In the secret of Thy presence,
Where the pure in heart may dwell,
Are the springs of sacred service
And a power that none can tell.
There my love must bring its offering,
There my heart must yield its praise,
And the Lord will come, revealing
All the secrets of His ways.
In the secret of Thy presence,
In the hiding of Thy power,
Let me love Thee, let me serve Thee,
Every consecrated hour.
More than all my lips may utter,
More than all I do or bring,
Is the depth of my devotion
To my Saviour, Lord and King.
Nothing less will keep me tender;
Nothing less will keep me true;
Nothing less will keep the fragrance
And the bloom on all I do!
Blessèd Lord, to see Thee truly,
Then to tell as I have seen –
This shall rule my life supremely;
This shall be the sacred gleam.
Sealed again is all the sealing,
Pledged again my willing heart,
First to know Thee, then to serve Thee,
Then to see Thee as Thou art.
How we all need to spend time being quiet and still in the Lord’s presence! This beautiful devotional song was written in 1920 by Albert Orsborn, the Salvation Army’s “Poet General”. He had been asked to write a song for a series of officers’ councils, but only made a start after the first session! For such a prolific hymnwriter, apparently the task would not be difficult! Orsborn is quoted as saying: “At about 5:30 (in the morning) I awoke with a very real sense of a Presence quite near me. Then slowly, but easily, these verses and the chorus came into my mind. All I had to do was to catch the inspiration and write down the words…by candlelight.” The song was used that evening but not published until 1923.
