{HSCRC13} Hymn #18: My Hope is Built

Hymn Challenge #18: My Hope is Built
Words by: Edward Mote
b. January 21, 1797; d. November 13, 1874

Edward Mote was born in London. His parents managed a pub, and he himself was trained as a cabinet maker and worked in London for many years. After hearing the preaching of the Rev. John Hyatt, Mr. Mote eventually became a Baptist minister. His original version of this hymn consisted of six verses. In most hymnals today, you will only see four verses. Here is a letter Edward Mote wrote to the Gos­pel Her­ald (copied from cyberhymnal.org):

"One morn­ing it came into my mind as I went to la­bour, 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 four first vers­es com­plete, and wrote them off. On the Sab­bath fol­low­ing I met bro­ther King as I came out of 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 meet­ing. He looked for his hymn-book but could find it no­where. I said, ‘I have some vers­es in my pock­et; if he liked, we would sing them.’ We did, and his wife en­joyed them so much, that af­ter ser­vice he asked me, as a fa­vour, to leave a co­py of them for his wife. I went home, and by the fire­side com­posed the last two vers­es, wrote the whole 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 print­ed for dis­tr­ibu­tion. I sent one to the Spir­it­u­al Mag­a­zine, with­out my ini­tials, which ap­peared some time af­ter this. Bro­ther Rees, of Crown Street, So­ho, brought out an edi­tion of hymns [1836], and this hymn was in it. Da­vid Den­ham in­tro­duced it [1837] with Rees’ name, and others af­ter…Your in­sert­ing this brief out­line may in fu­ture shield me from the charge of stealth, and be a vin­di­ca­tion of truth­ful­ness in my con­nect­ion with the Church of God."

For the last 26 years of his life, he was pastor at Rehoboth Baptist Church, and he is actually buried there on the church grounds.

Let's begin by reading the words to this hymn:

1 My hope is built on nothing less 
than Jesus' blood and righteousness; 
I dare not trust the sweetest frame, 
but wholly lean on Jesus' name. [Refrain]

2 When darkness seems to hide His face, 
I rest on His unchanging grace; 
in every high and stormy gale, 
my anchor holds within the veil. [Refrain]

3 His oath, His covenant, His blood 
support me in the whelming flood; 
when all around my soul gives way, 
He then is all my hope and stay. [Refrain]

4 When He shall come with trumpet sound, 
O may I then in Him be found, 
dressed in His righteousness alone, 
faultless to stand before the throne. [Refrain]

Refrain
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand; 
all other ground is sinking sand; 
all other ground is sinking sand.

Who could have known four weeks ago when I picked this hymn for today that my family and I would be in the midst of a "stormy gale"? Of course, only God alone could have known. We have had many storms that I won't list here but one included our daughters losing their new college friend, classmate, and prayer partner in a tragic car accident on the freeway as she went home for Fall break. Ten miles before the accident site is a billboard that says "Jesus I trust you." This precious girl knew Jesus as her Rock, and she prayed that the entire tennis team would know Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Her hope was built in Him! And as I sit back and look at all that is going on and feel like everything is crumbling, I need to remember that He alone is my Rock and supports "me in the whelming flood." I need to lean on Him, trust in Him, and know that without Him everything else is "sinking sand."

So, are you hurting or going through a "stormy gale" also? Turn to Christ. God offers us hope and answers in His Word. He can help you in all things and make your step secure.

Psalm 40:2 "He drew me up from the desolate pit, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure."

Psalm 61:2 "From the end of the earth I call to you, when my heart is faint. Lead me to the rock that is higher than I."

He is our refuge. He protects us, shields us, and keeps us safe.

Psalm 94:22 "But the Lord has become my stronghold, and my God the rock of my refuge."

Isaiah 6:1 "In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lofty; and the hem of His robe filled the temple."

Notice in the Isaiah verse above how God is sitting. He was at rest. His is sovereign and in control and He doesn't get frazzled by the world. When you feel frazzled and feel like everything is out of control, know that our Sovereign Lord has it all under control. Ask Him what He wants you to learn. He never wastes anything. He loves us but He also loves us too much to leave us where we are. He wants us to be more like Jesus. How is He using your current situation to grow you into His image?

Isaiah 43:1a-2 "Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you."

There will be adversity in our lives but it won't consume us when we are in Christ.

Matthew 7:25-26 "The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on sand."

1 Corinthians 3:11 "For no one can lay any foundation other than the one that has been laid; that foundation is Jesus Christ."

God is in control! When we know that and truly believe that in our hearts, then we cannot be shaken. And as you do that, others will want to know how you are able to stand and have the hope that you have.

1 Peter 3:15 "but in your hearts sanctify Christ as Lord. Always be ready to make your defense to anyone who demands from you an accounting for the hope that is in you;"

Below is the sheet music to this hymn, and click here to listen to this hymn.

Rather than fear what you are going through, will you fully trust in Him and know that in Him your anchor will hold in any stormy gale?

For my 6x6 page today, I used Psalm 94:22 from above because God is my stronghold and holds me together each and everyday. Without Him, I know I could not make it. I also used the October sketch from C'est Magnifique and the Blue Fern Studios Broken Rings chipboard. These are such fun bits of chipboard to use, and you can cut them to any desired size!

Papers: 7 Dots Studio 9th Wave, Bazzill 
Blue Fern Studios chipboard: Broken Rings (inked with Prima chalk ink) 
Stamp Ink: Prima Fluid Chalk Ink turquoise stone 
Embellishments: 7 Dots Studio 9th Wave elements and alpha stickers; Petaloo Bristol white flowers; Prima Lil Missy flowers; Wild Orchid Crafts leaves; My Mind's Eye Chalk Studio decorative frame; washi tape; sewing machine

Remember to use Keyword HSCRC13 when posting your creations in any online galleries. Also, please leave a link to your creation here using Inlinkz! To see all of the information regarding this challenge and the previous studies, please see this post here. Have a blessed week ahead!