Text Charles Wesley Published 1742 (1742) | Based on Genesis 32:24–32 | |
Other name "Come, O Thou Traveler Unknown" Melody "Candler" (Traditional Scottish) | ||
Originally published under the title "Wrestling Jacob", "Come, O Thou Traveler Unknown" is a poem and hymn on the nature of God which appears in some Protestant hymnals. The hymn is generally considered to be Charles Wesley's greatest work. It focuses on the change that can occur in one's own heart and is based on Genesis 32:24-32, which is the story of Jacob wrestling with an angel sent by God at Peniel.
It is sung to one of several tunes, including "Candler" (a traditional Scottish tune), "Wrestling Jacob" (by Samuel Sebastian Wesley), "David's Harp" (by Robert King) and Vernon (by Lucius Chapin). It is hymn number 386 in The United Methodist Hymnal (set to "Candler"); hymn number 434(i) (to "Wrestling Jacob") and 434(ii) (to "David's Harp") in Hymns and Psalms, among others.
Isaac Watts, the "Father of English Hymnody", remarked that Wesley's poem was "worth all the verses that he himself had written."