Ever fainting with desire

Author: Charles Wesley

Charles Wesley, the son of Samuel Wesley, was born at Epworth, Dec. 18, 1707. He was educated at Westminster School and afterwards at Christ Church, Oxford, where he graduated M.A. In 1735, he took Orders and immediately proceeded with his brother John to Georgia, both being employed as missionaries of the S.P.G. He returned to England in 1736. For many years he engaged with his brother in preaching the Gospel. He died March 29, 1788. To Charles Wesley has been justly assigned the appellation of the "Bard of Methodism." His prominence in hymn writing may be judged from the fact that in the "Wesleyan Hymn Book," 623 of the 770 hymns were written by him; and he published more than thirty poetical works, written either by himself alone,… Go to person page >

Ever fainting with desire. C. Wesley. [Holiness desired.] Appeared in Hymns and Sacred Poems, 1742, p. 219, in 10 stanzas of 8 lines, and headed, "A Prayer for Holiness" (Poetical Works, 1868-72, vol. ii. p. 274). In 1780 it was included in the Wesleyan Hymn Book, No. 344, with the omission of stanzas iii.-vi, and in this form it has been repeated in several hymnbooks. The omitted stanzas contain expressions concerning entire holiness, which gave rise to much controversy, and caused J. Wesley to mark them for omission in later editions of the Hymns & Sacred Poems (Works, vol. x. p. 397; and Poetical Works, vol. ii. p. 274).

--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)