Excerpt from The Epworth Hymnal No; 2: Containing Standard Hymns of the Church, Songs for the Sunday-School, Songs for Social Services, Songs for Young People's Societies, Songs for the Home Circle, Songs for Special Occasions

IN the old parish of Epworth, in Lincolnshire, England, lived the earnest, eccentric, and scholarly father, and the gifted, wise, and consecrated mother, of the illustrious John and Charles Wesley.

The story of Samuel Wesley's ministry at Epworth, extending over a period of thirty-nine years - from 1696 to 17 35 - is alive with interest. The people whom he served were, for the most part, poor, ignorant, coarse, and cruel. Those were days of political strife, when missiles and fire brands were used as arguments. The godly rector, unflinching in his devotion to conviction, paid the price of his fidelity.

In poverty most oppressive, in conflicts most bitter, in labors most abundant, did the old rectory of Epworth hold and train the remarkable family from which were to come forth two of the most widely known and most successful workers in the Church of God - the one a preacher and bishop, the other a writer of sacred hymns. By sermon and song they two went forth to make known to the world the exceeding glory and the saving power of the Lord Jesus; to defend by Scripture the great doctrines of redemption, and by persuasive song to win the hearts of men from sin to righteousness, from self to Christ.

However grand the work and its results, we must not forget that the beginnings and the most valuable preparations were at Epworth, where Samuel Wesley studied and prayed and served, and where Susannah Wesley trained her children, counseled her husband, instructed their parishioners, and walked with God. Before Oxford was Epworth. Before Bristol and City Road Chapel was Epworth.

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