Hymns and Hymnists With an Unusual Story Quiz

Answer: Turkey

Ghevont Tourian was born in Istanbul, Turkey on January 1, 1879. After suffering severe persecution for his Christian beliefs, Tourian fled Turkey and eventually ended up in the United States. He was killed by five members of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation while pre­par­ing to con­duct mass at Ho­ly Cross Church on December 24, 1933. He is buried at his church.

Tourian translated the words to 'Holiness Becomes Thy House' from an
Armenian liturgy.

Here are the words to the hymn:

"Holiness becomes Thy house,
'Tis Thou who dost dwell in light;
Thou begirt with majesty,
Gird us with truth,
And with Thy great might.

Send Thou forth Thy power and love,
In beauty of holiness;
We would here commune with Thee,
Eternal God,
Be Thou near to bless.

O supreme and perfect One,
O Lord, praise to Thee is due;
Clothe us in the grace of love,
Maintain Thy church,
To Thy service true."

Answer: Day of Wrath, O Day of Mourning

William J. Irons translated the 13th Century Latin hymn 'Di­es Ir­ae', coming up with the words to 'Day of Wrath, O Day of Mourning'.

Nethymnal.org provides this account about the inspiration behind the translation of the hymn: "It ap­pears that Mr. Ir­ons was in the French ca­pi­tal dur­ing the Re­vo­lu­tion of 1848 when, among other atro­ci­ties com­mit­ted, the arch­bi­shop of Par­is (Denis-Auguste Affre) was mur­dered. Ow­ing to the re­vo­lu­tion­ary spir­it of the peo­ple it was ma­ny days be­fore the fu­ner­al could take place with any de­gree of safe­ty to the mourn­ers. About a fort­night lat­er a me­mor­i­al ser­vice was held in Notre Dame, at which Mr. Irons was pre­sent. The arch­bi­shop's heart, which had been se­vered from his bo­dy, was placed in a glass cas­ket and rev­er­ent­ly laid on a raised da­is in the choir so that all who de­sired to do so might gaze up­on it. As the pro­cess­ion of mourn­ers filed by, cast­ing looks of min­gled ter­ror and af­fect­ion on the faith­ful heart, which had so re­cent­ly beat in their in­ter­ests, the en­tire con­gre­ga­tion sang in muf­fled tones the 'Di­es Ir­ae'. As may well be be­lieved the so­lem­ni­ty of the ser­vice made a deep im­press­ion on the mind of the Eng­lish cler­gy­man pre­sent, and when the con­gre­ga­tion had dis­persed he re­turned to his ho­tel and im­me­di­ate­ly made his now cel­e­brat­ed trans­la­tion of the great La­tin hymn."

Irons was born Sep­tem­ber 12, 1812, in Hod­des­don, Eng­land and died June 18, 1883, in Lon­don.

In addition to translating 'Di­es Ir­ae' into English, Irons is credited with writing more than twenty-five hymns.

Here are the words to 'Day of Wrath, O Day of Mourning':

"Day of wrath, O day of mourning!
See fulfilled the prophet's warning,
Heaven and earth in ashes burning.
Oh, what fear man's bosom rendeth
When from Heav'n the Judge descendeth
On Whose sentence all dependeth!

Wondrous sound the trumpet flingeth,
Through earth's sepulchers it ringeth,
All before the throne it bringeth.
Death is struck and nature quaking;
All creation is awaking,
To its Judge an answer making.

Lo, the book, exactly worded,
Wherein all hath been recorded;
Thence shall judgment be awarded.
When the Judge His seat attaineth
And each hidden deed arraigneth,
Nothing unavenged remaineth.

What shall I, frail man, be pleading?
Who for me be interceding
When the just are mercy needing?
King of majesty tremendous,
Who dost free salvation send us,
Fount of pity, then befriend us.

Think, good Jesus, my salvation
Caused Thy wondrous incarnation;
Leave me not to reprobation!
Faint and weary Thou hast sought me,
On the cross of suffering bought me;
Shall such grace be vainly brought me?

Righteous Judge, for sin's pollution
Grant Thy gift of absolution
Ere that day of retribution!
Guilty, now I pour my moaning,
All my shame with anguish owning:
Spare, O God, Thy suppliant groaning!

From that sinful woman shriven,
From the dying thief forgiven,
Thou to me a hope hast given.
Worthless are my prayers and sighing;
Yet, good Lord, in grace complying,
Rescue me from fires undying.

With Thy favored sheep, oh, place me!
Nor among the goats abase me,
But to Thy right hand upraise me.
While the wicked are confounded,
Doomed to flames of woe unbounded,
Call me, with Thy saints surrounded.

Low I kneel with heart submission,
See, like ashes, my contrition;
Help me in my last condition!
Day of sorrow, day of weeping,
When, in dust no longer sleeping,
Man awakes in Thy dread keeping!"

Answer: All of them

The three hymns -- 'Jesus Loves Me', 'We Would See Jesus' and 'When Israel, of the Lord Beloved' -- first appeared in novels before they were published in hymnals around the world.

Anna Bartlett Warner wrote 'Jesus Loves Me' with the words first appearing in the 1860 novel titled 'Say and Seal', written by Susan Warner, her older sister. The music for 'Jesus Loves Me' was composed in 1862 by William Bradbury who added the chorus 'Yes, Jesus loves me, Yes, Jesus loves, Yes, Jesus Loves me, the Bible tells me so."

Here are the words to the modernized version of 'Jesus Loves Me':

"Jesus loves me -- this I know,
For the Bible tells me so;
Little ones to Him belong --
They are weak, but He is strong.

Refrain:
Yes, Jesus loves me!
Yes, Jesus loves me!
Yes, Jesus loves me!
The Bible tells me so.

Jesus loves me -- He who died
Heaven's gate to open wide;
He will wash away my sin,
Let His little child come in.

[Refrain]

Jesus loves me -- loves me still,
Though I'm very weak and ill;
From His shining throne on high
Comes to watch me where I lie.

[Refrain]

Jesus loves me -- He will stay
Close beside me all the way,
Then His little child will take
Up to Heaven for His dear sake.

[Refrain]

Anna B. Warner included the words to 'We Would See Jesus' in her 1852 novel titled 'Dol­lars and Cents'. The book was re­publ­ished in 1853 and re­named 'Spe­cu­la­tion'.

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

"We would see Jesus; for the shadows lengthen
Across this little landscape of our life;
We would see Jesus, our weak faith to strengthen
For the last weariness, the final strife.

We would see Jesus, the great rock Foundation
Whereon our feet were set with sovereign grace;
Nor life nor death, with all their agitation,
Can thence remove us, if we see His face.

We would see Jesus; other lights are paling,
Which for long years we have rejoiced to see;
The blessings of our pilgrimage are failing;
We would not mourn them, for we go to Thee.

We would see Jesus; yet the spirit lingers
Round the dear objects it has loved so long,
And earth from earth can scarce unclasp its fingers;
Our love to Thee makes not this love less strong.

We would see Jesus: sense is all too binding,
And heaven appears too dim, too far away;
We would see Thee, Thyself our hearts reminding
What Thou hast suffered, our great debt to pay.

We would see Jesus: this is all we're needing;
Strength, joy, and willingness come with the sight;
We would see Jesus, dying, risen, pleading;
Then welcome day, and farewell mortal night."


Walter Scott wrote the words of 'When Israel of the Lord Beloved' in 1817 in his classic novel 'Ivanhoe'.

Here's how Scott introduces 'When Israel, of the Lord Beloved' in Chapter 40 of Ivanhoe: "It was in the twi­light of the day when her tri­al, if it could be called such, had tak­en place, that a low knock was heard at Re­bec­ca's pri­son-cham­ber. It dis­turbed not the in­mate, who was then en­gaged in the even­ing pray­er re­com­mend­ed by her re­li­gion, and which con­clud­ed with a hymn we have ven­tured thus to trans­late into Eng­lish."

Here are the words to 'When Israel, of the Lord Beloved':

"When Israel, of the Lord beloved,
Out from the land of bondage came,
Her father's God before her moved,
An awful Guide, in smoke and flame.

The rose the choral hymn of praise,
And trump and timbrel answered keen,
And Zion's daughters poured their lays,
With priest's and warrior's voice between.

By day, along th'astonished lands
The cloudy pillar glided slow;
By night, Arabia's crimsoned sands
Returned the fiery column's glow.

Thus present still, though now unseen,
When brightly shines the prosperous day,
Be thoughts of Thee a cloudy screen,
To temper the deceitful ray.

And O, when gathers on our path,
In shade and storm, the frequent night,
Be Thou, long suffering, slow to wrath,
A burning and a shining light."

Answer: Hail the Glorious Golden City

'Hail the Glorious Golden City' was written in 1878 by Felix Adler, a Jewish professor of social ethics and the son of a rabbi. The words first ap­peared in the 'Pil­grim Hymn­al' in 1904.

The words echo the vision John had of New Jerusalem in Revelation, the final book of the New Testament.

The hymn is believed to be one of only two written by non Christians. The second hymn, titled 'All Hail to Thee, Immanuel', was written by D.R. Van Sick­le in 1910.

"Van Sick­le, a non­be­liev­er, wrote the song to prove that one doesn't have to be a Christ­ian to write a Christ­ian song," the Website states. "How­ev­er, God, with His great pa­tience, turned the ta­bles on him. Years lat­er, Van Sickle was sit­ting in a serv­ice where a choir sang his hymn. He came under con­vict­ion and gave his heart to Christ!"

Incidentally, 'Amazing Grace' was written by John Newton, 'Blessed Assurance' by Fanny Crosby and 'I'd Rather Have Jesus' by Rhea F. Miller.

Here are the words to 'Hail the Glorious Golden City':

"Hail the glorious golden city,
Pictured by the seers of old!
Everlasting light shines o'er it,
Wondrous tales of it are told:
Only righteous men and women
Dwell within its gleaming wall;
Wrong is banished from its borders,
Justice reigns supreme o'er all.

We are builders of that city,
All our joys and all our groans
Help to rear its shining ramparts;
All our lives are building stones:
Whether humble or exalted,
All are called to task divine;
All must aid alike to carry
Forward one sublime design.

And the work that we have builded,
Oft with bleeding hands and tears,
Oft in error, oft in anguish,
Will not perish with our years:
It will live and shine transfigured,
In the final reign of right;
It will pass into the splendors
Of the city of the light."

Answer: All of them

Similar to Fanny Crosby, hymn writers George Matheson, William Walford and Robert Williams were also blind.

Matheson was born in 1842 in Glasgow, Scotland and is credited with writing a total of ten hymns, including 'Make Me a Captive, Lord'.

Walford was born in 1772 in Bath, Som­er­set­, Eng­land and wrote the ever popular hymn 'Sweet Hour of Prayer' in 1845.

Williams was born in 1782 in Ang­le­sey, North Wales and in 1817 wrote the hymn 'Hail the Day that Sees Him Rise'.

Answer: True

True. It might sound bizarre for a hymn writer to have a connection with the naming of the Neanderthal Man by paleontologists, but such is the case.

Neander, born in 1650 in Bre­men, Ger­ma­ny, was noted for visiting a secluded part of the Dussel River Vally, which consisted of a deep ravine as well as waterfalls and caves. It is believed Ne­an­der wrote and sang ma­ny of his po­ems there and even held ga­ther­ings and ser­vices. In the early 1800s a large cave was named Ne­an­der­höhle in his honor and eventually the area became known as Ne­an­der Val­ley (in Ger­man, Ne­an­der­thal), Nethymnal.org states.

"The Ne­an­der­thal Man was found there in the sum­mer of 1856, giv­ing Jo­a­chim the dis­tinct­ion of be­ing the on­ly hym­nist with a fos­sil hom­i­nid named af­ter him!," the Website reports.

Neander is credited with writing a number of hymns, including 'All My Hope On God Is Founded', which was trans­lat­ed from Ger­man to Eng­lish by Ro­bert S. Bridg­es in 1899.

Here are the words to the hymn:

"All my hope on God is founded;
He doth still my trust renew,
Me through change and chance He guideth,
Only good and only true.
God unknown, He alone
Calls my heart to be His own.

Pride of man and earthly glory,
Sword and crown betray His trust;
What with care and toil He buildeth,
Tower and temple fall to dust.
But God's power, hour by hour,
Is my temple and my tower.

God's great goodness aye endureth,
Deep His wisdom, passing thought:
Splendor, light and life attend him,
Beauty springeth out of naught.
Evermore from His store
Newborn worlds rise and adore.

Daily doth th'almighty Giver
Bounteous gifts on us bestow;
His desire our soul delighteth,
Pleasure leads us where we go.
Love doth stand at His hand;
Joy doth wait on His command.

Still from man to God eternal
Sacrifice of praise be done,
High above all praises praising
For the gift of Christ, His Son.
Christ doth call one and all:
Ye who follow shall not fall."

Answer: Rudyard Kipling

Rudyard Kipling won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1907, the year after he wrote the hymn 'Father in Heaven, Who Lovest All'.

Kipling was born De­cem­ber 30, 1865, in Bom­bay, In­dia, and died Jan­u­a­ry 18, 1936, in Lon­don, Eng­land. He is buried at West­min­ster Ab­bey in Lon­don. Some of better known works are 'The Jungle Book' in 1894 and 'Kim' in 1901. He also wrote numerous short stories, including 'The Man Who Would Be King' in 1888.

In addition to writing the hymn 'Father in Heaven, Who Lovest All', Kipling also wrote 'God of Our Fa­thers, Known of Old'.

Here are the words to 'Father in Heaven, Who Lovest All':

"Father in Heaven, who lovest all,
O help Thy children when they call,
That they may build from age to age
An undefiled heritage.

Teach us to bear the yoke in youth,
With steadfastness and careful truth,
That, in our time, Thy grace may give
The truth whereby the nations live.

Teach us to rule ourselves alway,
Controlled and cleanly night and day,
That we may bring, if need arise,
No maimed or worthless sacrifice.

Teach us to look in all our ends,
On Thee for Judge, and not our friends,
That we, with Thee, may walk uncowed
By fear or favor of the crowd.

Teach us the strength that cannot seek,
By deed or thought, to hurt the weak,
That, under Thee, we may possess
Man's strength to comfort man's distress.

Teach us delight in simple things,
And mirth that has no bitter springs,
Forgiveness free of evil done,
And love to all men 'neath the sun."

Answer: 95

Fanny Crosby wrote a hymn the day be­fore her death at age 95. The hymn, which apparently was never published, was written to comfort a neighbor whose child had died.

Nethymnal.org reports another work from Crosby's later years is 'The Blood-Washed Throng', which she wrote at age 86.

Crosby is credited with writing at least 8,000 hymns. However, various Websites state the total could be substantially higher as a number of her hymns were written under pseudonyms.

Here are the words to 'The Blood-Washed Throng':

"There is a blood-washed multitude, a mighty army strong;
The Lord of hosts their righteousness, redeeming love their song.
They follow Christ Whose Name they bear, to yonder portals bright,
Where He has said His faithful ones shall walk with Him in white.

That precious Name their guiding star, its beams will o'er them cast,
And through its power their trusting souls shall overcome at last.
The glory cloud will bring them safe to yonder palace bright,
Where they shall see Him eye to eye and walk with Him in white.

March on! O blood-washed multitude, for lo! the hour draws nigh,
When we shall hail the King of kings triumphant in the sky.
When songs of praise to Him we love, shall fill the courts of light,
And they that overcome the world, shall walk with Him in white."

Answer: 15

John Milton was fifteen years old when he wrote 'Let Us With a Gladsome Mind'. The award winning novel by André Alexis is titled 'Fifteen Dogs'. The novel was the winner of the the 2015 Scotiabank Giller Prize and the 2015 Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize.

Milton was born De­cem­ber 9, 1608, in Cheap­side, Lon­don, En­gland and died No­vem­ber 8, 1674 in Lon­don. He is credited with writing at least five other hymns.

According to Nethymnal.org, other people who wrote hymns at a young age are:
-- William Ralph Featherstone, 16, 'My Jesus, I Love Thee'
-- Anna L. Coghill, 18, 'Work, for the Night Is Coming'
-- Henry K. White, 19, 'When Marshaled on the Nightly Plain'

Here are the words to 'Let Us, With a Gladsome Mind':

"Let us, with a gladsome mind,
Praise the Lord, for He is kind.

Refrain:
For His mercies aye endure,
Ever faithful, ever sure.

Let us blaze His Name abroad,
For of gods He is the God.

[Refrain]

He with all commanding might
Filled the new made world with light.

[Refrain]

He hath, with a piteous eye,
Looked upon our misery.

[Refrain]

He the golden tressèd sun
Caused all day his course to run.

[Refrain]

Th'horned moon to shine by night;
'Mid her spangled sisters bright.

[Refrain]

All things living He doth feed,
His full hand supplies their need.

[Refrain]

Let us, with a gladsome mind,
Praise the Lord, for He is kind.

[Refrain]"

Answer: Daniel de Marbelle

The people at Nethymnal.org are the first to acknowledge this is a "very subjective category" but their vote for the hymnist with the most unusual story goes to Daniel de Marbelle.

De Marbelle was born Ju­ly 4, 1818 in Seville, France and died De­cem­ber 18, 1903, in Elgin, Illinois.

In addition to writing the hymn 'When They Ring the Golden Bells' in 1887, de Marbelle served in a wide variety of jobs.

He did everything from working on a whaling ship, to joining the American Navy and then serving as a drummer in a New York company during the Mexican War. During the U.S. Civil War, he served as a military musician in the 6th Michigan Infantry. Later, de Marbelle toured the U.S. as a musician and ac­tor with an opera company and later or­ganizing his own theatrical troupe.

"It has been said that at the invita­tion of James Bailey (of Barnum and Bailey fame), he be­came the very first circus clown," Nethymnal.org reports.

Later, de Marbelle managed his own circus, but lost everything in a fire while touring Canada. So he moved on and helped Buffalo Bill Cody set up his famous Wild West Show.

Nethymnal.org goes on to state: "de Marbelle could play al­most any instrument, and wrote ma­ny songs. He was a ventriloquist, or­ganized a brass band, and sang in a Me­thod­ist choir in Elgin, Illinois. He al­so called the figures in local square dances. He claimed he could make an el­o­quent speech on any sub­ject, with­out prepara­tion. The royalties from all his songs were stolen from him, and he died pen­ni­less, near starva­tion."

Here are the words to 'When They Ring the Golden Bells':

"There's a land beyond the river,
That we call the sweet forever,
And we only reach that shore by faith's decree;
One by one we'll gain the portals,
There to dwell with the immortals,
When they ring the golden bells for you and me.

Refrain:
Don't you hear the bells now ringing?
Don't you hear the angels singing?
'Tis the glory hallelujah Jubilee.
In that far off sweet forever,
Just beyond the shining river,
When they ring the golden bells for you and me.

We shall know no sin or sorrow,
In that haven of tomorrow,
When our barque shall sail beyond the silver sea;
We shall only know the blessing
Of our Father's sweet caressing,
When they ring the golden bells for you and me.

[Refrain]

When our days shall know their number,
And in death we sweetly slumber,
When the King commands the spirit to be free;
Nevermore with anguish laden,
We shall reach that lovely Eden,
When they ring the golden bells for you and me.

[Refrain]"