My Hope Is Built

by Martha MacCracken

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.  
                                                                                                    Edward Mote 1797-1874

 Some days, time just slips away for me, especially if I have chosen to spend time on the internet, searching out versions of favourite hymns and gospel songs.  It started innocuously enough - I wanted to hear some more songs by the Gaither Gospel groups.  I credit both my parents - my Baptist mother and my male quartet loving Dad - for instilling this love of southern gospel music in me.

 Anyway, the internet is an insidious thing - it learns what you like and then cleverly suggests other songs that you might like.  Before you know it, you are clicking on a suggested link and then another one, and then another one, and way more than an hour has passed.  By then, I am immersed in gospel songs by older groups like The Cathedrals singing "Oh, What a Saviour" or university choirs or Alison Krauss performing "As I went down in the river to pray" or David Phelps singing the powerful and spine-tingling "He's Alive" by Don Francisco.  (And may I suggest that you also listen to Dolly Parton's stunning version of "He's Alive"?)

 Recently, I clicked on a link to a video by the Australian evangelical group Hillsong United and heard them perform "Our God is an awesome God" in concert - very moving.  And then another song was suggested: "Cornerstone".  So I clicked on it, and discovered that it was the group's reworking of one of my favourite hymns - "My Hope is Built on Nothing Less".  The verses were the same as the original but the refrain

 "On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
 All other ground is sinking sand,
 All other ground is sinking sand."

 had been changed  - lyrically and musically to

 Christ alone; Cornerstone
 Weak made strong, in the Saviour's love
 Through the storm, He is Lord
 Lord of all." 

Initially, I was not sure that I was happy about this tampering with a beloved old hymn, but I gave it a few plays and found that I liked it.  But I also still loved the original.

Now, I must confess:  one of the first things that I do when I sit down in the pews on Sunday is check the hymns listed in the bulletin.  I search eagerly for the names of my favourite hymns - some dating back to my childhood, others learned and loved later.  And yes, there are still some which I simply do not like.

 On a recent Sunday, I was so pleased to see that hymn 404 - My Hope is Built on Nothing Less - was to be the third hymn that morning.  As noted above, I had been listening to the hymn online, and now, here it was, waiting for our congregation to sing it.  How fortuitous.

 And then Larry began to play the opening bars, and something did not sound right.  I did not recognize the music and it quickly became apparent that using the smaller "words-only" hymn book as I often do, has its drawbacks.  The tune (Eisenach) being played was not the one that I knew and loved. 

        (I later learned that I was not alone in my surprise.  As Larry said to me, if the choir had not still been on its summer break, someone might have mentioned the alternative tune to the one in our old Book of Praise.  And Larry kindly played the William B. Bradbury version, as it is shown in my mother's 1933 Songs of Faith (Baptist), the following Sunday both before and after the service. Thank you, Larry!)

As so often happens in life, what we want and what we expect are not always what we get.  In this case, while I had anticipated the loved words and the tune that I knew so well, I did not get both.  But the decades-old words still maintain the heart of the hymn, the message is still true, and my soul is restored.