Edward Mote was born in London during the year 1797. His parents ran a public house, and true to their character, Edward had no religious education whatsoever. “So ignorant was I that I did not know there was a God.” After he became apprenticed to a cabinetmaker, he began attending church. He was saved under the ministry of John Hyatt, but he was baptized by John Bayley, and in 1815 he joined a little Baptist Church. His work required him to move to a new area of the city where he joined the Southwark Baptist Church pastored by John Rippon. This was one of the churches which enjoyed singing the hymns of Isaac Watts and Benjamin Keach. Rippon himself published one of the most famous early Baptist hymnals. While in that church Brother Mote learned to love singing and putting Christian doctrines to verse. In 1836 he published a collection of 606 hymns, many of which were his own.
In 1852 Edward Mote was called to become the pastor of the Baptist chapel at Horsham, Sussex, and the Lord greatly blessed. The members so loved their pastor they offered to cede the church property to him. His response was, “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 was not turned out, even when his health broke. As he lay dying he assisted the church in arranging pulpit supply until a new pastor could be found.
It is said that God’s people have written more than 500,000 hymns throughout history. Amazingly, less than a thousand are still sung today, and many of them only rarely. Out of the hundreds of hymns written by Edward Mote only one remains, part of which reads –
“My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness;
Midst all the hell I feel within,
On His completed work I lean;
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.”
Edward Mote began singing his hymns of praise in the actual presence of his Saviour on this day in 1874.