Know Your Hymn

In Tenderness He Sought Me (HOP 380) 

Words by W. Spencer Walton, 1850-1906 

Mr. Walton was a British missionary and evangelist, working with the South Africa General Mission in the latter part of the 19th century. About 1889, W. Spencer Walton founded The Sailor’s Rest, in the city of Durban, Natal (a region in South Africa). 

He ministered to the spiritual needs of seaman there. During the Boer War, he distributed bibles to the English soldiers. The diverse and large area in which he ministered in South Africa found him preaching everywhere from churches to mud huts, gardens to military tents made of excess canvas. 

As the mission in South Africa grew, Walton’s role changed. His later days were spent traveling among churches in America and Britain to gain fur-ther support and funding for the mission in Africa. Throughout his busy travels he was encouraged by the faithfulness God showed through his churches. Both large and small gave generously to the mission in Africa. 

It was during one of these tours, Walton’s health plummeted in a span of a few days. He did not realize he was dying, so his wife felt he must be told the seriousness of his illness. She recounts his response in her diary: “Well, darling. He knows I’m ready. I’ve been ready for 34 years. Bless His Name!” 

Walton spent his remaining days blessing his children and having messag-es written to his friends and the missionaries he was leaving. He died at the age of 56. 

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Adapted https://austinbhebe.wordpress.com/hymns-directory/redeeming-love/in-tenderness-he-sought-me/