Old-Time Hymns -- Canadian Style Quiz

Answer: Nova Scotia

Civilla Durfee Martin was born in Nova Scotia in 1866. She is a noted Canadian hymn writer with her most famous contribution being 'His Eye Is On the Sparrow'. She also wrote 'God Will Take Care of You', 'One of God's Days', 'Going Home' and 'The Old Fashioned Way'.

In 'His Eye Is On the Sparrow', Martin "provided one of the most influential and often-recorded Gospel hymns of the 20th century" reports the Website Umdiscipleship.org. "Notable versions include recordings by Shirley Caesar, Marvin Gaye, Kirk Franklin and the Family, Mahalia Jackson, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Dottie West and Barbara Mandrell."

The hymn is based on Luke 6:26-27. The verses in the NKJV quotes Jesus as saying, "Are not five sparrows sold for two copper coins? And not one of them is forgotten before God. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows." (Matthew 6:26 also quotes Jesus as saying, "Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?"

Wikipedia reports Martin's husband Walter Stillman studied ministry at Harvard University and served as a Baptist minister. She died in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1948.

Here are the words to the Gospel hymn 'His Eye is On the Sparrow':

"Why should I feel discouraged
Why should the shadows come
Why should my heart be lonely
And long for heavenly home
When Jesus is my portion?
My constant friend is He
His eye is on the sparrow
And I know he watches me
His eye is on the sparrow
And I know He watches me

Refrain:
I sing because I'm happy
I sing because I'm free
For His eye is on the sparrow
And I know He watches me

'Let not your heart be troubled'
His tender word I hear
And resting on His goodness
I loose my doubts and fears
Tho' by the path He leadeth
But one step I may see
His eye is on the sparrow
And I know He watches me
His eye is on the sparrow
And I know He watches me

[Refrain]

Whenever I am tempted
Whenever clouds arise
When song gives place to sighing
When hope within me dies
I draw the closer to Him
For care He sets me free
His eye is on the sparrow
And I know He watches me
His eye is on the sparrow
And I know He watches me.

[Refrain]"

Answer: Burdens Are Lifted At Calvary

The correct answer is 'Burdens Are Lifted at Calvary'.

Dr. John M. Moore is credited with writing more than 165 hymns but the most popular one is 'Burdens Are Lifted at Calvary'. Various Websites report Moore wrote the words and composed the music in 1952 after he visited a seriously wounded sailor in a hospital,

In the book 'Amazing Grace: 366 Inspiring Hymn Stories for Daily Devotions', here's how Moore explained the hospital visit: "I talked for a few moments and then put my hand in my case for a tract, not knowing which one I would pull out. It happened to be a tract based on 'Pilgrim's Progress', with a color reproduction of Pilgrim coming to the cross with a great burden on his back. I showed the young seaman this picture and told him the story in brief, adding that Pilgrim's experience had been my experience too. I explained that when I came to the cross of Christ, my burden rolled away and my sense of sin and guilt before God was removed. He nodded his head when I asked him, 'Do you feel this burden on your back today?' We prayed together and never shall I forget the smile of peace and assurance that lit up his face when he said that his burden was lifted!"

For the record, the three other suggested answers to the question, were written by two other noted hymn writers. 'Blessed Assurance' and 'More Like Jesus' were written by Fanny Crosby while 'Amazing Grace' was written by John Newton.

Here are the words to the old-time hymn 'Burdens Are Lifted at Calvary'.

"Days are filled with sorrow and care,
Hearts are lonely and drear;
Burdens are lifted at Calvary,
Jesus is very near.

Refrain:
Burdens are lifted at Calvary,
Calvary, Calvary,
Burdens are lifted at Calvary,
Jesus is very near.

Cast your care on Jesus today,
Leave your worry and fear;
Burdens are lifted at Calvary,
Jesus is very near.

[Refrain]

Troubled soul, the Saviour can see,
Ev'ry heartache and tear;
Burdens are lifted at Calvary
Jesus is very near.

[Refrain]"

Answer: Joseph Scriven

Joseph Scriven is the correct answer. Born 1819 in Ireland, Scriven wrote a number of poems and hymns, among them the much-loved 'What a Friend We Have In Jesus'. He died in 1896 in Port Hope, Ontario.

Scriven was inspired to write 'What a Friend We Have in Jesus' when on two different occasions he was to be married, his sweetheart died. The first incident happened when he was 25 years old.

"The day before his wedding his fiance died in a tragic drowning accident," the Website Sharefaith.com reports. "Heartbroken, Joseph sailed from his homeland to start a new life in Canada."

The Website goes on to state: "While in Canada working as a teacher, he fell in love again and became engaged to Eliza Roche, a relative of one of his students. Once again, Joseph's hopes and dreams were shattered when Eliza became ill and died before the wedding could take place."

At much the same time as the death of his second fiance, Scriven received word his mother in Ireland was seriously ill, according to ShareFaith.com. It was not possible for him to join her in Ireland, so he wrote a letter of comfort and enclosed a poem he had titled 'What A Friend We Have in Jesus'.

For the record, Isaac Watt was a prolific English hymn writer while Bill Gaither is an American Christian musician. William Booth was the founder of the Salvation Army.

Here are the words to the 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 wilt find a solace there."

Answer: George Beverly Shea

The correct answer is George Beverly Shea who was born in Winchester, Ontario, in 1909. In addition to writing hymns and recording Gospel albums, Shea was a fixture performing nightly at Billy Graham crusades around the world. In fact, Wikipedia reports Shea holds the record for a musician performing live for the most people over the years. Other entertainers like the Rolling Stones, the Grateful Dead and Frank Sinatra don't even come close. Shea would perform nightly at crusades of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, often with more than 50,000 people in attendance. Any given Billy Graham Crusade would take place over a number of days in a particular city and no sooner was it done, Shea would be off to perform nightly at another crusade in another city.

He composed the music for 'I'd Rather Have Jesus' in 1939 and wrote 'The Wonder Of It All' in 1956. On top of this, Shea wrote a number of other hymns.

Here are the words to the hymn 'The Wonder Of It All'.

"There's the wonder of sunset at evening,
The wonder as sunrise I see;
But the wonder of wonders that thrills my soul
Is the wonder that God loves me.

Refrain:
O, the wonder of it all! The wonder of it all!
Just to think that God loves me.
O, the wonder of it all! The wonder of it all!
Just to think that God loves me.

There's the wonder of springtime and harvest,
The sky, the stars, the sun;
But the wonder of wonders that thrills my soul
Is a wonder that has only begun.

[Refrain]"

Here are the words to the hymn 'I'd Rather Have Jesus'.

"I'd rather have Jesus than silver or gold;
I'd rather be His than have riches untold;
I'd rather have Jesus than houses or lands.
I'd rather be led by His nail pierced hand

Refrain:
Than to be the king of a vast domain
Or be held in sin's dread sway.
I'd rather have Jesus than anything
This world affords today.

I'd rather have Jesus than men's applause;
I'd rather be faithful to His dear cause;
I'd rather have Jesus than worldwide fame.
I'd rather be true to His holy name.

[Refrain]

He's fairer than lilies of rarest bloom;
He's sweeter than honey from out the comb;
He's all that my hungering spirit needs.
I'd rather have Jesus and let Him lead,

[Refrain]"

Answer: Lamb

The missing word is 'Lamb'. 'Crown Him With Many Crowns' was written in 1851 by Matthew Bridges. Hymnary.org reports Bridges was born in Malden, Essex, United Kingdom, on July 14, 1800 and died in Quebec on October 6, 1894. Other hymns he wrote include 'Blessed Lamb, on Calvary's Mountain', 'Jesus to Thee We Look' and 'Holy of Holies, Seat of Love'.

Here are the words to the hymn 'Crown Him With Many Crowns'.

"Crown him with many crowns,
the Lamb upon his throne,
Hark! how the heavenly anthem drowns
all music but its own.
Awake, my soul, and sing
of him who died for thee,
and hail him as thy matchless King
through all eternity.

Crown him the Lord of life,
who triumphed o'er the grave,
and rose victorious in the strife
for those he came to save.
His glories now we sing,
who died, and rose on high,
who died, eternal life to bring,
and lives that death may die.

Crown him the Lord of peace,
whose power a scepter sways
from pole to pole, that wars may cease,
and all be prayer and praise.
His reign shall know no end,
and round his pierced feet
fair flowers of paradise extend
their fragrance ever sweet.

Crown him the Lord of love;
behold his hands and side,
those wounds, yet visible above,
in beauty glorified.
All hail, Redeemer, hail!
For thou hast died for me;
thy praise and glory shall not fail
throughout eternity."

Answer: True

True. In addition to writing an estimated 120 hymns, Albert Benjamin Simpson was the founder the Missionary Alliance Movement, an evangelical Christian church with heavy emphases on missionary endeavors. Simpson was born in Cavendish, Prince Edward Island, in 1843. "Many of the 120 hymns he authored remain in frequent use, and Christian schools from California to the Philippines are named after him," Wikipedia reports.

According to Wikipedia, in 2006 there were 2,010 Missionary Alliance churches in the United States and another 600 in Canada. (Proud to say I regularly attended a Missionary Alliance Church when I lived in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan in the late 1980s.)

Simpson's most popular hymn is 'A Missionary Cry', a favorite in the Missionary Alliance movement. It was written in 1890.

Here are the words to the hymn 'A Missionary Cry'.

"A hundred thousand souls a day
Are passing one by one away
In Christless guilt and gloom;
Without one ray of hope or light,
With future dark as endless night,
They're passing to their doom,
They're passing to their doom.

Refrain:
They're passing, passing fast away
In thousands day by day;
They're passing to their doom,
They're passing to their doom.

O Holy Ghost, Thy people move,
Baptize their hearts with faith and love
And consecrate their gold.
At Jesus' feet their millions pour,
And all their ranks unite once more,
As in the days of old,
As in the days of old.

[Refrain]

The Master's coming draweth near;
The Son of Man will soon appear;
His kingdom is at hand.
But ere that glorious day can be,
This gospel of the kingdom we
Must preach in every land,
Must preach in every land.

[Refrain]

Oh, let us then His coming haste,
Oh, let us end this awful waste
Of souls that never die.
A thousand millions still are lost;
A Savior's blood has paid the cost,
Oh, hear their dying cry,
Oh, hear their dying cry.

[Refrain]

They're passing, passing, fast away,
A hundred thousand souls a day
In Christless guilt and gloom.
O Church of Christ, what wilt thou say
When, in the awful judgment day,
They charge thee with their doom,
They charge thee with their doom?

[Refrain]"

Answer: Mary Houghton Brown

Mary Houghton Brown is the correct answer. Wordwisehymns.com, as well as other Websites, state Brown was born in Canada in 1856, but there appears to be no information as to the exact location.

Acording to Wordwishymns.com, Brown later taught school in Connecticut and served for many years as a Sunday School teacher. She died in the influenza pandemic of 1918.

The Website reports the hymn was originally called 'Go, Stand and Speak' after the words of Acts 5:20. The verse quotes an angel of the Lord giving instructions to the apostles after they were miraculously set free from jail. In the NKJV, the verse states: "Go, stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this life."

Here are the words to the hymn 'I'll Go Where You Want Me to Go'.

"It may not be on the mountain's height,
Or over the stormy sea;
It may not be at the battle's front
My Lord will have need of me.
But if by a still, small voice He calls
To paths I do not know,
I'll answer, dear Lord, with my hand in Thine,
I'll go where You want me to go.

Refrain:
I'll go where You want me to go, dear Lord,
Over mountain, or plain, or sea.
I'll say what You want me to say, dear Lord.
I'll be what You want me to be.

Perhaps today there are loving words
Which Jesus would have me speak;
There may be now, in the paths of sin,
Some wand'rer whom I should seek.
O Savior, if Thou wilt be my Guide,
Tho' dark and rugged the way,
My voice shall echo the message sweet,
I'll say what you want me to say.

[Refrain]

There's surely somewhere a lowly place
In earth's harvest fields so wide
Where I may labor thro' life's short day
For Jesus, the Crucified;
So, trusting my all to Thy tender care,
And knowing Thou lovest me,
I'll do Thy will with a heart sincere,
I'll be what You want me to be.

[Refrain]"

Answer: About 1,200 hymns

According to Wordwise-bible-studies.com, Oswald Jeffrey Smith wrote "something like" 1,200 hymns. Born in 1889, Smith was the founder of The People's Church in Toronto in 1928 and according to Wikipedia, he was the "leading force" in fundamentalism in Canada. In addition to writing hymns, Smith wrote 35 books on Christianity with translations into 128 languages.

Some titles of hymns he wrote are 'Then Jesus Came', 'God Is Waiting in the Silence', 'God Understands' 'Joy in Service of Jesus' 'Saved!', 'The Saviour Can Solve Every Problem' and 'The Song of the Soul Set Free'.

Here are the words to the hymn 'Then Jesus Came'.

"One sat alone beside the highway begging
His eyes were blind, the Light he could not see
He clutched his rags and shivered in the shadows
Then Jesus came and bid the darkness flee

Refrain:
When Jesus comes the tempter's power is broken
When Jesus comes, all tears are wiped away
He takes the gloom and fills my heart with glory
For all is changed when Jesus comes to stay.

"Unclean! Unclean!" the leper cried in torment,
The deaf, the dumb, in helplessness stood near;
The fever raged, disease had gripped its victim
Then Jesus came and cast out ev'ry fear.

[Refrain]

From home and friends the evil spirits drove him,
Among the tombs he dwelt in misery;
He cut himself as demon pow'rs possessed him,
Then Jesus came, and set the captive free.

[Refrain]

So men today have found the Saviour able,
They could not conquer passion, lust and sin;
Their broken hearts had left them sad and lonely,
Then Jesus came and dwelt, Himself, within.

[Refrain]"

Answer: Hamilton

Hamilton is the correct answer. Arthur McGregor was born in 1847 and died in 1890. According to Cyberhymnal.org, McGregor was the fifth of se­ven child­ren and he was "con­vert­ed at age 20 under the min­is­try of Ca­na­di­an Bap­tist preach­er John Gil­mour."

'Jesus, Wondrous Saviour' is also known as 'The McMaster Hymn' as it became the official hymn of Mc­Mas­ter Un­i­ver­si­ty in Ham­il­ton. "Mc­Greg­or is thought to have writ­ten these words dur­ing Ad­vent 1889," Cyberhymnal.org states. "His fam­i­ly do­nat­ed the orig­in­al man­u­script to Mc­Mas­ter Un­i­ver­si­ty in 1921."

Here are the words to the hymn 'Jesus Wondrous Saviour'.

"Jesus, wondrous Savior!
Christ, of kings the King!
Angels fall before Thee,
Prostrate, worshipping;
Fairest they confess Thee
In the heav'n above.
We would sing Thee fairest
Here in hymns of love.

All earth's flowing pleasures
Were a wintry sea;
Heav'n itself without Thee
Dark as night would be.
Lamb of God! Thy glory
Is the light above.
Lamb of God! Thy glory
Is the life of love.

Life is death, if severed
From Thy throbbing heart.
Death with life abundant
At Thy touch would start.
Worlds and men and angels
All consist in Thee,
Yet Thou camest to us
In humility.

Jesus! all perfections
Rise and end in Thee;
Brightness of God's glory
Thou, eternally.
Favored beyond measure
They Thy face who see;
May we, gracious Savior,
Share this ecstasy."

Answer: Governor General of Canada

John George Edward Henry Douglas Sutherland Campbell, Ninth Duke of Argyll, better known by the courtesy title Marquess of Lorne, was Governor General of Canada, serving from 1878 to 1883. As Governor General he served as a representative of Queen Victoria. Campbell was well suited for the position as he married Victoria's fourth daughter, Princess Louise.

According to Wikipedia, Campbell was Canada's youngest Governor General at age 33.

"He is now remembered primarily for the place names bestowed on Canadian geography in honour of his wife and for his metrical paraphrase of Psalm 121, 'Unto the Hills'," Wikipedia sates.

Here are the words to the hymn 'Unto the Hills'.

"Unto the hills around do I lift up
my longing eyes:
O whence for me shall my salvation come,
from whence arise?
From God the Lord doth come my certain aid,
from God the Lord who heaven and earth hath made.

God will not suffer that thy foot be moved;
safe shalt thou be.
No careless slumber shall His eyelids close
who keepeth thee.
The One who sleepeth not,
who slumbereth ne'er,
shall guard thee, Israel, with most holy care.

Jehovah is Himself thy keeper true,
thy changeless shade;
Jehovah thy defense on thy right hand,
thine own true aid.
And thee no sun by day shall ever smite;
no moon shall harm thee in the silent night.

From every evil shall God keep thy soul,
from every sin;
Jehovah shall preserve thy going out,
thy coming in.
Above thee watching, God whom we adore
shall keep thee henceforth, yea, for evermore."