Wordwise -- Old-Time Christian Hymns -- #3 Quiz

Answer: Walk in the Light

Bernard Barton was born in London in 1784 and was known as the Quaker Poet, according to the Website Hymnary.org. The Website states he wrote more than ten books of poetry and "from these works about twenty pieces have come into common use as hymns."

Here are the words to 'Walk in the Light':

"Walk in the light: so shalt thou know
That fellowship of love
His Spirit only can bestow
Who reigns in light above.

Walk in the light: and sin abhorred
Shall ne'er defile again;
The blood of Jesus Christ, thy Lord,
Shall cleanse from every stain.

Walk in the light: and thou shalt find
Thy heart made truly His
Who dwells in cloudless light enshrined
In Whom no darkness is.

Walk in the light: and thou shalt own
Thy darkness passed away,
Because that light hath on thee shone
In which is perfect day.

Walk in the light: and e'en the tomb
No fearful shade shall wear;
Glory shall chase away its gloom,
For Christ has conquered there.

Walk in the light: and thine shall be
A path, though thorny, bright;
For God, by grace, shall dwell in thee,
And God Himself is light."

Answer: Go Tell It On the Mountain

John W. Work was born in Nashville, Tenn., but no one is certain about the year. (Some Websites state 1871 and others 1873.) According to Wikipedia Work "was the first African-American collector of folk songs and spirituals, and also a choral director, educationalist and songwriter." He also owned a music publishing company called Work Brothers and Hart.

Here are the words to the old-time classic 'Go Tell it on the Mountain':

"Refrain

Go, tell it on the mountain,
Over the hills and everywhere
Go, tell it on the mountain,
That Jesus Christ is born.

While shepherds kept their watching
Over silent flocks by night
Behold throughout the heavens
There shone a holy light.

Refrain

The shepherds feared and trembled,
When lo! above the earth,
Rang out the angels chorus
That hailed the Savior's birth.

Refrain

Down in a lowly manger
The humble Christ was born
And God sent us salvation
That blessèd Christmas morn.

Refrain"

Answer: We Rest on Thee

Edith G. Cherry was struck with polio while an infant and died at the age of 25. She wrote a number of hymns, many of them published before she was 15.

'We Rest on Thee' is one of her better known pieces and was sung by five missionaries before they entered the Ecuadorean jungle and were killed, according to the Website Cyberhymnal.org.

"In Jan­u­ary 1956, five mis­sion­ar­ies sang it [We Rest on Thee] be­fore en­ter­ing the Ecua­dor­i­an jun­gle to bring the Gos­pel to the Au­ca In­di­ans," Cyberhymnal reports. "Their names were Nate Saint, Ed Mc­Cul­ly, Jim El­li­ott, Ro­ger Yo­der­i­an, and Pe­ter Flem­ing. Af­ter the men reached the Au­cas, the In­di­ans mur­dered them on the Cur­a­ray Riv­er."

The Website goes on to report the sto­ry has a hap­py end­ing.

"Years lat­er, con­tact with the Au­cas was re-es­tab­lished, and ma­ny came to Christ, in­cluding the kil­lers, which is how first-hand de­tails of the mis­sion­ar­ies' deaths came to light."

One of the best known of the five missionaries was Jim El­li­ot. His wife Elisabeth went on to "con­sid­er­a­ble fame as an au­thor and radio broad­cast­er."

The Website also states: "Her book 'Through the Gates of Splen­dor' de­scribes the en­count­er with the Au­cas; its ti­tle comes from a line in this hymn."

Here are the words to 'We Rest on Thee':

"We rest on Thee, our Shield and our Defender!
We go not forth alone against the foe;
Strong in Thy strength, safe in Thy keeping tender,
We rest on Thee, and in Thy Name we go.
Strong in Thy strength, safe in Thy keeping tender,
We rest on Thee, and in Thy Name we go.

Yes, in Thy Name, O Captain of salvation!
In Thy dear Name, all other names above;
Jesus our Righteousness, our sure Foundation,
Our Prince of glory and our King of love.
Jesus our Righteousness, our sure Foundation,
Our Prince of glory and our King of love.

We go in faith, our own great weakness feeling,
And needing more each day Thy grace to know:
Yet from our hearts a song of triumph pealing,
'We rest on Thee, and in Thy Name we go.'
Yet from our hearts a song of triumph pealing,
'We rest on Thee, and in Thy Name we go.'

We rest on Thee, our Shield and our Defender!
Thine is the battle, Thine shall be the praise;
When passing through the gates of pearly splendor,
Victors, we rest with Thee, through endless days.
When passing through the gates of pearly splendor,
Victors, we rest with Thee, through endless days."

Answer: Forever With the Lord

James Montgomery, the son of a Moravian minister, was born at Irvine, Ayrshire, in 1771. According to Hymnary.org, Montgomery owned and edited a newspaper in Sheffield for a number of years and ended up in jail a couple times for publishing what were back then viewed as controversial stories. One of the articles that resulted in him going to jail simply reported about a riot in Sheffield.

Hymnary.org reports he wrote more than four hundred hymns, many of which remain in use today.

Here are words to the hymn 'Forever with the Lord':

"Forever with the Lord!
Amen, so let it be!
Life from His death is in that word
'Tis immortality.
Here in the body pent,
Absent from Him I roam,
Yet nightly pitch my moving tent
A day's march nearer home

My Father's house on high,
Home of my soul, how near
At times to faith's foreseeing eye
Thy golden gates appear!
Ah! then my spirit faints
To reach the land I love,
The bright inheritance of saints,
Jerusalem above.

I hear at morn and even,
At noon and midnight hour,
The choral harmonies of Heaven
Earth's Babel tongues o'erpower;
Then, then I feel that He,
Remembered or forgot,
The Lord, is never far from me,
Though I perceive Him not.

Forever with the Lord!
Forever in His will,
The promise of that faithful word,
Lord, here in me fulfill.
With You at my right hand,
Then I shall never fail;
Uphold me, Lord, and I shall stand,
Through grace I will prevail.

So when my latest breath
Breaks through the veil of pain,
By death I shall escape from death,
And life eternal gain.
That resurrection word,
That shout of victory:
Once more, Forever with the Lord!
Amen, so let it be!"

Answer: When Christ Arose

Fanny Crosby wrote more than 8,000 hymns. Some hymn­als show the au­thor as Ida Scott Tay­lor, one of Crosby's pseu­do­nyms. Apparently some publishers insisted Crosby use pseu­do­nyms because if she didn't it would create the impression she wrote the vast majority of the hymns in any given hymnal they printed.

Here are the words to 'When Christ Arose':

"The earth was filled with peace and light,
When Christ arose;
The heavens trembled at the sight,
When Christ arose;
The sea rejoiced along the sands,
The vernal valleys clapped their hands,
The mountains sang, and all the lands,
When Christ arose.

The tomb was empty where He lay,
When Christ arose;
And angels rolled the stone away,
When Christ arose;
A sound of triumph thrilled the air,
The glorious tidings to declare,
And there was gladness ev'rywhere,
When Christ arose.

The soul of man was born anew,
When Christ arose;
The cross divine appeared in view,
When Christ arose;
A glorious light from heaven streamed,
And from the cross a radiance beamed,
For ev'ry spirit was redeemed,
When Christ arose."

Answer: Caught Up

Thoro Harris was born in Washington, D.C., in 1874 and attended college in Battle Creek, Michigan. He ended up moving to Eureka Springs, Arkansas, where, according to Hymntime.com, "he composed and compiled a number of works, and was well known locally as he walked around with a canvas bag full of handbooks for sale."

Here are the words to 'Caught Up':

"Though we may not know the moment when our blessèd Lord shall come
To receive us to mansions 'over there,'
Yet we know 'twill not be long before He takes His loved ones home,
And we're caught up to meet Him in the air.

Refrain
We'll be caught up to meet Him in the air,
We'll be caught up His blessedness to share;
Very soon He will come
To take His people home
Caught up to meet Him in the air.

There are times when we are called to wade through waters deep and wide,
And the sorrows of Christ Himself to share;
We remember He has promised to be ever at our side,
Till we're caught up to meet Him in the air.

Refrain

Then eternal years in glory with our Savior we will spend;
O we long for that morning bright and fair!
When the days of our sojourning and our pilgrimage shall end,
We'll be caught up to meet Him in the air.

Refrain"

Answer: Come Again

As stated in the answer to Question 5, Fanny Crosby is credited with writing more than 8,000 hymns. A number of her hymns were published under pseudonyms.

Here's some fascinating trivia from the Website Hynary.org. The Website states Fanny Crosby had the honor of being the first woman whose voice was heard in the Senate Chamber in Washington when she read a poem there on one occasion.


Here are the words to 'Come Again':

"Have you spent a pleasant day?
Come again, come again.
Would you learn the better way?
Then come, come again.
Here you'll find a welcome true,
Hearts that warmly beat for you;
They will tell you what do
O come, come again.
Have you spent a pleasant day?
Come again, come again.
Would you learn the better way?
Then come, come again.

Would you leave all sinful ways?
Come again, come again.
Would you join our cheerful lays?
Then come, come again.
We are bound for Canaan's land,
Will you come and join our band?
We will take you by the hand,
O come, come again.
Would you leave all sinful ways?
Come again, come again.
Would you join our cheerful lays?
Then come, come again.

Words of comfort you shall hear,
Come again, come again;
From the Book we love so dear,
Then come, come, again;
Jesus suffered on the tree,
Jesus died for you and me,
His disciple you may be,
O come, come, again.
Words of comfort you shall hear,
Come again, come again;
From the Book we love so dear,
Then come, come, again;

Come on every Sabbath day,
Come again, come again;
Never, never stay away,
O come, come again;
Now improve the hours that fly,
They are gliding swiftly by,
You are not too young to die,
Then come, come again.
Come on every Sabbath day,
Come again, come again;
Never, never stay away,
O come, come again."

Answer: The End of the Road

The hymn 'The End of the Road' was written by Liz­zie De­Ar­mond. She was born in 1847 and served as a Sunday school teacher. The Website Wordwisehymns.com reports she was left a widow with eight children and turned in earnest to writing "hymns, recitations, exercises, dialogues and so on, along with articles for newspapers and magazines, the text for cantatas, nature stories and more."

The Website provides this quote from DeArmond: "If anything I have written has helped to lift one soul above the cares and worries of everyday life, and brought it nearer to the great loving heart of Jesus, the joy is mine, but the glory belongs to God."

Here are the words to 'The End of the Road':

"When I come to the end of the long, long road,
The shadows will flee away,
And I'll stand in the glorious light of God,
Where dwelleth eternal day.

Refrain
When I come to the end, the end of the road,
To the land of eternity,
When I come to the end of life's long road,
The face of my Lord I'll see.

Looking back o'er the years that were hard and drear,
The hand of the Christ I'll see;
While my heart will go forth with a song of praise,
Because of His love for me.

Refrain

When I come to the end of the long, long road,
And trials will all be past,
I shall look in the face of my dearest Friend,
Safe home in His Heav'n at last.

Refrain"

Answer: Faith in Jesus

Yet another hymn by Fanny Crosby, who is credited with writing more than 8,000 hymns, according to Wikipedia. However, some people claim the total number of hymns she wrote could be more than 9,000 as a number of them were published under pseudonyms.

"When six weeks old she lost her sight," states the Website Hymnary.org. "About 1835 she entered the New York City Institution for the Blind. On completing her training she became a teacher therein from 1847 to 1858."

Here are the words to 'Faith in Jesus':

"Gracious Lord, Thou canst make me clean;
Hide not Thy face from me;
Sick and faint, as the leper came,
Jesus, I come to Thee.
Thou canst remove the plague of sin,
Washing my inmost soul;
Jesus, I come with breaking heart,
Help me and make me whole.

Refrain
Gracious Lord, Thou canst make me clean;
Speak, and my soul shall live;
O my faith will not let Thee go
Till Thou my sin forgive.

Gracious Lord, Thou canst make me clean;
Weary and sad am I;
Bending low at Thy sacred feet,
Hear my repentant cry;
Faith in Thy Word has led me here,
Faith cannot plead in vain;
Lord, I believe; O cleanse me now,
Wash me from every stain.

Refrain

Gracious Lord, Thou canst make me clean;
Lord, I am pleading still;
Now I hear from Thy lips divine,
'Child, thou hast faith -- I will';
Joy to my soul, great joy has come,
Mourning and tears are o'er;
Sweet are Thy words of love to me,
"Go thou, and sin no more."

Refrain"

Answer: Silent Night

When it comes to Christmas carols, 'Silent Night' is one of the best known. Josef Mohr was born at Salzburg, Austria, on Dec. 11, 1792 and was ordained a priest in 1815. He wrote other hymns as well, but 'Silent Night' is the only one that was translated into English.

Often when I hear 'Silent Night' I am reminded of a story by Lester B. Pearson, former prime minister of Canada. Pearson, speaking in a documentary broadcast many years ago on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, recalled being in London during the Second World War. One particular night there was intensive bombing of the city by the German air force and after the raid, Pearson said he turned on the radio in his apartment to soothe his nerves. He turned the dial and ended up hearing a German boys' choir singing impeccably the words 'Silent Night'. With the classic Christmas hymn being performed so beautifully in German, it was in stark contrast to the carnage the Luftwaffe had just reaped on the city.

Here are the words to 'Silent Night':

"Silent night, holy night,
All is calm, all is bright
Round yon virgin mother and Child.
Holy Infant, so tender and mild,
Sleep in heavenly peace,
Sleep in heavenly peace.

Silent night, holy night,
Shepherds quake at the sight;
Glories stream from heaven afar,
Heavenly hosts sing Alleluia!
Christ the Savior is born,
Christ the Savior is born!

Silent night, holy night,
Son of God, love's pure light;
Radiant beams from Thy holy face
With the dawn of redeeming grace,
Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth,
Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth.

Silent night, holy night
Wondrous star, lend thy light;
With the angels let us sing,
Alleluia to our King;
Christ the Savior is born,
Christ the Savior is born!"