Lo! I come with joy to do. C. Wesley. [For Men in Business.] Published in Hymns for those that Seek, and those that Have Redemption, 1747, in 6 stanzas of 8 lines, and headed "For a Believer, in Worldly Business" (PoeticalWorks, 1868-72, voi. iv. p. 214). It is in common use in the following forms:—
1. Lo! I come with joy to do. This was given in the Wesleyan Hymn Book, 1780, No. 316, and has been repeated in several collections in Great Britain and America. From this stanza iv. is usually omitted.
2. Behold I come with joy to do. In the American Methodist Episcopal Hymns, 1849, and other American collections. This is stanzas i., ii., and vi., slightly altered.
3. Since I've known a Saviour's Name. This altered form of stanzas ii., iv., and vi. was given in the American Prayer Book Collection, 1826, and is repeated in the Hymnal of the Protestamt Episcopal Church, 1871. In the first line of stanza iii. an unfortunate change was made in 1826, and is retained in 1871. The original reads:—
"0 that all the art might know
Of living thus to Thee."
This is changed to—
"O that all the world might know
Of living, Lord to Thee."
--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 >
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