The Lord Is My Light Trivia Quiz

Answer: Shine Jesus Shine

"Shine Jesus Shine" was written by Graham Kendrick,

Born in England in 1950, Graham Kendrick was a prolific writer of Christian music.

"Shine Jesus Shine" was frequently placed high on lists of "best loved" Christian songs - although some people disliked its happy tone.

Answer: Hark The Herald Angels Sing

"Hark The Herald Angels Sing" was written by Charles Wesley, one of the most prominent hymn writers of his generation

It is estimated he wrote around 6,500 hymns. He also disagreed with his brother, John, on the breakaway of the Methodist church from the Church of England.

* Please don't send me correction notes about the spelling in "The First Nowell" - that is how Charles Wesley spelt it and if it was good enough for him...

Answer: Clear

"Jesus bids us shine
With a pure, clear light,
Like a little candle
Burning in the night.
In this world of darkness
So let us shine
You in your small corner,
And I in mine..."

"Jesus Bids Us Shine" was written by Susan Warner, 1819-1885. She was born in New York City and had a Puritan heritage.

Under the pen name Elizabeth Wetherell, she wrote religious and children's fiction. She frequently collaborated with her sister, Anna Bartlett Warner.

Answer: This Little Light Of Mine

Rutha Mae Harris, who sang the song regularly at gospel concerts and church services, related its importance in the 1960s saying the song helped steady protestors' nerves in the face of oppression.

She said in a 2018 interview with npr.org: "Music was an anchor. It kept us from being afraid. You start singing a song, and somehow, those billy clubs would not hit you. It played a very important role in the movement."

"This Little Light of Mine" was written for children in 1920 by Michigan native Harry Dixon Loes. He also wrote "Blessed Redeemer" with Avis Christiansen.

Answer: Be Thou My Vision

The lines quoted are the last two in a first verse that begins:
"Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart;
Naught be all else to me, save that thou art -..."

The words are thought to be by the sixth-century Irish Christian poet St. Dallán Forgaill.

The English translation now commonly used was by Eleanor Hull in 1912.

Answer: In Christ Alone

"In Christ alone my hope is found,
He is my light, my strength, my song
This Cornerstone, this solid Ground
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm

What heights of love, what depths of peace
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease
My Comforter, my All in All
Here in the love of Christ I stand..."

"In Christ Alone" was written by the English songwriter Stuart Townend with Northern Ireland native Keith Getty.

Although it has been named as one of the most popular modern hymns around, there was controversy when the Presbyterian Church in the USA asked the writers to change the lyrics "Till on that cross as Jesus died/the wrath of God was satisfied" to "Till on that cross as Jesus died/the love of God was magnified..."

Townend and Getty refused and the song was omitted from a new "Glory To God" book used by Presbyterian Church in the USA.

The Presbyterian Church in Ireland had no such qualms and Presbyterian congregations sing the original lyrics.

In 2006, it was number one on the United Kingdom CCLI (Christian Copyright Licensing International) charts.

Answer: Immortal Invisible, God Only Wise

There are four references to "light" in the words of the hymn.

In verse one:
"Immortal, invisible, God only wise,
In light inaccessible hid from our eyes..."

In verse two:
"Unresting, unhasting, and silent as light,
Nor wanting, nor wasting, Thou rulest in might;..."

In verse three:
"Great Father of Glory, pure Father of Light
Thine angels adore Thee, all veiling their sight;
All laud we would render, O help us to see:
'Tis only the splendor of light hideth Thee."

My hymn book tells me the words were written by Walter Chalmers Smith, 1824-1908 and are based on 1 Timothy 1:17.

Answer: I Saw The Light

"I saw the light, I saw the light
No more darkness, no more night
Now I'm so happy no sorrow in sight
Praise the Lord I saw the light..."

Hank Williams is revered among country music singers and fans. His was a tempestuous career, though.

During a career that spanned just 15 years, he wrote many songs that were to become country standards.

He wrote "I Saw The Light" while lying drunk in the back of a car and hearing his mother remark she saw city lights ahead.

It was not a commercial success at first, but has been covered by numerous artists. Among them was Johnny Cash, who famously sang it when he appeared in a "Columbo" movie.

In 2005 Country Music Television placed it in a list of the "20 Greatest Songs of Faith".

Answer: Cross

The lyrics to "Alas, And Did My Savior Bleed" were written by Isaac Watts (1674-1748) with the chorus by Ralph Erskine Hudson (1843-1901). Hudson wrote the music.

Isaac Watts was a hymnwriter and a theologian from a nonconformist family. Other well-known hymns he wrote include "When I Survey the Wondrous Cross", "Joy to the World", "Our God, Our Help in Ages Past".

Answer: O Worship The King

"O worship the king
All glorious above;
O gratefully sing
His power and his love;
Our shield and defender,
The Ancient of days,
Pavilioned in splendour,
And girded with praise.
O tell of his might,
O sing of his grace,
Whose robe is the light,
Whose canopy space;
His chariots of wrath
The deep thunder clouds form,
And dark is his path
On the wings of the storm..."

"O Worship The King" was written by Robert Grant 1758-1838. It was based on William Kethe's paraphrase of Psalm 104 in the Anglo-Genevan Psalter of 1561.

Sir Robert Grant, a lawyer and Member of Parliament, wrote numerous hymns.