Charles Wesley

This Sunday we'll be featuring one of of Charles Wesley's greatest hymns, "O For A Thousand Tongues To Sing" which was written in 1749.

Wesley was sent by the Church of England to minister to Anglican colonies in what is now the state of GA. While serving there he became good friends with German immigrants of the Moravian faith. On May 21, 1749, the eleventh anniversary of his conversion, Wesley recalled a remark made by Peter Bohler, one of the Moravian leaders, “Had I a thousand tongues,” he said, “I would praise God with all of them.”

One of the things I enjoy about leading worship is the opportunity to take something old and make it new again. How amazing is it that this song was written over 250 years ago and we're still singing it today? Granted, we're modernizing the sound of the song to include guitars, drums, synth, etc, (similar sample of what we're doing Sunday) but I wonder how many songs written today will still be sung centuries from now? Whenever you next listen to a song ask yourself how long you think that song will be around.