John and Charles Wesley were the leaders of the Methodist revival that swept early eighteenth-century England and resulted in the founding of what was destined to become a major force in the history of Christianity. In this volume, the works of the two men who shared a spiritual as well as a natural brotherhood are considered. From John's early period are taken his Forms of Prayer, Scheme of Self-Examination, and translations of German hymns. His mature spirituality is revealed in selections from his Journal, Rules for Methodist Societies, the Plain Account of Genuine Christianity, the Covenant Service of 1780, selected letters, and the classic treatment of the fundamental theme of his life, A Plain Account of Christian Perfection.
Together with a selection of Charles's hymns, these works reveal a spirituality that synthesized into a unique "Wesleyan" blend elements from the Church Fathers, Catholic mystics, and Protestant Reformers. In so doing, explains Frank Whaling in his introduction to this book, the Wesleys have given us a vision of God that is a gift "so far mainly appropriated by the people called Methodists, but available in essence to all...."