Two men from the eighteenth century have had a more comprehensive influence on church music in the ensuing ages than any others, with the possible exception of Johann Sebastian Bach. They are Isaac Watts and Charles Wesley. Watts (1674-1748) is actually considered the father of English hymnody. Born in Southampton, England, he was a precocious … Read more Great Eighteenth-Century Hymnists
The Great Awakening on the whole set in motion currents that affected deeply the future of American Christianity. It revived personal religion, prompted the Protestant missionary enterprise somewhat later, gave an impetus to education, and kindled a new humanitarian spirit.
John Wesley was born at the Epworth rectory in 1703. He went to Oxford University in 1720 and was ordained deacon in 1725. He returned to Oxford in 1729 and became the leader of the “holy club” or Methodists which had been organized during his absence by his brother, Charles. He went to Georgia as a missionary in 1735 and while there published his first hymn book.
harles Wesley has been called “the poet of Methodism.” Born in Epworth, England in 1707 he was educated at Westminster School and Oxford University, where he took his degree in 1728. It was while a student at Christ Church College that Wesley and a few associates, by strict attention to duty and exemplary conduct, won for themselves the derisive epithet of “Methodists.”
Edward Perronet, an Independent English clergyman, was born in 1726. He was the son of Vincent Perronet, vicar of Shoreham, who was a friend and supporter of the Wesleys. Edward was educated in the Church of England but became a Wesleyan preacher.
Thomas Olivers was born in Tregoman, Wales in 1725. Early in life, he was left an orphan. Distant relatives brought him up in an indifferent manner. He was sent to school for a time and later became an apprentice to a shoemaker; a man who treated him so cruelly that he ran away. He turned to alcohol for comfort until he heard George Whitefield preach and he was converted.
John Wesley (1703-1791), the founder of Methodism, attended Oxford University in 1720 and was ordained deacon in 1725. He returned to Oxford in 1729 and became the leader of the “holy club” or Methodists, which had been organized during his absence by his brother, Charles.