The Hymn Born from a Burning Heart

On May 21, 1739, Charles Wesley sat down to mark the first anniversary of his conversion. Just one year earlier, the Oxford-educated clergyman had been gripped by a desperate spiritual emptiness — all his religious learning unable to quiet the ache in his soul. Then grace broke through. Wesley experienced what he could only describe as the overwhelming mercy of God in Christ, and everything changed.

To celebrate that anniversary, Wesley did exactly what Psalm 98 commands — he sang a new song. He penned eighteen stanzas that would become one of Christianity's most beloved hymns: O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing. The opening line itself is a cry that one voice is not enough to contain what the Almighty has done. Wesley wanted a thousand tongues because a single mouth could not hold the praise.

This is the heart of Psalm 98. The psalmist calls for a "new song" not because the old songs were insufficient, but because fresh encounters with God's salvation demand fresh expressions of wonder. Rivers clap their hands. Mountains sing together. All creation strains to join the chorus because God's marvelous deeds keep overflowing the banks of ordinary language.

When you have truly tasted the saving righteousness of the Lord, one tongue will never be enough. The new song rises because it must.