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]

References

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

External links

And Can It Be, That I Should Gain? entry at Hymnary.org

[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.

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