Analysis of Rock of Ages, Cleft for Me

Augustus Montague Toplady 1740 (Farnham, Surrey) – 1778



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.

Not the Labours 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 thy Cross I cling;
Naked, come to Thee for Dress;
Helpless, look to Thee for Grace;
Foul, I to the Fountain fly:
Wash me, SAVIOUR, or I die!

Whilst I draw this fleeting Breath--
When my Eye-strings break in Death--
When I soar through tracts unknown--
See Thee on thy Judgment-Throne--
ROCK of Ages, cleft for me,
Let me hide myself in THEE!


Scheme AAxxxx bbccdd eexxff ggddAA
Poetic Form
Metre 1110111 111101 1010001 1110111 1110101 11111011 101111 111101 1111101 1111101 1111101 1110101 1001111 1011111 1011111 1011111 1110101 111111 1111101 1111101 1111101 1111101 1110111 111101
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 727
Words 145
Sentences 6
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 6, 6, 6, 6
Lines Amount 24
Letters per line (avg) 23
Words per line (avg) 6
Letters per stanza (avg) 140
Words per stanza (avg) 36
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

44 sec read
122

Augustus Montague Toplady

Augustus Montague Toplady was an Anglican cleric and hymn writer. He was a major Calvinist opponent of John Wesley. He is best remembered as the author of the hymn "Rock of Ages". Three of his other hymns – "A Debtor to Mercy Alone", "Deathless Principle, Arise" and "Object of My First Desire" – are still occasionally sung today. more…

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