In March of 1912, gospel songwriter C. Austin Miles sat in his darkroom waiting for his film to develop. A photography hobbyist, he often used this time to read the Bible and search for song inspirations. When he opened the Bible to a random page—the Gospel of John, chapter 20—he was suddenly filled with inspiration and words and music began flowing through him.
The story chronicles Mary Magdalene’s discovery of the empty tomb after Jesus’s crucifixion. Weeping over Christ’s missing body, Mary heard a gentle voice calling her name. Realizing it was Jesus standing before her, she was filled with joy.
In Kenneth Osbeck’s “101 Hymn Stories,” Miles recounted his experience:
“I drew my Bible toward me; it opened at my favorite chapter ... whether by chance or inspiration let each reader decide. That meeting of Jesus and Mary had lost none of its power to charm. As I read it that day, I seemed to be part of the scene. I became a silent witness to that dramatic moment in Mary’s life.”
He continued, “I awakened in full light, gripping the Bible, with muscles tense and nerves vibrating. Under the inspiration of this vision I wrote as quickly as the words could be formed,” quoted Miles.
He wrote the song in one day. First, the words came to him in poem form. Then, he built out the poem with more complete lyrics and phrasings. That evening, he set the words to music.
A Career Change Serving Divine Gifts
Before Miles became a professional songwriter, he was a practicing pharmacist. He studied at the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and the University of Pennsylvania. A musician at heart, he spent some time working as a pharmacist until he felt a calling to use his divine gifts of words and music to comfort people. In 1892, he made his professional career change.
Two years later, Miles’s gospel song “List! ‘Tis Jesus’ Voice” was accepted by the music publisher Hall-Mack Company. His initial success with the publishing firm turned into a business partnership that lasted almost four decades. For 37 years, he was the publishing firm’s editor and manager—in addition to one of their most productive writers.
Spiritual Companionship Through Song
According to the Nazarene pastor Luke Powell, “in the garden“ metaphorically refers to the quiet place each person can establish to reconnect with the divine. It’s also a connection that people can draw on once they leave ”their garden” and go out into the world. In one of his online devotional sessions, Mr. Powell said:
“As the song said in the chorus, ‘And he walks with me, and he talks with me, and he tells me I am his own.’ That’s not just for the garden. Of course we experience him in a special way in a quiet place like this but when we go out from the garden he keeps walking with us, and he keeps talking with us, and telling us that we are his.”
Since the first publication of “In The Garden,” it has become a gospel standard. It appeared in more than 210 hymnals. According to The St. Augustine Record, “More than a million recordings and printed copies of it have been sold.” Its popularity reaches far and wide—in America and abroad.
Miles once remarked in an interview when asked about the success he’s had as a songwriter:
“I am proud to be known, for in that way I may be of the most use to my master, whom I serve willingly although not as efficiently as is my desire.”
One of gospel’s most prolific American writers, “In The Garden” remains Miles’s signature contribution to the Christian community.
