Page:A collection of hymns, for the use of the people called Methodists.djvu/11

 means adequately provided for by the valuable Supplement published about forty-five years since.

In this compilation the necessities of public worship have been first considered; and it is hoped that an ample supply of compositions suitable for mixed congregations is here furnished. In addition to hymns of adoration and thanksgiving, there will be found seventy versions of Psalms, or parts of Psalms (besides those contained in the former Supplement) by means of which that portion of Holy Scripture, which has supplied so large a share of the devotional exercises of Christians generally, will become more fully available for the use of Methodists than it has been for a long time past. Many poems of Charles Wesley also, which up to a late period only existed in manuscript, are now for the first time presented for congregational use; and by the force and sublimity of thought, the depth and tenderness of feeling, and the spirit of fervent piety displayed in them, will fully vindicate the judgment of John Wesley respecting his brother's poetical remains. Well does it become all the lovers of Scriptural Christianity, but especially the Methodists, to be thankful to the Author of every good gift for the endowments and labours of Charles Wesley, which were so long and faithfully consecrated to the promotion of vital and experimental religion, and by which that "power of godliness" which it is the mission of Methodism to spread, has been alike exemplified and vindicated. The full extent to which these labours have been rendered serviceable to the cause of Christ can only be known in the day when all secret things shall be revealed.

The Spirit of its living Head having never departed from the Church, it follows that those in all ages who by the Holy Ghost have called Jesus Lord should have been occupied with attempts to set forth His praise. As in the old time they still "prophesy and do not cease," so that our age is richer in good hymns than any that have gone before it. The Committee have been glad to avail themselves of the labours of both contemporaries and predecessors, and accordingly the present volume is enriched by a selection from the works of modern hymnologists as well as from the accumulated treasures of the past. The names of authors as presented in the "Index of First Lines," will help to exemplify the substantial unity existing between all believers in Christ, notwithstanding the many causes which at present hinder its full manifestation to the world.

It may be proper to add that the Committee, while mainly