Has it really been 6 months since my last Hymn of the Week post? Yikes! A few weeks back we sang this hymn in church during communion time (at the request of fellow hymnophile JP). It's an 18th century hymn written by Augustus Montague Toplady in Britian. It's not necessarily one most of us sing very often or even know, but it is a terrific hymn. Check out the lyrics:
Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
Let me hide myself in Thee;
Let the water and the blood,
From Thy riven side which flowed,
Be of sin the double cure;
Save from wrath and make me pure.
Not the labour of my hands
Can fulfil Thy law’s demands;
Could my zeal no respite know,
Could my tears for ever 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, Saviour, else I die.
While I draw this fleeting breath,
When my eyelids close in death,
When I soar to worlds unknown,
See Thee on Thy judgement throne,
Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
Let me hide myself in Thee.
Note: the line "when my eyelids close in death" originally read "when my eyestrings break in death." I'm not sure when this line was changed, but I do have to wonder why "eyestrings" was ever a word.
You'll note how the lyrics are strongly theocentric- it places the work of salvation (presented in various metaphors and pictures) in God's hands. I've read that Toplady wrote this in response to the perceived man-centered approach of John Wesley (an assessment I disagree with). I'm quite certain that an Arminian/Wesleyan could sing this hymn without any trouble (nor more than one who is reformed singing And Can It Be).
This song, like a number of others I've mentioned, ends with an eschatological view. Many of the great hymns conclude with the hope of eternity with the Lord. I like how the hymn begins and ends with the hope of God protecting us (anyone who has heard me teach will be quick to point out that this literary device is called "inclusio") because it helps us to see that the same loving God that covers us now will continue to cover us for eternity.
One concept in this song that many may struggle with is the inadequacy of anything we can offer God. This is a song about what God has done/is doing/will do rather than what we will do. The actions that we do in this song (for example, "come to Thee", "look to Thee") are accompanied by descriptions of our inability to offer anything good on our own- "naked","helpless."
Any thoughts you'd like to share?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
6 comments:
Convincing our worship leader to sing this as the offertory was my second most persuasive entreaty this year.
Sure Toplady was reformed, but I don't think this song's theology is at all divisive. Everyone agrees that the work of salvation is not of works but of divine grace, and this song serves as a strong reminder. I love the last two lines of the second verse:
All for sin could not atone;
Thou must save, and Thou alone.
Danny, you and JP bring up a good point--good soteriology is not divisive. Calvinists get too freaked out by Arminian emphases and think they're perverting the gospel; Arminians do the same thing to Calvinists sometimes. But everyone needs to sit down and agree that the work of salvation is a marvel, wrought in the hearts of helpless wretches. Isn't it funny how few hymns are actually divisive? Maybe those guys back then--who were by no means unconcerned with theology--had something going.
Question: Is the "Rock of Ages" thing (not being a biblical phrase) derived from a typological interpretation of Moses' being protected in a "cleft in the rock" when the Glory passed him by in Exodus 33:22? It seems like that's the background. There's some interesting typology happening there, I think.
Good to have the "Hymn of the Week" back. Kudos to JP for his powers of persuasion :)
Isaac, I had never thought of "Rock of Ages" as typological until you brought it up. I had always taken it as Bible-borrowed metaphor (e.g., Gen. 49:24, Ps.28:1) with the "of ages" added on to stress His eternal nature. When you throw "cleft" in there, though it does make me think Ex. 33.
Do any of the GCTS alums remember Dr. Rosell making the point that the "double cure" of the first verse refers to entire sanctification (a.k.a, Christian Perfection)? So the first "cure" is conversion and the second "cure" is cleansing from original sin?
Who knew? Danny's a Methodist after all...
Yeah, I think the "Rock of Ages" reference has to refer to Exodus 33. It's interesting, though, that most probably assume that it is a biblical phrase. Not that it's unbiblical, it's just nonbiblical.
As for the "double cure" reference, it's doubtful he's speaking of Perfectionism, since some argue that he was fighting against that very notion (although if I didn't know that I would probably think so). I wonder if we have a little double imputation here, instead. What do you guys think?
Double imputation, eh? Yeow! I'm excited now.
My least favorite theology professor from college quite reasonably explained the double cure in terms of the following line: "Save from wrath and make me pure." The effusion from Jesus' side, then, fixes two things: the blood takes away God's wrath against sin (i.e., propitiation), and the water cleanses us from our ongoing tendency to sin (i.e., sanctification). Admittedly, it's an odd combination that doesn't usually show up in sermons or theology books, but I'm all for it.
The great thing is that the hymn immediately counters the thing that everyone says whenever I start talking about the Bible's demands for obedience or perfection: works. Toplady shoots that notion down pretty thoroughly in the next two verses.
Isaac, I agree that the "double cure" is defined by the next line. But I guess the question remains: is Toplady trying to reference a "deeper" theological concept (such as double imputation)? "Save from wrath and make me pure" could refer to that. Or we could just be a bunch of former seminarians who need to get a life.
Post a Comment