Wesley Corpus

1This document was produced under editorial direction of Randy L. Maddox, with the diligent assistance of Aileen F. Maddox. Last updated: December 18, 2008. Hymns and Sacred Poems (1747)1 Baker List, 141 Editorial Introduction: The first Methodist society in Ireland was established in Dublin in the summer of 1747 by Thomas Williams, one of the lay assistants of the Wesley brothers. In response to encouragement by Williams, John Wesley made his first visit later that year. It was a short visit, with John arriving at the port in Dublin on August 9 and departing August 23. But Charles Wesley was soon dispatched to spend extended time shepherding the emerging work. He touched land in Dublin on September 8, 1747 and stayed through March 20, 1748; leaving only after John had relieved him (arriving on March 8). A prominent concern in providing for this new Methodist community was publication of hymn collections for their worship. This concern was initially overseen largely by Charles, since John had little time to devote to it during his short visit. Charles cultivated a relationship with Samuel Powell, a printer, soon after his arrival. His MS Journal records dining at Powell's house on September 17, 1747. In a journal letter he speaks of spending the entire evening at Powell's the next week and of receiving a bill for printing on October 13. Among items that Powell issued in 1747, which may have been covered in this bill, were Dublin editions of several specialized collections that Charles had published in England in recent years see Nativity Hymns (1745); Funeral Hymns (1746); Resurrection Hymns (1746); Ascension Hymns (1746); Whitsunday Hymns (1746); Gloria Patri (1746); Graces (1746); and Redemption Hymns (1747) elsewhere on this website. But there was also one publication which, while under a familiar title, was a distinctive collection. Sometime in the latter third of 1747 Powell issued a volume in the name of John and Charles Wesley titled Hymns and Sacred Poems. This was not a Dublin printing of the combined form of HSP (1739) and HSP (1740) currently circulating in England. It was a much shorter selection of thirty-seven hymns, mostly drawn from HSP (1739). Its size reflected the desire to get a short and inexpensive collection in print for emerging Methodist worship in Ireland.