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…teaching…one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs….
(Colossians 3:16)
My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.
—From the hymn My Hope Is Built
If we’re teaching each other when we sing hymns, it can’t hurt to spend a little time understanding exactly what the words of hymns mean, can it? So here I am, looking a little closer at the first two lines of this common hymn by Edward Mote, two lines that teach us gospel truth.
My hope is built
Edward Mote uses the word hope the way the Bible does, which is not exactly the way we usually use it. We use it to express our desire for something to happen in the future, and as long as there’s even the slightest possibility that it will happen, we can still say we hope for it. But biblical hope is not just wishing for something that may or may not happen. There is an assurance in biblical hope. Those who hope, as the Bible uses the term, confidently expect the good things promised to them because what they have been promised is certain to happen.
One indication that Edward Mote is using the word hope in this more assured sense is that he tells us that his hope is built. The hope he has is hope that is established hope. It is hope that stands as firm as the foundation it is grounded on.
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