The End of the Line Trivia Quiz

Answer: Alas! and did my Saviour bleed?

Only the correct answer was a hymn written by Isaac Watts. 'Alas! and did my Saviour bleed?', also called 'At the Cross', was written in for his collection of hymns which he called 'Hymns and Spiritual Songs' in the late 1690s. Like many hymnwriters, his hymns were often based on passages of Scripture.

Issac Watts has been called the 'Godfather of English Hymnody' and wrote around 750 hymns. Many of these are still sung, including 'When I Survey the Wondrous Cross', 'Our God, Our Help in Ages Past', 'Jesus Shall Reign Where'er the Sun' and the much loved Christmas carol 'Joy the the World'.

The flower in the picture is a Lamprocapnos spectabilis (formerly Dicentra), common name bleeding heart.

Answer: We Have an Anchor

The wonderful hymn speaks of the Rock we have in life and then in death, the certain hope believers have in Christ, who is beside in life's trials and tribulations. Many of the hymns written by Priscilla Owens were written for her Sunday school students at the Union Square Methodist Episcopal Church, Maryland. They express simple biblical truths. Most of her 200-odd hymns are not particularly well known, but another well-loved one is 'Jesus Saves'.

The picture is of an anchor hook of great antiquity.

Answer: Crown Him With Many Crowns

This hymn was written by English Matthew Bridges, youngest son of Rev. Charles Bridges, in 1851, a couple of years after he had converted to Roman Catholicism. Author of a number of well-known hymns, he also wrote 'Soldiers of Christ, Arise'. He was born in 1800 and died in 1894.

The picture is of a grey crowned crane, the native bird of Uganda, which is found in eastern and southern Africa.

Answer: I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day

'The Christmas Carol Soldier', as it was originally known, was written in the autumn of 1863 by H W Longfellow while he sat at the bedside of his son, who was recuperating from wounds sustained in the Civil War. The words speak of the noise of war overcoming the sound of the bells tolling the Good News. While naturally applying to the conflict raging across the nation of the United States, the words have a more profound meaning expressed in the final verse of the hymn:

"Then pealed the bells more loud and deep;
God is not dead; nor doth he sleep!
The Wrong shall fail,
The Right prevail,
With peace on earth, good-will to men!"

The picture is of the Goslar Carillon (Germany).

Answer: I Saw Three Ships

The history of this traditional English carol is unknown, though poems having similar stanzas appeared in the 1600s. The three 'ships' could be camels bringing the Magi to worship the new King. However, as the carol spread from town to town in the UK, several different versions of the words appeared, one suggesting the holy family were aboard the ship, on their way to pay taxes, one saying that the disciples were aboard, and several other variants.

The picture is of shipping containers - I hope this was able to give a hint to the correct answer, if you didn't already know it!

Answer: All Things Bright and Beautiful

Cecil Frances Alexander, author of this well-loved children's hymn, was born in Tyrone, Ireland in 1823. Apart from this hymn, she wrote 'Once in Royal David's City', 'There is a Green Hill Far Away," and "Jesus Calls Us O'er the Tumult'. It is possible that Psalm 10:24-25 is the text upon which the song is based as it says: "Oh Lord, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches. So is this great and wide sea, wherein are things creeping innumerable, both small and great beasts" (KJV); however, some scholars suggest it may be an echo of a verse in Samuel Taylor Coleridge's 'The Rime of the Ancient Mariner'.

Answer: Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming

The first two verses of 'Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming' are of uncertain origin, though it is known the tune appeared as early as 1599 in the German 'Speyer Hymnal'. It was translated into English in the late 1800s. The song references Jesus' lineage as mentioned in the book of Isaiah - "and there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots" (Isaiah 11:1, KJV). The version most well known today was translated by Theodore Baker in 1894, though other less-used translations exist.

The picture is of rosé wine.

Answer: Shall We Gather at the River?

American hymn writer and pastor, Robert Lowry, wrote several of the most well-loved hymns including "Nothing But the Blood," and "Christ Arose!" among others. "Shall We Gather at the River?" was written with the backdrop of an epidemic in New York in 1864 (likely either cholera or yellow fever; both were a scourge in the region at that time); and many of his congregation were 'crossing the Jordan'. The song speaks of the future joyful reunion of believers at the "pure water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and the Lamb" (Rev 22:1-2, KJV).

The paddle-steamer pictured is making its way up a river.

Answer: In the Garden

American Charles Austin Miles abandoned his career as a pharmacist to become a writer and editor of Christian music, in the late 1800s. The hymn, "In the Garden" was written in 1913 and has been recorded by many artists, including Elvis Presley, in 1967. Austin was prolific, writing in excess of 500 hymns. Among those he wrote is "A New Name In Glory" and the well-loved children's chorus "Wide, Wide as the Ocean". He died in 1946.

The rose window pictured is of Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden.

Answer: In the Sweet By and By

This well-loved and oft sung hymn was a collaboration of Sanford Fillmore Bennett and Joseph P. Webster and speaks of the assurance of God's blessing now and in heaven. It was written in 1868, when Fillmore was in his early 30s. Many of his hymns talk of God's care for his children.

Lollies, candy or sweets - I hope this picture gave you a hint to the correct answer!