Charles Wesley - The Memorial Garden of Rest, Marylebone High Street, London, UK
N 51° 31.319 W 000° 09.104
30U E 697592 N 5711720
This circular slate memorial is set into the ground of The Memorial Garden of Rest. It is dedicated to Charles Wesley and family and the words, from one of his hymns, run around the edge of the memorial.
Waymark Code: WMHWP8
Location: London, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 08/20/2013
Views: 3
The grey, slate memorial has the following words, in a decreasing spiral, at
its centre:
Charles Wesley Poet Priest & Preacher Sweet Singer of
Methodism. His wife Sarah & son Charles
Around the edge are the words from, probably, his most famous hymn:
Love divine all loves excelling Joy of heaven to earth
come down Fix in us thy humble dwelling All thy faithful mercies crown
The Hymn Site website
shows all the verses of the hymn:
1. Love divine, all loves excelling,
joy of heaven, to earth come down;
fix in us thy humble dwelling;
all thy faithful mercies crown!
Jesus thou art all compassion,
pure, unbounded love thou art;
visit us with thy salvation;
enter every trembling heart.
2. Breathe, O breathe thy loving Spirit
into every troubled breast!
Let us all in thee inherit;
let us find that second rest.
Take away our bent to sinning;
Alpha and Omega be;
end of faith, as its beginning,
set our hearts at liberty.
3. Come, Almighty to deliver,
let us all thy life receive;
suddenly return and never,
nevermore thy temples leave.
Thee we would be always blessing,
serve thee as thy hosts above,
pray and praise thee without ceasing,
glory in thy perfect love.
4. Finish, then, thy new creation;
pure and spotless let us be.
Let us see thy great salvation
perfectly restored in thee;
changed from glory into glory,
till in heaven we take our place,
till we cast our crowns before thee,
lost in wonder, love, and praise
The
Christian History website tells us about Charles Wesley:
Charles Wesley
Greatest hymn writer of all time
"O for a thousand tongues to sing / My dear Redeemer's praise / The glories
of my God and King, / The triumphs of his grace!"
He was said to have averaged 10 poetic lines a day for 50 years. He wrote
8,989 hymns, 10 times the volume composed by the only other candidate (Isaac
Watts) who could conceivably claim to be the world's greatest hymn writer.
He composed some of the most memorable and lasting hymns of the church:
"Hark! The Herald Angels Sing," "And Can It Be," "O for a Thousand Tongues
to Sing," "Love Divine, All Loves Excelling," "Jesus, Lover of My Soul,"
"Christ the Lord Is Risen Today," "Soldiers of Christ, Arise," and "Rejoice!
the Lord Is King!"
And yet he is often referred to as the "forgotten Wesley."
His brother John is considered the organizational genius behind the founding
of Methodism. But without the hymns of Charles, the Methodist movement may
have gone nowhere. As one historian put it, "The early Methodists were
taught and led as much through [Charles's] hymns as through sermons and
[John] Wesley's pamphlets."
Language scholar
Charles Wesley was the eighteenth of Samuel and Susannah Wesley's nineteen
children (only 10 lived to maturity). He was born prematurely in December
1707 and appeared dead. He lay silent, wrapped in wool, for weeks.
When older, Charles joined his siblings as each day his mother, Susannah,
who knew Greek, Latin, and French, methodically taught them for six hours.
Charles then spent 13 years at Westminster School, where the only language
allowed in public was Latin. He added nine years at Oxford, where he
received his master's degree. It was said that he could reel off the Latin
poet Virgil by the half hour.
It was off to Oxford University next, and to counteract the spiritual
tepidity of the school, Charles formed the Holy Club, and with two or three
others celebrated Communion weekly and observed a strict regimen of
spiritual study. Because of the group's religious regimen, which later
included early rising, Bible study, and prison ministry, members were called
"methodists."
In 1735 Charles joined his brother John (they were now both ordained), to
become a missionary in the colony of Georgia—John as chaplain of the rough
outpost and Charles as secretary to Governor Oglethorpe.
Shot at, slandered, suffering sickness, shunned even by Oglethorpe, Charles
could have echoed brother John's sentiments as they dejectedly returned to
England the following year: "I went to America to convert the Indians, but,
oh, who will convert me?"
It turned out to be the Moravians. After returning to England, Charles
taught English to Moravian Peter Böhler, who prompted Charles to look at the
state of his soul more deeply. During May 1738, Charles began reading Martin
Luther's volume on Galatians while ill. He wrote in his diary, "I labored,
waited, and prayed to feel 'who loved me, and gave himself for me.'" He
shortly found himself convinced, and journaled, "I now found myself at peace
with God, and rejoice in hope of loving Christ." Two days later he began
writing a hymn celebrating his conversion.
Evangelistic preacher
At evangelist George Whitefield's instigation, John and Charles eventually
submitted to "be more vile" and do the unthinkable: preach outside of church
buildings. In his journal entries from 1739 to 1743, Charles computed the
number of those to whom he had preached. Of only those crowds for whom he
stated a figure, the total during these five years comes to 149,400.
Visit Instructions: Give the date of your visit and describe your experience. Additional photos and information about the site or poet/author are appreciated.
|