Charles Wesley. [Thanksgiving.] Composed by Charles Wesley for personal birthday celebration and thanksgiving, this joyful hymn was first published in Hymns and Sacred Poems (1749, volume II, No. 190) in 14 stanzas of 6 lines under the heading "On his Birthday." The hymn holds a memorable place in Methodist history; John Wesley famously recorded in his journal on his eighty-fifth birthday (June 17, 1788) his deep gratitude for physical and spiritual health, quoting stanzas from this poem as his personal pledge of lifelong devotion. When the hymn was adopted into the official Wesleyan Hymn Book in 1780 (No. 221), stanzas ii and xi were omitted to shorten the text for public worship. This twelve-stanza form was preserved in the 1875 edition and spread throughout Methodist hymnals globally. The full original text appears in the Poetical Works of John and Charles Wesley (volume V, page 400). It remains a classic expression of gratitude for life and renewed dedication to God.
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