Acts 16:26-34 – Suddenly there was an earthquake, so violent that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were unfastened. 27 When the jailer woke up and saw the prison doors wide open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, since he supposed that the prisoners had escaped. 28 But Paul shouted in a loud voice, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.” 29 The jailer called for lights, and rushing in, he fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. 30 Then he brought them outside and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” 31 They answered, “Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” 32 They spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. 33 At the same hour of the night he took them and washed their wounds; then he and his entire family were baptized without delay. 34 He brought them up into the house and set food before them; and he and his entire household rejoiced that he had become a believer in God.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Psalm 51:1-12 A Psalm of David, when the prophet Nathan came to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba
Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. 3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. 4 Against you, you alone, have I sinned, and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are justified in your sentence and blameless when you pass judgment. 5 Indeed, I was born guilty, a sinner when my mother conceived me. 6 You desire truth in the inward being; therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart. 7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. 8 Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that you have crushed rejoice. 9 Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities. 10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me. 11 Do not cast me away from your presence, and do not take your holy spirit from me. 12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and sustain in me a willing spirit.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Romans 8:1-8 – There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. 3 For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do: by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and to deal with sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 so that the just requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. 5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. 6 To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. 7 For this reason the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law– indeed it cannot, 8 and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Welcome to the second installment of our summer sermon series featuring stories from the hymns! This Sunday we’ll be focusing on a hymn written by Charles Wesley: And Can It Be, which is #363 in our hymnal.
This hymn is one of my personal favorites. It has a special place in Methodist history, as well as in the hearts of many Christians around the world, particularly in the UK. This hymn almost always makes the “Top 10 Favorite Hymns” list in England, currently residing at #6. It’s not as well known in the States; but the churches here that know it, love it.
As with all hymns, it helps to know the back story: when was it written, why was it written, what inspired it? We’re very fortunate with this hymn that Charles Wesley wrote extensively in his diary about what he was thinking and experiencing in the days leading up to writing this hymn.
The text of the hymn was written in 1738: 38 years before the United States became a country. It was written in thanksgiving to God for Charles’ conversion on May 21st of that year. The words were set to a number of different tunes over the years, but the best-known (and nowadays really the only) tune was written in the early 1800s. The music is said to have been influenced by the music of George Frederick Handel (who wrote Messiah) – which could help explain why it’s a little bit challenging to sing – and also why it’s worth the effort.
Back to the story: By the year 1738, the Wesley brothers – John and Charles – had already:
- started ministries to the poor in Oxford
- founded the Methodist movement (Methodism was a movement at the time – meant to reform the Church of England)
- gotten ordained
- ministered all over Great Britain and in parts of the American colonies – including evangelizing Native Americans and visiting slave plantations in Georgia
- preached in the dockyards of Bristol
They had done all these things, for which the Wesleys became famous – without ever experiencing, on a personal level, the salvation of God or the presence of the Holy Spirit in their lives!
The Wesleys accomplished all these things based on their intellectual knowledge of the Bible and what it says God requires of people. The message of Jesus, his forgiveness, his death and resurrection, his mercy to sinners – even though this was in their heads and in their preaching, it hadn’t yet touched their hearts. Which goes to show it’s possible to know a lot about God, and sit in church every week, and read the Bible and pray, and not actually know God. It’s possible to grow up in the church – like the Wesleys did – and dedicate one’s life to serving the church, without grasping that the real church – the body of Christ – is the family of God, and has nothing whatsoever to do with a human institution.
Both John and Charles, in 1738, were sensing that something was missing in their lives and in their faith. They were touched very deeply spiritually when they got to know some local Moravians. The Moravian movement was a Protestant movement that started in the Czech Republic, predating Martin Luther by about 100 years. The Moravians were persecuted and driven underground in their home country; and they became refugees of conscience scattered all through Europe and the Colonies, which is how the Wesleys met them. (Side note: some of those Moravians came to Pennsylvania and founded the town of Bethlehem PA!)
The Moravians were known for having very personal relationships with God. They were known for a simple way of life that included a lot of scripture reading and prayer and singing; their faith was not complicated – it was easy for the average person to grasp; but at the same time it ran very deep, and it required a very deep commitment. And in May of 1738, the faith of the Wesleys’ Moravian friends began to sink in with the brothers, and both John and Charles experienced what they called “spiritual awakenings”. Charles came first, by three days.
I want to share with you Charles’ faith experience, in his own words, paraphrasing into modern English (because the English language has changed a bit in 300 years!)
The date, as mentioned before, was Pentecost Sunday, May 21, 1738. On that day Charles Wesley was feeling very ill, and was recuperating in the home of some friends who lived in London. The fact that Charles was not in church on a Sunday tells us how lousy he was feeling. He was resting on the sofa in living room of the house… and I’ll pick up with his own words… Charles writes:
“I woke up in hope and expectation of God’s coming. At 9:00AM my brother (John) and some friends came, and sang a hymn to the Holy Spirit, which gave me great comfort. In about a half an hour they left, and I started to pray using words similar to these…”
(side note: the words Charles is talking about praying were taken from Scripture. Charles had a habit of praying the Scriptures, which is always a good idea! Talking with God about what God has said opens our hearts and minds to understanding God, as well as opening dialogue. Anyway, on that day, Charles was praying – and quoting the scriptures, he said):
“O Jesus, you have said ‘I will come to you’; and you have said ‘I will send the Comforter to you’; and you have said, ‘My Father and I will come to you, and make our home with you’. You are God and you cannot lie; I totally trust your promise; may it come true in your time and in your way.”
Having prayed this, (Charles says) “I was about to go to go to sleep in the quietness and peace of the house, when Mrs. Musgrave came in (or so I thought by the sound of her voice) and she said, “In the name of Jesus of Nazareth, arise and believe and you shall be healed of all your infirmities.”
(Charles writes he was not entirely sure the voice he heard was that of Mrs. Musgrave; he also wasn’t sure who she was talking to. He only heard her voice from the next room. Charles continues with his story, saying…)
“I wondered what motivated her to speak in this way; but the words cut to my heart. I sighed and said to myself, “Oh that Jesus would speak this way to me for my recovery of body and soul. […]
“I rose and opened the Bible nearby, and the first words I saw were: “And now, Lord, what is my hope? truly my hope is in thee.” And then I opened the book again and read Isaiah 40:1 –
“Comfort ye, comfort ye, my people, saith your God: speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned; for she hath received of the Lord’s hand double for all her sin.”
(Side note: these also happen to be the opening words of Handel’s Messiah, and Charles Wesley and Handel knew each other. Coincidence?)
(Charles continues: ) “I now felt totally at peace with God, and rejoiced in the hope of loving Jesus. My mood for the rest of the day was mistrust of my own weakness, which I hadn’t known until now. I saw that I stood by faith, always by faith, which kept me from falling, even though I am always sinking deeper in sin. I went to bed still very aware of my own weakness – and I humbly hope to become more and more weak – to be more confident of Jesus’ protection.”[1]
Charles wrote later in his journal that the Spirit of God “chased away the darkness of [his] unbelief.”[2] Two days later, on Tuesday May 23, he wrote:
“I woke up under the protection of Christ, and gave myself up, soul and body, to him.”[3]
The very next day, May 24th, his brother John had the experience we’ve all heard about, where his heart was “strangely warmed” while at a worship meeting of the Moravians in London. John immediately shared this good news with Charles.
Charles wrote:
“Towards ten, my brother was brought in triumph by a troop of our friends, and declared, ‘I believe.’ We sang the hymn with great joy, and parted with prayer.”
What a difference a day can make! Before these few days, John and Charles Wesley were struggling to do God’s will in their own power, and they were constantly running into roadblocks and discouragement. After these events, their ministries caught fire – and changed the course of history, worldwide.
Do we want to make a difference in our world, and in the lives of our relatives and friends? Then we need to follow in the footsteps of the Wesleys: reading the Bible, hearing and believing God’s promises, and praying! All Godly work begins and ends with prayer.
All of this is the context in which today’s hymn was written. Let’s open the hymnal now to #363 and follow along with the text. Again I’ll need to sort of ‘translate’ this into 21st century English. But starting with…
Verse 1
“And can it be that I should gain an interest in the Saviour’s blood?” Charles, as a new believer, can hardly believe he’s been accepted into God’s kingdom! He takes nothing for granted. He does not even begin to think that he’s got a seminary degree, and experience in preaching, or anything like that. As the apostle Paul once said, these things are like filthy rags next to the joy of knowing Jesus. But the words Charles uses here could almost be taken from the world of investing. To have “an interest in” something is to be a part-owner. It’s like Charles has just bought stock in KOG – the Kingdom of God.
And what a humbling investment this is! The blood of Jesus, shed for every sinner, covers you and me and Charles Wesley. We are all totally equal in the blood of Jesus: equally in need of forgiveness, and equally saved. Charles says: “can it be?” We haven’t done anything to earn it. We haven’t paid for it. Jesus paid for this KOG stock with his life – and gave it to you and me for free.
Charles goes on: “Died he for me? Who caused his pain? For me – who him to death pursued?” Again, confessing that our sin is what makes Jesus’s death on the cross necessary. “Amazing love! How can it be that you, my God, should die for me?”
Verse 2
“Tis mystery all: the immortal dies” – This thought is beyond human understanding. God, who by definition lives forever and cannot die, has found a way to die – for our sakes.
“Who can explore this strange design?” Charles asks. People have spent the last 2000 years trying to explain how Calvary works. How it is that Jesus’ death on the cross saves us? How is it that the immortal God could die? And why was it necessary? You want to start an argument among theologians? Toss these questions into a roomful of them and shut the door.
Charles Wesley says: “In vain the first-born seraph tries to sound the depths of love divine”. How can anyone measure the depth of God’s love? We can’t. God’s love cannot be comprehended. Even the citizens of heaven, the angels themselves, can’t put it into words… can’t find the end of God’s love.
Charles says, “Tis mercy all! Let earth adore” – Our job is not to figure out ‘how’ but simply to accept God’s mercy as it’s offered, and worship Jesus. “Let angel minds inquire no more.”
Verse 3
In verse three, Charles turns his attention to Jesus specifically. “He left his Father’s throne above (so free, so infinite his grace!)” That phrase in parentheses is an exclamation of praise to Jesus that Charles can’t help it, he just has to put it in there. He goes on describing Jesus: “Emptied himself of all but love, and bled for Adam’s helpless race.”
THAT is the Christian message in a nutshell. For all of Adam’s descendants, this is all we need to know, and it’s all we need to share. Jesus gave up everything: his throne in heaven, his intimacy with God, and his very life – for people who were and are unable to save themselves. That’s the gospel message, right there.
Charles says: “Tis mercy all, immense and free, for O my God, it found out me!” It’s all God’s mercy, from beginning to end; it’s none of our doing. God searches us out; and if we’re honest, we know that God is so far above us and so perfect that being in God’s presence – just the way we are – would destroy us, because we’re not able to stand in God’s perfect, holy presence and stay alive. But Jesus changes all this. His love for us changes the whole story.
Verse 4
Verse four refers to the events in Acts 16 where Paul and Silas had been thrown in jail under false accusations after having cast an evil spirit out of a young woman. They were in prison, singing songs to God (while the other prisoners listened) when there was an earthquake. The foundations of the jail were shaken, and the cell doors popped open, and the prisoners were free.
Charles Wesley says it was like that for him, when he finally saw the truth and mercy of Jesus. He says: “Long my imprisoned spirit lay, bound up in sin and nature’s night” when God’s eye “diffused a quickening ray” – (“quickening” is an old-fashioned word meaning ‘to bring back to life’.) So just one glance from God brought Charles to life.
He continues: “I woke; the dungeon flamed with light. My chains fell off, my heart was free; I rose, went out, and followed thee.” Just like Paul and Silas in that prison, God set Charles Wesley free not only from his sin but from all his efforts to be good or to be holy. And once he was free, Charles was then able to follow Jesus the way he’d always wanted to.
Verse 5
Verse five is Charles’ reflection on all that has happened. “No condemnation now I dread” – all the fear of judgement or hell is totally gone: not because of anything Charles has done, but because of what Jesus has done.
“Jesus, and all in him, is mine.” – What an amazing thought that is! It’s not just that Jesus saves us. It’s not just that we get to go to heaven. It’s that we now have Jesus AND EVERYTHING ELSE. All things in heaven and on earth are in Jesus, and in Jesus, all of it is ours. Think on that for a moment. We are, as Charles says, “alive in Jesus, our living Head, and clothed in God’s righteousness.” Everything that Jesus has, is ours, in Him.
Given this truth, Charles – and every one of us – can be bold enough to approach the eternal throne of God “and claim the crown (of eternal life) through Christ my own.” (“My own” is an old-fashioned way of saying “my beloved.”)
It is never about what we do. It’s about what Jesus did. In him each one of us has a crown of life waiting for us, waiting for our arrival in God’s kingdom. Picture that for a moment, as we look around this congregation. Picture a crown on each head.
Jesus gave it all for us – so that we could be with Him forever. Jesus gave these crowns to us. And for that reason (and many more) we sing His praise.
Let’s sing vs 5 (hymn #363) one more time…
No condemnation now I dread; Jesus and all in him is mine;
Alive in him, my living head, and clothed in righteousness divine
Bold I approach th’eternal throne
And claim the crown through Christ my own.
Sources include:
The Journal of Charles Wesley
https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/blog/may-21-1738-charles-wesleys-experience-of-assurance
Also https://christianhistoryinstitute.org/magazine/article/john-and-charles-converted
[1] https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/blog/may-21-1738-charles-wesleys-experience-of-assurance
[2] https://christianhistoryinstitute.org/magazine/article/john-and-charles-converted
[3] https://www.sermonindex.net/modules/articles/index.php?view=article&aid=26139
Getting Started 