My Hope Is Built On Nothing Less

Yesterday, I saw news footage of Senator Hillary Clinton stating that, and I quote, “Hope is not a strategy.” I may have more to say about that later, but in the meantime, I wanted to share this hymn from The Lutheran Hymnal of my youth. I remember singing this often as a child and it still rings true for me now, especially as I age and experience more of life’s challenges, and as I watch my friends do the same.

My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus Blood and righteousness;
No merit of my own I claim,
But wholly lean on Jesus’ Name.
On Christ, the solid rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.

When darkness veils his lovely face
I rest on his unchanging grace;
In every high and stormy gale
My anchor holds within the veil.
On Christ, the solid rock I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.

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

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!
On Christ, the solid rock I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.