Happy [saint] soul that free from harms. C. Wesley. [Prayer to the Good Shepherd.] Appeared in Hymns & Sacred Poems, 1749, No. 106, in 10 stanzas of 4 lines, as No. 4 of "Hymns for those that wait for full Redemption." (Poetical Works, 1868-72, vol. v. p. 293) In the Wesleyan Hymn Book, 1780, it was given with the omission of stanzas ii., iii., and repeated in the revised edition, 1875, No. 13. In Mercer's Church Psalter & Hymn Book, 1856 and 1872, it reads, "Happy saint that free from harms"; and in the Baptist Psalms & Hymns, 1858, No. 550, stanzas vi.-x. are given as, "Jesus, seek Thy wandering sheep."
--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)
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 >
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