Welcome to Giants of the Faith, a podcast that explores the lives and legacies of some of the most influential Christians in history. My name is Robert Daniels and I'm the host of this show. Today we are going to talk about Augustus Toplady, an Anglican clergyman and hymn writer who is best known for his classic hymn "Rock of Ages".
Augustus Montague Toplady was born on November 4th, 1740, in Farnham, England. His father, Richard, was an officer in the British army. Richard fought and died in what is probably the most interestingly named war of all time - the War of Jenkins' Ear. He died when Augustus was only a year old, leaving his mother, Catherine, to raise him alone. She took the boy to live in Westminster where he attended Westminster School until 1755.
In 1755, when Augustus was 15 years old, Catherine and Augustus moved to Ireland where Augustus enrolled at Trinity College, where he graduated in 1760. 1755 was a big year for Augustus. In addition to the move to Ireland and the start of his college education, he had a dramatic conversion experience. He attended a sermon preached by a lay preacher named James Morris in a barn. The text was Ephesians 2:13: "But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ." Toplady later wrote: "Strange that I, who had so long sat under the means of grace in England, should be brought nigh unto God in an obscure part of Ireland, amidst a handful of God's people met together in a barn, and under the ministry of one who could hardly spell his name. Surely this is the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous."
In 1758, Toplady became convinced of Calvinism after reading sermons by Thomas Manton on John 17. He became a staunch defender of the doctrines of grace and a fierce opponent of John Wesley and his Arminian followers for the rest of his life. He wrote several books and pamphlets against Wesley's theology, such as 1774's The Historic Proof of the Doctrinal Calvinism of the Church of England and 1776's A Letter to Mr. John Wesley Relative to His Pretended Abridgment. He also engaged in public debates with Wesley's supporters.
Toplady graduated from Trinity in 1760 and moved back to Westminster with his mother. He was ordained as an Anglican minister in 1762 and served as vicar of Broadhembury in Devonshire from 1768 until his death. He also preached regularly at Orange Street Chapel in London during his last years. He suffered from tuberculosis for most of his life and thought the move to London might do him some good. It did not and he died on August 11th, 1778 at age 37.
Toplady left behind a rich legacy as a hymn writer. In 1776 he published Psalms and Hymns for Public and Private Worship, which contained over four hundred hymns, some of which were written by himself while others were collected from various sources. His most famous hymn is "Rock of Ages" which was supposedly inspired, like Luther's priestly journey, by a real-life storm. Supposedly Toplady was walking along the gorge at Burrington Combe in North Somerset when a violent storm struck. He took refuge in the cleft of a rock there and was then moved to pen the hymn. Whether this is a true story or apocryphal, we don't know, but the rock in the gorge is marked with a plaque and you can still visit it today.
The hymn expresses Toplady's deep trust in Christ's atoning work on the cross as his only hope for salvation:
Nothing in my hand I bring
Simply to Thy cross I cling
Naked come to Thee for dress
Helpless look to Thee for grace
Foul I to Thy fountain fly
Wash me Savior or I die
Though his life was short, Toplady was indeed a Giant of the Faith who loved God with all his heart, mind, and soul. Thanks for listening and, until next time, God bless.
RESOURCES
Hymnary: https://hymnary.org/person/Toplady_Augustus
Leben: https://leben.us/augustus-toplady/
Challies.com: https://www.challies.com/articles/hymn-stories-rock-of-ages/
Evangelical Movement of Wales: https://www.emw.org.uk/2020/05/rock-of-ages/