Preface

  Volume 23 in The Collected Works has two distinct sections. The first section contains The Song of Songs, which was originally published in 1945 in Chungking, China. The book, however, was based on messages that were given in 1934. Consequently, the book has been included in Set 2, which corresponds with the middle period of Watchman Nee's ministry.

  The second section contains one hundred eighty-five hymns. Hymn Nos. 1 through 184 originally appeared in Hymns for the Little Flock, the first hymnal published by Watchman Nee. "Most of the hymns were selected by Brother Nee out of over ten thousand hymns, songs, and poems, and were translated by him with some improvements and adjustments. A few were written by him, and one was written by Ruth Lee...The contents were classified as follows: words of praise, joy of salvation, springs of the valley of Baca, union with Christ, growth in grace, seeking in the spiritual pathway, consolation of the pilgrims, prayer meeting, consecration, spiritual warfare, the Holy Spirit, the work, the praise of the sucklings, and the trumpet of the gospel" (p. 262, Watchman Nee, A Seer of the Divine Revelation in the Present Age).

  Many of these hymns were subsequently included in both the Chinese and English editions of Hymns, published by Living Stream Ministry. However, this section also contains fifty-four hymns that for the first time have been translated from Chinese to English. Hymn No. 185 is attributed to Watchman Nee but did not appear in the first edition of Hymns for the Little Flock.