A Charge to Keep I Have – Charles Wesley

This 55-year was still studying, and that was so typical of his pattern for spiritual life. It was also something that Charles Wesley apparently did not take for granted. Duty, obligation. That was what Charles was thinking as he penned the words, many of them borrowed from a commentary that helped spur what he would say in “A Charge to Keep I Have” in 1762. It was a well-worn method that Charles used, although the part of the bible that he used to collect his thoughts might not have been one that others would use for inspiration. But, given the experiences of Charles and his brother and their cohorts in faith, the attachment to a calling and being steadfast even in the face of opposition was like a heartbeat for them. How could they not do what God bid them to do?

Charles Wesley must have felt a little like a soldier guarding a tomb or some other very strategic asset as he set about writing about the duty of a Christian in “A Charge…”. Impressed as he was with what Moses said to Levites (Leviticus 8:35), and what a commentator (Matthew Henry) noted also there, Charles decided that he felt the same sense of commitment. He evidently thought the words of Matthew Henry were so very good that he paraphrased some of what this commentator had written, especially the title of his poem and other key thoughts in verse 1 – ‘…a God to glorify and a ‘…never-dying soul to save’.  What does it mean to have a charge? Certainly, Charles would have recognized the charge he had accepted when he was ordained into the Church of England. Perhaps he felt this more acutely than his brother John, for we know that Charles disagreed with John’s sense that a break with the state church once they had initiated the Methodist movement was necessary. Indeed, Charles reportedly asked on his deathbed to be buried in the cemetery on the grounds of that church, as a last sign of his loyalty to it. 

The Wesleys had both known commitment by the time Charles’ pen crafted this song, though their walks were not completely smooth. Starting in college, they adopted a strict regimen to guide their spiritual activities, one that was so systematic that some observers ridiculed their ‘method’, and hence the name of their movement that has remained into the 21^st Century. As young men, both Wesleys later spent time in the New World (1735-36 in present-day Georgia), but Charles returned to England after an apparently negative experience in the colonies as a chaplain. It wasn’t until 1738, when he was at a London church (at Aldersgate), that Charles formally converted to Christianity, a commitment he would maintain for the remainder of his life. But, because Methodism challenged the established Church of England, the Wesleys and their movement were not immune to controversy on a broader scale. Some theological challenges from the established Anglican Church, as well as some violence –including one episode that nearly saw John Wesley murdered in 1743—might have been enough to deter weaker men than the Wesleys.  

So, when he read of keeping a charge, this resonated deeply with Charles, for he’d been living a deep commitment. He wrote this song, perhaps as a personal prayer to God to help him maintain what he’d been doing for some 30 years. He called out to God about ‘my calling’, ‘my powers’, and ‘my master’s will’ (v.2), so he was evidently concerned about himself and entreated God for his aid. Verses’ 3 and 4 likewise show Charles’ using of the 1^st person pronouns ‘me’ and ‘I’, as he sought His intervention. He was a 55-year, but still needed the Lord, on a very personal level. Don’t we all!        

   

See more information on the song story in these sources: The Complete Book of Hymns – Inspiring Stories About 600 Hymns and Praise Songs by William J. Petersen and Ardythe Petersen, Tyndale House Publishers, 2006; Amazing Grace: 366 Inspiring Hymn Stories for Daily Devotions by Kenneth W. Osbeck, Kregel Publications, 1990; and 101 More Hymn Stories, by Kenneth W. Osbeck, Kregel Publications, 1985.

Also see this link, showing all four original verses: http://www.hymntime.com/tch/htm/c/h/a/chargkeep.htm

Also see this link for author’s biography: http://www.hymntime.com/tch/bio/w/e/s/l/wesley_c.htm

And here also: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Wesley