"In the Garden"

I was deeply touched by yesterday's worship and sermon by Senior Pastor Lawrence Khong, as he shared his longing for the Lord in the old hymn known as "In the Garden". As a Christian who is used to contemporary worship songs, it comes as a pleasant surprise to me that actually traditional hymns are both meaningful and catchy.

"In the Garden"

(Words and Music by C. Austin Miles, 1868-1946)

I come to the garden alone,

While the dew is still on the roses;

And the voice I hear, falling on my ear,

The Son of God discloses.

Chorus
And He walks with me, And He talks with me,

And He tells me I am His own;

And the joy we share as we tarry there,

None other has ever known.

He speaks, and the sound of His voice

Is so sweet, The birds hush their singing,

And the melody that He gave to me,

Within my heart is ringing.

I'd stay in the garden with Him,

Though the night around me be falling,

But He bids me go; Through the voice of woe,

His voice to me is calling.

A search on the Internet revealed that the composer was asked by Dr Adam Geibel to write a hymn text that would be "sympathetic in tone, breathing tenderness in every line" and that it would be "one that would bring hope to the hopeless, rest for the weary, and downy pillows to dying beds". I will cling on to the promise as written in the hymn text that, indeed I am called to be God's very own. Amen and amen!