Charles Wesley’s poetry is always sanctified by the word of God. In
this regard he is unsurpassed, and I think unequalled, by any other
writer. He thought and wrote in the language of the Bible, and
constantly weaves into his hymns the words, phrases, incidents of Holy
Scripture. No one ‘spiritualized’ more boldly than he. Of this his
most famous poem, ‘Wrestling Jacob,’ is the great example. Many other
hymns illustrate the same power, e.g. this verse, which
‘spiritualizes’ Peter’s deliverance from prison—
Long my imprisoned spirit lay
Fast bound in sin and nature’s night;
Thine eye diffused a quickening ray,
I woke, the dungeon flamed with light;
My chains fell off, my heart was free,
I rose, went forth, and followed Thee.
and this, which refers in the same fashion to the resurrection of
Lazarus—
Buried in sin, Thy voice I hear,
And burst the barriers of my tomb,
In all the marks of death appear,
Forth at Thy call, though bound, I come.
His more formal paraphrases are often very fine, and are hymns of
permanent worth. Such are—
None is like Jeshurun’s God (Deut. xxxiii. 26-29).
Wherewith, O God, shall I draw near (Mic. vi. 6-8).
Away my unbelieving fear (Hab. iii. 17, 18).
Of course Charles Wesley wrote many Psalm-versions. Comparatively few
are above the average, but there are some exceptions. Among these are
the 48th—
Great is our redeeming Lord,
In power, and truth, and grace.
the 84th—
How lovely are Thy tents, O Lord!
Where’er Thou choosest to record
Thy name, or place Thy house of prayer,
My soul outflies the angel-choir,
And faints, o’erpowered with strong desire,
To meet Thy special presence there.
the 121st—
To the hills I lift mine eyes,
The everlasting hills.
the 125th—
Who in the Lord confide
And feel His sprinkled blood,
In storms and hurricanes abide,
Firm as the mount of God.
Often only two or three verses can be taken from a long poem, as in
Ps. iii.—