Music by William B. Bradbury, 1863 (1816-1868)

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.

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

On Christ the solid rock I stand;

all other ground is sinking sand,

all other ground is sinking sand.

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

On Christ the solid rock I stand;

all other ground is sinking sand,

all other ground is sinking sand.

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

On Christ the solid rock I stand;

all other ground is sinking sand,

all other ground is sinking sand.

My Hope Is Built on Nothing Less is based on Jesus' parable of the man who built his house on a rock (Matthew 7). Edward Mote composed it in his head, and the next day, was visiting a dying friend. Someone asked for a hymn, and Mote sang this one.

The tune is not Mote's but from the prolific hymnodist William Bradbury, who wrote the tune, THE SOLID ROCK, specifically for these words. The music consists of two identical halves, and the harmony is almost entirely the three major chords.