George Bernard was born in Youngstown, Ohio,
U.S.A. but his parents soon moved to Albia, Iowa,
and later to the town of Lucas in the same State
when George was still a child. It was in Lucas
that he made his personal acceptance of Jesus
Christ as his Lord and Saviour while a young man.
Following the death of his father before he was
sixteen years of age, he entered the ranks of the
Salvation Army with his wife, where they served
for some time as officers. Later, Bernard was
ordained by the Methodist Episcopal Church, where
his devoted ministry was highly esteemed. He was,
most of the time, busy organising revival
programmes, especially through the States of
Michigan and New York. He believed his most
exciting time was for him to release people from
the dominion of satan.
One day, after returning to Michigan, he passed
through a trying experience which caused him to
reflect seriously about the significance of the
cross and what the Apostle Paul meant when he
spoke of entering into the fellowship of Christ?s
suffering. As Bernard contemplated these truths,
he became convinced that the cross was more than
just a religious symbol but rather the very heart
of the gospel.. George Bernard has left the
following accounts regarding the writing of the
hymn.
?The inspiration came to me one day in 1913 when I
was staying in Albion, Michigan. I began to write
?The Old Rugged Cross?. I composed the melody
first, The words that I first wrote were perfect.
The words of the finished hymn were put into my
heart in an answer to my own need. Shortly
thereafter, it was introduced at special meetings
in Pokagon, Michigan, on June 7, 1913. The first
occasion where it was heard outside of the church
at Pokagon was at the Chicago Evangelistic
Institute. There, it was introduced before a large
convention and soon it became extremely popular
throughout the country?
Shortly after writing this hymn, George Bernard
sent a manuscript copy to Charles Gabriel, one of
the leading gospel hymn composers of that era.
Gabriel?s prophecy was, ?You will certainly hear
from this song? The prophecy was soon fulfilled as
The Old Rugged Cross became one of the most widely
published songs, either sacred or non?secular. in
the world. Bernard continued his evangelistic
ministries for additional years following the
writing of this hymn. He wrote other favourite
gospel hymns, but none ever achieved the response
of The Old Rugged Cross. Text source : Wikipedia (Hide extended text) ... (Read all)
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