CHARLES WESLEY

St Simons Island Georgia, data from the National Park Service

Fort Frederica was established in 1736 by James Oglethorpe to protect the southern boundary of his new colony of Georgia from the Spanish in Florida. Colonists from England, Scotland, and the Germanic states came to Georgia to support this endeavor.

Charles Wesley In Georgia

Charles Wesley set sail for Georgia on October 21, 1735 with his brother John who was doing missionary work for the Society for the Propogation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts. While John was assigned to be the minister at Savannah, Charles served as General Oglethorpe’s secretary of Indian affairs and minister to the soldiers and settlers of Frederica. He arrived on March 9, 1736 and recorded in his journal, “about three in the afternoon, I first set foot on St. Simons island, and immediately my spirit revived. No sooner did I enter upon my ministry, than God gave me, like Saul, another heart…”

When Charles arrived at Frederica he found very primitive conditions and he held services in the open and small prayer meetings in the temporary palmetto huts the settlers constructed. Preaching, however, was not his only job at Frederica. Seven days after his arrival he recorded in his journal, “I was wholly spent in writing letters for Mr. Oglethorpe. I would not spend six days more in the same manner for all Georgia.”

Wesley was constantly involved in the personal struggles of Frederica’s settlers and quickly earned James Oglethorpe’s disfavor. In his journal, he noted, “At half-hour past seven Mr. Oglethorpe called me out of my hut. I looked up to God, and went. He charged me with mutiny and sedition; with stirring up the people to desert the colony.”

At this point in his life, Charles lacked the physical, emotional and mental stamina needed to cope with such a difficult life on the Georgia frontier. While Charles had no love for the conditions in Georgia, many of the Georgia settlers had no great love for the Wesleys. To recent settlers struggling to survive on the harsh frontier, the immediate needs of safety and survival mattered far more than the strict piety espoused by both John and Charles Wesley.

On May 12, 1736, Charles left Frederica eventually bound for England. He recorded his feelings in his journal, “I was overjoyed at my deliverance out of this furnace, and not a little ashamed of myself for being so."

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     Hark! The herald angels sing by Charles Wesley

1. “Glory to the newborn King;
   Peace on earth, and mercy mild,
   God and sinners reconciled!”
   Joyful, all ye nations rise,
   Join the triumph of the skies;
   With th’angelic host proclaim,
   “Christ is born in Bethlehem!”
   • Refrain:
     Hark! the herald angels sing,
     “Glory to the newborn King!”
   • 
     
2. Christ, by highest Heav’n adored;
   Christ the everlasting Lord;
   Late in time, behold Him come,
   Offspring of a virgin’s womb.
   Veiled in flesh the Godhead see;
   Hail th’incarnate Deity,
   Pleased with us in flesh to dwell,
   Jesus our Emmanuel.
3. Hail the heav’nly Prince of Peace!
   Hail the Sun of Righteousness!
   Light and life to all He brings,
   Ris’n with healing in His wings.
   Mild He lays His glory by,
   Born that man no more may die;
   Born to raise the sons of earth,
   Born to give them second birth.
4. Come, Desire of nations, come,
   Fix in us Thy humble home;
   Rise, the woman’s conqu’ring Seed,
   Bruise in us the serpent’s head.
   Now display Thy saving pow’r,
   Ruined nature now restore;
   Now in mystic union join
   Thine to ours, and ours to Thine.
5. Adam’s likeness, Lord, efface,
   Stamp Thine image in its place:
   Second Adam from above,
   Reinstate us in Thy love.
   Let us Thee, though lost, regain,
   Thee, the Life, the inner man:
   Oh, to all Thyself impart,
   Formed in each believing heart.