Charles Wesley

English clergyman, poet, and hymn writer, who, with his elder brother John, started the Methodist movement in the Church of England. The evangelical revival of the mid-18th century under John and Charles Wesley established hymnody in England and America.

Charles published more than 4,500 hymns and left some 3,000 in manuscript; George Frideric Handel wrote music specifically for some of them. Among Wesley's best known hymns are "Love divine, all loves excelling"; "Hark, the herald angels sing"; "Christ the Lord is ris'n today"; "Soldiers of Christ, arise"; "Rejoice, the Lord is king"; and "Jesu, lover of my soul." Hymns of Charles Wesley appear in the hymnals of most English speaking denominations and have been translated into many other languages.

By clicking on one of the links below you can read read a Charles Wesley hymn and hear the music that is typically used with the hymn today.