This triumphant hymn of the Resurrection was written by Charles Wesley (1707-1788; see Biographies), and appeared in his Hymns and Sacred Poems, 1739. His brother, John, set a tune for it in his collection of 1742 but for some reason did not include it in the Wesleyan hymnbook until much later; it appeared in Church of England collections by 1780. There were originally 11 stanzas but no “Alleluias.” The use of this word of praise after each line was an ancient Christian practice, but the medieval church forbade its use between Septuagesima and Easter Day (about 70 days). 

SDAH’s third stanza is taken from the first half of Wesley’s second, plus the last half of Wesley’s third.  The tune WORGAN was so named in the mistaken impression that it was composed by a Dr. J. Worgan, who, however, was not born when the melody was printed in John Walsh’s Lyra Davidica, a collection of sacred songs and hymns made by John Walsh (?-1736) in 1708. It is also named EASTER HYMN. Walsh was a music publisher, born in Ireland, who had established himself in London by 1695, publishing, among others, works by George Frederick Handel.