Gospel Greats -- 'Alas! and Did My Savior Bleed' Quiz

Answer: die

The missing word is 'bleed'.

'Alas! and Did My Saviour Bleed', also known as 'At the Cross', was written by Isaac Watts in 1707. He was born July 17, 1674, in Southampton, England, and died November 25, 1748, in Stoke Newington, England. The popular chorus for the hymn was written by Ralph E. Hudson in 1885, according to Cyberhymnal.org. The hymn was a favorite of Fanny Crosby, the prolific author of 8,000 Christian hymns.

Answer: worm

The missing word is 'worm'. (In many of the new hymnals, 'for such a worm as I' has been replaced with 'for sinners such as I'.

According to Wikipedia, Isaac Watts, author of 'Alas! and Did My Saviour Bleed', was raised in a "committed religious non-conformist" home. His father, also known as Isaac Watts, was incarcerated twice for his views which today would be seen as that of evangelical Christianity. Wikipedia reports Watts had a classical education, learning Latin, Greek and Hebrew.

Answer: light

The missing word is 'light'

Isaac Watts, author of 'Alas! and Did My Saviour Bleed!, paid a price for his non-conformist views on Christianity.

"Because he was a Nonconformist, Watts could not attend Oxford or Cambridge, which were each restricted to Anglicans, as were government positions at the time," Wikipedia reports. "He went to the Dissenting Academy at Stoke Newington in 1690. Much of the remainder of his life centred around that village, which is now part of Inner London."

Answer: sight

The missing word is 'sight'

Following his education, Isaac Watts, author of 'Alas! and Did My Savior Bleed' served as pastor of a large independent chapel in London, where he helped train preachers, Wikipedia reports. Watts was in poor health and never married.

"In 1712, he accepted an invitation to visit Sir Thomas Abney, at his residence of Abney Park, and at Sir Thomas' pressing request, made it his home for the remainder of his life," Hymnary.org reports. "It was a residence most favourable for his health, and for the prosecution of his literary labours. He did not retire from ministerial duties, but preached as often as his delicate health would permit."

Answer: all the day

The missing words are 'all the day'.

Even as a child, Isaac Watts, author of 'Alas! and Did My Savior Bleed', was adept at writing prose. According to Hymnary.org, the first hymn Watts composed for religious worship was 'Behold the Glories of the Lamb' in 1694. He was twenty years old at the time.

Answer: blood

The missing word is 'blood'.

By the time Isaac Watts died in 1748 in Stoke Newington, England, he published an estimated 750 hymns with 'Alas! and Did My Savior Bleed' being one of the most popular. Other popular hymns by Watts include 'Joy to the World', 'O God, Our Help in Ages Past', 'When I Survey the Wondrous Cross', 'My Shepherd Will Supply My Need' and 'Come We That Love the Lord' also known as, 'We're Marching to Zion'.

Answer: stood

The missing word is 'stood'.

According to Hymnary.org, James Montgomery, a British poet, hymn writer and editor in the 1800s, called Isaac Watts "the greatest name among hymn writers."
Meanwhile, Wikipedia describes the writer of 'Alas! and Did My Savior Bleed' the "Father of English Hymnody".

"The general themes of most of the songs composed by Isaac Watts are the sovereignty of God, the efficacy of the sacrifice of Christ for man's salvation and the consecration of the believer," the Web site Truthinhistory,org reports.

Answer: degree

The missing word is 'degree'.

Many of the hymns written by Isaac Watts remain in use today and have been translated into "numerous languages", according to Wikipedia.

Meanwhile, Hymnary.org reports Isaac Watts had a totally different name for the classic hymn "Alas! and Did My Savior Bleed'. The Website states his original heading for the text was 'Godly Sorrow Arising from the Suffering of Christ'.

Answer: glories

The missing word is 'glories'.

Wikipedia reports that in 1974, the City of Southampton, Watts' home city, commemorated the 300th anniversary of his birth by commissioning the biography 'Isaac Watts Remembered'. The biography was written by David G. Fountain, who, like Watts, was also a non-conformist minister from Southampton.

In addition to his songs living on today, one can view two statues honoring Watts in the U.K. One statue stands in Watts Park, Southampton. and another one in Abbey Park, Stoke Newington.

Answer: tears

The missing word is 'tears'.

The Website UnlockingtheBible,org has a list of the 25 top Christian songs of all time. 'Alas! and Did My Savior Bleed', also known as 'At the Cross' is on the list, placing No. 18. Popularhymns.com has the hymn on its top 100 list, but does not give it a particular number. Songandpraise.com also has the hymn on its Top 50 list, allocating it at No. 43.

It's all about personal preferences, but I would definitely have the hymn in my Top Ten List.

Here are the words to the classic hymn 'Alas! and Did My Savior Bleed', also known as 'At the Cross'.

"Alas! and did my Savior bleed
And did my Sov'reign die?
Would He devote that sacred head
For such a worm as I?

Refrain:
At the cross, at the cross where I first saw the light,
And the burden of my heart rolled away,
It was there by faith I received my sight,
And now I am happy all the day!

Thy body slain, sweet Jesus, Thine --
And bathed in its own blood --
While the firm mark of wrath divine,
His soul in anguish stood.

[Refrain]

Was it for crimes that I had done
He groaned upon the tree?
Amazing pity! grace unknown!
And love beyond degree!

[Refrain]

Well might the sun in darkness hide
And shut his glories in,
When Christ, the mighty Maker died,
For man the creature's sin.

[Refrain]

Thus might I hide my blushing face
While His dear cross appears,
Dissolve my heart in thankfulness,
And melt my eyes to tears.

[Refrain]

But drops of grief can ne'er repay
The debt of love I owe:
Here, Lord, I give myself away,
'Tis all that I can do."