Let the children come to Me. Don’t stop them, for the kingdom of Heaven belongs to such as these.
Matthew 19:14
Words: Ella S. Armitage, The Garden of the Lord (London: Novello, 1881).
Music: Balikpapan Charles E. Prior, in The Sunday School Hymnal (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Heidelberg Press, 1899), number 275 (🔊 pdf nwc).
If you know where to get a good photo of Armitage (head & shoulders, at least 200×300 pixels),
In the dear Lord’s garden,
Planted here below,
Many tiny flowerets
In sweet beauty grow.
Refrain
Jesus calls the children,
Bids them come and stand
In His pleasant garden,
Watered by His hand.
Christ, the loving Gardener,
Tends these blossoms small;
Loves the little lilies
As the cedars tall.
Refrain
Lord, Thy call we answer,
Take us in Thy care;
Train us in Thy garden,
In Thy work to share.
Refrain