Charles Wesley (1708-1788) has been called “the poet of Methodism.” Born in Epworth, England in 1707 he was educated at Westminster School and Oxford University, where he took his degree in 1728. It was while a student at Christ Church College that Wesley and a few associates, by strict attention to duty and exemplary conduct, won for themselves the derisive epithet of “Methodists.” He was ordained a priest in the Church of England in 1735, and that same year he sailed with his brother John as a missionary to Georgia. They soon returned to England. He was not converted, according to his own convictions, until Whitsunday, May 21, 1738. On that day he received a conscious knowledge of sins forgiven, and this event was the real beginning of his mission as the singer of Methodism. His hymns can generally be classified as hymns of Christian experience (“O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing”); invitation hymns (“Come, Sinners, to the Gospel Feast”); sanctification hymns (“O for a Heart to Praise My God”); funeral hymns (“Rejoice for a Brother Deceased”); and hymns on the love of God (“Wrestling Jacob”). He was not a singer alone, but as an itinerant preacher he was a busy and earnest co-laborer with his brother. After his marriage, in 1749, his itinerant labors were largely restricted to London and Bristol. Incredibly he wrote more than 6,500 hymns. His brother may have been the “mind” behind the Methodist church, but Charles was its “heart” – writing works that continue to inspire and edify.
