustus Toplady
Augustus Montague Toplady (4 November 1740 – 11 August 1778) was an Anglican clergyman and hymn-writer. He was a major Calvinist opponent of John Wesley, but is now primarily remembered as the author of the hymn "Rock of Ages".
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Quotes
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Christ, the true, the only light,
Sun of Righteousness, arise,
Triumph o'er the shades of night.
- In the present stages of spiritual experience, the believer's interior comfort, and his exterior lustre, greatly depend on the position of his heart toward the uncreated sun of righteousness. How obscure and benighted are our views, and how languid our exercise of grace, when an unbelieving, a worldly, or a careless spirit, interrupts our walk with God! But, if the out-goings of our souls are to him, and if the in-pourings of his blessed influence be felt, we glow, we kindle, we burn, we shine.
- Christ whose glory fills the skies,
Christ, the true, the only light,
Sun of Righteousness, arise,
Triumph o'er the shades of night;
Day-spring from on high, be near,
Day-star in my heart appear.- "Hymn XX : A Morning Hymn" in An Appendix : Hymns on Sacred Subjects and Particular Occasions, in The Complete Works of Augustus M. Toplady, B. A. (1869), p. 912; later presented as "Sun of Righteousness, Arise", a morning hymn, in Dictionary of Burning Words of Brilliant Writers (1895) by Josiah Hotchkiss Gilbert, p. 77.
Rock of Ages (1763)
[edit]- Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
Let me hide myself in Thee.
Let the Water and the Blood,
From thy riven Side which flow'd,
Be of Sin the double Cure,
Cleanse me from its Guilt and Pow'r.- The last lines of this stanza are often changed to "Be of sin the double cure, Save from wrath, and make me pure."
- Not the labors 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;
Vile, I to the fountain fly,
Wash me, Saviour, or I die!- The last lines of this stanza are also reported as: "Foul, I to the fountain fly : Wash me, Saviour, or I die!"
