Rejoice, The Lord Is King

In 1744, Charles Wesley wrote a hymn based on Philippians 4:4, “Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice.” Rejoicing is central in many songs of praise and celebration. Christians have been exhorted to confront the stress of daily living with unfailing courage and to rejoice.  

Charles and John Wesley were frequently the objects of strong and hostile opposition. An example of the hostility they experienced occurred in 1747 in Devizes, a small village about twenty miles southeast of Bristol, England. The local Anglican minister went from house to house telling people that Charles Wesley had preached blasphemy at the university.  

A crowd was stirred up by the town leaders and the minister and surrounded the house where the Wesleys were staying. They broke windows, ripped off shutters, and drove the Wesley’s horses into the pond. The following day the crowd used the fire engine to pour water into the house, flooding all the rooms the Wesleys were using and ruining the merchandise of the shopkeeper on the street floor. Charles and John Wesley and their companions rode out of town singing a hymn Charles had written, “Thine Arm Hath Safely Brought Us.”