Who is Charles Wesley? You may know him as the younger brother of founder of the Methodist Church (though some, including the author consider the brothers co-founders, while I've read one person that said George Whitefield was the founder but left the movement to the Wesleys to keep from dividing the movement). You may be a little more familiar with Charles than you think, though: he wrote thousand of hymns including "O For A Thousand Tongues To Sing" (where the author took his title from), "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing!", "Come Thou Long Expected Jesus," and "And Can It Be That I Should Gain."
There are some biographies that seem a little deep and that I need to work through. This one is an example. It is basically chronological,but the chapters deal with various topics, such as the controversy with Calvinism, Wesley's marriage and family, the persecution endured by the Church of England and how the brothers disagreed about remaining a part of the Church of England.
Charles Wesley and Isaac Watts are probably the best known hymn writers, and it was interesting comparing the two. (The library also has a biography on Watt: Isaac Watts: His Life And Thoughts by Graham Benyon - excellent book.) The chapter on Wesley's poetry compares the styles of writing. Also, both Charles Wesley and Watts were both preachers as well as hymn writers. Likewise, both wrote the words to the songs but not the music. Another interesting note - both John R. Tyson in this book and Benyon wrote on the subjects of their doctoral dissertations.
How familiar are you with Charles Wesley? Do you have a favorite hymn that he wrote?
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