My Hope Is Built on Nothing Less" or the "Solid Rock", hymn written by Edward Mote -
Note the believer's basis of faith as expressed in this text in the hymn:
Jesus' blood, His righteousness, His unchanging grace, His oath and covenant. Truly, when one has such objective truth upon which to build a life and future hope, "all other ground is sinking sand."
The personal life of this hymn's author is most interesting. Edward Mote was born on January 21, 1797, of very poor, ungodly parents, in London, England. His parents were keepers of an inn or public house in London. In writing of his youth, Mote said, "My Sundays were spent in the streets. So ignorant was I that I did not know that there was a God." He further states that the school he attended did not even allow a Bible to be seen, much less taught. As a youth, Mote was apprenticed to a cabinetmaker and eventually became known as a successful craftsman of that trade. At the age of sixteen, he was taken by his master to hear the esteemed preacher, John Hyatt, of the Tottenham Court Chapel. Here young Edward was genuinely converted to Christ.
Edward Mote ministered faithfully to God's people until forced to resign because of poor health, one year before he died on November 13, 1874. Just prior to his death, he said: "The truths I have been preaching, I am now living upon, and they do very well to die upon."
Near the pulpit in the church is a tablet with this inscription:
"In loving memory of Mr. Edward Mote, who fell asleep in Jesus November 13th, 1874, aged 77 years. For 26 years the beloved pastor of this church, preaching Christ and Him crucified, as all the sinner can need, and all the saint desire."
The "Solid Rock" text was written in 1834, and Mote titled it, "The Gracious Experience of a Christian." The completed hymn text originally consisted of six stanzas. Expressions from portions of these two omitted verses are interesting to observe:
"My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness; 'Midst all the hell I feel within, on His completed work I lean. I trust His righteous character, His council, promise, and His power; His honor and His name's at stake, to save me from the burning lake." The following account was given to one of the local newspapers by Edward Mote regarding the writing of his hymn:
"One morning it came into my mind as I went to labor, to write an hymn on the "Gracious Experience of a Christian." As I went up Holborn I had the chorus, 'On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand.'
"In the day, I had the first four verses complete, and wrote them off. On the Sabbath following, I met Brother King as I came out of the Lisle Street Meeting ... who informed me that his wife was very ill, and asked me to call and see her. I had an early tea and called afterwards. He said that it was his usual custom to sing a hymn, read a portion, and engage in prayer, before he went to the meeting. He looked for his hymnbook, but could find it nowhere. I said, 'I have some verses in my pocket; if you like, we could sing them.' We did, and his wife enjoyed them so much that after the service he asked me, as a favor, to leave a copy of them for his wife. I went home, and by the fireside composed the last two verses, wrote them off, and took them to Sister King. As these verses so met the dying woman's case, my attention to them was the more arrested, and I had a thousand of them printed for distribution. I sent one to the Spiritual Magazine, without my initials, which appeared some time after this.
He was so well loved that his congregation offered him title to the church building, but he said:
I do not want the chapel, I only want the pulpit; and when I cease to preach Christ, then turn me out of that.
(Excerpts from a website)
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