Head of Thy Church triumphant

Head of Thy Church triumphant. Charles Wesley* (1707-1788). From Hymns for Times of Trouble (1745), a revision of Hymns for Times of Trouble and Persecution (1744). In 1745 the rebellion of Prince Charles Edward Stuart threatened to overthrow the Hanoverian settlement. The Methodists were anxious to proclaim their loyalty to the crown (the success of the rebellion might have ended religious toleration, and paved the way for the restoration of Catholicism), and the little book of fifteen hymns was the result. One of the other hymns is entitled ‘For his Majesty King George’; similar hymns were written by Wesley at this time. The book was republished as part of a four-part compendium under...

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