Ah my dear Lord whose changeless love

Author: Charles Wesley

Charles Wesley, M.A. was the great hymn-writer of the Wesley family, perhaps, taking quantity and quality into consideration, the great hymn-writer of all ages. Charles Wesley was the youngest son and 18th child of Samuel and Susanna Wesley, and was born at Epworth Rectory, Dec. 18, 1707. In 1716 he went to Westminster School, being provided with a home and board by his elder brother Samuel, then usher at the school, until 1721, when he was elected King's Scholar, and as such received his board and education free. In 1726 Charles Wesley was elected to a Westminster studentship at Christ Church, Oxford, where he took his degree in 1729, and became a college tutor. In the early part of the same year his religious impressions were much deepene… Go to person page >

Ah, my dear Lord, Whose changeless love. C. Wesley. [In Temptation.] First published in Hymns and Sacred Poems by J. & C. Wesley, 1739, in 14 stanzas of 4 lines. In Kennedy, 1863, No. 1266, is composed of st. i., ii., iii., vii., x, and xii. In its original form it is unknown to modern hymnals, and the use of this cento is very limited. Stanzas xi.-xiv.—-as "Fondly my foolish heart essays"—-were given in the Wesleyan Hymn Book 1780, as No. 282. The same stanzas are No. 291 of the revised edition, 1875. Original text, Poetical Works, 1868-72, vol. i. p. 131.

--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)