Born: De­cem­ber 18, 1707, Ep­worth, Lin­coln­shire, Eng­land.

Died: March 29, 1788, Lon­don, Eng­land.

Buried: Ma­ry­le­bone Par­ish Church, Lon­don.

Wesley wrote over 6,000 hymns; as with most hymn­ists, his works were fre­quent­ly al­tered. In the pre­face to the 1779 Col­lection of Hymns for the Use of the Peo­ple called Meth­od­ists, his bro­ther John wrote:

I beg leave to men­tion a thought which has been long up­on my mind, and which I should long ago have in­sert­ed in the pub­lic pa­pers, had I not been un­will­ing to stir up a nest of horn­ets. Ma­ny gen­tle­men have done my bro­ther and me (though with­out nam­ing us) the hon­our to re­print ma­ny of our hymns. Now they are per­fect­ly wel­come to do so, pro­vid­ed they print them just as they are. But I de­sire they would not at­tempt to mend them, for they are real­ly not able. None of them is able to mend ei­ther the sense or the verse. There­fore, I must beg of them these two fa­vours: ei­ther to let them stand just as they are, to take things for bet­ter or worse, or to add the true read­ing in the mar­gin, or at the bot­tom of the page, that we may no long­er be ac­count­a­ble ei­ther for the non­sense or for the dog­ger­el of other men.

In ad­di­tion to hymn writ­ing, Charles and John found­ed the move­ment which be­came the Meth­od­ist de­nom­in­a­tion.

Sources

Lyrics

  1. Ah! Whi­ther Should I Go?
  2. All Glo­ry to God
  3. All Glo­ry to God in the Sky
  4. All Glo­ry to Our Gra­cious Lord
  5. All Wise, All Good, Al­mighty Lord
  6. All Praise to Him Who Dwells in Bliss
  7. All Praise to Our Re­deem­ing Lord
  8. All Ye That Pass By
  9. All Ye That Seek the Lord Who Died
  10. Ambassadors of God
  11. And Am I On­ly Born to Die?
  12. And Are We Yet Alive?
  13. And Can I Yet De­lay?
  14. And Can It Be That I Should Gain?
  15. And Let Our Bo­dies Part
  16. And Let This Fee­ble Body Fail
  17. And Must I Be to Judg­ment Brought
  18. Angels Your March Op­pose
  19. Arise, My Soul, Arise
  20. Arm of the Lord, Awake, Awake!
  21. Author of Faith, Eter­nal Word
  22. Author of Faith, We Seek Thy Face
  23. Awake, Je­ru­sa­lem, Awake!
  24. Away with Our Fears!
  25. Away with Our Fears, Our Trou­bles and Tears
  26. Away with Our Sor­row and Fear
  27. Be Mer­ci­ful, O God, to Me
  28. Because Thou Hast Said
  29. Behold, How Good a Thing
  30. Behold the Ser­vant of the Lord
  31. Being of Be­ings
  32. Blest Be Our Ev­er­last­ing Lord
  33. Blest Be the Dear Unit­ing Love
  34. Blow Ye the Trump­et, Blow
  35. Break Forth into Praise
  36. Brethren in Christ, and Well Be­loved
  37. By Faith We Find the Place Above
  38. Captain of Is­rael’s Host
  39. Celebrate Im­man­u­el’s Name
  40. Center of Our Hopes Thou Art
  41. Charge to Keep I Have, A
  42. Christ from Whom All Bless­ings Flow
  43. Christ the Lord Is Rise­n Today
  44. Christ, Whose Glo­ry Fills the Skies
  45. Clap Your Hands, Ye Peo­ple All
  46. Come Away to the Skies
  47. Come, and Let Us Sweet­ly Join
  48. Come, Di­vine In­ter­pre­ter
  49. Come, Fa­ther, Son, and Ho­ly Ghost
  50. Come, Ho­ly Ghost, All-Quick­en­ing Fire
  51. Come, Ho­ly Ghost, Our Hearts In­spire
  52. Come, Let Us Anew Our Jour­ney Pur­sue
  53. Come, Let Us As­cend
  54. Come, Let Us Join Our Friends Above
  55. Come, Let Us Rise with Christ
  56. Come, Let Us Use the Grace Di­vine
  57. Come, Let Us Who in Christ Be­lieve
  58. Come, O Thou All Vic­tor­ious Lord
  59. Come, O Thou Tra­vel­er Un­known
  60. Come On, My Part­ners in Dis­tress
  61. Come, Sin­ners, to the Gos­pel Feast
  62. Come Then, Thou Pro­phet of the Lord
  63. Come, Thou Al­mighty King
  64. Come, Thou Con­quer­or of the Na­tions
  65. Come, Thou Ev­er­last­ing Spir­it
  66. Come, Thou Long Ex­pect­ed Je­sus
  67. Come, Thou Om­nis­ci­ent Son of Man
  68. Come to Judg­ment
  69. Come, Wis­dom, Pow­er, and Grace Di­vine
  70. Come Ye That Seek the Lord
  71. Come, Ye Wea­ry Sin­ners, Come
  72. Depth of Mercy
  73. Earth with All Her Full­ness Owns, The
  74. Enslaved to Sense, to Plea­sure Prone
  75. Eternal Beam of Light Di­vine
  76. Eternal Son, Eter­nal Love
  77. Eternal Sun of Right­eous­ness
  78. Father, God, We Glor­i­fy
  79. Father, I Stretch My Hands to Thee
  80. Father, if Thou My Fa­ther Art
  81. Father, in Whom We Live
  82. Father of All, Whose Pow­er­ful Voice
  83. Father of Ev­er­last­ing Grace
  84. Father of Je­sus Christ, My Lord
  85. Father of Me, and All Man­kind
  86. Father of Om­ni­present Grace
  87. Father, Our Hearts We Lift
  88. Father, Son and Ho­ly Ghost
  89. Father, Son, and Spir­it, Hear
  90. Father, Whose Ev­er­last­ing Love
  91. Forever Here My Rest Shall Be
  92. Forth in Thy Name, O Lord
  93. Gentle Je­sus, Meek and Mild
  94. Give Me a New, a Per­fect Heart
  95. Give Me the En­larged De­sire
  96. Give Me the Faith Which Can Re­move
  97. Giver of Con­cord, Prince of Peace
  98. Glorious God, Ac­cept a Heart
  99. Glory Be to God on High (1)
  100. Glory Be to God on High (2)
  101. Glory to God, Whose Sov­er­eign Grace
  102. God Is Gone Up on High
  103. God of All Pow­er and Truth and Grace
  104. God of Love That Hear’st the Prayer
  105. God On­ly Wise, and Great, and Strong
  106. Good Thou Art, and Good Thou Dost
  107. Granted Is the Sav­ior’s Pray­er
  108. Great Arch­ang­el’s Trump, The
  109. Great God! To Me the Sight A­fford
  110. Great Is Our Re­deem­ing Lord
  111. Hail, Co-Es­sen­tial Three
  112. Hail the Day That Sees Him Rise
  113. Happy Mag­da­lene, to Whom
  114. Happy Soul, That, Free from Harms
  115. Happy the Man That Finds the Grace
  116. Happy the Souls That First Be­lieved
  117. Happy the Souls to Je­sus Joined
  118. Hark! A Voice Di­vides the Sky
  119. Hark, How the Watch­men Cry
  120. Hark! the Her­ald An­gels Sing
  121. He Comes! He Comes! the Judge S­evere!
  122. He Wills That I Should Ho­ly Be
  123. Head of Thy Church Tri­umph­ant
  124. Head of Thy Church, Whose Spir­it Fills
  125. Hearken to the So­lemn Voice
  126. Hearts of Stone, Re­lent, Re­lent
  127. Heavenly Fa­ther, Sov­er­eign Lord
  128. Ho! Ev­ery One That Thirsts, Draw Nigh
  129. Holy as Thou, O Lord, Is None
  130. Holy, Ho­ly, Lord
  131. Holy Lamb, Who Thee Con­fess
  132. Hosanna in the High­est
  133. How Can We Sin­ners Know
  134. How Glor­i­ous Is the Life Above
  135. How Good and Plea­sant ’Tis to See
  136. How Hap­py Are the Lit­tle Flock
  137. How Hap­py Are We
  138. How Hap­py Ev­ery Child of Grace
  139. How Hap­py Are Thy Serv­ants, Lord
  140. How Love­ly Are Thy Tents, O Lord!
  141. I Call the World’s Re­deem­er Mine
  142. I Know That My Re­deem­er Lives
  143. I the Good Fight Have Fought
  144. I Want a Prin­ci­ple With­in
  145. If Death My Friend and Me Di­vide
  146. In Age and Fee­ble­ness Ex­treme
  147. Infinite God, to Thee We Raise
  148. Infinite, Un­ex­haust­ed Love!
  149. Inspirer of the An­cient Seers
  150. Jehovah, God the Fa­ther, Bless
  151. Jesu, Show Us Thy Sal­va­tion
  152. Jesu, to Thee Our Hearts We Lift
  153. Jesus Christ Is Ris­en Today
  154. Jesus, Faith­ful to His Word
  155. Jesus, from Whom All Bless­ings Flow
  156. Jesus, Great Shep­herd of the Sheep
  157. Jesus Is Our Com­mon Lord
  158. Jesus, Let All Thy Lov­ers Shine
  159. Jesus, Let Thy Pi­ty­ing Eye
  160. Jesus, Lord, We Look to Thee
  161. Jesus, Lov­er of My Soul
  162. Jesus, My Ad­vo­cate Above
  163. Jesus, My Sav­ior, Bro­ther, Friend
  164. Jesus, My Strength, My Hope
  165. Jesus, My Truth, My Way
  166. Jesus, Soft, Har­mon­i­ous Name
  167. Jesus, the All-Re­stor­ing Word
  168. Jesus, the Con­quer­or, Reigns
  169. Jesus! the Name High over All
  170. Jesus, the Ris­ing Lord of All
  171. Jesus, the Sinn­er’s Friend
  172. Jesus, the Truth and Pow­er Di­vine
  173. Jesus, Thine All Vic­tor­i­ous Love
  174. Jesus, Thou All Re­deem­ing Lord
  175. Jesus, Thou Soul of All Our Joys
  176. Jesus, Thou Sov­er­eign Lord of All
  177. Jesus, Unit­ed by Thy Grace
  178. Jesus, We Look to Thee
  179. Jesus, We on the Word Depend
  180. Join All Ye Joy­ful Na­tions
  181. Join, All Ye Ran­somed Sons of Grace
  182. Lamb of God I Look to Thee
  183. Leader of Faith­ful Souls
  184. Let All That Breathe, Je­ho­vah Praise
  185. Let An­gels and Arch­an­gels Sing
  186. Let Earth and Hea­ven Com­bine
  187. Let Him to Whom We Now Be­long
  188. Let Not the Wise His Wis­dom Boast
  189. Let Saints on Earth in Con­cert Sing
  190. Let the World Their Vir­tue Boast
  191. Let Us Plead for Faith Alone
  192. Lift Your Heads
  193. Lift Up Your Hearts to Things Above
  194. Light of Those Whose Dreary Dwell­ing
  195. Lo, He Comes with Clouds De­scend­ing
  196. Long Have I Seemed to Serve Thee, Lord
  197. Lord, I Be­lieve a Rest Re­mains
  198. Lord, I Be­lieve Thy Work of Grace
  199. Lord, in the Strength of Grace
  200. Lord of the Har­vest, Hear
  201. Lord, Whom Winds and Waves Obey
  202. Love Di­vine, All Loves Ex­cel­ling
  203. Lovers of Plea­sure More Than God
  204. Meet and Right It Is to Sing
  205. Messiah, Prince of Peace
  206. My God, I Am Thine
  207. My God, I Know, I Feel Thee Mine
  208. My Heart Is Full of Christ
  209. My Soul, In­spired with Sac­red Love
  210. None Is Like Jerushun’s God
  211. O Astonishing Grace, That the Re­pro­bate Race
  212. O Come and Dwell in Me
  213. O for a Heart to Praise My God
  214. O for a Thou­sand Tongues to Sing
  215. O for That Ten­der­ness of Heart
  216. O God, Most Mer­ci­ful and True
  217. O God of Our Forefathers, Hear
  218. O God, Thy Right­eous­ness We Own
  219. O How Hap­py Are They Who the Sav­ior Obey
  220. O Je­sus, My Hope
  221. O Je­sus, Our King
  222. O Love, Di­vine, How Sweet Thou Art
  223. O Love Di­vine, What Hast Thou Done
  224. O Mercy Di­vine, O Couldst Thou In­cline
  225. O That I Could, in Ev­ery Place
  226. O That I Could Re­pent
  227. O That My Load of Sin Were Gone!
  228. O the Depth of Love Di­vine
  229. O Thou Eter­nal Vic­tim Slain
  230. O Thou, Our Hus­band, Bro­ther, Friend
  231. O Thou Who at Thy Crea­ture’s Bar
  232. O Thou Who Cam­est from Above
  233. O Thou, Whom All Thy Saints Adore
  234. O Thou Whose Of­fer­ing on the Tree
  235. O What Shall I Do, My Sav­ior to Praise
  236. Object of All Our Know­ledge Here
  237. Omnipotent Lord, My Sav­ior and King
  238. Our Earth We Now La­ment to See
  239. Our Friend­ship Sanc­ti­fy and Guide
  240. Our Lord Is Ris­en from the Dead
  241. Peace, Doub­ting Heart!
  242. Praise the Lord Who Reigns Above
  243. Prisoners of Hope, Arise
  244. Rejoice for a Bro­ther De­ceased
  245. Rejoice, the Lord Is King
  246. Righteous God! Whose Venge­ful Phi­als
  247. Rise All Who Seek the Cru­ci­fied
  248. Savior, and Can It Be
  249. Savior, Prince of Is­ra­el’s Race
  250. Savior, Whom Our Hearts Adore
  251. See How Great a Flame As­pires
  252. See, Je­sus, Thy Dis­ci­ples See
  253. See, Sin­ners, in the Gos­pel Glass
  254. Shepherd Di­vine, Our Wants Re­lieve
  255. Shepherd of Souls, with Pi­ty­ing Eye
  256. Sing to the Great Je­ho­vah’s Praise
  257. Sing, Ye Ran­somed Na­tions, Sing
  258. Sinners, Be­lieve the Go­spel Word
  259. Sinners, Dis­miss Your Fear
  260. Sinners, Re­joice: Your Peace Is Made
  261. Sinners, Obey the Gos­pel Word
  262. Sinners, Turn: Why Will You Die?
  263. Soldiers of Christ, Arise
  264. Son of the Car­pen­ter, Re­ceive
  265. Spirit of Faith, Come Down
  266. Stand the Om­ni­po­tent Decree
  267. Stay, Thou In­sult­ed Spir­it, Stay
  268. Surrounded by a Host of Foes
  269. Talk with Us, Lord
  270. Terrible Thought! Shall I Alone
  271. Thou Hid­den Source of Calm Re­pose
  272. This Is Thy Will, I Know
  273. Thou God of Glor­i­ous Ma­jes­ty
  274. Thou God of Truth and Love
  275. Thou Great Mys­ter­i­ous God Un­known
  276. Thou Judge of Quick and Dead
  277. Thou Son of God, Whose Flam­ing Eyes
  278. Thou, the Great, Eter­nal God
  279. Thousand Ora­cles Di­vine, A
  280. Thy Cease­less, Un­ex­haust­ed Love
  281. Thy Faith­ful­ness, Lord, Each Mo­ment We Find
  282. ’Tis Fin­ished! The Mes­si­ah Dies
  283. To Us a Child of Roy­al Birth
  284. Try Us, O God
  285. Victim Di­vine, Thy Grace We Claim
  286. Watched by the World’s Ma­lig­nant Eye
  287. Weary of Wan­der­ing from My God
  288. Weary Souls That Wan­der Wide
  289. What Am I, O Thou Glor­i­ous God!
  290. What Is Our Call­ing’s Glor­i­ous Hope?
  291. What Shall I Do, My God to Love
  292. What Shall I Ren­der to My God
  293. When Qui­et in My House I Sit
  294. Where Is the Ho­ly Heav’n-Born Child?
  295. Where Shall My Won­der­ing Soul Begin?
  296. Wherewith, O Lord, Shall I Draw Near?
  297. Whether the Word Be Preached or Read
  298. What Are These Ar­rayed in White?
  299. Who in the Lord Con­fide
  300. Whom Je­su’s Blood Doth Sanc­ti­fy
  301. With Glor­i­ous Clouds En­com­passed Round
  302. With Sol­emn Faith We Of­fer Up
  303. Woe to the Men on Earth Who Dwell
  304. Worship, and Thanks, and Bless­ing
  305. Would Je­sus Have the Sin­ner Die?
  306. Ye Hea­ven­ly Choir
  307. Ye Men of Is­ra­el, Hear
  308. Ye Neigh­bors and Friends of Je­sus
  309. Ye Ran­somed Sin­ners, Hear
  310. Ye Serv­ants of God
  311. Ye Sim­ple Men of Hearts Sin­cere
  312. Ye That Pass By, Be­hold the Man
  313. Ye Thirsty for God
  314. Ye Vir­gin Souls, Arise
  315. Ye Wait­ing Souls, Arise
  316. Young Men and Maid­ens, Raise