Ye that pass by, behold the man. C. Wesley. [Good Friday.] First published in Hymns and Sacred Poems, 1742, in 18 stanzas of 4 lines and entitled, "A Passion Hymn" (Poetical Works, 1868-72, vol. ii. p. 70). In the Wesleyan Hymn Book, 1780, 15 stanzas were given as No. 24, the omitted stanzas being ii., iv., and vii. In the 1809 edition of that collection the hymn is divided into two parts, pt. ii. beginning with “O Thou dear suffering Son of God." Many expressions in the hymn, such as "Give me to feel Thy agonies," and others, have been much criticised from time to time, and this may possibly account for the omission of the hymn from the revised edition of the Wesleyan Hymn Book, 1875. Both parts, however, are still in use in Great Britain and America.
--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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