My Hope is Built on Nothing Less

by Edward Mote, 1797-1874

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:
On Christ the solid rock I stand,
all other ground is sinking sand;
all other ground is sinking sand.

2. When Darkness veils his lovely 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
supports 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)

 

 

 

 

Text: based on 1 Timothy 1:1,
source http://www.hymnsite.com/lyrics/umh368.sht
Author: Edward Mote, c. 1834
Text in the public domain

• Why is it safe to build your hope on nothing more than Jesus, his blood and his righteousness? Who is Jesus, anyway?
• Verse 2 explains what hope is. The theme is that we can count on Jesus, who is God in the flesh, because he will always do what he says he will do. How is that different from wishful thinking?
• A young Christian girl in Nigeria was kidnapped by Boko Haram. She was given the choice to convert to Islam or to be chained to a bed and raped repeatedly. All her earthly props have given way. What is her hope?
• Each Sunday we testify to our faith in the words of the creed. What does this hymn say in the fourth verse that parallels our creeds?
• How do you understand Christ’s oath, his covenant, and his blood. How will you become clothed in the righteousness of Christ in the new earth?