shall i for fear of feeble man

John Benjamin Wesley was the founder of the Methodist movement. His ministry, along with that of his brother Charles was, by God’s grace, to have an immeasurable impact on the morally corrupt Britain of his day–and eventually on the entire world.

It is usually stated that John was the preacher, and his brother Charles was the hymn writer. While this is true in terms of the emphasis of their work, Charles too was a fine preacher, and John also wrote and translated a number of hymns.

Wesley’s father was a clergyman, and John was the fifteenth of nineteen children born to Samuel and Susanna Wesley. When John was five, there was a fire in the rectory and the boy was rescued as the flames engulfed the home. His escape made a deep impression on his mind. In later years he described himself as “brand plucked from the burning.” He prayed, “Lord, let me not live to be useless,” a prayer that was most certainly answered!

Many know the early efforts John Wesley made with regard to Christian service. Diligent, disciplined, yet spiritually empty. A largely frustrating work among the Indian tribes in America presented a severe “do right” morality that lacked the power of the Holy Spirit. After he returned to England, Wesley discovered the reason: he himself had never been truly born again. He attended a meeting of the Moravians on May 24, 1738 when all that changed.

During the meeting, someone read from the preface of Luther’s commentary on Romans. Wesley says, “About a quarter before nine, while he was describing the change which God works in the heart through faith in Christ, I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone, for salvation; and an assurance was given to me that He had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death.”

A new child of God and an ardent servant of Christ was born that night.

John Wesley made excellent translations of German, French, and Spanish hymns. Jesus, Thy Blood and Righteousness, and Jesus, Thy Boundless Love to Me, were translated from German by John Wesley. He also edited and revised the hymns written by his brother, and those of Isaac Watts. Most of the changes he made are recognized as improvements.

Wesley’s fine translation of a German hymn by Paul Gerhardt (written about a century earlier) could well be the testimony of the translator himself. It begins:

Jesus, Thy boundless love to me
No thought can reach, no tongue declare;
Unite my thankful heart to Thee
And reign without a rival there.
Thine wholly, Thine alone, I am;
Be Thou alone my constant flame.

 Here are two more translations by John Wesley. When we realize that the Methodists were often severely persecuted in England in his day, it will be seen why these songs meant so much to them. The first was written by Paul Gerhardt in 1656.

Give to the winds thy fears,
Hope and be undismayed.
God hears thy sighs and counts thy tears,
God shall lift up thy head.

Through waves and clouds and storms,
He gently clears thy way;
Wait thou His time; so shall this night
Soon end in joyous day.

Leave to His sovereign sway
To choose and to command;
So shalt thou, wondering, own that way,
How wise, how strong this hand.

Far, far above thy thought,
His counsel shall appear,
When fully He the work hath wrought,
That caused thy needless fear.

The other song was written by Johann Winckler in 1708. You can see the ten stanzas on the Cyber Hymnal. It’s worth reading them all, but here is a sampling. (Very convicting!)

Shall I, for fear of feeble man,
The Spirit’s course in me restrain?
Or, undismayed, in deed and word
Be a true witness for my Lord?

Awed by a mortal’s frown, shall I
Conceal the Word of God Most High?
How then before Thee shall I dare
To stand, or how Thine anger bear?

Shall I, to soothe the unholy throng,
Soften Thy truths, and smooth my tongue,
To gain earth’s gilded toys, or flee
The cross, endured, my God, by Thee?

Yea, let men rage, since Thou wilt spread
Thy shadowing wings around my head;
Since in all pain Thy tender love
Will still my sure refreshment prove.

Give me Thy strength, O God of power;
Then let winds blow, or thunders roar,
Thy faithful witness will I be:
’Tis fixed; I can do all through Thee!