PREFACE.
take them for better for worse; or to add the true reading in the margin, or at the bottom of the page; that we may no longer be accountable either for the nonsense or for the doggerel of other men.
8. But to return. That which is of infinitely more moment than the spirit of poetry, is the spirit of piety. And I trust, all persons of real judgment will find this breathing through the whole Collection. It is in this view chiefly, that I would recommend it to every truly pious reader, as a means of raising or quickening the spirit of devotion; of confirming his faith; of enlivening his hope; and of kindling and increasing his love to God and man. When Poetry thus keeps its place, as the handmaid of Piety, it shall attain, not a poor perishable wreath, but a crown that fadeth not away.
London, Oct. 20, 1779.
N.B. The Hymns distinguished by the prefix of an asterisk were not in the editions published during the life of Mr. Wesley.
The New Supplement to "A Collection of Hymns for the use of the People called Methodists," originally published by John Wesley in 1780, has been compiled under the direction of a Committee appointed by the Conference in 1874.
The "Collection" of 1780 has been circulated by millions, and has been recognised as a priceless treasure, not only by Methodists, but by many other disciples of the One Master. As a testimony to Scripture doctrine and Christian experience, as a monument of piety, a manual of devotion, and a bond of fellowship, it can never cease to be precious to all who cherish the spirit of its authors, and wish well to that revival of religion of which they were the instruments; while, in instances almost innumerable, personal associations have invested portions of its contents with tender, and even sacred interest.
The Conference therefore determined that it should be retained in use, and, while generally revised, should undergo no alteration which would affect its substance or impair its identity. But as altered circumstances, often resulting from the growth of the Connexion, and occasions repeatedly arising in public, social, and domestic life have rendered additional hymns necessary, an attempt has been made to meet the want which has been long felt, and which was by no
