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About Charles Wesley:
The father of John and Charles Wesley was the Rev. Samuel Wesley, Rector of Epworth, in Lincolnshire. There, on a very small income, these two godly parents brought up their large family of nineteen children, ten of whom (three sons and seven daughters) lived to grow up. John was born on June 17, 1703. Charles was born four years later, on December 18, 1707....
It is interesting to read of the two brothers, John and Charles, going to Oxford at an early age, and — grieved at the careless lives of other young men — forming themselves, with a few more, into a little band, pledged to live pure lives, to attend Holy Communion frequently, to visit the poor, the sick, and the prisoners in the jail; to fast, and pray, and study God's Word. They were nicknamed "The Holy Club," and "Methodists," but they persevered in spite of much ridicule and persecution; and their influence spread. From Oxford, Charles returned home to visit his dying father, who laid his hand upon his son's head and said: "Be steady. The Christian faith will surely revive in this kingdom. You shall see it, though I shall not."...
For several years Charles Wesley united with his brother John in his great work of preaching the Gospel, but after his marriage in 1749 he travelled less and resided at Bristol for some years. During the last part of his life his home was in Great Chesterfield Street, Marylebone, London; Charles Wesley died on March 29, 1788, at the age of eighty-one, and was buried in Marylebone Churchyard, for he...had said: "I have lived and I die in the communion of the Church of England, and I will be buried in the churchyard of my parish church."...
Charles Wesley will always be known as the sweet singer of Methodism. As a hymn writer he was unique. In his early years he wrote hymns daily, and he continued writing all his life through. He is said to have written no less than 6500 hymns, and nearly all rise to the highest degree of excellence. His hymns were the expressions of his heart. They show his strong belief in God and his earnest desire for the salvation of his fellow-men. No other verses equal them for simplicity, purity, and power. Charles Wesley wrote his hymns at all times, and in all places — on the road, on horseback, on a stage coach, in a boat. Some thought struck him, and, with his divine gift, he immortalized it in a hymn.
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