The death of Charles Wesley

Charles Wesley

Today marks the death in 1788 of Charles Wesley.  He is the lesser-known brother of John Wesley.  Charles was, in his own right, influential in the establishing of the Methodist movement in England.  He was the youngest of the 19 children born to Samuel and Susannah Wesley.  He was born December 8, 1707.  He introduced his brother John to George Whitfield while they were all students at Oxford.  Charles, Whitfield and others had already begun some of the activities that would evolve into the establishing of The Oxford Holy Club, the forerunner of Methodism in Britain. 

Charles traveled to America in 1735 and served as a secretary to Governor James Oglethorpe and chaplain to the soldiers of the Georgia colony.  While in Georgia he published The Charleston Hymnal, the first hymnal published in America.  He met with indifferent success and returned to England the following year.

Upon his return he married Sarah Gwynne (Sally).  Of their seven children three survived past infancy.  Upon his marriage he ceased the widespread travels of his brother and confined his activity to London and Bristol.

We know Charles Wesley primarily through his hymns.  He was a prolific writer, and in one stretch of his life he wrote a hymn per day as a devotional exercise.  Some of the better-known hymn texts include:

Arise my soul arise

And Can It Be That I Should Gain?

Christ the Lord Is Risen Today

Christ, Whose Glory Fills the Skies

Come, O Thou Traveler Unknown

Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus

Depth of Mercy, Can it Be

Father, I Stretch My Hands to Thee

Hail the Day that Sees Him Rise

Hark! The Herald Angels Sing

Jesus, Lover of My Soul

Jesus, The Name High Over All

Lo! He Comes with Clouds Descending

Love Divine, All Loves Excelling

O for a Heart to Praise My God

O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing

Rejoice, the Lord is King

Soldiers of Christ, Arise

Sun of Unclouded Righteousness

Thou Hidden Source of Calm Repose

Ye Servants of God

Wesley wrote his hymns in a time when the rank and file members of the Methodist movement were semi-literate at best.  So, he taught the theology of Methodism through the hymns.  These are not sappy, emotional songs with mindless refrains.  If you examine the content of his works you find that they contain massive amounts of scripture allusions.  They also transmit the truth of the Christian faith, especially the Methodist emphases on grace and evangelism.  Wesley wrote scores of texts for Eucharistic Hymns.  These remain a source for discerning the sacramental theology of Methodism to this day.

Charles did not march in lock-step with John, and they differed on a number of issues.  But their agreements were stronger than their disputes and they helped matters along in the early years of the movement.  Charles remained a Church of England priest until his death.