Edward Mote was a pastor and

hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hy ...

writer. Born in London on 21 January 1797, his parents managed a pub and often left Edward to his own devices playing in the street. Speaking of these childhood years he once said, "So ignorant was I that I did not know that there was a God." He was finally exposed to the Christian

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message (" the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words a ...

and was

baptised Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost inv ...

the age of 18. He was trained as a cabinet maker and worked in London for 37 years. Only in his 50s did he enter the ministry and was pastor at Rehoboth Baptist Church in Horsham, West Sussex for 26 years. He was well liked by the congregation in Horsham and they offered him the church building as a gift. Mote replied "I do not want the chapel, I only want the pulpit; and when I cease to preach Christ, then turn me out of that." He died on 13 November 1874 and is buried in the church yard at Rehoboth Church.

Hymns

Perhaps his best known hymn is " My Hope Is Built on Nothing Less", which refers to the Parable of the Wise and the Foolish Builders, with its refrain 'On Christ the solid Rock I stand, All other ground is sinking sand'. A collection of approximately 100 of his hymns was published under the title ''Hymns of Praise, A New Selection of Gospel Hymns, Combining All the Excellencies of our Spiritual Poets, with Many Originals''.

References

External links

Rehoboth Baptist Church, Horsham

at the Cyber Hymnal {{DEFAULTSORT:Mote, Edward 1797 births 1874 deaths Christian hymnwriters English hymnwriters 19th-century English Baptist ministers 19th-century English musicians