Charles Wesley was the eighteenth
of Samuel and Susanna Wesley’s nineteen children.
He was educated first under the tutelage of his
remarkable mother and later at Westminster School
and Christ Church, Oxford, where he received his
B.A. in 1730 and his M.A. in 1733.
Along with his older brother
John, he was part of the Holy Club at Oxford,
whose very methodical manner of living out the
Christian life won them the title "Methodists."
He remained supportive of the Anglican Church
throughout his life, refusing to support those
Methodists who pressed to separate from it.
He was ordained in 1735 and
served a brief stint in the American colony of
Georgia as chaplain and private secretary to General
Oglethorpe. He then took a curacy in London and
experienced a profound spiritual conversion on
Pentecost, 1738. From that time forward he devoted
his life to preaching and itinerant evangelism
in England, Wales, and Ireland.
Charles Wesley penned 8,969
religious poems, over 6,000 of which are genuine
hymns, hundreds still in use today. His beautiful,
well-written hymn texts were theologically sound
and evangelistic in nature. At the same time they
were more personalized and subjective than those
of his predecessors. Because of their style, they
have been sung in evangelistic services as well
as in traditional church settings ever since.
They also had a part in setting the stage for
the gospel hymnody which later developed both
in England and America.
Many of his texts were quite
lengthy, such as his eighteen verse O For a Thousand
Tongues to Sing written on the first anniversary
of his conversion, requiring the expert editing
of his brother John. Had Charles not submitted
to the scrutiny of this editing, his hymns would
probably not have gained the popularity which
they have held for 250 years.
Wesley wrote on every conceivable
subject connected with the Christian faith and
man’s personal relationship to his Lord,
Jesus Christ. Some of his most sung hymns include:
Come, Thou Long Expectant Jesus, Hark the Herald
Angel’s Sing!, Christ the Lord is Risen Today,
Rejoice, the Lord is King, and Love Divine, All
Love’s Excelling. The salvation message,
and man’s personal response to it, is present
in each of these powerful hymns.
The tremendous contributions
of Charles Wesley have truly enriched the tradition
of English hymnody.
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