Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
Let me hide myself in Thee;
Let the water and the blood,
From Thy wounded side which flowed,
Be of sin the double cure;
Save from wrath and make me pure.
Not the labour of my hands
Can fulfil Thy law’s demands;
Could my zeal no respite know,
Could my tears forever flow,
All for sin could not atone;
Thou must save, and Thou alone.
Nothing in my hand I bring,
Simply to the 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.
While I draw this fleeting breath,
When my eye-strings break in death,
When I soar to worlds unknown,
See Thee on Thy judgment throne,
Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
Let me hide myself in Thee.
Augustus Toplady, 1740 - 78
Again returns the day of holy rest
Which, when He made the world, Jehovah blessed;
When, like His own, He bade our labours cease,
And all be piety, and all be peace.
Let us devote this consecrated day
To learn His will, and all we learn obey;
So shall He hear, when fervently we raise
Our supplications and our songs of praise.
Father in Heaven, in Whom our hopes confide,
Whose power defends us, and Whose precepts guide,
In life our Guardian, and in death our Friend,
Glory supreme be Thine till time shall end.
William Mason, 1725 - 97
Readers with poor vision or wishing to print each page’s contents are asked to click on each page’s title for a large print copy of that page.
WELCOME!
What makes the Gospel Magazine attractive is that it has never moved, in spite of many pressures, from the object it set out to pursue at its inception in January 1766:
- the uncompromising declaration of the Gospel of Free Grace, both in belief and in practice.
It represents the oldest surviving magazine, as far as is known, in Britain and so most probably in the English-speaking world.
Past contributors have included George Whitfield, John Newton, Augustus Toplady and others, under names such as Omicron as was the practice in those days.
The Trust Deed is the Thirty-Nine Articles of the Church of England, but the Gospel Magazine has always sought to embrace all of every denomination who love the Gospel of Grace, as in Ephesians 4:3,
endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
In more recent days it has been necessary to reaffirm what was previously taken for granted, that we stand by the Authorised Version of the Scriptures, often known as the King James Bible. No other translation was ever contemplated by the founders of the Gospel Magazine and our whole endeavour is to remain faithful to the Trust passed down to us through the ages, as expressed by Hebrews 13:8,
Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.
In an age when little remains as it was intended by our forefathers, the great attraction of the Gospel Magazine is its commitment to the faith once delivered to the saints. Its constant aim has been to offer help to the hard-pressed people of God, by exhortation, doctrine and comfort from Scripture.
This is done by republishing writings and articles by past saints of God, and living believers today. In addition for many years it has been our practice to review Christian books. This involves us increasingly in a dilemma as fewer and fewer books today use the Authorised Version. We could either choose to cease from reviewing most books, or warn readers. The position of the Gospel Magazine remains true to the AV as the best translation, in beautiful and formative English. That we name another translation does not mean that we endorse it.
