Mote recognizes that our hope for eternal life depends completely upon Jesus’ righteousness, not on some sweet earthly frame. In the first stanza, hardly a clearer statement of total dependence on Christ could be made. The metaphor of Christ as a rock is one with a firm basis in Scripture (1 Cor 10:4), and has been previously described in depth in this feature. Although the term “gospel hymn” is considered distinctively American, with its origins in the camp meetings of the early nineteenth century, 11 Mote’s 1836 publication from London contained this term, and this hymn, which certainly qualifies it as one of the earliest gospel hymns.Īs to the doctrinal message of the hymn, several key thoughts and phrases qualify it as a “Hymn of Grace.” Of course, the chorus itself clearly sets forth the message of grace. Frances Mosher has identified several musical characteristics of gospel hymns which apply to “The Solid Rock.” 10 The song has a simple melody, a 3/4 meter, and a repeating refrain. Regardless of the exact version employed, “The Solid Rock” falls firmly into the category of a gospel hymn. For example, the second stanza is often rendered in many modern hymnals with an alternative version of the first line, such as “When darkness seems to hide His face.” 7 Furthermore, some hymnals alter the word “veil” in the last line to read “vale” 8 or “vail,” 9 either with or without invoking the alternative first line. One source lists the other two asĪnother writer, however, states that the first line of Mote’s original version read, “Nor earth, nor hell my soul can move.” 6 Even the verses that are commonly preserved are somewhat in question. In addition to the four commonly sung verses printed above, Mote composed two others. Interestingly, there seems to be some discrepancy surrounding the verses of this hymn. Dykes, to which the hymn “Eternal Father, Strong to Save” (i.e., “The Navy Hymn”) is commonly sung. An alternative tune sometimes used is “Melita” by John B. Mote’s original title for the hymn in this collection was “The Immutable Basis of a Sinner’s Hope.” The tune “Solid Rock” to which Mote’s words are most commonly set was composed by William B. The hymn was published anonymously in several hymn collections before first being attributed to Mote in a collection of approximately 100 of his hymns published in 1837 ( Hymns of Praise, A New Selection of Gospel Hymns, Combining All the Excellencies of our Spiritual Poets, with Many Originals). He wrote four more verses over the course of that day and two additional verses before he was finished. By the time he got to work, he had the chorus. One morning in 1834 as he was walking to work, it entered his mind to write a hymn. It was with this background that Mote wrote the hymn we have today, “The Solid Rock.” It was during his career as a cabinetmaker that the hymn came into being. 3 He resigned from this pastorate in 1873 due to ill health, and died the following year at the age of 77. Eventually, at the age of 55, he became pastor of a Baptist church in Horsham, Sussex, where he did not miss a Sunday in the pulpit for the next 21 years. He was apprenticed to become a cabinetmaker, a career which he successfully conducted for another 37 years. This event, however, did not send Mote immediately into the ministry.
1 Of his theological upbringing, he said “So ignorant was I that I did not know that there was a God.” 2Įventually Mote became exposed to the Word of God, and was baptized at the age of 18.
In fact, his parents managed a pub in London and often neglected young Edward, who spent most of his Sundays playing in the city streets. Mote was not brought up in a godly home and did not have the advantage of early exposure to Scripture. However, the testimony of his life is one that should inspire all Christians. McKinney, Ira Sankey, or other greats in hymnody. The name of Edward Mote does not often rest on the lips of the Church today in the same fashion as Fanny J.
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