“O for a thousand tongues to sing my great Redeemer’s praise!”
Charles Wesley has been called many things, including “the great hymn writer of all ages” and “the Father of Sacred Song.” Born the eighteenth child in his family on December 18, 1707, he wrote over 6,500 hymns in his 80 years of life. Some of his most famous hymns include “Rock of Ages,” “Hark! the Herald Angels Sing,” and “Just As I Am.”
Charles Wesley was perhaps influenced most profoundly by his godly mother, Susannah Wesley. Despite the fact that there were always a number of children around her, Susannah determined to spend time with each of them. She was known for being a strict but loving mother. Her biggest concern was that her children, including Charles, would grow up to love Jesus Christ.
He was a smart and gifted young man, and people admired him. When he was 15 years old, his father received a letter from a wealthy Irish man offering to adopt Charles Wesley and make him the heir of all he owned. Instead, the teenager chose to stay with his family. The wealthy Irish man ended up adopting another boy, who would come to be known as “Lord Wellesley.” This young man grew up to conquer Napoleon at Waterloo. Both Charles Wesley and Lord Wellesley influenced history, but in vastly different ways.
In college, the Wesley brothers (Charles and his brother John) started the “Holy Club” – a group responsible for visiting the sick, praying for the unsaved, and reading the Bible. Over time, many great men of faith would participate in this group.
For fifty years, Wesley traveled on horseback, preaching the truth wherever he went. After his death, a monument was placed in his honor which read, “God buries His workmen, but carries on His work.”
What are you doing to carry on God’s work today? Are you thinking of ways that you can bring honor to God? You may not accomplish something that looks great in the eyes of the world (like conquering a famous general-emperor), but you can influence many people for the sake of the Gospel!
Ephesians 2:10 – For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.