“O
Love divine, what hast thou done!
The
immortal God hath died for me!
The
Father's coeternal Son
bore
all my sins upon the tree.
Th'
immortal God for me hath died:
My
Lord, my Love, is crucified!”—“O Love Divine, What Hast Thou Done,” lyrics by Charles Wesley, music by Isaac B.
Woodbury
Charles Wesley (1707-1788)
might have been the younger brother of John Wesley, the founder of
Methodist faith, but he had his own unique voice within the movement, as well
as within the history of Christianity. That comes from having written nearly
9,000 hymns—an average of 10 poetic lines
a day for 50 years—a record that no other Christian composer (no, not even
the ubiquitous Isaac Watts) has equaled. John might have made his listeners
think, but Charles made them lift their voices.
On this
date 225 years ago, Charles Wesley died. I think that he would have been glad
at the thought that, on certain days (such as this one), the anniversary of his death has fallen
on Good Friday, when Jesus “bore all my sins upon the tree.”
The image
accompanying this post is Crucifixion
with Sts. Mary Virgin, Mary Magdalen, John and Jerome (ca. 1503), an oil-on-panel work by the
Italian Renaissance painter Raphael. This masterpiece now hangs in the
National Gallery in London.
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