whether speculative or practical; yea, to illustrate them all, and to prove them both by Scripture and reason; and this is done in a regular order. The hymns are not carelessly jumbled together, but carefully ranged under proper heads, according to the experience of real Christians. So that in effect this book is a little body of experimental and practical divinity. In what other publication of the kind have you so distinct and full an account of Scriptural Christianity? such a declaration of the heights and depths of religion, speculative and practical? so strong cautions against the most practical errors, particularly those that are now so prevalent? and so clear directions for making your calling and election sure, for perfecting holiness in the fear of God?' James Martineau (Life, ii. 99) abundantly confirmed that statement: 'After the Scriptures, the Wesley Hymn-book appears to me the grandest instrument of popular religious culture that Christendom has ever produced'.
After Wesley's death, the book went through a succession of alterations. In the edition of 1797, twenty-four of the hymns he selected were omitted, and sixty-five others inserted. The Conference of 1799 appointed a committee to 'reduce it to its primitive simplicity, as published in the second edition', but it was not entirely successful. Methodism had to wait till 1904, when, concurrently with the new Methodist Hymn-Book, an edition was published which is an exact reprint of the volume as it left Wesley's hands.
In 1831 a supplement was added to Wesley's hymn-book, and in 1875 it was revised, and a new supplement prepared.
The fact that the early publications of the Wesley's bear the name of both brothers has made it difficult to distinguish between their work. Dr. Osborn said that 'his own inquiries had led him to think it likely that Mr. John Wesley contributed more largely to these joint publications than is commonly supposed; and that the habit of attributing almost everything found in them to his brother, is scarcely consistent with a due regard to accuracy' (Poetical Works, viii. xv.).
Against this may be set John Wesley's statement in the preface of the Large Hymn-book, 1780: 'But a small part of these hymns is of my own composing'. Richard Watson, in the first edition of his Life of Wesley, actually attributed all the translations to Charles; and though he modified this in a later edition, he still held that there was internal evidence of Charles Wesley's manner. Miss Wesley, however, doubted
