And Can It Be

"And Can It Be That I Should Gain?" is a Christian hymn written by Charles Wesley. Diarmaid MacCulloch suggests that it is one of the best-loved of Wesley's six thousand hymns.[1]

"And Can It Be" was written in 1738, to celebrate Wesley's conversion, which he regarded as having taken place on 21 May of that year.[2] The lines "My chains fell off, my heart was free/I rose, went forth, and followed thee" are based on the story of the Liberation of Saint Peter in the New Testament.[3]

Wikisource has original text related to this article:

References

  1. ↑ Diarmaid MacCulloch, A History of Christianity: The First Three Thousand Years, p. 754.
  2. ↑ Kenneth C. Kinghorn, Wesley: A Heart Transformed Can Change the World, p. 33.
  3. ↑ Blair Gilmer Meeks, Expecting the Unexpected: An Advent Devotional Guide (Upper Room Books, 2006), p. 38.

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Sunday, January 18, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.