The following hymn was written by Augustus Montague Toplady, and printed in 1759 in his book Poems on Sacred Subjects: Wherein the Fundamental Doctrines of Christianity, with Many Other Interesting Points, Are Occasionally Introduced (Dublin: S. Powell, 1759).
The entire hymn appears in Hymns and Sacred Poems, on a Variety of Divine Subjects, Comprising the Whole of the Poetical Remains of the Rev. Augustus M. Toplady … with a Sketch of His Life and Poetry (London: Daniel Sedgwick, 1860). In that edition it is Hymn XXXVII, titled “Refuge in the Righteousness of Christ.” It appears in a section of “Petitionary Hymns.” The last five stanzas are reprinted in Metropolitan Tabernacle’s Our Own Hymn-Book, complied by Charles Spurgeon (Hymn 609), and Hymns for Social Worship: Compiled for the Use of Canadian Baptist Churches (Toronto: H. Lloyd, Baptist Book Room, 1869, No. 163).
It seems that the entire hymn has been seldom reprinted. It is possible that some object to some of the phrasing used by Toplady, though it may be more likely that it is simply because it is a long hymn of eleven stanzas. Many imagine Toplady to be a hard, dry, dogmatic Calvinistic. He certainly could be a dogmatic controversialist, but “Refuge in the Righteousness of Christ” seems warm and experiential to me. It contains an explanation of and appeal to the justice and mercy of the gospel of grace. Maybe I am missing something, but it seems this hymn would offend the sensibilities of few other than the rankest Arminians and Pelagians (and those who deny substitutionary atonement).
Since the hymn is written in Common Meter, it is relatively easy to pair it with many Common Meter tunes. Ortonville is one that quickly comes to mind.
Where Justice sits severe,
I to thy Mercy Seat appeal,
And beg forgiveness there.
My Advocate I see:
Jesus, be thou my Judge, and let
My sentence come from thee.
There let me shelter find:
Lord, when thou call’st thy ransomed home,
O leave me not behind!
To fallen man revealed;
My hope of glory, dearest Lord,
On thee alone I build.
Who flesh for me was made:
Its penalty he underwent,
Its precepts he obeyed.
I utterly forego;
My robe of everlasting bliss,
My wedding garment thou!
And died upon the Mount:
Th’ obedience of his life and death
Is placed to my account.
That sad, tremendous scene,
When thy dear blood on Calvary
Flowed out at every vein?
E’en now they intercede;
Still, in effect, for guilty man
Incessantly they bleed.
A contrite sinner’s cries,
A broken heart, that groans for God,
Thou never wilt despise.
That made thee bleed for me!
The Judge of all hath suffered death
To set his prisoner free!
Augustus Montague Toplady was born in England in the village of Farnham, Surrey in 1740, the same year the Wesleys published “Jesus, Lover of My Soul.” His father died shortly after Augustus was born, and he was raised by his mother – who some biographers claim spoiled him. Toplady was converted through the ministry of the Methodists, at preaching in a barn – but through his Bible study adopted a staunch Calvinistic position. His works demonstrate this interest, such as Free-will and Merit Fairly Examined: or, Men Not Their Own Saviours, Historic Proof of the Doctrinal Calvinism of the Church of England and The Church of England Vindicated from the Charge of Arminianism. He translated from the Latin and published Jerome Zanchius’s The Doctrine of Absolute Predestination, Stated and Asserted. Toplady attended both Westminster School in London, and Trinity College in Dublin. He was ordained as an Anglican priest in 1762. He concluded his ministry preaching for a French Calvinist Church at Leicester Fields.
On the negative side, A. M. Toplady became well-known for his feuds with the Wesley brothers, especially John. His book titled An Old Fox Tarred and Feathered: Occasioned by what is called Mr. John Wesley’s Calm Address to our American Colonies suggests some of the rancor that existed. Despite the rancor that existed between Toplady and the Wesleys, both his hymns and theirs have served to bless many of God’s poor children. Rock of Ages and LorJesus, Lover of My Soul adorn many of the same hymnals, even showing up harmoniously side by side in the same opening. Augustus Toplady died in 1778 at the young age of 38, from tuberculosis, and was buried at Whitefield’s Tabernacle.
Note: “Desert” [dih-zurt; noun] in line one of stanza six means “the state or condition of being worthy, as in character or behavior.” Synonyms would include “virtue” and “merit.” It is not a common usage in our day (at least not in my experience).
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