Hi screamingeagle,
I think most of the lyrics in your original post are from Charles Wesley's "Jesus, Lover of My Soul":
Jesus, lover of my soul,
Let me to thy bosom fly,
While the nearer waters roll,
While the tempest still is high:
Hide me, O my Saviour, hide
Till the storm of life is past,
Safe into the haven guide,
O, receive my soul at last!
Other refuge have I none,
Hangs my helpless soul on thee;
Leave, ah, leave me not alone,
Still support and comfort me:
All my trust on thee is stayed,
All my help from thee I bring;
Cover my defenceless head
With the shadow of thy wing.
Wilt thou not regard my call?
Wilt thou not accept my prayer?
Lo! I sink, I faint, I fall!
Lo! on thee I cast my care!
Reach me out thy gracious hand
While I of thy strength receive,
Hoping against hope I stand,
Dying, and behold I live!
Thou, O Christ, art all I want;
More than all in thee I find:
Raise the fallen, cheer the faint,
Heal the sick and lead the blind!
Just and holy is thy name;
I am all unrighteousness;
False and full of sin I am,
Thou art full of truth and grace.
Plenteous grace with thee is found,
Grace to cover all my sin;
Let the healing streams abound,
Make and keep me pure within:
Thou of life the fountain art;
Freely let me take of thee,
Spring thou up within my heart,
Rise to all eternity!
Toplady as a young man was actually a follower of John Wesley (Charles Wesley's son). But after Toplady converted to Calvinism, he and John Wesley had a rather nasty falling out--to the point where they were even trading insults. You can read more about that here
https://www.christianhistoryinstitute.o ... -you-know/
But it's interesting that when Toplady published his own hymnal in 1776, he put his own version of "Rock of Ages" next to Charles Wesley's "Jesus, Lover of My Soul" . Interestingly, by 1919, it looks like some hymnals such as this one took Wesley's lyrics for "Jesus, Lover of My Soul" and set to it the refrain of Toplady's "Rock of Ages" (since both are 77.77.D), which may have been what has linked the two in some circles.
http://www.hymnary.org/hymn/CD1894/37
As for the alleged plagiarism, that's referring to Charles Wesley's "Rock of Israel" that Wesley wrote when Toplady was a small child--this is the poem you mention in your post above that starts "O Rock of Israel..."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/place-london/plain/A676307
The BBC is a little more generous to Toplady than Dr. Benson, saying this may not have been outright plagiarism but rather just something that stuck in the memory of Toplady and inspired him later in life as he walked along a gorge in Burrington Combe in England and had to take shelter in a nearby cave during a rainstorm. Perhaps it was a combination of both.
Toplady's lyrics themselves were even subject to changes over the years.
Here are the lyrics the BBC lists:
Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
let me hide myself in Thee;
let the water and the blood,
from thy riven side which flowed,
be of sin the double cure;
cleanse me from its guilt and power.
Not the labors 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.
When my pilgrimage I close,
Victor o'er the last of foes,
When I soar to worlds unknown,
and behold Thee on Thy throne,
Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
let me hide myself in Thee.
A hymnal from the Church of Ireland from 1894 lists these as the lyrics:
Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
let me hide myself in Thee;
let the water and the blood,
from thy riven side which flowed,
be of sin the double cure;
cleanse me from its guilt and power.
Not the labors 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 Thy Cross I cling;
Naked, come to Thee for free;
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 eyelids close in deah,
When I soar to tracts unknown
See Thee on Thy judgment throne--
Rock of ages, cleft for me,
Let me hide myself in Thee!
And here's a version from an Episcopal hymnal from 1872:
Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
let me hide myself in Thee;
let the water and the blood,
from thy side, a healing flood,
be of sin the double cure;
save from wrath, and make me pure.
Should my tears forever flow,
Should my zeal no languor know,
All for sin could not atone,
Thou must save and Thou alone;
In my hand no price I bring,
Simply to Thy cross I cling.
While I draw this fleeting breath;
When mine eyelids close in death,
When I rise to worlds unknown,
And behold Thee on Thy throne--
Rock of ages, cleft for me,
Let me hide myself in Thee!
What's interesting is that over the years, editors seem to have introduced their own "improvements" to the hymn, sometimes for stylistic reasons, sometimes for theological ones. But despite wording changes, the main message of the hymn itself is firmly rooted in eternal truth, and I think that's the reason it's remained so powerful to this day.
Thanks for the question--it's been fascinating to dig a little more into the history of this hymn
