Johnson at­tend­ed Har­vard Un­i­ver­si­ty, where he grad­u­at­ed in Arts, 1842, and in the­ol­o­gy, 1846. In 1853, he formed a Free Church in Lynn, Mass­a­chus­etts, where he served as pas­tor un­til 1870. Though he was ne­ver di­rect­ly con­nect­ed with a re­li­gious de­nom­in­a­tion, the pub­lic as­so­ci­at­ed Johnson with the Un­i­tar­i­ans. With Sam­u­el Long­fel­low, he co-ed­it­ed:

• A Book of Hymns for Pub­lic and Pri­vate De­vo­tion (Bos­ton, Mass­a­chu­setts: 1846)
• Supplement to the same
• Hymns of the Spirit, 1864

Sources

Hymns

1. City of God, How Broad and Far
2. Father, in Thy Mys­ter­i­ous Pre­sence Kneel­ing
3. Go, Preach the Gospel in My Name
4. God of the Earnest Heart
5. I Bless Thee, Lord, for Sorrows Sent
6. Life of Ages, Rich­ly Poured
7. Lord, Once Our Faith in Man No Fear Could More
8. O God, Thy Children Gathered Here
9. Onward Christ­ian, Through the Re­gion
10. Strong Souled Reformer, Whose Far Seeing Faith
11. Thou Whose Glad Summer Yields
12. Thy Servants’ Sandals, Lord, Are Wet
13. To Light That Shines in Stars and Souls
14. When from Jordan’s Gleaming Wave
15. Will Divine That Woke a Waiting Time, The