Charles Wesley's Hymns

On Monday, an ecumenical evening prayer service was held at the Basilica of St. Paul Outside-the-Walls in Rome to celebrate the 300th anniversary of the birth of Charles Wesley. Charles and his brother John began the reform movement within the Church of England that eventually became the Methodist Church. The evening prayer brought toegether representatives of many major Christian denominations to mark the anniversary by singing some of the great hymns written by Charles Wesley. Among the 6,000 hymns he wrote are two of my personal favorites, Hark! The Herald Angels Sing and Love Divine, All Loves Excelling. A major part of Wesley's genius and art is that his hymn texts are not only beautiful to sing, but also contain great theology. In my mind, there is no better description of the heaven than the last line of Wesley's text, Love Divine, All Loves Excelling: "Changed from glory into glory, till in heav'n we take our place, till we stand before th' Almighty, lost in wonder, love, and praise."

Since this is Advent, here is the full text of one of Wesley's great hymns for this season, and another of my personal favorites, Lo! He Comes with Clouds Descending:

Lo! he comes, with clouds descending,
once for our salvation slain;
thousand thousand saints attending
swell the triumph of his train:
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
Christ the Lord returns to reign!

Every eye shall now behold him,
robed in dreadful majesty;
those who set at nought and sold him,
pierced, and nailed him to the tree,
deeply wailing, deeply wailing, deeply wailing,
shall the true Messiah see.

Those dear tokens of his passion
still his dazzling body bears,
cause of endless exultation
to his ransomed worshipers;
with what rapture, with what rapture, with what rapture
gaze we on those glorious scars!

Yea, amen! Let all adore thee,
high on thine eternal throne;
Savior, take the power and glory;
claim the kingdom for thine own:
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
Thou shalt reign and thou alone.