Gospel Greats -- 'What a Friend We Have in Jesus' Quiz

Answer: bear

The missing word is 'bear'.

'What a Friend We Have in Jesus' was written by Joseph Medlicott Scriven, an Irishman who immigrated to Canada in 1846. Scriven was born Sep­tem­ber 10, 1819, in Sea­pat­rick, Coun­ty Down, Ire­land and died Au­gust 10, 1886, in Port Hope, Ontario. He is buried at the Pen­gel­ly Cem­e­te­ry, near Port Hope.

Answer: everything

The missing word is 'everything'.

Joseph Scriven wrote 'What a Friend We Have in Jesus' in 1855 and Charles C. Converse set the words to music in 1868, pairing the words with the music to 'Erie'. Converse was born Oc­to­ber 7, 1834, in War­ren, Mass­a­chu­setts and died Oc­to­ber 18, 1918, in High­wood, New Jersey. He was a noted musician in his day.

Answer: needless

The missing word is 'needless'.

Joseph Scriven, writer of 'What a Friend We Have in Jesus', was born into a prosperous family and was a graduate of Trinity College in Dublin, according to Wikipedia. His life, however, was filled with heartache. In 1845, the night before Scriven was to be married, his fiancee accidentally drowned. Making life even more unpleasant for him was the fact he became estranged from his family because of his involvement with the Plymouth Brethren, an evangelical Christian group, the Website reports.

Answer: trouble

The missing word is 'trouble'.

To start anew, Robert Scriven, writer of 'What a Friend We Have in Jesus', immigrated to Canada in 1846, one year after his fiancee accidentally drowned. Wikipedia reports after arriving in Canada, Scriven taught school in Woodstock and Brantford, two communities in Ontario. Later he moved to Rice Lake, northeast of Port Hope.

Answer: faithful

The missing word is 'faithful'.

While living in Rice Lake, Robert Scriven, writer of 'What a Friend We Have in Jesus', fell in love with a young woman named Eliza Rice. Incredibly, she too died just before she was to become Scriven's bride. (As stated in the answer to
Question 3, his first fiancee died in Ireland in 1845 when she accidentally drowned the night before their wedding.) Here's how Popularhymns.com describes the situation involving his second fiancee: "Just weeks before she was to become Scriven's bride, she suddenly grew sick. Though the best doctors from across the area were called in, nothing they did seemed to help. In a matter of weeks, Eliza died."

Answer: weakness

The missing word is 'weakness'.

Needless to say, Robert Scriven, writer of 'What a Friend We Have in Jesus', was devastated by the death of his second fiancee in Rice Lake, Ontario. (See answers to Questions 3 and 5 for details about the deaths.) The Website Popularhymns.com tells how Scriven got through the difficult period: "A shattered Scriven turned to the only thing that had anchored him during his life -- his faith. Through prayer and Bible study he somehow found not just solace but a mission. He sold all his earthly possessions and vowed to give his life to the physically handicapped and financially destitute. It was a vow he never broke."

Answer: refuge

The missing word is 'refuge'.

According to Popularhymns.com, Robert Scriven received more bad news after his second fiancee died. He received news his mother had become seriously ill in Ireland. However, he had taken a vow of poverty (as pointed out in the answer to Question 6) and did not have the funds to go home and care for his mother. "Heartsick, feeling a need to reach out to her, Scriven first turned to prayer and then to words," Popularhymns.com reports. "In a letter to his mother, this friend of the friendless wrote the story of his life in three short verses he called 'What a Friend We Have in Jesus'."

Answer: shield

The missing word is 'shield'.

Cyberhymnal.org reports after Scriv­en wrote 'What a Friend We Have in Jesus' the words were orig­in­al­ly pub­lished anon­y­mous­ly and Scriv­en did not re­ceive full cred­it for al­most 30 years. Things changed for the better, thanks to a noted American evangelist. "'What a Friend We Have in Jesus' might have remained as obscure as Joseph Scriven if it had not been for the American evangelist Dwight L. Moody," Popularhymns.com reports. "Moody came across the song some two decades after it was written and believed it to be the most touching hymn he had ever heard. It was Moody, through his meetings, teachings, and books, who gave the song a national platform."

Answer: promised

The missing word is 'promised'.

Robert Scriven eventually got full credit for writing 'What a Friend We Have in Jesus'. However, Scriven insisted he did not write the famous hymn alone. "The Lord and I wrote the song together," Scriven is quoted as saying at the Website Popularhymns.com.

Answer: sweet

The missing word is 'sweet'.

Ironically, Joseph Scriven, writer of 'What a Friend We Have in Jesus', drowned in a Canadian lake in 1886, Popularhymns.com reports. In other words, he died the same way as first fiancee in 1845. (See answer to Question 3 for more information.)

Here are the words to the old-time hymn 'What a Friend We Have in Jesus':

"What a Friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer!
O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.

Have we trials and temptations? Is there trouble anywhere?
We should never be discouraged; take it to the Lord in prayer.
Can we find a friend so faithful who will all our sorrows share?
Jesus knows our every weakness; take it to the Lord in prayer.

Are we weak and heavy laden, cumbered with a load of care?
Precious Savior, still our refuge, take it to the Lord in prayer.
Do your friends despise, forsake you? Take it to the Lord in prayer!
In His arms He'll take and shield you; you will find a solace there.

Blessed Savior, Thou hast promised Thou wilt all our burdens bear
May we ever, Lord, be bringing all to Thee in earnest prayer.
Soon in glory bright unclouded there will be no need for prayer
Rapture, praise and endless worship will be our sweet portion there."