Blest be the dear uniting love. C. Wesley. [Parting.] Published in Hymns & Sacred Poems, 1742, p. 159, in 8 stanzas of 4 lines, and again Poetical Works, 1868-72, vol. ii. p. 221. It was given in the Wesleyan Hymn Book, 1780, No. 520, with alterations, and the omission of stanzas v. and vi. This form of the hymn is in the revised edition, 1875, No. 534, and in most collections of the Methodist body. From Whitetield's Collection 1753, to the present it has also been in use amongst various denominations in one form or another, ranging from 5 stanzas in Whitefield to 3 stanzas as in several American collections. This hymn has been ascribed to J. Cennick in error.
-- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)
Charles Wesley, M.A. was the great hymn-writer of the Wesley family, perhaps, taking quantity and quality into consideration, the great hymn-writer of all ages. Charles Wesley was the youngest son and 18th child of Samuel and Susanna Wesley, and was born at Epworth Rectory, Dec. 18, 1707. In 1716 he went to Westminster School, being provided with a home and board by his elder brother Samuel, then usher at the school, until 1721, when he was elected King's Scholar, and as such received his board and education free. In 1726 Charles Wesley was elected to a Westminster studentship at Christ Church, Oxford, where he took his degree in 1729, and became a college tutor. In the early part of the same year his religious impressions were much deepene… Go to person page >
My Starred Hymns
My FlexScores
My Hymnals
My Purchased Files
