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. Favor and Peace on Earth
  92. Fiery Tri­al, The
  93. For One Im­pris­oned for Right­eous­ness’ Sake
  94. Forever Here My Rest Shall Be
  95. Forth in Thy Name, O Lord
  96. Gentle Je­sus, Meek and Mild
  97. Give Me a New, a Per­fect Heart
  98. Give Me the En­larged De­sire
  99. Give Me the Faith Which Can Re­move
  100. Giver of Con­cord, Prince of Peace
  101. Glorious God, Ac­cept a Heart
  102. Glory Be to God on High (1)
  103. Glory Be to God on High (2)
  104. Glory to God, Whose Sov­er­eign Grace
  105. God Is Gone Up on High
  106. God of All Pow­er and Truth and Grace
  107. God of Love That Hear’st the Prayer
  108. God On­ly Wise, and Great, and Strong
  109. Good Thou Art, and Good Thou Dost
  110. Granted Is the Sav­ior’s Pray­er
  111. Great Arch­ang­el’s Trump, The
  112. Great God! To Me the Sight A­fford
  113. Great Is Our Re­deem­ing Lord
  114. Hail, Co-Es­sen­tial Three
  115. Hail the Day That Sees Him Rise
  116. Happy Mag­da­lene, to Whom
  117. Happy Soul, That, Free from Harms
  118. Happy the Man That Finds the Grace
  119. Happy the Souls That First Be­lieved
  120. Happy the Souls to Je­sus Joined
  121. Hark! A Voice Di­vides the Sky
  122. Hark, How the Watch­men Cry
  123. Hark! the Her­ald An­gels Sing
  124. He Comes! He Comes! the Judge S­evere!
  125. He Wills That I Should Ho­ly Be
  126. Head of Thy Church Tri­umph­ant
  127. Head of Thy Church, Whose Spir­it Fills
  128. Hearken to the So­lemn Voice
  129. Hearts of Stone, Re­lent, Re­lent
  130. Heavenly Fa­ther, Sov­er­eign Lord
  131. Ho! Ev­ery One That Thirsts, Draw Nigh
  132. Holy as Thou, O Lord, Is None
  133. Holy, Ho­ly, Lord
  134. Holy Lamb, Who Thee Con­fess
  135. Hosanna in the High­est
  136. How Can We Sin­ners Know
  137. How Glor­i­ous Is the Life Above
  138. How Good and Plea­sant ’Tis to See
  139. How Hap­py Are the Lit­tle Flock
  140. How Hap­py Are We
  141. How Hap­py Ev­ery Child of Grace
  142. How Hap­py Are Thy Serv­ants, Lord
  143. How Love­ly Are Thy Tents, O Lord!
  144. I Call the World’s Re­deem­er Mine
  145. I Know That My Re­deem­er Lives
  146. I the Good Fight Have Fought
  147. I Want a Prin­ci­ple With­in
  148. If Death My Friend and Me Di­vide
  149. In Age and Fee­ble­ness Ex­treme
  150. Infinite God, to Thee We Raise
  151. Infinite, Un­ex­haust­ed Love!
  152. Inspirer of the An­cient Seers
  153. Jehovah, God the Fa­ther, Bless
  154. Jesu, Show Us Thy Sal­va­tion
  155. Jesu, to Thee Our Hearts We Lift
  156. Jesus Christ Is Ris­en Today
  157. Jesus, Faith­ful to His Word
  158. Jesus, from Whom All Bless­ings Flow
  159. Jesus, Great Shep­herd of the Sheep
  160. Jesus Is Our Com­mon Lord
  161. Jesus, Let All Thy Lov­ers Shine
  162. Jesus, Let Thy Pi­ty­ing Eye
  163. Jesus, Lord, We Look to Thee
  164. Jesus, Lov­er of My Soul
  165. Jesus, My Ad­vo­cate Above
  166. Jesus, My Sav­ior, Bro­ther, Friend
  167. Jesus, My Strength, My Hope
  168. Jesus, My Truth, My Way
  169. Jesus, Soft, Har­mon­i­ous Name
  170. Jesus, the All-Re­stor­ing Word
  171. Jesus, the Con­quer­or, Reigns
  172. Jesus! the Name High over All
  173. Jesus, the Ris­ing Lord of All
  174. Jesus, the Sinn­er’s Friend
  175. Jesus, the Truth and Pow­er Di­vine
  176. Jesus, Thine All Vic­tor­i­ous Love
  177. Jesus, Thou All Re­deem­ing Lord
  178. Jesus, Thou Soul of All Our Joys
  179. Jesus, Thou Sov­er­eign Lord of All
  180. Jesus, Unit­ed by Thy Grace
  181. Jesus, We Look to Thee
  182. Jesus, We on the Word Depend
  183. Join All Ye Joy­ful Na­tions
  184. Join, All Ye Ran­somed Sons of Grace
  185. Lamb of God I Look to Thee
  186. Leader of Faith­ful Souls
  187. Let All That Breathe, Je­ho­vah Praise
  188. Let An­gels and Arch­an­gels Sing
  189. Let Earth and Hea­ven Com­bine
  190. Let Ev­ery Tongue My Sav­ior Praise
  191. Let God Arise, and Let His Foes
  192. Let Him to Whom We Now Be­long
  193. Let Not the Wise His Wis­dom Boast
  194. Let Saints on Earth in Con­cert Sing
  195. Let the World Their Vir­tue Boast
  196. Let Us Plead for Faith Alone
  197. Lift Your Heads
  198. Lift Up Your Hearts to Things Above
  199. Light of Those Whose Dreary Dwell­ing
  200. Lo, He Comes with Clouds De­scend­ing
  201. Long Have I Seemed to Serve Thee, Lord
  202. Lord, I Be­lieve a Rest Re­mains
  203. Lord, I Be­lieve Thy Work of Grace
  204. Lord, in the Strength of Grace
  205. Lord of the Har­vest, Hear
  206. Lord, Whom Winds and Waves Obey
  207. Love Di­vine, All Loves Ex­cel­ling
  208. Lovers of Plea­sure More Than God
  209. Meet and Right It Is to Sing
  210. Messiah, Prince of Peace
  211. Modern Chris­ti­an­i­ty
  212. My God, I Am Thine
  213. My God, I Know, I Feel Thee Mine
  214. My Heart Is Full of Christ
  215. My Soul, In­spired with Sac­red Love
  216. None Is Like Jerushun’s God
  217. O Astonishing Grace, That the Re­pro­bate Race
  218. O Come and Dwell in Me
  219. O for a Heart to Praise My God
  220. O for a Thou­sand Tongues to Sing
  221. O for That Ten­der­ness of Heart
  222. O God, Most Mer­ci­ful and True
  223. O God of Our Forefathers, Hear
  224. O God, Thy Right­eous­ness We Own
  225. O How Hap­py Are They Who the Sav­ior Obey
  226. O Je­sus, My Hope
  227. O Je­sus, Our King
  228. O Love, Di­vine, How Sweet Thou Art
  229. O Love Di­vine, What Hast Thou Done
  230. O Mercy Di­vine, O Couldst Thou In­cline
  231. O That I Could, in Ev­ery Place
  232. O That I Could Re­pent
  233. O That My Load of Sin Were Gone!
  234. O the Depth of Love Di­vine
  235. O Thou Eter­nal Vic­tim Slain
  236. O Thou, Our Hus­band, Bro­ther, Friend
  237. O Thou Who at Thy Crea­ture’s Bar
  238. O Thou Who Cam­est from Above
  239. O Thou, Whom All Thy Saints Adore
  240. O Thou Whose Of­fer­ing on the Tree
  241. O What Shall I Do, My Sav­ior to Praise
  242. Object of All Our Know­ledge Here
  243. Omnipotent Lord, My Sav­ior and King
  244. Our Earth We Now La­ment to See
  245. Our Friend­ship Sanc­ti­fy and Guide
  246. Our Lord Is Ris­en from the Dead
  247. Peace, Doub­ting Heart!
  248. Praise the Lord Who Reigns Above
  249. Prisoners of Hope, Arise
  250. Rejoice for a Bro­ther De­ceased
  251. Rejoice, the Lord Is King
  252. Righteous God! Whose Venge­ful Phi­als
  253. Rise All Who Seek the Cru­ci­fied
  254. Savior, and Can It Be
  255. Savior, Prince of Is­ra­el’s Race
  256. Savior, Whom Our Hearts Adore
  257. See How Great a Flame As­pires
  258. See, Je­sus, Thy Dis­ci­ples See
  259. See, Sin­ners, in the Gos­pel Glass
  260. Shepherd Di­vine, Our Wants Re­lieve
  261. Shepherd of Souls, with Pi­ty­ing Eye
  262. Sing to the Great Je­ho­vah’s Praise
  263. Sing, Ye Ran­somed Na­tions, Sing
  264. Sinners, Be­lieve the Go­spel Word
  265. Sinners, Dis­miss Your Fear
  266. Sinners, Re­joice: Your Peace Is Made
  267. Sinners, Obey the Gos­pel Word
  268. Sinners, Turn: Why Will You Die?
  269. Soldiers of Christ, Arise
  270. Son of the Car­pen­ter, Re­ceive
  271. Spirit of Faith, Come Down
  272. Stand the Om­ni­po­tent Decree
  273. Stay, Thou In­sult­ed Spir­it, Stay
  274. Stupendous Mys­te­ry!
  275. Surrounded by a Host of Foes
  276. Talk with Us, Lord
  277. Terrible Thought! Shall I Alone
  278. Thou Hid­den Source of Calm Re­pose
  279. This Is Thy Will, I Know
  280. Thou God of Glor­i­ous Ma­jes­ty
  281. Thou God of Truth and Love
  282. Thou Great Mys­ter­i­ous God Un­known
  283. Thou Judge of Quick and Dead
  284. Thou Son of God, Whose Flam­ing Eyes
  285. Thou, the Great, Eter­nal God
  286. Thousand Ora­cles Di­vine, A
  287. Thy Cease­less, Un­ex­haust­ed Love
  288. Thy Faith­ful­ness, Lord, Each Mo­ment We Find
  289. ’Tis Fin­ished! The Mes­si­ah Dies
  290. To Us a Child of Roy­al Birth
  291. Try Us, O God
  292. Victim Di­vine, Thy Grace We Claim
  293. Watched by the World’s Ma­lig­nant Eye
  294. Weary of Wan­der­ing from My God
  295. Weary Souls That Wan­der Wide
  296. What Am I, O Thou Glor­i­ous God!
  297. What Is Our Call­ing’s Glor­i­ous Hope?
  298. What Shall I Do, My God to Love
  299. What Shall I Ren­der to My God
  300. When Qui­et in My House I Sit
  301. Where Is the Ho­ly Heav’n-Born Child?
  302. Where Shall My Won­der­ing Soul Begin?
  303. Wherewith, O Lord, Shall I Draw Near?
  304. Whether the Word Be Preached or Read
  305. What Are These Ar­rayed in White?
  306. Who in the Lord Con­fide
  307. Whom Je­su’s Blood Doth Sanc­ti­fy
  308. With Glor­i­ous Clouds En­com­passed Round
  309. With Sol­emn Faith We Of­fer Up
  310. Woe to the Men on Earth Who Dwell
  311. Worship, and Thanks, and Bless­ing
  312. Would Je­sus Have the Sin­ner Die?
  313. Ye Hea­ven­ly Choir
  314. Ye Men of Is­ra­el, Hear
  315. Ye Neigh­bors and Friends of Je­sus
  316. Ye Ran­somed Sin­ners, Hear
  317. Ye Serv­ants of God
  318. Ye Sim­ple Men of Hearts Sin­cere
  319. Ye That Pass By, Be­hold the Man
  320. Ye Thirsty for God
  321. Ye Vir­gin Souls, Arise
  322. Ye Wait­ing Souls, Arise
  323. Young Men and Maid­ens, Raise