Hymns Sung at Celebrity Funerals Quiz

Answer: Dwight Eisenhower

Dwight Eisenhower, born in Denison, Texas, in 1890 is the correct answer. Eisenhower was the Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in Europe in the Second Word War, before becoming president of the United States. He served as president from 1953 to 1961, replacing Harry Truman. Eisenhower was succeeded by John Kennedy. He died of congestive heart failure on March 28, 1969, at the age of 78.

The Website Nethymnal.org reports the hymn 'A Mighty Fortress Is Our God' was sung at his funeral. Mar­tin Lut­her wrote the words to the hymn in 1529. More than three hundred years later, 'A Mighty Fortress Is Our God' was translated from Ger­man to Eng­lish by Fred­er­ic H. Hedge in 1853.

"This song has been called 'the great­est hymn of the great­est man of the great­est per­i­od of Ger­man his­to­ry' and the 'Bat­tle Hymn of the Ref­or­ma­tion'", Nethymnal.org states.

Here are the words to 'A Mighty Fortress Is Our God':

"A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing;
Our helper He, amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing:
For still our ancient foe doth seek to work us woe;
His craft and power are great, and, armed with cruel hate,
On earth is not his equal.

Did we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing;
Were not the right Man on our side, the Man of God's own choosing:
Dost ask who that may be? Christ Jesus, it is He;
Lord Sabaoth, His Name, from age to age the same,
And He must win the battle.

And though this world, with devils filled, should threaten to undo us,
We will not fear, for God hath willed His truth to triumph through us:
The Prince of Darkness grim, we tremble not for him;
His rage we can endure, for lo, his doom is sure,
One little word shall fell him.

That word above all earthly powers, no thanks to them, abideth;
The Spirit and the gifts are ours through Him Who with us sideth:
Let goods and kindred go, this mortal life also;
The body they may kill: God's truth abideth still,
His kingdom is forever."

And here are the words to an alternate translation:

"A mighty fortress is our God, a trusty shield and weapon;
He helps us free from every need that hath us now overtaken.
The old evil foe now means deadly woe; deep guile and great might
Are his dread arms in fight; on Earth is not his equal.

With might of ours can naught be done, soon were our loss effected;
But for us fights the Valiant One, whom God Himself elected.
Ask ye, who is this? Jesus Christ it is.
Of Sabbath Lord, and there's none other God;
He holds the field forever.

Though devils all the world should fill, all eager to devour us.
We tremble not, we fear no ill, they shall not overpower us.
This world's prince may still scowl fierce as he will,
He can harm us none, he's judged; the deed is done;
One little word can fell him.

The Word they still shall let remain nor any thanks have for it;
He's by our side upon the plain with His good gifts and Spirit.
And take they our life, goods, fame, child and wife,
Let these all be gone, they yet have nothing won;
The Kingdom ours remaineth."

Answer: 1870

Robert E. Lee died October 12, 1870, five years after the end of the U.S. Civil War, at the age of sixty-three years, in Lexington, Virginia. The key to answering this question is knowing the U.S. Civil War was fought from 1861 to 1865, making the choices '1770' and '1859' an impossibility. The answer '1936' is ruled out when one considers it is seventy-one years after the end of the war.

In addition to being sung at Lee's funeral, 'How Firm a Foundation' was also sung at the fun­er­als of U.S. pres­i­dents The­o­dore Roo­se­velt and Wood­row Wil­son.

Although 'How Firm a Foundation' is a popular hymn, no one seems to know who wrote it. It has been attributed to John and Richard Keene, Kirk­ham, and John Keith. It was first published in a publication in 1787 by John Rippon titled 'A Se­lect­ion of Hymns from the Best Au­thors'.

Nethymnal.org reports the hymn was also a fa­vo­rite of Rachel Jack­­son, wife of U.S. president Andrew Jack­son.

Here are the words to 'How Firm a Foundation':

"How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord,
Is laid for your faith in His excellent Word!
What more can He say than to you He hath said,
You, who unto Jesus for refuge have fled?

In every condition, in sickness, in health;
In poverty's vale, or abounding in wealth;
At home and abroad, on the land, on the sea,
As thy days may demand, shall thy strength ever be.

Fear not, I am with thee, O be not dismayed,
For I am thy God and will still give thee aid;
I'll strengthen and help thee, and cause thee to stand
Upheld by My righteous, omnipotent hand.

When through the deep waters I call thee to go,
The rivers of woe shall not thee overflow;
For I will be with thee, thy troubles to bless,
And sanctify to thee thy deepest distress.

When through fiery trials thy pathways shall lie,
My grace, all sufficient, shall be thy supply;
The flame shall not hurt thee; I only design
Thy dross to consume, and thy gold to refine.

Even down to old age all My people shall prove
My sovereign, eternal, unchangeable love;
And when hoary hairs shall their temples adorn,
Like lambs they shall still in My bosom be borne.

The soul that on Jesus has leaned for repose,
I will not, I will not desert to its foes;
That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,
I'll never, no never, no never forsake."

Answer: Martin Luther King Jr

The ever-popular hymn 'Softly and Tenderly Jesus is Calling' was sung at the funeral of Martin Luther King, assassinated on April 4, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee. King, the winner of a Nobel Peace Prize, was thirty-nine.

'Softly and Tenderly Jesus is Calling' was written by Will Thompson in 1880. Thompson was born November 7, 1847, in East Li­ver­pool, Ohio, and died Sep­tem­ber 20, 1909, in New York City. He is buried at the Ri­ver­view Cem­e­te­ry in East Li­ver­pool, Ohio.

"Rebuffed in an ear­ly at­tempt to sell his songs to a com­mer­cial pub­lish­er, Thomp­son start­ed his own pub­lish­ing com­pa­ny," Nethymnal.org states. "He lat­er ex­pand­ed, open­ing a store to sell pi­an­os, or­gans and sheet mu­sic."

Here are the words to 'Softly and Tenderly Jesus is Calling':

"Softly and tenderly Jesus is calling,
Calling for you and for me;
See, on the portals He's waiting and watching,
Watching for you and for me.

Refrain:
Come home, come home,
You who are weary, come home;
Earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling,
Calling, O sinner, come home!

Why should we tarry when Jesus is pleading,
Pleading for you and for me?
Why should we linger and heed not His mercies,
Mercies for you and for me?

[Refrain]

Time is now fleeting, the moments are passing,
Passing from you and from me;
Shadows are gathering, deathbeds are coming,
Coming for you and for me.

[Refrain]

O for the wonderful love He has promised,
Promised for you and for me!
Though we have sinned, He has mercy and pardon,
Pardon for you and for me.

[Refrain]"

Answer: Mother Teresa

Mother Teresa is the correct answer. She was born in 1910 in Albania and gained international acclaim for her tireless work in helping the destitute in Calcutta, India. In 1979, she won the Nobel Peace Prize "for work undertaken in the struggle to overcome poverty and distress, which also constitutes a threat to peace."

'Abide with Me', in addition to being sung at the funeral of Mother Teresa in 1997, was sung at the wed­ding of King George VI and at the wed­ding of his daugh­ter, the fu­ture Queen Eliz­a­beth II.

'Abide With Me' was written by Hen­ry F. Lyte in 1847.

The Website Nethymnal,org provides this interesting information: "Lyte was in­spired to write this hymn as he was dy­ing of tu­ber­cu­lo­sis; he fin­ished it the Sun­day he gave his fare­well ser­mon in the par­ish he served so ma­ny years. The next day, he left for Ita­ly to re­gain his health. He didn't make it, though -- he died in Nice, France, three weeks af­ter writ­ing these words. Here is an ex­cerpt from his fare­well ser­mon: 'O breth­ren, I stand here among you to­day, as alive from the dead, if I may hope to im­press it upon you, and in­duce you to pre­pare for that sol­emn hour which must come to all, by a time­ly ac­quaint­ance with the death of Christ'."

For more than a cen­tu­ry, the bells of Lyte's church at All Saints in Low­er Brix­ham, De­von­shire, have rung out 'Abide with Me' daily.

Here are the words to ' Abide with Me':

"Abide with me; fast falls the eventide;
The darkness deepens; Lord with me abide.
When other helpers fail and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless, O abide with me.

Swift to its close ebbs out life's little day;
Earth's joys grow dim; its glories pass away;
Change and decay in all around I see;
O Thou who changest not, abide with me.

Not a brief glance I beg, a passing word;
But as Thou dwell'st with Thy disciples, Lord,
Familiar, condescending, patient, free.
Come not to sojourn, but abide with me.

Come not in terrors, as the King of kings,
But kind and good, with healing in Thy wings,
Tears for all woes, a heart for every plea-
Come, Friend of sinners, and thus bide with me.

Thou on my head in early youth didst smile;
And, though rebellious and perverse meanwhile,
Thou hast not left me, oft as I left Thee,
On to the close, O Lord, abide with me.

I need Thy presence every passing hour.
What but Thy grace can foil the tempter's power?
Who, like Thyself, my guide and stay can be?
Through cloud and sunshine, Lord, abide with me.

I fear no foe, with Thee at hand to bless;
Ills have no weight, and tears no bitterness.
Where is death's sting? Where, grave, thy victory?
I triumph still, if Thou abide with me.

Hold Thou Thy cross before my closing eyes;
Shine through the gloom and point me to the skies.
Heaven's morning breaks, and earth's vain shadows flee;
In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me."

Answer: Winston Churchill and Robert Kennedy

"Battle Hymn of the Republic', or 'Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory', was sung at the funeral of Sir Winston Churchill in 1965 and three years later at the funeral of Robert Kennedy in 1968.

Churchill was the tough as nails leader of Great Britain during the Second World War and earned the nickname 'The British Bulldog'. (He was also affectionately known as 'Winnie'.)

Kennedy, a younger brother of U.S. President John F. Kennedy, was assassinated June 5, 1968, by Palestinian Sirhan B. Sirhan. Kennedy was running to win the Democratic ticket in the U.S. presidential race and had just scored a major victory, winning the California primary.

In addition to being sung at the funerals of Churchill and Kennedy, 'Battle Hymn of the Republic' was sung at the funerals of U.S. presidents Ronald Reagan and Richard Nixon.

'The Battle Hymn of the Republic' is often used as an American patriotic song, although it has a profound Christian message. It has been played many times at the national conventions of both the Republican Party and Democratic Party. It has been often sung at Presidential inaugurations.

Ju­lia W. Howe wrote 'Battle Hymn of the Republic' in 1861, during the U.S. Civil War. The Website Nethymnal.org reports Howe vis­it­ed a Un­ion Ar­my camp on the Po­to­mac Riv­er near Wash­ing­ton, D.C., when she heard the sol­diers sing­ing the song 'John Brown's Body', and was tak­en with the strong march­ing beat. She wrote the words the next day.

She is quoted by Nethymnal.org as saying: "I awoke in the grey of the morn­ing, and as I lay wait­ing for dawn, the long lines of the de­sired po­em be­gan to en­twine them­selves in my mind, and I said to my­self, 'I must get up and write these vers­es, lest I fall asleep and for­get them!' So I sprang out of bed and in the dim­ness found an old stump of a pen, which I re­mem­bered us­ing the day be­fore. I scrawled the vers­es al­most with­out look­ing at the p­aper."

Here are the words to 'Battle Hymn of the Republic':

"Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord;
He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored;
He hath loosed the fateful lightning of His terrible swift sword;
His truth is marching on.
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! His truth is marching on.

I have seen Him in the watch fires of a hundred circling camps
They have builded Him an altar in the evening dews and damps;
I can read His righteous sentence by the dim and flaring lamps;
His day is marching on.
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! His day is marching on.

I have read a fiery Gospel writ in burnished rows of steel;
"As ye deal with My contemners, so with you My grace shall deal";
Let the Hero, born of woman, crush the serpent with His heel,
Since God is marching on.
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Since God is marching on.

He has sounded forth the trumpet that shall never call retreat;
He is sifting out the hearts of men before His judgment seat;
Oh, be swift, my soul, to answer Him! be jubilant, my feet;
Our God is marching on.
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Our God is marching on.

In the beauty of the lilies Christ was born across the sea,
With a glory in His bosom that transfigures you and me:
As He died to make men holy, let us live to make men free;
[originally ...let us die to make men free]
While God is marching on.
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! While God is marching on.

He is coming like the glory of the morning on the wave,
He is wisdom to the mighty, He is honor to the brave;
So the world shall be His footstool, and the soul of wrong His slave,
Our God is marching on.
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Our God is marching on."

Answer: Ulys­ses S. Grant

Ulysses S. Grant is the correct answer. He was the eighteenth president of the United States, serving from 1869 to 1877. Grant replaced Andrew Johnson and was succeeded by Rutherford B. Hayes. He was Commanding General of the Union troops during the U.S. Civil War.

'Safe In the Arms of Jesus' was written by Fanny Crosby, a prolific hymn writer. Crosby is credited with writing more than 8,000 hymns, even though she was blind.

Nethymnal.org reports she wrote 'Safe In the Arms of Jesus' in less than forty minutes. The Website relates this story told by Crosby: "On April 30, 1868, Dr. W.H. Doane came into my house and said, 'I have ex­act­ly for­ty min­utes be­fore my train leaves for Cin­cin­nati. Here is a mel­o­dy. Can you write words for it?' I re­plied that I would see what I could do. Then fol­lowed a space of twen­ty min­utes dur­ing which I was whol­ly un­con­scious of all else ex­cept the work I was do­ing. At the end of that time I re­cit­ed the words to 'Safe In the Arms of Jesus'. Mr. Doane co­pied them, and had time to catch his train."

Here are the words to 'Safe in Arms of Jesus':

"Safe in the arms of Jesus, safe on His gentle breast,
There by His love o'ershaded, sweetly my soul shall rest.
Hark! 'tis the voice of angels, borne in a song to me.
Over the fields of glory, over the jasper sea.

Refrain:
Safe in the arms of Jesus, safe on His gentle breast
There by His love o'ershaded, sweetly my soul shall rest.

Safe in the arms of Jesus, safe from corroding care,
Safe from the world's temptations, sin cannot harm me there.
Free from the blight of sorrow, free from my doubts and fears;
Only a few more trials, only a few more tears!

[Refrain]

Jesus, my heart's dear Refuge, Jesus has died for me;
Firm on the Rock of Ages, ever my trust shall be.
Here let me wait with patience, wait till the night is over;
Wait till I see the morning break on the golden shore.

[Refrain]"

Answer: 1799

George Washington, first President of the United States, the Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, and one of the Founding Fathers of the U.S., was laid to rest in 1799. Washington was unanimously elected president in the first two national elections.

Bearing in mind the United States declared independence in 1776, the question isn't difficult. The answer 1775 is automatically ruled out because Washington was definitely alive after that date. The year 1846 is ruled out when one considers it was seventy years after the date of American independence. And the same thing for the answer 1867, as it is ninety-one years after the declaration of independence.

'Hark! From the Tombs a Doleful Sound' was written by Isaac Watts in 1707. Watts was born in 1674 in Southampton, England, and is known as the father of English hymnody. He is credited with writing more than 750 hymns.

Here are the words to 'Hark! From the Tombs a Doleful Sound':

"Hark! from the tombs a doleful sound;
My ears, attend the cry;
'Ye living men, come view the ground
Where you must shortly lie.'

'Princes, this clay must be your bed,
In spite of all your towers;
The tall, the wise, the rev'rend head
Must lie as low as ours!'

Great God! is this our certain doom?
And are we still secure?
Still walking downward to our tomb,
And yet prepare no more?

Grant us the powers of quick'ning grace,
To fit our souls to fly,
Then, when we drop this dying flesh,
We'll rise above the sky."

Answer: 1881

There always seems to be one question in a quiz that's more difficult than the others to answer and I strongly suspect such is the case with this one.

James Garfield became the 20th president of the United States on March 4, 1881, and served until his assassination later that year. He was shot and killed by Charles J. Guiteau on July 2, 1881. According to Nethymnal.org, the hymn 'Master the Tempest is Raging' was sung at sev­er­al of the fun­er­al serv­ic­es held in his hon­or throug­hout the count­ry.

The hymn was written by Ma­ry A. Bak­er in 1874. Netymnal.org reports Baker had been requested to pre­pare sev­er­al hymns for Sun­day-school les­sons and one of the themes was 'Christ Still­ing the Tem­pest'.

Baker is quoted by the Website as saying: "It so ex­pressed an ex­per­i­ence I had recent­ly passed through, that this hymn was the re­sult. A very dear and only bro­ther, a young man of rare love­li­ness and prom­ise of char­ac­ter, had been laid in the grave, a vic­tim of the same di­sease that had al­ready tak­en fa­ther and mo­ther. His death oc­curred un­der pe­cul­iarly dis­tress­ing cir­cum­stances. He was more than a thou­sand miles away from home, seek­ing in the balmy air of the sun­ny South the heal­ing that our cold­er cli­mate could not give. Sud­den­ly he grew worse. The writ­er was ill and could not go to him. For two weeks the long lines of tel­e­graph wires car­ried back and forth mes­sages be­tween the dy­ing brother and his wait­ing sisters, ere the word came which told us that our be­loved brother was no longer a dwell­er on the earth. Al­though we mourned not as those with­out hope, and al­though I had be­lieved on Christ in ear­ly child­hood and had al­ways de­sired to give the Master a con­se­crat­ed and obed­i­ent life, I became wick­ed­ly re­bell­i­ous at this dis­pen­sa­tion of di­vine prov­i­dence. I said in my heart that God did not care for me or mine. But the Master's own voice stilled the tem­pest in my un­sanc­ti­fied heart, and brought it to the calm of a deep­er faith and a more per­fect trust."

Here are the words to 'Master, the Tempest is Raging':

"Master, the tempest is raging!
The billows are tossing high!
The sky is o'ershadow with blackness,
No shelter or help is nigh;
Carest Thou not that we perish?
How canst Thou lie asleep,
When each moment so madly is threatening
A grave in the angry deep?

Refrain:
The winds and the waves shall obey Thy will,
Peace, be still!
Whether the wrath of the storm tossed sea,
Or demons or men, or whatever it be
No waters can swallow the ship where lies
The Master of ocean, and earth, and skies;
They all shall sweetly obey Thy will,
Peace, be still! Peace, be still!
They all shall sweetly obey Thy will,
Peace, peace, be still!

Master, with anguish of spirit
I bow in my grief today;
The depths of my sad heart are troubled
Oh, waken and save, I pray!
Torrents of sin and of anguish
Sweep o'er my sinking soul;
And I perish! I perish! dear Master
Oh, hasten, and take control.

[Refrain]

Master, the terror is over,
The elements sweetly rest;
Earth's sun in the calm lake is mirrored,
And heaven's within my breast;
Linger, O blessed Redeemer!
Leave me alone no more;
And with joy I shall make the blest harbor,
And rest on the blissful shore.

[Refrain]"

Answer: Abraham Lincoln

All four choices were American presidents who were assassinated while in office, however, Abraham Lincoln is the only one whose funeral was in 1865. Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth while he watched the play 'Our American Cousin' on Good Friday, (April 14, 1865) at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C.

President James A. Garfield was assassinated in 1881 by Charles Guiteau while President William McKinley died from complications after being shot twice by Leon Czolgosz in 1901. John Kennedy was assassinated in 1963 in Dallas, Texas, by Lee Harvey Oswald.

'Peace, Troubled Soul' was written by Sam­u­el Eck­ing in the late 1700s.

Here are the words to 'Peace, Troubled Soul':

"Peace, troubled soul, thou need'st not fear;
Thy great Provider still is near;
Who fed thee last, will feed thee still:
Be calm, and sink into His will.

The Lord, who built the earth and sky,
In mercy stoops to hear thy cry;
His promise all may freely claim;
Ask and receive in Jesus' Name.

Without reserve give Christ your heart,
Let Him His righteousness impart;
Then all things else He'll freely give;
With Him you all things shall receive.

Thus shall the soul be truly blest,
That seeks in God His only rest;
May I that happy person be,
In time and in eternity."

Answer: Ronald Reagan

Ronald Reagan was known by a number of nicknames, including 'The Gipper'. He received the moniker after portraying George Gipp in the film 'Knute Rockne, All American'. In the film, Gipp exhorted his teammates to "win one for the Gipper". Other nicknames Reagan earned over the years were 'Dutch', 'The Great Communicator' and 'The Teflon President'.

Reagan was born in 1911 in Tampico, Illinois and served as president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He died June 5, 2004 and one of the hymns sung at his funeral was 'Sing With All the Saints in Glory'.

Will­iam J. Ir­ons wrote 'Sing With All the Saints in Glory' in 1873. The music was adapted by Edward Hodges from 'Hymn to Joy', from Ludwig van Beethoven's '9th Sym­pho­ny'.

Here are the words to the hymn 'Sing With All the Saints in Glory':

"Sing with all the saints in glory, sing the resurrection song!
Death and sorrow, earth's dark story, to the former days belong.
All around the clouds are breaking, soon the storms of time shall cease;
In God's likeness we, awaking, know the everlasting peace.

O what glory, far exceeding all that eye has yet perceived!
Holiest hearts, for ages pleading, never that full joy conceived.
God has promised, Christ prepares it, there on high our welcome waits.
Every humble spirit shares it; Christ has passed th'eternal gates.

Life eternal! heaven rejoices; Jesus lives, who once was dead.
Join we now the deathless voices; child of God, lift up your head!
Patriarchs from the distant ages, saints all longing for their heaven,
Prophets, psalmists, seers, and sages, all await the glory given.

Life eternal! O what wonders crowd on faith; what joy unknown,
When, amidst earth's closing thunders, saints shall stand before the throne!
O to enter that bright portal, see that glowing firmament;
Know, with Thee, O God immortal, "Jesus Christ Whom Thou has sent."