The Solid Rock Edward Mote, 1836
4 verses and a refrain, sung to Melita (8.8.8.8.8.8), public domain, free to print and project.
The words
Verse 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.
Verse 2. When darkness veils his lovely face,
I rest on his unchanging grace;
In every high and stormy gale,
My anchor holds within the vail.
Verse 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.
Verse 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.
Sing the refrain after every verse.
Words copied from The Otterbein Hymnal (1892). They were published in 1836, so they are in the public domain in the United States, and your church may print them, show them and sing them without a license.
The hymn library's slide and print features are made by Church Posting.
The story behind The Solid Rock
Edward Mote, a London-born Baptist minister, wrote the words around 1834. Hymnary.org says he began them on his walk to work and finished the later stanzas after visiting a sick friend's wife. He later served as pastor at Horsham, Sussex, for the last 26 years of his life. His Hymns of Praise, published in 1836, held nearly 100 of his hymns. Mote's text ran six stanzas, and most hymnals now print four, with a new first stanza and a revised sixth. William B. Bradbury wrote the tune SOLID ROCK in 1863 and published it in 1864. The tune takes its name from the refrain, and its last line was originally that refrain line. Other tunes used with the words include MELITA by John B. Dykes. Hymnals print SOLID ROCK in F or G, and one hymnal lists E flat. Hymnary.org lists the text in 1,257 hymnals. Its Scripture list includes Matthew 7:24-28, the wise builder, and 1 Corinthians 3:11.
Edward Mote
1797-01-21 to 1874-11-13
Edward Mote was born in Upper Thames Street, London. He was converted through the preaching of the Rev. J. Hyatt at Tottenham Court Road Chapel and became a Baptist minister. He was pastor at Horsham, Sussex, for the last 26 years of his life. His Hymns of Praise (London, 1836) contained nearly 100 original hymns. His best-known hymn, My Hope Is Built on Nothing Less, dates to about 1834. He once explained in the Gospel Herald that he had written a hymn others had claimed, to set the record straight. He died in Horsham on November 13, 1874.
William B. Bradbury
1816 to 1868
William Batchelder Bradbury was born at York, Maine, in 1816 and moved with his family to Boston in 1830. He studied in Lowell Mason's singing classes and later led music at the First Baptist Church of Brooklyn and the Baptist Tabernacle in New York. His singing schools helped bring music into New York's public schools. He studied in London and Germany in 1847 and began making Bradbury pianos with his brother Edward in 1851. He edited 59 books of sacred and secular music. His tune BRADBURY, from Oriola (1859), is the one most often sung with "Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us." He died of tuberculosis in 1868.
- Hymnary.org, My Hope Is Built on Nothing Less , read 2026-10-16
- Hymnary.org, Edward Mote , read 2026-10-16
- Hymnary.org, SOLID ROCK , read 2026-10-16
Scripture in The Solid Rock
The Bible passages behind the words.
- Matthew 7:24-28
- 1 Corinthians 3:11
- Psalm 40:1-2
- Acts 4:8-12
- Romans 5:1-5
The Solid Rock videos
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The Solid Rock • Congregational Daniel Baptist, Congregation
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My Hope Is Built on Nothing Less (Grace Community Church) Martijn de Groot, Congregation
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The Solid Rock - Brentwood Baptist Church Choir & Orchestra Great Church Music, Choir
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My Hope Is Built On Nothing Less - A Cappella Hymn A Cappella Hymns, A cappella
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The Solid Rock (My Hope is Built on Nothing Less) - piano instrumental hymn Kaleb Brasee, Piano
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The Solid Rock (My Hope is Built) | Reawaken Hymns | Official Lyric Video Reawaken Hymns, Modern arrangement
Videos play from YouTube, and nothing loads from YouTube until you press play. A video may sing different verses from the ones printed on this page.
Downloads, printing and slides
Sheet music files
- Sheet music PDF 98 KB. Words and all four parts, ready to print.
- Lead sheet PDF 85 KB. Melody, words and chord symbols for piano or guitar.
- MusicXML score XML 63 KB. Opens in MuseScore, Finale, Sibelius and Dorico to change the key or print parts.
- MIDI, all parts MIDI 2 KB. Plays the four-part harmony in any MIDI player or notation app.
- MIDI, melody only MIDI 1 KB. The tune alone, for learning it.
Practice tracks for each voice part, as MIDI: Alto , Tenor , Bass .
Chords and keys
Hymnals print it in F, G or E♭.
Questions people ask
Who wrote The Solid Rock?
Edward Mote wrote the words around 1834, and William Bradbury wrote the tune SOLID ROCK in 1863.
What is the story behind The Solid Rock?
Hymnary.org says Mote began it on his way to work and finished it after visiting a sick friend's wife. He published it in 1836 in Hymns of Praise.
Is The Solid Rock the same as My Hope Is Built on Nothing Less?
Yes. The first line is My hope is built on nothing less, and the refrain gives the hymn its common title.
Which Bible passage is behind the hymn?
Hymnary.org lists 63 passages. The refrain echoes Jesus' parable of the wise and foolish builders in Matthew 7:24-28.
Is The Solid Rock in the public domain?
The words are public domain in the United States. Mote wrote them around 1834 and published them in 1836, and Bradbury's tune dates from 1863.
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