Hymns on Sunday - Rock of Ages

Over the years the hymn Rock of Ages has become one of my favorite hymns. Honestly, I never knew much about Augustus Toplady, the author of the hymn. I definitely had no idea he and John Wesley spatted back and forth like they did. Well spat may be an understatement...

Toplady decided that Wesley and his preachers were the greatest danger to the church of Jesus Christ since, well, Satan.

I came across a great blog post from The Scriptorium highlighting the Wesley and Toplady relationship and the story behind the hymn Rock of Ages.

“Rock of Ages” is a great hymn, one of the best.

Here is the bad news: It was written out of spite, by a bitter and narrow-minded young man who couldn’t keep his personal hatred from over-flowing into his prayers and songs.

Here is the good news: God rescued the hymn from the defects of its author and his worst intentions, and Rock of Ages is every bit as good as you think it is. If you skip the rest of this blog post, remember that