“I went to America in 1961. In 1963 I realized that there was a need, so I began to put out a periodical in English called The Stream. I also established the Stream Publishers to print books in English. By the second half of 1963 we felt the need to have a hymnal in English. Therefore, I labored with the brothers in America to select about eight hundred of the best Christian hymns that had been written throughout the centuries. We also added over two hundred of our own hymns, and we translated approximately thirty hymns from our hymnal in Chinese. The hymnal we compiled had one thousand eighty hymns.

The American brothers who helped me were good in English, and they understood music and the proper use of words. They made sure that the songs I wrote in English had proper rhyme and that they fit the meter. Because the hymns from Christianity are short in the truth concerning Christ, the Spirit, life, and the church, most of the two hundred fifty hymns written by me were on these topics. Thus, we can say that our hymnal in English was a great help in laying a foundation for the Lord’s recovery in America.

This hymnal is highly regarded by Christians in America. Some Christians say that in the two hundred years of American history they do not know of a collection like it. A person who spends several years to study this hymnal will attain a certain level of theological knowledge even if he does not study theology. Even the table of contents, with the different kinds of hymns and their categories, shows that the theological knowledge contained in the hymnal is quite rich.”

(Crucial Words of Leading in the Lord’s Recovery, Book 3: The Future of the Lord’s Recovery and the Building Up of the Organic Service, Chapter 7)