The Light of Life

Author: Charles Wesley

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 >

Text Information

First Line: O disclose Thy lovely face
Title: The Light of Life
Author: Charles Wesley
Meter: 7.7.7.7.7.7
Language: English
Copyright: Public Domain

Notes

O disclose Thy lovely face. C. Wesley. [Pardon desired.] There are two centos in common use, each beginning with this line, as follows:—
(1) The first is No. 156 of the Wesleyan Hymn Book, prior to the 1875 revision. It is thus composed: stanza i. is stanza ii. of C. Wesley's hymn, "Lord, how long, how long shall I," which appeared in the Hymns & Sacred Poems, 1740; and stanza ii. and iii. are stanza ii., iii. of "Christ, Whose glory fills the skies". In this form the cento was given in the Wesleyan Hymn Book, 1780, and is found in several Methodist collections. (2) The second form of the hymn is No. 156, in the revised Wesleyan Hymn Book, 1875. It is composed of stanzas ii., iii., and v. of "Lord, how long, how long shall I?" as above.

--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)

Tune

TOPLADY (Hastings)


ST. PETERSBURG

Dmitri Stephanovich Bortnianski (b. Gloukoff, Ukraine, 1751; d. St. Petersburg, Russia, 1825) was a Russian composer of church music, operas, and instrumental music. His tune ST. PETERSBURG (also known as RUSSIAN HYMN) was first published in J. H. Tscherlitzky's Choralbuch (1825). The tune is suppo…

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ARFON (Minor)

ARFON is originally a six-phrase Welsh folk tune in minor tonality entitled 'Tros y Garreg." Named for a district on the mainland of northern Wales opposite Mon and Anglesey, the tune was published in Edward Jones's Relicks of the Welsh Bards (1784). In the later nineteenth century ARFON was associa…

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Timeline

Instances

Instances (1 - 31 of 31)

A Collection of Hymns Adapted to the Use of the Methodist Episcopal Church #d404

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A Collection of Hymns, for the Use of the People Called Methodists, with a Supplement #156

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David's Companion #37

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The Heart and Voice #306c

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The Hymn Book of the Free Methodist Church #368

The Lesser Hymnal #d233

The Methodist Hymn-Book with Tunes #545

The Song Book of the Salvation Army #d541

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The Tribute of Praise and Methodist Protestant Hymn Book #459

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The Tribute of Praise #459

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A Collection of Hymns for the use of the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church in America #423

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A Collection of Hymns #L152

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A Collection of Hymns #155

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Hymns and Songs #83

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Hymns for the Use of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Rev. ed. #423

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New Hymn and Tune book #341a

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New Hymn and Tune Book #341a

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The Tribute of Praise #459

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Songs of Pilgrimage #1367

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The Christian Hymnal #62

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Salvation Army Songs #374

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The Salvation Army Music #91

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