ossess this assurance, but had been
trying to work out their salvation by methods of their own. John Wesley
later made the confession that he and his brother had gone to Georgia to
convert the people there, whereas they themselves had need to be
converted!

Upon their return to London the brothers fell in with other Moravians,
and through them they became familiar with Luther's teachings. Charles
came to a saving faith in Christ during a severe illness, and a week
later his brother had a similar spiritual experience. It was on May 24,
1738, that John Wesley attended a meeting in Aldersgate Street, where
some one was reading Luther's preface to the Epistle to the Romans. Then
for the first time light dawned on his soul, and he found peace with God
through Christ.

Soon afterwards John Wesley left for Halle, Germany, the seat of the
Pietist movement, in order to become more familiar with the teachings of
Luther and the evangelical methods of the Pietists. At Halle he also
became deeply imbued with missionary zeal. Upon his return to England he
launched, with John Whitefield, the greatest spiritual movement his
country had ever known. Revivals flamed everywhere. No buildings were
large enough to house the crowds that gathered to hear the evangelists,
and, because the English clergy were hostile to the movement, most of the
meetings were held in the open air.

Charles at first aided in preaching, but eventually devoted his time
mainly to hymns. It is estimated that John Wesley held no less than forty
thousand preaching services, and traveled nearly a quarter of a million
miles. It was he who said, "The world is my parish." John wrote some
original hymns, but his translations of German hymns are more important.
We are indebted to him for the English versions of Paul Gerhardt's
"Commit thou all thy griefs," Tersteegen's "Thou hidden love of God whose
height," Freylinghausen's "O Jesus, Source of calm repose," Zinzendorf's
"Jesus, Thy blood and righteousness," and Scheffler's "Thee will I love,
My Strength, my Tower."

Charles Wesley died March 29, 1788, after fifty years of service to the
Church. The day before he was taken ill, he preached in City Road chapel,
London. The hymn before the sermon was Watts' "I'll praise my Maker,
while I've breath." The following evening, although very sick, he amazed
his friends by singing the entire hymn with a strong voice. On the night
of his death he tried several times to repeat the