Son of John­son and Ra­chel Ann Cline Oat­man, John­son at­tend­ed Her­bert’s Acad­e­my in Vin­cen­town, New Jer­sey, and the New Jer­sey Col­le­gi­ate In­sti­tute in Bor­den­town. He was or­dained a Meth­od­ist Epis­co­pal min­is­ter at age 19, but his pas­tor­al work was con­fined to lo­cal church­es, as he worked full time in the re­tail and in­sur­ance in­dus­tries. He wrote ly­rics for 5,000 Gos­pel songs.

• Hustad, p. 296
• Hall, pp. 355-59
• Loyer, p. 30

1. All the Way from Hea­ven
2. At My Re­deem­er’s Feet
3. Alone with God
4. Be a Bless­ing
5. Blood up­on the Door, The
6. Christ Is with Me
7. Christ Je­sus Is King of Kings
8. Come, Soul, and Find Thy Rest
9. Come Up to Be Crowned
10. Count Your Bless­ings
11. Deeper Yet
12. Do Your Best and Leave the Rest
13. Everlasting Love
14. Every Bridge Is Burned Be­hind Me
15. Every Word I Be­lieve
16. Fairer Than Day
17. Father Is Wait­ing, The
18. Fire and the Ho­ly Ghost
19. Fire Is Burn­ing, The
20. Follow, Fol­low Je­sus All the Way
21. God Has Opened All the Gates
22. God Is Watch­ing o’er Me
23. Good-Bye
24. Gospel Train, The
25. Hallelujah Side, The
26. Hand in Hand with Je­sus
27. Happy Up There
28. He In­clud­ed Me
29. Hear Us While We Pray
30. Higher Ground
31. Holy, Ho­ly, Is What the An­gels Sing
32. Honey from the Rock
33. How the Fire Fell
34. I Know He’s Mine
35. I Shall Know Him by the Nail Prints
36. I Will Fol­low Thee
37. I Will Trade the Old Cross for a Crown
38. I’m Glad That Je­sus Came
39. I’m Go­ing Home at Last
40. I’m Home­sick for Hea­ven To­night
41. I’ve Reached the Port of Peace
42. Jesus Can Help You, and Will
43. Jesus Ne­ver Leaves the Ship
44. Jesus Took My Bur­den
45. Jesus Wept
46. Judgment Day, The
47. Last Mile of the Way, The
48. Lift Him Up
49. Light on the Hill­tops
50. Lord Knows Why, The
51. Move Along
52. My Gaze Is Fixed on Je­sus
53. Naaman, Go!
54. Nevermore
55. No, Not One
56. Now I’m Com­ing Home
57. Only Once You Pass This Way
58. Resting in the Arms of Je­sus
59. Send a Wave of Salva­tion To­day
60. Shining for Je­sus
61. Sweeter Than All
62. Take Off the Old Coat
63. Tell Mo­ther I Am Com­ing
64. Tell It Over Again
65. Tell It Wher­ev­er You Go
66. Valley of Elim, The
67. We Are in to Win
68. We’ll All Meet at Home
69. What Is That to Thee?
70. What Shall It Pro­fit?
71. When He Opened Hea­ven’s Gate for Me
72. When Our Lord Shall Come Again
73. When Our Ships Come Sail­ing Home
74. When the An­gel’s Trump Shall Sound
75. Worthy the Lamb
76. Your Fa­ther’s Good Plea­sure