奥古斯都·托普雷迪（Augustus M. Toplady，1740-1778）. Explore “Rock of Ages, Cleft for Me”: song information and official sources.
Redeeming grace · Precious blood and cleansing
The hymn centres on a double petition: forgiveness of guilt and freedom from sin's power. These are often separated, with people seeking only the first and assuming freedom from condemnation is enough. Toplady's joining them is the hymn's crucial contribution. The title draws on “Trust in Yahweh forever; for in Yah, Yahweh, is an everlasting Rock.” (Isaiah 26:4); the King James Version's margin gives the expression Rock of ages. The image of hiding in a cleft also recalls Moses: “It will happen, while my glory passes by, that I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and will cover you with my hand” (Exodus 33:22). The story that Toplady wrote the hymn while sheltering in a rock during a storm lacks reliable historical support and need not be believed. The hymn suits Communion and Holy Week.
Communion, Holy Week and confession; teaching on the distinction between forgiveness and victory over sin's power.