Hymnists With Notable Secular Achievements -- #2 Quiz

Answer: Florida

James Weldon Johnson was the first African-American lawyer in the state of Florida. Johnson was born June 17, 1871, in Jack­son­ville, Flor­i­da, and died in a car accident on June 26, 1938, in Wis­cas­set, Maine. He is buried at Greenwood Cem­e­te­ry in Brook­lyn, New York.

In 1906 he be­came the Amer­i­can con­sul in Puer­to Ca­bel­lo, Ven­e­zue­la, and in 1909, con­sul in Co­rin­to, Ni­ca­ra­gua.

Johnson wrote four books: 'The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man' in 1920, 'The Book of Amer­i­can Negro Poetry' in 1922, 'God's Trombones' in 1927 and 'Along This Way' in 1933. In 1920, he was ap­point­ed exec­u­tive sec­re­ta­ry of the Na­tion­al As­so­ci­a­tion for the Ad­vance­ment of Col­ored Peo­ple.

Here are the words to 'Life Every Voice and Sing':

"Lift every voice and sing, till earth and Heaven ring,
Ring with the harmonies of liberty;
Let our rejoicing rise, high as the listening skies,
Let it resound loud as the rolling sea.
Sing a song full of the faith that the dark past has taught us,
Sing a song full of the hope that the present has brought us;
Facing the rising sun of our new day begun,
Let us march on till victory is won.

Stony the road we trod, bitter the chastening rod,
Felt in the days when hope unborn had died;
Yet with a steady beat, have not our weary feet,
Come to the place for which our fathers sighed?
We have come over a way that with tears has been watered,
We have come, treading our path through the blood of the slaughtered;
Out from the gloomy past, till now we stand at last
Where the white gleam of our bright star is cast.

God of our weary years, God of our silent tears,
Thou Who hast brought us thus far on the way;
Thou Who hast by Thy might, led us into the light,
Keep us forever in the path, we pray.
Lest our feet stray from the places, our God, where we met Thee.
Lest our hearts, drunk with the wine of the world, we forget Thee.
Shadowed beneath Thy hand, may we forever stand,
True to our God, true to our native land."

Answer: Princeton

Princeton University, located in Princeton, New Jersey, is the correct answer. The Ivy League university's sporting teams are known as the Tigers.

Samuel Davies was born November 3, 1723, in Newcastle, Delaware, and died Feb­ru­a­ry 4, 1761, in Prince­ton, New Jersey, where he is buried. He became a Pres­by­ter­i­an min­is­ter in 1746.

According to Nethymnal.org, King George II of Eng­land in­vit­ed Davies to preach at the roy­al cha­pel when he and Gilbert Ten­nent were in Eng­land rais­ing funds for the Coll­ege of New Jer­sey. The Website goes on to provide this information: "Dur­ing that ser­mon, Davies re­port­ed­ly stopped and spoke di­rect­ly to an as­ton­ished George II saying, 'When the lion roars, all the animals in the jungle fall silent; and when the Lord speaks, the kings of the earth shut their mouths'."

Here are the words to the hymn 'Great God of Wonders':

"Great God of wonders! All Thy ways
Are matchless, Godlike and divine;
But the fair glories of Thy grace
More Godlike and unrivaled shine,
More Godlike and unrivaled shine.

Crimes of such horror to forgive,
Such guilty, daring worms to spare;
This is Thy grand prerogative,
And none shall in the honor share,
And none shall in the honor share

Angels and men, resign your claim
To pity, mercy, love and grace:
These glories crown Jehovah's Name
With an incomparable glaze
With an incomparable glaze.

In wonder lost, with trembling joy,
We take the pardon of our God:
Pardon for crimes of deepest dye,
A pardon bought with Jesus' blood,
A pardon bought with Jesus' blood.

O may this strange, this matchless grace,
This Godlike miracle of love,
Fill the whole earth with grateful praise,
And all th'angelic choirs above,
And all th'angelic choirs above.

Who is a pardoning God like Thee?
Or who has grace so rich and free?
Or who has grace so rich and free?"

Answer: India

Robert Grant was born in India, as his father, Charles Grant, was a director of the East India Company. When Robert was six years old, his family moved from India to England.

After attending Magdalene College in Cambridge, Grant became a lawyer and then in 1826 became a member of Parliament for Inverness. He became Pri­vy Coun­cil­or in 1831, Judge Ad­vo­cate Gen­er­al in 1832, and was knight­ed in 1834. After being knighted, Grant re­turned to In­dia to be Gov­er­nor of Bom­bay.

His ver­sion of 'O Worship the King' is a re­work­ing of lyr­ics by Wil­liam Kethe in the Ge­ne­van Psalt­er of 1561.

Here are the words to '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 splendor, 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 thunderclouds form,
And dark is His path on the wings of the storm.

The earth with its store of wonders untold,
Almighty, Thy power hath founded of old;
Established it fast by a changeless decree,
And round it hath cast, like a mantle, the sea.

Thy bountiful care, what tongue can recite?
It breathes in the air, it shines in the light;
It streams from the hills, it descends to the plain,
And sweetly distills in the dew and the rain.

Frail children of dust, and feeble as frail,
In Thee do we trust, nor find Thee to fail;
Thy mercies how tender, how firm to the end,
Our Maker, Defender, Redeemer, and Friend.

O measureless might! Ineffable love!
While angels delight to worship Thee above,
The humbler creation, though feeble their lays,
With true adoration shall all sing Thy praise."
---
Here is some of Kethe's original wording:

"My foule praise the Lord, speake good of his Name,
O Lord our great God how doeft thou appeare,
So passing in glorie, that great is thy fame,
Honour and maieftie, in thee fhine moft cleare.

His chamber beames lie, in the clouds full fure,
Which as his chariot, are made him to beare.
And there with much fwitneff his courfe doth endure:
Vpon the wings riding, of winds in the aire."

Answer: Norton, Massachusetts

Wheaton College is in Norton, Massachusetts. A review of the college's Website, Wheatoncollege.edu, describes John Edgar Park in lofty terms.

The Website offers this gushing praise of the man who was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, in 1879: "Park began his Wheaton tenure by modernizing the curriculum, introducing departmental honors and senior seminars, and instituting academic majors and minors. Wheaton's scholastic standing was recognized by the installation of the the Kappa chapter of Phi Beta Kappa in 1932. Wheaton's growth and vitality during Park's presidency is particularly noteworthy: despite the Great Depression and World War II, student enrollment and the number of faculty increased steadily, and the building program begun by President Cole continued. Ten structures were built, and nine houses acquired during Park's tenure, including the Nursery School (1931), Kilham (1932), Metcalf (1933), Administration Building (1934, named for Park in 1954), SAB (1940) and additions to the library and science buildings (1941). Park retired in 1944 at the age of 65, despite the protests of the Trustees, and was named President Emeritus."

Park also published a number of books, including 'The Man who Missed Christmas', 'Bad Results of Good Habits' and 'The Disadvantages of Being Good'.

Here are the words to 'We Would See Jesus':

"We would see Jesus; lo! His star is shining
Above the stable while the angels sing;
There in a manger on the hay reclining;
Haste, let us lay our gifts before the King.

We would see Jesus, Mary's Son most holy,
Light of the village life from day to day;
Shining revealed through every task most lowly,
The Christ of God, the life, the truth, the way.

We would see Jesus, on the mountain teaching,
With all the listening people gathered round;
While birds and flowers and sky above are preaching
The blessedness which simple trust has found.

We would see Jesus, in His work of healing,
At eventide before the sun was set;
Divine and human, in His deep revealing
Of God made flesh, in loving service met.

We would see Jesus, in the early morning,
Still as of old He calleth, 'Follow Me!'
Let us arise, all meaner service scorning;
Lord, we are Thine, we give ourselves to Thee."

Answer: Cincinnati

Rossiter W. Raymond was born Ap­ril 27, 1840, in Cin­cin­na­ti, Ohio, a city which is home of the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League and the Cincinnati Reds of Major League Baseball.

Notorious TV host Jerry Springer served as mayor of Cincinnati for a two-year term, 1977 and '78. In 1991, he started hosting the tabloid talk show 'The Jerry Springer Show', and the rest as they say is history. Springer was born in London, England, in 1945 and in 1949 his family immigrated to the United States.

'The Jerry Springer Show' topped TV Guide magazine's 2002 list of 'The Worst TV Shows Ever'.

In 1873, Rossiter W. Raymond wrote the western novel 'Brave Hearts'.

Raymond was active in the American mining industry, serving as the Unit­ed States Com­mis­sion­er of Mining Sta­tis­tics. From 1884 to 1911, he was sec­re­ta­ry of the Amer­i­can In­sti­tute of Min­ing, Me­tal­lur­gy, and Pe­trol­e­um En­gin­eers.

"In 1945, the in­sti­tute named its Ros­si­ter W. Ray­mond Me­mor­i­al Award af­ter him, to re­cog­nize the best pa­per pub­lished by a mem­ber un­der 33 years of age," Netymnal.org reports.

One of Raymond's best known quotes is, "Life is eternal; and love is immortal; and death is on­ly a ho­ri­zon; and a ho­ri­zon is no­thing save the lim­it of our sight."

Here are the words to 'Morning Red':

"Morning red, morning red,
Now the shadows all are fled;
Now the Sabbath's cloudless glory,
Tells anew the wondrous story,
Christ is risen from the dead.

All around, all around,
Solemn silence reigned profound;
When, with blaze and sudden thunder,
Angels burst the tomb asunder,
And the Savior was unbound.

Forth He came! Forth He came!
Robed in white, celestial flame!
Mary, at the empty prison,
Knew not her Redeemer risen
Till He called her by her name.

Morning red! Morning red!
Christ is risen from the dead!
Still He walketh in the garden,
Speaking words of love and pardon.
Though the crown is on His head."

Answer: came down

The missing words are 'came down'.

The lyrics to the Christmas carol 'While Shepherds Watch Their Flocks' are attributed to Irish hymnist, lyricist and England's Poet Laureate, Nahum Tate. The exact date of Tate's composition is not known, but Wikipedia states, the words appeared in Tate's and Nicholas Brady's 1700 supplement to their New Version of the Psalms of David of 1696.

According to Wikipedia, 'While Shepherds Watch Their Flocks'
was the only Christmas hymn authorized to be sung by the Anglican Church.

Only the Psalms of David were permitted to be sung before 1700, Wikipedia reports.

Tate wrote a total of fourteen hymns over his life time.

Tate was born 1652 in Dub­lin, Ire­land and died 1715 in Lon­don, Eng­land.

Here are the words to 'While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks':

"While shepherds watched their flocks by night,
All seated on the ground,
The angel of the Lord came down,
And glory shone around,
And glory shone around.

'Fear not!' said he, for mighty dread
Had seized their troubled mind.
'Glad tidings of great joy I bring
To you and all mankind
To you and all mankind.

'To you, in David's town, this day
Is born of David's line
A Savior, who is Christ the Lord,
And this shall be the sign,
And this shall be the sign.

'The heavenly Babe you there shall find
To human view displayed,
All meanly wrapped in swathing bands,
And in a manger laid,
And in a manger laid.'

Thus spake the seraph and forthwith
Appeared a shining throng
Of angels praising God on high,
Who thus addressed their song,
Who thus addressed their song:

'All glory be to God on high,
And to the Earth be peace;
Good will henceforth from Heaven to men
Begin and never cease,
Begin and never cease!'"

Answer: Dublin

Thomas Moore was born in Dublin on May 28, 1779. Dublin is Ireland's capital and its largest city. According to Wikipedia, the population of the Greater Dublin area, as of 2011, was 1,801,040 people. The city is on the country's east coast in the province of Leinster.

Moore was a nationalist, singer and entertainer now best remembered for the lyrics of 'The Minstrel Boy' and 'The Last Rose of Summer'. He was often referred to as Anacreon Moore.

Moore served as registrar to the Admiralty in Bermuda for a short period of time. He also traveled extensively across the United States and Canada.

Wikipedia reports Moore was once an adversary, and then a close friend, of Lord Byron.

The ver­sion below of the lyr­ics 'Come, Ye Disconsolate', found in mo­dern hymn­als, in­cor­po­rates chang­es by Thom­as Hast­ings in his 'Spir­it­u­al Songs for So­cial Wor­ship':

"Come, ye disconsolate, where'er ye languish,
Come to the mercy seat, fervently kneel.
Here bring your wounded hearts, here tell your anguish;
Earth has no sorrow that heaven cannot heal.

Joy of the desolate, light of the straying,
Hope of the penitent, fadeless and pure!
Here speaks the Comforter, tenderly saying,
'Earth has no sorrow that Heaven cannot cure.'

Here see the Bread of Life, see waters flowing
Forth from the throne of God, pure from above.
Come to the feast of love; come, ever knowing
Earth has no sorrow but heaven can remove."

---

Here are Moore's orig­in­al lyr­ics:

"Come, ye disconsolate, where'er ye languish,
Come, at the shrine of God fervently kneel;
Here bring your wounded hearts; here tell your anguish;
Earth has no sorrow that heaven cannot heal.

Joy of the desolate, light of the straying,
Hope when all others die, fadeless and pure;
Here speaks the Comforter, in God's name saying,
'Earth has no sorrow that Heaven cannot cure.'

Come, ask the infidel what boon he brings us,
What charm for aching hearts he can reveal,
Sweet is that heavenly promise Hope sings us --
'Earth has no sorrow that God cannot heal'."

Answer: Harvard

Harvard University, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is the correct answer. Sports teams as well as the student newspaper at the Ivy League university are called Crimson.

Lowell, a noted po­et and au­thor, grad­u­at­ed from Har­vard in 1838, and was ad­mit­ted to the bar in 1840. In 1855, Lowell be­came pro­fes­sor of mo­dern lan­guag­es and lit­er­a­ture at Har­vard, suc­ceed­ing Hen­ry Wads­worth Long­fel­low. He ed­it­ed the Atlantic Monthly and served as the U.S. ambas­sa­dor to Eng­land.

Here are the words to the hymn 'Once to Every Man and Nation':

"Once to every man and nation, comes the moment to decide,
In the strife of truth with falsehood, for the good or evil side;
Some great cause, some great decision, offering each the bloom or blight,
And the choice goes by forever, 'twixt that darkness and that light.

Then to side with truth is noble, when we share her wretched crust,
Ere her cause bring fame and profit, and 'tis prosperous to be just;
Then it is the brave man chooses while the coward stands aside,
Till the multitude make virtue of the faith they had denied.

By the light of burning martyrs, Christ, Thy bleeding feet we track,
Toiling up new Calv'ries ever with the cross that turns not back;
New occasions teach new duties, time makes ancient good uncouth,
They must upward still and onward, who would keep abreast of truth.

Though the cause of evil prosper, yet the truth alone is strong;
Though her portion be the scaffold, and upon the throne be wrong;
Yet that scaffold sways the future, and behind the dim unknown,
Standeth God within the shadow, keeping watch above His own."

Answer: 1631

A mathematical question with a dose of history, the answer is 1631. Canadian confederation took place 1867, 236 years later.

Dryden was born August 9, 1631, in Aldwincle, Great Britain and died May 12, 1700 in London.

The words to 'Come, Creator Spirit, by Whose Aid' are at­trib­ut­ed var­i­ous­ly to Char­le­magne, Am­brose of Mi­lan, Gre­go­ry I, and Rha­ban­us Maur­us. Dryden translated the hymn from Latin to English in 1693.

Here are the words to the hymn 'Come, Creator Spirit, by Whose Aid':

"Creator Spirit, by Whose aid
The world's foundations first were laid,
Come, visit every pious mind;
Come, pour Thy joys on human kind;
From sin, and sorrow set us free;
And make Thy temples worthy Thee.

O Source of uncreated Light,
The Father's promised Paraclete!
Thrice holy Fount, thrice holy Fire,
Our hearts with heav'nly love inspire;
Come, and Thy sacred unction bring
To sanctify us, while we sing!

Plenteous of grace, descend from high,
Thou strength of His almighty hand,
Whose pow'r does Heav'n and earth command:
Proceeding Spirit, our Defense,
Who dost the gift of tongues dispense,
And crown'st Thy gift with eloquence!

Refine and purge our earthly parts;
But, oh, inflame and fire our hearts!
Our frailties help, our vice control;
Submit the senses to the soul;
And when rebellious they are grown,
Then, lay Thy hand, and hold them down.

Create all new; our wills control,
Subdue the rebel in our soul;
Make us eternal truths receive,
And practice all that we believe;
Give us Thyself, that we may see
The Father and the Son by Thee.

Immortal honor, endless fame,
Attend th'almighty Father's Name:
The Savior Son be glorified,
Who for lost man's redemption died:
And equal adoration be,
Eternal Paraclete, to Thee."

Answer: John Bunyan

John Bun­yan wrote 'Pil­grim's Prog­ress' in 1684 and the words were modernized in 1906 by Per­cy Dear­mer. It is regarded as one of the most important works of religious literature and has been translated into more than 200 languages, according to Wikipedia.

Bunyan wrote the words 'He Who Would Valiant Be' dur­ing a twelve-year pri­son sent­ence for re­fus­ing to con­form to the of­fi­cial state church. According to Wikipedia, it is the only hymn Bunyan is credited with writing, with the words found in Part 2 of 'The Pilgrim's Progress'.

Here are the words to 'He Who Would Valiant Be':

"He who would valiant be 'gainst all disaster,
Let him in constancy follow the Master.
There's no discouragement shall make him once relent
His first avowed intent to be a pilgrim.

Who so beset him round with dismal stories
Do but themselves confound-his strength the more is.
No foes shall stay his might; though he with giants fight,
He will make good his right to be a pilgrim.

Since, Lord, Thou dost defend us with Thy Spirit,
We know we at the end, shall life inherit.
Then fancies flee away! I'll fear not what men say,
I'll labor night and day to be a pilgrim."

---

The original text from Pilgrim's Progress:

"Who would true valour see,
Let him come hither;
One here will constant be,
Come wind, come weather
There's no discouragement
Shall make him once relent
His first avowed intent
To be a pilgrim.

Whoso beset him round
With dismal stories
Do but themselves confound;
His strength the more is.
No lion can him fright,
He'll with a giant fight,
He will have a right
To be a pilgrim.

Hobgoblin nor foul fiend
Can daunt his spirit,
He knows he at the end
Shall life inherit.
Then fancies fly away,
He'll fear not what men say,
He'll labor night and day
To be a pilgrim."