Oh, for a thousand tongues
Celebrating the 18th born child of
Mrs. Susanna Wesley
Andrée Seu
December 08, 2007

If you wish to abide in Jesus, it is important to pray constantly and to be in His Word. When the flesh makes it hard to pray and read, I find that it is never hard to sing a hymn. Walking the dog and weary of my prayer list, I suddenly remember a melody and climb up on my Father's lap, as it were, and serenade Him. Where is the man so brutish that he does not like to sing?

And this is not cheating; it is the gift of God to the prayer challenged ("addressing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs," Ephesians 5:19). And so is Charles Wesley a gift, whose songs in the night (and sometimes his spiritual night) have bequeathed to us the best of both prayer and the meat of His Word.

December 18th is the 300th anniversary of that "other" Wesley, John's younger brother, 18th born child of Samuel and Susanna—and as good a pro-life argument as you will adduce. In North Lincolnshire, England, this year a gala flower festival held "Wesley Day" on May 24, to their credit, finding the "born again" date of the brothers a marker more important than the "born of woman" statistic interesting to bibliographers. the rest image