This song is one of the 7500 hymns (!) that Charles Wesley wrote back in the 1700s. It's hard to believe this man had time to eat, let alone be the gifted preacher that he also was. Someone said he had to have written one song every other day. Can you imagine that?
It first came out in a book of Christmas and Advent hymns so popular it was reprinted twenty times just during his lifetime. Wow.
The music for "Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus" comes from Rowland H. Pritchard. Whether the music is as it was previously intended, I'm not sure of.
This is one version of the song, and I urge you to really listen to the words. Click HERE.
Father God, I know You had to have inspired Charles Wesley in his song writing. I thank You for this man of God, and I thank You also for every other person who puts our joys, sorrows, and questions to music. Help us, Lord, to listen to these words You inspired; to hear and absorb them into our own hearts. Amen.
Hello, Anne. Thank you for the post featuring Charles Wesley. If you interest, I would like to invite you to the website for the Asbury Triptych Series, a trilogy about one of the young preachers influenced by John and Charles Wesley. The opening book, Black Country, details the early preaching years of Francis Asbury. There are numerous articles on the book website. Please feel free to read the articles and introductions to the books in the series. The website is www.francisasburytriptych.com. Thank you again for the Wesley reference.
ReplyDeleteHello, Al. Thanks for the tip. Are these books fiction or non-fiction?
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