From The Wesleyan Church website:

Charles Wesley, the great hymn writer of the Wesleyan movement, was born December 18, 1707, in Epworth, Lincolnshire, England. The youngest son and 18th child of Samuel and Susanna Wesley, he, like his siblings, received his early education from his mother. At age nine, he entered Westminster School, London, and made a king’s scholar in 1721.

In 1726 Charles entered Christ Church, Oxford. There is founded “The Holy Club” to devote time for spiritual study and charitable works. Charles was ordained an Anglican priest in 1735 and sailed with his brother John to the new colony of Georgia in America that same year. After serving as General Oglethorpe’s Secretary, he returned to England in 1736.

May 21, 1738, Charles experienced a spiritual conversion. He preached in the London churches that were open to him and visited the prisons. He also engaged in field preaching—speaking to nearly 10,000 people on June 24, 1739 in Moorfields. Over the next ten years, he and his brother John preached in the open air.

Charles’ greatest contribution was his hymns. In the course of his career, Charles Wesley wrote over 9000 hymns and poems and set them to popular tunes of the day. Hymns such as And Can It Be That I Should Gain?, Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus, Hark! The Herald Angels Sing, O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing, and Christ the Lord is Risen Today are still being sung in churches today.

Charles died in London on March 29, 1788. He is buried in the garden of the parish church of Marylebone.

____ (end)

The Cyberhymnal lists about 65 of Charles’ hymns. Our church sang a “new” to us, Wesley Advent/Christmas hymn this past week. There is an interesting quote on the Cyberhymnal site about people changing the words to the Wesley’s hymns or altering them in some way. Our hymnal drops two of the verses to “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing.” We added a combined verse this past Sunday. Here are the verses dropped by most hymnals.

Come, Desire of nations, come,
Fix in us Thy humble home;
Rise, the woman’s conqu’ring Seed,
Bruise in us the serpent’s head.
Now display Thy saving power,
Ruined nature now restore;
Now in mystic union join
Thine to ours, and ours to Thine.

Adam’s likeness, Lord, efface,
Stamp Thine image in its place:
Second Adam from above,
Reinstate us in Thy love.
Let us Thee, though lost, regain,
Thee, the Life, the inner man:
O, to all Thyself impart,
Formed in each believing heart.

The Wesley hymns are full of scriptural references and rich in theology. We owe a great deal of gratitude to them for the rich hymnody and theological legacy they left us.