Worship Hymn
Hymns of Charles Wesley – 5 of My Particular Favourites by Robert Hinchliffe
Within the vast repertoire of church music the hymns of Charles Wesley (1707-1788) are widely considered as some of the greatest ever written. Many of the hymns which congregations most love to sing came from his pen. The scriptural detail of his writing and his inspired turns of phrase put him up there with the very best.
The youngest brother of John Wesley, the inspiration behind the founding of Methodism, Charles supported his brother in his evangelical work, writing many great hymns in the process. In his university days at Christ College in Oxford he and John founded the Holy Club which was the embryo of Methodism.
A look at some of the finest hymns of Charles Wesley will demonstrate his genius and reveal why Christians so love to sing his work. All church goers will have their own favourites, but here are five of mine.
* On Easter morning churches ring to the words, “Christ the Lord is risen today”. This is a great opener for worship on the greatest day in the Christian year. The words, “Love’s redeeming work is done, Fought the fight, the battle won;” sum up beautifully the full meaning of Easter to all believers in the Christian faith.
* On the other great day in the Christian calendar, Christmas Day, Charles Wesley penned one of the greatest of all Christmas carols, “Hark! The herald-angels sing glory to the new-born King.” In the first verse of this carol we sing that we, “With the angelic host proclaim: ‘Christ is born in Bethlehem.’ Usually sung to the great setting by Mendelssohn, this hymn has rattled many a church window on Christmas morning.
* One of the hymns my wife and I chose for our wedding ceremony was another of the great hymns of Charles Wesley, “Love divine, all loves excelling”. Because of its theme of love it has become a very popular choice for weddings. Although the theme is not actually about earthly love but of heavenly love, it refers to Jesus as “Pure, unbounded love thou art.”
* In a recent survey of the most popular hymns “And can it be that I should gain” came out top of the poll. This, of course, is another great congregational hymn of Wesley’s and not surprisingly it is at the top of many people’s list. The repeat of the final two lines of each verse, when sung to the tune Sagina, never fails to make the hairs on my neck and forearms stand to attention.
* As a local preacher, I always try to send the congregation out at the end of worship with a clear message in their minds. “Forth in thy name, O Lord, I go” is a great hymn with which to end a service. The words encourage the members of the congregation to take their faith out into the community with confidence.
The hymns of Charles Wesley are loved by pretty-well everyone within the church, whatever their particular musical preference may be. The five hymns above are some of my particular favourites, although it was a difficult task to select just five. There are so many others I could have chosen. There are, after all, plenty to choose from as, during his lifetime, he wrote well over 6000 of them.
About the Author
Robert Hinchliffe is a professional musician and Methodist local preacher. He is an oboist and composer;-also a writer of worship songs. This article is a result of his recent research into the development of music in Christian worship. For more details visit http://www.robsworshipmusic.com/mcweb.htm and find out how you can access a FREE copy of Robert’s new Christmas song, “The Greatest Gift”
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