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Charles Wesley
1707 - 1788 Author of "Christ, the Lord, is risen today" in Pilgrim Songs (Number Two) Charles Wesley, M.A. was the great hymn-writer of the Wesley family, perhaps, taking quantity and quality into consideration, the great hymn-writer of all ages. Charles Wesley was the youngest son and 18th child of Samuel and Susanna Wesley, and was born at Epworth Rectory, Dec. 18, 1707. In 1716 he went to Westminster School, being provided with a home and board by his elder brother Samuel, then usher at the school, until 1721, when he was elected King's Scholar, and as such received his board and education free. In 1726 Charles Wesley was elected to a Westminster studentship at Christ Church, Oxford, where he took his degree in 1729, and became a college tutor. In the early part of the same year his religious impressions were much deepened, and he became one of the first band of "Oxford Methodists."
In 1735 he went with his brother John to Georgia, as secretary to General Oglethorpe, having before he set out received Deacon's and Priest's Orders on two successive Sundays. His stay in Georgia was very short; he returned to England in 1736, and in 1737 came under the influence of Count Zinzendorf and the Moravians, especially of that remarkable man who had so large a share in moulding John Wesley's career, Peter Bonier, and also of a Mr. Bray, a brazier in Little Britain. On Whitsunday, 1737, [sic. 1738] he "found rest to his soul," and in 1738 he became curate to his friend, Mr. Stonehouse, Vicar of Islington, but the opposition of the churchwardens was so great that the Vicar consented that he "should preach in his church no more." Henceforth his work was identified with that of his brother John, and he became an indefatigable itinerant and field preacher. On April 8, 1749, he married Miss Sarah Gwynne. His marriage, unlike that of his brother John, was a most happy one; his wife was accustomed to accompany him on his evangelistic journeys, which were as frequent as ever until the year 1756," when he ceased to itinerate, and mainly devoted himself to the care of the Societies in London and Bristol. Bristol was his headquarters until 1771, when he removed with his family to London, and, besides attending to the Societies, devoted himself much, as he had done in his youth, to the spiritual care of prisoners in Newgate. He had long been troubled about the relations of Methodism to the Church of England, and strongly disapproved of his brother John's "ordinations." Wesley-like, he expressed his disapproval in the most outspoken fashion, but, as in the case of Samuel at an earlier period, the differences between the brothers never led to a breach of friendship. He died in London, March 29, 1788, and was buried in Marylebone churchyard. His brother John was deeply grieved because he would not consent to be interred in the burial-ground of the City Road Chapel, where he had prepared a grave for himself, but Charles said, "I have lived, and I die, in the Communion of the Church of England, and I will be buried in the yard of my parish church." Eight clergymen of the Church of England bore his pall. He had a large family, four of whom survived him; three sons, who all became distinguished in the musical world, and one daughter, who inherited some of her father's poetical genius. The widow and orphans were treated with the greatest kindness and generosity by John Wesley.
As a hymn-writer Charles Wesley was unique. He is said to have written no less than 6500 hymns, and though, of course, in so vast a number some are of unequal merit, it is perfectly marvellous how many there are which rise to the highest degree of excellence. His feelings on every occasion of importance, whether private or public, found their best expression in a hymn. His own conversion, his own marriage, the earthquake panic, the rumours of an invasion from France, the defeat of Prince Charles Edward at Culloden, the Gordon riots, every Festival of the Christian Church, every doctrine of the Christian Faith, striking scenes in Scripture history, striking scenes which came within his own view, the deaths of friends as they passed away, one by one, before him, all furnished occasions for the exercise of his divine gift. Nor must we forget his hymns for little children, a branch of sacred poetry in which the mantle of Dr. Watts seems to have fallen upon him. It would be simply impossible within our space to enumerate even those of the hymns which have become really classical. The saying that a really good hymn is as rare an appearance as that of a comet is falsified by the work of Charles Wesley; for hymns, which are really good in every respect, flowed from his pen in quick succession, and death alone stopped the course of the perennial stream.
It has been the common practice, however for a hundred years or more to ascribe all translations from the German to John Wesley, as he only of the two brothers knew that language; and to assign to Charles Wesley all the original hymns except such as are traceable to John Wesley through his Journals and other works.
The list of 482 original hymns by John and Charles Wesley listed in this Dictionary of Hymnology have formed an important part of Methodist hymnody and show the enormous influence of the Wesleys on the English hymnody of the nineteenth century.
-- Excerpts from John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)
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Charles Wesley, the son of Samuel Wesley, was born at Epworth, Dec. 18, 1707. He was educated at Westminster School and afterwards at Christ Church, Oxford, where he graduated M.A. In 1735, he took Orders and immediately proceeded with his brother John to Georgia, both being employed as missionaries of the S.P.G. He returned to England in 1736. For many years he engaged with his brother in preaching the Gospel. He died March 29, 1788. To Charles Wesley has been justly assigned the appellation of the "Bard of Methodism." His prominence in hymn writing may be judged from the fact that in the "Wesleyan Hymn Book," 623 of the 770 hymns were written by him; and he published more than thirty poetical works, written either by himself alone, or in conjunction with his brother. The number of his separate hymns is at least five thousand.
--Annotations of the Hymnal, Charles Hutchins, M.A., 1872.
Charles Wesley
Nahum Tate
1652 - 1715 Person Name: N. Tate Author of "Jesus Christ is risen to-day" in The Hymnal, Revised and Enlarged, as adopted by the General Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America in the year of our Lord 1892 Nahum Tate was born in Dublin and graduated from Trinity College, Dublin, B.A. 1672. He lacked great talent but wrote much for the stage, adapting other men's work, really successful only in a version of King Lear. Although he collaborated with Dryden on several occasions, he was never fully in step with the intellectual life of his times, and spent most of his life in a futile pursuit of popular favor. Nonetheless, he was appointed poet laureate in 1692 and royal historiographer in 1702. He is now known only for the New Version of the Psalms of David, 1696, which he produced in collaboration with Nicholas Brady. Poverty stricken throughout much of his life, he died in the Mint at Southwark, where he had taken refuge from his creditors, on August 12, 1715.
--The Hymnal 1940 Companion
See also in:
Hymn Writers of the Church
Nahum Tate
J. Sebastian B. Hodges
1830 - 1915 Person Name: John S. B. Hodges (1830-) Composer of "ANDOVER" in Pilgrim Songs (Number Two) Born: 1830, Bristol, Gloucestershire, England.
Died: May 1, 1915, Baltimore, Maryland.
Buried: Allegheny Cemetery, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Son of composer Edward Hodges, John emigrated to America in 1845, and attended Columbia University and the General Theological Seminary in New York City. Ordained an Episcopal minister in 1854, he served at the Grace/Second Episcopal Church, Newark, New Jersey (1860-70), and was Rector of St. Paul’s, Baltimore, Maryland, for 35 years. His works include:
The Book of Common Praise, 1869
The revised edition of Hymn Tunes, 1903
--www.hymntime.com/tch
J. Sebastian B. Hodges
Nicholas Brady
1659 - 1726 Person Name: N. Brady Author of "Jesus Christ is risen to-day" in The Hymnal, Revised and Enlarged, as adopted by the General Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America in the year of our Lord 1892 Nicholas Brady, the son of an officer in the Royalist army, was born in Brandon, Ireland, 1659. He studied at Westminster School, and at Christ Church College, oxford, and graduated at Trinity College, Dublin. He held several positions in the ministry, but later in life retired to Richmond Surrey, where he established a school. Here he translated some of the Psalms. Several volumes of his sermons and smaller works were published, but his chief work, like that of his co-colabourer Tate, was the "Metrical Version of Psalms."
This version was authorized by King William in 1696, and has, since that time, taken the place of the earlier translation by Sternhold and Hopkins, which was published in 1562. The whole of the Psalms, with tunes, appeared in 1698, and a Supplement of Church Hymns in 1703. Of this version, which has little poetic merit, Montgomery says "It is nearly as inanimate as the former, though a little more refined." None of the "Metrical Psalms" are to be compared with the Psalms of the Prayer Book Psalter, and very few of them are worthy a place in a collection of hymns.
--Annotations of the Hymnal, Charles Hutchins, 1872.
Nicholas Brady
Leonard Bacon
1802 - 1881 Author of "Wake the song of Jubilee!" in Pilgrim Songs (Number Two) Leonard Bacon, D.D., was born in Detroit (where his father was a missionary to the Indians), February 19, 1802, and educated at Yale college and at Andover. In 1825 he was ordained Pastor of the Centre Church, New Haven, and retained that charge until 1866, when he was appointed Professor of Theology in Yale Divinity School. This professorship he resigned in 1871; but till his death in 1881, he was Lecturer on Church Polity. He died December 23, 1881. Dr. Bacon rendered important service to hymnology both as writer and compiler. While a student at Andover, he edited an important and now rare tract entitled Hymns and Sacred Songs for the Monthly Concert [of Prayer for Missions], Andover, September 1823. This contained the three hymns following, which are his:-
Weep not for the saint that ascends. Death of a Missionary.
Land where the bones of our father are sleeping. Missions. This was brought into notice in Great Britain through its insertion in the Evangelical Magazine, March, 1824.
Wake the song of jubilee. Missions. Of these No. 1 is found in Lyra Sac. Amer., p. 6 and No. 3 was adopted, with alterations, by Pratt in his Ps. and Hys. (Lond. Seeley & Co,. 1829), fro which it passed into Greene and Mason's Church Psalmody, 1831, and the Church Psalmist of the Evangelical Christians (N. Y., 1845, 7th ed.). This altered text, with some further changes, was adopted by the author in his Appendix to T. Dwight's revised ed. of Watt's Psalms, 1833. This Appendix also contained three newe hymns by him, viz.:-
Though now the nations sit beneath. Missions. This is based on a hymn by Sarah Slinn, "Arise in all Thy splendour, Lord" (q.v.), which Dr. Bacon had partly rewritten for his Andover Tract, above noted. In the Appendix to Dwight he substituted new verses for what remained of her's in the Tract, and then justly claimed the whole as his own.
O Thou Who hast died to redeem us from hell. Holy Communion.
God of our fathers, to Thy throne. Thanksgiving. In 1845 Dr. Bacon was joint compiler with Dr. E. T. Fitch, and several others, of Psalms & Hymns for Christian Use and Worship,, pub. "by the General Association of Connecticut."
To this collection he contributed the four hymns following:-
Here, Lord of life and light, to Thee. Institution of a Minister. This was written March 9, 1825, for his installation as pastor of the First Church, New Haven, and first published as above, No. 559, in 4 stanzas of 4 lines, and headed "Ordination in an ancient New England Church."
O God, beneath They guiding hand. American Anniversary Hymn. This is a favorite American Anniversary hymn. It is abbreviated and altered from his hymn, "The Sabbath morn is as bright and calm," which he wrote for the Bicentenary of New Haven, 1833. In this revised form it was first published as above, No. 619, in 5 stanzas of 4 lines, and appointed "For the twenty-second of December."
O God of Abraham, ever sure. Prayer on behalf of the Young. This was written as a substitute for Mrs. Hyde's "Dear Saviour, if these lambs should stray," the use of which was refused by the owners of the copyright of Nettleton's Village Hymns (1824). In the Psalms & Hymns, it is No. 635, in 4 stanzas of 4 lines, and headed "Prayer for the children of the Church."
Hail, tranquil hour of closing day. Evening. This popular hymns was written under the same circumstances as the preceding, and as a substitute for Mr.s Brown's Twilight hymn, "I love to steal awhile away." It is No. 706 of the Psalms & Hymns, 1845, in 5 stanzas of 4 lines, and entitled "Evening Twilight."
How sweet, thro' long remembered years. Evening. In the Church Praise Book., N.Y., 1882, No. 15, is composed of stanzas iii.-v. of No. 10.
--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)
Leonard Bacon
