Hymns and Sacred Poems of Augustus Toplady

Look Inside: Hymns and Sacred Poems of Augustus Toplady (Table of Contents and First Pages)

This collection contains 133 lyrical poems of Augustus Toplady. The first section was written during his early years while at college, and the second part was written during the remainder of his life. Included in this collection is the hymn lyrics of “Rock of Ages” which was originally titled “A Living and Dying Prayer for the Holiest Believer in the World.” Also the lyrics of “Full Assurance” which begins with “A debtor to mercy alone.”  Toplady’s theology is regarded to be Calvinistic, which he stood for during the controversies of his time. The text of this edition is from Daniel Sedgwick’s edition of 1860.

Paperback 6X9, 274 pages, ISBN 9781946145352

Augustus Montague Toplady (1740–1778) was born at Farnham in Surrey, England. His father, Richard, died in battle when Augustus was very young. He was first educated at Westminster-school from 1750 to 1755. His mother Catherine Bate, was a religious influence and had an estate in Ireland where they moved after Westminster. He became a Christian at sixteen listening to a lay preacher in a barn in Ireland. In this very ordinary circumstance, but by a powerful work of God, he was “made nigh by the blood of Christ.” He attended Trinity College, Dublin from 1755 to 1760. Between sixteen and eighteen he wrote poetic pieces “by way of relaxation from his studies.” He was ordained deacon in 1762, and ordained priest in 1764. In 1768, moved to be victor at Broad Hembury, Devonshire. During a leave of absence from this church he preached at a French Calvinist Reformed Church in Orange street, Leicester-fields his last two years.