I have heard that Charles Wesley didn’t like when people changed the words to his hymns. This article describes how good it was that George Whitefield ignored Wesley’s original word welkin and replaced it with herald angels.
The article shares Wesley’s original:
Hark, how all the welkin rings,
“Glory to the King of kings;
Peace on earth, and mercy mild,
God and sinners reconciled!”
Joyful, all ye nations, rise,
Join the triumph of the skies;
Universal nature say,
“Christ the Lord is born today!”
I also frequently hear another edit to this lovely hymn: Peace on Earth and mercy wild—and I think that edit is also for the better.