{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_26522/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_26522","id":"gutenberg_26522","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/26522","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Biographies","Category: British Literature","Category: Religion/Spirituality","M\u00fcller, George, 1805-1898","Orphanages -- Great Britain","Prayer"],"text":"Produced by Carl D. DuBois\n\n\n\n\nGEORGE MULLER OF BRISTOL\n\nAND\n\nHIS WITNESS TO A PRAYER-HEARING GOD\n\nBY\nARTHUR T. PIERSON\nAuthor of \"The Crisis of Missions,\" \"The New Acts of the Apostles,\"\n\"Many Infallible Proofs,\" etc.; editor of \"The Missionary\nReview of the World,\" etc.\n\nWITH AN INTRODUCTION\nBY\nJAMES WRIGHT\nSon-in-law and successor in the work of George Muller\n\nIllustrated\n\nNEW YORK CHICAGO TORONTO\nFleming H. Revell Company\nLONDON AND EDINBURGH\n\n\n\nCopyright, 1899,\nBY\nTHE BAKER AND TAYLOR CO.\n\n\n\n[Transcriber's Note: George Muller's family name is Germanic in origin.\nEverywhere that his name appears in the printed text, the letter \"u\" is\nmarked with two dots above it (called an 'umlaut') to show that it is\npronounced differently from the way the unmarked vowel is normally\npronounced. So his name is usually pronounced in English as Myew-ler,\nnot as Mool-ler or Mull-ler.]\n\n\nIntroduction\n\nVERY soon after the decease of my beloved father-in-law I began to\nreceive letters pressing upon me the desirableness of issuing as soon as\npossible a memoir of him and his work.\n\nThe well-known autobiography, entitled \"Narrative of the Lord's Dealings\nwith George Muller,\" had been, and was still being, so greatly used by\nGod in the edification of believers and the conversion of unbelievers\nthat I hesitated to countenance any attempt to supersede or even\nsupplement it. But as, with prayer, I reflected upon the subject,\nseveral considerations impressed me:\n\n1st. The last volume of the Narrative ends with the year 1885, so that\nthere is no record of the last thirteen years of Mr. Muller's life\nexcepting what is contained in the yearly reports of \"The Scriptural\nKnowledge Institution.\"\n\n2d. The last three volumes of the Narrative, being mainly a condensation\nof the yearly reports during the period embraced in them, contain much\nunavoidable repetition.\n\n3d. A book of, say, four hundred and fifty pages, containing the\nsubstance of the four volumes of the Narrative, and carrying on the\nhistory to the date of the decease of the founder of the institution,\nwould meet the desire of a large class of readers.\n\n4th. Several brief sketches of Mr. Muller's career had issued from the\npress within a few days after the funeral; and one (written by Mr. F.\nWarne and published by W. F. Mack & Co., Bristol), a very accurate and\ntruly appreciative sketch, had had a large circulation; but I was\nconvinced by the letters that reached me that a more comprehensive\nmemoir was called for, and _would be_ produced, so I was led especially\nto pray for _guidance_ that such a book might be entrusted to the author\nfitted by God to undertake it.\n\nWhile waiting for the answer to this definite petition, though greatly\nurged by publishers to proceed, I steadily declined to take any step\nuntil I had clearer light. Moreover, I was, personally, occupied during\nMay and June in preparing the Annual Report of \"The Scriptural Knowledge\nInstitution,\" and could not give proper attention to the other matter.\n\nJust then I learned from Dr. Arthur T. Pierson, of Brooklyn, N. Y., that\nhe had been led to undertake the production of a memoir of Mr. Muller\nfor American readers, and requesting my aid by furnishing him with some\nmaterials needed for the work.\n\nHaving complied with this request I was favoured by Dr. Pierson with a\nsyllabus of the method and contents of his intended work.\n\nThe more I thought upon the subject the more satisfied I became that no\none could be found more fitted to undertake the work which had been\ncalled for on this side of the Atlantic also than this my well-known and\nbeloved friend.\n\nHe had had exceptional opportunities twenty years ago in the United\nStates, and in later years when visiting Great Britain, for becoming\nintimately acquainted with Mr. Muller, with the principles on which the\nOrphanage and other branches of \"The Scriptural Knowledge Institution\"\nwere carried on, and with many details of their working. I knew that Dr.\nPierson most thoroughly sympathized with these principles as being\naccording to the mind of God revealed in His word; and that he could,\ntherefore, present not merely the history of the external facts and\nresults of Mr. Muller's life and labours, but could and would, by God's\nhelp, unfold, with the ardour and force of _conviction,_ the secret\nsprings of that life and of those labours.\n\nI therefore intimated to my dear friend that, provided he would allow me\nto read the manuscript and have thus the opportunity of making any\nsuggestions that I felt necessary, I would, as my beloved\nfather-in-law's executor and representative, gladly endorse his work as\nthe authorized memoir for British as well as American readers.\n\nTo this Dr. Pierson readily assented; and now, after carefully going\nthrough the whole, I confidently recommend the book to esteemed readers\non both sides of the Atlantic, with the earnest prayer that the result,\nin relation to the subject of this memoir, may be identical with that\nproduced by the account of the Apostle Paul's \"manner of life\" upon the\nchurches of Judea which were in Christ (Gal. i. 24), viz.,\n\n\"They glorified GOD\" in him.\n\nJAMES WRIGHT.\n\n13 CHARLOTTE STREET, PARK STREET, BRISTOL, ENG., March, 1899.\n\n\nA Prefatory Word\n\nDR. OLIVER W. HOLMES wittily said that an autobiography is what every\nbiography _ought to be._ The four volumes of \"The Narrative of the\nLord's Dealings with George Muller,\" already issued from the press and\nwritten by his own hand, with a fifth volume covering his missionary\ntours, and prepared by his wife, supplemented by the Annual Reports\nsince published, constitute essentially an autobiography--Mr. Muller's\nown life-story, stamped with his own peculiar individuality, and\nsingularly and minutely complete. To those who wish the simple journal\nof his life with the details of his history, these printed documents\nmake any other sketch of him from other hands so far unnecessary.\n\nThere are, however, two considerations which have mainly prompted the\npreparation of this brief memoir: first, that the facts of this\nremarkable life might be set forth not so much with reference to the\nchronological order of their occurrence, as events, as for the sake of\nthe lessons in living which they furnish, illustrating and enforcing\ngrand spiritual principles and precepts: and secondly, because no man so\nhumble as he would ever write of himself what, after his departure,\nanother might properly write of him that others might glorify God in\nhim.\n\nNo one could have undertaken this work of writing Mr. Muller's life-story\nwithout being deeply impressed with the opportunity thus afforded for\nimpressing the most vital truths that concern holy living and holy\nserving; nor could any one have completed such a work without feeling\noverawed by the argument which this narrative furnishes for a present,\nliving, prayer-hearing God, and for a possible and practical daily walk\nwith Him and work with Him. It has been a great help in the preparation\nof this book that the writer has had such frequent converse with Mr.\nJames Wright, who was so long Mr. Muller's associate and knew him so\nintimately.\n\nSo prominent was the word of God as a power in Mr. Muller's life that, in\nan appendix, we have given peculiar emphasis to the great leading texts\nof Scripture which inspired and guided his faith and conduct, and, so\nfar as possible, in the order in which such texts became practically\ninfluential in his life; and so many wise and invaluable counsels are to\nbe found scattered throughout his journal that some of the most striking\nand helpful have been selected, which may also be found in the appendix.\n\nThis volume has, like the life it sketches, but one aim. It is simply\nand solely meant to extend, emphasize, and perpetuate George Muller's\nwitness to a prayer-hearing God; to present, as plainly, forcibly, and\nbriefly as is practicable, the outlines of a human history, and an\nexperience of the Lord's leadings and dealings, which furnish a\nsufficient answer to the question:\n\nWHERE IS THE LORD GOD OF ELIJAH?\n\n\nTable of Contents\n                                                PAGE\n\nINTRODUCTION BY MR. JAMES WRIGHT ........\n\nA PREFATORY WORD .....\n\nCHAPTER I. FROM HIS BIRTH TO HIS NEW BIRTH .........\n\nCHAPTER II. THE NEW BIRTH AND THE NEW LIFE ......\n\nCHAPTER III. MAKING READY THE CHOSEN VESSEL ......\n\nCHAPTER IV. NEW STEPS AND STAGES OF PREPARATION ....\n\nCHAPTER V. THE PULPIT AND THE PASTORATE ..........\n\nCHAPTER VI. \"THE NARRATIVE OF THE LORD'S DEALINGS\" ......\n\nCHAPTER VII. LED OF GOD INTO A NEW SPHERE ........\n\nCHAPTER VIII. A TREE OF GOD'S OWN PLANTING ........\n\nCHAPTER IX. THE GROWTH OF GOD'S OWN PLANT ........\n\nCHAPTER X. THE WORD OF GOD AND PRAYER .....\n\nCHAPTER XI. TRIALS OF FAITH AND HELPERS TO FAITH .......\n\nCHAPTER XII. NEW LESSONS IN GOD'S SCHOOL OF PRAYER ......\n\nCHAPTER XIII. FOLLOWING THE PILLAR OF CLOUD AND FIRE ......\n\nCHAPTER XIV. GOD'S BUILDING: THE NEW ORPHAN HOUSES .....\n\nCHAPTER XV. THE MANIFOLD GRACE OF GOD ...........\n\nCHAPTER XVI. THE SHADOW OF A GREAT SORROW .....\n\nCHAPTER XVII. THE PERIOD OF WORLD-WIDE WITNESS ........\n\nCHAPTER XVIII. FAITH AND PATIENCE IN SERVING ..........\n\nCHAPTER XIX. AT EVENING-TIME-LIGHT .............\n\nCHAPTER XX. THE SUMMARY OF THE LIFE-WORK ......\n\nCHAPTER XXI. CHURCH LIFE AND GROWTH ...\n\nCHAPTER XXII. A GLANCE AT THE GIFTS AND THE GIVERS ...\n\nCHAPTER XXIII. GOD'S WITNESS TO THE WORK ........\n\nCHAPTER XXIV. LAST LOOKS, BACKWARD AND FORWARD ....\n\nAPPENDIX.\n\nA. SCRIPTURE TEXTS THAT MOULDED GEORGE MULLER ....\n\nB. APPREHENSION OF TRUTH ............\n\nC. SEPARATION FROM THE LONDON SOCIETY, ETC. ....\n\nD. THE SCRIPTURAL KNOWLEDGE INSTITUTION FOR HOME AND ABROAD ....\n\nE. REASONS WHICH LED MR. MULLER TO ESTABLISH AN ORPHAN HOUSE ....\n\nF. ARGUMENTS IN PRAYER FOR THE ORPHAN WORK ....\n\nG. THE PURCHASE OF A SITE, ETC. .........\n\nH. GOD'S FAITHFULNESS IN PROVIDING ........\n\nK. FURTHER RECOLLECTIONS OF MR. MULLER .....\n\nL. CHURCH FELLOWSHIP, BAPTISM, ETC. ........\n\nM. CHURCH CONDUCT ...............\n\nN. THE WISE SAYINGS OF GEORGE MULLER ...\n\n\n\nGeorge Muller of Bristol\n\n\nCHAPTER I\n\nFROM HIS BIRTH TO HIS NEW BIRTH\n\nA HUMAN life, filled with the presence and power of God, is one of God's\nchoicest gifts to His church and to the world.\n\nThings which are unseen and eternal seem, to the carnal man, distant and\nindistinct, while what is seen and temporal is vivid and real.\nPractically, any object in nature that can be seen or felt is thus more\nreal and actual to most men than the Living God. Every man who walks\nwith God, and finds Him a present Help in every time of need; who puts\nHis promises to the practical proof and verifies them in actual\nexperience; every believer who with the key of faith unlocks God's\nmysteries, and with the key of prayer unlocks God's treasuries, thus\nfurnishes to the race a demonstration and an illustration of the fact\nthat \"He is, and is a Rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.\"\n\nGeorge Muller was such an argument and example incarnated in human\nflesh. Here was a man of like passions as we are and tempted in all\npoints like as we are, but who believed God and was established by\nbelieving; who prayed earnestly that he might live a life and do a work\nwhich should be a convincing proof that God hears prayer and that it is\nsafe to trust Him at all times; and who has furnished just such a\nwitness as he desired. Like Enoch, he truly walked with God, and had\nabundant testimony borne to him that he pleased God. And when, on the\ntenth day of March, 1898, it was told us of George Muller that \"he was\nnot,\" we knew that \"God had taken him\": it seemed more like a\ntranslation than like death.\n\nTo those who are familiar with his long life-story, and, most of all, to\nthose who intimately knew him and felt the power of personal contact\nwith him, he was one of God's ripest saints and himself a living proof\nthat a life of faith is possible; that God may be known, communed with,\nfound, and may become a conscious companion in the daily life. George\nMuller proved for himself and for all others who will receive his\nwitness that, to those who are willing to take God at His word and to\nyield self to His will, He is \"the same yesterday and to-day and\nforever\": that the days of divine intervention and deliverance are past\nonly to those with whom the days of faith and obedience are past--in a\nword, that believing prayer works still the wonders which our fathers\ntold of in the days of old.\n\nThe life of this man may best be studied, perhaps, by dividing it into\ncertain marked periods, into which it naturally falls, when we look at\nthose leading events and experiences which are like punctuation-marks or\nparagraph divisions,--as, for example:\n\n1. From his birth to his new birth or conversion: 1805-1825.\n\n2. From his conversion to full entrance on his life-work: 1825-35.\n\n3. From this point to the period of his mission tours: 1835-75.\n\n4. From the beginning to the close of these tours: 1875-92.\n\n5. From the close of his tours to his death: 1892-98.\n\nThus the first period would cover twenty years; the second, ten; the\nthird, forty; the fourth, seventeen; and the last, six. However thus\nunequal in length, each forms a sort of epoch, marked by certain\nconspicuous and characteristic features which serve to distinguish it\nand make its lessons peculiarly important and memorable. For example,\nthe first period is that of the lost days of sin, in which the great\nlesson taught is the bitterness and worthlessness of a disobedient life.\nIn the second period may be traced the remarkable steps of preparation\nfor the great work of his life. The third period embraces the actual\nworking out of the divine mission committed to him. Then for seventeen\nor eighteen years we find him bearing in all parts of the earth his\nworld-wide witness to God; and the last six years were used of God in\nmellowing and maturing his Christian character. During these years he\nwas left in peculiar loneliness, yet this only made him lean more on the\ndivine companionship, and it was noticeable with those who were brought\ninto most intimate contact with him that he was more than ever before\nheavenly-minded, and the beauty of the Lord his God was upon him.\n\nThe first period may be passed rapidly by, for it covers only the wasted\nyears of a sinful and profligate youth and early manhood. It is of\ninterest mainly as illustrating the sovereignty of that Grace which\nabounds even to the chief of sinners. Who can read the story of that\nscore of years and yet talk of piety as the product of evolution? In his\ncase, instead of evolution, there was rather a _revolution,_ as marked\nand complete as ever was found, perhaps, in the annals of salvation. If\nLord George Lyttelton could account for the conversion of Saul of Tarsus\nonly by supernatural power, what would he have thought of George\nMuller's transformation! Saul had in his favor a conscience, however\nmisguided, and a morality, however pharisaic. George Muller was a\nflagrant sinner against common honesty and decency, and his whole early\ncareer was a revolt, not against God only, but against his own moral\nsense. If Saul was a hardened transgressor, how callous must have been\nGeorge Muller!\n\nHe was a native of Prussia, born at Kroppenstaedt, near Halberstadt,\nSeptember 27, 1805. Less than five years later his parents removed to\nHeimersleben, some four miles off, where his father was made collector\nof the excise, again removing about eleven years later to Schoenebeck,\nnear Magdeburg, where he had obtained another appointment.\n\nGeorge Muller had no proper parental training. His father's favoritism\ntoward him was harmful both to himself and to his brother, as in the\nfamily of Jacob, tending to jealousy and estrangement. Money was put too\nfreely into the hands of these boys, hoping that they might learn how to\nuse it and save it; but the result was, rather, careless and vicious\nwaste, for it became the source of many childish sins of indulgence.\nWorse still, when called upon to render any account of their\nstewardship, sins of lying and deception were used to cloak wasteful\nspending. Young George systematically deceived his father, either by\nfalse entries of what he had received, or by false statements of what he\nhad spent or had on hand. When his tricks were found out, the punishment\nwhich followed led to no reformation, the only effect being more\ningenious devices of trickery and fraud. Like the Spartan lad, George\nMuller reckoned it no fault to steal, but only to have his theft found\nout.\n\nHis own brief account of his boyhood shows a very bad boy and he\nattempts no disguise. Before he was ten years old he was a habitual\nthief and an expert at cheating; even government funds, entrusted to his\nfather, were not safe from his hands. Suspicion led to the laying of a\nsnare into which he fell: a sum of money was carefully counted and put\nwhere he would find it and have a chance to steal it. He took it and hid\nit under his foot in his shoe, but, he being searched and the money\nbeing found, it became clear to whom the various sums previously missing\nmight be traced.\n\nHis father wished him educated for a clergyman, and before he was eleven\nhe was sent to the cathedral classical school at Halberstadt to be\nfitted for the university. That such a lad should be deliberately set\napart for such a sacred office and calling, by a father who knew his\nmoral obliquities and offences, seems incredible--but, where a state\nchurch exists, the ministry of the Gospel is apt to be treated as a\nhuman profession rather than as a divine vocation, and so the standards\nof fitness often sink to the low secular level, and the main object in\nview becomes the so-called \"living,\" which is, alas, too frequently\nindependent of _holy_ living.\n\nFrom this time the lad's studies were mixed up with novel-reading and\nvarious vicious indulgences. Card-playing and even strong drink got hold\nof him. The night when his mother lay dying, her boy of fourteen was\nreeling through the streets, drunk; and even her death failed to arrest\nhis wicked course or to arouse his sleeping conscience. And--as must\nalways be the case when such solemn reminders make one no better--he\nonly grew worse.\n\nWhen he came to the age for confirmation He had to attend the class for\npreparatory religious teaching; but this being to him a mere form, and\nmet in a careless spirit, another false step was taken: sacred things\nwere treated as common, and so conscience became the more callous. On\nthe very eve of confirmation and of his first approach to the Lord's\nTable he was guilty of gross sins; and on the day previous, when he met\nthe clergyman for the customary \"confession of sin,\" he planned and\npractised another shameless fraud, withholding from him eleven-twelfths\nof the confirmation fee entrusted to him by his father!\n\nIn such frames of mind and with such habits of life George Muller, in\nthe Easter season of 1820, was confirmed and became a communicant.\nConfirmed, indeed! but in sin, not only immoral and unregenerate, but so\nignorant of the very rudiments of the Gospel of Christ that he could not\nhave stated to an inquiring soul the simple terms of the plan of\nsalvation. There was, it is true about such serious and sacred\ntransactions, a vague solemnity which left a transient impression and\nled to shallow resolves to live a better life; but there was no real\nsense of sin or of repentance toward God, nor was there any dependence\nupon a higher strength: and, without these, efforts at self-amendment\nnever prove of value or work lasting results.\n\nThe story of this wicked boyhood presents but little variety, except\nthat of sin and crime. It is one long tale of evil-doing and of the\nsorrow which it brings. Once, when his money was all recklessly wasted,\nhunger drove him to steal a bit of coarse bread from a soldier who was a\nfellow lodger; and looking back, long afterward, to that hour of\nextremity, he exclaimed, \"What a bitter thing is the service of Satan,\neven in this world!\"\n\nOn his father's removal to Schoenebeck in 1821 he asked to be sent to\nthe cathedral school at Magdeburg, inwardly hoping thus to break away\nfrom his sinful snares and vicious companions, and, amid new scenes,\nfind help in self-reform. He was not, therefore, without at least\noccasional aspirations after moral improvement; but again he made the\ncommon and fatal mistake of overlooking the Source of all true\nbetterment. \"God was not in all his thoughts.\" He found that to leave\none place for another was not to leave his sin behind, for he took\nhimself along.\n\nHis father, with a strange fatuity, left him to superintend sundry\nalterations in his house at Heimersleben, arranging for him meanwhile to\nread classics with the resident clergyman, Rev. Dr. Nagel. Being thus\nfor a time his own master, temptation opened wide doors before him. He\nwas allowed to collect dues from his father's debtors, and again he\nresorted to fraud, spending large sums of this money and concealing the\nfact that it had been paid.\n\nIn November, 1821, he went to Magdeburg and to Brunswick, to which\nlatter place he was drawn by his passion for a young Roman Catholic\ngirl, whom he had met there soon after confirmation. In this absence\nfrom home he took one step after another in the path of wicked\nindulgence. First of all, by lying to his tutor he got his consent to\nhis going; then came a week of sin at Magdeburg and a wasting of his\nfather's means at a costly hotel in Brunswick. His money being gone, he\nwent to the house of an uncle until he was sent away; then, at another\nexpensive hotel, he ran up bills until, payment being demanded, he had\nto leave his best clothes as a security, barely escaping arrest. Then,\nat Wolfenbuttel, he tried the same bold scheme again, until, having\nnothing for deposit, he ran off, but this time was caught and sent to\njail. This boy of sixteen was already a liar and thief, swindler and\ndrunkard, accomplished only in crime, a companion of convicted felons\nand himself in a felon's cell. This cell, a few days later, a thief\nshared: and these two held converse as fellow thieves, relating their\nadventures to one another, and young Muller, that he might not be\noutdone, invented lying tales of villainy to make himself out the more\nfamous fellow of the two!\n\nTen or twelve days passed in this wretched fellowship, until\ndisagreement led to a sullen silence between them. And so passed away\ntwenty-four dark days, from December 18, 1821, until the 12th of January\nensuing, during all of which George Muller was shut up in prison and\nduring part of which he sought as a favour the company of a thief.\n\nHis father learned of his disgrace and sent money to meet his hotel dues\nand other \"costs\" and pay for his return home. Yet such was his\npersistent wickedness that, going from a convict's cell to confront his\noutraged but indulgent parent, he chose as his companion in travel an\navowedly wicked man.\n\nHe was severely chastised by his father and felt that he must make some\neffort to reinstate himself in his favour. He therefore studied hard and\ntook pupils in arithmetic and German, French and Latin. This outward\nreform so pleased his father that he shortly forgot as well as forgave\nhis evil-doing; but again it was only the outside of the cup and platter\nthat was made clean: the secret heart was still desperately wicked and\nthe whole life, as God saw it, was an abomination.\n\nGeorge Muller now began to forge what he afterward called \"a whole chain\nof lies.\" When his father would no longer consent to his staying at\nhome, he left, ostensibly for Halle, the university town, to be\nexamined, but really for Nordhausen to seek entrance into the gymnasium.\nHe avoided Halle because he dreaded its severe discipline, and foresaw\nthat restraint would be doubly irksome when constantly meeting young\nfellows of his acquaintance who, as students in the university, would\nhave much more freedom than himself. On returning home he tried to\nconceal this fraud from his father; but just before he was to leave\nagain for Nordhausen the truth became known, which made needful new\nlinks in that chain of lies to account for his systematic disobedience\nand deception. His father, though angry, permitted him to go to\nNordhausen, where he remained from October, 1822, till Easter, 1825.\n\nDuring these two and a half years he studied classics, French, history,\netc., living with the director of the gymnasium. His conduct so improved\nthat he rose in favour and was pointed to as an example for the other\nlads, and permitted to accompany the master in his walks, to converse\nwith him in Latin. At this time he was a hard student, rising at four\nA.M. the year through, and applying himself to his books till ten at\nnight.\n\nNevertheless, by his own confession, behind all this formal propriety\nthere lay secret sin and utter alienation from God. His vices induced an\nillness which for thirteen weeks kept him in his room. He was not\nwithout a religious bent, which led to the reading of such books as\nKlopstock's works, but he neither cared for God's word, nor had he any\ncompunction for trampling upon God's law. In his library, now numbering\nabout three hundred books, no Bible was found. Cicero and Horace,\nMoliere and Voltaire, he knew and valued, but of the Holy Scriptures he\nwas grossly ignorant, and as indifferent to them as he was ignorant of\nthem. Twice a year, according to prevailing custom, he went to the\nLord's Supper, like others who had passed the age of confirmation, and\nhe could not at such seasons quite avoid religious impressions. When the\nconsecrated bread and wine touched his lips he would sometimes take an\noath to reform, and for a few days refrain from some open sins; but\nthere was no spiritual life to act as a force within, and his vows were\nforgotten almost as soon as made. The old Satan was too strong for the\nyoung Muller, and, when the mighty passions of his evil nature were\nroused, his resolves and endeavours were as powerless to hold him as\nwere the new cords which bound Samson, to restrain him, when he awoke\nfrom his slumber.\n\nIt is hard to believe that this young man of twenty could lie without a\nblush and with the air of perfect candor. When dissipation dragged him\ninto the mire of debt, and his allowance would not help him out, he\nresorted again to the most ingenious devices of falsehood. He pretended\nthat the money wasted in riotous living had been stolen by violence,\nand, to carry out the deception he studied the part of an actor. Forcing\nthe locks of his trunk and guitar-case, he ran into the director's room\nhalf dressed and feigning fright, declaring that he was the victim of a\nrobbery, and excited such pity that friends made up a purse to cover his\nsupposed losses. Suspicion was, however, awakened that he had been\nplaying a false part, and he never regained the master's confidence; and\nthough he had even then no sense of sin, shame at being detected in such\nmeanness and hypocrisy made him shrink from ever again facing the\ndirector's wife, who, in his long sickness, had nursed him like a\nmother.\n\nSuch was the man who was not only admitted to honourable standing as a\nuniversity student, but accepted as a candidate for holy orders, with\npermission to preach in the Lutheran establishment. This student of\ndivinity knew nothing of God or salvation, and was ignorant even of the\ngospel plan of saving grace. He felt the need for a better life, but no\ngodly motives swayed him. Reformation was a matter purely of expediency:\nto continue in profligacy would bring final exposure, and no parish\nwould have him as a pastor. To get a valuable \"cure\" and a good \"living\"\nhe must make attainments in divinity, pass a good examination, and have\nat least a decent reputation. Worldly policy urged him to apply himself\non the one hand to his studies and on the other to self-reform.\n\nAgain he met defeat, for he had never yet found the one source and\nsecret of all strength. Scarce had he entered Halle before his resolves\nproved frail as a spider's web, unable to restrain him from vicious\nindulgences. He refrained indeed from street brawls and duelling,\nbecause they would curtail his liberty, but he knew as yet no moral\nrestraints. His money was soon spent, and he borrowed till he could find\nno one to lend, and then pawned his watch and clothes.\n\nHe could not but be wretched, for it was plain to what a goal of poverty\nand misery, dishonour and disgrace, such paths lead. Policy loudly urged\nhim to abandon his evil-doing, but piety had as yet no voice in his\nlife. He went so far, however, as to choose for a friend a young man and\nformer schoolmate, named Beta, whose quiet seriousness might, as he\nhoped, steady his own course. But he was leaning on a broken reed, for\nBeta was himself a backslider. Again he was taken ill. God made him to\n\"possess the iniquities of his youth.\" After some weeks he was better,\nand once more his conduct took on the semblance of improvement.\n\nThe true mainspring of all well-regulated lives was still lacking, and\nsin soon broke out in unholy indulgence. George Muller was an adept at\nthe ingenuity of vice. What he had left he pawned to get money, and with\nBeta and two others went on a four days' pleasure-drive, and then\nplanned a longer tour in the Alps. Barriers were in the way, for both\nmoney and passports were lacking; but fertility of invention swept all\nsuch barriers away. Forged letters, purporting to be from their parents,\nbrought passports for the party, and books, put in pawn, secured money.\nForty-three days were spent in travel, mostly afoot; and during this\ntour George Muller, holding, like Judas, the common purse, proved, like\nhim, a thief, for he managed to make his companions pay one third of his\nown expenses.\n\nThe party were back in Halle before the end of September, and George\nMuller went home to spend the rest of his vacation. To account plausibly\nto his father for the use of his allowance a new chain of lies was\nreadily devised. So soon and so sadly were all his good resolves again\nbroken.\n\nWhen once more in Halle, he little knew that the time had come when he\nwas to become a new man in Christ Jesus. He was to find God, and that\ndiscovery was to turn into a new channel the whole current of his life.\nThe sin and misery of these twenty years would not have been reluctantly\nchronicled but to make the more clear that his conversion was a\nsupernatural work, inexplicable without God. There was certainly nothing\nin himself to 'evolve' such a result, nor was there anything in his\n'environment.' In that university town there were no natural forces that\ncould bring about a revolution in character and conduct such as he\nexperienced. Twelve hundred and sixty students were there gathered, and\nnine hundred of them were divinity students, yet even of the latter\nnumber, though all were permitted to preach, not one hundredth part, he\nsays, actually \"feared the Lord.\" Formalism displaced pure and undefiled\nreligion, and with many of them immorality and infidelity were cloaked\nbehind a profession of piety. Surely such a man, with such surroundings,\ncould undergo no radical change of character and life without the\nintervention of some mighty power from without and from above! What this\nforce was, and how it wrought upon him and in him, we are now to see.\n\n\nCHAPTER II\n\nTHE NEW BIRTH AND THE NEW LIFE\n\nTHE lost days of sin, now forever past, the days of heaven upon earth\nbegan to dawn, to grow brighter till the perfect day.\n\nWe enter the second period of this life we are reviewing. After a score\nof years of evil-doing George Muller was converted to God, and the\nradical nature of the change strikingly proves and displays the\nsovereignty of Almighty Grace. He had been kept amid scenes of\noutrageous and flagrant sin, and brought through many perils, as well as\ntwo serious illnesses, because divine purposes of mercy were to be\nfulfilled in him. No other explanation can adequately account for the\nfacts.\n\nLet those who would explain such a conversion without taking God into\naccount remember that it was at a time when this young sinner was as\ncareless as ever; when he had not for years read the Bible or had a copy\nof it in his possession; when he had seldom gone to a service of\nworship, and had never yet even heard one gospel sermon; when he had\nnever been told by any believer what it is to believe on the Lord Jesus\nChrist and to live by God's help and according to His Word; when, in\nfact, he had no conception of the first principles of the doctrine of\nChrist, and knew not the real nature of a holy life, but thought all\nothers to be as himself, except in the degree of depravity and iniquity.\nThis young man had thus grown to manhood without having learned that\nrudimental truth that sinners and saints differ not in degree but in\nkind; that if any man be in Christ, he is a new creation; yet the hard\nheart of such a man, at such a time and in such conditions, was so\nwrought upon by the Holy Spirit that he suddenly found entrance into a\nnew sphere of life, with new adaptations to its new atmosphere.\n\nThe divine Hand in this history is doubly plain when, as we now look\nback, we see that this was also the period of preparation for his\nlife-work--a preparation the more mysterious because he had as yet no\nconception or forecast of that work. During the next ten years we shall\nwatch the divine Potter, to Whom George Muller was a chosen vessel for\nservice, moulding and fitting the vessel for His use. Every step is one\nof preparation, but can be understood only in the light which that\nfuture casts backward over the unique ministry to the church and the\nworld, to which this new convert was all unconsciously separated by God\nand was to become so peculiarly consecrated.\n\nOne Saturday afternoon about the middle of November, 1825, Beta said to\nMuller, as they were returning from a walk, that he was going that\nevening to a meeting at a believer's house, where he was wont to go on\nSaturdays, and where a few friends met to sing, to pray, and to read the\nword of God and a printed sermon. Such a programme held out nothing\nfitted to draw a man of the world who sought his daily gratifications at\nthe card-table and in the wine-cup, the dance and the drama, and whose\ncompanionships were found in dissipated young fellows; and yet George\nMuller felt at once a wish to go to this meeting, though he could not\nhave told why. There was no doubt a conscious void within him never yet\nfilled, and some instinctive inner voice whispered that he might there\nfind food for his soul-hunger--a satisfying something after which he had\nall his life been unconsciously and blindly groping. He expressed the\ndesire to go, which his friend hesitated to encourage lest such a gay\nand reckless devotee of vicious pleasures might feel ill at ease in such\nan assembly. However, he called for young Muller and took him to the\nmeeting.\n\nDuring his wanderings as a backslider, Beta had both joined and aided\nGeorge Muller in his evil courses, but, on coming back from the Swiss\ntour, his sense of sin had so revived as to constrain him to make a full\nconfession to his father; and, through a Christian friend, one Dr.\nRichter, a former student at Halle, he had been made acquainted with the\nMr. Wagner at whose dwelling the meetings were held. The two young men\ntherefore went together, and the former backslider was used of God to\n\"convert a sinner from the error of his way and save a soul from death\nand hide a multitude of sins.\"\n\nThat Saturday evening was the turning-point in George Muller's history\nand destiny. He found himself in strange company, amid novel\nsurroundings, and breathing a new atmosphere. His awkwardness made him\nfeel so uncertain of his welcome that he made some apology for being\nthere. But he never forgot brother Wagner's gracious answer: \"Come as\noften as you please! house and heart are open to you.\" He little knew\nthen what he afterward learned from blessed experience, what joy fills\nand thrills the hearts of praying saints when an evil-doer turns his\nfeet, however timidly, toward a place of prayer!\n\nAll present sat down and sang a hymn. Then a brother--who afterward went\nto Africa under the London Missionary Society--fell on his knees and\nprayed for God's blessing on the meeting. That _kneeling before God in\nprayer_ made upon Muller an impression never lost. He was in his\ntwenty-first year, and yet he had _never before seen any one on his\nknees praying,_ and of course had never himself knelt before God,--the\nPrussian habit being to stand in public prayer.\n\nA chapter was read from the word of God, and--all meetings where the\nScriptures were expounded, unless by an ordained clergyman, being under\nthe ban as irregular--a printed sermon was read. When, after another\nhymn, the master of the house prayed, George Muller was inwardly saying:\n\"I am much more learned than this illiterate man, but I could not pray\nas well as he.\" Strange to say, a new joy was already springing up in\nhis soul for which he could have given as little explanation as for his\nunaccountable desire to go to that meeting. But so it was; and on the\nway home he could not forbear saying to Beta: \"All we saw on our journey\nto Switzerland, and all our former pleasures, are as nothing compared to\nthis evening.\"\n\nWhether or not, on reaching his own room, he himself knelt to pray he\ncould not recall, but he never forgot that a new and strange peace and\nrest somehow found him as he lay in bed that night. Was it God's wings\nthat folded over him, after all his vain flight away from the true nest\nwhere the divine Eagle flutters over His young?\n\nHow sovereign are God's ways of working! In such a sinner as Muller,\ntheologians would have demanded a great 'law work' as the necessary\ndoorway to a new life. Yet there was at this time as little deep\nconviction of guilt and condemnation as there was deep knowledge of God\nand of divine things, and perhaps it was because there was so little of\nthe latter that there was so little of the former.\n\nOur rigid theories of conversion all fail in view of such facts. We have\nheard of a little child who so simply trusted Christ for salvation that\nshe could give no account of any 'law work.' And as one of the old\nexaminers, who thought there could be no genuine conversion without a\nperiod of deep conviction, asked her, \"But, my dear, how about the\nSlough of Despond?\" she dropped a courtesy and said, \"_Please, sir, I\ndidn't come that way!_\"\n\nGeorge Muller's eyes were but half opened, as though he saw men as trees\nwalking; but Christ had touched those eyes, He knew little of the great\nHealer, but somehow he had touched the hem of His garment of grace, and\nvirtue came out of Him who wears that seamless robe, and who responds\neven to the faintest contact of the soul that is groping after\nsalvation. And so we meet here another proof of the infinite variety of\nGod's working which, like the fact of that working, is so wonderful.\nThat Saturday evening in November, 1825, was to this young student of\nHalle _the parting of the ways._ He had tasted that the Lord is\ngracious, though he himself could not account for the new relish for\ndivine things which made it seem too long to wait a week for another\nmeal; so that thrice before the Saturday following he sought the house\nof brother Wagner, there, with the help of brethren, to search the\nScriptures.\n\nWe should lose one of the main lessons of this life-story by passing too\nhastily over such an event as this conversion and the exact manner of\nit, for here is to be found the first great step in God's preparation of\nthe workman for his work.\n\nNothing is more wonderful in history than the unmistakable signs and\nproofs of _preadaptation._ Our life-occurrences are not _disjecta\nmembra_--scattered, disconnected, and accidental fragments. In God's\nbook all these events were written beforehand, when as yet there was\nnothing in existence but the plan in God's mind--to be fashioned in\ncontinuance in actual history--as is perhaps suggested in Psalm cxxxix.\n16 (margin).\n\nWe see stones and timbers brought to a building site--the stones from\ndifferent quarries and the timbers from various shops--and different\nworkmen have been busy upon them at times and places which forbade all\nconscious contact or cooperation. The conditions oppose all preconcerted\naction, and yet, without chipping or cutting, stone fits stone, and\ntimber fits timber--tenons and mortises, and proportions and dimensions,\nall corresponding so that when the building is complete it is as\nperfectly proportioned and as accurately fitted as though it had been\nall prepared in one workshop and put together in advance as a test. In\nsuch circumstances no sane man would doubt that _one presiding\nmind_--one architect and master builder--had planned that structure,\nhowever many were the quarries and workshops and labourers.\n\nAnd so it is with this life-story we are writing. The materials to be\nbuilt into one structure of service were from a thousand sources and\nmoulded into form by many hands, but there was a mutual fitness and a\ncommon adaptation to the end in view which prove that He whose mind and\nplan span the ages had a supreme purpose to which all human agents were\nunconsciously tributary. The awe of this vision of God's workmanship\nwill grow upon us as we look beneath and behind the mere human\noccurrences to see the divine Hand shaping and building together all\nthese seemingly disconnected events and experiences into one life-work.\n\nFor example, what have we found to be the initial step and stage in\nGeorge Muller's spiritual history? In a little gathering of believers,\nwhere for the first time he saw a child of God pray on his knees, he\nfound his first approach to a pardoning God. Let us observe: this man\nwas henceforth to be singularly and peculiarly identified with simple\nscriptural assemblies of believers after the most primitive and\napostolic pattern--meetings for prayer and praise, reading and\nexpounding of the Word, such as doubtless were held at the house of Mary\nthe mother of John Mark--assemblies mainly and primarily for believers,\nheld wherever a place could be found, with no stress laid on consecrated\nbuildings and with absolutely no secular or aesthetic attractions. Such\nassemblies were to be so linked with the whole life, work, and witness\nof George Muller as to be inseparable from his name, and it was in such\nan assembly that the night before he died he gave out his last hymn and\noffered his last prayer.\n\nNot only so, but _prayer, on the knees, both in secret and in such\ncompanionship of believers,_ was henceforth to be the one great central\nsecret of his holy living and holy serving. Upon this corner-stone of\nprayer all his life-work was to be built. Of Sir Henry Lawrence the\nnative soldiers during the Lucknow mutiny were wont to say that, \"when\nhe looked twice up to heaven, once down to earth, and then stroked his\nbeard, he knew what to do.\" And of George Muller it may well be said\nthat he was to be, for more than seventy years, the man who\nconspicuously looked up to heaven to learn what he was to do. Prayer for\ndirect divine guidance in every crisis, great or small, was to be the\nsecret of his whole career. Is there any accident in the exact way in\nwhich he was first led to God, and in the precise character of the\nscenes which were thus stamped with such lasting interest and\nimportance?\n\nThe thought of a divine plan which is thus emphasized at this point we\nare to see singularly illustrated as we mark how stone after stone and\ntimber after timber are brought to the building site, and all so\nmutually fitted that no sound of any human tool is to be heard while the\nlife-work is in building.\n\nOf course a man that had been so profligate and prodigal must at least\nbegin at conversion to live a changed life. Not that all at once the old\nsins were abandoned, for such total transformation demands deeper\nknowledge of the word and will of God than George Muller yet had. But\nwithin him a new separating and sanctifying Power was at work. There was\na distaste for wicked joys and former companions; the frequenting of\ntaverns entirely ceased, and a lying tongue felt new and strange bands\nabout it. A watch was set at the door of the lips, and every word that\nwent forth was liable to a challenge, so that old habits of untamed\nspeech were arrested and corrected.\n\nAt this time he was translating into German for the press a French\nnovel, hoping to use the proceeds of his work for a visit to Paris, etc.\nAt first the plan for the pleasure-trip was abandoned, then the question\narose whether the work itself should not be. Whether his convictions\nwere not clear or his moral courage not sufficient, he went on with the\nnovel. It was finished, but never published. Providential hindrances\nprevented or delayed the sale and publication of the manuscript until\nclearer spiritual vision showed him that the whole matter was not of\nfaith and was therefore sin, so that he would neither sell nor print the\nnovel, but burned it--another significant step, for it was his _first\ncourageous act of self-denial in surrender to the voice of the\nSpirit_--and another stone or timber was thus ready for the coming\nbuilding.\n\nHe now began in different directions a good fight against evil. Though\nas yet weak and often vanquished before temptation, he did not\nhabitually 'continue in sin,' nor offend against God without godly\nsorrow. Open sins became less frequent and secret sins less ensnaring.\nHe read the word of God, prayed often, loved fellow disciples, sought\nchurch assemblies from right motives, and boldly took his stand on the\nside of his new Master, at the cost of reproach and ridicule from his\nfellow students.\n\nGeorge Muller's next marked step in his new path was _the discovery of\nthe preciousness of the word of God._\n\nAt first he had a mere hint of the deep mines of wealth which he\nafterward explored. But his whole life-history so circles about certain\ngreat texts that whenever they come into this narrative they should\nappear in capitals to mark their prominence. And, of them all, that\n'little gospel' in John iii. 16 is the first, for by it he found a full\nsalvation:\n\n\"GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD THAT HE GAVE HIS ONLY-BEGOTTEN SON, THAT\nWHOSOEVER BELIEVETH IN HIM SHOULD NOT PERISH, BUT HAVE EVERLASTING\nLIFE.\"\n\nFrom these words he got his first glimpse of the philosophy of the plan\nof salvation--why and how the Lord Jesus Christ bore our sins in His own\nbody on the tree as our vicarious Substitute and suffering Surety, and\nhow His sufferings in Gethsemane and Golgotha made it forever needless\nthat the penitent believing sinner should bear his own iniquity and die\nfor it.\n\nTruly to grasp this fact is the beginning of a true and saving\nfaith--what the Spirit calls \"laying hold.\" He who believes and knows\nthat God so loved him first, finds himself loving God in return, and\nfaith works by love to purify the heart, transform the life, and\novercome the world.\n\nIt was so with George Muller. He found in the word of God _one great\nfact:_ the love of God in Christ. Upon that fact faith, not feeling,\nlaid hold; and then the feeling came naturally without being waited for\nor sought after. The love of God in Christ constrained him to a\nlove--infinitely unworthy, indeed, of that to which it responded, yet\nsupplying a new impulse unknown before. What all his father's\ninjunctions, chastisements, entreaties, with all the urgent dictates of\nhis own conscience, motives of expediency, and repeated resolves of\namendment, utterly failed to effect, the love of God both impelled and\nenabled him to do--renounce a life of sinful self-indulgence. Thus early\nhe learned that double truth, which he afterwards passionately loved to\nteach others, that in the blood of God's atoning Lamb is the Fountain of\nboth forgiveness and cleansing. Whether we seek pardon for sin or power\nover sin, the sole source and secret are in Christ's work for us.\n\nThe new year 1826 was indeed a _new year_ to this newborn soul. He now\nbegan to read _missionary_ journals, which kindled a new flame in his\nheart. He felt a yearning--not very intelligent as yet--to be himself a\nmessenger to the nations, and frequent praying deepened and confirmed\nthe impression. As his knowledge of the world-field enlarged, new facts\nas to the destitution and the desolation of heathen peoples became as\nfuel to feed this flame of the mission spirit.\n\nA carnal attachment, however, for a time almost quenched this fire of\nGod within. He was drawn to a young woman of like age, a professed\nbeliever, whom he had met at the Saturday-evening meetings; but he had\nreason to think that her parents would not give her up to a missionary\nlife, and he began, half-unconsciously, to weigh in the balance his\nyearning for service over against his passion for a fellow creature.\nInclination, alas, outweighed duty. Prayer lost its power and for the\ntime was almost discontinued, with corresponding decline in joy. His\nheart was turned from the foreign field, and in fact from all\nself-denying service. Six weeks passed in this state of spiritual\ndeclension, when God took a strange way to reclaim the backslider.\n\nA young brother, Hermann Ball, wealthy, cultured, with every promising\nprospect for this world to attract him, made a great self-sacrifice. He\nchose Poland as a field, and work among the Jews as his mission,\nrefusing to stay at home to rest in the soft nest of self-indulgent and\nluxurious ease. This choice made on young Muller a deep impression. He\nwas compelled to contrast with it his own course. For the sake of a\npassionate love for a young woman he had given up the work to which he\nfelt drawn of God, and had become both joyless and prayerless: another\nyoung man, with far more to draw him worldward, had, for the sake of a\nself-denying service among despised Polish Jews, resigned all the\npleasures and treasures of the world. Hermann Ball was acting and\nchoosing as Moses did in the crisis of his history, while he, George\nMuller, was acting and choosing more like that profane person Esau, when\nfor one morsel of meat he bartered his birthright. The result was a new\nrenunciation--he gave up the girl he loved, and forsook a connection\nwhich had been formed without faith and prayer and had proved a source\nof alienation from God.\n\nHere we mark another new and significant step in preparation for his\nlife-work--a decided step forward, which became a pattern for his\nafter-life. For the second time a _decision for God had cost him marked\nself-denial._ Before, he had burned his novel; now, on the same altar,\nhe gave up to the consuming fire a human passion which had over him an\nunhallowed influence. According to the measure of his light thus far,\nGeorge Muller was _fully, unreservedly given up to God,_ and therefore\nwalking in the light. He did not have to wait long for the recompense of\nthe reward, for the smile of God repaid him for the loss of a human\nlove, and the peace of God was his because the God of peace was with\nhim.\n\nEvery new spring of inward joy demands a channel for outflow, and so he\nfelt impelled to bear witness. He wrote to his father and brother of his\nown happy experience, begging them to seek and find a like rest in God,\nthinking that they had but to know the path that leads to such joy to be\nequally eager to enter it. But an angry response was all the reply that\nhis letter evoked.\n\nAbout the same time the famous Dr. Tholuck took the chair of professor\nof divinity at Halle, and the advent of such a godly man to the faculty\ndrew pious students from other schools of learning, and so enlarged\nGeorge Mullers circle of fellow believers, who helped him much through\ngrace. Of course the missionary spirit revived, and with such increased\nfervor, that he sought his father's permission to connect himself with\nsome missionary institution in Germany. His father was not only much\ndispleased, but greatly disappointed, and dealt in reproaches very hard\nto bear. He reminded George of all the money he had spent on his\neducation in the expectation that he would repay him by getting such a\n'living' as would insure to the parent a comfortable home and support\nfor his old age; and in a fit of rage he exclaimed that he would no\nlonger look on him as a son.\n\nThen, seeing that son unmoved in his quiet steadfastness, he changed\ntone, and from threats turned to tears of entreaty that were much harder\nto resist than reproaches. The result of the interview was a _third_\nsignificant step in preparation for his son's life's mission. His\nresolve was unbroken to follow the Lord's leading at any cost, but he\nnow clearly saw that he could be _independent of man only by being more\nentirely dependent on God, and that henceforth he should take no more\nmoney from his father._ To receive such support implied obedience to his\nwishes, for it seemed plainly wrong to look to him for the cost of his\ntraining when he had no prospect nor intention of meeting his known\nexpectations. If he was to live on his father's money, he was under a\ntacit obligation to carry out his plans and seek a good living as a\nclergyman at home. Thus early in life George Muller learned the valuable\nlesson that one must preserve his independence if he would not endanger\nhis integrity.\n\nGod was leading His servant in his youth to _cast himself upon Him for\ntemporal supplies._ This step was not taken without cost, for the two\nyears yet to be spent at the university would require more outlay than\nduring any time previous. But thus early also did he find God a faithful\nProvider and Friend in need. Shortly after, certain American gentlemen,\nthree of whom were college professors,* being in Halle and wishing\ninstruction in German, were by Dr. Tholuck recommended to employ George\nMuller as tutor; and the pay was so ample for the lessons taught them\nand the lectures written out for them, that all wants were more than\nmet. Thus also in his early life was written large in the chambers of\nhis memory another golden text from the word of God:\n\n    \"O FEAR THE LORD, YE HIS SAINTS!\n     FOR THERE IS NO WANT TO THEM THAT FEAR HIM.\"\n                                (Psalm xxxiv. 9.)\n\n* One of them, the Rev. Charles Hodge, afterward so well known as\nprofessor at Princeton Theological Seminary, etc.\n\n\nCHAPTER III\n\nMAKING READY THE CHOSEN VESSEL\n\nTHE workman of God needs to wait on Him to know the work he is to do and\nthe sphere where he is to serve Him.\n\nMature disciples at Halle advised George Muller for the time thus\nquietly to wait for divine guidance, and meanwhile to take no further\nsteps toward the mission field. He felt unable, however, to dismiss the\nquestion, and was so impatient to settle it that he made the common\nblunder of attempting to come to a decision in a carnal way. _He\nresorted to the lot,_ and not only so, but to the lot as cast in the lap\nof the _lottery!_ In other words, he first drew a lot in private, and\nthen bought a ticket in a royal lottery, expecting his steps to be\nguided in a matter so solemn as the choice of a field for the service of\nGod, by the turn of the 'wheel of fortune'! Should his ticket draw a\nprize he would _go;_ if not, _stay_ at home. Having drawn a small sum,\nhe accordingly accepted this as a 'sign,' and at once applied to the\nBerlin Missionary Society, but was not accepted because his application\nwas not accompanied with his father's consent.\n\nThus a higher Hand had disposed while man proposed. God kept out of the\nmission field, at this juncture, one so utterly unfit for His work that\nhe had not even learned that primary lesson that he who would work with\nGod must first wait on Him and wait for Him, and that all undue haste in\nsuch a matter is worse than waste. He who kept Moses waiting forty years\nbefore He sent him to lead out captive Israel, who withdrew Saul of\nTarsus three years into Arabia before he sent him as an apostle to the\nnations, and who left even His own Son thirty years in obscurity before\nHis manifestation as Messiah--this God is in no hurry to put other\nservants at work. He says to all impatient souls: \"My time is not yet\nfull come, but your time is always ready.\"\n\nOnly twice after this did George Muller ever resort to the lot: once at\na literal parting of the ways when he was led by it to take the wrong\nfork of the road, and afterward in a far more important matter, but with\na like result: in both cases he found he had been misled, and henceforth\nabandoned all such chance methods of determining the mind of God. He\nlearned two lessons, which new dealings of God more and more deeply\nimpressed:\n\nFirst, that the safe guide in every crisis is believing prayer in\nconnection with the word of God.\n\nSecondly, that continued uncertainty as to one's course is a reason for\ncontinued waiting.\n\nThese lessons should not be lightly passed over, for they are too\nvaluable. The flesh is impatient of all delay, both in decision and\naction; hence all carnal choices are immature and premature, and all\ncarnal courses are mistaken and unspiritual. God is often moved to delay\nthat we may be led to pray, and even the answers to prayer are deferred\nthat the natural and carnal spirit may be kept in check and self-will\nmay bow before the will of God.\n\nIn a calm review of his course many years later George Muller saw that\nhe \"ran hastily to the lot\" as a shorter way of settling a doubtful\nmatter, and that, especially in the question of God's call to the\nmission field, this was shockingly improper. He saw also how unfit he\nhad been at that time for the work he sought: he should rather have\nasked himself how one so ignorant and so needing to be taught could\nthink of teaching others! Though a child of God, he could not as yet\nhave given a clear statement or explanation of the most elementary\ngospel truths. The one thing needful was therefore to have sought\nthrough much prayer and Bible study to get first of all a deeper\nknowledge and a deeper experience of divine things. Impatience to settle\na matter so important was itself seen to be a positive disqualification\nfor true service, revealing unfitness to endure hardship as a good\nsoldier of Jesus Christ. There is a constant strain and drain on patient\nwaiting which is a necessary feature of missionary trial and\nparticularly the trial of deferred harvests. One who, at the outset,\ncould not brook delay in making his first decision, and wait for God to\nmake known His will in His own way and time, would not on the field have\nhad long patience as a husbandman, waiting for the precious fruit of his\ntoil, or have met with quietness of spirit the thousand perplexing\nproblems of work among the heathen!\n\nMoreover the conviction grew that, could he have followed the lot, his\nchoice would have been a life-mistake. His mind, at that time, was bent\nupon the East Indies as a field. Yet all subsequent events clearly\nshowed that God's choice for him was totally different. His repeated\noffers met as repeated refusals, and though on subsequent occasions he\nacted most deliberately and solemnly, no open door was found, but he was\nin every case kept from following out his honest purpose. Nor could the\nlot be justified as an indication of his _ultimate_ call to the mission\nfield, for the purpose of it was definite, namely, to ascertain, not\nwhether _at some period of his life_ he was to go forth, but whether _at\nthat time_ he was to go or stay. The whole after-life of George Muller\nproved that God had for him an entirely different plan, which He was not\nready yet to reveal, and which His servant was not yet prepared to see\nor follow. If any man's life ever was a plan of God, surely this life\nwas; and the Lord's distinct, emphatic leading, when made known, was not\nin this direction. He had purposed for George Muller a larger field than\nthe Indies, and a wider witness than even the gospel message to heathen\npeoples. He was 'not suffered' to go into 'Bithynia' because 'Macedonia'\nwas waiting for his ministry.\n\nWith increasing frequency, earnestness, and minuteness, was George\nMuller led to put before God, in prayer, all matters that lay upon his\nmind. This man was to be peculiarly an example to believers as an\n_intercessor;_ and so God gave him from the outset a very _simple,\nchildlike disposition_ toward Himself. In many things he was in\nknowledge and in strength to outgrow childhood and become a man, for it\nmarks immaturity when we err through ignorance and are overcome through\nweakness. But in faith and in the filial spirit, he always continued to\nbe a little child. Mr. J. Hudson Taylor well reminds us that while in\nnature the normal order of growth is from childhood to manhood and so to\nmaturity, in _grace_ the true development is perpetually backward toward\nthe cradle: we must become and continue as little children, not losing,\nbut rather gaining, childlikeness of spirit. The disciple's maturest\nmanhood is only the perfection of his childhood. George Muller was never\nso really, truly, fully a little child in all his relations to his\nFather, as when in the ninety-third year of his age.\n\nBeing thus providentially kept from the Indies, he began definite work\nat home, though yet having little real knowledge of the divine art of\ncoworking with God. He spoke to others of their soul's welfare, and\nwrote to former companions in sin, and circulated tracts and missionary\npapers. Nor were his labours without encouragement, though sometimes his\nmethods were awkward or even grotesque, as when, speaking to a beggar in\nthe fields about his need of salvation, he tried to overcome apathetic\nindifference by speaking louder and louder, as though, mere bawling in\nhis ears would subdue the hardness of his heart!\n\nIn 1826 he first attempted to _preach._ An unconverted schoolmaster some\nsix miles from Halle he was the means of turning to the Lord; and this\nschoolmaster asked him to come and help an aged, infirm clergyman in the\nparish. Being a student of divinity he was at liberty to preach, but\nconscious ignorance had hitherto restrained him. He thought, however,\nthat by committing some other man's sermon to memory he might profit the\nhearers, and so he undertook it. It was slavish work to prepare, for it\ntook most of a week to memorize the sermon, and it was joyless work to\ndeliver it, for there was none of the living power that attends a man's\nGod-given message and witness. His conscience was not yet enlightened\nenough to see that he was acting a false part in preaching another's\nsermon as his own; nor had he the spiritual insight to perceive that it\nis not God's way to set up a man to preach who knows not enough of\neither His word or the life of the Spirit within him, to prepare his own\ndiscourse. How few even among preachers feel preaching to be _a divine\nvocation and not a mere human profession;_ that a ministry of the truth\nimplies the witness of experience, and that to preach another man's\nsermon is, at the best, unnatural walking on stilts!\n\nGeorge Muller 'got through' his painful effort of August 27, 1826,\nreciting this memoriter sermon at eight A.M. in the chapel of ease, and\nthree hours later in the parish church. Being asked to preach again in\nthe afternoon, but having no second sermon committed to memory, he had\nto keep silent, or _depend on the Lord for help._ He thought he could at\nleast read the fifth chapter of Matthew, and simply expound it. But he\nhad no sooner begun the first beatitude than he felt himself greatly\nassisted. Not only were his lips opened, but the Scriptures were opened\ntoo, his own soul expanded, and a peace and power, wholly unknown to his\ntame, mechanical repetitions of the morning, accompanied the simpler\nexpositions of the afternoon, with this added advantage, that he talked\non a level with the people and not over their heads, his colloquial,\nearnest speech riveting their attention.\n\nGoing back to Halle, he said to himself, 'This is the _true way to\npreach,_' albeit he felt misgivings lest such a simple style of\nexposition might not suit so well a cultured refined city congregation.\nHe had yet to learn how the enticing words of man's wisdom make the\ncross of Christ of none effect, and how the very simplicity that makes\npreaching intelligible to the illiterate makes sure that the most\ncultivated will also understand it, whereas the reverse is not true.\n\nHere was another very important _step in his preparation_ for subsequent\nservice. He was to rank throughout life among the simplest and most\nscriptural of preachers. This first trial of pulpit-work led to frequent\nsermons, and in proportion as his speech was in the simplicity that is\nin Christ did he find joy in his work and a harvest from it. The\ncommitted sermon of some great preacher might draw forth human praise,\nbut it was the simple witness of the Word, and of the believer to the\nWord, that had praise of God. His preaching was not then much owned of\nGod in fruit. Doubtless the Lord saw that he was not ready for reaping,\nand scarcely for sowing: there was yet too little prayer in preparation\nand too little unction in delivery, and so his labours were\ncomparatively barren of results.\n\nAbout this same time he took another step--perhaps the most significant\nthus far in its bearing on the precise form of work so closely linked\nwith his name. For some two months he availed himself of the free\nlodgings furnished for poor divinity students in the famous _Orphan\nHouses built by A. H. Francke._ This saintly man, a professor of\ndivinity at Halle, who had died a hundred years before (1727), had been\nled to found an orphanage in entire dependence upon God. Half\nunconsciously George Muller's whole life-work at Bristol found both its\nsuggestion and pattern in Francke's orphanage at Halle. The very\nbuilding where this young student lodged was to him an object lesson--a\nvisible, veritable, tangible proof that the Living God hears prayer, and\ncan, in answer to prayer alone, build a house for orphan children. That\nlesson was never lost, and George Muller fell into the apostolic\nsuccession of such holy labour! He often records how much his own\nfaith-work was indebted to that example of simple trust in prayer\nexhibited by Francke. Seven years later he read his life, and was\nthereby still more prompted to follow him as he followed Christ.\n\nGeorge Muller's spiritual life in these early days was strangely\nchequered. For instance, he who, as a Lutheran divinity student, was\nessaying to preach, hung up in his room a framed crucifix, hoping\nthereby to keep in mind the sufferings of Christ and so less frequently\nfall into sin. Such helps, however, availed him little, for while he\nrested upon such artificial props, it seemed as though he sinned the\noftener.\n\nHe was at this time overworking, writing sometimes fourteen hours a day,\nand this induced nervous depression, which exposed him to various\ntemptations. He ventured into a confectioner's shop where wine and beer\nwere sold, and then suffered reproaches of conscience for conduct so\nunbecoming a believer; and he found himself indulging ungracious and\nungrateful thoughts of God, who, instead of visiting him with deserved\nchastisement, multiplied His tender mercies.\n\nHe wrote to a rich, liberal and titled lady, asking a loan, and received\nthe exact sum asked for, with a letter, not from her, but from another\ninto whose hands his letter had fallen by \"a peculiar providence,\" and\nwho signed it as \"An adoring worshipper of the Saviour Jesus Christ.\"\nWhile led to send the money asked for, the writer added wise words of\ncaution and counsel--words so fitted to George Muller's exact need that\nhe saw plainly the higher Hand that had guided the anonymous writer. In\nthat letter he was urged to \"seek by watching and prayer to be delivered\nfrom all vanity and self-complacency,\" to make it his \"chief aim to be\nmore and more humble, faithful, and quiet,\" and not to be of those who\n\"say 'Lord, Lord,' but have Him not deeply in their hearts.\" He was also\nreminded that \"Christianity consists not in words but in power, and that\nthere must be life in us.\"\n\nHe was deeply moved by this message from God through an unknown party,\nand the more as it had come, with its enclosure, at the time when he was\nnot only guilty of conduct unbecoming a disciple, but indulging hard\nthoughts of his heavenly Father. He went out to walk alone, and was so\ndeeply wrought on by God's goodness and his own ingratitude that he\nknelt behind a hedge, and, though in snow a foot deep, he forgot himself\nfor a half-hour in praise, prayer, and self-surrender.\n\nYet so deceitful is the human heart that a few weeks later he was in\nsuch a backslidden state that, for a time, he was again both careless\nand prayerless, and one day sought to drown the voice of conscience in\nthe wine-cup. The merciful Father gave not up his child to folly and\nsin. He who once could have gone to great lengths in dissipation now\nfound a few glasses of wine more than enough; his relish for such\npleasures was gone, and so was the power to silence the still small\nvoice of conscience and of the Spirit of God.\n\nSuch vacillations in Christian experience were due in part to the lack\nof holy associations and devout companionships. Every disciple needs\nhelp in holy living, and this young believer yearned for that spiritual\nuplift afforded by sympathetic fellow believers. In vacation times he\nhad found at Gnadau, the Moravian settlement some three miles from his\nfather's residence, such soul refreshment, but Halle itself supplied\nlittle help. He went often to church, but seldom heard the Gospel, and\nin that town of over 30,000, with all its ministers, he found not one\nenlightened clergyman. When, therefore, he could hear such a preacher as\nDr. Tholuck, he would walk ten or fifteen miles to enjoy such a\nprivilege. The meetings continued at Mr. Wagner's house; and on the\nLord's day evenings some six or more believing students were wont to\ngather, and both these assemblies were means of grace. From Easter,\n1827, so long as he remained in Halle, this latter meeting was held in\nhis own room, and must rank alongside those little gatherings of the\n\"Holy Club\" in Lincoln College, Oxford, which a hundred years before had\nshaped the Wesleys and Whitefield for their great careers. Before George\nMuller left Halle the attendance at this weekly meeting in his room had\ngrown to twenty.\n\nThese assemblies were throughout very simple and primitive. In addition\nto prayer, singing, and reading of God's word, one or more brethren\nexhorted or read extracts from devout books. Here young Muller freely\nopened his heart to others, and through their counsels and prayers was\ndelivered from many snares.\n\nOne lesson, yet to be learned, was that the one fountain of all wisdom\nand strength is the Holy Scriptures. Many disciples practically prefer\nreligious books to the Book of God. He had indeed found much of the\nreading with which too many professed believers occupy their minds to be\nbut worthless chaff--such as French and German novels; but as yet he had\nnot formed the habit of reading the word of God daily and systematically\nas in later life, almost to the exclusion of other books. In his\nninety-second year, he said to the writer, that for every page of any\nother reading he was sure he read ten of the Bible. But, up to that\nNovember day in 1825 when he first met a praying band of disciples, he\nhad never to his recollection read one chapter in the Book of books; and\nfor the first four years of his new life he gave to the works of\nuninspired men practical preference over the Living Oracles.\n\nAfter a true relish for the Scriptures had been created, he could not\nunderstand how he could ever have treated God's Book with such neglect.\nIt seemed obvious that _God's having condescended to become an Author,_\ninspiring holy men to write the Scriptures, He would in them impart the\nmost vital truths; His message would cover all matters which concern\nman's welfare, and therefore, under the double impulse of duty and\ndelight, we should instinctively and habitually turn to the Bible.\nMoreover, as he read and studied this Book of God, he felt himself\nadmitted to more and more _intimate acquaintance with the Author._\nDuring the last twenty years of his life he read it carefully through,\nfour or five times annually, with a growing sense of his own rapid\nincrease in the knowledge of God thereby.\n\nSuch motives for Bible study it is strange that any true believer should\noverlook. Ruskin, in writing \"Of the King's Treasuries,\" refers to the\nuniversal ambition for 'advancement in life,' which means 'getting into\ngood society.' How many obstacles one finds in securing an introduction\nto the great and good of this world, and even then in getting access to\nthem, in securing an audience with the kings and queens of human\nsociety! Yet there is open to us a society of people of the very first\nrank who will meet us and converse with us so long as we like, whatever\nour ignorance, poverty, or low estate--namely, the society of authors;\nand the key that unlocks their private audience-chamber is their books.\n\nSo writes Ruskin, and all this is beautifully true; but how few, even\namong believers, appreciate the privilege of access to the great Author\nof the universe through His word! Poor and rich, high and low, ignorant\nand learned, young and old, all alike are welcomed to the\naudience-chamber of the King of kings. The most intimate knowledge of\nGod is possible on one condition--that we search His Holy Scriptures,\nprayerfully and habitually, and translate what we there find, into\nobedience. Of him who thus meditates on God's law day and night, who\nlooks and continues looking into this perfect law of liberty, the\npromise is unique, and found in both Testaments: \"Whatsoever he doeth\nshall prosper\"; \"that man shall be blessed in his deed.\" (Comp. Psalm i.\n3; Joshua i. 8; James i. 25.)\n\nSo soon as George Muller found this well-spring of delight and success,\nhe drank habitually at this fountain of living waters. In later life he\nlamented that, owing to his early neglect of this source of divine\nwisdom and strength, he remained so long in spiritual infancy, with its\nignorance and impotence. So long and so far as his growth in knowledge\nof God was thus arrested his growth in grace was likewise hindered. His\nclose walk with God began at the point where he learned that such walk\nis always in the light of that inspired word which is divinely declared\nto be to the obedient soul \"a lamp unto the feet and a light unto the\npath.\" He who would keep up intimate converse with the Lord must\nhabitually find in the Scriptures the highway of such companionship.\nGod's aristocracy, His nobility, the princes of His realm, are not the\nwise, mighty, and high-born of earth, but often the poor, weak, despised\nof men, who abide in His presence and devoutly commune with Him through\nHis inspired word.\n\nBlessed are they who have thus learned to use the key which gives free\naccess, not only to the King's Treasuries, but to the King Himself!\n\n\nCHAPTER IV\n\nNEW  STEPS  AND STAGES  OF PREPARATION\n\nPASSION for souls is a divine fire, and in the heart of George Muller\nthat fire now began to burn more brightly, and demanded vent.\n\nIn August, 1827, his mind was more definitely than before turned toward\nmission work. Hearing that the Continental Society of Britain sought a\nminister for Bucharest, he offered himself through Dr. Tholuck, who, in\nbehalf of the Society, was on the lookout for a suitable candidate. To\nhis great surprise his father gave consent, though Bucharest was more\nthan a thousand miles distant and as truly missionary ground as any\nother field. After a short visit home he came back to Halle, his face\nsteadfastly set toward his far-off field, and his heart seeking\nprayerful preparation for expected self-sacrifice and hardship. But God\nhad other plans for His servant, and he never went to Bucharest.\n\nIn October following, Hermann Ball, passing through Halle, and being at\nthe little weekly meeting in Muller's room, told him how failing health\nforbade his continuing his work among Polish Jews; and at once there\nsprang up in George Muller's mind a strong desire to take his place.\nSuch work doubly attracted him, because it would bring him into close\ncontact with God's chosen but erring people, Israel; and because it\nwould afford opportunity to utilize those Hebrew studies which so\nengrossed him.\n\nAt this very time, calling upon Dr. Tholuck, he was asked, to his\nsurprise, whether he had ever felt a desire to _labour among the\nJews_--Dr. Tholuck then acting as agent for the London Missionary\nSociety for promoting missions among them. This question naturally\nfanned the flame of his already kindled desire; but, shortly after,\nBucharest being the seat of the war then raging between the Russians and\nTurks, the project of sending a minister there was for the time\nabandoned. But a door seemed to open before him just as another shut\nbehind him.\n\nThe committee in London, learning that he was available as a missionary\nto the Jews, proposed his coming to that city for six months as a\nmissionary student to prepare for the work. To enter thus on a sort of\nprobation was trying to the flesh, but, as it seemed right that there\nshould be opportunity for mutual acquaintance between committee and\ncandidate, to insure harmonious cooperation, his mind was disposed to\naccede to the proposal.\n\nThere was, however, a formidable obstacle. Prussian male subjects must\ncommonly serve three years in the army, and classical students who have\npassed the university examinations, at least one year. George Muller,\nwho had not served out even this shorter term, could not, without royal\nexemption, even get a passport out of the country. Application was made\nfor such exemption, but it failed. Meanwhile he was taken ill, and after\nten weeks suffered a relapse. While at Leipzig with an American\nprofessor with whom he went to the opera, he unwisely partook of some\nrefreshments between the acts, which again brought on illness. He had\nbroken a blood-vessel in the stomach, and he returned to Halle, never\nagain to enter a theatre. Subsequently being asked to go to Berlin for a\nfew weeks to teach German, he went, hoping at the Prussian capital to\nfind access to the court through persons of rank and secure the desired\nexemption. But here again he failed. There now seemed no way of escaping\na soldier's term, and he submitted himself for examination, but was\npronounced physically unfit for military duty. In God's providence he\nfell into kind hands, and, being a second time examined and found unfit,\nhe was thenceforth _completely exempted for life from all service in the\narmy._\n\nGod's lines of purpose mysteriously converged. The time had come; the\nMaster spake and it was done: all things moved in one direction--to set\nHis servant free from the service of his country, that, under the\nCaptain of his salvation, he might endure hardness as a good soldier of\nChrist, without entanglement in the affairs of this life. Aside from\nthis, his stay at the capital had not been unprofitable, for he had\npreached five times a week in the poorhouse and conversed on the Lord's\ndays with the convicts in the prison.\n\nIn February, 1829, he left for London, on the way visiting his father at\nHeimersleben, where he had returned after retirement from office; and he\nreached the English metropolis March 19th. His liberty was much\ncurtailed as a student in this new seminary, but, as no rule conflicted\nwith his conscience, he submitted. He studied about twelve hours daily,\ngiving attention mainly to Hebrew and cognate branches closely connected\nwith his expected field. Sensible of the risk of that deadness of soul\nwhich often results from undue absorption in mental studies, he\ncommitted to memory much of the Hebrew Old Testament and pursued his\ntasks in a prayerful spirit, seeking God's help in matters, however\nminute, connected with daily duty.\n\nTempted to the continual use of his native tongue by living with his\nGerman countrymen, he made little progress in English, which he\nafterward regretted; and he was wont, therefore, to counsel those who\npropose to work among a foreign people, not only to live among them in\norder to learn their language, but to keep aloof as far as may be from\ntheir own countrymen, so as to be compelled to use the tongue which is\nto give them access to those among whom they labour.\n\nIn connection with this removal to Britain a seemingly trivial\noccurrence left upon him a lasting impress--another proof that there are\nno little things in life. Upon a very small hinge a huge door may swing\nand turn. It is, in fact, often the apparently trifling events that\nmould our history, work, and destiny.\n\nA student incidentally mentioned a dentist in Exeter--a Mr. Groves--who\nfor the Lord's sake had resigned his calling with fifteen hundred pounds\na year, and with wife and children offered himself as a missionary to\nPersia, _simply trusting the Lord for all temporal supplies._ This act\nof self-denying trust had a strange charm for Mr. Muller, and he could\nnot dismiss it from his mind; indeed, he distinctly entered it in his\njournal and wrote about it to friends at home. It was _another lesson in\nfaith,_ and in the very line of that trust of which for more than sixty\nyears he was to be so conspicuous an example and illustration.\n\nIn the middle of May, 1829, he was taken ill and felt himself to be past\nrecovery. Sickness is often attended with strange _self-disclosure._ His\nconviction of sin and guilt at his conversion was too superficial and\nshallow to leave any after-remembrance. But, as is often true in the\nhistory of God's saints, the sense of guilt, which at first seemed to\nhave no roots in conscience and scarce an existence, struck deeper into\nhis being and grew stronger as he knew more of God and grew more like\nHim. This common experience of saved souls is susceptible of easy\nexplanation. Our conceptions of things depend mainly upon two\nconditions: first, the clearness of our vision of truth and duty; and\nsecondly, the standard of measurement and comparison. The more we live\nin God and unto God, the more do our eyes become enlightened to see the\nenormity and deformity of sin, so that we recognize the hatefulness of\nevil more distinctly: and the more clearly do we recognize the\nperfection of God's holiness and make it the pattern and model of our\nown holy living.\n\nThe amateur musician or artist has a false complacency in his own very\nimperfect work only so far as his ear or eye or taste is not yet trained\nto accurate discrimination; but, as he becomes more accomplished in a\nfine art, and more appreciative of it, he recognizes every defect or\nblemish of his previous work, until the musical performance seems a\nwretched failure and the painting a mere daub. The change, however, is\nwholly in the _workman_ and not in the _work:_ both the music and the\npainting are in themselves just what they were, but the man is capable\nof something so much better, that his standard of comparison is raised\nto a higher level, and his capacity for a true judgment is\ncorrespondingly enlarged.\n\nEven so a child of God who, like Elijah, stands before Him as a waiting,\nwilling, obedient servant, and has both likeness to God and power with\nGod, may get under the juniper-tree of despondency, cast down with the\nsense of unworthiness and ill desert. As godliness increases the sense\nof ungodliness becomes more acute, and so feelings never accurately\ngauge real assimilation to God. We shall seem worst in our own eyes when\nin His we are best, and conversely.\n\nA Mohammedan servant ventured publicly to challenge a preacher who, in\nan Indian bazaar, was asserting the universal depravity of the race, by\naffirming that he knew at least one woman who was immaculate, absolutely\nwithout fault, and that woman, his own Christian mistress. The preacher\nbethought himself to ask in reply whether he had any means of knowing\nwhether that was her opinion of herself, which caused the Mohammedan to\nconfess that there lay the mystery: she had been often overheard in\nprayer confessing herself the most unworthy of sinners.\n\nTo return from this digression, Mr. Muller, not only during this\nillness, but down to life's sudden close, had a growing sense of sin and\nguilt which would at times have been overwhelming, had he not known upon\nthe testimony of the Word that \"whoso covereth his sins shall not\nprosper, but he that confesseth and forsaketh them shall find mercy.\"\nFrom his own guilt he turned his eyes to the cross where it was atoned\nfor, and to the mercy-seat where forgiveness meets the penitent sinner;\nand so sorrow for sin was turned into the joy of the justified.\n\nThis confidence of acceptance in the Beloved so stripped death of its\nterrors that during this illness he longed rather to depart and to be\nwith Christ; but after a fortnight he was pronounced better, and, though\nstill longing for the heavenly rest, he submitted to the will of God for\na longer sojourn in the land of his pilgrimage, little foreseeing what\njoy he was to find in living for God, or how much he was to know of the\ndays of heaven upon earth.\n\nDuring this illness, also, he showed the growing tendency to bring\nbefore the Lord in prayer even the minutest matters which his later life\nso signally exhibited. He constantly besought God to guide his\nphysician, and every new dose of medicine was accompanied by a new\npetition that God would use it for his good and enable him with patience\nto await His will. As he advanced toward recovery he sought rest at\nTeignmouth, where, shortly after his arrival, \"Ebenezer\" chapel was\nreopened. It was here also that Mr. Muller became acquainted with Mr.\nHenry Craik, who was for so many years not only his friend, but fellow\nlabourer.\n\nIt was also about this time that, as he records, certain great truths\nbegan to be made clear to him and to stand out in much prominence. This\nperiod of personal preparation is so important in its bearing on his\nwhole after-career that the reader should have access to his own\nwitness.*\n\n* See Appendix B.\n\nOn returning to London, prospered in soul-health as also in bodily\nvigor, he proposed to fellow students a daily morning meeting, from 6 to\n8, for prayer and Bible study, when each should give to the others such\nviews of any passage read as the Lord might give him. These spiritual\nexercises proved so helpful and so nourished the appetite for divine\nthings that, after continuing in prayer late into the evening hours, he\nsometimes at midnight sought the fellowship of some like-minded brother,\nand thus prolonged the prayer season until one or two o'clock in the\nmorning; and even then sleep was often further postponed by his\noverflowing joy in God. Thus, under his great Teacher, did this pupil,\nearly in his spiritual history, learn that supreme lesson that to every\nchild of God the word of God is the bread of life, and the prayer of\nfaith the breath of life.\n\nMr. Muller had been back in London scarcely ten days before health again\ndeclined, and the conviction took strong hold upon him that he should\nnot spend his little strength in confining study, but at once get about\nhis work; and this conviction was confirmed by the remembrance of the\nadded light which God had given him and the deeper passion he now felt\nto serve Him more freely and fully. Under the pressure of this\npersuasion that both his physical and spiritual welfare would be\npromoted by actual labours for souls, he sought of the Society a prompt\nappointment to his field of service; and that they might with the more\nconfidence commission him, he asked that some experienced man might be\nsent out with him as a fellow counsellor and labourer.\n\nAfter waiting in vain for six weeks for an answer to this application,\nhe felt another strong conviction: that _to wait on his fellow men to be\nsent out to his field and work was unscriptural and therefore wrong._\nBarnabas and Saul were called by name and sent forth by the Holy Spirit,\nbefore the church at Antioch had taken any action; and he felt himself\nso called of the Spirit to his work that he was prompted to begin at\nonce, without waiting for human authority,--and why not among the Jews\nin London? Accustomed to act promptly upon conviction, he undertook to\ndistribute among them tracts bearing his name and address, so that any\nwho wished personal guidance could find him. He sought them at their\ngathering-places, read the Scriptures at stated times with some fifty\nJewish lads, and taught in a Sunday-school. Thus, instead of lying like\na vessel in dry-dock for repairs, he was launched into Christian work,\nthough, like other labourers among the despised Jews, he found himself\nexposed to petty trials and persecutions, called to suffer reproach for\nthe name of Christ.\n\nBefore the autumn of 1829 had passed, a further misgiving laid hold of\nhim as to whether he could in good conscience remain longer connected in\nthe usual way with this London Society, and on December 12th he\nconcluded to dissolve all such ties except upon certain conditions. To\ndo full justice both to Mr. Muller and the Society, his own words will\nagain be found in the Appendix.*\n\n* See Appendix C.\n\nEarly in the following year it was made clear that he could labour in\nconnection with such a society only as they would consent to his\n_serving without salary and labouring when and where the Lord might seem\nto direct._ He so wrote, eliciting a firm but kind response to the\neffect that they felt it \"inexpedient to employ those who were unwilling\nto submit to their guidance with respect to missionary operations,\" etc.\n\nThus this link with the Society was broken. He felt that he was acting\nup to the light God gave, and, while imputing to the Society no blame,\nhe never afterward repented this step nor reversed this judgment. To\nthose who review this long life, so full of the fruits of unusual\nservice to God and man, it will be quite apparent that the Lord was\ngently but persistently thrusting George Muller out of the common path\ninto one where he was to walk very closely with Himself; and the\ndecisions which, even in lesser matters furthered God's purpose were\nwiser and weightier than could at the time be seen.\n\nOne is constantly reminded in reading Mr. Muller's journal that he was a\nman of like frailties as others. On Christmas morning of this year,\nafter a season of peculiar joy, he awoke to find himself in the Slough\nof Despond, without any sense of enjoyment, prayer seeming as fruitless\nas the vain struggles of a man in the mire. At the usual morning meeting\nhe was urged by a brother to continue in prayer, notwithstanding, until\nhe was again melted before the Lord--a wise counsel for all disciples\nwhen the Lord's presence seems strangely withdrawn. Steadfast\ncontinuance in prayer must never be hindered by the want of sensible\nenjoyment; in fact, it is a safe maxim that the less joy, the more need.\nCessation of communion with God, for whatever cause, only makes the more\ndifficult its resumption and the recovery of the prayer habit and prayer\nspirit; whereas the persistent outpouring of supplication, together with\ncontinued activity in the service of God, soon brings back the lost joy.\nWhenever, therefore, one yields to spiritual depression so as to\nabandon, or even to suspend, closet communion or Christian work, the\ndevil triumphs.\n\nSo rapid was Mr. Muller's recovery out of this Satanic snare, through\ncontinuance in prayer, that, on the evening of that same Christmas day\nwhose dawn had been so overcast, he expounded the Word at family worship\nin the house where he dined by invitation, and with such help from God\nthat two servants who were present were deeply convicted of sin and\nsought his counsel.\n\nHere we reach another mile-stone in this life-journey. George Muller had\nnow come to the end of the year 1829, and he had been led of the Lord in\na truly remarkable path. It was but about four years since he first\nfound the narrow way and began to walk in it, and he was as yet a young\nman, in his twenty-fifth year. Yet already he had been taught some of\nthe grand secrets of a holy, happy, and useful life, which became the\nbasis of the whole structure of his after-service.\n\nIndeed, as we look back over these four years, they seem crowded with\nsignificant and eventful experiences, all of which forecast his future\nwork, though he as yet saw not in them the Lord's sign. His conversion\nin a primitive assembly of believers where worship and the word of God\nwere the only attractions, was the starting-point in a career every step\nof which seems a stride forward. Think of a young convert, with such an\nensnaring past to reproach and retard him, within these few years\nlearning such advanced lessons in _renunciation:_ burning his manuscript\nnovel, giving up the girl he loved, turning his back on the seductive\nprospect of ease and wealth, to accept self-denial for God, cutting\nloose from dependence on his father and then refusing all stated salary\nlest his liberty of witness be curtailed, and choosing a simple\nexpository mode of preaching, instead of catering to popular taste! Then\nmark how he fed on the word of God; how he cultivated the habits of\nsearching the Scriptures and praying in secret; how he threw himself on\nGod, not only for temporal supplies, but for support in bearing all\nburdens, however great or small; and how thus early he offered himself\nfor the mission field and was impatiently eager to enter it. Then look\nat the sovereign love of God, imparting to him in so eminent a degree\nthe childlike spirit, teaching him to trust not his own variable moods\nof feeling, but the changeless word of His promise; teaching him to wait\npatiently on Him for orders, and not to look to human authority or\ndirection; and so singularly releasing him from military service for\nlife, and mysteriously withholding him from the far-off mission field,\nthat He might train him for his unique mission to the race and the ages\nto come!\n\nThese are a few of the salient points of this narrative, thus far, which\nmust, to any candid mind, demonstrate that a higher Hand was moulding\nthis chosen vessel on His potter's wheel, and shaping it unmistakably\nfor the singular service to which it was destined!\n\n\nCHAPTER V\n\nTHE PULPIT AND THE PASTORATE\n\nNo work for God surpasses in dignity and responsibility the Christian\nministry. It is at once the consummate flower of the divine planting,\nthe priceless dower of His church, and through it works the power of God\nfor salvation.\n\nThough George Muller had begun his 'candidacy for holy orders' as an\nunconverted man, seeking simply a human calling with a hope of a\nlucrative living, he had heard God's summons to a divine vocation, and\nhe was from time to time preaching the Gospel, but not in any settled\nfield.\n\nWhile at Teignmouth, early in 1830, preaching by invitation, he was\nasked to take the place of the minister who was about to leave, but he\nreplied that he felt at that time called of God, not to a stationary\ncharge, but rather to a sort of itinerant evangelism. During this time\nhe preached at Shaldon for Henry Craik, thus coming into closer contact\nwith this brother, to whom his heart became knit in bonds of love and\nsympathy which grew stronger as the acquaintance became more intimate.\n\nCertain hearers at Teignmouth, and among them some preachers, disliked\nhis sermons, albeit they were owned of God; and this caused him to\nreflect upon the probable causes of this opposition, and whether it was\nany indication of his duty. He felt that they doubtless looked for\noutward graces of oratory in a preacher, and hence were not attracted to\na foreigner whose speech had no rhetorical charms and who could not even\nuse English with fluency. But he felt sure of a deeper cause for their\ndislike, especially as he was compelled to notice that, the summer\nprevious, when he himself was less spiritually minded and had less\ninsight into the truth, the same parties who now opposed him were\npleased with him. His final conclusion was that the Lord meant to work\nthrough him at Teignmouth, but that Satan was acting, as usual, the part\nof a hinderer, and stirring up brethren themselves to oppose the truth.\nAnd as, notwithstanding the opposers, the wish that he should minister\nat the chapel was expressed so often and by so many, he determined to\nremain for a time until he was openly rejected as God's witness, or had\nsome clear divine leading to another field of labour.\n\nHe announced this purpose, at the same time plainly stating that, should\nthey withhold salary, it would not affect his decision, inasmuch as he\ndid not preach as a hireling of man, but as the servant of God, and\nwould willingly commit to Him the provision for his temporal needs. At\nthe same time, however, he reminded them that it was alike their duty\nand privilege to minister in carnal things to those who served them in\nthings spiritual, and that while he did not desire a gift, he did desire\nfruit that might abound to their account.\n\nThese experiences at Teignmouth were typical: \"Some believed the things\nwhich were spoken, and some believed not;\" some left the chapel, while\nothers stayed; and some were led and fed, while others maintained a cold\nindifference, if they did not exhibit an open hostility. But the Lord\nstood by him and strengthened him, setting His seal upon his testimony;\nand Jehovah Jireh also moved two brethren, unasked, to supply all the\ndaily wants of His servant. After a while the little church of eighteen\nmembers unanimously called the young preacher to the pastorate, and he\nconsented to abide with them for a season, without abandoning his\noriginal intention of going from place to place as the Lord might lead.\nA stipend, of fifty-five pounds annually, was offered him, which\nsomewhat increased as the church membership grew; and so the university\nstudent of Halle was settled in his first pulpit and pastorate.\n\nWhile at Sidmouth, preaching, in April, 1830, three believing sisters\nheld in his presence a conversation about '_believers' baptism,_' which\nproved the suggestion of another important step in his life, which has a\nwider bearing than at first is apparent.\n\nThey naturally asked his opinion on the subject about which they were\ntalking, and he replied that, having been baptized as a child, he saw no\nneed of being baptized again. Being further asked if he had ever yet\nprayerfully searched the word of God as to its testimony in this matter,\nhe frankly confessed that he had not.\n\nAt once, with unmistakable plainness of speech and with rare fidelity,\none of these sisters in Christ promptly said: _\"I entreat you, then,\nnever again to speak any more about it till you have done so.\"_\n\nSuch a reply George Muller was not the man either to resent or to\nresist. He was too honest and conscientious to dismiss without due\nreflection any challenge to search the oracles of God for their witness\nupon any given question. Moreover, if, at that very time, his preaching\nwas emphatic in any direction, it was in the boldness with which he\ninsisted that _all pulpit teaching and Christian practice must be\nsubjected to one great test,_ namely, _the touchstone of the word of\nGod._ Already an Elijah in spirit, his great aim was to repair the\nbroken-down altar of the Lord, to expose and rebuke all that hindered a\nthoroughly scriptural worship and service, and, if possible, to restore\napostolic simplicity of doctrine and life.\n\nAs he thought and prayed about this matter, he was forced to admit to\nhimself that he had never yet earnestly examined the Scriptures for\ntheir teaching as to the position and relation of baptism in the\nbeliever's life, nor had he even prayed for light upon it. He had\nnevertheless repeatedly spoken against believers' baptism, and so he saw\nit to be possible that he might himself have been opposing the teaching\nof the Word. He therefore determined to study the subject until he\nshould reach a final, satisfactory, and scriptural conclusion; and\nthenceforth, whether led to defend infant baptism or believers' baptism,\nto do it only on scriptural grounds.\n\nThe mode of study which he followed was characteristically simple,\nthorough, and business-like, and was always pursued afterward. He first\nsought from God the Spirit's teaching that his eyes might be opened to\nthe Word's witness, and his mind illumined; then he set about a\nsystematic examination of the New Testament from beginning to end. So\nfar as possible he sought absolutely to rid himself of all bias of\nprevious opinion or practice, prepossession or prejudice; he prayed and\nendeavoured to be free from the influence of human tradition, popular\ncustom, and churchly sanction, or that more subtle hindrance, _personal\npride in his own consistency._ He was humble enough to be willing to\nretract any erroneous teaching and renounce any false position, and to\nespouse that wise maxim: \"Don't be _consistent,_ but simply be _true!\"_\nWhatever may have been the case with others who claim to have examined\nthe same question for themselves, the result in his case was that he\ncame to the conclusion, and, as he believed, from the word of God and\nthe Spirit of God, that none but believers are the proper subjects of\nbaptism, and that only immersion is its proper mode. Two passages of\nScripture were very marked in the prominence which they had in\ncompelling him to these conclusions, namely: Acts viii. 36-38, and\nRomans vi. 3-5. The case of the Ethiopian eunuch strongly convinced him\nthat baptism is proper, only as the act of a believer confessing Christ;\nand the passage in the Epistle to the Romans equally satisfied him that\nonly immersion in water can express the typical burial with Christ and\nresurrection with Him, there and elsewhere made so prominent. He\nintended no assault upon brethren who hold other views, when he thus\nplainly stated in his journal the honest and unavoidable convictions to\nwhich he came; but he was too loyal both to the word of God and to his\nown conscience to withhold his views when so carefully and prayerfully\narrived at through the searching of the Scriptures.\n\nConviction compelled action, for in him there was no spirit of\ncompromise; and he was accordingly promptly baptized. Years after, in\nreviewing his course, he records the solemn conviction that \"of all\nrevealed truths, not one is more clearly revealed in the Scriptures--not\neven the doctrine of justification by faith--and that the subject has\nonly become obscured by men not having been willing to take _the\nScriptures alone_ to decide the point.\"\n\nHe also bears witness incidentally that not one true friend in the Lord\nhad ever turned his back upon him in consequence of his baptism, as he\nsupposed some would have done; and that almost all such friends had,\nsince then, been themselves baptized. It is true that in one way he\nsuffered some pecuniary loss through this step taken in obedience to\nconviction, but the Lord did not suffer him to be ultimately the loser\neven in this respect, for He bountifully made up to him any such\nsacrifice, even in things that pertain to this life. He concludes this\nreview of his course by adding that through his example many others were\nled both to examine the question of baptism anew and to submit\nthemselves to the ordinance.\n\nSuch experiences as these suggest the honest question whether there is\nnot imperative need of subjecting all current religious customs and\npractices to the one test of conformity to the scripture pattern. Our\nLord sharply rebuked the Pharisees of His day for making \"the\ncommandment of God of none effect by their tradition,\" and, after giving\none instance, He added, \"and many other such like things do ye.\"* It is\nvery easy for doctrines and practices to gain acceptance, which are the\noutgrowth of ecclesiasticism, and neither have sanction in the word of\nGod, nor will bear the searching light of its testimony. Cyprian has\nforewarned us that even _antiquity_ is not _authority,_ but may be only\n_vetustas erroris_--the old age of error. What radical reforms would be\nmade in modern worship, teaching and practice,--in the whole conduct of\ndisciples and the administration of the church of God,--if the one final\ncriterion of all judgment were: What do the Scriptures teach?' And what\nrevolutions in our own lives as believers might take place, if we should\nfirst put every notion of truth and custom of life to this one test of\nscripture authority, and then with the courage of conviction dare to do\naccording to that word--counting no cost, but studying to show ourselves\napproved of God! Is it possible that there are any modern disciples who\n\"reject the commandment of God that they may keep their own tradition\"?\n\n* Matthew xv. 6. Mark vii. 9-13.\n\nThis step, taken by Mr. Muller as to baptism, was only a precursor of\nmany others, all of which, as he believed, were according to that Word\nwhich, as the lamp to the believer's feet, is to throw light upon his\npath.\n\nDuring this same summer of 1830 the further study of the Word satisfied\nhim that, though there is no direct _command_ so to do, the scriptural\nand apostolic _practice_ was to _break bread every Lord's day._ (Acts xx\n7, etc.) Also, that the Spirit of God should have unhindered liberty to\nwork through any believer according to the gifts He had bestowed, seemed\nto him plainly taught in Romans xii.; 1 Cor. xii.; Ephes. iv., etc.\nThese conclusions likewise this servant of God sought to translate at\nonce into conduct, and such conformity brought increasing spiritual\nprosperity.\n\nConscientious misgivings, about the same time, ripened into settled\nconvictions that he could no longer, upon the same principle of\nobedience to the word of God, consent to _receive any stated salary_ as\na minister of Christ. For this latter position, which so influenced his\nlife, he assigns the following grounds, which are here stated as showing\nthe basis of his life-long attitude:\n\n1. A stated salary implies a fixed sum, which cannot well be paid\nwithout a fixed income through pew-rentals or some like source of\nrevenue. This seemed plainly at war with the teaching of the Spirit of\nGod in James ii. 1-6, since the poor brother cannot afford as good\nsittings as the rich, thus introducing into church assemblies invidious\ndistinctions and respect of persons, and so encouraging the caste\nspirit.\n\n2. A fixed pew-rental may at times become, even to the willing disciple,\na burden. He who would gladly contribute to a pastor's support, if\nallowed to do so according to his ability and at his own convenience,\nmight be oppressed by the demand to pay a stated sum at a stated time.\nCircumstances so change that one who has the same cheerful mind as\nbefore may be unable to give as formerly, and thus be subjected to\npainful embarrassment and humiliation if constrained to give a fixed\nsum.\n\n3. The whole system tends to the bondage of the servant of Christ. One\nmust be unusually faithful and intrepid if he feels no temptation to\nkeep back or in some degree modify his message in order to please men,\nwhen he remembers that the very parties, most open to rebuke and most\nliable to offence, are perhaps the main contributors toward his salary.\n\nWhatever others may think of such reasons as these, they were so\nsatisfactory to his mind that he frankly and promptly announced them to\nhis brethren; and thus, as early as the autumn of 1830, when just\ncompleting his twenty-fifth year, he took a position from which he never\nretreated, that he would thenceforth _receive no fixed salary for any\nservice rendered to God's people._ While calmly assigning scriptural\ngrounds for such a position he, on the same grounds, urged _voluntary\nofferings,_ whether of money or other means of support, as the proper\nacknowledgment of service rendered by God's minister, and as a sacrifice\nacceptable, well-pleasing to God. A little later, seeing that, when such\nvoluntary gifts came direct from the givers personally, there was a\ndanger that some might feel self-complacent over the largeness of the\namount given by them, and others equally humbled by the smallness of\ntheir offerings, with consequent damage to both classes, of givers, he\ntook a step further: he had a _box put up in the chapel,_ over which was\nwritten, that whoever had a desire to do something for his support might\nput such an offering therein as ability and disposition might direct.\nHis intention was, that thus the act might be wholly as in God's sight,\nwithout the risk of a sinful pride or false humility.\n\nHe further felt that, to be entirely consistent, he should _ask no help\nfrom man,_ even in bearing necessary costs of travel in the Lord's\nservice, nor even state his needs beforehand in such a way as indirectly\nto appeal for aid. All of these methods he conceived to be forms of\ntrusting in an arm of flesh, going to man for help instead of going at\nonce, always and only, to the Lord. And he adds: _\"To come to this\nconclusion before God required more grace than to give up my salary.\"_\n\nThese successive steps are here recorded explicitly and in their exact\norder because they lead up directly to the ultimate goal of his\nlife-work and witness. Such decisions were vital links connecting this\nremarkable man and his \"Father's business,\" upon which he was soon more\nfully to enter; and they were all necessary to the fulness of the\nworld-wide witness which he was to bear to a prayer-hearing God and the\nabsolute safety of trusting in Him and in Him alone.\n\nOn October 7, 1830, George Muller, in finding a wife, found a good thing\nand obtained new favour from the Lord. Miss Mary Groves, sister of the\nself-denying dentist whose surrender of all things for the mission field\nhad so impressed him years before, was married to this man of God, and\nfor forty blessed years proved an help meet for him. It was almost, if\nnot quite, an ideal union, for which he continually thanked God; and,\nalthough her kingdom was one which came not with observation,' the\nsceptre of her influence was far wider in its sway than will ever be\nappreciated by those who were strangers to her personal and domestic\nlife. She was a rare woman and her price was above rubies. The heart of\nher husband safely trusted, in her, and the great family of orphans who\nwere to her as children rise up even to this day to call her blessed.\n\nMarried life has often its period of estrangement, even when temporary\nalienation yields to a deeper love, as the parties become more truly\nwedded by the assimilation of their inmost being to one another. But to\nMr. and Mrs. Muller there never came any such experience of even\ntemporary alienation. From the first, love grew, and with it, mutual\nconfidence and trust. One of the earliest ties which bound these two in\none was the bond of a _common self-denial._ Yielding literal obedience\nto Luke xii. 33, they sold what little they had and gave alms,\nhenceforth laying up no treasures on earth (Matthew vi. 19-34; xix. 21.)\nThe step then taken--accepting, for Christ's sake, voluntary\npoverty--was never regretted, but rather increasingly rejoiced in; how\nfaithfully it was followed in the same path of continued self-sacrifice\nwill sufficiently appear when it is remembered that, nearly sixty-eight\nyears afterward, George Muller passed suddenly into the life beyond, a\npoor man; his will, when admitted to probate, showing his entire\npersonal property, under oath, to be but one hundred and sixty pounds!\nAnd even that would not have been in his possession had there been no\ndaily need of requisite comforts for the body and of tools for his work.\nPart of this amount was in money, shortly before received and not yet\nlaid out for his Master, but held at His disposal. Nothing, even to the\nclothes he wore, did he treat as his own. He was a consistent steward.\n\nThis final farewell to all earthly possessions, in 1830, left this\nnewly married husband and wife to look only to the Lord. Thenceforth\nthey were to put to ample daily test both their faith in the Great\nProvider and the faithfulness of the Great Promiser. It may not be\nimproper here to anticipate, what is yet to be more fully recorded,\nthat, from day to day and hour to hour, during more than threescore\nyears, George Muller was enabled to set to his seal that God is true. If\nfew men have ever been permitted so to trace in the smallest matters\nGod's care over His children, it is partly because few have so\ncompletely abandoned themselves to that care. He dared to trust Him,\nwith whom the hairs of our head are all numbered, and who touchingly\nreminds us that He cares for what has been quaintly called _\"the odd\nsparrow.\"_ Matthew records (x. 29) how two sparrows are sold for a\nfarthing, and Luke (xii. 6) how five are sold for two farthings; and so\nit would appear that, when two farthings were offered, an odd sparrow\nwas thrown in, as of so little value that it could be given away with\nthe other four. And yet even for that one sparrow, not worth taking into\naccount in the bargain, _God cares._ Not one of them is forgotten before\nGod, or falls to the ground without Him. With what force then comes the\nassurance: \"Fear ye not therefore; ye are of more value than many\nsparrows!\"\n\nSo George Muller found it to be. He was permitted henceforth to know as\nnever before, and as few others have ever learned, how truly God may be\napproached as \"Thou that hearest prayer.\" God can keep His trusting\nchildren not only from falling but from stumbling; for, during all those\nafter-years that spanned the lifetime of two generations, there was no\ndrawing back. Those precious promises, which in faith and hope were\n\"laid hold\" of in 1830, were \"held fast\" until the end. (Heb. vi. 18, x.\n23.) And the divine faithfulness proved a safe anchorage-ground in the\nmost prolonged and violent tempests. The anchor of hope, sure and\nsteadfast, and entering into that within the veil, was never dragged\nfrom its secure hold on God. In fifty thousand cases, Mr. Muller\ncalculated that he could trace distinct answers to definite prayers; and\nin multitudes of instances in which God's care was not definitely\ntraced, it was day by day like an encompassing passing but invisible\npresence or atmosphere of life and strength.\n\nOn August 9, 1831, Mrs. Muller gave birth to a stillborn babe, and for\nsix weeks remained seriously ill. Her husband meanwhile laments that his\nheart was so cold and carnal, and his prayers often so hesitating and\nformal; and he detects, even behind his zeal for God, most unspiritual\nframes. He especially chides himself for not having more seriously\nthought of the peril of child-bearing, so as to pray more earnestly for\nhis wife; and he saw clearly that the prospect of parenthood had not\nbeen rejoiced in as a blessing, but rather as implying a new burden and\nhindrance in the Lord's work.\n\nWhile this man of God lays bare his heart in his journal, the reader\nmust feel that \"as in water face answereth to face, so the heart of man\nto man.\" How many a servant of God has no more exalted idea of the\ndivine privilege of a sanctified parenthood! A wife and a child are most\nprecious gifts of God when received, in answer to prayer, from His hand.\nNot only are they not hindrances, but they are helps, most useful in\nfitting a servant of Christ for certain parts of his work for which no\nother preparation is so adequate. They serve to teach him many most\nvaluable lessons, and to round out his character into a far more\nsymmetrical beauty and serviceableness. And when it is remembered how a\ngodly _association_ in holiness and usefulness may thus be supplied, and\nabove all a godly _succession_ through many generations, it will be seen\nhow wicked is the spirit that treats holy wedlock and its fruits in\noffspring,--with lightness and contempt. Nor let us forget that promise:\n\"If two of you agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask,\nit shall be done for them of My Father which is in heaven.\" (Matt.\nxviii. 19.) The Greek word for \"agree\" is _symphonize,_ and suggests a\nmusical harmony where chords are tuned to the same key and struck by a\nmaster hand. Consider what a blessed preparation for such habitual\nsymphony in prayer is to be found in the union of a husband and wife in\nthe Lord! May it not be that to this the Spirit refers when He bids\nhusband and wife dwell in unity, as \"heirs together of the grace of\nlife,\" and adds, _\"that your prayers be not hindered\"?_ (1 Peter iii.\n7.)\n\nGod used this severe lesson for permanent blessing to George Muller. He\nshowed him how open was his heart to the subtle power of selfishness and\ncarnality, and how needful was this chastisement to teach him the\nsacredness of marital life and parental responsibility. Henceforth he\njudged himself, that he might not be \"judged of the Lord.\" (1 Cor. xi.\n31.)\n\nA crisis like his wife's critical illness created a demand for much\nextra expense, for which no provision had been made, not through\ncarelessness and improvidence, but upon principle. Mr. Muller held that\nto lay by in store is inconsistent with full trust in God, who in such\ncase would send us to our hoardings before answering prayer for more\nsupplies. Experience in this emergency justified his faith; for not only\nwere all unforeseen wants supplied, but even the delicacies and\nrefreshments needful for the sick and weak; and the two medical\nattendants graciously declined all remuneration for services which\nextended through six weeks. Thus was there given of the Lord more than\ncould have been laid up against this season of trial, even had the\nattempt been made.\n\nThe principle of committing future wants to the Lord's care, thus acted\nupon at this time, he and his wife consistently followed so long as they\nlived and worked together. Experience  confirmed  them  in the\nconviction that a life of trust forbids laying up treasures against\nunforeseen foreseen needs, since with God _no emergency is unforeseen\nand no want unprovided for;_ and He may be as implicitly trusted for\nextraordinary needs as for our common daily bread.\n\nYet another law, kindred to this and thoroughly inwrought into Mr.\nMuller's habit of life, was _never to contract debt,_ whether for\npersonal purposes or the Lord's work. This matter was settled on\nscriptural grounds once for all (Romans xiii. 8), and he and his wife\ndetermined if need be to suffer starvation rather than to buy anything\nwithout paying for it when bought. Thus they always knew how much they\nhad to buy with, and what they had left to give to others or use for\nothers' wants.\n\nThere was yet another law of life early framed into Mr. Muller's\npersonal decalogue. He regarded any money which was in his hands\n_already designated for, or appropriated to, a specific use,_ as _not\nhis to use, even temporarily, for any other ends._ Thus, though he was\noften reduced to the lowest point of temporal supplies, he took no\naccount of any such funds set apart for other outlays or due for other\npurposes. Thousands of times he was in straits where such diversion of\nfunds for a time seemed the only and the easy way out, but where this\nwould only have led him into new embarrassments. This principle,\nintelligently adopted, was firmly adhered to, that what properly belongs\nto a particular branch of work, or has been already put aside for a\ncertain use, even though yet in hand, is not to be reckoned on as\navailable for any other need, however pressing. Trust in God implies\nsuch knowledge on His part of the exact circumstances that He will not\nconstrain us to any such misappropriation. Mistakes, most serious and\nfatal, have come from lack of conscience as well as of faith in such\nexigencies--drawing on one fund to meet the overdraught upon another,\nhoping afterward to replace what is thus withdrawn. A well-known college\npresident had nearly involved the institution of which he was the head,\nin bankruptcy, and himself in worse moral ruin, all the result of one\nerror--money given for endowing certain chairs had been used for current\nexpenses until public confidence had been almost hopelessly impaired.\n\nThus a life of _faith_ must be no less a life of _conscience._ Faith and\ntrust in God, and truth and faithfulness toward man, walked side by side\nin this life-journey in unbroken agreement.\n\n\nCHAPTER VI\n\n\"THE NARRATIVE OF THE LORD'S DEALINGS\"\n\nTHINGS which are sacred forbid even a careless touch.\n\nThe record written by George Muller of the Lord's dealings reads,\nespecially in parts, almost like an inspired writing, because it is\nsimply the tracing of divine guidance in a human life--not this man's\nown working or planning, suffering or serving, but the _Lord's dealings_\nwith him and workings through him.\n\nIt reminds us of that conspicuous passage in the Acts of the Apostles\nwhere, within the compass of twenty verses, God is fifteen times put\nboldly forward as the one Actor in all events. Paul and Barnabas\nrehearsed, in the ears of the church at Antioch, and afterward at\nJerusalem, not what _they had done_ for the Lord, but all that _He had\ndone_ with them, and how _He had opened_ the door of faith unto the\nGentiles; what miracles and wonders _God had wrought_ among the Gentiles\nby them. And, in the same spirit, Peter before the council emphasizes\nhow God had made choice of his mouth, as that whereby the Gentiles\nshould hear the word of the Gospel and believe; how He had given them\nthe Holy Ghost and put no difference between Jew and Gentile, purifying\ntheir hearts by faith; and how He who knew all hearts had thus borne\nthem witness. Then James, in the same strain, refers to the way in which\n_God had visited_ the Gentiles to _take out_ of them a people for His\nname; and concludes by two quotations or adaptations from the Old\nTestament, which fitly sum up the whole matter:\n\n\"The Lord _who doeth_ all these things.\"\n\n\"Known unto God are _all His works_ from the beginning of the world.\"\n(Acts xiv. 27 to xv. 18.)\n\nThe meaning of such repeated phraseology cannot be mistaken. God is here\npresented as the one agent or actor, and even the most conspicuous\napostles, like Paul and Peter, as only His instruments. No twenty verses\nin the word of God contain more emphatic and repeated lessons on man's\ninsufficiency and nothingness, and God's all-sufficiency and\nalmightiness. It was God that wrought upon man through man. It was He\nwho chose Peter to be His mouthpiece, He whose key unlocked shut doors,\nHe who visited the nations, who turned sinners into saints, who was even\nthen taking out a people for His name, purifying hearts and bearing them\nwitness; it was He and He alone who did all these wondrous things, and\naccording to His knowledge and plan of what He would do, from the\nbeginning. We are not reading so much the Acts of the Apostles as the\nacts of God through the apostles. Was it not this very passage in this\ninspired book that suggested, perhaps, the name of this journal: _\"The\nLord's dealings with George Muller\"_?\n\nAt this narrative or journal, as a whole, we can only rapidly glance. In\nthis shorter account, purposely condensed to secure a wider reading even\nfrom busy people, that narrative could not be more fully treated, for in\nits original form it covers about three thousand printed pages, and\ncontains close to one million words. To such as can and will read that\nmore minute account it is accessible at a low rate,* and is strongly\nrecommended for careful and leisurely perusal. But for the present\npurpose the life-story, as found in these pages, takes both a briefer\nand a different form.\n\n* Five volumes at 16s. Published by Jas. Nisbet & Co., London. With\nsubsequent Annual Reports at 3d. each.\n\nThe journal is largely composed of, condensed from, and then\nsupplemented by, annual reports of the work, and naturally and\nnecessarily includes, not only thousands of little details, but much\ninevitable repetition year by year, because each new report was likely\nto fall into the hands of some who had never read reports of the\nprevious years. The desire and design of this briefer memoir is to\npresent the salient points of the narrative, to review the whole\nlife-story as from the great summits or outlooks found in this\nremarkable journal; so that, like the observer who from some high\nmountain-peak looks toward the different points of the compass, and thus\ngets a rapid, impressive, comparative, and comprehensive view of the\nwhole landscape, the reader may, as at a glance, take in those marked\nfeatures of this godly man's character and career which incite to new\nand advance steps in faith and holy living. Some few characteristic\nentries in the journal will find here a place; others, only in\nsubstance; while of the bulk of them it will be sufficient to give a\ngeneral survey, classifying the leading facts, and under each class\ngiving a few representative examples and illustrations.\n\nLooking at this narrative as a whole, certain prominent peculiarities\nmust be carefully noted. We have here a record and revelation of seven\nconspicuous experiences:\n\n1. An experience of frequent and at times prolonged _financial straits._\n\nThe money in hand for personal needs, and for the needs of hundreds and\nthousands of orphans, and for the various branches of the work of the\nScriptural Knowledge Institution, was often reduced to a single _pound,_\nor even _penny,_ and sometimes to _nothing._ There was therefore a\nnecessity for constant waiting on God, looking to Him directly for all\nsupplies. For months, if not years, together, and at several periods in\nthe work, supplies were furnished only from month to month, week to\nweek, day to day, _hour to hour!_ Faith was thus kept in lively exercise\nand under perpetual training.\n\n2. An experience of the _unchanging faithfulness of the Father-God._\n\nThe straits were long and trying, but never was there one case of\nfailure to receive help; never a meal-time without at least a frugal\nmeal, never a want or a crisis unmet by divine supply and support. Mr.\nMuller said to the writer: \"Not once, or five times, or five hundred\ntimes, but thousands of times in these threescore years, have we had in\nhand not enough _for one more meal,_ either in food or in funds; but not\nonce has God failed us; not once have we or the orphans gone hungry or\nlacked any good thing.\" From 1838 to 1844 was a period of peculiar and\nprolonged straits, yet when the time of need actually came the supply\nwas always given, though often at the last moment.\n\n3. An experience of the working of God upon the minds, hearts, and\nconsciences of _contributors to the work._\n\nIt will amply repay one to plod, step by step, over these thousands of\npages, if only to trace the hand of God touching the springs of human\naction all over the world in ways of His own, and at times of great\nneed, and adjusting the amount and the exact day and hour of the supply,\nto the existing want. Literally from the earth's ends, men, women, and\nchildren who had never seen Mr. Muller and could have known nothing of\nthe pressure at the time, have been led at the exact crisis of affairs\nto send aid in the very sum or form most needful. In countless cases,\nwhile he was on his knees asking, the answer has come in such close\ncorrespondence with the request as to shut out chance as an explanation,\nand compel belief in a prayer-hearing God.\n\n4. An experience of habitual _hanging upon the unseen God_ and nothing\nelse.\n\nThe reports, issued annually to acquaint the public with the history and\nprogress of the work, and give an account of stewardship to the many\ndonors who had a right to a report--these made _no direct appeal for\naid._ At one time, and that of great need, Mr. Muller felt led to\n_withhold_ the usual annual statement, lest some might construe the\naccount of work already done as an appeal for aid in work yet to be\ndone, and thus detract from the glory of the Great Provider.* The Living\nGod alone was and is the Patron of these institutions; and not even the\nwisest and wealthiest, the noblest and the most influential of human\nbeings, has ever been looked to as their dependence.\n\n* For example, Vol. II, 102, records that the report given is for\n1846-1848, no report having been issued for 1847; and on page 113, under\ndate of May 25th, occur these words: \"not being nearly enough to meet\nthe housekeeping expenses,\" etc.; and, May 28th and 30th, such other\nwords as these: \"now our poverty,\" \"in this our great need,\" \"in these\ndays of straitness.\" Mr. Wright thinks that _on that very account_ Mr.\nMuller did not publish the report for 1847.\n\n5. An experience of conscientious _care in accepting and using gifts._\n\nHere is a pattern for all who act as stewards for God. Whenever there\nwas any ground of misgiving as to the propriety or expediency of\nreceiving what was offered, it was declined, however pressing the need,\nunless or until all such objectionable features no more existed. If the\nparty contributing was known to dishonour lawful debts, so that the\nmoney was righteously due to others; if the gift was encumbered and\nembarrassed by restrictions that hindered its free use for God; if it\nwas designated for endowment purposes or as a provision for Mr. Muller's\nold age, or for the future of the institutions; or if there was any\nevidence or suspicion that the donation was given grudgingly,\nreluctantly, or for self-glory, it was promptly declined and returned.\nIn some cases, even where large amounts were involved, parties were\nurged to wait until more prayer and deliberation made clear that they\nwere acting under divine leading.\n\n6. An experience of extreme caution lest there should be even a careless\n_betrayal of the fact of pressing need,_ to the outside public.\n\nThe helpers in the institutions were allowed to come into such close\nfellowship and to have such knowledge of the exact state of the work as\naids not only in common labours, but in common prayers and self-denials.\nWithout such acquaintance they could not serve, pray, nor sacrifice\nintelligently. But these associates were most solemnly and repeatedly\ncharged never to reveal to those without, not even in the most serious\ncrises, any want whatsoever of the work. The one and only resort was\never to be the God who hears the cry of the needy; and the greater the\nexigency, the greater the caution lest there should even seem to be a\nlooking away from divine to human help.\n\n7. An experience of growing boldness of faith in _asking and trusting\nfor great things._\n\nAs faith was exercised it was energized, so that it became as easy and\nnatural to ask confidently for a hundred, a thousand, or ten thousand\npounds, as once it had been for a pound or a penny. After confidence in\nGod had been strengthened through discipline, and God had been proven\nfaithful, it required no more venture to cast himself on God for\nprovision for two thousand children and an annual outlay of at least\ntwenty-five thousand pounds for them than in the earlier periods of the\nwork to look to Him to care for twenty homeless orphans at a cost of two\nhundred and fifty pounds a year. Only by _using_ faith are we kept from\npractically _losing_ it, and, on the contrary, to use faith is to lose\nthe unbelief that hinders God's mighty acts.\n\nThis brief resume of the contents of thousands of entries is the result\nof a repeated and careful examination of page after page where have been\npatiently recorded with scrupulous and punctilious exactness the\ninnumerable details of Mr. Muller's long experience as a coworker with\nGod. He felt himself not only the steward of a celestial Master, but the\ntrustee of human gifts, and hence he sought to \"provide things honest in\nthe sight of all men.\" He might never have published a report or spread\nthese minute matters before the public eye, and yet have been an equally\nfaithful steward toward _God;_ but he would not in such case have been\nan equally faithful trustee toward man.\n\nFrequently, in these days, men receive considerable sums of money from\nvarious sources for benevolent work, and yet give no account of such\ntrusteeship. However honest such parties may be, they not only act\nunwisely, but, by their course, lend sanction to others with whom such\nirresponsible action is a cloak for systematic fraud. Mr. Muller's whole\ncareer is the more without fault because in this respect his\nadministration of his great trust challenges the closest investigation.\n\nThe brief review of the lessons taught in his journal may well startle\nthe incredulous and unbelieving spirit of our skeptical day. Those who\ndoubt the power of prayer to bring down actual blessing, or who confound\nfaith in God with credulity and superstition, may well wonder and\nperhaps stumble at such an array of facts. But, if any reader is still\ndoubtful as to the facts, or thinks they are here arrayed in a deceptive\ngarb or invested with an imaginative halo, he is hereby invited to\nexamine for himself the singularly minute records which George Muller\nhas been led of God to put before the world in a printed form which thus\nadmits no change, and to accompany with a bold and repeated challenge to\nany one so inclined, to subject every statement to the severest\nscrutiny, and prove, if possible, one item to be in any respect false,\nexaggerated, or misleading. The absence of all enthusiasm in the calm\nand mathematical precision of the narrative compels the reader to feel\nthat the writer was almost mechanically exact in the record, and\ninspires confidence that it contains the absolute, naked truth.\n\nOne caution should, like Habakkuk's gospel message--\"The just shall live\nby his faith\"--be written large and plain so that even a cursory glance\nmay take it in. Let no one ascribe to George Muller such a _miraculous\ngift of faith_ as lifted him above common believers and out of the reach\nof the temptations and infirmities to which all fallible souls are\nexposed. He was constantly liable to satanic assaults, and we find him\nmaking frequent confession of the same sins as others, and even of\nunbelief, and at times overwhelmed with genuine sorrow for his\ndepartures from God. In fact he felt himself rather more than usually\nwicked by nature, and utterly helpless even as a believer: was it not\nthis poverty of spirit and mourning over sin, this consciousness of\nentire unworthiness and dependence, that so drove him to the throne of\ngrace and the all-merciful and all-powerful Father? Because he was so\nweak, he leaned hard on the strong arm of Him whose strength is not only\nmanifested, but can only be made perfect, in weakness.*\n\n* 1 Cor. xii. 1-10.\n\nTo those who think that no man can wield such power in prayer or live\nsuch a life of faith who is not an exception to common mortal frailties,\nit will be helpful to find in this very journal that is so lighted up\nwith the records of God's goodness, the dark shadows of conscious sin\nand guilt. Even in the midst of abounding mercies and interpositions he\nsuffered from temptations to distrust and disobedience, and sometimes\nhad to mourn their power over him, as when once he found himself\ninwardly complaining of the cold leg of mutton which formed the staple\nof his Sunday dinner! We discover as we read that we are communing with\na man who was not only of like passions with ourselves, but who felt\nhimself rather more than most others subject to the sway of evil, and\nneeding therefore a special keeping power. Scarce had he started upon\nhis new path of entire dependence on God, when he confessed himself \"so\nsinful\" as for some time to entertain the thought that \"it would be of\nno use to trust in the Lord in this way,\" and fearing that he had\nperhaps gone already too far in this direction in having committed\nhimself to such a course.* True, this temptation was speedily overcome\nand Satan confounded; but from time to time similar fiery darts were\nhurled at him which had to be quenched by the same shield of faith.\nNever, to the last hour of life, could he trust himself, or for one\nmoment relax his hold on God, and neglect the word of God and prayer,\nwithout falling into sin. The 'old man,' of sin always continued too\nstrong for George Muller alone, and the longer he lived a 'life of\ntrust' the less was his trust placed upon himself.\n\n* Vol. I. 73.\n\nAnother fact that grows more conspicuous with the perusal of every new\npage in his journal is that in things common and small, as well as\nuncommon and great, he took no step without first asking counsel of the\noracles of God and seeking guidance from Him in believing prayer. It was\nhis life-motto to learn the will of God before undertaking anything, and\nto wait till it is clear, because only so can one either be blessed in\nhis own soul or prospered in the work of his hands.* Many disciples who\nare comparatively bold to seek God's help in great crises, fail to come\nto Him with like boldness in matters that seem too trivial to occupy the\nthought of God or invite the interposition of Him who numbers the very\nhairs of our heads and suffers not one hair to perish. The writer of\nthis journal escaped this great snare and carried even the smallest\nmatter to the Lord.\n\n* Vol. I. 74.\n\nAgain, in his journal he constantly seeks to save from reproach the good\nname of Him whom he serves: he cannot have such a God accounted a hard\nMaster. So early as July, 1831, a false rumour found circulation that he\nand his wife were half-starving and that certain bodily ailments were\nthe result of a lack of the necessities of life; and he is constrained\nto put on record that, though often brought so low as not to have one\npenny left and to have the last bread on the table, they had never yet\nsat down to a meal unprovided with some nourishing food. This witness\nwas repeated from time to time, and until just before his departure for\nthe Father's house on high; and it may therefore be accepted as covering\nthat whole life of faith which reached over nearly threescore years and\nten.\n\nA kindred word of testimony, first given at this same time and in like\nmanner reiterated from point to point in his pilgrimage, concerns the\nLord's faithfulness in accompanying His word with power, in accordance\nwith that positive and unequivocal promise in Isaiah lv. 11: \"My word\nshall not return unto Me void; but it shall accomplish that which I\nplease, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.\" It is very\nnoticeable that this is not said of _man's_ word, however wise,\nimportant, or sincere, but of _God's_ word. We are therefore justified\nin both expecting and claiming that, just so far as our message is not\nof human invention or authority, but is God's message through us, it\nshall never fail to accomplish His pleasure and its divine errand,\nwhatever be its apparent failure at the time. Mr. Muller, referring to\nhis own preaching, bears witness that in almost if not quite every place\nwhere he spoke God's word, whether in larger chapels or smaller rooms,\nthe Lord gave the seal of His own testimony. He observed, however, that\nblessing did not so obviously or abundantly follow his open-air\nservices: only in one instance had it come to his knowledge that there\nwere marked results, and that was in the case of an army officer who\ncame to make sport. Mr. Muller thought that it might please the Lord not\nto let him see the real fruit of his work in open-air meetings, or that\nthere had not been concerning them enough believing prayer; but he\nconcluded that such manner of preaching was not his present work, since\nGod had not so conspicuously sealed it with blessing.\n\nHis journal makes very frequent reference to the physical weakness and\ndisability from which he suffered.\n\nThe struggle against bodily infirmity was almost life-long, and adds a\nnew lesson to his life-story. The strength of faith had to triumph over\nthe weakness of the flesh. We often find him suffering from bodily ills,\nand sometimes so seriously as to be incapacitated for labour.\n\nFor example, early in 1832 he broke a blood-vessel in the stomach and\nlost much blood by the hemorrhage. The very day following was the Lord's\nday, and four outside preaching stations needed to be provided for, from\nwhich his disablement would withdraw one labourer to take his place at\nhome. After an hour of prayer he felt that faith was given him to rise,\ndress, and go to the chapel; and, though very weak, so that the short\nwalk wearied him, he was helped to preach as usual. After the service a\nmedical friend remonstrated against his course as tending to permanent\ninjury; but he replied that he should himself have regarded it\npresumptuous had not the Lord given him the faith. He preached both\nafternoon and evening, growing stronger rather than weaker with each\neffort, and suffering from no reaction afterward.\n\nIn reading Mr. Muller's biography and the record of such experiences, it\nis not probable that all will agree as to the wisdom of his course in\nevery case. Some will commend, while others will, perhaps, condemn. He\nhimself qualifies this entry in his journal with a wholesome caution\nthat no reader should in such a matter follow his example, who _has not\nfaith given him;_ but assuring him that if God does give faith so to\nundertake for Him, such trust will prove like good coin and be honoured\nwhen presented. He himself did not always pursue a like course, because\nhe had not always a like faith, and this leads him in his journal to\ndraw a valuable distinction between the _gift of faith_ and the _grace\nof faith,_ which deserves careful consideration.\n\nHe observed that repeatedly he prayed with the sick till they were\nrestored, he _asking unconditionally for the blessing of bodily health,_\na thing which, he says, later on, he could not have done. Almost always\nin such cases the petition was granted, yet in some instances not. Once,\nin his own case, as early as 1829, he had been healed of a bodily\ninfirmity of long standing, and which never returned. Yet this same man\nof God subsequently suffered from disease which was not in like manner\nhealed, and in more than one case submitted to a costly operation at the\nhands of a skilful surgeon.\n\nSome will doubtless say that even this man of faith lacked the faith\nnecessary for the healing of his own body; but we must let him speak for\nhimself, and especially as he gives his own view of the gift and the\ngrace of faith. He says that the _gift_ of faith is exercised, whenever\nwe \"do or believe a thing where the not doing or not believing would\n_not_ be sin\"; but the _grace_ of faith, \"where we do or believe what\nnot to do or believe _would_ be sin\"; in one case we have no unequivocal\ncommand or promise to guide us, and in the other we have. The gift of\nfaith is not always in exercise, but the grace must be, since it has the\ndefinite word of God to rest on, and the absence or even weakness of\nfaith in such circumstances implies sin. There were instances, he adds,\nin which it pleased the Lord at times to bestow upon him something like\nthe gift of faith so that he could ask unconditionally and expect\nconfidently.\n\nThis journal we may now dismiss as a whole, having thus looked at the\ngeneral features which characterize its many pages. But let it be\nrepeated that to any reader who will for himself carefully examine its\ncontents its perusal will prove a means of grace. To read a little at a\ntime, and follow it with reflection and self-examination, will be found\nmost stimulating to faith, though often most humiliating by reason of\nthe conscious contrast suggested by the reader's unbelief and\nunfaithfulness. This man lived peculiarly with God and in God, and his\nsenses were exercised to discern good and evil. His conscience became\nincreasingly sensitive and his judgment singularly discriminating, so\nthat he detected fallacies where they escape the common eye, and foresaw\ndangers which, like hidden rocks ahead, risk damage and, perhaps,\ndestruction to service if not to character. And, therefore, so far is\nthe writer of this memoir from desiring to displace that journal, that\nhe rather seeks to incite many who have not read it to examine it for\nthemselves. It will to such be found to mark a path of close daily walk\nwith God, where, step by step, with circumspect vigilance, conduct and\neven motive are watched and weighed in God's own balances.\n\nTo sum up very briefly the impression made by the close perusal of this\nwhole narrative with the supplementary annual reports, it is simply\nthis: CONFIDENCE IN GOD.\n\nIn a little sketch of Beate Paulus, the Frau Pastorin pleads with God in\na great crisis not to forsake her, quaintly adding that she was \"willing\nto be the second whom He might forsake,\" but she was \"determined not to\nbe the _first.\"_* George Muller believed that, in all ages, there had\nnever yet been one true and trusting believer to whom God had proven\nfalse or faithless, and he was perfectly sure that He could be safely\ntrusted who, \"if we believe not, yet abideth faithful: He cannot deny\nHimself.\"** God has not only _spoken,_ but _sworn;_ His word is\nconfirmed by His oath: because He could swear by no greater He sware by\nHimself. And all this that we might have a strong consolation; that we\nmight have boldness in venturing upon Him, laying hold and holding fast\nHis promise. Unbelief makes God a _liar_ and, worse still, a _perjurer,_\nfor it accounts Him as not only false to His word, but to His oath.\nGeorge Muller believed, and because he believed, prayed; and praying,\nexpected; and expecting, received. Blessed is he that believes, for\nthere shall be a performance of those things which are spoken of the\nLord.\n\n* Faith's Miracles, p. 43.\n\n** 2 Timothy ii. 13.\n\n\nCHAPTER VII\n\nLED OF GOD INTO A NEW SPHERE\n\nIF much hangs and turns upon the choice of the _work_ we are to do and\nthe _field_ where we are to do it, it must not be forgotten how much\nalso depends on the _time_ when it is undertaken, the _way_ in which it\nis performed, and the _associates_ in the labour. In all these matters\nthe true workman will wait for the Master's beck, glance, or signal,\nbefore a step is taken.\n\nWe have come now to a new fork in the road where the path ahead begins\nto be more plain. The future and permanent centre of his life-work is at\nthis point clearly indicated to God's servant by divine leading.\n\nIn March, 1832, his friend Mr. Henry Craik left Shaldon for four weeks\nof labour _in Bristol,_ where Mr. Muller's strong impression was that\nthe Lord had for Mr. Craik some more lasting sphere of work, though as\nyet it had not dawned upon his mind that he himself was to be a\nco-worker in that sphere, and to find in that very city the place of his\npermanent abode and the centre of his life's activities. God again led\nthe blind by a way he knew not. The conviction, however, had grown upon\nhim that the Lord was loosing him from Teignmouth, and, without having\nin view any other definite field, he felt that his ministry there was\ndrawing to a close; and he inclined to go about again from place to\nplace, seeking especially to bring believers to a fuller trust in God\nand a deeper sense of His faithfulness, and to a more thorough search\ninto His word. His inclination to such itinerant work was strengthened\nby the fact that outside of Teignmouth his preaching both gave him much\nmore enjoyment and sense of power, and drew more hearers.\n\nOn April 13th a letter from Mr. Craik, inviting Mr. Muller to join in\nhis work at Bristol, made such an impression on his mind that he began\nprayerfully to consider whether it was not God's call, and whether a\nfield more suited to his gifts was not opening to him. The following\nLord's day, preaching on the Lord's coming, he referred to the effect of\nthis blessed hope in impelling God's messenger to bear witness more\nwidely and from place to place, and reminded the brethren that he had\nrefused to bind himself to abide with them that he might at any moment\nbe free to follow the divine leading elsewhere.\n\nOn April 20th Mr. Muller left for Bristol. On the journey he was dumb,\nhaving no liberty in speaking for Christ or even in giving away tracts,\nand this led him to reflect. He saw that the so-called 'work of the\nLord' had tempted him to substitute _action for meditation and\ncommunion._ He had neglected that still hour' with God which supplies to\nspiritual life alike its breath and its bread. No lesson is more\nimportant for us to learn, yet how slow are we to learn it: that for the\nlack of habitual seasons set apart for devout meditation upon the word\nof God and for prayer, nothing else will compensate.\n\nWe are prone to think, for example, that converse with Christian\nbrethren, and the general round of Christian activity, especially when\nwe are much busied with preaching the Word and visits to inquiring or\nneedy souls, make up for the loss of aloneness with God in the secret\nplace. We hurry to a public service with but a few minutes of private\nprayer, allowing precious time to be absorbed in social pleasures,\nrestrained from withdrawing from others by a false delicacy, when to\nexcuse ourselves for needful communion with God and his word would have\nbeen perhaps the best witness possible to those whose company was\nholding us unduly! How often we rush from one public engagement to\nanother without any proper interval for renewing our strength in waiting\non the Lord, as though God cared more for the quantity than the quality\nof our service!\n\nHere Mr. Muller had the grace to detect one of the foremost perils of a\nbusy man in this day of insane hurry. He saw that if we are to feed\nothers we must be fed; and that even public and united exercises of\npraise and prayer can never supply that food which is dealt out to the\nbeliever only in the closet--the shut-in place with its closed door and\nopen window, where he meets God alone. In a previous chapter reference\nhas been made to the fact that three times in the word of God we find a\ndivine prescription for a true prosperity. God says to Joshua, \"This\nbook of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt\nmeditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according\nto all that is written therein: _for then thou shalt make thy way\nprosperous, and then thou shalt have good success\"_ (Joshua i. 8.) Five\nhundred years later the inspired author of the first Psalm repeats the\npromise in unmistakable terms. The Spirit there says of him whose\ndelight is in the law of the Lord and who in His law doth meditate day\nand night, that \"he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water,\nthat bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not\nwither; and _whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.\"_ Here the devout\nmeditative student of the blessed book of God is likened to an evergreen\ntree planted beside unfailing supplies of moisture; his fruit is\nperennial, and so is his verdure--and _whatsoever he doeth_ prospers!\nMore than a thousand years pass away, and, before the New Testament is\nsealed up as complete, once more the Spirit bears essentially the same\nblessed witness. \"Whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty and\n_continueth\"_ (i.e. continueth _looking_--meditating on what he there\nbeholds, lest he forget the impression received through the mirror of\nthe Word), _\"this man shall be blessed in his deed\"_ (James i. 25.)\n\nHere then we have a threefold witness to the secret of true prosperity\nand unmingled blessing: devout meditation and reflection upon the\nScriptures, which are at once a book of law, a river of life, and a\nmirror of self--fitted to convey the will of God, the life of God, and\nthe transforming power of God. That believer makes a fatal mistake who\n_for any cause_ neglects the prayerful study of the word of God. To read\nGod's holy book, by it search one's self, and turn it into prayer and so\ninto holy living, is the one great secret of growth in grace and\ngodliness. The worker _for_ God must first be a worker _with_ God: he\nmust have power with God and must prevail with Him in prayer, if he is\nto have power with men and prevail with men in preaching or in any form\nof witnessing and serving. At all costs let us make sure of that highest\npreparation for our work--the preparation of our own souls; and for this\nwe must _take time_ to be alone with His word and His Spirit, that we\nmay truly meet God, and understand His will and the revelation of\nHimself.\n\nIf we seek the secrets of the life George Muller lived and the work he\ndid, this is the very key to the whole mystery, and with that key any\nbeliever can unlock the doors to a prosperous growth in grace and power\nin service. God's word is His WORD--the expression of His thought, the\nrevealing of His mind and heart. The supreme end of life is to know God\nand make Him known; and how is this possible so long as we neglect the\nvery means He has chosen for conveying to us that knowledge! Even\nChrist, the Living Word, is to be found enshrined in the written word.\nOur knowledge of Christ is dependent upon our acquaintance with the Holy\nScriptures, which are the reflection of His character and glory--the\nfirmament across the expanse of which He moves as the Sun of\nrighteousness.\n\nOn April 22, 1832, George Muller first stood in the pulpit of Gideon\nChapel. The fact and the date are to be carefully marked as the new\nturning-point in a career of great usefulness. Henceforth, for almost\nexactly sixty-six years, Bristol is to be inseparably associated with\nhis name. Could he have foreseen, on that Lord's day, what a work the\nLord would do through him in that city; how from it as a centre his\ninfluence would radiate to the earth's ends, and how, even after his\ndeparture, he should continue to bear witness by the works which should\nfollow him, how his heart would have swelled and burst with holy\ngratitude and praise,--while in humility he shrank back in awe and\nwonder from a responsibility and an opportunity so vast and\noverwhelming!\n\nIn the afternoon of this first Sabbath he preached at Pithay Chapel a\nsermon conspicuously owned of God. Among others converted by it was a\nyoung man, a notorious drunkard. And, before the sun had set, Mr.\nMuller, who in the evening heard Mr. Craik preach, was fully persuaded\nthat the Lord had brought him to Bristol for a purpose, and that for a\nwhile, at least, there he was to labour. Both he and his brother Craik\nfelt, however, that Bristol was not the place to reach a clear decision,\nfor the judgment was liable to be unduly biassed when subject to the\npressure of personal urgency, and so they determined to return to their\nrespective fields of previous labour, there to wait quietly upon the\nLord for the promised wisdom from above. They left for Devonshire on the\nfirst of May; but already a brother had been led to assume the\nresponsibility for the rent of Bethesda Chapel as a place for their\njoint labours, thus securing a second commodious building for public\nworship.\n\nSuch blessing had rested on these nine days of united testimony in\nBristol that they both gathered that the Lord had assuredly called them\nthither. The seal of His sanction had been on all they had undertaken,\nand the last service at Gideon Chapel on April 29th had been so thronged\nthat many went away for lack of room.\n\nMr. Muller found opportunity for the exercise of humility, for he saw\nthat by many his brother's gifts were much preferred to his own; yet, as\nMr. Craik would come to Bristol only with him as a yokefellow, God's\ngrace enabled him to accept the humiliation of being the less popular,\nand comforted him with the thought that two are better than one, and\nthat each might possibly fill up some lack in the other, and thus both\ntogether prove a greater benefit and blessing alike to sinners and to\nsaints--as the result showed. That same grace of God helped Mr. Muller\nto rise higher--nay, let us rather say, to sink lower and, \"in honor\npreferring one another,\" to rejoice rather than to be envious; and, like\nJohn the Baptist, to say within himself: \"A man can receive nothing\nexcept it be given him from above.\" Such a humble spirit has even in\nthis life oftentimes its recompense of reward. Marked as was the impress\nof Mr. Craik upon Bristol, Mr. Muller's influence was even deeper and\nwider. As Henry Craik died in 1866, his own work reached through a much\nlonger period; and as he was permitted to make such extensive mission\ntours throughout the world, his witness was far more outreaching. The\nlowly-minded man who bowed down to take the lower place, consenting to\nbe the more obscure, was by God exalted to the higher seat and greater\nthrone of influence.\n\nWithin a few weeks the Lord's will, as to their new sphere, became so\nplain to both these brethren that on May 23d Mr. Muller left Teignmouth\nfor Bristol, to be followed next day by Mr. Craik. At the believers'\nmeeting at Gideon Chapel they stated their terms, which were acceded to:\nthat they were to be regarded as accepting no fixed relationship to the\ncongregation, preaching in such manner and for such a season as should\nseem to them according to the Lord's will; that they should not be under\nbondage to any rules among them; that _pew-rents should be done away\nwith;_ and that they should, as in Devonshire, _look to the Lord to\nsupply all temporal wants through the voluntary offerings of those to\nwhom they ministered._\n\nWithin a month Bethesda Chapel had been so engaged for a year as to risk\nno debt, and on July 6th services began there as at Gideon. From the\nvery first, the Spirit set His seal on the joint work of these two\nbrethren. Ten days after the opening service at Bethesda, an evening\nbeing set for inquirers, the throng of those seeking counsel was so\ngreat that more than four hours were consumed in ministering to\nindividual souls, and so from time to time similar meetings were held\nwith like encouragement.\n\nAugust 13, 1832, was a memorable day. On that evening at Bethesda Chapel\nMr. Muller, Mr. Craik, one other brother, and four sisters--_only seven\nin all_--sat down together, uniting in church fellowship _\"without any\nrules,--desiring to act only as the Lord should be pleased to give light\nthrough His word.\"_\n\nThis is a very short and simple entry in Mr. Mailer's journal, but it\nhas most solemn significance. It records what was to him separation to\nthe hallowed work of building up a simple apostolic church, with no\nmanual of guidance but the New Testament; and in fact it introduces us\nto the THIRD PERIOD of his life, when he entered fully upon the work to\nwhich God had set him apart. The further steps now followed in rapid\nsuccession. God having prepared the workman and gathered the material,\nthe structure went on quietly and rapidly until the life-work was\ncomplete.\n\nCholera was at this time raging in Bristol. This terrible 'scourge of\nGod' first appeared about the middle of July and continued for three\nmonths, prayer-meetings being held often, and for a time daily, to plead\nfor the removal of this visitation. Death stalked abroad, the knell of\nfuneral-bells almost constantly sounding, and much solemnity hanging\nlike a dark pall over the community. Of course many visits to the sick,\ndying, and afflicted became necessary, but it is remarkable that, among\nall the children of God among whom Mr. Muller and Mr. Craik laboured,\nbut one died of this disease.\n\nIn the midst of all this gloom and sorrow of a fatal epidemic, a little\ndaughter was born to Mr. and Mrs. Muller September 17, 1832. About her\nname, Lydia, sweet fragrance lingers, for she became one of God's purest\nsaints and the beloved wife of James Wright. How little do we forecast\nat the time the future of a new-born babe who, like Samuel, may in God's\ndecree be established to be a prophet of the Lord, or be set apart to\nsome peculiar sphere of service, as in the case of another Lydia, whose\nheart the Lord opened and whom He called to be the nucleus of the first\nChristian church in Europe.\n\nMr. Mullers unfeigned humility, and the docility that always accompanies\nthat unconscious grace, found new exercise when the meetings with\ninquirers revealed the fact that his colleague's preaching was much more\nused of God than his own, in conviction and conversion. This discovery\nled to much self-searching, and he concluded that three reasons lay back\nof this fact: first, Mr. Craik was more spiritually minded than himself;\nsecond, he was more earnest in prayer for converting power; and third,\nhe oftener spoke directly to the unsaved, in his public ministrations.\nSuch disclosures of his own comparative lack did not exhaust themselves\nin vain self-reproaches, but led at once to more importunate prayer,\nmore diligent preparation for addressing the unconverted, and more\nfrequent appeals to this class. From this time on, Mr. Muller's\npreaching had the seal of God upon it equally with his brother's. What a\nwholesome lesson to learn, that for every defect in our service there is\na cause, and that the one all-sufficient remedy is the throne of grace,\nwhere in every time of need we may boldly come to find grace and help!\nIt has been already noted that Mr. Muller did not satisfy himself with\nmore prayer, but gave new diligence and study to the preparation of\ndiscourses adapted to awaken careless souls. In the supernatural as well\nas the natural sphere, there is a law of cause and effect. Even the\nSpirit of God works not without order and method; He has His chosen\nchannels through which He pours blessing. There is no accident in the\nspiritual world. \"The Spirit bloweth where He listeth,\" but even the\nwind has its circuits. There is a kind of preaching, fitted to bring\nconviction and conversion, and there is another kind which is not so\nfitted. Even in the faithful use of truth there is room for\ndiscrimination and selection. In the armory of the word of God are many\nweapons, and all have their various uses and adaptations. Blessed is the\nworkman or warrior who seeks to know what particular implement or\ninstrument God appoints for each particular work or conflict. We are to\nstudy to keep in such communion with His word and Spirit as that we\nshall be true workmen that need \"not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the\nword of truth.\" (2 Tim. ii. 15.)\n\nThis expression, found in Paul's second letter to Timothy, is a very\npeculiar one ([Transcriber's Note: Greek source text for the English\nphrase quoted in the paragraph immediately above appears here]). It\nseems to be nearly equivalent to the Latin phrase _recte viam secare--to\ncut a straight road_--and to hint that the true workman of God is like\nthe civil engineer to whom it is given to construct a direct road to a\ncertain point. The hearer's heart and conscience is the objective point,\nand the aim of the preacher should be, so to use God's truth as to reach\nmost directly and effectively the needs of the hearer. He is to avoid\nall circuitous routes, all evasions, all deceptive apologies and by-ways\nof argument, and seek by God's help to find the shortest, straightest,\nquickest road to the convictions and resolutions of those to whom he\nspeaks. And if the road-builder, before he takes any other step, first\ncarefully _surveys his territory and lays out his route,_ how much more\nshould the preacher first study the needs of his hearers and the best\nways of successfully dealing with them, and then with even more\ncarefulness and prayerfulness study the adaptation of the word of God\nand the gospel message to meet those wants.\n\nEarly in the year 1833, letters from missionaries in Baghdad urged\nMessrs. Muller and Craik to join them in labours in that distant field,\naccompanying the invitation with drafts for two hundred pounds for costs\nof travel. Two weeks of prayerful inquiry as to the mind of the Lord,\nhowever, led them to a clear decision _not_ to go--a choice never\nregretted, and which is here recorded only as part of a complete\nbiography, and as illustrating the manner in which each new call for\nservice was weighed and decided.\n\nWe now reach another stage of Mr. Muller's entrance upon his complete\nlife-work. In February, 1832, he had begun to read the biography of A.\nH. Francke, the founder of the Orphan Houses of Halle. As that life and\nwork were undoubtedly used of God to make him a like instrument in a\nkindred service, and to mould even the methods of his philanthropy, a\nbrief sketch of Francke's career may be helpful.\n\nAugust H. Francke was Muller's fellow countryman. About 1696, at Halle\nin Prussia, he had commenced the largest enterprise for poor children\nthen existing in the world. He trusted in God, and He whom he trusted\ndid not fail him, but helped him throughout abundantly.\n\nThe institutions, which resembled rather a large street than a building,\nwere erected, and in them about two thousand orphan children were\nhoused, fed, clad, and taught. For about thirty years all went on under\nFrancke's own eyes, until 1727, when it pleased the Master to call the\nservant up higher; and after his departure his like-minded son-in-law\nbecame the director. Two hundred years have passed, and these Orphan\nHouses are still in existence, serving their noble purpose.\n\nIt is needful only to look at these facts and compare with Francke's\nwork in Halle George Muller's monuments to a prayer-hearing God on\nAshley Down, to see that in the main the latter work so far resembles\nthe former as to be in not a few respects its counterpart. Mr. Muller\nbegan his orphan work a little more than one hundred years after\nFrancke's death; ultimately housed, fed, clothed, and taught over two\nthousand orphans year by year; personally supervised the work for over\nsixty years--twice as long a period as that of Francke's personal\nmanagement--and at his decease likewise left his like minded son-in-law\nto be his successor as the sole director of the work. It need not be\nadded that, beginning his enterprise like Francke in dependence on God\nalone, the founder of the Bristol Orphan Houses trusted from first to\nlast only in Him.\n\nIt is very noticeable how, when God is preparing a workman for a certain\ndefinite service, He often leads him out of the beaten track into a path\npeculiarly His own by means of some striking biography, or by contact\nwith some other living servant who is doing some such work, and\nexhibiting the spirit which must guide if there is to be a true success.\nMeditation on Franeke's life and work naturally led this man who was\nhungering for a wider usefulness to think more of the poor homeless\nwaifs about him, and to ask whether he also could not plan under God\nsome way to provide for them; and as he was musing the fire burned.\n\nAs early as June 12, 1833, when not yet twenty-eight years old, the\ninward flame began to find vent in a scheme which proved the first\nforward step toward his orphan work. It occurred to him to gather out of\nthe streets, at about eight o'clock each morning, the poor children,\ngive them a bit of bread for breakfast, and then, for about an hour and\na half, teach them to read or read to them the Holy Scriptures; and\nlater on to do a like service to the adult and aged poor. He began at\nonce to feed from thirty to forty such persons, confident that, as the\nnumber increased, the Lord's provision would increase also. Unburdening\nhis heart to Mr. Craik, he was guided to a place which could hold one\nhundred and fifty children and which could be rented for ten shillings\nyearly; as also to an aged brother who would gladly undertake the\nteaching.\n\nUnexpected obstacles, however, prevented the carrying out of this plan.\nThe work already pressing upon Mr. Muller and Mr. Craik, the rapid\nincrease of applicants for food, and the annoyance to neighbours of\nhaving crowds of idlers congregating in the streets and lying about in\ntroops--these were some of the reasons why this method was abandoned.\nBut the _central thought and aim_ were never lost sight of: God had\nplanted a seed in the soil of Mr. Mullers heart, presently to spring up\nin the orphan work, and in the Scriptural Knowledge Institution with its\nmany branches and far-reaching fruits.\n\nFrom time to time a backward glance over the Lord's dealings encouraged\nhis heart, as he looked forward to unknown paths and untried scenes. He\nrecords at this time--the close of the year 1833--that during the four\nyears since he first began to trust in the Lord alone for temporal\nsupplies he had suffered no want. He had received during the first year\none hundred and thirty pounds, during the second one hundred and\nfifty-one, during the third one hundred and ninety-five, and during the\nlast two hundred and sixty-seven--all in free-will offerings and without\never asking any human being for a penny. He had looked alone to the\nLord, yet he had not only received a supply, but an increasing supply,\nyear by year. Yet he also noticed that at each year's close he had very\nlittle, if anything, left, and that much had come through strange\nchannels, from distances very remote, and from parties whom he had never\nseen. He observed also that in every case, according as the need was\ngreater or less, the supply corresponded. He carefully records for the\nbenefit of others that, when the calls for help were many, the Great\nProvider showed Himself able and willing to send help accordingly.* The\nways of divine dealing which he had thus found true of the early years\nof his life of trust were marked and magnified in all his\nafter-experience, and the lessons learned in these first four years\nprepared him for others taught in the same school of God and under the\nsame Teacher.\n\n* Vol. I. 105.\n\nThus God had brought His servant by a way which he knew not to the very\nplace and sphere of his life's widest and most enduring work. He had\nmoulded and shaped His chosen vessel, and we are now to see to what\npurposes of world-wide usefulness that earthen vessel was to be put, and\nhow conspicuously the excellency of the power was to be of God and not\nof man.\n\n\nCHAPTER VIII\n\nA TREE OF GOD'S OWN PLANTING\n\nTHE time was now fully come when the divine Husbandman was to glorify\nHimself by a product of His own husbandry in the soil of Bristol.\n\nOn February 20, 1834, George Muller was led of God to sow the seed of\nwhat ultimately developed into a great means of good, known as \"The\nScriptural Knowledge Institution, for Home and Abroad.\" As in all other\nsteps of his life, this was the result of much prayer, meditation on the\nWord, searching of his own heart, and patient waiting to know the mind\nof God.\n\nA brief statement of the reasons for founding such an institution, and\nthe principles on which it was based, will be helpful at this point.\nMotives of conscience controlled Mr. Muller and Mr. Craik in starting a\nnew work rather than in uniting with existing societies already\nestablished for missionary purposes, Bible and tract distribution, and\nfor the promotion of Christian schools. As they had sought to conform\npersonal life and church conduct wholly to the scriptural pattern, they\nfelt that all work for God should be carefully carried on in exact\naccordance with His known will, in order to have His fullest blessing.\nMany features of the existing societies seemed to them extra-scriptural,\nif not decidedly anti-scriptural, and these they felt constrained to\navoid.\n\nFor example, they felt that the _end proposed_ by such organizations,\nnamely, _the conversion of the world_ in this dispensation, was not\njustified by the Word, which everywhere represents this as the age of\nthe _outgathering of the church_ from the world, and not the\n_ingathering of the world_ into the church. To set such an end before\nthemselves as the world's conversion would therefore not only be\nunwarranted by Scripture, but delusive and disappointing, disheartening\nGod's servants by the failure to realize the result, and dishonoring to\nGod Himself by making Him to appear unfaithful.\n\nAgain, these existing societies seemed to Mr. Muller and Mr. Craik to\nsustain a _wrong relation to the world_--mixed up with it, instead of\nseparate from it. Any one by paying a certain fixed sum of money might\nbecome a member or even a director, having a voice or vote in the\nconduct of affairs and becoming eligible to office. Unscriptural means\nwere commonly used to _raise money,_ such as appealing for aid to\nunconverted persons, asking for donations simply for money's sake and\nwithout regard to the character of the donors or the manner in which the\nmoney was obtained. The custom of _seeking patronage_ from men of the\nworld and asking such to preside at public meetings, and the habit of\n_contracting debts,_--these and some other methods of management seemed\nso unscriptural and unspiritual that the founders of this new\ninstitution could not with a good conscience give them sanction. Hence\nthey hoped that by basing their work upon thoroughly biblical principles\nthey might secure many blessed results.\n\nFirst of all, they confidently believed that the work of the Lord could\nbe best and most successfully carried on within the landmarks and limits\nset up in His word; that the fact of thus carrying it on would give\nboldness in prayer and confidence in labour. But they also desired the\nwork itself to be a witness to the living God, and a testimony to\nbelievers, by calling attention to the objectionable methods already in\nuse and encouraging all God's true servants in adhering to the\nprinciples and practices which He has sanctioned.\n\nOn March 5th at a public meeting a formal announcement of the intention\nto found such an institution was accompanied by a full statement of its\npurposes and principles,* in substance as follows:\n\n* Appendix D. Journal I. 107-113.\n\n1. Every believer's duty and privilege is to help on the cause and work\nof Christ.\n\n2. The patronage of the world is not to be sought after, depended upon,\nor countenanced.\n\n3. Pecuniary aid, or help in managing or carrying on its affairs, is not\nto be asked for or sought from those who are not believers.\n\n4. Debts are not to be contracted or allowed for any cause in the work\nof the Lord.\n\n5. The standard of success is not to be a numerical or financial\nstandard.\n\n6. All compromise of the truth or any measures that impair testimony to\nGod are to be avoided.\n\nThus the word of God was accepted as counsellor, and all dependence was\non God's blessing in answer to prayer.\n\nThe _objects_ of the institution were likewise announced as follows:\n\n1. To establish or aid day-schools, Sunday-schools, and adult-schools,\ntaught and conducted only by believers and on thoroughly scriptural\nprinciples.\n\n2. To circulate the Holy Scriptures, wholly or in portions, over the\nwidest possible territory.\n\n3. To aid missionary efforts and assist labourers, in the Lord's\nvineyard anywhere, who are working upon a biblical basis and looking\nonly to the Lord for support.\n\nTo project such a work, on such a scale, and at such a time, was doubly\nan act of faith; for not only was the work already in hand enough to tax\nall available time and strength, but at this very time this record\nappears in Mr. Muller's journal: _\"We have only one shilling left.\"_\nSurely no advance step would have been taken, had not the eyes been\nturned, not on the empty purse, but on the full and exhaustless treasury\nof a rich and bountiful Lord!\n\nIt was plainly God's purpose that, out of such abundance of poverty, the\nriches of His liberality should be manifested. It pleased Him, from whom\nand by whom are all things, that the work should be begun when His\nservants were poorest and weakest, that its growth to such giant\nproportions might the more prove it to be a plant of His own right\nhand's planting, and that His word might be fulfilled in its whole\nhistory:\n\n       \"I the Lord do keep it:\n        I will water it every moment:\n        Lest any hurt it, I will keep it night and day:\"\n                            (Isa. xxvii. 3.)\n\nWhatever may be thought as to the need of such a new organization, or as\nto such scruples as moved its founders to insist even in minor matters\nupon the closest adherence to scripture teaching, this at least is\nplain, that for more than half a century it has stood upon its original\nfoundation, and its increase and usefulness have surpassed the most\nenthusiastic dreams of its founders; nor have the principles first\navowed ever been abandoned. With the Living God as its sole patron, and\nprayer as its only appeal, it has attained vast proportions, and its\nworld-wide work has been signally owned and blessed.\n\nOn March 19th Mrs. Muller gave birth to a son, to the great joy of his\nparents; and, after much prayer, they gave him the name Elijah--\"My God\nis Jah\"--the name itself being one of George Mullers life-mottoes. Up to\nthis time the families of Mr. Muller and Mr. Craik had dwelt under one\nroof, but henceforth it was thought wise that they should have separate\nlodgings.\n\nWhen, at the close of 1834, the usual backward glance was cast over the\nLord's leadings and dealings, Mr. Muller gratefully recognized the\ndivine goodness which had thus helped him to start upon its career the\nwork with its several departments. Looking to the Lord alone for light\nand help, he had laid the corner-stone of this \"little institution\"; and\nin October, after only seven months' existence, it had already begun to\nbe established. In the Sunday-school there were one hundred and twenty\nchildren; in the adult classes, forty; in the four day-schools, two\nhundred and nine boys and girls; four hundred and eighty-two Bibles and\nfive hundred and twenty Testaments had been put into circulation, and\nfifty-seven pounds had been spent in aid of missionary operations.\nDuring these seven months the Lord had sent, in answer to prayer, over\none hundred and sixty-seven pounds in money, and much blessing upon the\nwork itself. The brothers and sisters who were in charge had likewise\nbeen given by the same prayer-hearing God, in direct response to the cry\nof need and the supplication of faith.\n\nMeanwhile another _object_ was coming into greater prominence before the\nmind and heart of Mr. Muller: it was the thought of _making some\npermanent provision for fatherless and motherless children._\n\nAn orphan boy who had been in the school had been taken to the\npoorhouse, no longer able to attend on account of extreme poverty; and\nthis little incident set Mr. Muller thinking and praying about orphans.\nCould not something be done to meet the temporal and spiritual wants of\nthis class of very poor children? Unconsciously to himself, God had set\na seed in his soul, and was watching and watering it. The idea of a\ndefinite orphan work had taken root within him, and, like any other\nliving germ, it was springing up and growing, he knew not how. As yet it\nwas only in the blade, but in time there would come the ear and the\nfull-grown corn in the ear, the new seed of a larger harvest.\n\nMeanwhile the church was growing. In these two and a half years over two\nhundred had been added, making the total membership two hundred and\nfifty-seven; but the enlargement of the work generally neither caused\nthe church life to be neglected nor any one department of duty to suffer\ndeclension--a very noticeable fact in this history.\n\nThe point to which we have now come is one of double interest and\nimportance, as at once a point of arrival and of departure. The work of\nGod's chosen servant may be considered as fairly if not fully\ninaugurated _in all its main forms of service._ He himself is in his\nthirtieth year, the age when his divine Master began to be fully\nmanifest to the world and to go about doing good. Through the\npreparatory steps and stages leading up to his complete mission and\nministry to the church and the world, Christ's humble disciple has\nlikewise been brought, and his fuller career of usefulness now begins,\nwith the various agencies in operation whereby for more than threescore\nyears he was to show both proof and example of what God can do through\none man who is willing to be simply the instrument for Him to work with.\nNothing is more marked in George Muller, to the very day of his death,\nthan this, that he so looked to God and leaned on God that he felt\nhimself to be nothing, and God everything. He sought to be always and in\nall things surrendered as a passive tool to the will and hand of the\nMaster Workman.\n\nThis point of arrival and of departure is also a point of _prospect._\nHere, halting and looking backward, we may take in at a glance the\nvarious successive steps and stages of preparation whereby the Lord had\nmade His servant ready for the sphere of service to which He called, and\nfor which He fitted him. One has only, from this height, to look over\nthe ten years that were past, to see beyond dispute or doubt the divine\ndesign that lay back of George Mullers life, and to feel an awe of the\nGod who thus chooses and shapes, and then uses, His vessels of service.\n\nIt will be well, even if it involves some repetition, to pass in review\nthe more important steps in the process by which the divine Potter had\nshaped His vessel for His purpose, educating and preparing George Muller\nfor His work.\n\n1. First of all, his _conversion._ In the most unforeseen manner and at\nthe most unexpected time God led him to turn from the error of his way,\nand brought him to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.\n\n2. Next, his _missionary spirit._ That consuming flame was kindled\nwithin him which, when it is fanned by the Spirit and fed by the fuel of\nfacts, inclines to unselfish service and makes one willing to go\nwherever, and to do whatever, the Lord will.\n\n3. Next, his _renunciation of self._ In more than one instance he was\nenabled to give up for Christ's sake an earthly attachment that was\nidolatrous, because it was a hindrance to his full obedience and\nsingle-eyed loyalty to his heavenly Master.\n\n4. Then his _taking counsel of God._ Early in his Christian life he\nformed the habit, in things great and small, of ascertaining the will of\nthe Lord before taking action, asking guidance in every matter, through\nthe Word and the Spirit.\n\n5. His humble and _childlike temper._ The Father drew His child to\nHimself, imparting to him the simple mind that asks believingly and\ntrusts confidently, and the filial spirit that submits to fatherly\ncounsel and guidance.\n\n6. His _method of preaching._ Under this same divine tuition he early\nlearned how to preach the Word, in simple dependence on the Spirit of\nGod, studying the Scriptures in the original and expounding them without\nwisdom of words.\n\n7. His _cutting loose from man._ Step by step, all dependence on man or\nappeals to man for pecuniary support were abandoned, together with all\nborrowing, running into debt, stated salary, etc. His eyes were turned\nto God alone as the Provider.\n\n8. His _satisfaction in the Word._ As knowledge of the Scriptures grew,\nlove for the divine oracles increased, until all other books, even of a\nreligious sort, lost their charms in comparison with God's own\ntext-book, as explained and illumined by the divine Interpreter.\n\n9. His _thorough Bible study._ Few young men have ever been led to such\na systematic search into the treasures of God's truth. He read the Book\nof God through and through, fixing its teachings on his mind by\nmeditation and translating them into practice.\n\n10. His _freedom from human control._ He felt the need of independence\nof man in order to complete dependence on God, and boldly broke all\nfetters that hindered his liberty in preaching, in teaching, or in\nfollowing the heavenly Guide and serving the heavenly Master.\n\n11. His _use of opportunity._ He felt the value of souls, and he formed\nhabits of approaching others as to matters of salvation, even in public\nconveyances. By a word of witness, a tract, a humble example, he sought\nconstantly to lead some one to Christ.\n\n12. His _release from civil obligations._ This was purely providential.\nIn a strange way God set him free from all liability to military\nservice, and left him free to pursue his heavenly calling as His\nsoldier, without entanglement in the affairs of this life.\n\n13. His _companions in service._ Two most efficient coworkers were\ndivinely provided: first his brother Craik so like-minded with himself,\nand secondly, his wife, so peculiarly God's gift, both of them proving\ngreat aids in working and in bearing burdens of responsibility.\n\n14. His _view of the Lord's coming._ He thanked God for unveiling to him\nthat great truth, considered by him as second to no other in its\ninfluence upon his piety and usefulness; and in the light of it he saw\nclearly the purpose of this gospel age, to be not to convert the world\nbut to call out from it a believing church as Christ's bride.\n\n15. His _waiting on God for a message._ For every new occasion he asked\nof Him a word in season; then a mode of treatment, and unction in\ndelivery; and, in godly simplicity and sincerity, with the demonstration\nof the Spirit, he aimed to reach the hearers.\n\n16. His submission to the _authority of the Word._ In the light of the\nholy oracles he reviewed all customs, however ancient, and all\ntraditions of men, however popular, submitted all opinions and practices\nto the test of Scripture, and then, regardless of consequences, walked\naccording to any new light God gave him.\n\n17. His _pattern of church life._ From his first entrance upon pastoral\nwork, he sought to lead others only by himself following the Shepherd\nand Bishop of Souls. He urged the assembly of believers to conform in\nall things to New Testament models so far as they could be clearly found\nin the Word, and thus reform all existing abuses.\n\n18. His _stress upon voluntary offerings._ While he courageously gave up\nall fixed salary for himself, he taught that all the work of God should\nbe maintained by the freewill gifts of believers, and that pew-rents\npromote invidious distinctions among saints.\n\n19. His _surrender of all earthly possessions._ Both himself and his\nwife literally sold all they had and gave alms, henceforth to live by\nthe day, hoarding no money even against a time of future need, sickness,\nold age, or any other possible crisis of want.\n\n20. His habit of _secret prayer._ He learned so to prize closet\ncommunion with God that he came to regard it as his highest duty and\nprivilege. To him nothing could compensate for the lack or loss of that\nfellowship with God and meditation on His word which are the support of\nall spiritual life.\n\n21. His _jealousy of his testimony._ In taking oversight of a\ncongregation he took care to guard himself from all possible\ninterference with fulness and freedom of utterance and of service. He\ncould not brook any restraints upon his speech or action that might\ncompromise his allegiance to the Lord or his fidelity to man.\n\n22. His _organizing of work._ God led him to project a plan embracing\nseveral departments of holy activity, such as the spreading of the\nknowledge of the word of God everywhere, and the encouraging of\nworld-wide evangelization and the Christian education of the young; and\nto guard the new Institution from all dependence on worldly patronage,\nmethods, or appeals.\n\n23. His _sympathy with orphans._ His loving heart had been drawn out\ntoward poverty and misery everywhere, but especially in the case of\ndestitute children bereft of both parents; and familiarity with\nFrancke's work at Halle suggested similar work at Bristol.\n\n24. Beside all these steps of preparation, he had been guided by the\nLord from his birthplace in Prussia to London, Teignmouth, and Bristol\nin Britain, and thus the chosen vessel, shaped for its great use, had by\nthe same divine Hand been borne to the very place where it was to be of\nsuch signal service in testimony to the Living God.\n\nSurely no candid observer can survey this course of divine discipline\nand preparation, and remember how brief was the period of time it\ncovers, being less than ten years, and mark the many distinct steps by\nwhich this education for a life of service was made singularly complete,\nwithout a feeling of wonder and awe. Every prominent feature, afterward\nto appear conspicuous in the career of this servant of God, was\nanticipated in the training whereby he was fitted for his work and\nintroduced to it. We have had a vivid vision of the divine Potter\nsitting at His wheel, taking the clay in His hands, softening its\nhardness, subduing it to His own will; then gradually and skilfully\nshaping from it the earthen vessel; then baking it in His oven of\ndiscipline till it attained the requisite solidity and firmness, then\nfilling it with the rich treasures of His word and Spirit, and finally\nsetting it down where He would have it serve His special uses in\nconveying to others the excellency of His power!\n\nTo lose sight of this sovereign shaping Hand is to miss one of the main\nlessons God means to teach us by George Muller's whole career. He\nhimself saw and felt that he was only an earthen vessel; that God had\nboth chosen and filled him for the work he was to do; and, while this\nconviction made him happy in his work, it made him humble, and the older\nhe grew the humbler he became. He felt more and more his own utter\ninsufficiency. It grieved him that human eyes should ever turn away from\nthe Master to the servant, and he perpetually sought to avert their gaze\nfrom himself to God alone. \"For of Him, and through Him, and to Him are\nall things--to Whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.\"\n\nThere are several important episodes in Mr. Muller's history which may\nbe lightly passed by, because not so characteristic of him as that they\nmight not have been common to many others, and therefore not\nconstituting features so distinguishing this life from others as to make\nit a special lesson to believers.\n\nFor example, early in 1835 he made a visit to Germany upon a particular\nerrand. He went to aid Mr. Groves, who had come from the East Indies to\nget missionary recruits, and who asked help of him, as of one knowing\nthe language of the country, in setting the claims of India before\nGerman brethren, and pleading for its unsaved millions.\n\nWhen Mr. Muller went to the alien office in London to get a passport, he\nfound that, through ignorance, he had broken the law which required\nevery alien semi-annually to renew his certificate of residence, under\npenalty of fifty pounds fine or imprisonment. He confessed to the\nofficer his non-compliance, excusing himself only on the ground of\nignorance, and trusted all consequences with God, who graciously\ninclined the officer to pass over his non-compliance with the law.\nAnother hindrance which still interfered with obtaining his passport,\nwas also removed in answer to prayer; so that at the outset he was much\nimpressed with the Lord's sanction of his undertaking.\n\nHis sojourn abroad continued for nearly two months, during which time he\nwas at Paris, Strasburg, Basle, Tubingen, Wurtemberg, Sehaffhausen,\nStuttgart, Halle, Sandersleben, Aschersleben, Heimersleben, Halberstadt,\nand Hamburg. At Halle, calling on Dr. Tholuck after seven years of\nseparation, he was warmly welcomed and constrained to lodge at his\nhouse. From Dr. Tholuck he heard many delightful incidents as to former\nfellow students who had been turned to the Lord from impious paths, or\nhad been strengthened in their Christian faith and devotion. He also\nvisited Francke's orphan houses, spending an evening in the very room\nwhere God's work of grace had begun in his heart, and meeting again\nseveral of the same little company of believers that in those days had\nprayed together.\n\nHe likewise gave everywhere faithful witness to the Lord. While at his\nfather's house the way was opened for him to bear testimony indirectly\nto his father and brother. He had found that a direct approach to his\nfather upon the subject of his soul's salvation only aroused his anger,\nand he therefore judged that it was wiser to refrain from a course which\nwould only repel one whom he desired to win. An unconverted friend of\nhis father was visiting him at this time, before whom he put the truth\nvery frankly and fully, in the presence of both his father and brother,\nand thus quite as effectively gave witness to them also. But he was\nespecially moved to pray that he might by his whole life bear witness at\nhis home, manifesting his love for his kindred and his own joy in God,\nhis satisfaction in Christ, and his utter indifference to all former\nfascinations of a worldly and sinful life, through the supreme\nattraction he found in Him; for this, he felt sure, would have far more\ninfluence than any mere words: our walk counts for more than our talk,\nalways.\n\nThe effect was most happy. God so helped the son to live before the\nfather that, just before his leaving for England, he said to him: \"My\nson, may God help me to follow your example, and to act according to\nwhat you have said to me!\"\n\nOn June 22, 1835, Mr. Muller's father-in-law, Mr. Groves, died; and both\nof his own children were very ill, and four days later little Elijah was\ntaken. Both parents had been singularly prepared for these bereavements,\nand were divinely upheld. They had felt no liberty in prayer for the\nchild's recovery, dear as he was; and grandfather and grandson were laid\nin one grave. Henceforth Mr. and Mrs. Muller were to have no son, and\nLydia was to remain their one and only child.\n\nAbout the middle of the following month, Mr. Muller was quite disabled\nfrom work by weakness of the chest, which made necessary rest and\nchange. The Lord tenderly provided for his need through those whose\nhearts He touched, leading them to offer him and his wife hospitalities\nin the Isle of Wight, while at the same time money was sent him which\nwas designated for 'a change of air.' On his thirtieth birthday, in\nconnection with specially refreshing communion with God, and for the\nfirst time since his illness, there was given him a spirit of believing\nprayer for his own recovery; and his strength so rapidly grew that by\nthe middle of October he was back in Bristol.\n\nIt was just before this, on the ninth of the same month, that _the\nreading of John Newton's Life stirred him up to bear a similar witness\nto the Lord's dealings with himself._ Truly there are no little things\nin our life, since what seems to be trivial may be the means of bringing\nabout results of great consequence. This is the second time that a\nchance reading of a book had proved a turning-point with George Muller.\nFranke's life stirred his heart to begin an orphan work, and Newton's\nlife suggested the narrative of the Lord's dealings. To what is called\nan accident are owing, under God, those pages of his life-journal which\nread like new chapters in the Acts of the Apostles, and will yet be so\nwidely read, and so largely used of God.\n\n\nCHAPTER IX\n\nTHE GROWTH OF GOD'S OWN PLANT\n\nTHE last great step of full entrance upon Mr. Muller's life-service was\nthe _founding of the orphan work,_ a step so important and so prominent\nthat even the lesser particulars leading to it have a strange\nsignificance and fascination.\n\nIn the year 1835, on November 20th, in taking tea at the house of a\nChristian sister, he again saw a copy of Francke's life. For no little\ntime he had thought of like labours, though on no such scale, nor in\nmere imitation of Francke, but under a sense of similar divine leading.\nThis impression had grown into a conviction, and the conviction had\nblossomed into a resolution which now rapidly ripened into corresponding\naction. He was emboldened to take this forward step in sole reliance on\nGod, by the fact that at that very time, in answer to prayer, ten pounds\nmore had been sent him than he had asked for other existing work, as\nthough God gave him a token of both willingness and readiness to supply\nall needs.\n\nNothing is more worthy of imitation, perhaps, than the uniformly\ndeliberate, self-searching, and prayerful way in which he set about any\nwork which he felt led to undertake. It was preeminently so in\nattempting this new form of service, the future growth of which was not\nthen even in his thought. In daily prayer he sought as in his Master's\npresence to sift from the pure grain of a godly purpose to glorify Him,\nall the chaff of selfish and carnal motives, to get rid of every taint\nof worldly self-seeking or lust of applause, and to bring every thought\ninto captivity to the Lord. He constantly probed his own heart to\ndiscover the secret and subtle impulses which are unworthy of a true\nservant of God; and, believing that a spiritually minded brother often\nhelps one to an insight into his own heart, he spoke often to his\nbrother Craik about his plans, praying God to use him as a means of\nexposing any unworthy motive, or of suggesting any scriptural objections\nto his project. His honest aim being to please God, he yearned to know\nhis own heart, and welcomed any light which revealed his real self and\nprevented a mistake.\n\nMr. Craik so decidedly encouraged him, and further prayer so confirmed\nprevious impressions of God's guidance, that on December 2, 1835, the\n_first formal step was taken_ in ordering printed bills announcing a\npublic meeting for the week following, when the proposal to open an\norphan house was to be laid before brethren, and further light to be\nsought unitedly as to the mind of the Lord.\n\nThree days later, in reading the Psalms, he was struck with these nine\nwords:\n        \"OPEN THY MOUTH WIDE,\n         AND I WILL FILL IT.\" (Psalm lxxxi. 10.)\n\nFrom that moment this text formed one of his great life-mottoes, and\nthis promise became a power in moulding all his work. Hitherto he had\nnot prayed for the supply of money or of helpers, but he was now led to\napply this scripture confidently to this new plan, and at once boldly to\nask _for premises, and for one thousand pounds in money, and for\nsuitable helpers to take charge of the children._ Two days after, he\nreceived, in furtherance of his work, the _first gift of money--one\nshilling_--and within two days more the _first donation in furniture_--a\nlarge wardrobe.\n\nThe day came for the memorable public meeting--December 9th. During the\ninterval Satan had been busy hurling at Mr. Muller his fiery darts, and\nhe was very low in spirit. He was taking a step not to be retraced\nwithout both much humiliation to himself and reproach to his Master: and\nwhat if it were a _misstep_ and he were moving without real guidance\nfrom above! But as soon as he began to speak, help was given him. He was\nborne up on the Everlasting Arms, and had the assurance that the work\nwas of the Lord. He cautiously avoided all appeals to the transient\nfeelings of his hearers, and took no collection, desiring all these\nfirst steps to be calmly taken, and every matter carefully and\nprayerfully weighed before a decision. Excitement of emotion or\nkindlings of enthusiasm might obscure the vision and hinder clear\napprehension of the mind of God. After the meeting there was a voluntary\ngift of ten shillings, and one sister offered herself for the work. The\nnext morning a statement concerning the new orphan work was put in\nprint, and on January 16, 1836, a supplementary statement appeared.*\n\n* Appendix E. Narrative 1:143-146, 148-152, 154, 155.\n\nAt every critical point Mr. Muller is entitled to explain his own views\nand actions; and the work he was now undertaking is so vitally linked\nwith his whole after-life that it should here have full mention. As to\nhis proposed orphan house he gives three chief reasons for its\nestablishment:\n\n1. That God may be glorified in so furnishing the means as to show that\nit is not a vain thing to trust in Him.\n\n2. That the spiritual welfare of fatherless and motherless children may\nbe promoted.\n\n3. That their temporal good may be secured.\n\nHe had frequent reminders in his pastoral labours that the _faith of\nGod's children greatly needed strengthening;_ and he longed to have some\nvisible proof to point to, that the heavenly Father is the same faithful\nPromiser and Provider as ever, and as willing to PROVE Himself the\nLIVING GOD to _all who put their trust in Him,_ and that even in their\nold age He does not forsake those who rely only upon Him. Remembering\nthe great blessing that had come to himself through the work of faith of\nFrancke, he judged that he was bound to serve the Church of Christ _in\nbeing able to take God at His word and rely upon it._\n\nIf he, a poor man, _without asking any one but God,_ could get means to\ncarry on an orphan house, it would be seen that God is FAITHFUL STILL\nand STILL HEARS PRAYER. While the orphan work was to be a branch of the\nScriptural Knowledge Institution, only those funds were to be applied\nthereto which should be expressly given for that purpose; and it would\nbe carried on only so far and so fast as the Lord should provide both\nmoney and helpers.\n\nIt was proposed to receive only such children as had been bereft of both\nparents, and to take in such from their seventh to their twelfth year,\nthough later on younger orphans were admitted; and to bring up the boys\nfor a trade, and the girls for service, and to give them all a plain\neducation likely to fit them for their life-work.\n\nSo soon as the enterprise was fairly launched, the Lord's power and will\nto provide began at once and increasingly to appear; and, from this\npoint on, the journal is one long record of man's faith and supplication\nand of God's faithfulness and interposition. It only remains to note the\nnew steps in advance which mark the growth of the work, and the new\nstraits which arise and how they are met, together with such questions\nand perplexing crises as from time to time demand and receive a new\ndivine solution.\n\nA foremost need was that of able and suitable helpers, which only God\ncould supply. In order fully to carry out his plans, Mr. Muller felt\nthat he must have men and women like-minded, who would naturally care\nfor the state of the orphans and of the work. If one Achan could disturb\nthe whole camp of Israel, and one Ananias or Saphira, the whole church\nof Christ, one faithless, prayerless, self-seeking assistant would prove\nnot a helper but a hinderer both to the work itself and to all\nfellow-workers. No step was therefore hastily taken. He had patiently\nwaited on God hitherto, and he now waited to receive at His hands His\nown chosen servants to join in this service and give to it unity of plan\nand spirit.\n\nBefore he called, the Lord answered. As early as December 10th a brother\nand sister had willingly offered themselves, and the spirit that moved\nthem will appear in the language of their letter:\n\n\"We propose ourselves for the service of the intended orphan house, if\nyou think us qualified for it; also to give up all the furniture, etc.,\nwhich the Lord has given us, for its use; and to do this without\nreceiving any salary whatever; believing that, if it be the will of the\nLord to employ us, He will supply all our need.\"\n\nOther similar self-giving followed, proving that God's people are\nwilling in the day of His power. He who wrought in His servant to will\nand to work, sent helpers to share his burdens, and to this day has met\nall similar needs out of His riches in glory. There has never yet been\nany lack of competent, cheerful, and devoted helpers, although the work\nso rapidly expanded and extended.\n\nThe gifts whereby the work was supported need a separate review that\nmany lessons of interest may find a record. But it should here be noted\nthat, among the first givers, was a poor needlewoman who brought the\nsurprising sum of one hundred pounds, the singular self-denial and\nwhole-hearted giving exhibited making this a peculiarly sacred offering\nand a token of God's favour. There was a felt significance in His choice\nof a poor sickly seamstress as His instrument for laying the foundations\nfor this great work. He who worketh all things after the counsel of His\nown will, passing by the rich, mighty, and noble somethings of this\nworld, chose again the poor, weak, base, despised nothings, that no\nflesh should glory in His presence.\n\nFor work among orphans a house was needful, and for this definite prayer\nwas offered; and April 1, 1836, was fixed as the date for opening such\nhouse for female orphans, as the most helplessly destitute. The\nbuilding, No. 6 Wilson Street, where Mr. Muller had himself lived up to\nMarch 25th, having been rented for one year, was formally opened April\n21st, the day being set apart for prayer and praise. The public\ngenerally were informed that the way was open to receive needy\napplicants, and the intimation was further made on May 18th that it was\nintended shortly to open a second house for infant children--both boys\nand girls.\n\nWe now retrace our steps a little to take special notice of a fact in\nMr. Muller's experience which, in point of time, belongs earlier.\n\nThough he had brought before the Lord even the most minute details about\nhis plans for the proposed orphan work and house and helpers, asking in\nfaith for building and furnishing, money for rent and other expenses,\netc., he confesses that he had never once asked the Lord to send the\norphans! This seems an unaccountable omission; but the fact is he had\nassumed that there would be applications in abundance. His surprise and\nchagrin cannot easily be imagined, when the appointed time came for\nreceiving applications, February 3rd, and _not one application was\nmade!_ Everything was ready _except the orphans._ This led to the\ndeepest humiliation before God. All the evening of that day he literally\nlay on his face, probing his own heart to read his own motives, and\npraying God to search him and show him His mind. He was thus brought so\nlow that from his heart he could say that, if God would thereby be more\nglorified, he would rejoice in the fact that his whole scheme should\ncome to nothing. The very _next day_ the first application was made for\nadmission; on April 11th orphans began to be admitted; and by May 18th\nthere were in the house twenty-six, and more daily expected. Several\napplications being made for children _under seven,_ the conclusion was\nreached that, while vacancies were left, the limit of years at first\nfixed should not be adhered to; but every new step was taken with care\nand prayer, that it should not be in the energy of the flesh, or in the\nwisdom of man, but in the power and wisdom of the Spirit. How often we\nforget that solemn warning of the Holy Ghost, that even when our whole\nwork is not imperilled by a false beginning, but is well laid upon a\ntrue foundation, we may carelessly build into it wood, hay, and stubble,\nwhich will be burned up in the fiery ordeal that is to try every man's\nwork of what sort it is!\n\nThe first house had scarcely been opened for girls when the way for the\nsecond was made plain, suitable premises being obtained at No. 1 in the\nsame street, and a well-fitted matron being given in answer to prayer.\nOn November 28th, some seven months after the opening of the first, this\nsecond house was opened. Some of the older and abler girls from the\nfirst house were used for the domestic work of the second, partly to\nsave hired help, and partly to accustom them to working for others and\nthus give a proper dignity to what is sometimes despised as a degrading\nand menial form of service. By April 8, 1837, there were in each house\nthirty orphan children.\n\nThe founder of this orphan work, who had at the first asked for one\nthousand pounds of God, tells us that, in his own mind, the thing was\n_as good as done,_ so that he often gave thanks for this large sum as\nthough already in hand. (Mark xi. 24; 1 John v. 13, 14.) This habit of\ncounting a promise as fulfilled had much to do with the triumphs of his\nfaith and the success of his labour. Now that the first part of his\nNarrative of the Lord's Dealings was about to issue from the press, he\nfelt that it would much honour the Master whom he served _if the entire\namount should be actually in hand before the Narrative should appear,\nand without any one having been asked to contribute._ He therefore gave\nhimself anew to prayer; and on June 15th the whole sum was complete, no\nappeal having been made but to the Living God, before whom, as he\nrecords with his usual mathematical precision, he had daily brought his\npetition for _eighteen months and ten days._\n\nIn closing this portion of his narrative he hints at a proposed further\nenlargement of the work in a third house for orphan boys above seven\nyears, with accommodations for about forty. Difficulties interposed, but\nas usual disappeared before the power of prayer. Meanwhile the whole\nwork of the Scriptural Knowledge Institution prospered, four day-schools\nhaving been established, with over one thousand pupils, and more than\nfour thousand copies of the word of God having been distributed.\n\nGeorge Muller was careful always to consult and then to obey conviction.\nHence his moral sense, by healthy exercise, more and more clearly\ndiscerned good and evil. This conscientiousness was seen in the issue of\nthe first edition of his Narrative. When the first five hundred copies\ncame from the publishers, he was so weighed down by misgivings that he\nhesitated to distribute them. Notwithstanding the spirit of prayer with\nwhich he had begun, continued, and ended the writing of it and had made\nevery correction in the proof; notwithstanding the motive, consciously\ncherished throughout, that God's glory might be promoted in this record\nof His faithfulness, he reopened with himself the whole question whether\nthis published Narrative might not turn the eyes of men from the great\nMaster Workman to His human instrument. As he opened the box containing\nthe reports, he felt strongly tempted to withhold from circulation the\npamphlets it held; but from the moment when he gave out the first copy,\nand the step could not be retraced, his scruples were silenced.\n\nHe afterward saw his doubts and misgivings to have been a temptation of\nSatan, and never thenceforth questioned that in writing, printing, and\ndistributing this and the subsequent parts of the Narrative he had done\nthe will of God. So broad and clear was the divine seal set upon it in\nthe large blessing it brought to many and widely scattered persons that\nno room was left for doubt. It may be questioned whether any like\njournal has been as widely read and as remarkably used, both in\nconverting sinners and in quickening saints. Proofs of this will\nhereafter abundantly appear.\n\nIt was in the year 1837 that Mr. Muller, then in his thirty-second year,\nfelt with increasingly deep conviction that to his own growth in grace,\ngodliness, and power for service _two things_ were quite indispensable:\nfirst, more _retirement for secret communion with God,_ even at the\napparent expense of his public work; and second, ampler provision for\nthe _spiritual oversight of the flock of God,_ the total number of\ncommunicants now being near to four hundred.\n\nThe former of these convictions has an emphasis which touches every\nbeliever's life at its vital centre. George Muller was conscious of\nbeing too busy to pray as he ought. His outward action was too constant\nfor inward reflection, and he saw that there was risk of losing peace\nand power, and that activity even in the most sacred sphere must not be\nso absorbing as to prevent holy meditation on the Word and fervent\nsupplication. The Lord said first to Elijah, \"Go, HIDE THYSELF\"; then,\n\"Go, SHOW  THYSELF.\" He who does not first hide himself in the secret\nplace to be alone with God, is unfit to show himself in the public place\nto move among men. Mr. Muller afterward used to say to brethren who had\n\"too much to do\" to spend proper time with God, that four hours of work\nfor which one hour of prayer prepares, is better than five hours of work\nwith the praying left out; that our service to our Master is more\nacceptable and our mission to man more profitable, when saturated with\nthe moisture of God's blessing--the dew of the Spirit. Whatever is\ngained in quantity is lost in quality whenever one engagement follows\nanother without leaving proper intervals for refreshment and renewal of\nstrength by waiting on God. No man, perhaps, since John Wesley has\naccomplished so much even in a long life as George Muller; yet few have\never withdrawn so often or so long into the pavilion of prayer. In fact,\nfrom one point of view his life seems more given to supplication and\nintercession than to mere action or occupation among men.\n\nAt the same time he felt that the curacy of souls must not be neglected\nby reason of his absorption in either work or prayer. Both believers and\ninquirers needed pastoral oversight; neither himself nor his brother\nCraik had time enough for visiting so large a flock, many of whom were\nscattered over the city; and about fifty new members were added every\nyear who had special need of teaching and care. Again, as there were two\nseparate congregations, the number of meetings was almost doubled; and\nthe interruptions of visitors from near and far, the burdens of\ncorrespondence, and the oversight of the Lord's work generally, consumed\nso much time that even with two pastors the needs of the church could\nnot be met. At a meeting of both congregations in October, these matters\nwere frankly brought before the believers, and it was made plain that\nother helpers should be provided, and the two churches so united as to\nlessen the number of separate meetings.\n\nIn October, 1837, a building was secured for a third orphan house, for\nboys; but as the neighbours strongly opposed its use as a charitable\ninstitution, Mr Muller, with meekness of spirit, at once relinquished\nall claim upon the premises, being mindful of the maxim of Scripture:\n\"As much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.\" (Rom. xiii. 18.)\nHe felt sure that the Lord would provide, and his faith was rewarded in\nthe speedy supply of a building in the same street where the other two\nhouses were.\n\nInfirmity of the flesh again tried the faith and patience of Mr. Muller.\nFor eight weeks he was kept out of the pulpit. The strange weakness in\nthe head, from which he had suffered before and which at times seemed to\nthreaten his reason, forced him to rest; and in November he went to Bath\nand Weston-super-Mare, leaving to higher Hands the work to which he was\nunequal.\n\nOne thing he noticed and recorded: that, even during this head trouble,\nprayer and Bible-reading could be borne better than anything else. He\nconcluded that whenever undue carefulness is expended on the body, it is\nvery hard to avoid undue carelessness as to the soul; and that it is\ntherefore much safer comparatively to disregard the body, that one may\ngive himself wholly to the culture of his spiritual health and the care\nof the Lord's work. Though some may think that in this he ran to a\nfanatical extreme, there is no doubt that such became more and more a\nlaw of his life. He sought to dismiss all anxiety, as a duty; and, among\nother anxious cares, that most subtle and seductive form of solicitude\nwhich watches every change of symptoms and rushes after some new medical\nman or medical remedy for all ailments real or fancied.\n\nMr. Muller was never actually reckless of his bodily health. His habits\nwere temperate and wholesome, but no man could be so completely wrapped\nup in his Master's will and work without being correspondingly forgetful\nof his physical frame. There are not a few, even among God's saints,\nwhose bodily weaknesses and distresses so engross them that their sole\nbusiness seems to be to nurse the body, keep it alive and promote its\ncomfort. As Dr. Watts would have said, this is living \"at a poor dying\nrate.\"\n\nWhen the year 1838 opened, the weakness and distress in the head still\nafflicted Mr. Muller. The symptoms were as bad as ever, and it\nparticularly tried him that they were attended by a tendency to\nirritability of temper, and even by a sort of satanic feeling wholly\nforeign to him at other times. He was often reminded that he was by\nnature a child of wrath even as others, and that, as a child of God, he\ncould stand against the wiles of the devil only by putting on the whole\narmour of God. The pavilion of God is the saint's place of rest; the\npanoply of God is his coat of mail. Grace does not at once remove or\novercome all tendencies to evil, but, if not _eradicated,_ they are\n_counteracted_ by the Spirit's wondrous working. Peter found that so\nlong as his eye was on His Master he could walk on the water. There is\nalways a tendency to sink, and a holy walk with God, that defies the\ntendency downward, is a divine art that can neither be learned nor\npractised except so long as we keep 'looking unto Jesus': that look of\nfaith counteracts the natural tendency to sink, so long as it holds the\nsoul closely to Him. This man of God felt his risk, and, sore as this\ntrial was to him, he prayed not so much for its removal as that he might\nbe kept from any open dishonour to the name of the Lord, beseeching God\nthat he might rather die than ever bring on Him reproach.\n\nMr. Muller's journal is not only a record of his outer life of\nconsecrated labour and its expansion, but it is a mirror of his inner\nlife and its growth. It is an encouragement to all other saints to find\nthat this growth was, like their own, in spite of many and formidable\nhindrances, over which only grace could triumph. Side by side with\nglimpses of habitual conscientiousness and joy in God, we have\nrevelations of times of coldness and despondency. It is a wholesome\nlesson in holy living that we find this man setting himself to the\ndeliberate task of _cultivating obedience and gratitude;_ by the culture\nof obedience growing in knowledge and strength, and by the culture of\ngratitude growing in thankfulness and love. Weakness and coldness are\nnot hopeless states: they have their divine remedies which strengthen\nand warm the whole being.\n\nThree entries, found side by side in his journal, furnish pertinent\nillustration and most wholesome instruction on this point. One entry\nrecords his deep thankfulness to God for the privilege of being\npermitted to be His instrument in providing for homeless orphans, as he\nwatches the little girls, clad in clean warm garments, pass his window\non their way to the chapel on the Lord's day morning. A second entry\nrecords his determination, with God's help, to send no more letters in\nparcels because he sees it to be a violation of the postal laws of the\nland, and because he desires, as a disciple of the Lord Jesus, to submit\nhimself to all human laws so far as such submission does not conflict\nwith loyalty to God. A third entry immediately follows which reveals\nthis same man struggling against those innate tendencies to evil which\ncompel a continual resort to the throne of grace with its sympathizing\nHigh Priest. \"This morning,\" he writes, \"I greatly dishonoured the Lord\nby irritability manifested towards my dear wife; and that, almost\nimmediately after I had been on my knees before God, praising Him for\nhaving given me such a wife.\"\n\nThese three entries, put together, convey a lesson which is not learned\nfrom either of them alone. Here is gratitude for divine mercy,\nconscientious resolve at once to stop a doubtful practice, and a\nconfession of inconsistency in his home life. All of these are typical\nexperiences and suggest to us means of gracious growth. He who lets no\nmercy of God escape thankful recognition, who never hesitates at once to\nabandon an evil or questionable practice, and who, instead of\nextenuating a sin because it is comparatively small, promptly confesses\nand forsakes it,--such a man will surely grow in Christlikeness.\n\nWe must exercise our spiritual senses if we are to discern things\nspiritual. There is a clear vision for God's goodness, and there is a\ndull eye that sees little to be thankful for; there is a tender\nconscience, and there is a moral sense that grows less and less\nsensitive to evil; there is an obedience to the Spirit's rebuke which\nleads to immediate confession and increases strength for every new\nconflict. Mr. Muller cultivated habits of life which made his whole\nnature more and more open to divine impression, and so his sense of God\nbecame more and more keen and constant.\n\nOne great result of this spiritual culture was a growing absorption in\nGod and jealousy for His glory. As he saw divine things more clearly and\nfelt their supreme importance, he became engrossed in the magnifying of\nthem before men; and this is glorifying God. We cannot make God\nessentially any more glorious, for He is infinitely perfect; but we can\nhelp men to see what a glorious God He is, and thus come into that holy\npartnership with the Spirit of God whose office it is to take of the\nthings of Christ and show them unto men, and so glorify Christ. Such\nfellowship in glorifying God Mr. Muller set before him: and in the light\nof such sanctified aspiration we may read that humble entry in which,\nreviewing the year 1837 with all its weight of increasing\nresponsibility, he lifts his heart to his divine Lord and Master in\nthese simple words:\n\n\"Lord, Thy servant is a poor man; but he has trusted in Thee and made\nhis boast in Thee before the sons of men; therefore let him not be\nconfounded! Let it not be said, 'All this is enthusiasm, and therefore\nit is come to naught.'\"\n\nOne is reminded of Moses in his intercession for Israel, of Elijah in\nhis exceeding jealousy for the Lord of hosts, and of that prayer of\nJeremiah that so amazes us by its boldness:\n\n \"Do not abhor us for Thy name's sake!\n _Do not disgrace the throne of Thy glory!\"_*\n\n* Comp. Numbers xiv. 13-19; 1 Kings xix. 10; Jer. xiv. 21.\n\nLooking back over the growth of the work at the end of the year 1837, he\nputs on record the following facts and figures:\n\nThree orphan houses were now open with eighty-one children, and nine\nhelpers in charge of them. In the Sunday-schools there were three\nhundred and twenty, and in the day-schools three hundred and fifty; and\nthe Lord had furnished over three hundred and seven pounds for temporal\nsupplies.\n\nFrom this same point of view it may be well to glance back over the five\nyears of labour in Bristol up to July, 1837. Between himself and his\nbrother Craik uninterrupted harmony had existed from the beginning. They\nhad been perfectly at one in their views of the truth, in their witness\nto the truth, and in their judgment as to all matters affecting the\nbelievers over whom the Holy Ghost had made them overseers. The children\nof God had been kept from heresy and schism under their joint pastoral\ncare; and all these blessings Mr. Muller and his true yoke-fellow humbly\ntraced to the mercy and grace of the great Shepherd and Bishop of souls.\nThus far over one hundred and seventy had been converted and admitted to\nfellowship, making the total number of communicants three hundred and\nseventy, nearly equally divided between Bethesda and Gideon. The whole\nhistory of these years is lit up with the sunlight of God's smile and\nblessing.\n\n\nCHAPTER X\n\nTHE WORD OF GOD AND PRAYER\n\nHABIT both _shows_ and _makes_ the man, for it is at once historic and\nprophetic, the mirror of the man as he is and the mould of the man as he\nis to be. At this point, therefore, special attention may properly be\ngiven to the two marked habits which had principally to do with the man\nwe are studying.\n\nEarly in the year 1838, he began reading that third biography which,\nwith those of Francke and John Newton, had such a singular influence on\nhis own life--Philip's Life of George Whitefield. The life-story of the\norphan's friend had given the primary impulse to his work; the\nlife-story of the converted blasphemer had suggested his narrative of\nthe Lord's dealings; and now the life-story of the great evangelist was\nblessed of God to shape his general character and give new power to his\npreaching and his wider ministry to souls. These three biographies\ntogether probably affected the whole inward and outward life of George\nMuller more than any other volumes but the Book of God, and they were\nwisely fitted of God to co-work toward such a blessed result. The\nexample of Francke incited to faith in prayer and to a work whose sole\ndependence was on God. Newton's witness to grace led to a testimony to\nthe same sovereign love and mercy as seen in his own case. Whitefield's\nexperience inspired to greater fidelity and earnestness in preaching the\nWord, and to greater confidence in the power of the anointing Spirit.\n\nParticularly was this impression deeply made on Mr. Muller's mind and\nheart: that Whitefield's unparalleled success in evangelistic labours\nwas plainly traceable to two causes and could not be separated from them\nas direct effects; namely, his _unusual prayerfulness, and his habit of\nreading the Bible on his knees._\n\nThe great evangelist of the last century had learned that first lesson\nin service, his own utter nothingness and helplessness: that he was\nnothing, and could do nothing, without God. He could neither understand\nthe Word for himself, nor translate it into his own life, nor apply it\nto others with power, unless the Holy Spirit became to him both\n_insight_ and _unction._ Hence his success; he was filled with the\nSpirit: and this alone accounts both for the quality and the quantity of\nhis labours. He died in 1770, in the fifty-sixth year of his age, having\npreached his first sermon in Gloucester in 1736. During this thirty-four\nyears his labours had been both unceasing and untiring. While on his\njourneyings in America, he preached one hundred and seventy-five times\nin seventy-five days, besides travelling, in the slow vehicles of those\ndays, upwards of eight hundred miles. When health declined, and he was\nput on 'short allowance,' even that was _one sermon each week-day and\nthree on Sunday._ There was about his preaching, moreover, a nameless\ncharm which held thirty thousand hearers half-breathless on Boston\nCommon and made tears pour down the sooty faces of the colliers at\nKingswood.\n\nThe passion of George Muller's soul was to know fully the secrets of\nprevailing with God and with man. George Whitefield's life drove home\nthe truth that God alone could create in him a holy earnestness to win\nsouls and qualify him for such divine work by imparting a compassion for\nthe lost that should become an absorbing passion for their salvation.\nAnd--let this be carefully marked as another secret of this life of\nservice--_he now began himself to read the word of God upon his knees,_\nand often found for hours great blessing in such meditation and prayer\nover a single psalm or chapter.\n\nHere we stop and ask what profit there can be in thus prayerfully\nreading and searching the Scriptures in the very attitude of prayer.\nHaving tried it for ourselves, we may add our humble witness to its\nvalue.\n\nFirst of all, this habit is a constant reminder and recognition of the\nneed of spiritual teaching in order to the understanding of the holy\nOracles. No reader of God's word can thus bow before God and His open\nbook, without a feeling of new reverence for the Scriptures, and\ndependence on their Author for insight into their mysteries. The\nattitude of worship naturally suggests sober-mindedness and deep\nseriousness, and banishes frivolity. To treat that Book with lightness\nor irreverence would be doubly profane when one is in the posture of\nprayer.\n\nAgain, such a habit naturally leads to self-searching and comparison of\nthe actual life with the example and pattern shown in the Word. The\nprecept compels the practice to be seen in the light of its teaching;\nthe command challenges the conduct to appear for examination. The\nprayer, whether spoken or unspoken, will inevitably be:\n\n       \"Search me, O God, and know my heart,\n        Try me, and know my thoughts;\n        And see if there be any wicked way in me,\n        And lead me in the way everlasting!\"\n                                (Psalm cxxxix. 23, 24.)\n\nThe words thus reverently read will be translated into the life and\nmould the character into the image of God. \"Beholding as in a glass the\nglory of the Lord, we are changed into the same image from glory to\nglory, even as by the Lord the Spirit.\"*\n\n* 2 Cor. iii. 18.\n\nBut perhaps the greatest advantage will be that the Holy Scriptures will\nthus suggest the very words which become the dialect of prayer. \"We know\nnot what we should pray for as we ought\"--neither what nor how to pray.\nBut here is the Spirit's own inspired utterance, and, if the praying be\nmoulded on the model of His teaching, how can we go astray? Here is our\nGod-given liturgy and litany--a divine prayer-book. We have here God's\npromises, precepts, warnings, and counsels, not to speak of all the\nSpirit-inspired literal prayers therein contained; and, as we reflect\nupon these, our prayers take their cast in this matrix. We turn precept\nand promise, warning and counsel into supplication, with the assurance\nthat we cannot be asking anything that is not according to His will,*\nfor are we not turning His own word into prayer?\n\n* 1 John v. 13.\n\nSo Mr. Muller found it to be. In meditating over Hebrews xiii. 8: \"Jesus\nChrist the same yesterday and to-day and for ever,\" translating it into\nprayer, he besought God, with the confidence that the prayer was already\ngranted, that, as Jesus had already in His love and power supplied all\nthat was needful, in the same unchangeable love and power He would so\ncontinue to provide. And so a promise was not only turned into a prayer,\nbut into a prophecy--an assurance of blessing--and a river of joy at\nonce poured into and flowed through his soul.\n\nThe prayer habit, on the knees, with the Word open before the disciple,\nhas thus an advantage which it is difficult to put into words: It\nprovides a sacred channel of approach to God. The inspired Scriptures\nform the vehicle of the Spirit in communicating to us the knowledge of\nthe will of God. If we think of God on the one side and man on the\nother, the word of God is the mode of conveyance from God to man, of His\nown mind and heart. It therefore becomes a channel of God's approach to\nus, a channel prepared by the Spirit for the purpose, and unspeakably\nsacred as such. When therefore the believer uses the word of God as the\nguide to determine both the spirit and the dialect of his prayer, he is\ninverting the process of divine revelation and using the channel of\nGod's approach to him as the channel of his approach to God. How can\nsuch use of God's word fail to help and strengthen spiritual life? What\nmedium or channel of approach could so insure in the praying soul both\nan acceptable frame and language taught of the Holy Spirit? If the first\nthing is not to pray but to hearken, this surely is hearkening for God\nto speak to us that we may know how to speak to Him.\n\nIt was habits of life such as these, and not impulsive feelings and\ntransient frames, that made this man of God what he was and strengthened\nhim to lift up his hands in God's name, and follow hard after Him and in\nHim rejoice.* Even his sore affliction, seen in the light of such\nprayer--prayer itself illuminated by the word of God--became radiant;\nand his soul was brought into that state where he so delighted in the\nwill of God as to be able from his heart to say that he would not have\nhis disease removed until through it God had wrought the blessing it was\nmeant to convey. And when his acquiescence in the will of God had become\nthus complete he instinctively felt that he would speedily be restored\nto health.\n\n* Psalm lxiii. 4, 8, 11.\n\nSubsequently, in reading Proverbs iii. 5-12, he was struck with the\nwords, \"Neither be _weary_ of His correction.\" He felt that, though he\nhad not been permitted to \"despise the chastening of the Lord,\" he had\nat times been somewhat \"weary of His correction,\" and he lifted up the\nprayer that he might so patiently bear it as neither to faint nor be\nweary under it, till its full purpose was wrought.\n\nFrequent were the instances of the habit of translating promises into\nprayers, immediately applying the truth thus unveiled to him. For\nexample, after prolonged meditation over the first verse of Psalm lxv,\n_\"O Thou that hearest prayer,\"_ he at once asked and recorded certain\ndefinite petitions. This writing down specific requests for permanent\nreference has a blessed influence upon the prayer habit. It assures\npractical and exact form for our supplications, impresses the mind and\nmemory with what is thus asked of God, and leads naturally to the record\nof the answers when given, so that we accumulate evidences in our own\nexperience that God is to us personally a prayer-hearing God, whereby\nunbelief is rebuked and importunity encouraged.\n\nOn this occasion eight specific requests are put on record, together\nwith the solemn conviction that, having asked in conformity with the\nword and will of God, and in the name of Jesus, he has confidence in Him\nthat He heareth and that he has the petitions thus asked of Him.* He\nwrites:\n\n* 1 John v. 13.\n\n\"I believe _He has heard me._ I believe He will make it _manifest_ in\nHis own good time _that He has heard me;_ and I have recorded these my\npetitions this fourteenth day of January, 1838, that when God has\nanswered them He may get, through this, glory to His name.\"\n\nThe thoughtful reader must see in all this a man of weak faith, feeding\nand nourishing his trust in God that his faith may grow strong. He uses\nthe promise of a prayer-hearing God as a staff to stay his conscious\nfeebleness, that he may lean hard upon the strong Word which cannot\nfail. He records the day when he thus takes this staff in hand, and the\nvery petitions which are the burdens which he seeks to lay on God, so\nthat his act of committal may be the more complete and final. Could God\never dishonour such trust?\n\nIt was in this devout reading on his knees that his whole soul was first\ndeeply moved by that phrase,\n\n        \"A FATHER OF THE FATHERLESS.\" (Psalm lxviii. 5.)\n\nHe saw this to be one of those \"names\" of Jehovah which He reveals to\nHis people to lead them to trust in Him, as it is written in Psalm ix.\n10:\n\n        \"They that know Thy name\n         Will put their trust in Thee.\"\n\nThese five words from the sixty-eighth psalm became another of his\nlife-texts, one of the foundation stones of all his work for the\nfatherless. These are his own words:\n\n\"By the help of God, this shall be my argument before Him, respecting\nthe orphans, in the hour of need. He is their Father, and therefore has\npledged Himself, as it were, to provide for them; and I have only to\nremind Him of the need of these poor children in order to have it\nsupplied.\"\n\nThis is translating the promises of God's word, not only into praying,\nbut into living, doing, serving. Blessed was the hour when Mr. Muller\nlearned that one of God's chosen names is \"the Father of the\nfatherless\"!\n\nTo sustain such burdens would have been quite impossible but for faith\nin such a God. In reply to oft-repeated remarks of visitors and\nobservers who could not understand the secret of his peace, or how any\nman who had so many children to clothe and feed could carry such\nprostrating loads of care, he had one uniform reply: \"By the grace of\nGod, this is no cause of anxiety to me. These children I have years ago\ncast upon the Lord. The whole work is His, and it becomes me to be\nwithout carefulness. In whatever points I am lacking, in this point I am\nable by the grace of God to roll the burden upon my heavenly Father.\"*\n\n* Journal 1:285\n\nIn tens of thousands of cases this peculiar title of God, chosen by\nHimself and by Himself declared, became to Mr. Muller a peculiar\nrevelation of God, suited to his special need. The natural inferences\ndrawn from such a title became powerful arguments in prayer, and rebukes\nto all unbelief. Thus, at the outset of his work for the orphans, the\nword of God put beneath his feet a rock basis of confidence that he\ncould trust the almighty Father to support the work. And, as the\nsolicitudes of the work came more and more heavily upon him, he cast the\nloads he could not carry upon Him who, before George Muller was born,\nwas the Father of the fatherless.\n\nAbout this time we meet other signs of the conflict going on in Mr.\nMullers own soul. He could not shut his eyes to the lack of earnestness\nin prayer and fervency of spirit which at times seemed to rob him of\nboth peace and power. And we notice his experience, in common with so\nmany saints, of the _paradox_ of spiritual life. He saw that \"such\nfervency of spirit is altogether the gift of God,\" and yet he adds, \"I\nhave to ascribe to myself the loss of it.\" He did not run divine\nsovereignty into blank fatalism as so many do. He saw that God must be\nsovereign in His gifts, and yet man must be free in his reception and\nrejection of them. He admitted the mystery without attempting to\nreconcile the apparent contradiction. He confesses also that the same\nbook, Philip's Life of Whitefield, which had been used of God to kindle\nsuch new fires on the altar of his heart, had been also used of Satan to\ntempt him to neglect for its sake the systematic study of the greatest\nof books.\n\nThus, at every step, George Mullers life is full of both encouragement\nand admonition to fellow disciples. While away from Bristol he wrote in\nFebruary, 1838, a tender letter to the saints there, which is another\nrevelation of the man's heart. He makes grateful mention of the mercies\nof God, to him, particularly His gentleness, long-suffering, and\nfaithfulness and the lessons taught him through affliction. The letter\nmakes plain that much sweetness is mixed in the cup of suffering, and\nthat our privileges are not properly prized until for a time we are\ndeprived of them. He particularly mentions how _secret prayer,_ even\nwhen reading, conversation, or prayer with others was a burden, _always\nbrought relief to his head._ Converse with the Father was an\nindispensable source of refreshment and blessing at all times. As J.\nHudson Taylor says \"Satan, the Hinderer, may build a barrier about us,\nbut he can never _roof us in,_ so that we cannot _look up.\"_ Mr. Muller\nalso gives a valuable hint that has already been of value to many\nafflicted saints, that he found he could help by prayer to fight the\nbattles of the Lord even when he could not by preaching. After a short\nvisit to Germany, partly in quest of health and partly for missionary\nobjects, and after more than twenty-two weeks of retirement from\nordinary public duties, his head was much better, but his mental health\nallowed only about three hours of daily work. While in Germany he had\nagain seen his father and elder brother, and spoken with them about\ntheir salvation. To his father his words brought apparent blessing, for\nhe seemed at least to feel his lack of the one thing needful. The\nseparation from him was the more painful as there was so little hope\nthat they should meet again on earth.\n\nIn May he once more took part in public services in Bristol, a period of\nsix months having elapsed since he had previously done so. His head was\nstill weak, but there seemed no loss of mental power.\n\nAbout three months after he had been in Germany part of the fruits of\nhis visit were gathered, for twelve brothers and three sisters sailed\nfor the East Indies.\n\nOn June 13, 1838, Mrs. Muller gave birth to a stillborn babe,--another\nparental disappointment,--and for more than a fortnight her life hung in\nthe balance. But once more prayer prevailed for her and her days were\nprolonged.\n\nOne month later another trial of faith confronted them in the orphan\nwork. A twelvemonth previous there were in hand seven hundred and eighty\npounds; now that sum was reduced to one thirty-ninth of the\namount--twenty pounds. Mr. and Mrs. Muller, with Mr. Craik and one other\nbrother, connected with the Boys' Orphan House, were the only four\npersons who were permitted to know of the low state of funds; and they\ngave themselves to united prayer. And let it be carefully observed that\nMr. Muller testifies that his own faith was kept even stronger than when\nthe larger sum was on hand a year before; and this faith was no mere\nfancy, for, although the supply was so low and shortly thirty pounds\nwould be needed, notice was given for seven more children to enter, and\nit was further proposed to announce readiness to receive five others!\n\nThe trial-hour had come, but was not past. Less than two months later\nthe money-supply ran so low that it was needful that the Lord should\ngive _by the day and almost by the hour_ if the needs were to be met. In\nanswer to prayer for help God seemed to say, \"Mine hour is not yet\ncome.\" Many pounds would shortly be required, toward which there was not\none penny in hand. When, one day, over four pounds came in, the thought\noccurred to Mr. Muller, \"Why not lay aside three pounds against the\ncoming need?\" But immediately he remembered that it is written:\n\"SUFFICIENT UNTO THE DAY is THE EVIL THEREOF.\"* He unhesitatingly cast\nhimself upon God, and paid out the whole amount for salaries then due,\nleaving himself again penniless.\n\n* Matt. vi. 34.\n\nAt this time Mr. Craik was led to read a sermon on Abraham, from Genesis\nxii, making prominent two facts: first, that so long as he acted in\nfaith and walked in the will of God, all went on well; but that,\nsecondly, so far as he distrusted the Lord and disobeyed Him, all ended\nin failure. Mr. Muller heard this sermon and conscientiously applied it\nto himself. He drew two most practical conclusions which he had abundant\nopportunity to put into practice:\n\nFirst, that he must go into no byways or paths of his own for\ndeliverance out of a crisis;\n\nAnd, secondly, that in proportion as he had been permitted to honour God\nand bring some glory to His name by trusting Him, he was in danger of\ndishonouring Him.\n\nHaving taught him these blessed truths, the Lord tested him as to how\nfar he would venture upon them. While in such sore need of money for the\norphan work, he had in the bank some two hundred and twenty pounds,\nintrusted to him for other purposes. He might _use this money for the\ntime at least,_ and so relieve the present distress. The temptation was\nthe stronger so to do, because he knew the donors and knew them to be\nliberal supporters of the orphans; and he had only to explain to them\nthe straits he was in and they would gladly consent to any appropriation\nof their gift that he might see best! Most men would have cut that\nGordian knot of perplexity without hesitation.\n\nNot so George Muller. He saw at once that this would be _finding a way\nof his own out of difficulty, instead of waiting on the Lord for\ndeliverance._ Moreover, he also saw that it would be _forming a habit of\ntrusting to such expedients of his own, which in other trials would lead\nto a similar course and so hinder the growth of faith._ We use italics\nhere because here is revealed one of the _tests_ by which this man of\nfaith, was proven; and we see how he kept consistently and persistently\nto the one great purpose of his life--to demonstrate to all men that to\n_rest solely on I the promise of a faithful God_ is the only way to know\nfor one's self and prove to others, His faithfulness.\n\nAt this time of need--the type of many others--this man who had\ndetermined to risk everything upon God's word of promise, turned from\ndoubtful devices and questionable methods of relief to _pleading with\nGod._ And it may be well to mark his _manner_ of pleading. He used\n_argument_ in prayer, and at this time he piles up _eleven reasons_ why\nGod should and would send help.\n\nThis method of _holy argument_--ordering our cause before God, as an\nadvocate would plead before a judge--is not only almost a lost art, but\nto many it actually seems almost puerile. And yet it is abundantly\ntaught and exemplified in Scripture. Abraham in his plea for Sodom is\nthe first great example of it. Moses excelled in this art, in many\ncrises interceding in behalf of the people with consummate skill,\nmarshalling arguments as a general-in-chief marshals battalions. Elijah\non Carmel is a striking example of power in this special pleading. What\nholy zeal and jealousy for God! It is probable that if we had fuller\nrecords we should find that all pleaders with God, like Noah, Job,\nSamuel, David, Daniel, Jeremiah, Paul, and James, have used the same\nmethod.\n\nOf course God does not _need to be convinced:_ no arguments can make any\nplainer to Him the claims of trusting souls to His intervention, claims\nbased upon His own word, confirmed by His oath. And yet He will be\ninquired of and argued with. That is His way of blessing. He loves to\nhave us set before Him our cause and His own promises: He delights in\nthe well-ordered plea, where argument is piled upon argument. See how\nthe Lord Jesus Christ commended the persistent argument of the woman of\nCanaan, who with the _wit of importunity_ actually turned his own\n_objection_ into a _reason._ He said, \"It is not meet to take the\nchildren's bread and cast it to the little dogs.\"* \"Truth, Lord,\" she\nanswered, \"yet the little dogs under the master's tables eat of the\ncrumbs which fall from the children's mouths!\" What a triumph of\nargument! Catching the Master Himself in His words, as He meant she\nshould, and turning His apparent reason for not granting into a reason\nfor granting her request! \"O woman,\" said He, \"great is thy faith! Be it\nunto thee even as thou wilt\"--thus, as Luther said, \"flinging the reins\non her neck.\"\n\n* Cf. Matt. vii. 6, xv. 26, 27. Not [Transcriber's note: Greek word\nhere], but [Transcriber's note: another Greek word here], the diminutive\nfor little pet dogs.\n\nThis case stands unique in the word of God, and it is this use of\nargument in prayer that makes it thus solitary in grandeur. But one\nother case is at all parallel,--that of the centurion of Capernaum,*\nwho, when our Lord promised to go and heal his servant, argued that such\ncoming was not needful, since He had only to speak the healing word. And\nnotice the basis of his argument: if he, a commander exercising\nauthority and yielding himself to higher authority, both obeyed the word\nof his superior and exacted obedience of his subordinate, how much more\ncould the Great Healer, in his absence, by a word of command, wield the\nhealing Power that in His presence was obedient to His will! Of him\nlikewise our Lord said: \"I have not found so great faith, no, not in\nIsrael!\"\n\n* Matt. viii. 8.\n\nWe are to argue our case with God, not indeed to convince _Him,_ but to\nconvince _ourselves._ In proving to Him that, by His own word and oath\nand character, He has bound Himself to interpose, we demonstrate _to our\nown faith_ that He has given us the right to ask and claim, and that He\nwill answer our plea because He cannot deny Himself.\n\nThere are two singularly beautiful touches of the Holy Spirit in which\nthe right thus to order argument before God is set forth to the\nreflective reader. In Micah. vii. 20 we read:\n\n       \"Thou wilt perform the _truth_ to Jacob,\n        The _mercy_ to Abraham,\n        Which thou hast sworn unto our fathers,\n        From the days of old.\"\n\nMark the progress of the thought. What was mercy to Abraham was truth to\nJacob. God was under no obligation to extend covenant blessings; hence\nit was to Abraham a simple act of pure _mercy;_ but, having so put\nHimself under voluntary bonds, Jacob could claim as _truth_ what to\nAbraham had been mercy. So in 1 John i. 9:\n\n       \"If we confess our sins\n        He is _faithful and just_ to forgive us our sins,\n        And to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.\"\n\nPlainly, forgiveness and cleansing are not originally matters of\nfaithfulness and justice, but of mercy and grace. But, after God had\npledged Himself thus to forgive and cleanse the penitent sinner who\nconfesses and forsakes his sins,* what was originally grace and mercy\nbecomes faithfulness and justice; for God owes it to Himself and to His\ncreature to stand by His own pledge, and fulfil the lawful expectation\nwhich His own gracious assurance has created.\n\n* Proverbs xxviii. 13.\n\nThus we have not only examples of argument in prayer, but concessions of\nthe living God Himself, that when we have His word to plead we may claim\nthe fulfillment of His promise, on the ground not of His mercy only, but\nof His truth, faithfulness, and justice. Hence the 'holy boldness with\nwhich we are bidden to present our plea at the throne of grace. God owes\nto His faithfulness to do what He has promised, and to His justice not\nto exact from the sinner a penalty already borne in his behalf by His\nown Son.\n\nNo man of his generation, perhaps, has been more wont to plead thus with\nGod, after the manner of holy argument, than he whose memoir we are now\nwriting. He was one of the elect few to whom it has been given to revive\nand restore this lost art of pleading with God. And if all disciples\ncould learn the blessed lesson, what a period of _renaissance_ of faith\nwould come to the church of God!\n\nGeorge Muller stored up reasons for God's intervention, As he came upon\npromises, authorized declarations of God concerning Himself, names and\ntitles He had chosen to express and reveal His true nature and will,\ninjunctions and invitations which gave to the believer a right to pray\nand boldness in supplication--as he saw all these, fortified and\nexemplified by the instances of prevailing prayer, he laid these\narguments up in memory, and then on occasions of great need brought them\nout and spread them before a prayer-hearing God. It is pathetically\nbeautiful to follow this humble man of God into the secret place, and\nthere hear him pouring out his soul in these argumentative pleadings, as\nthough he would so order his cause before God as to convince Him that He\nmust interpose to save His own name and word from dishonour!\n\nThese were _His_ orphans, for had He not declared Himself the Father of\nthe fatherless? This was _His_ work, for had He not called His servant\nto do His bidding, and what was that servant but an instrument that\ncould neither fit itself nor use itself? Can the rod lift itself, or the\nsaw move itself, or the hammer deal its own blow, or the sword make its\nown thrust? And if this were God's work, was He not bound to care for\nHis own work? And was not all this deliberately planned and carried on\nfor His own glory? And would He suffer His own glory to be dimmed? Had\nnot His own word been given and confirmed by His oath, and could God\nallow His promise, thus sworn to, to be dishonoured even in the least\nparticular? Were not the half-believing church and the unbelieving world\nlooking on, to see how the Living God would stand by His own unchanging\nassurance, and would He supply an argument for the skeptic and the\nscoffer? Would He not, must He not, rather put new proofs of His\nfaithfulness in the mouth of His saints, and furnish increasing\narguments wherewith to silence the cavilling tongue and put to shame the\nhesitating disciple?*\n\n* Mr. Muller himself tells how he argued his case before the Lord at\nthis time. (Appendix F. Narrative, vol. 1, 243, 244)\n\nIn some such fashion as this did this lowly-minded saint in Bristol\nplead with God for more than threescore years, _and prevail_--as every\ntrue believer may who with a like boldness comes to the throne of grace\nto obtain mercy and find grace to help in every time of need. How few of\nus can sincerely sing:\n\n        I believe God answers prayer,\n        Answers always, everywhere;\n        I may cast my anxious care,\n        Burdens I could never bear,\n        On the God who heareth prayer.\n        Never need my soul despair\n        Since He bids me boldly dare\n        To the secret place repair,\n        There to prove He answers prayer.\n\n\nCHAPTER XI\n\nTRIALS OF FAITH, AND HELPERS TO FAITH\n\nGOD has His own mathematics: witness that miracle of the loaves and\nfishes. Our Lord said to His disciples: \"Give ye them to eat,\" and as\nthey divided, He multiplied the scanty provision; as they subtracted\nfrom it He added to it; as they decreased it by distributing, He\nincreased it for distributing. And it has been beautifully said of all\nholy partnerships, that griefs shared are divided, and joys shared are\nmultiplied.\n\nWe have already seen how the prayer circle had been enlarged. The\nfounder of the orphan work, at the first, had only God for his partner,\ntelling Him alone his own wants or the needs of his work. Later on, a\nvery few, including his own wife, Mr. Craik, and one or two helpers,\nwere permitted to know the condition of the funds and supplies. Later\nstill, in the autumn of 1838, he began to feel that he ought more fully\nto open the doors of his confidence to his associates in the Lord's\nbusiness. Those who shared in the toils should also share in the\nprayers, and therefore in the knowledge of the needs which prayer was to\nsupply; else how could they fully be partakers of the faith, the work,\nand the reward? Or, again, how could they feel the full proof of the\npresence and power of God in the answers to prayer, know the joy of the\nLord which such answers inspire, or praise Him for the deliverance which\nsuch answers exhibit? It seemed plain that, to the highest glory of God,\nthey must know the depths of need, the extremities of want out of which\nGod had lifted them, and then ascribe all honour and praise to His name.\n\nAccordingly Mr. Muller called together all the beloved brothers and\nsisters linked with him in the conduct of the work, and fully stated the\ncase, keeping nothing back. He showed them the distress they were in,\nwhile he bade them be of good courage, assuring them of his own\nconfidence that help was nigh at hand, and then united them with himself\nand the smaller praying circle which had previously existed, in\nsupplication to Jehovah Jireh.\n\nThe step thus taken was of no small importance to all concerned. A\nconsiderable number of praying believers were henceforth added to the\nband of intercessors that gave God no rest day nor night. While Mr.\nMuller withheld no facts as to the straits to which the work was\nreduced, he laid down certain principles which from time to time were\nreiterated as unchanging laws for the conduct of the Lord's business.\nFor example, nothing must be bought, whatever the extremity, for which\nthere was not money in hand to pay: and yet it must be equally a settled\nprinciple that the children must not be left to lack anything needful;\nfor better that the work cease, and the orphans be sent away, than that\nthey be kept in a nominal home where they were really left to suffer\nfrom hunger or nakedness.\n\nAgain, nothing was ever to be revealed to outsiders of existing need,\nlest it should be construed into an appeal for help; but the only resort\nmust be to the living God. The helpers were often reminded that the\nsupreme object of the institutions, founded in Bristol, was to prove\nGod's faithfulness and the perfect safety of trusting solely to His\npromises; jealousy for Him must therefore restrain all tendency to look\nto man for help. Moreover, they were earnestly besought to live in such\ndaily and hourly fellowship with God as that their own unbelief and\ndisobedience might not risk either their own power in prayer, or the\nagreement, needful among them, in order to common supplication. One\ndiscordant note may prevent the harmonious symphony of united prayer,\nand so far hinder the acceptableness of such prayer with God.\n\nThus informed and instructed, these devoted coworkers, with the beloved\nfounder of the orphan work, met the crisis intelligently. If, when there\nwere _no funds,_ there must be _no leaning upon man, no debt_ incurred,\nand yet _no lack_ allowed, clearly the only resort or resource must be\nwaiting upon the unseen God; and so, in these straits and in every\nsucceeding crisis, they went to Him alone. The orphans themselves were\nnever told of any existing need; in every case their wants were met,\nthough they knew not how. The barrel of meal might be empty, yet there\nwas always a handful when needed, and the cruse of oil was never so\nexhausted that a few drops were not left to moisten the handful of meal.\nFamine and drought never reached the Bristol orphanage: the supplies\nmight come slowly and only for one day at a time, but somehow, when the\nneed was urgent and could no longer wait, there was enough--though it\nmight be barely enough to meet the want.\n\nIt should be added here, as completing this part of the Narrative, that,\nin August, 1840, this circle of prayer was still further enlarged by\nadmitting to its intimacies of fellowship and supplication the brethren\nand sisters who laboured in the day-schools, the same solemn injunctions\nbeing repeated in their case against any betrayal to outsiders of the\ncrises that might arise.\n\nTo impart the knowledge of affairs to so much larger a band of helpers\nbrought in every way a greater blessing, and especially so to the\nhelpers themselves. Their earnest, believing, importunate prayers were\nthus called forth, and God only knows how much the consequent progress\nof the work was due to their faith, supplication, and self-denial. The\npractical knowledge of the exigencies of their common experience begat\nan unselfishness of spirit which prompted countless acts of heroic\nsacrifice that have no human record or written history, and can be known\nonly when the pages of the Lord's own journal are read by an assembled\nuniverse in the day when the secret things are brought to light. It has,\nsince Mr. Muller's departure, transpired how large a share of the\ndonations received are to be traced to him; but there is no means of\nascertaining as to the aggregate amount of the secret gifts of his\ncoworkers in this sacred circle of prayer.\n\nWe do know, however, that Mr. Muller was not the only self-denying\ngiver, though he may lead the host. His true yoke-fellows often _turned\nthe crisis_ by their own offerings, which though small were costly!\nInstrumentally they were used of God to relieve existing want by their\ngifts, for out of the abundance of their deep poverty abounded the\nriches of their liberality. The money they gave was sometimes like the\nwidow's two mites--all their living; and not only the last penny, but\nornaments, jewels, heirlooms, long-kept and cherished treasures, like\nthe alabaster flask of ointment which was broken upon the feet of Jesus,\nwere laid down on God's altar as a willing sacrifice. They gave all they\ncould spare and often what they could ill spare, so that there might be\nmeat in God's house and no lack of bread or other needed supplies for\nHis little ones. In a sublime sense this work was not Mr. Mullers only,\nbut _theirs_ also, who with him took part in prayers and tears, in cares\nand toils, in self-denials and self-offerings, whereby God chose to\ncarry forward His plans for these homeless waifs! It was in thus\n_giving_ that all these helpers found also new power, assurance, and\nblessing in praying; for, as one of them said, he felt that it would\nscarcely be _\"upright to pray, except he were to give what he had.\"_*\n\n* Narrative, 1: 246.\n\nThe helpers, thus admitted into Mr. Muller's confidence, came into more\nactive sympathy with him and the work, and partook increasingly of the\nsame spirit. Of this some few instances and examples have found their\nway into his journal.\n\nA gentleman and some ladies visiting the orphan houses saw the large\nnumber of little ones to be cared for. One of the ladies said to the\nmatron of the Boys' House: \"Of course you cannot carry on these\ninstitutions without a good stock of funds\"; and the gentleman added,\n\"Have you a good stock?\" The quiet answer was, \"Our funds are deposited\nin a bank which cannot break.\" The reply drew tears from the eyes of the\nlady, and a gift of five pounds from the pocket of the gentleman--a\ndonation most opportune, as there was _not one penny then in hand._\n\nFellow labourers such as these, who asked nothing for themselves, but\ncheerfully looked to the Lord for their own supplies, and willingly\nparted with their own money or goods in the hour of need, filled Mr.\nMuller's heart with praise to God, and held up his hands, as Aaron and\nHur sustained those of Moses, till the sun of his life went down. During\nall the years of his superintendence these were the main human support\nof his faith and courage. They met with him in daily prayer, faithfully\nkept among themselves the secrets of the Lord's work in the great trials\nof faith; and, when the hour of triumph came, they felt it to be both\nduty and privilege in the annual report to publish their deliverance, to\nmake their boast in God, that all men might know His love and\nfaithfulness and ascribe unto Him glory.\n\nFrom time to time, in connection with the administration of the work,\nvarious questions arose which have a wider bearing on all departments of\nChristian service, for their solution enters into what may be called the\nethics and economics of the Lord's work. At a few of these we may\nglance.\n\nAs the Lord was dealing with them by the day, it seemed clear that they\nwere to _live by the day._ No dues [Transcriber's note: unpaid debts]\nshould be allowed to accumulate, even such as would naturally accrue\nfrom ordinary weekly supplies of bread, milk, etc. From the middle of\nSeptember, 1838, it was therefore determined that every article bought\nwas to be paid for at the time.\n\nAgain, rent became due in stated amounts and at stated times. This want\nwas therefore not unforeseen, and, looked at in one aspect, rent was due\ndaily or weekly, though collected at longer intervals. The principle\nhaving been laid down that no debt should be incurred, it was considered\nas implying that the amount due for rent should be put aside daily, or\nat least weekly, even though not then payable. This rule was henceforth\nadopted, with this understanding, that money thus laid aside was sacred\nto that end, and not to be drawn upon, even temporarily, for any other.\n\nNotwithstanding such conscientiousness and consistency the trial of\nfaith and patience continued. Money came in only in small sums, and\nbarely enough with rigid economy to meet each day's wants. The outlook\nwas often most dark and the prospect most threatening; but _no real need\never failed to be supplied:_ and so praise was continually mingled with\nprayer, the incense of thanksgiving making fragrant the flame of\nsupplication. God's interposing power and love could not be doubted, and\nin fact made the more impression as unquestionable facts, because help\ncame so frequently at the hour of extremity, and in the exact form or\namount needed. Before the provision was entirely exhausted, there came\nnew supplies or the money wherewith to buy, so that these many mouths\nwere always fed and these many bodies always clad.\n\nTo live up to such principles as had been laid down was not possible\nwithout faith, kept in constant and lively exercise. For example, in the\nclosing months of 1838 God seemed purposely putting them to a severe\ntest, whether or not they _did trust Him alone._ The orphan work was in\ncontinual straits: at times not one half-penny was in the hands of the\nmatrons in the three houses. But not only was no knowledge of such facts\never allowed to leak out, or any hint of the extreme need ever given to\noutsiders, _but even those who inquired, with intent to aid, were not\ninformed._\n\nOne evening a brother ventured to ask how the balance would stand when\nthe next accounts were made up, and whether it would be as great in\nfavour of the orphans as when the previous balance-sheet had been\nprepared. Mr. Mutter's calm but evasive answer was: _\"It will be as\ngreat as the Lord pleases.\"_ This was no intentional rudeness. To have\nsaid more would have been turning from the one Helper to make at least\nan indirect appeal to man for help; and every such snare was carefully\navoided lest the one great aim should be lost sight of: to prove to all\nmen that it is safe to trust only in the Living God.\n\nWhile admitting the severity of the straits to which the whole work of\nthe Scriptural Knowledge Institution was often brought, Mr. Muller takes\npains to assure his readers that these straits were never a surprise to\nhim, and that his expectations in the matter of funds were not\ndisappointed, but rather the reverse. He had looked for great\nemergencies as essential to his full witness to a prayer-hearing God.\nThe almighty Hand can never be clearly seen while any human help is\nsought for or is in sight. We must turn absolutely away from all else if\nwe are to turn fully unto the living God. The deliverance is signal,\nonly in proportion as the danger is serious, and is most significant\nwhen, without God, we face absolute despair. Hence the exact end for\nwhich the whole work was mainly begun could be attained only through\nsuch conditions of extremity and such experiences of interposition in\nextremity.\n\nSome who have known but little of the interior history of the orphan\nwork have very naturally accounted for the regularity of supplies by\nsupposing that the public statements, made about it by word of mouth,\nand especially by the pen in the printed annual reports, have\nconstituted _appeals for aid._ Unbelief would interpret all God's\nworking however wonderful, by 'natural laws,' and the carnal mind,\nrefusing to see in any of the manifestations of God's power any\nsupernatural force at work, persists in thus explaining away all the\n'miracles of prayer.'\n\nNo doubt humane and sympathetic hearts have been strongly moved by the\nremarkable ways in which God has day by day provided for all these\norphans, as well as the other branches of work of the Scriptural\nKnowledge Institution; and believing souls have been drawn into loving\nand hearty sympathy with work so conducted, and have been led to become\nits helpers. It is a well-known fact that God has used these annual\nreports to accomplish just such results. Yet it remains true that these\nreports were never intended or issued as appeals for aid, and no\ndependence has been placed upon them for securing timely help. It is\nalso undeniable that, however frequent their issue, wide their\ncirculation, or great their influence, the regularity and abundance of\nthe supplies of all needs must in some other way be accounted for.\n\nOnly a few days after public meetings were held or printed reports\nissued, funds often fell to their lowest ebb. Mr. Muller and his helpers\nwere singularly kept from all undue leaning upon any such indirect\nappeals, and frequently and definitely asked God that they might never\nbe left to look for any inflow of means through such channels. For many\nreasons the Lord's dealings with them were made known, the main object\nof such publicity always being a _testimony to the faithfulness of God._\nThis great object Mr. Muller always kept foremost, hoping and praying\nthat, by such records and revelations of God's fidelity to His promises,\nand of the manner in which He met each new need, his servant might\nawaken, quicken, and stimulate faith in Him as the Living God. One has\nonly to read these reports to see the conspicuous absence of any appeal\nfor human aid, or of any attempt to excite pity, sympathy and compassion\ntoward the orphans. The burden of every report is to induce the reader\nto venture wholly upon God, to taste and see that the Lord is good, and\nfind for himself how blessed are all they that put their trust in Him.\nOnly in the light of this supreme purpose can these records of a life of\nfaith be read intelligently and intelligibly.\n\nWeakness of body again, in the autumn of 1839, compelled, for a time,\nrest from active labour, and Mr. Muller went to Trowbridge and Exeter,\nTeignmouth and Plymouth. God had precious lessons for him which He could\nbest teach in the school of affliction.\n\nWhile at Plymouth Mr. Muller felt anew the impulse to early rising for\npurposes of devotional communion. At Halle he had been an early riser,\ninfluenced by zeal for excellence in study. Afterwards, when his weak\nhead and feeble nerves made more sleep seem needful, he judged that,\neven when he rose late, the day would be long enough to exhaust his\nlittle fund of strength; and so often he lay in bed till six or even\nseven o'clock, instead of rising at four; and after dinner took a nap\nfor a quarter-hour. It now grew upon him, however, that he was losing in\nspiritual vigour, and that his soul's health was declining under this\nnew regimen. The work now so pressed upon him as to prevent proper\nreading of the Word and rob him of leisure for secret prayer.\n\nA 'chance remark'--there is no _chance_ in a believer's life!--made by\nthe brother at whose house he was abiding at Plymouth, much impressed\nhim. Referring to the sacrifices in Leviticus, he said that, as the\nrefuse of the animals was never offered up on the altar, but only the\nbest parts and the fat, so the choicest of our time and strength, the\nbest parts of our day, should be especially given to the Lord in worship\nand communion. George Muller meditated much on this; and determined,\neven at the risk of damage to bodily health, that he would no longer\nspend his best hours in bed. Henceforth he allowed himself but _seven\nhours' sleep_ and gave up his after-dinner rest. This resumption of\nearly rising secured long seasons of uninterrupted interviews 'with God,\nin prayer and meditation on the Scriptures, before breakfast and the\nvarious inevitable interruptions that followed. He found himself not\nworse but better, physically, and became convinced that to have lain\nlonger in bed as before would have kept his nerves weak; and, as to\nspiritual life, such new vitality and vigour accrued from thus waiting\nupon God while others slept, that it continued to be the habit of his\nafter-life.\n\nIn November, 1839, when the needs were again great and the supplies very\nsmall, he was kept in peace: \"I was not,\" he says, \"looking at the\n_little in hand, 'but at the fulness of God.\"_\n\nIt was his rule to empty himself of all that he had, in order to greater\nboldness in appealing for help from above. All needless articles were\nsold if a market could be found. But what was useful in the Lord's work\nhe did not reckon as needless, nor regard it right to sell, since the\nFather knew the need. One of his fellow labourers had put forward his\nvaluable watch as a security for the return of money laid by for rent,\nbut drawn upon for the time; yet even this plan was not felt to be\nscriptural, as the watch might be reckoned among articles needful and\nuseful in the Lord's service, and, if such, expedients were quite\nabandoned, the deliverance would be more manifest as of the Lord. And\nso, one by one, all resorts were laid aside that might imperil full\ntrust and sole dependence upon the one and only Helper.\n\nWhen the poverty of their resources seemed most pinching, Mr. Muller\nstill comforted himself with the daily proof that God had not forgotten,\nand would day by day feed them with 'the bread of their convenience.'\nOften he said to himself, If it is even a proverb of the world that\n\"Man's necessity is God's opportunity,\" how much more may God's own dear\nchildren in their great need look to Him to make their extremity the fit\nmoment to display His love and power!\n\nIn February, 1840, another attack of ill health combined with a mission\nto Germany to lead Mr. Muller for five weeks to the Continent. At\nHeimersleben, where he found his father weakened by a serious cough, the\ntwo rooms in which he spent most time in prayer and reading of the Word,\nand confession of the Lord, were the same in which, nearly twenty years\nbefore, he had passed most time as an unreconciled sinner against God\nand man. Later on, at Wolfenbuttel, he saw the inn whence in 1821 he ran\naway in debt. In taking leave once more of his father he was pierced by\na keen anguish, fearing it was his last farewell, and an unusual\ntenderness and affection were now exhibited by his father, whom he\nyearned more and more to know as safe in the Lord Jesus, and depending\nno longer on outward and formal religiousness, or substituting the\nreading of prayers and of Scripture for an inward conformity to Christ.\nThis proved the last interview, for the father died on March 30th of the\nsame year.\n\nThe main purpose of this journey to Germany was to send forth more\nmissionaries to the East. At Sandersleben Mr. Muller met his friend, Mr.\nStahlschmidt, and found a little band of disciples meeting in secret to\nevade the police. Those who have always breathed the atmosphere of\nreligious liberty know little of such intolerance as, in that nominally\nChristian land, stifled all freedom of Worship. Eleven years before,\nwhen Mr. Stahlschmidt's servant had come to this place, he had found\nscarce one true disciple beside his master. The first meetings had been\nliterally of but two or three, and, when they had grown a little larger,\nMr. Kroll was summoned before the magistrates and, like the apostles in\nthe first days of the church, forbidden to speak in His name. But again,\nlike those same primitive disciples, believing that they were to obey\nGod rather than men, the believing band had continued to meet,\nnotwithstanding police raids which were so disturbing, and government\nfines which were so exacting. So secret, however, were their assemblies,\nas to have neither stated place nor regular time.\n\nGeorge Muller found these persecuted believers, meeting in the room of a\nhumble weaver where there was but one chair. The twenty-five or thirty\nwho were present found such places to sit or stand as they might, in and\nabout the loom, which itself filled half the space.\n\nIn Halberstadt Mr. Muller found seven large Protestant churches without\none clergyman who gave evidence of true conversion, and the few genuine\ndisciples there were likewise forbidden to meet together.\n\nA few days after returning to Bristol from his few weeks in Germany, and\nat a time of great financial distress in the work, a letter reached him\nfrom a brother who had often before given money, as follows:\n\n\"Have you any _present_ need for the Institution under your care? I know\nyou do not _ask,_ except indeed of Him whose work you are doing; but to\n_answer when asked_ seems another thing, and a right thing. I have a\nreason for desiring to know the present state of your means towards the\nobjects you are labouring to serve: viz., should you _not have_ need,\nother departments of the Lord's work, or other people of the Lord, _may\nhave_ need. Kindly then inform me, and to what amount, i.e. what amount\nyou at this present time need or can profitably lay out.\"\n\nTo most men, even those who carry on a work of faith and prayer, such a\nletter would have been at least a temptation. But Mr. Muller did not\nwaver. To announce even to an inquirer the exact needs of the work\nwould, in his opinion, involve two serious risks:\n\n1. It would turn his own eyes away from God to man;\n\n2. It would turn the minds of saints away from dependence solely upon\nHim.\n\nThis man of God had staked everything upon one great experiment--he had\nset himself to prove that the prayer which _resorts to God only_ will\nbring help in every crisis, even when the crisis is unknown to His\npeople whom He uses as the means of relief and help.\n\nAt this time there remained in hand but twenty-seven pence ha'penny, in\nall, to meet the needs of hundreds of orphans. Nevertheless this was the\nreply to the letter:\n\n\"Whilst I thank you for your love, and whilst I agree with you that, in\ngeneral, there is a difference between _asking for money_ and _answering\nwhen asked,_ nevertheless, in our case, I feel not at liberty to speak\nabout the state of our funds, as the primary object of the work in my\nhands is to lead those who are weak in faith to see that there is\n_reality_ in dealing with God _alone.\"_\n\nConsistently with his position, however, no sooner was the answer posted\nthan the appeal went up to the Living God: \"Lord, thou knowest that, for\nThy sake, I did not tell this brother about our need. Now, Lord, show\nafresh that there is reality in speaking to Thee only, about our need,\nand speak therefore to this brother so that he may help us.\" In answer,\nGod moved this inquiring brother to send one hundred pounds, which came\nwhen _not one penny was in hand._\n\nThe confidence of faith, long tried, had its increasing reward and was\nstrengthened by experience. In July, 1845, Mr. Muller gave this\ntestimony reviewing these very years of trial:\n\n\"Though for about seven years, our funds have been so exhausted that it\nhas been comparatively a rare case that there have been means in hand to\nmeet the necessities of the orphans _for three days_ together, yet I\nhave been only once tried in spirit, and that was on September 18, 1838,\nwhen for the first time the Lord seemed not to regard our prayer. But\nwhen He did send help at that time, and I saw that it was only for the\ntrial of our faith, and not because He had forsaken the work, that we\nwere brought so low, my soul was so strengthened and encouraged that I\nhave not only not been allowed to distrust the Lord since that time, but\nI have not even been cast down when in the deepest poverty.\"\n\n\nCHAPTER XII\n\nNEW LESSONS IN GOD'S SCHOOL OF PRAYER\n\nTHE teacher must also be a learner, and therefore only he who continues\nto learn is competent to continue to teach. Nothing but new lessons,\ndaily mastered, can keep our testimony fresh and vitalizing and enable\nus to give advance lessons. Instead of being always engaged in a sort of\nreview, our teaching and testimony will thus be drawn each day from a\nnew and higher level.\n\nGeorge Muller's experiences of prevailing prayer went on constantly\naccumulating, and so qualified him to speak to others, not as on a\nmatter of speculation, theory, or doctrinal belief, but of long, varied,\nand successful personal experiment. Patiently, carefully and frequently,\nhe seeks to impress on others the conditions of effective supplication.\nFrom time to time he met those to whom his courageous, childlike trust\nin God was a mystery; and occasionally unbelief's secret misgivings\nfound a voice in the question, _what he would do if God did not send\nhelp!_ what, if a meal-time actually came with no food, and no money to\nprocure it; or if clothing were worn out, and nothing to replace it?\n\nTo all such questions there was always ready this one answer: that _such\na failure on God's part is inconceivable,_ and must therefore be put\namong the impossibilities. There are, however, conditions necessary on\nman's part: _the suppliant soul must come to God in the right spirit and\nattitude._ For the sake of such readers as might need further guidance\nas to the proper and acceptable manner of approach to God, he was wont\nto make very plain the scripture teaching upon this point.\n\nFive grand conditions of prevailing prayer were ever before his mind:\n\n1. Entire dependence upon the merits and mediation of the Lord Jesus\nChrist, as the only ground of any claim for blessing. (See John xiv. 13,\n14; xv. 16, etc.)\n\n2. Separation from all known sin. If we regard iniquity in our hearts,\nthe Lord will not hear us, for it would be sanctioning sin. (Psalm lxvi.\n18.)\n\n3. Faith in God's word of promise as confirmed by His oath. Not to\nbelieve Him is to make Him both a liar and a perjurer. (Hebrews xi. 6;\nvi. 13-20.)\n\n4. Asking in accordance with His will. Our motives must be godly: we\nmust not seek any gift of God to consume it upon our own lusts. (1 John\nv. 14; James iv. 3.)\n\n5. Importunity in supplication. There must be waiting on God and waiting\nfor God, as the husbandman has long patience to wait for the harvest.\n(James v. 7; Luke xviii. 1-10.)\n\nThe importance of firmly fixing in mind principles such as these cannot\nbe overstated. The first lays the basis of all prayer, in our oneness\nwith the great High Priest. The second states a condition of prayer,\nfound in abandonment of sin. The third reminds us of the need of\nhonouring God by faith that He is, and is the Rewarder of the diligent\nseeker. The fourth reveals the sympathy with God that helps us to ask\nwhat is for our good and His glory. The last teaches us that, having\nlaid hold of God in prayer, we are to keep hold until His arm is\noutstretched in blessing.\n\nWhere these conditions do not exist, for God to answer prayer would be\nboth a dishonour to Himself and a damage to the suppliant. To encourage\nthose who come to Him in their own name, or in a self-righteous,\nself-seeking, and disobedient spirit, would be to set a premium upon\ncontinuance in sin. To answer the requests of the unbelieving would be\nto disregard the double insult put upon His word of promise and His oath\nof confirmation, by persistent doubt of His truthfulness and distrust of\nHis faithfulness. Indeed not one condition of prevailing prayer exists\nwhich is not such in the very nature of things. These are not arbitrary\nlimitations affixed to prayer by a despotic will; they are necessary\nalike to God's character and man's good.\n\nAll the lessons learned in God's school of prayer made Mr. Muller's\nfeelings and convictions about this matter more profound and subduing.\nHe saw the vital relation of prayer to holiness, and perpetually sought\nto impress it upon both his hearers and readers; and, remembering that\nfor the purpose of persuasion the most effective figure of speech is\n_repetition,_ he hesitated at no frequency of restatement by which such\ntruths might find root in the minds and hearts of others.\n\nThere has never been a saint, from Abel's day to our own, who has not\nbeen taught the same essential lessons. All prayer which has ever\nbrought down blessing has prevailed by the same law of success--_the\ninward impulse of God's Holy Spirit._ If, therefore, that Spirit's\nteachings be disregarded or disobeyed, or His inward movings be\nhindered, in just such measure will prayer become formal or be\naltogether abandoned. Sin, consciously indulged, or duty, knowingly\nneglected, makes supplication an offence to God.\n\nAgain, all prayer prevails only in the measure of our real, even if not\nconscious, unity with the Lord Jesus Christ as the ground of our\napproach, and in the degree of our dependence on Him as the medium of\nour access to God.\n\nYet again, all prayer prevails only as it is offered in faith; and the\n_answer_ to such prayer can be recognized and received only _on the\nplane of faith;_ that is, we must maintain the believing frame,\nexpecting the blessing, and being ready to receive it in God's way and\ntime and form, and not our own.\n\nThe faith that thus _expects_ cannot be surprised at answers to prayer.\nWhen, in November, 1840, a sister gave ten pounds for the orphans, and\nat a time specially opportune, Mr. Muller records his triumphant joy in\nGod as exceeding and defying all expression. Yet he was _free from\nexcitement and not in the least surprised,_ because by grace he had been\ntrustfully waiting on God for deliverance. Help had been so long delayed\nthat in one of the houses there was no bread, and in none of them any\nmilk or any money to buy either. It was only a few minutes before the\nmilkman's cart was due, that this money came.\n\nHowever faithful and trustful in prayer, it behooves us to be none the\nless careful and diligent in the use of all proper means. Here again Mr.\nMuller's whole life is a lesson to other believers. For example, when\ntravelling in other lands, or helping other brethren on their way, he\nbesought the Lord's constant guardianship over the conveyances used, and\neven over the luggage so liable to go astray. But he himself looked\ncarefully to the seaworthiness of the vessel he was to sail in, and to\nevery other condition of safe and speedy transportation for himself and\nothers. In one case where certain German brethren and sisters were\ndeparting for foreign shores, he noticed the manner in which the cabman\nstored away the small luggage in the fly; and observed that several\ncarpetbags were hastily thrust into a hind boot. He also carefully\ncounted the pieces of luggage and took note of the fact that there were\nseventeen in all. On arriving at the wharf, where there is generally\nmuch hurry and flurry, the dishonest cabman would have driven off with a\nlarge part of the property belonging to the party, but for this man of\nGod who not only _prayed_ but _watched._ He who trusted God implicitly,\nno less faithfully looked to the cabman's fidelity, who, after he\npretended to have delivered all the luggage to the porters, was\ncompelled to open that hind boot and, greatly to his own confusion,\ndeliver up the five or six bags hidden away there. Mr. Muller adds in\nhis Narrative that \"such a circumstance should teach one to make the\nvery smallest affairs a subject of prayer, as, for instance, that all\nthe luggage might be safely taken out of a fly.\" May we not add that\nsuch a circumstance teaches us that companion lesson, quite as important\nin its way, that we are to be watchful as well as prayerful, and see\nthat a dishonest cab-driver does not run off with another's goods!\n\nThis praying saint, who watched man, most of all watched God. Even in\nthe lesser details of his work, his eye was ever looking for God's\nunfailing supplies, and taking notice of the divine leadings and\ndealings; and, afterward, there always followed the fruit of the lips,\ngiving thanks to His name. Here is another secret revealed:\nprayerfulness and thankfulness--those two handmaidens Of God--always go\ntogether, each helping the other. \"Pray without ceasing: in everything\ngive thanks.\" (1 Thess. v. 17, 18.) These two precepts stand side by\nside where they belong, and he who neglects one will find himself\ndisobeying the other. This man who prayed so much and so well, offered\nthe sacrifice of praise to God continually.\n\nFor example, on September 21, 1840, a specific entry was made in the\nNarrative, so simple, childlike, and in every way characteristic, that\nevery word of it is precious.\n\n\"The Lord, to show His continued care over us, raises up new helpers.\nThey that trust in the Lord shall never be confounded. Some who helped\nfor a while may fall asleep in Jesus; others grow cold in the service of\nthe Lord; others be as desirous as ever to help, but no longer able; or,\nhaving means, feel it to be His will to lay them out in another way. But\nin leaning upon God, the Living God alone, we are BEYOND DISAPPOINTMENT\nand BEYOND _being forsaken because of death, or want of means, or want\nof love, or because of the claims of other work._ How precious to have\nlearned, in any measure, to be content to stand with God alone in the\nworld, and to know that surely no good thing shall be withheld from us,\nwhilst we walk uprightly!\"\n\nAmong the gifts received during this long life of stewardship for God\nsome deserve individual mention.\n\nTo an offering received in March, 1839, a peculiar history attaches. The\ncircumstances attending its reception made upon him a deep impression.\nHe had given a copy of the Annual Report to a believing brother who had\nbeen greatly stirred up to prayer by reading it; and knowing his own\nsister, who was also a disciple, to possess sundry costly ornaments and\njewels, such as a heavy gold chain, a pair of gold bracelets, and a\nsuperb ring set with fine brilliants, this brother besought the Lord so\nto show her the uselessness of such trinkets that she should be led to\nlay them all upon His altar as an offering for the orphan work. This\nprayer was literally answered. Her sacrifice of jewels proved of service\nto the work at a time of such pressing need that Mr. Muller's heart\nspecially rejoiced in God. By the proceeds of the sale of these\nornaments he was helped to meet the expenses of a whole week, and\nbesides to _pay the salaries_ due to the helpers. But, before disposing\nof the diamond ring, he wrote with it upon the window-pane of his own\nroom that precious name and title of the Lord--\"JEHOVAH JIREH\"--and\nhenceforth whenever, in deep poverty, he cast his eyes upon those two\nwords, imperishably written with the point of a diamond upon that pane,\nhe thankfully remembered that \"THE LORD WILL PROVIDE.\"\n\nHow many of his fellow believers might find unfailing refreshment and\ninspiration in dwelling upon the divine promises! Ancient believers were\nbidden to write God's words on the palms of their hands, the doorposts\nof their houses, and on their gates, so that the employments of their\nhands, their goings out and comings in, their personal and home life,\nmight be constant reminders of Jehovah's everlasting faithfulness. He\nwho inscribed this chosen name of God upon the window-pane of his\ndwelling, found that every ray of sunlight that shone into his room lit\nup his Lord's promise.\n\nHe thus sums up the experiences of the year 1840:\n\n1. Notwithstanding multiplied trials of faith, the orphans have lacked\nnothing.\n\n2. Instead of being disappointed in his expectations or work, the\nreverse had been true, such trials being seen to be needful to\ndemonstrate that the Lord was their Helper in times of need.\n\n3. Such a way of living brings the Lord very near, as one who daily\ninspects the need that He may send the more timely aid.\n\n4. Such constant, instant reliance upon divine help does not so absorb\nthe mind in temporal things as to unfit for spiritual employments and\nenjoyments; but rather prompts to habitual communion with the Lord and\nHis Word.\n\n5. Other children of God may not be called to a similar work, but are\ncalled to a like faith, and may experience similar interposition if they\nlive according to His will and seek His help.\n\n6. The incurring of debt, being unscriptural, is a sin needing\nconfession and abandonment if we desire unhindered fellowship with God,\nand experience of His interposition.\n\nIt was in this year 1840, also, that a further object was embraced in\nthe work of the Scripture Knowledge Institution, namely, the circulation\nof Christian books and tracts. But, as the continuance and enlargement\nof these benevolent activities made the needs greater, so, in answer to\nprayer, the Hand of the great Provider bestowed larger supplies.\n\nDivine interposition will never be doubted by one who, like George\nMuller, gives himself to prayer, for the coincidences will prove too\nexact and frequent between demand and supply, times and seasons of\nasking and answering, to allow of doubt that God has helped.\n\nThe 'ethics of language' embody many lessons. For example, the term\n'poetic retribution' describes a visitation of judgment where the\npenalty peculiarly befits the crime. As poetic lines harmonize, rhyme\nand rhythm showing the work of a designing hand, so there is often\nharmony between an offense and its retribution, as when Adonibezek, who\nhad afflicted a like injury upon threescore and five captive kings, had\nhis own thumbs and great toes cut off, or as when Haman was himself hung\non the gallows that he built for Mordecai. We read in Psalm ix. 16:\n\n       \"The Lord is known by the judgment which He executeth:\n        The wicked is snared in the work of his own hands.\"\n\nThe inspired thought is that the punishment of evil-doers is in such\nexact correspondence with the character of their evil doings as to show\nthat it is the Lord executing vengeance--the penalty shows a designing\nhand. He who watches the peculiar retributive judgments of God, how He\ncauses those who set snares and pitfalls for others to fall into them\nthemselves, will not doubt that behind such 'poetic retribution' there\nis an intelligent Judge.\n\nSomewhat so the poetic harmony between prayer and its answer silences\nall question as to a discriminating Hearer of the suppliant soul. A\nsingle case of such answered prayer might be accounted accidental; but,\never since men began to call upon the name of the Lord, there have been\nsuch repeated, striking, and marvelous correspondences between the\nrequests of man and the replies of God, that the inference is perfectly\nsafe, the induction has too broad a basis and too large a body of\nparticulars to allow mistake. The coincidences are both too many and too\nexact to admit the doctrine of _chance._ We are compelled, not to say\njustified, to conclude that the only sufficient and reasonable\nexplanation must be found in a God who hears and answers prayer.\n\nMr. Muller was not the only party to these transactions, nor the only\nperson thus convinced that God was in the whole matter of the work and\nits support. The _donors_ as well as the receiver were conscious of\ndivine leading.\n\nFrequent were the instances also when those who gave most timely help\nconveyed to Mr. Muller the knowledge of the experiences that accompanied\nor preceded their offerings; as, for example, when, without any\nintimation being given them from man that there was special need, the\nheart was impressed in prayer to God that there was an emergency\nrequiring prompt assistance.\n\nFor example, in June, 1841, fifty pounds were received with these words:\n_\"I am not concerned at my having been prevented for so many days from\nsending this money; I am confident it has not been needed.\"_\n\n\"This last sentence is remarkable,\" says Mr. Muller. \"It is now nearly\nthree years since our funds were for the first time exhausted, and only\nat this period, since then, could it have been said in truth, so far as\nI remember, that a donation of fifty pounds was _not_ needed. From the\nbeginning in July, 1838, till now, there never had been a period when we\nso abounded as when this donation came; for there were then, in the\norphan fund and the other funds, between two and three hundred pounds!\nThe words of our brother are so much the more remarkable as, on four\nformer occasions, when he likewise gave considerable donations, we were\nalways in need, yea, great need, which he afterwards knew from the\nprinted accounts.\"\n\nPrevailing prayer is largely conditioned on constant obedience.\n\"Whatsoever we ask we receive of Him, because we keep His commandments,\nand do those things which are well pleasing in His sight.\" (1 John iii.\n22.) There is no way of keeping in close touch with God unless a _new\nstep_ is taken in advance whenever _new light_ is given. Here is another\nof the life-secrets of George Muller. Without unduly counting the cost,\nhe followed every leading of God.\n\nIn July, 1841, both Mr. Craik and Mr. Muller were impressed that the\nexisting mode of receiving free-will offerings from those among whom\nthey laboured was inexpedient. These contributions were deposited in\nboxes, over which their names were placed with an explanation of the\npurpose to which such offerings were applied. But it was felt that this\nmight have the appearance of unduly elevating them above others, as\nthough they were assuming official importance, or excluding others from\nfull and equal recognition as labourers in word and doctrine. They\ntherefore decided to discontinue this mode of receiving such offerings.\n\nSuch an act of obedience may seem to some, over-scrupulous, but it cost\nsome inward struggles, for it threatened a possible and probable\ndecrease in supplies for their own needs, and the question naturally\narose how such lack should be supplied. Happily Mr. Muller had long ago\nsettled the question that _to follow a clear sense of duty is always\nsafe._ He could say, in every such crisis, \"O God, my heart is fixed, my\nheart is fixed, trusting in Thee.\" (Psalm cxii. 7.) Once for all having\nmade such a decision, such apparent risks did not for a moment disturb\nhis peace. Somehow or other the Lord would provide, and all he had to do\nwas to serve and trust Him and leave the rest to His Fatherhood.\n\nIn the autumn of 1841 it pleased God that, beyond any previous period,\nthere should be a severe test of faith. For some months the supplies had\nbeen comparatively abundant, but now, from day to day and from meal to\nmeal, the eye of faith had to be turned to the Lord, and,\nnotwithstanding continuance in prayer, _help seemed at times to fail,_\nso much so that it was a special sign of God's grace that, during this\nlong trial of delay, the confidence of Mr. Muller and his helpers did\nnot altogether give way. But he and they were held up, and he\nunwaveringly rested on the fatherly pity of God.\n\nOn one occasion a poor woman gave two pence, adding, \"It is but a\ntrifle, but I must give it to you.\" Yet so opportune was the gift of\nthese 'two mites' that _one of these two pence_ was just what was at\nthat time needed to make up the sum required to buy bread for immediate\nuse. At another time eight pence more being necessary to provide for the\nnext meal, but _seven_ pence were in hand; but on opening one of the\nboxes, _one penny_ only was found deposited, and thus a single penny was\ntraced to the Father's care.\n\nIt was in December of this same year, 1841, that, in order to show how\nsolely dependence was placed on a heavenly Provider, it was determined\nto _delay for a while_ both the holding of any public meeting and the\nprinting of the Annual Report. Mr. Muller was confident that, though no\nword should be either spoken or printed about the work and its needs,\nthe means would still be supplied. As a matter of fact the report of\n1841-2 was thus postponed for five months; and so, _in the midst of deep\npoverty_ and _partly because of the very pressure of such need,_ another\nbold step was taken, which, like the cutting away of the ropes that held\nthe life-boat, in that Mediterranean shipwreck, threw Mr. Muller, and\nall that were with him in the work, more completely on the promise and\nthe providence of God.\n\nIt might be inferred that, where such a decision was made, the Lord\nwould make haste to reward at once such courageous confidence. And yet,\nso mysterious are His ways, that never, up to that time, had Mr.\nMuller's faith been tried so sharply as between December 12, 1841, and\nApril 12, 1842. During these four months, again, it was as though God\nwere saying, \"I will now see whether indeed you truly lean on Me and\nlook to Me.\" At any time during this trial, Mr. Muller might have\nchanged his course, holding the public meeting and publishing the\nreport, for, outside the few who were in his councils, _no one knew of\nthe determination,_ and in fact many children of God, looking for the\nusual year's journal of 'The Lord's Dealings,' were surprised at the\ndelay. But the conclusion conscientiously reached was, for the glory of\nthe Lord, as steadfastly pursued, and again Jehovah Jireh revealed His\nfaithfulness.\n\nDuring this four months, on March 9, 1842, the need was so extreme that,\nhad no help come, the work could not have gone on. But, _on that day,_\nfrom a brother living near Dublin, ten pounds came: and the hand of the\nLord clearly appeared in this gift, for when the post had already come\nand no letter had come with it, there was a strong confidence suggested\nto Mr. Muller's mind that deliverance was at hand; and so it proved, for\npresently the letter was brought to him, having been delivered at one of\nthe other houses. During this same month, it was necessary once to\n_delay dinner for about a half-hour,_ because of a lack of supplies.\nSuch a postponement had scarcely ever been known before, and very rarely\nwas it repeated in the entire after-history of the work, though\nthousands of mouths had to be daily fed.\n\nIn the spring of 1843, Mr. Muller felt led to open a _fourth orphan\nhouse,_ the third having been opened nearly six years before. This step\nwas taken with his uniform conscientiousness, deliberation, and\nprayerfulness. He had seen many reasons for such enlargement of the\nwork, but he had said nothing about the matter even to his beloved wife.\nDay by day he waited on God in prayer, preferring to take counsel only\nof Him, lest he might do something in haste, move in advance of clear\nleading, or be biassed unduly by human judgment.\n\nUnexpected obstacles interfered with his securing the premises which had\nalready been offered and found suitable; but he was in no way\n'discomforted.' The burden of his prayer was, \"Lord, if _Thou_ hast no\nneed of another orphan house, _I_ have none\"; and he rightly judged that\nthe calm deliberation with which he had set about the whole matter, and\nthe unbroken peace with which he met new hindrances, were proofs that he\nwas following the guidance of God and not the motions of self-will.\n\nAs the public meeting and the publication of the Annual Report had been\npurposely postponed to show that no undue dependence was placed even on\nindirect appeals to man, much special prayer went up to God, that,\n_before July 15,_ 1844, when the public meeting was to be held, He would\nso richly supply all need that it might clearly appear that,\nnotwithstanding these lawful means of informing His servants concerning\nthe work had for a time not been used, the prayer of faith had drawn\ndown help from above. As the financial year had closed in May, it would\nbe more than _two years_ since the previous report had been made to the\npublic.\n\nGeorge Muller was jealous for the Lord God of hosts, He desired that\n\"even the shadow of ground might be cut off for persons to say, 'They\ncannot get any more money; and therefore they now publish another\nreport.'\" Hence, while, during the whole progress of the work, he\ndesired to stand with his Master, without heeding either the favourable\nor unfavourable judgments of men, he felt strongly that God would be\nmuch honoured and glorified as the prayer-hearing God if, before the\npublic had been at all apprised of the situation, an ample supply might\nbe given. In such case, instead of appearing to ask aid of men, he and\nhis associates would be able to witness to the church and the world,\nGod's faithfulness, and offer Him the praise of joyful and thankful\nhearts. As he had asked, so was it done unto him. Money and other\nsupplies came in, and, on the day before the accounts were closed, such\nliberal gifts, that there was a _surplus of over twenty pounds_ for the\nwhole work.\n\n\nCHAPTER XIII\n\nFOLLOWING THE PILLAR OF CLOUD AND FIRE\n\n\"THE steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord.\" (Psalm xxxvii. 23.)\nSome one quaintly adds, \"Yes, and the _stops, too!\"_ The pillar of cloud\nand fire is a symbol of that divine leadership which guides both as to\nforward steps and intervals of rest. Mr Muller found it blessed to\nfollow, one step at a time, as God ordered his way, and to stand still\nand wait when He seemed to call for a halt.\n\nAt the end of May, 1843, a crisis was reached, which was a new example\nof the experiences to which faith is liable in the walk with God; and a\nnew illustration of the duty and delight of depending upon Him in\neverything and for everything, habitually waiting upon Him, and trusting\nin Him to remove all hindrances in the way of service.\n\nSome eighteen months previously, a German lady from Wurtemberg had\ncalled to consult him as to her own plans, and, finding her a\ncomparative stranger to God, he spoke to her about her spiritual state,\nand gave her the first two parts of his Narrative. The perusal of these\npages was so blest to her that she was converted to God, and felt moved\nto translate the Narrative into her own tongue as a channel of similar\nblessing to other hearts.\n\nThis work of translation she partially accomplished, though somewhat\nimperfectly; and the whole occurrence impressed Mr. Muller as an\nindication that God was once more leading him in the direction of\nGermany, for another season of labour in his native land. Much prayer\ndeepened his persuasion that he had not misread God's signal, and that\nHis time had now fully come. He records some of the motives which led to\nthis conclusion.\n\n1. First, he yearned to encourage believing brethren who for conscience'\nsake had felt constrained to separate themselves from the state\nchurches, and meet for worship in such conditions as would more accord\nwith New Testament principles, and secure greater edification.\n\n2. Being a German himself, and therefore familiar with their language,\ncustoms, and habits of thought, he saw that he was fitted to wield a\nlarger influence among his fellow countrymen than otherwise.\n\n3. He was minded to publish his Narrative in his own tongue wherein he\nwas born, not so much in the form of a mere translation, as of an\nindependent record of his life's experiences such as would be specially\nsuited to its new mission.\n\n4. An effectual door was opened before him, and more widely than ever,\nespecially at Stuttgart; and although there were many adversaries, they\nonly made his help the more needful to those whose spiritual welfare was\nin peril.\n\n5. A distinct burden was laid on his heart, as from the Lord, which\nprayer, instead of relieving, increased--a burden which he _felt_\nwithout being able to explain--so that the determination to visit his\nnative land gave him a certain peace which he did not have when he\nthought of remaining at home.\n\nTo avoid mistake, with equal care he records the counter-arguments.\n\n1. The new orphan house, No. 4, was about to be opened, and his presence\nwas desirable if not needful.\n\n2. A few hundred pounds were needed, to be left with his helpers, for\ncurrent expenses in his absence.\n\n3. Money was also required for travelling expenses of himself and his\nwife, whose health called for a change.\n\n4. Funds would be needful to publish four thousand copies of his\nNarrative and avoid too high a market-price.\n\n5. A matron for the new orphan house was not yet found, suitable for the\nposition.\n\nIn this careful _weighing of matters_ many sincere disciples fail, prone\nto be impatient of delay in making decisions. Impulse too often sways,\nand self-willed plans betray into false and even disastrous mistakes.\nLife is too precious to risk one such failure. There is given us a\npromise of deep meaning:\n\n        \"The meek will He guide in judgment;\n        And the meek will He teach His way.\"\n                                (Psalm xxv. 9.)\n\nHere is a double emphasis upon _meekness_ as a condition of such\nguidance and teaching. _Meekness is a real preference for God's will._\nWhere this holy habit of mind exists, the whole being becomes so open to\nimpression that, without any _outward_ sign or token, there is an\n_inward_ recognition and choice of the will of God. God guides, not by a\nvisible sign, but by _swaying the judgment._ To wait before Him,\nweighing candidly in the scales every consideration for or against a\nproposed course, and in readiness to see which way the preponderance\nlies, is a frame of mind and heart in which one is fitted to be guided;\nand God touches the scales and makes the balance to sway as He will.\n_But our hands must be off the scales,_ otherwise we need expect no\ninterposition of His, in our favour. To return to the figure with which\nthis chapter starts, the meek soul simply and humbly waits, and _watches\nthe moving of the Pillar._\n\nOne sure sign of this spirit of meekness is the entire _restfulness_\nwith which apparent obstacles to any proposed plan or course are\nregarded. When waiting and wishing only to know and do God's will,\nhindrances will give no anxiety, but a sort of pleasure, as affording a\nnew opportunity for divine interposition. If it is the Pillar of God we\nare following, the Red Sea will not dismay us, for it will furnish but\nanother scene for the display of the power of Him who can make the\nwaters to stand up as an heap, and to become a wall about us as we go\nthrough the sea on dry ground.\n\nMr. Muller had learned this rare lesson, and in this case he says: _\"I\nhad a secret satisfaction in the greatness of the difficulties which\nwere in the way._ So far from being cast down on account of them, they\ndelighted my soul; for I only desired to do the will of the Lord in this\nmatter.\"\n\nHere is revealed another secret of holy serving. To him who sets the\nLord always before him, and to whom the will of God is his delight,\nthere pertains a habit of soul which, in advance settles a thousand\ndifficult and perplexing questions.\n\nThe case in hand is an illustration of the blessing found in such meek\npreference for God's pleasure. If it were the will of the Lord that this\nContinental tour should be undertaken at that time, difficulties need\nnot cast him down; for the _difficulties could not be of God;_ and, if\nnot of God, they should give him no unrest, for, in answer to prayer,\nthey would all be removed. If, on the other hand, this proposed visit to\nthe Continent were _not_ God's plan at all, but only the fruit of\nself-will; if some secret, selfish, and perhaps subtle motive were\ncontrolling, then indeed hindrances might well be interferences of God,\ndesigned to stay his steps. In the latter case, Mr. Muller rightly\njudged that difficulties in the way would naturally vex and annoy him;\nthat he would not like to look at them, and would seek to remove them by\nhis own efforts. Instead of giving him an inward satisfaction as\naffording God an opportunity to intervene in his behalf, they would\narouse impatience and vexation, as preventing self-will from carrying\nout its own purposes.\n\nSuch discriminations have only to be stated to any spiritual mind, to\nhave their wisdom at once apparent. Any believing child of God may\nsafely gauge the measure of his surrender to the will of God, in any\nmatter, by the measure of impatience he feels at the obstacles in the\nway; for in proportion as self-will sways him, whatever seems to oppose\nor hinder his plans will disturb or annoy; and, instead of quietly\nleaving all such hindrances and obstacles to the Lord, to deal with them\nas He pleases, in His own way and time, the wilful disciple will,\nimpatiently and in the energy of the flesh, set himself to remove them\nby his own scheming and struggling, and he will brook no delay.\n\nWhenever Satan acts as a hinderer (1 Thess. ii. 18) the obstacles which\nhe puts in our way need not dismay us; God permits them to delay or\ndeter us for the time, only as a test of our patience and faith, and the\nsatanic hinderer will be met by a divine Helper who will sweep away all\nhis obstacles, as with the breath of His mouth.\n\nMr. Muller felt this, and he waited on God for light and help. But,\nafter forty days' waiting, the hindrances, instead of decreasing, seemed\nrather to increase. Much more money was spent than was sent in; instead\nof finding another suitable matron, a sister, already at work, was\nprobably about to withdraw, so that two vacancies would need to be\nfilled instead of one. Yet his rest and peace of mind were unbroken.\nBeing persuaded that he was yielded up to the will of God, faith not\nonly held him to his purpose, but saw the obstacles already surmounted,\nso that he gave thanks in advance. Because Caleb \"followed the Lord\nfully,\" even the giant sons of Anak with their walled cities and\nchariots of iron had for him no terrors. Their defence was departed from\nthem, but the Lord was with His believing follower, and made him strong\nto drive them out and take possession of their very stronghold as his\nown inheritance.\n\nDuring this period of patient waiting, Mr. Muller remarked to a\nbelieving sister: \"Well, my soul is at peace. The Lord's time is not yet\ncome; but, when it is come, He will blow away all these obstacles, as\nchaff is blown away before the wind.\" _A quarter of an hour later,_ a\ngift of seven hundred pounds became available for the ends in view, so\nthat three of the five hindrances to this Continental tour were at once\nremoved. All travelling expenses for himself and wife, all necessary\nfunds for the home work for two months in advance, and all costs of\npublishing the Narrative in German, were now provided. This was on July\n12th; and so soon afterward were the remaining impediments out of the\nway that, by August 9th, Mr. and Mrs. Muller were off for Germany.\n\nThe trip covered but seven months: and on March 6, 1844, they were once\nmore in Bristol. During this sojourn abroad no journal was kept, but Mr.\nMuller's letters serve the purpose of a record. Rotterdam, Weinheim,\nCologne, Mayence, Stuttgart, Heidelberg, etc., were visited, and Mr.\nMuller distributed tracts and conversed with individuals by the way; but\nhis main work was to expound the Word in little assemblies of believers,\nwho had separated themselves from the state church on account of what\nthey deemed errors in teaching, practice, modes of worship, etc.\n\nThe first hour of his stay at Stuttgart brought to him one of the\nsharpest trials of faith he had ever thus far experienced. The nature of\nit he does not reveal in his journal, but it now transpires that it was\ndue to the recalling of the seven hundred pounds, the gift of which had\nled to his going to Germany. This fact could not at the time be recorded\nbecause the party would feel it a reproach. Nor was this the only test\nof faith during his sojourn abroad; in fact so many, so great, so\nvaried, and so prolonged were some of these trials, as to call into full\nexercise all the wisdom and grace which he had received from God, and\nwhatever lessons he had previously learned in the school of experience\nbecame now of use. Yet not only was his peace undisturbed, but he bears\nwitness that the conviction so rooted itself in his inmost being that in\nall this God's goodness was being shown, that he would have had nothing\ndifferent. The greatest trials bore fruit in the fullest blessings and\nsometimes in clusters of blessings. It particularly moved him to adoring\nwonder and praise to see God's wisdom in having delayed his visit until\nthe very time when it occurred. Had he gone any earlier he would have\ngone too soon, lacking the full experience necessary to confront the\nperplexities of his work. When darkness seemed to obscure his way, faith\nkept him expectant of light, or at least of guidance in the darkness;\nand he found that promise to be literally fulfilled:\n\n\"As thou goest, step by step, the way shall open up before thee.\" (See\nthe Hebrew, of Prov. iv. 12.)\n\nAt Stuttgart he found and felt, like Jude, that it was \"needful\nearnestly to contend for the faith once delivered to the saints.\" Even\namong believers, errors had found far too deep root. Especially was\nundue stress laid upon _baptism,_ which was made to occupy a prominence\nand importance out of all due proportion of faith. One brother had been\nteaching that without it there is no new birth, and that, consequently,\nno one could, before baptism, claim the forgiveness of sins; that the\napostles were not born from above until the day of Pentecost, and that\nour Lord Himself had not been new-born until His own baptism, and had\nthence, for the rest of His mortal life, ceased to be under the law!\nMany other fanciful notions were found to prevail, such as that baptism\nis the actual death of the old man by drowning, and that it is a\ncovenant with the believer into which God enters; that it is a sin to\nbreak bread with unbaptized believers or with members of the state\nchurch; and that the bread and the cup used in the Lord's Supper not\nonly mean but are the very body and blood of the Lord, etc.\n\nA more serious and dangerous doctrine which it was needful to confront\nand confute was what Mr. Muller calls that \"awful error,\" spread almost\nuniversally among believers in that land, that at last \"all will be\nsaved,\" not-sinful men only, but \"even the devils themselves.\"\n\nCalmly and courteously, but firmly and courageously, these and kindred\nerrors were met with the plain witness of the Word. Refutation of false\nteaching aroused a spirit of bitterness in opposers of the truth, and,\nas is too often the case, faithful testimony was the occasion of\nacrimony; but the Lord stood by His servant and so strengthened him that\nhe was kept both faithful and peaceful.\n\nOne grave practical lack which Mr. Muller sought to remedy was ignorance\nof those deeper truths of the Word, which relate to the power and\npresence of the Holy Spirit of God in the church, and to the ministry of\nsaints, one to another, as fellow members in the body of Christ, and as\nthose to whom that same Spirit divides severally, as He will, spiritual\ngifts for service. As a natural result of being untaught in these\nimportant practical matters, believers' meetings had proved rather\nopportunities for unprofitable talk than godly edifying which is in\nfaith. The only hope of meeting such errors and supplying such lack lay\nin faithful scripture teaching, and he undertook for a time to act as\nthe sole teacher in these gatherings, that the word of God might have\nfree course and be glorified. Afterward, when there seemed to be among\nthe brethren some proper apprehension of vital spiritual truths, with\nhis usual consistency and humility he resumed his place as simply a\nbrother among fellow believers, all of whom had liberty to teach as the\nSpirit might lead and guide. There was, however, no shrinking from any\nduty or responsibility laid upon him by larger, clearer acquaintance\nwith truth, or more complete experience of its power. When called by the\nvoice of his brethren to expound the Word in public assemblies, he\ngladly embraced all opportunities for further instruction out of Holy\nScripture and of witness to God. With strong emphasis he dwelt upon the\npresiding presence of the Blessed Spirit in all assemblies of saints,\nand upon the duty and privilege of leaving the whole conduct of such\nassemblies to His divine ordering; and in perfect accord, with such\nteaching he showed that the Holy Spirit, if left free to administer all\nthings, would lead such brethren to speak, at such times and on such\nthemes as He mighty please; and that, whenever their desires and\npreferences were spiritual and not carnal, such choice of the Spirit\nwould always be in harmony with their own.\n\nThese views of the Spirit's administration in the assemblies of\nbelievers, and of His manifestation in all believers for common profit,\nfully accord with scripture teaching. (1 Cor. xii., Romans xii., Ephes.\niv., etc.) Were such views practically held in the church of this day, a\nradical revolution would be wrought and a revival of apostolic faith and\nprimitive church life would inevitably follow. No one subject is perhaps\nmore misunderstood, or less understood, even among professed believers,\nthan the person, offices, and functions of the Spirit of God. John Owen,\nlong since, suggested that the practical test of soundness in the faith,\nduring the present gospel age, is _the attitude of the church toward the\nHoly Spirit._ If so, the great apostasy cannot be far off, if indeed it\nis not already upon us, for there is a shameful ignorance and\nindifference prevalent, as to the whole matter of His claim to holy\nreverence and obedience.\n\nIn connection with this visit to Germany, a curious misapprehension\nexisted, to which a religious periodical had given currency, that Mr.\nMuller was deputed by the English Baptists to labour among German\nBaptists to bring them back to the state church. This rumour was of\ncourse utterly unfounded, but he had no chance to correct it until just\nbefore his return to Britain, as he had not until then heard of it. The\nLord had allowed this false report to spread and had used it to serve\nHis own ends, for it was due in part to this wrong impression of Mr.\nMuller's mission that he was not molested or interfered with by the\nofficers of the government. Though for months openly and undisguisedly\nteaching vital gospel truths among believers who had separated from the\nestablished church, he had suffered no restraint, for, so long as it was\nthought that his mission in Germany was to reclaim to the fold of the\nstate church those who had wandered away, he would of course be liable\nto no interference from state officials.\n\nThe Lord went before His servant also in preparing the way for the\npublishing of his Narrative, guiding him to a bookseller who undertook\nits sale on commission, enabling the author to retain two thousand\ncopies to give away, while the rest were left to be sold.\n\nMr. Muller, about this time, makes special mention of his joy and\ncomfort in the spiritual blessing attending his work, and the present\nand visible good, wrought through the publication of his Narrative. Many\nbelievers had been led to put more faith in the promises of the great\nProvider, and unbelievers had been converted by their perusal of the\nsimple story of the Lord's dealings; and these tidings came from every\nquarter where the Narrative had as yet found its way.\n\nThe name of Henry Craik, hitherto affixed to every report together with\nGeorge Muller's, appears for the last time in the Report of 1844. This\nwithdrawal of his name resulted, not from any division of feeling or\ndiminution of sympathy, but solely from Mr. Craik's conviction that the\nhonour of being used of God as His instrument in forwarding the great\nwork of the Scriptural Knowledge Institution belonged solely to George\nMuller.\n\nThe trials of faith ceased not although the occasions of praise were so\nmultiplied. On September 4, 1844, day-dawn, but one farthing was left on\nhand, and hundred and forty mouths were to be fed at breakfast!'\n\nThe lack of money and such supplies was, however, only one form of these\ntests of faith and incentives to prayer. Indeed he accounted these the\nlightest of his burdens, for there were other cares and anxieties that\ncalled for greater exercise of faith resolutely to cast them on Him who,\nin exchange for solicitude, gives His own perfect peace. What these\ntrials were, any thoughtful mind must at once see who remembers how\nthese many orphans were needing, not only daily supplies of food and\nclothing, but education, in mind and in morals; preparation for, and\nlocation in, suitable homes; careful guards about their health and every\npossible precaution and provision to prevent disease; also the character\nof all helpers must be carefully investigated before they were admitted,\nand their conduct carefully watched afterward lest any unworthy or\nunqualified party should find a place, or be retained, in the conduct of\nthe work.\n\nThese and other matters, too many to be individually mentioned, had to\nbe borne daily to the great Helper, without whose Everlasting Arms they\ncould not have been carried. And Mr. Muller seeks constantly to impress\non all who read his pages or heard his voice, the perfect\ntrustworthiness of God. For any and all needs of the work help was\nalways given, and _it never once came too late._ However poor, and\nhowever long the suppliant believer waits on God, he never fails to get\nhelp, if he trusts the promises and is in the path of duty. Even the\ndelay in answered prayer serves a purpose. God permits us to call on Him\nwhile He answers not a word, both to test our faith and importunity, and\nto encourage others who hear of His dealings with us.\n\nAnd so it was that, whether there were on hand much or little, by God's\ngrace the founder of these institutions remained untroubled, confident\nthat deliverance would surely come in the best way and time, not only\nwith reference to temporal wants, but in all things needful.\n\nDuring the history of the Institution thus far, enlargement had been its\nlaw. Mr. Muller's heart grew in capacity for larger service, and his\nfaith in capacity for firmer confidence, so that while he was led to\nattempt greater things for God, he was led also to expect greater things\nfrom God. Those suggestive words of Christ to Nathanael have often\nprompted like larger expectations: \"Believest thou? thou shalt see\ngreater things than these.\" (John i. 50.)\n\nIn the year 1846, _the wants of the mission field_ took far deeper hold\nof him than ever before. He had already been giving aid to brethren\nabroad, in British Guiana and elsewhere, as well as in fields nearer at\nhome. But he felt a strong yearning to be used of God more largely in\nsending to their fields and supporting in their labours, the chosen\nservants of the Lord who were working on a scriptural basis and were in\nneed of help. He had observed that whenever God had put into his heart\nto devise liberal things, He had put into his hand the means to carry\nout such liberal purposes; and from this time forth he determined, as\nfar as God should enable him, to aid brethren of good report, labouring\nin word and doctrine, throughout the United Kingdom, who were faithful\nwitnesses to God and were receiving no regular salary. The special\nobject he had in view was to give a helping hand to such as for the sake\nof conscience and of Christ had relinquished former stipends or worldly\nemoluments.\n\nWhatever enlargement took place in the work, however, it was no sign of\n_surplus funds._ Every department of service or new call of duty had\nseparate and prayerful consideration. Advance steps were taken only when\nand where and so fast as the Pillar moved, and fresh work was often\nundertaken at a time when there was a lack rather than an abundance of\nmoney.\n\nSome who heard of Mr. Muller's absence in Germany inferred plenty of\nfunds on hand--a conclusion that was neither true nor legitimate. At\ntimes when poverty was most pressing, additional expenditure was not\navoided nor new responsibility evaded if, after much prayer, the Lord\nseemed plainly leading in that direction. And it was beautiful to see\nhow He did not permit any existing work to be embarrassed because at His\nbidding new work was Undertaken.\n\nOne great law for all who would be truly led by God's Pillar of cloud\nand fire, is to take no step at the bidding of self-will or without the\nclear moving of the heavenly Guide. Though the direction be new and the\nway seem beset with difficulty, there is never any risk, provided we are\nonly led of God. Each new advance needs separate and special authority\nfrom Him, and yesterday's guidance is not sufficient for to-day.\n\nIt is important also to observe that, if one branch of the work is in\nstraits, it is not necessarily a reason for abandoning another form of\nservice. The work of God depends on Him alone. If the whole tree is His\nplanting, we need not cut off one limb to save another. The whole body\nis His, and, if one member is weak, it is not necessary to cut off\nanother to make it strong, for the strength of the whole body is the\ndependence of every part. In our many-branching service each must get\nvitality and vigour from the same source in God. Nevertheless let us not\nforget that the _stops,_ as well as the _steps,_ of a good man are\nordered of the Lord. If the work is His work, let Him control it, and,\nwhether we expand or contract, let it be at His bidding, and a matter of\nequal satisfaction to His servant.\n\n\nCHAPTER XIV\n\nGOD'S BUILDING: THE NEW ORPHAN HOUSES\n\nHow complex are the movements of God's providence! Some events are\nthemselves eventful. Like the wheels in Ezekiel's vision--a wheel in the\nmiddle of a wheel,--they involve other issues within their mysterious\nmechanism, and constitute epochs of history. Such an epochal event was\nthe building of the first of the New Orphan Houses on Ashley Down.\n\nAfter October, 1845, it became clear to Mr. Muller that the Lord was\nleading in this direction. Residents on Wilson Street had raised\nobjections to the noise made by the children, especially in play hours;\nthe playgrounds were no longer large enough for so many orphans; the\ndrainage was not adequate, nor was the situation of the rented houses\nfavourable, for proper sanitary conditions; it was also desirable to\nsecure ground for cultivation, and thus supply outdoor work for the\nboys, etc. Such were some of the reasons which seemed to demand the\nbuilding of a new orphan house; and the conviction steadily gained\nground that the highest well-being of all concerned would be largely\npromoted if a suitable site could be found on which to erect a building\nadapted to the purpose.\n\nThere were objections to building which were carefully weighed: money in\nlarge sums would be needed; planning and constructing would severely tax\ntime and strength; wisdom and oversight would be in demand at every\nstage of the work; and the question arose whether such permanent\nstructures befit God's pilgrim people, who have here no continuing city\nand believe that the end of all things is at hand.\n\nContinuance in prayer, however, brought a sense of quiet and restful\nconviction that all objections were overbalanced by other and favourable\nconsiderations. One argument seemed particularly weighty: Should God\nprovide large amounts of money for this purpose, it would still further\nillustrate the power of prayer, offered in faith, to command help from\non high. A lot of ground, spacious enough, would, at the outset, cost\nthousands of pounds; but why should this daunt a true child of God whose\nFather was infinitely rich? Mr. Muller and his helpers sought day by day\nto be guided of God, and, as faith fed on this daily bread of contact\nwith Him, the assurance grew strong that help would come. Shortly Mr.\nMuller was as sure of this as though the building already stood before\nhis eyes, though for five weeks not one penny had been sent in for this\npurpose. Meanwhile there went on that searching scrutiny of his own\nheart by which he sought to know whether any hidden motive of a selfish\nsort was swaying his will; but as strict self-examination brought to\nlight no conscious purpose but to glorify God, in promoting the good of\nthe orphans, and provoking to larger trust in God all who witnessed the\nwork, it was judged to be God's will that he should go forward.\n\nIn November of this year, he was much encouraged by a visit from a\nbelieving brother* who bade him go on in the work, but wisely impressed\non him the need of asking for wisdom from above, at every step, seeking\nGod's help in showing him the plan for the building, that all details\nmight accord with the divine mind. On the thirty-sixth day after\nspecific prayer had first been offered about this new house, on December\n10, 1845, Mr. Muller received _one thousand pounds_ for this purpose,\nthe largest sum yet received _in one donation_ since the work had begun,\nMarch 5, 1834. Yet he was as calm and composed as though the gift had\nbeen only a shilling; having full faith in God, as both guiding and\nproviding, he records that he would not have been surprised had the\namount been five or ten times greater.\n\n* Robert C. Chapman, of Barnstaple, yet living--and whom Mr. Muller\ncherished as his \"oldest friend.\"\n\nThree days later, a Christian architect in London voluntarily offered\nnot only to draught the plans, but gratuitously to superintend the\nbuilding! This offer had been brought about in a manner so strange as to\nbe naturally regarded as a new sign and proof of God's approval and a\nfresh pledge of His sure help. Mr. Muller's sister-in-law, visiting the\nmetropolis, had met this architect; and, finding him much interested to\nknow more of the work of which he had read in the narrative, she had\ntold him of the purpose to build; whereupon, without either solicitation\nor expectation on her part, this cheerful offer was made. Not only was\nthis architect not urged by her, but he pressed his proposal, himself,\nurged on by his deep interest in the orphan work. Thus, within forty\ndays, the first thousand pounds had been given in answer to prayer, and\na pious man, as yet unseen and unknown by Mr. Muller, had been led to\noffer his services in providing plans for the new building and\nsuperintending its erection. Surely God was moving before His servant.\n\nFor a man, personally penniless, to attempt to erect such a house, on\nsuch a scale, without appeal to man and in sole dependence on God was no\nsmall venture of faith.\n\nThe full risk involved in such an undertaking, and the full force of the\ntestimony which it has since afforded to a prayer-hearing God, can be\nfelt only as the full weight of the responsibility is appreciated and\nall the circumstances are duly considered.\n\nFirst of all, ground must be bought, and it must comprise six or seven\nacres, and the site must be in or near Bristol; for Mr. Muller's general\nsphere of work was in the city, the orphans and their helpers should be\nwithin reasonable reach of their customary meeting-place, and on many\nother accounts such nearness to the city was desirable. But such a site\nwould cost from two thousand to three thousand pounds.\n\nNext the building must be constructed, fitted up, and furnished, with\naccommodations for three hundred orphans and their overseers, teachers,\nand various helpers. However plain the building and its furnishings, the\ntotal cost would reach from three to four times the price of the site.\n\nThen, the annual cost of keeping such house open and of maintaining such\na large body of inmates would be four or five thousand pounds more.\n\nHere, then, was a prospective outlay of somewhere between ten thousand\nand fifteen thousand pounds, for site and building, with a further\nexpense of one third as much more every year. No man so poor as George\nMuller, if at the same time sane, would ever have _thought_ of such a\ngigantic scheme, much less have undertaken to work it out, if his faith\nand hope were not fixed on God. Mr. Muller himself confesses that here\nlay his whole secret. He was not driven onward by any self-seeking, but\ndrawn onward by a conviction that he was doing the will of God. When\nConstantine was laying out on a vast scale the new capital on the\nBosphorus, he met the misgivings of those about him who wondered at his\naudacity, by simply saying, \"I am following One who is leading me.\"\nGeorge Muller's scheme was not self-originated. He followed One who was\nleading him; and, because confident and conscious of such guidance, he\nhad only to follow, trust, and wait.\n\nIn proportion as the undertaking was great, he desired God's hand to be\nvery clearly seen. Hence he forbore even to seem prominent: he issued no\ncircular, announcing his purpose, and spoke of it only to the few who\nwere in his councils, and even then only as conversation led in that\ndirection. He remembered the promise, \"I will guide thee with Mine eye,\"\nand looking up to God, he took no step unless the divine glance or beck\nmade duty \"clear as daylight.\" As he saw the matter, his whole business\nwas to wait on God in prayer with faith and patience.\n\nThe assurance became doubly sure that _God would build for Himself_ a\nlarge orphan house near Bristol, to show to all, near and far, what a\nblessed privilege it is to trust in Him. He desired God Himself so\nmanifestly to act as that he should be seen by all men to be nothing but\nHis instrument, passive in His hands. Meanwhile he went on with his\ndaily search into the Word, where he found instruction so rich, and\nencouragement so timely, that the Scriptures seemed written for his\nspecial use--to convey messages to him from above. For example, in the\nopening of the Book of Ezra, he saw how God, when His time had fully\ncome for the return of His exiled people to their own land and for the\nrebuilding of His Temple, used Cyrus, an idolatrous king, to issue an\nedict, and to provide means for carrying out His own unknown purpose. He\nsaw also how God stirred up the people to help the returning exiles in\ntheir work; and he said to himself, this same God can and will, in His\nown way, supply the money and all the needed help of man, stirring up\nthe hearts of His own children to aid as He may please.\n\nThe first donations toward the work themselves embody a suggestive\nlesson. On December 10th, one thousand pounds had been given in one sum;\ntwenty days later, fifty pounds more; and the next day, three and\nsixpence, followed, the same evening, by a second gift of a thousand\npounds. Shortly after, a little bag, made of foreign seeds, and a flower\nwrought of shells, were sent to be sold for the fund; and, in connection\nwith these last gifts, of very little inherent value, a promise was\nquoted, which had been prominently before the giver's mind, and which\nbrought more encouragement to Mr. Muller than any mere sum of money:\n\n       \"Who art thou, O great mountain?\n        Before Zerubbabel, thou shalt become a plain!\"\n                                        (Zech. iv. 7.)\n\nGifts, however large, were never estimated by intrinsic worth, but as\ntokens of God's working in the minds of His people, and of His gracious\nworking with and through His servant; and, for this reason, a thousand\npounds caused no more sincere praise to God and no more excitement of\nmind than the fourpence given subsequently by a poor orphan.\n\nSpecially asking the Lord to go before him, Mr. Muller now began to seek\na suitable _site._ About four weeks passed in seemingly fruitless\nsearch, when he was strongly impressed that very soon the Lord would\ngive the ground, and he so told his helpers on the evening of Saturday,\nJanuary 31, 1846. Within two days, his mind was drawn to _Ashley Down,_\nwhere he found lots singularly suited for his needs. Shortly after, he\ncalled twice on the owner, once at his house and again at his office;\nbut on both occasions failing to find him, he only left a message. He\njudged that God's hand was to be seen _even in his not finding the man\nhe sought,_ and that, having twice failed the same day, he was not to\npush the matter as though self-willed, but patiently wait till the\nmorrow. When he did find the owner, his patience was unexpectedly\nrewarded. He confessed that he had spent two wakeful hours in bed,\nthinking about his land, and about what reply he should make to Mr.\nMuller's inquiry as to its sale for an orphan house; and that he had\ndetermined, if it were applied for, to ask but one hundred and twenty\npounds an acre, instead of two hundred, his previous price.\n\nThe bargain was promptly completed; and thus the Lord's servant, by not\nbeing in a hurry, saved, in the purchase of the site of seven acres,\nfive hundred and sixty pounds! Mr. Muller had asked the Lord to go\nbefore him, and He had done so in a sense he had not thought of, first\nspeaking about the matter to the owner, holding his eyes waking till He\nhad made clear to him, as His servant and steward, what He would have\nhim do in the sale of that property.*\n\n* Appendix G.\n\nSix days after, came the formal offer from the London architect of his\nservices in surveying, in draughting plans, elevations, sections, and\nspecifications, and in overseeing the work of construction; and a week\nlater he came to Bristol, saw the site, and pronounced it in all\nrespects well fitted for its purpose.\n\nUp to June 4, 1846, the total sum in hand for the building was a little\nmore than twenty-seven hundred pounds, a small part only of the sum\nneedful; but Mr. Muller felt no doubt that in God's own time all that\nwas required would be given. Two hundred and twelve days he had been\nwaiting on God for the way to be opened for building, and he resolved to\nwait still further until the _whole sum_ was in hand, using for the\npurpose only such gifts as were specified or left free for that end. He\nalso wisely decided that others must henceforth share the burden, and\nthat he would look out ten brethren of honest report, full of the Holy\nGhost and of wisdom, to act as trustees to hold and administer this\nproperty in God's name. He felt that, as this work was now so enlarging,\nand the foundations of a permanent Institution were to be laid, the\nChristian public, who would aid in its erection and support, would be\nentitled to a representation in its conduct. At such a point as this\nmany others have made a serious mistake, forfeiting confidence by\nadministering public benefactions in a private manner and an autocratic\nspirit--their own head being the office, and their own pocket the\ntreasury, of a public and benevolent institution.\n\nSatan again acted as a hinderer. After the ground for the new orphan\nhouse had been found, bought and paid for, unforeseen obstacles\nprevented prompt possession; but Mr. Muller's peace was not disturbed,\nknowing even hindrances to be under God's control. If the Lord should\nallow one piece of land to be taken from him, it would only be because\nHe was about to give him one still better; and so the delay only proved\nhis faith and perfected his patience.\n\nOn July 6th, two thousand pounds were given--twice as large a gift as\nhad yet come in one donation; and, on January 25, 1847, another like\noffering, so that, on July 5th following, the work of building began.\nSix months later, after four hundred days of waiting upon God for this\nnew orphan house, nine thousand pounds had been given in answer to\nbelieving prayer.\n\nAs the new building approached completion, with its three hundred large\nwindows, and requiring full preparation for the accommodation of about\nthree hundred and thirty inmates, although above eleven thousand pounds\nhad been provided, several thousand more were necessary. But Mr. Muller\nwas not only helped, but far beyond his largest expectations. Up to May\n26, 1848, these latter needs existed, and, had but _one_ serious\ndifficulty remained unremoved, the result must have been failure. But\nall the necessary money was obtained, and even more, and all the helpers\nwere provided for the oversight of the orphans. On June 18, 1849, more\nthan twelve years after the beginning of the work, the orphans began to\nbe transferred from the four rented houses on Wilson Street to the new\norphan house on Ashley Down. Five weeks passed before fresh applicants\nwere received, that everything about the new institution might first be\nbrought into complete order by some experience in its conduct. By May\n26, 1850, however, there were in the house two hundred and seventy-five\nchildren, and the whole number of inmates was three hundred and eight.\n\nThe name--\"The New Orphan _House\"_ rather than _\"Asylum\"_--was chosen to\ndistinguish it from another institution, near by; and particularly was\nit requested that it might never be known as _\"Mr. Muller's_ Orphan\nHouse,\" lest undue prominence be given to one who had been merely God's\ninstrument in its erection. He esteemed it a sin to appropriate even\nindirectly, or allow others to attribute to him, any part of the glory\nwhich belonged solely to Him who had led in the work, given faith and\nmeans for it, and helped in it from first to last. The property was\nplaced in the hands of eleven trustees, chosen by Mr. Muller, and the\ndeeds were enrolled in chancery. Arrangements were made that the house\nshould be open to visitors only on Wednesday afternoons, as about one\nhour and a half were necessary to see the whole building.\n\nScarcely were the orphans thus housed on Ashley Down, before Mr.\nMuller's heart felt enlarged desire that one thousand, instead of three\nhundred, might enjoy such privileges of temporal provision and spiritual\ninstruction; and, before the new year, 1851, had dawned, this yearning\nhad matured into a purpose. With his uniform carefulness and\nprayerfulness, he sought to be assured that he was not following\nself-will, but the will of God; and again in the scales of a pious\njudgment the reasons for and against were conscientiously weighed. Would\nhe be going 'beyond his measure,' spiritually, or naturally? Was not the\nwork, with its vast correspondence and responsibility, already\nsufficiently great? Would not a new orphan house for three hundred\norphans cost another fifteen thousand pounds, or, if built for seven\nhundred, with the necessary ground, thirty-five thousand? And, even when\nbuilt and fitted and filled, would there not be the providing for daily\nwants, which is a perpetual care, and cannot be paid for at once like a\nsite and a building? It would demand eight thousand pounds annual outlay\nto provide for another seven hundred little ones. To all objections the\none all-sufficient answer was the all-sufficient God; and, because Mr.\nMuller's eye was on His power, wisdom, and riches, his own weakness,\nfolly, and poverty were forgotten. Another objection was suggested: What\nif he should succeed in thus housing and feeding a thousand poor waifs,\nwhat would become of the institution _after his death?_ The reply is\nmemorable: \"My business is, with all my might, to _serve my own\ngeneration by the will of God:_ in so doing I shall best serve the next\ngeneration, should the Lord Jesus tarry.\" Were such objection valid, it\nwere as valid against beginning any work likely to outlive the worker.\nAnd Mr. Muller remembered how Francke at Halle had to meet the same\nobjection when, now over two hundred years ago, he founded the largest\ncharitable establishment which, up to 1851, existed in the world. But\nwhen, after about thirty years of personal superintendence, Francke was\ntaken away, his son-in-law, as we have seen, became the director. That\nfellow countryman who had spoken to Mr. Muller's soul in 1826, thus\ntwenty-five years later encouraged him to go forward, to do his own duty\nand leave the future to the Eternal God.\n\nSeveral reasons are recorded by Mr. Muller as specially influencing\nstill further advance: the many applications that could not, for want of\nroom, be accepted; the low moral state of the poorhouses to which these\nchildren of poverty were liable to be sent; the large number of\ndistressing cases of orphanhood, known to be deserving of help; the\nprevious experiences of the Lord's gracious leading and of the work\nitself; his calmness in view of the proposed expansion; and the\nspiritual blessing possible to a larger number of homeless children. But\none reason overtopped all others: an enlarged service to man, attempted\nand achieved solely in dependence upon God, would afford a\ncorrespondingly weightier witness to the Hearer of prayer. These\nreasons, here recorded, will need no repetition in connection with\nsubsequent expansions of the work, for, at every new stage of advance,\nthey were what influenced this servant of God.\n\nOn January 4, 1851, another offering was received, of three thousand\npounds--the largest single donation up to that date--which, being left\nentirely to his own disposal, encouraged him to go forward.\n\nAgain, he kept his own counsel. Up to January 25th, he had not\nmentioned, even to his own wife, his thought of a further forward\nmovement, feeling that, to avoid all mistakes, he must first of all get\nclear light from God, and not darken it by misleading human counsel. Not\nuntil the Twelfth Report of the Scriptural Knowledge Institution was\nissued, was the public apprised of his purpose, with God's help to\nprovide for seven hundred more needy orphans.\n\nUp to October 2, 1851, only about eleven hundred pounds had been given\ndirectly toward the second proposed orphan house, and, up to May 26th\nfollowing, a total of some thirty-five hundred pounds. But George Muller\nremembered one who, \"after he had patiently endured, obtained the\npromise.\" He had waited over two years before all means needful for the\nfirst house had been supplied, and could wait still longer, if so God\nwilled it, for the answers to present prayers for means to build a\nsecond.\n\nAfter waiting upwards of nineteen months for the building fund for the\nsecond house, and receiving, almost daily, something in answer to\nprayer, on January 4, 1853, he had intimation that there were about to\nbe paid him, as _the joint donation of several Christians, eighty-one\nhundred pounds,_ of which he appropriated six thousand for the building\nfund. Again he was not surprised nor excited, though exceeding joyful\nand triumphant in God. Just two years previous, when recording the\nlargest donation yet received,--three thousand pounds,--he had recorded\nalso his expectation of still greater things; and now a donation between\ntwo and three times as large was about to come into his hands. It was\nnot the amount of money, however, that gave him his overflowing delight,\nbut the fact that not in vain had he made his boast in God.\n\nAs now some four hundred and eighty-three orphans were waiting for\nadmission, he was moved to pray that soon the way might be opened for\nthe new building to be begun. James i. 4 was deeply impressed upon him\nas the injunction now to be kept before him: \"But let patience have her\nperfect work, that ye may be perfect, and entire, wanting nothing.\"\n\nOn May 26, 1853, the total sum available for the new building was about\ntwelve thousand five hundred pounds, and over five hundred orphans had\napplied. Twice this sum would be needed, however, before the new house\ncould be begun without risk of debt.\n\nOn January 8, 1855, several Christian friends united in the promise that\nfifty-seven hundred pounds should be paid to him for the work of God,\nand of this, thirty-four hundred was by him set apart for the building\nfund. As there were now between seven hundred and eight hundred\napplicants, it seemed of God that, at least, a site should be secured\nfor another new orphan house; and a few weeks later Mr. Muller applied\nfor the purchase of two fields adjoining the site of the first house. As\nthey could not, however, be sold at that time, the only resource was to\nbelieve that the Lord had other purposes, or would give better ground\nthan that on which His servant had set his mind.\n\nFurther thought and prayer suggested to him that two houses could be\nbuilt instead of one, and located on each side of the existing building,\nupon the ground already owned. Accordingly it was determined to begin,\non the south side, the erection of a house to accommodate four hundred\norphans, there being money in the bank, or soon to be available,\nsufficient to build, fit up, and furnish it.\n\nOn May 26, 1856, nearly thirty thousand pounds were in hand for the new\nOrphan House No. 2; and on November 12, 1857, this house was opened for\nfour hundred additional orphans, and there was a balance of nearly\ntwenty-three hundred pounds. The God who provided the building furnished\nthe helpers, without either difficulty or advertising.\n\nWith the beginning of the new year, Mr. Muller began to lay aside six\nhundred pounds as the first of the appropriations for the _third_ orphan\nhouse, and the steps which led to the accomplishment of this work, also,\nwere identical with those taken hitherto. A purchase was made of\nadditional ground, adjoining the two buildings; and, as there were so\nmany applicants and the cost of providing for a larger number would be\nbut little more, it was determined to build so as to receive four\nhundred and fifty instead of three hundred, rejoicing that, in every\nenlargement of the work, it would be more apparent how much one poor\nman, simply trusting in God, can bring about by prayer; and that thus\nother children of God might be led to carry on the work of God in\ndependence solely on Him, and generally to trust Him more in all\ncircumstances and positions.\n\nOrphan House No. 3 was opened March 12, 1862, and with over ten thousand\npounds in hand for current expenses. All the helpers needed had not then\nbeen supplied, but this delay was only a new incentive to believing\nprayer: and, instead of _once, thrice,_ a day, God was besought to\nprovide suitable persons. One after another was thus added, and in no\ncase too late, so that the reception of children was not hindered nor\nwas the work embarrassed.\n\nStill further enlargement seemed needful, for the same reasons as\npreviously. There was an increasing demand for accommodation of new\napplicants, and past experience of God's wondrous dealings urged him\nboth to attempt and to expect greater things. Orphan Houses Nos. 4 and 5\nbegan to loom up above his horizon of faith. By May 26, 1862, he had\nover sixty-six hundred pounds to apply on their erection. In November,\n1864, a large donation of five thousand pounds was received from a donor\nwho would let neither his name nor residence be known, and by this time\nabout twenty-seven thousand pounds had thus accumulated toward the fifty\nthousand required. As more than half the requisite sum was thus in hand,\nthe purchase of a site might safely be made and the foundations for the\nbuildings be laid. Mr. Muller eyes had, for years, been upon land\nadjoining the three houses already built, separated from them only by\nthe turnpike road. He called to see the agent, and found that the\nproperty was subject to a lease that had yet two years to run. This\nobstacle only incited to new prayer, but difficulties seemed to\nincrease: the price asked was too high, and the Bristol Waterworks\nCompany was negotiating for this same piece of land for reservoir\npurposes. Nevertheless God successively removed all hindrances, so that\nthe ground was bought and conveyed to the trustees in March, 1865; and,\nafter the purchase-money was paid, about twenty-five thousand pounds yet\nremained for the structures. Both the cost and the inconvenience of\nbuilding would be greatly lessened by erecting both houses at the same\ntime; and God was therefore asked for ample means speedily to complete\nthe whole work.\n\nIn May, 1866, over thirty-four thousand pounds being at Mr. Muller's\ndisposal, No. 4 was commenced; and in January following, No. 5 also. Up\nto the end of March, 1867, over fifty thousand pounds had been supplied,\nleaving but six thousand more needful to fit and furnish the two\nbuildings for occupancy. By the opening of February, 1868. fifty-eight\nthousand pounds in all had been donated; so that, on November 5, 1868,\nnew Orphan House No. 4, and on January 6, 1870, No. 5, were thrown open,\na balance of several thousand pounds remaining for general purposes.\nThus, early in 1870, the orphan work had reached its complete outfit, in\nfive large buildings on Ashley Down with accommodations for two thousand\norphans and for all needed teachers and assistants.\n\nThus have been gathered, into one chapter, the facts about the erection\nof this great monument to a prayer-hearing God on Ashley Down, though\nthe work of building covered so many years. Between the first decision\nto build, in 1845, and the opening of the third house, in 1862, nearly\nseventeen years had elapsed, and before No. 5 was opened, in 1870,\ntwenty-five years. The work was one in its plan and purpose. At each new\nstage it supplies only a wider application and illustration of the same\nlaws of life and principles of conduct, as, from the outset of the work\nin Bristol, had with growing power controlled George Muller. His one\nsupreme aim was the glory of God; his one sole resort, believing prayer;\nhis one trusted oracle, the inspired Word; and his one divine Teacher,\nthe Holy Spirit. One step taken in faith and prayer had prepared for\nanother; one act of trust had made him bolder to venture upon another,\nimplying a greater apparent risk and therefore demanding more implicit\ntrust. But answered prayer was rewarded faith, and every new risk only\nshowed that there was no risk in confidently leaning upon the truth and\nfaithfulness of God.\n\nOne cannot but be impressed, in visiting the orphan houses, with several\nprominent features, and first of all their magnitude. They are very\nspacious, with about seventeen hundred large windows, and accommodations\nfor over two thousand inmates. They are also very substantial, being\nbuilt of stone and made to last. They are scrupulously plain; utility\nrather than beauty seems conspicuously stamped upon them, within and\nwithout. Economy has been manifestly a ruling law in their construction;\nthe furniture is equally unpretentious and unostentatious; and, as to\ngarniture, there is absolutely none. To some few, they are almost too\ndestitute of embellishment, and Mr. Muller has been blamed for not\nintroducing some aesthetic features which might relieve this bald\nutilitarianism and serve to educate the taste of these orphans.\n\nTo all such criticisms, there are two or three adequate answers. First,\nMr. Muller subordinated everything to his one great purpose, the\ndemonstration of the fact that the Living God is the Hearer of prayer.\nSecond, he felt himself to be the steward of God's property, and he\nhesitated to spend one penny on what was not necessary to the frugal\ncarrying on of the work of God. He felt that all that could be spared\nwithout injury to health, a proper mental training, and a thorough\nscriptural and spiritual education, should be reserved for the relief of\nthe necessities of the poor and destitute elsewhere. And again, he felt\nthat, as these orphans were likely to be put at service in plain homes,\nand compelled to live frugally, any surroundings which would accustom\nthem to indulge refined tastes, might by contrast make them discontented\nwith their future lot. And so he studied to promote simply their health\nand comfort, and to school them to contentment when the necessities of\nlife were supplied.\n\nBut, more than this, a moment's serious thought will show that, had he\nsurrounded them with those elegancies which elaborate architecture and\nthe other fine arts furnish, he might have been even more severely\ncriticised. He would have been spending the gifts of the poor who often\nsorely denied themselves for the sake of these orphans, to purchase\nembellishments or secure decorations which, if they had adorned the\nhumble homes of thousands of donors, would have made their gifts\nimpossible. When we remember how many offerings, numbering tens of\nthousands, were, like the widow's mites, very small in themselves, yet,\nrelatively to ability, very large, it will be seen how incongruous it\nwould have been to use the gifts, saved only by limiting even the wants\nof the givers, to buy for the orphans what the donors could not and\nwould not afford for themselves.\n\nCleanness, neatness, method, and order, however, everywhere reign, and\nhonest labour has always had, at the orphan houses, a certain dignity.\nThe tracts of land, adjoining the buildings, are set apart as\nvegetable-gardens, where wholesome exercise is provided for the orphan\nboys, and, at the same time, work that helps to provide daily food, and\nthus train them in part to self-support.\n\nThroughout these houses studious care is exhibited, as to methodical\narrangement. Each child has a square and numbered compartment for\nclothes, six orphans being told off, at a time, in each section, to take\ncharge. The boys have each three suits, and the girls, five dresses\neach, the girls being taught to make and mend their own garments. In the\nnursery, the infant children have books and playthings to occupy and\namuse them, and are the objects of tender maternal care. Several\nchildren are often admitted to the orphanage from one family, in order\nto avoid needless breaking of household ties by separation. The average\nterm of residence is about ten years, though some orphans have been\nthere for seventeen.\n\nThe daily life is laid out with regularity and goes on like clockwork in\npunctuality. The children rise at six and are expected to be ready at\nseven, the girls for knitting and the boys for reading, until eight\no'clock, when breakfast is served. Half an hour later there is a brief\nmorning service, and the school begins at ten. Half an hour of\nrecreation on the playground prepares for the one-o'clock dinner, and\nschool is resumed, until four; then comes an hour and a half of play or\noutdoor exercise, a half-hour service preceding the six-o'clock meal.\nThen the girls ply the needle, and the boys are in school, until\nbedtime, the younger children going to rest at eight, and the older, at\nnine. The food is simple, ample, and nutritious, consisting of bread,\noatmeal, milk, soups, meat, rice, and vegetables. Everything is adjusted\nto one ultimate end; to use Mr. Muller's own words: \"We aim at this:\nthat, if any of them do not turn out well, temporally or spiritually,\nand do not become useful members of society, it shall not at least be\n_our_ fault.\" The most thorough and careful examination of the whole\nmethods of the institution will only satisfy the visitor that it will\nnot be the fault of those who superintend this work, if the orphans are\nnot well fitted, body and soul, for the work of life, and are not\nprepared for a blessed immortality.\n\n\nCHAPTER XV\n\nTHE MANIFOLD GRACE OF GOD\n\nSOME one has quaintly said, in commenting upon the Twenty-third Psalm,\nthat \"the coach in which the Lord's saints ride has not only a driver,\nbut two footmen\"--_\"goodness and mercy shall follow me.\"_\n\nSurely these two footmen of the Lord, in their celestial livery of\ngrace, followed George Muller all the days of his life. Wonderful as is\nthe story of the building of those five orphan houses on Ashley Down,\nmany other events and experiences no less showed the goodness and mercy\nof God, and must not be unrecorded in these pages, if we are to trace,\nhowever imperfectly, His gracious dealings; and having, by one\ncomprehensive view, taken in the story of the orphan homes, we may\nretrace our steps to the year when the first of these houses was\nplanned, and, following another path, look at Mr. Muller's personal and\ndomestic life.\n\nHe himself loved to trace the Lord's goodness and mercy, and he saw\nabundant proofs that they had followed him. A few instances may be\ngiven, from different departments of experience, as representative\nexamples.\n\nThe Lord's tender care was manifest as to his beloved daughter Lydia. It\nbecame clear in the year 1843, that, both for the relief of the mother\nand the profit of the daughter, it would be better that Lydia should be\ntaught elsewhere than at home; and in answer to prayer, her father was\ndivinely directed to a Christian sister, whose special gifts in the way\nof instructing and training children were manifestly from the Spirit,\nwho divides unto all believers severally as He will. She seemed to be\nmarked of God, as the woman to whom was to be intrusted the responsible\ntask of superintending the education of Lydia. Mr. Muller both expected\nand desired to pay for such training, and asked for the account, which\nin the first instance he paid, but the exact sum was returned to him\nanonymously; and, for the six remaining years of his daughter's stay, he\ncould get no further bills for her schooling. Thus God provided for the\nboard and education of this only child, not only without cost to her\nparents, but to their intense satisfaction as being under the true\n\"nurture and admonition of the Lord;\" for while at this school, in\nApril, 1846, Lydia found peace in believing, and began that beautiful\nlife in the Lord Jesus Christ, that, for forty-four years afterward, so\nsingularly exhibited His image.\n\nMany Christian parents have made the fatal mistake of intrusting their\nchildren's education to those whose gifts were wholly intellectual and\nnot spiritual, and who have misled the young pupils entrusted to their\ncare, into an irreligious or infidel life, or, at best, a career of mere\nintellectualism and worldly ambition. In not a few instances, all the\ninfluences of a pious home have been counteracted by the atmosphere of a\nschool which, if not godless, has been without that fragrance of\nspiritual devoutness and consecration which is indispensable to the true\ntraining of impressible children during the plastic years when character\nis forming for eternity!\n\nGoodness and mercy followed Mr. and Mrs. Muller conspicuously in their\nsojourn in Germany in 1845, which covered about three months, from July\n19th to October 11th.\n\nGod plainly led to Stuttgart, where brethren had fallen into grievous\nerrors and needed again a helping hand. When the strong impression laid\nhold of Mr. Muller, more than two months before his departure for the\nContinent, that he was to return there for a season, he began definitely\nto pray for means to go with, on May 3rd, and, within a _quarter hour_\nafter, five hundred pounds were received, the donor specifying that the\nmoney was given for all expenses needful, \"preparatory to, and attendant\nupon\" this proposed journey. The same goodness and mercy followed all\nhis steps while abroad. Provision was made, in God's own strange way,\nfor suitable lodgings in Stuttgart, at a time when the city was\nexceptionally crowded, a wealthy retired surgeon, who had never before\nrented apartments, being led to offer them. All Mr. Muller's labours\nwere attended with blessing: during part of the time he held as many as\neight meetings a week; and he was enabled to publish eleven tracts in\nGerman, and judiciously to scatter over two hundred and twenty thousand\nof them, as well as nearly four thousand of his Narrative, and yet evade\ninterference from the police.\n\nOne experience of this sojourn abroad should have special mention for\nthe lesson it suggests, both in charity for others' views and loving\nadaptation to circumstances. A providential opening occurred to address\nmeetings of about one hundred and fifty members of the state church. In\nhis view the character of such assemblies was not wholly conformed to\nthe Scripture pattern, and hence did not altogether meet his approval;\nbut such opportunity was afforded to bear testimony for the truth's\nsake, and to exhibit Christian unity upon essentials, for love's sake,\nthat he judged it of the Lord that he should enter this open door. Those\nwho knew Mr. Muller but little, but knew his positive convictions and\nuncompromising loyalty to them, might suspect that he would have little\nforbearance with even minor errors, and would not bend himself from his\nstern attitude of inflexibility to accommodate himself to those who were\nensnared by them. But those who knew him better, saw that he held fast\nthe form of sound words with faith and love which are in Christ Jesus.\nLike Paul, ever ready to be made all things to all men that by all means\nhe might save some, in his whole character and conduct nothing shone\nmore radiantly beautiful, than Love. He felt that he who would lift up\nothers must bow himself to lay hold on them; that to help brethren we\nmust bear with them, not insisting upon matters of minor importance as\nthough they were essential and fundamental. Hence his course, instead of\nbeing needlessly repellant, was tenderly conciliatory; and it was a\nconspicuous sign of grace that, while holding his own views of truth and\nduty so positively and tenaciously, the intolerance of bigotry was so\ndisplaced by the forbearance of charity that, when the Lord so led and\ncircumstances so required, he could conform for a time to customs whose\npropriety he doubted, without abating either the earnestness of his\nconviction or the integrity of his testimony.\n\nGod's goodness and mercy were seen in the fact that, whenever more\nliberal things were devised for Him, He responded in providing liberally\nmeans to carry out such desires. This was abundantly illustrated not\nonly in the orphan work, but in the history of the Scriptural Knowledge\nInstitution; when, for years together, the various branches of this work\ngrew so rapidly, until the point of full development was reached. The\ntime indeed came when, in some departments, it pleased God that\ncontraction should succeed expansion, but even here goodness ruled, for\nit was afterward seen that it was because _other brethren_ had been led\nto take up such branches of the Lord's work, in all of which\ndevelopments Mr. Muller as truly rejoiced as though it had been his work\nalone that was honoured of God.\n\nThe aiding of brethren in the mission fields grew more and more dear to\nhis heart, and the means to indulge his unselfish desires were so\nmultiplied that, in 1846, he found, on reviewing the history of the\nLord's dealings, that he had been enabled to expend about _seven times_\nas much of late years as previously. It may here be added, again by way\nof anticipation, that when, nineteen years later, in 1865, he sat down\nto apportion to such labourers in the Lord as he was wont to assist, the\nsums he felt it desirable to send to each, he found before him the names\nof _one hundred and twenty-two_ such! Goodness and mercy indeed! Here\nwas but one branch of his work, and yet to what proportions and\nfruitfulness it had grown! He needed four hundred and sixty-six pounds\nto send them to fill out his appropriations, and he lacked ninety-two of\nthis amount. He carried the lack to the Lord, and _that evening_\nreceived five pounds, and the _next morning_ a hundred more, and a\nfurther \"birthday memorial\" of fifty, so that he had in all thirty-seven\nmore than he had asked.\n\nWhat goodness and mercy followed him in the strength he ever had to bear\nthe heavy loads of care incident to his work! The Lord's coach bore him\nand his burdens together. Day by day his gracious Master preserved his\npeace unbroken, though disease found its way into this large family,\nthough fit homes and work must be found for outgoing orphans, and fit\ncare and training for incoming orphans; though crises were constantly\narising and new needs constantly recurring, grave matters daily demanded\nprayer and watching, and perpetual diligence and vigilance were needful;\nfor the Lord was his Helper, and carried all his loads.\n\nDuring the winter of 1846-7 there was a peculiar season of dearth. Would\nGod's goodness and mercy fail? There were those who looked on, more than\nhalf incredulous, saying to themselves if not to others, \"I wonder how\nit is now with Mr. Muller and his orphans! If he is able to provide for\nthem now as he has been, we will say nothing.\" But all through this time\nof widespread want his witness was, \"We lack nothing: God helps us.\"\nFaith led when the way was too dark for sight; in fact the darker the\nroad the more was the Hand felt that leads the blind by a way they know\nnot. _They went through that winter as easily as through any other from\nthe beginning of the work!_\n\nWas it no sign that God's 'footmen' followed George Muller that the work\nnever ceased to be both a work of faith and of prayer? that no\ndifficulties or discouragements, no successes or triumphs, ever caused\nfor an hour a departure from the sublime essential principles on which\nthe work was based, or a diversion from the purpose for which it had\nbeen built up?\n\nWe have heard it said of a brother, much honoured of God in beginning a\nwork of faith, that, when it had grown to greater proportions, he seemed\nto change its base to that of a business scheme. How it glorifies God\nthat the holy enterprise, planted in Bristol in 1834, has known no such\nalteration in its essential features during all these years! Though the\nwork grew, and its needs with it, until the expenses were twofold,\nthreefold, fourfold, and, at last, seventyfold what they were when that\nfirst Orphan House was opened in Wilson Street, there has been no\n_change of base,_ never any looking to man for patronage or support,\nnever any dependence upon a regular income or fixed endowment. God has\nbeen, all through these years, as at first, the sole Patron and\nDependence. The Scriptural Knowledge Institution has not been wrecked on\nthe rocks of financial failure, nor has it even drifted away from its\noriginal moorings in the safe anchorage-ground of the Promises of\nJehovah.\n\nWas it not goodness and mercy that kept George Muller ever grateful as\nwell as faithful! He did not more constantly feel his need of faith and\nprayer than his duty and privilege of abounding joy and praise. Some\nmight think that, after such experiences of answered prayer, one would\nbe less and less moved by them, as the novelty was lost in the\nuniformity of such interpositions. But no. When, in June, 1853, at a\ntime of sore need, the Lord sent, in one sum, three hundred pounds, he\ncould scarcely contain his triumphant joy in God. He walked up and down\nhis room for a long time, his heart overflowing and his eyes too, his\nmouth filled with laughter and his voice with song, while he gave\nhimself afresh to the faithful Master he served. God's blessings were to\nhim always new and fresh. Answered prayers never lost the charm of\nnovelty; like flowers plucked fresh every hour from the gardens of God,\nthey never got stale, losing none of their beauty or celestial\nfragrance.\n\nAnd what goodness and mercy was it that never suffered prayerfulness and\npatience to relax their hold, either when answers seemed to come fast\nand thick like snow-flakes, or when the heavens seemed locked up and\nfaith had to wait patiently and long! Every day brought new demands for\ncontinuance in prayer. In fact, as Mr. Muller testifies, the only\ndifference between latter and former days was that the difficulties were\ngreater in proportion as the work was larger. But he adds that this was\nto be expected, for the Lord gives faith for the very purpose of trying\nit for the glory of His own name and the good of him who has the faith,\nand it is by these very trials that trust learns the secret of its\ntriumphs.\n\nGoodness and mercy not only guided but also _guarded_ this servant of\nGod. God's footmen bore a protecting shield which was always over him.\nAmid thousands of unseen perils, occasionally some danger was known,\nthough generally after it was passed. While at Keswick labouring in\n1847, for example, a man, taken deranged while lodging in the same\nhouse, shot himself. It afterward transpired that he had an impression\nthat Mr. Muller had designs on his life, and had he met Mr. Muller\nduring this insane attack he would probably have shot him with the\nloaded pistol he carried about on his person.\n\nThe pathway of this man of God sometimes led through deep waters of\naffliction, but goodness and mercy still followed, and held him up. In\nthe autumn of 1852, his beloved brother-in-law, Mr. A. N. Groves, came\nback from the East Indies, very ill; and in May of the next year, after\nblessed witness for God, he fell asleep at Mr. Muller's house. To him\nMr. Muller owed much through grace at the outset of his labours in 1829.\nBy his example his faith had been stimulated and helped when, with no\nvisible support or connection with any missionary society, Mr. Groves\nhad gone to Baghdad with wife and children, for the sake of mission work\nin this far-off field, resigning a lucrative practice of about fifteen\nhundred pounds a year. The tie between these men was very close and\ntender and the loss of this brother-in-law gave keen sorrow.\n\nIn July following, Mr. and Mrs. Muller went through a yet severer trial.\nLydia, the beloved daughter and only child,--born in 1832 and new-born\nin 1846, and at this time twenty years old and a treasure without\nprice,--was taken ill in the latter part of June, and the ailment\ndeveloped into a malignant typhoid which, two weeks later, brought her\nto the gates of death. These parents had to face the prospect of being\nleft childless. But faith triumphed and prayer prevailed. Their darling\nLydia was spared to be, for many years to come, a blessing beyond words,\nnot only to them and to her future husband, but to many others in a\nwider circle of influence. Mr. Muller found, in this trial, a special\nproof of God's goodness and mercy, which he gratefully records, in the\ngrowth in grace, evidenced in his entire and joyful acquiescence in the\nFather's will, when, with such a loss apparently before him, his\nconfidence was undisturbed that all things would work together for good.\nHe could not but contrast with this experience of serenity, that broken\npeace and complaining spirit with which he had met a like trial in\nAugust, 1831, twenty-one years before. How, like a magnet among steel\nfilings, the thankful heart finds the mercies and picks them out of the\nblack dust of sorrow and suffering!\n\nThe second volume of Mr. Muller's Narrative closes with a paragraph in\nwhich he formally disclaims as impudent presumption and pretension all\nhigh rank as a miracle-worker, and records his regret that any work,\nbased on scriptural promises and built on the simple lines of faith and\nprayer, should be accounted either phenomenal or fanatical.\n\nThe common ways of accounting for its success would be absurdly\nridiculous and amusing were they not so sadly unbelieving. Those who\nknew little or nothing, either of the exercise of faith or the\nexperience of God's faithfulness, resorted to the most God-dishonouring\nexplanations of the work. Some said: \"Mr. Muller is a foreigner; his\nmethods are so novel as to attract attention.\" Others thought that the\n\"Annual Reports brought in the money,\" or suggested that he had \"a\n_secret treasure.\"_ His quiet reply was, that his being a foreigner\nwould be more likely to repel than to attract confidence; that the\nnovelty would scarcely avail him after more than a score of years; that\nother institutions which issued reports did not always escape want and\ndebt; but, as to the secret treasure to which he was supposed to have\naccess, he felt constrained to confess that there was _more in that\nsupposition than the objectors were aware of._ He had indeed a Treasury,\ninexhaustible--in the promises of a God unchangeably faithful--from\nwhich he admits that he had already in 1856 drawn for twenty-two years,\nand in all over one hundred and thirteen thousand pounds. As to the\nReports, it may be worth while to notice that he never but once in his\nlife advertised the public of any need, and that was the _need of more\norphans_--more to care for in the name of the Lord--a single and\nsingular ease of advertising, by which he sought not to increase his\n_income,_ but his _expenditure_--not asking the public to aid him in\nsupporting the needy, but to increase the occasion of his outlay!\n\nSo far was he from depending upon any such sources of supply as the\nunbelieving world might think, that it was in the drying up of all such\nchannels that he found the opportunity of his faith and of God's power.\nThe visible treasure was often so small that it was reduced to nothing,\nbut the invisible Treasure was God's riches in glory, and could be drawn\nfrom without limit. This it was to which he looked alone, and in which\nhe felt that he had a river of supply that can never run dry.*\n\n* Appendix H.\n\nThe orphan work had, to Mr. Muller, many charms which grew on him as he\nentered more fully into it. While his main hope was to be the means of\nspiritual health to these children, he had the joy of seeing how God\nused these homes for the promotion of their physical welfare also, and,\nin cases not a few, for the entire renovation of their weak and diseased\nbodies. It must be remembered that most of them owed their orphan\ncondition to that great destroyer, Consumption. Children were often\nbrought to the orphan houses thoroughly permeated by the poison of bad\nblood, with diseased tendencies, and sometimes emaciated and\nhalf-starved, having had neither proper food nor medical care.\n\nFor example, in the spring of 1855, four children from five to nine\nyears old, and of one family, were admitted to the orphanage, all in a\ndeplorable state from lack of both nursing and nutrition. It was a\nserious question whether they should be admitted at all, as such cases\ntended to turn the institution into a hospital, and absorb undue care\nand time. But to dismiss them seemed almost inhuman, certainly\n_inhumane._ So, trusting in God, they were taken in and cared for with\nparental love. A few weeks later these children were physically\nunrecognizable, so rapid had been the improvement in health, and\nprobably there were with God's blessing four graves less to be dug.\n\nThe trials incident to the moral and spiritual condition of the orphans\nwere even greater, however, than those caused by ill health and\nweakness. When children proved incorrigibly bad, they were expelled,\nlest they should corrupt others, for the institution was not a\n_reformatory,_ as it was not a _hospital._ In 1849, a boy, of less than\neight years, had to be sent away as a confirmed liar and thief, having\ntwice run off with the belongings of other children and gloried in his\njuvenile crimes. Yet the forbearance exercised even in his case was\nmarvelously godlike, for, during over five years, he had been the\nsubject of private admonitions and prayers and all other methods of\nreclamation; and, when expulsion became the last resort, he was solemnly\nand with prayer, before all the others, sent away from the orphan house,\nthat if possible such a course might prove a double blessing, a remedy\nto him and a warning to others; and even then this young practised\nsinner was followed, in his expulsion, by loving supplication.\n\nTowards the end of November, 1857, it was found that a serious leak in\nthe boiler of the heating apparatus of house No. 1 would make repairs at\nonce necessary, and as the boilers were encased in bricks and a new\nboiler might be required, such repairs must consume time. Meanwhile how\ncould three hundred children, some of them very young and tender, be\nkept warm? Even if gas-stoves could be temporarily set up, chimneys\nwould be needful to carry off the impure air; and no way of heating was\navailable during repairs, even if a hundred pounds were expended to\nprevent risk of cold. Again Mr. Muller turned to the Living God, and,\ntrusting in Him, decided to have the repairs begun. A day or so before\nthe fires had to be put out, a bleak north wind set in. The work could\nno longer be delayed; yet weather, prematurely cold for the season,\nthreatened these hundreds of children with hurtful exposure. The Lord\nwas boldly appealed to. \"Lord, these are _Thy_ orphans: be pleased to\nchange this north wind into a south wind, and give the workmen a mind to\nwork that the job may be speedily done.\"\n\nThe evening before the repairs actually began, the cold blast was still\nblowing; but _on that day a south wind blew, and the weather was so mild\nthat no fire was needful!_ Not only so, but, as Mr. Muller went into the\ncellar with the overseer of the work, to see whether the repairs could\nin no way be expedited, he heard him say, in the hearing of the men,\n\"they will work late this evening, and come very early again to-morrow.\"\n_\"We would rather, sir,\"_ was the reply, _\"work all night.\"_ And so,\nwithin about thirty hours, the fire was again burning to heat the water\nin the boiler; and, until the apparatus was again in order, that\nmerciful soft south wind had continued to blow. Goodness and mercy were\nfollowing the Lord's humble servant, made the more conspicuous by the\ncrises of special trial and trouble.\n\nEvery new exigency provoked new prayer and evoked new faith. When, in\n1862, several boys were ready to be apprenticed, and there were no\napplications such as were desired, prayer was the one resort, as\nadvertising would tend to bring applications from masters who sought\napprentices for the sake of the premium. But every one of the eighteen\nboys was properly bound over to a Christian master, whose business was\nsuitable and who would receive the lad into his own family.\n\nAbout the same time one of the drains was obstructed which runs about\neleven feet underground. When three holes had been dug and as many\nplaces in the drain tapped in vain, prayer was offered that in the\nfourth case the workmen might be guided to the very spot where the\nstoppage existed--and the request was literally answered.\n\nThree instances of marked deliverance, in answer to prayer, are\nspecially recorded for the year between May 26, 1864, and the same date\nin 1865, which should not be passed by without at least a mention.\n\nFirst, in the great drought of the summer of 1864, when the fifteen\nlarge cisterns in the three orphan houses were empty, and the nine deep\nwells, and even the good spring which had never before failed, were\nalmost all dry. Two or three thousand gallons of water were daily\nrequired, and daily prayer was made to the God of the rain. See how God\nprovided, while pleased to withhold the supply from above! A farmer,\nnear by, supplied, from his larger wells, about half the water needful,\nthe rest being furnished by the half-exhausted wells on Ashley Down;\nand, when he could no longer spare water, without a day's interval,\nanother farmer offered a supply from a brook which ran through his\nfields, and thus there was abundance until the rains replenished\ncisterns and wells.*\n\n* About twenty years later the Bristol Water Works Co. introduced pipes\nand thus a permanent and unfailing supply.\n\nSecond, when, for three years, scarlet and typhus fevers and smallpox,\nbeing prevalent in Bristol and the vicinity threatened the orphans,\nprayer was again made to Him who is the God of health as well as of\nrain. There was no case of scarlet or typhus fever during the whole\ntime, though smallpox was permitted to find an entrance into the\nsmallest of the orphan houses. Prayer was still the one resort. The\ndisease spread to the other houses, until at one time fifteen were ill\nwith it. The cases, however, were mercifully light, and the Lord was\nbesought to allow the epidemic to spread _no further._ Not another child\nwas taken; and when, after nine months, the disease altogether\ndisappeared, not one child had died of it, and only one teacher or adult\nhad had an attack, and that was very mild. What ravages the disease\nmight have made among the twelve hundred inmates of these orphan houses,\nhad it then prevailed as later, in 1872!\n\nThird, tremendous gales visited Bristol and neighbourhood in January,\n1865. The roofs of the orphan houses were so injured as to be laid open\nin at least twenty places, and large panes of glass were broken. The day\nwas Saturday, and no glazier and slater could be had before Monday. So\nthe Lord of wind and weather was besought to protect the exposed\nproperty during the interval. The wind calmed down, and the rain was\nrestrained until midday of Wednesday, when the repairs were about\nfinished, but heavy rainfalls drove the slaters from the roof. One\nexposed opening remained and much damage threatened; but, in answer to\nprayer, the rain was stayed, and the work resumed. No damage had been\ndone while the last opening was unrepaired for it had exposed the\nbuilding from the _south,_ while the rain came from the _north._\n\nMr. Muller records these circumstances with his usual particularity, as\npart of his witness to the Living God, and to the goodness and mercy\nthat closely and continually followed him.\n\nDuring the next year, 1865-6, scarlet fever broke out in the orphanage.\nIn all thirty-nine children were ill, but all recovered. Whooping-cough\nalso made its appearance; but though, during that season, it was not\nonly very prevalent but very malignant in Bristol, in all the three\nhouses there were but seventeen cases, and the only fatal one was that\nof a little girl with constitutionally weak lungs.\n\nDuring this same year, however, the Spirit of God wrought mightily among\nthe girls, as in the previous year among the boys, so that over one\nhundred became deeply earnest seekers after salvation; and so, even in\ntribulation, consolation abounded in Christ. Mr. Muller and his wife and\nhelpers now implored God to deepen and broaden this work of His Spirit.\nTowards the end of the year closing in May, 1866, Emma Bunn, an orphan\ngirl of seventeen, was struck with consumption. Though, for fourteen\nyears, she had been under Mr. Muller's care, she was, in this dangerous\nillness, still careless and indifferent; and, as she drew near to death,\nher case continued as hopeless as ever. Prayer was unceasing for her;\nand it pleased God suddenly to reveal Christ to her as her Saviour.\nGreat self-loathing now at once took the place of former indifference;\nconfession of sin, of previous callousness of conscience; and\nunspeakable joy in the Lord, of former apathy and coldness. It was a\nspiritual miracle--this girl's sudden transformation into a witness for\nGod, manifesting deepest conviction for past sin and earnest concern for\nothers. Her thoughtless and heedless state had been so well known that\nher conversion and dying messages were now the Lord's means of the _most\nextensive and God-glorifying work ever wrought up to that time among the\norphans._ In one house alone three hundred and fifty were led to seek\npeace in believing.\n\nWhat lessons lie hidden--nay, lie on the very surface--to be read of\nevery willing observer of these events! Prayer can break even a hard\nheart; a memory, stored with biblical truth and pious teaching, will\nprove, when once God's grace softens the heart and unlooses the tongue,\na source of both personal growth in grace and of capacity for wide\nservice to others. We are all practically too careless of the training\nof children, and too distrustful of young converts. Mr. Muller was more\nand more impressed by the triumphs of the grace of God as seen in\nchildren converted at the tender age of nine or ten and holding the\nbeginning of their confidence steadfast unto the end.\n\nThese facts and experiences, gleaned, like handfuls of grain, from a\nwide field, show the character both of the seed sown and the harvest\nreaped, from the sowing.\n\nAgain, when, in 1866, cholera developed in England, in answer to special\nprayer _not one_ case of this disease was known in the orphan houses;\nand when, in the same autumn, whooping-cough and measles broke out,\nthough eight children had the former and two hundred and sixty-two, the\nlatter, not one child died, or was afterward debilitated by the attack.\nFrom May, 1866, to May, 1867, out of over thirteen hundred children\nunder care, only eleven died, considerably less than one per cent.\n\nThat severe and epidemic disease should find its way into the orphanages\nat all may seem strange to those who judge God's faithfulness by\nappearances, but many were the compensations for such trials. By them\nnot only were the hearts of the children often turned to God, but the\nhearts of helpers in the Institution were made more sympathetic and\ntender, and the hearts of God's people at large were stirred up to\npractical and systematic help. God uses such seeming calamities as\n'advertisements' of His work; many who would not have heard of the\nInstitution, or on whom what they did hear would have made little\nimpression, were led to take a deep interest in an orphanage where\nthousands of little ones were exposed to the ravages of some malignant\nand dangerous epidemic.\n\nLooking back, in 1865, after thirty-one years, upon the work thus far\ndone for the Lord, Mr. Muller gratefully records that, during the entire\ntime, he had been enabled to hold fast the original principles on which\nthe work was based on March 5, 1834. He had never once gone into debt;\nhe had sought for the Institution no patron but the Living God; and he\nhad kept to the line of demarcation between believers and unbelievers,\nin all his seeking for active helpers in the work.\n\nHis grand purpose, in all his labours, having been, from the beginning,\nthe glory of God, in showing what could be done through prayer and\nfaith, without any leaning upon man, his unequivocal testimony is:\n\"Hitherto hath the Lord helped us.\" Though for about five years they\nhad, almost daily, been in the constant trial of faith, they were as\nconstantly proving His faithfulness. The work had rapidly grown, till it\nassumed gigantic proportions, but so did the help of God keep pace with\nall the needs and demands of its growth.\n\nIn January, 1866, Mr. Henry Craik, who had for thirty-six years been Mr.\nMuller's valued friend, and, since 1832, his coworker in Bristol, fell\nasleep after an illness of seven months. In Devonshire these two\nbrethren had first known each other, and the acquaintance had\nsubsequently ripened, through years of common labour and trial, into an\naffection seldom found among men. They were nearly of an age, both being\na little past sixty when Mr. Craik died. The loss was too heavy to have\nbeen patiently and serenely borne, had not the survivor known and felt\nbeneath him the Everlasting Arms. And even this bereavement, which in\none aspect was an irreparable loss, was seen to be only another proof of\nGod's love. The look ahead might be a dark one, the way desolate and\neven dangerous, but goodness and mercy were still following very close\nbehind, and would in every new place of danger or difficulty be at hand\nto help over hard places and give comfort and cheer in the night season.\n\n\nCHAPTER XVI\n\nTHE SHADOW OF A GREAT SORROW\n\n\"WITH clouds He covereth the light.\" No human life is without some\nexperience of clouded skies and stormy days, and sometimes \"the clouds\nreturn after the rain.\" It is a blessed experience to recognize the\nsilver lining on the darkest storm cloud, and, better still, to be sure\nof the shining of God's light behind a sky that seems wholly and\nhopelessly overcast.\n\nThe year 1870 was made forever pathetically memorable by the decease of\nMrs. Muller, who lived just long enough to see the last of the New\nOrphan Houses opened. From the outset of the work in November, 1835, for\nmore than thirty-four years, this beloved, devoted wife had been also a\nsympathetic helper.\n\nThis wedded life had approached very near to the ideal of connubial\nbliss, by reason of mutual fitness, common faith in God and love for His\nwork, and long association in prayer and service. In their case, the\ndays of courtship were never passed; indeed the tender and delicate\nmutual attentions of those early days rather increased than decreased as\nthe years went on; and the great maxim was both proven and illustrated,\nthat the secret of winning love is the secret of keeping it. More than\nthat, such affection grows and becomes more and more a fountain of\nmutual delight. Never had his beloved \"Mary\" been so precious to her\nhusband as during the very year of her departure.\n\nThis marriage union was so happy that Mr. Muller could not withhold his\nloving witness that he never saw her at any time after she became his\nwife, without a new feeling of delight. And day by day they were wont to\nfind at least a few moments of rest together, sitting after dinner, hand\nin hand, in loving intercourse of mind and heart, made the more complete\nby this touch of physical contact, and, whether in speech or silence,\ncommuning in the Lord. Their happiness in God and in each other was\nperennial, perpetual, growing as the years fled by.\n\nMr. Muller's solemn conviction was that all this wedded bliss was due to\nthe fact that she was not only a devoted Christian, but that their one\nunited object was to live only and wholly for God; that they had always\nabundance of work for God, in which they were heartily united; that this\nwork was never allowed to interfere with the care of their own souls, or\ntheir seasons of private prayer and study of the Scriptures; and that\nthey were wont daily, and often thrice a day, to secure a time of united\nprayer and praise when they brought before the Lord the matters which at\nthe time called for thanksgiving and supplication.\n\nMrs. Muller had never been a very vigorous woman, and more than once had\nbeen brought nigh unto death. In October, 1859, after twenty-nine years\nof wedded life and love, she had been laid aside by rheumatism and had\ncontinued in great suffering for about nine months, quite helpless and\nunable to work; but it was felt to be a special mark of God's love and\nfaithfulness that this very affliction was used by Him to reestablish\nher in health and strength, the compulsory rest made necessary for the\ngreater part of a year being in Mr. Muller's judgment a means of\nprolonging her life and period of service for the ten years following.\nThus a severe trial met by them both in faith had issued in much\nblessing both to soul and body.\n\nThe closing scenes of this beautiful life are almost too sacred to be\nunveiled to common eyes. For some few years before her departure, it was\nplain that her health and vitality were declining. With difficulty could\nshe be prevailed on, however, to abate her activity, or, even when a\ndistressing cough attacked her, to allow a physician to be called. Her\nhusband carefully guarded and nursed her, and by careful attention to\ndiet and rest, by avoidance of needless exposure, and by constant resort\nto prayer, she was kept alive through much weakness and sometimes much\npain. But, on Saturday night, February 5th, she found that she had not\nthe use of one of her limbs, and it was obvious that the end was nigh.\nHer own mind was clear and her own heart at peace. She herself remarked,\n\"He will soon come.\" And a few minutes after four in the afternoon of\nthe Lord's day, February 6, 1870, she sweetly passed from human toils\nand trials, to be forever with the Lord.\n\nUnder the weight of such a sorrow, most men would have sunk into depths\nof almost hopeless despair. But this man of God, sustained by a divine\nlove, at once sought for occasions of thanksgiving; and, instead of\nrepining over his loss, gratefully remembered and recorded the goodness\nof God in _taking_ such a wife, releasing her saintly spirit from the\nbondage of weakness, sickness, and pain, rather than leaving her to a\nprotracted suffering and the mute agony of helplessness; and, above all,\nintroducing her to her heart's desire, the immediate presence of the\nLord Jesus, and the higher service of a celestial sphere. Is not that\ngrief akin to selfishness which dwells so much on our own deprivations\nas to be oblivious of the ecstatic gain of the departed saints who,\nwithdrawn from us and absent from the body, are at home with the Lord?\n\nIt is only in those circumstances of extreme trial which prove to\nordinary men a crushing weight, that implicit faith in the Father's\nunfailing wisdom and love proves its full power to sustain. Where\nself-will is truly lost in the will of God, the life that is hidden in\nHim is most radiantly exhibited in the darkest hour.\n\nThe death of this beloved wife afforded an illustration of this. Within\na few hours after this withdrawal of her who had shared with him the\nplanning and working of these long years of service, Mr. Muller went to\nthe Monday-evening prayer meeting, then held in Salem Chapel, to mingle\nhis prayers and praises as usual with those of his brethren. With a\nliterally shining countenance, he rose and said: \"Beloved brethren and\nsisters in Christ, I ask you to join with me in hearty praise and\nthanksgiving to my precious Lord for His loving kindness in having taken\nmy darling, beloved wife out of the pain and suffering which she has\nendured, into His own presence; and as I rejoice in everything that is\nfor her, happiness, so I now rejoice as I realize how far happier she\nis, in beholding her Lord whom she loved so well, than in any joy she\nhas known or could know here. I ask you also to pray that the Lord will\nso enable me to have fellowship in her joy that my bereaved heart may be\noccupied with her blessedness instead of my unspeakable loss.\" These\nremarkable words are supplied by one who was himself present and on\nwhose memory they made an indelible impression.\n\nThis occurrence had a marked effect upon all who were at that meeting.\nMrs. Muller was known by all as a most valuable, lovely, and holy woman\nand wife. After nearly forty years of wedded life and love, she had left\nthe earthly home for the heavenly. To her husband she had been a\nblessing beyond description, and to her daughter Lydia, at once a wise\nand tender mother and a sympathetic companion. The loss to them both\ncould never be made up on earth. Yet in these circumstances this man of\nGod had grace given to forget his own and his daughter's irreparable\nloss, and to praise God for the unspeakable gain to the departed wife\nand mother.\n\nThe body was laid to rest on February 11th, many thousands of sorrowing\nfriends evincing the deepest sympathy. Twelve hundred orphans mingled in\nthe funeral procession, and the whole staff of helpers so far as they\ncould be spared from the houses. The bereaved husband strangely upheld\nby the arm of the Almighty Friend in whom he trusted, took upon himself\nthe funeral service both at chapel and cemetery. He was taken seriously\nill afterward, but, as soon as his returning strength allowed, he\npreached his wife's funeral sermon--another memorable occasion. It was\nthe supernatural serenity of his peace in the presence of such a\nbereavement that led his attending physician to say to a friend, \"I have\nnever before seen so _unhuman_ a man.\" Yes, _un_human indeed, though far\nfrom _in_human, lifted above the weakness of mere humanity by a power\nnot of man.\n\nThat funeral sermon was a noble tribute to the goodness of the Lord even\nin the great affliction of his life. The text was:\n\n        _\"Thou art good and doest good.\"_ (Psalm cxix. 68.)\n\nIts three divisions were: \"The Lord was good and did good: first, in\ngiving her to me; second in so long leaving her to me; and third, in\ntaking her from me.\" It is happily preserved in Mr. Muller's journal,\nand must be read to be appreciated.*\n\n* Narrative, III. 575-594.\n\nThis union, begun in prayer, was in prayer sanctified to the end. Mrs.\nMuller's chief excellence lay in her devoted piety. She wore that one\nornament which is in the sight of God of great price--the meek and quiet\nspirit; the beauty of the Lord her God was upon her. She had\nsympathetically shared her husband's prayers and tears during all the\nlong trial-time of faith and patience, and partaken of all the joys and\nrewards of the triumph hours. Mr. Muller's own witness to her leaves\nnothing more to be added, for it is the tribute of him who knew her\nlongest and best. He writes:\n\n\"She was God's own gift, exquisitely suited to me even in natural\ntemperament. Thousands of times I said to her, 'My darling, God Himself\nsingled you out for me, as the most suitable wife I could possibly wish\nto have had.'\"\n\nAs to culture, she had a basis of sensible practical education,\nsurmounted and adorned by ladylike accomplishments which she had neither\ntime nor inclination to indulge in her married life. Not only was she\nskilled in the languages and in such higher studies as astronomy, but in\nmathematics also; and this last qualification made her for thirty-four\nyears an invaluable help to her husband, as month by month she examined\nall the account-books, and the hundreds of bills of the matrons of the\norphan houses, and with the eye of an expert detected the least mistake.\n\nAll her training and natural fitness indicated a providential adaptation\nto her work, like \"the round peg in the round hole.\" Her practical\neducation in needlework, and her knowledge of the material most\nserviceable for various household uses, made her competent to direct\nboth in the purchase and manufacture of cloths and other fabrics for\ngarments, bed-linen, etc. She moved about those orphan houses like an\nangel of Love, taking unselfish delight in such humble ministries as\npreparing neat, clean beds to rest the little ones, and covering them\nwith warm blankets in cold weather. For the sake of Him who took little\nchildren in His arms, she became to these thousands of destitute orphans\na nursing mother.\n\nShortly after her death, a letter was received from a believing orphan\nsome seventeen years before sent out to service, asking, in behalf also\nof others formerly in the houses, permission to erect a stone over Mrs.\nMuller's grave as an expression of love and grateful remembrance.\nConsent being given, hundreds of little offerings came in from orphans\nwho during the twenty-five years previous had been under her motherly\noversight--a beautiful tribute to her worth and a touching offering from\nthose who had been to her as her larger family.\n\nThe dear daughter Lydia had, two years before Mrs. Muller's departure,\nfound in one of her mother's pocketbooks a sacred memorandum in her own\nwriting, which she brought to her bereaved father's notice two days\nafter his wife had departed. It belongs among the precious relics of her\nhistory. It reads as follows:\n\n\"Should it please the Lord to remove M. M. [Mary Muller] by a sudden\ndismissal, let none of the beloved survivors consider that it is in the\nway of judgment, either to her or to them. She has so often, when\nenjoying conscious nearness to the Lord, felt how sweet it would be now\nto depart and to be _forever_ with Jesus, that nothing but the shock it\nwould be to her beloved husband and child, etc. has checked in her the\nlonging desire that _thus_ her happy spirit might take its flight.\nPrecious Jesus! Thy will in this as in everything else, and not hers, be\ndone!\"\n\nThese words were to Mr. Muller her last legacy; and with the comfort\nthey gave him, the loving sympathy of his precious Lydia who did all\nthat a daughter could do to fill a mother's place, and with the\nremembrance of Him who hath said, 'I will never leave thee nor forsake\nthee,' he went on his lonely pilgrim way, rejoicing in the Lord, feeling\nnevertheless a wound in his heart, that seemed rather to deepen than to\nheal.\n\nSixteen months passed, when Mr. James Wright, who like Mr. Muller had\nbeen bereft of his companion, asked of him the hand of the beloved Lydia\nin marriage. The request took Mr. Muller wholly by surprise, but he felt\nthat, to no man living, could he with more joyful confidence commit and\nintrust his choicest remaining earthly treasure; and, ever solicitous\nfor others' happiness rather than his own, he encouraged his daughter to\naccept Mr. Wright's proffered love, when she naturally hesitated on her\nfather's account. On November 16, 1871, they were married, and began a\nlife of mutual prayer and sympathy which, like that of her father and\nmother, proved supremely and almost ideally happy, helpful, and useful.\n\nWhile as yet this event was only in prospect, Mr. Muller felt his own\nlonely condition keenly, and much more in view of his daughter's\nexpected departure to her husband's home. He felt the need of some one\nto share intimately his toils and prayers, and help him in the Lord's\nwork, and the persuasion grew upon him that it was God's will that he\nshould marry again. After much prayer, he determined to ask Miss\nSusannah Grace Sangar to become his wife, having known her for more than\ntwenty-five years as a consistent disciple, and believing her to be well\nfitted to be his helper in the Lord. Accordingly, fourteen days after\nhis daughter's marriage to Mr. Wright, he entered into similar relations\nwith Miss Sangar, who for years after joined him in prayer, unselfish\ngiving, and labours for souls.\n\nThe second Mrs. Muller was of one mind with her husband as to the\nstewardship of the Lord's property. He found her poor, for what she had\nonce possessed she had lost; and had she been rich he would have\nregarded her wealth as an obstacle to marriage, unfitting her to be his\ncompanion in a self-denial based on scriptural principle. Riches or\nhoarded wealth would have been to both of them a snare, and so she also\nfelt; so that, having still, before her marriage, a remnant of two\nhundred pounds, she at once put it at the Lord's disposal, thus joining\nher husband in a life of voluntary poverty; and although subsequent\nlegacies were paid to her, she continued to the day of her death to be\npoor for the Lord's sake.\n\nThe question had often been asked Mr. Muller what would become of the\nwork when he, the master workman, should be removed. Men find it hard to\nget their eyes off the instrument, and remember that there is only,\nstrictly speaking, one AGENT, for an agent is _one who works,_ and an\ninstrument is what _the agent works with._ Though provision might be\nmade, in a board of trustees, for carrying on the orphan work, where\nwould be found the man to take the direction of it, a man whose spirit\nwas so akin to that of the founder that he would trust in God and depend\non Him just as Mr. Muller had done before him? Such were the inquiries\nof the somewhat doubtful or fearful observers of the great and\nmany-branched work carried on under Mr. Muller's supervision.\n\nTo all such questions he had always one answer ready--his one uniform\nsolution of all cares and perplexities: _the Living God._ He who had\nbuilt the orphan houses could maintain them; He who had raised up one\nhumble man to oversee the work in His name, could provide for a worthy\nsuccessor, like Joshua who not only _followed_ but _succeeded_ Moses.\nJehovah of hosts is not limited in resources.\n\nNevertheless much prayer was offered that the Lord would provide such a\nsuccessor, and, in Mr. James Wright, the prayer was answered. He was not\nchosen, as Mr. Muller's son-in-law, for the choice was made before his\nmarriage to Lydia Muller was even thought of by him. For more than\nthirty years, even from his boyhood, Mr. Wright had been well known to\nMr. Muller, and his growth in the things of God had been watched by him.\nFor thirteen years he had already been his \"right hand\" in all most\nimportant matters; and, for nearly all of that time, had been held up\nbefore God as his successor, in the prayers of Mr. and Mrs. Muller, both\nof whom felt divinely assured that God would fit him more and more to\ntake the entire burden of responsibility.\n\nWhen, in 1870, the wife fell asleep in Jesus, and Mr. Muller was himself\nill, he opened his heart to Mr. Wright as to the succession. Humility\nled him to shrink from such a post, and his then wife feared it would\nprove too burdensome for him; but all objections were overborne when it\nwas seen and felt to be God's call. It was twenty-one months after this,\nwhen, in November, 1871, Mr. Wright was married to Mr. Muller's only\ndaughter and child, so that it is quite apparent that he had neither\nsought the position he now occupies, nor was he appointed to it because\nhe was Mr. Muller's son-in-law, for, at that time, his first wife was\nliving and in health. From May, 1872, therefore, Mr. Wright _shared_\nwith his father-in-law the responsibilities of the Institution, and gave\nhim great joy as a partner and successor in full sympathy with all the\ngreat principles on which his work had been based.\n\nA little over three years after Mr. Muller's second marriage, in March,\n1874, Mrs. Muller was taken ill, and became, two days later, feverish\nand restless, and after about two weeks was attacked with hemorrhage\nwhich brought her also very near to the gates of death. She rallied; but\nfever and delirium followed and obstinate sleeplessness, till, for a\nsecond time, she seemed at the point of death. Indeed so low was her\nvitality that, as late as April 17th, a most experienced London\nphysician said that he had never known any patient to recover from such\nan illness; and thus a third time all human hope of restoration seemed\ngone. And yet, in answer to prayer, Mrs. Muller was raised up, and in\nthe end of May, was taken to the seaside for change of air, and grew\nrapidly stronger until she was entirely restored. Thus the Lord spared\nher to be the companion of her husband in those years of missionary\ntouring which enabled him to bear such worldwide witness. Out of the\nshadow of his griefs this beloved man of God ever came to find that\ndivine refreshment which is as the \"shadow of a great rock in a weary\nland.\"\n\n\nCHAPTER XVII\n\nTHE PERIOD OF WORLD-WIDE WITNESS\n\nGOD'S real answers to prayer are often seeming denials. Beneath the\noutward request He hears the voice of the inward desire, and He responds\nto the mind of the Spirit rather than to the imperfect and perhaps\nmistaken words in which the yearning seeks expression. Moreover, His\ninfinite wisdom sees that a larger blessing may be ours only by the\nwithholding of the lesser good which we seek; and so all true prayer\ntrusts Him to give His own answer, not in our way or time, or even to\nour own expressed desire, but rather to His own unutterable groaning\nwithin us which He can interpret better than we.\n\nMonica, mother of Augustine, pleaded with God that her dissolute son\nmight not go to Rome, that sink of iniquity; but he was permitted to go,\nand thus came into contact with Ambrose, bishop of Milan, through whom\nhe was converted. God fulfilled the mother's _desire_ while denying her\n_request._\n\nWhen George Muller, five times within the first eight years after\nconversion, had offered himself as a missionary, God had blocked his\nway; now, at sixty-five, He was about to permit him, in a sense he had\nnever dreamed of, to be a missionary to the world. From the beginning of\nhis ministry he had been more or less an itinerant, spending no little\ntime in wanderings about in Britain and on the Continent; but now he was\nto go to the regions beyond and spend the major part of seventeen years\nin witnessing to the prayer-hearing God.\n\nThese extensive missionary tours occupied the evening of Mr. Muller's\nuseful life, from 1875 to 1892. They reached, more or less, over Europe,\nAmerica, Asia, Africa, and Australia; and would of themselves have\nsufficed for the work of an ordinary life.\n\nThey had a singular suggestion. While, in 1874, compelled by Mrs.\nMuller's health to seek a change of air, he was preaching in the Isle of\nWight, and a beloved Christian brother for whom he had spoken, himself a\nman of much experience in preaching, told him how 'that day had been the\nhappiest of his whole life'; and this remark, with others like it\npreviously made, so impressed him that the Lord was about to use him to\nhelp on believers outside of Bristol, that he determined no longer to\nconfine his labours in the Word and doctrine to any one place, but to go\nwherever a door might open for his testimony.\n\nIn weighing this question he was impressed with seven reasons or\nmotives, which led to these tours:\n\n1. To _preach the gospel_ in its simplicity, and especially to show how\nsalvation is based, not upon feelings or even upon faith, but upon the\nfinished work of Christ; that justification is ours the moment we\nbelieve, and we are to accept and claim our place as accepted in the\nBeloved without regard to our inward states of feeling or emotion.\n\n2. To _lead believers to know their saved state,_ and to realize their\nstanding in Christ, great numbers not only of disciples, but even\npreachers and pastors, being themselves destitute of any real peace and\njoy in the Lord, and hence unable to lead others into joy and peace.\n\n3. To _bring believers back to the Scriptures,_ to search the Word and\nfind its hidden treasures; to test everything by this divine touchstone\nand hold fast only what will stand this test; to make it the daily\nsubject of meditative and prayerful examination in order to translate it\ninto daily obedience.\n\n4. To _promote among all true believers, brotherly love;_ to lead them\nto make less of those non-essentials in which disciples differ, and to\nmake more of those great essential and foundation truths in which all\ntrue believers are united; to help all who love and trust one Lord to\nrise above narrow sectarian prejudices, and barriers to fellowship.\n\n5. To _strengthen the faith of believers,_ encouraging a simpler trust,\nand a more real and unwavering confidence in God, and particularly in\nthe sure answers to believing prayer, based upon His definite promises.\n\n6. To _promote separation from the world_ and deadness to it, and so to\nincrease heavenly-mindedness in children of God; at the same time\nwarning against fanatical extremes and extravagances, such as sinless\nperfection while in the flesh.\n\n7. And finally to _fix the hope of disciples on the blessed coming of\nour Lord Jesus;_ and, in connection therewith, to instruct them as to\nthe true character and object of the present dispensation, and the\nrelation of the church to the world in this period of the out-gathering\nof the Bride of Christ.\n\nThese seven objects may be briefly epitomized thus: Mr. Muller's aim was\nto lead sinners to believe on the name of the Son of God, and so to\n_have eternal life;_ to help those who have thus believed, to _know_\nthat they have this life; to teach them so to _build up_ themselves on\ntheir most holy faith, by diligent searching into the word of God, and\npraying in the Holy Ghost, as that this life shall be more and more a\nreal possession and a conscious possession; to promote among all\ndisciples the _unity of the Spirit_ and the _charity_ which is the bond\nof perfectness, and to help them to exhibit that life before the world;\nto incite them to cultivate an _unworldly and spiritual type of\ncharacter_ such as conforms to the life of God in them; to lead them to\nthe _prayer of faith_ which is both the expression and the expansion of\nthe life of faith; and to direct their hope to the _final appearing of\nthe Lord,_ so that they should purify themselves even as He is pure, and\noccupy till He comes. Mr. Muller was thus giving himself to the double\nwork of evangelization and edification, on a scale commensurate with his\nlove for a dying world, as opportunity afforded doing good unto all men,\nand especially to them who are of the household of faith.\n\nOf these long and busy missionary journeys, it is needful to give only\nthe outline, or general survey. March 263 1875, is an important date,\nfor it marks the starting-point. He himself calls this \"the beginning of\nhis missionary tours.\"\n\nFrom Bristol he went to Brighton, Lewes, and Sunderland--on the way to\nSunderland preaching to a great audience in the Metropolitan Tabernacle,\nat Mr. Spurgeon's request--then to Newcastle-on-Tyne, and back to London,\nwhere he spoke at the Mildmay Park Conference, Talbot Road Tabernacle,\nand 'Edinburgh Castle.' This tour closed, June 5th, after seventy\naddresses in public, during about ten weeks.\n\nLess than six weeks passed, when, on August 14th, the second tour began,\nin which case the special impulse that moved him was a desire to follow\nup the revival work of Mr. Moody and Mr. Sankey. Their short stay in\neach place made them unable to lead on new converts to higher\nattainments in knowledge and grace, and there seemed to be a call for\nsome instruction fitted to confirm these new believers in the life of\nobedience. Mr. Muller accordingly followed these evangelists in England,\nIreland, and Scotland, staying in each place from one week to six, and\nseeking to educate and edify those who had been led to Christ. Among the\nplaces visited on this errand in 1875, were London; then Kilmarnock,\nSaltwater, Dundee, Perth, Glasgow, Kirkentilloch in Scotland, and Dublin\nin Ireland; then, returning to England, he went to Leamington, Warwick,\nKenilworth, Coventry, Rugby, etc. In some cases, notably at Mildmay\nPark, Dundee and Glasgow, Liverpool and Dublin, the audiences numbered\nfrom two thousand to six thousand, but everywhere rich blessing came\nfrom above. This second tour extended into the new year, 1876, and took\nin Liverpool, York, Kendal, Carlisle, Annan, Edinburgh, Arbroath,\nMontrose, Aberdeen, and other places; and when it closed in July, having\nlasted nearly eleven months, Mr. Muller had preached at least three\nhundred and six times, an average of about one sermon a day, exclusive\nof days spent in travel. So acceptable and profitable were these labours\nthat there were over one hundred invitations urged upon him which he was\nunable to accept.\n\nThe third tour was on the Continent. It occupied most of the year\nclosing May 26, 1877, and embraced Paris, various places in Switzerland,\nPrussia and Holland, Alsace, Wurtemberg, Baden, Hesse Darmstadt, etc.\nAltogether over three hundred addresses were given in about seventy\ncities and villages to all of which he had been invited by letter. When\nthis tour closed more than sixty written invitations remained\nunaccepted, and Mr. Muller found that, through his work and his\nwritings, he was as well known in the continental countries visited, as\nin England.\n\nTurning now toward America, the fourth tour extended from August, 1877,\nto June of the next year. For many years invitations had been coming\nwith growing frequency, from the United States and Canada; and of late\ntheir urgency led him to recognize in them the call of God, especially\nas he thought of the many thousands of Germans across the Atlantic, who\nas they heard him speak in their own native tongue would keep the more\nsilence. (Acts xxii. 2.)\n\nMr. and Mrs. Muller, landing at Quebec, thence went to the United\nStates, where, during ten months, his labours stretched over a vast\narea, including the States of New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts,\nPennsylvania, Maryland, District of Columbia, Virginia, South Carolina,\nGeorgia, Florida, Alabama, Louisiana, and Missouri. Thus having swept\nround the Atlantic sea-border, he crossed to the Pacific coast, and\nreturning visited Salt Lake City in Utah--the very centre and stronghold\nof Mormonism--Illinois, Ohio, etc. He spoke frequently to large\ncongregations of Germans, and, in the Southern States, to the coloured\npopulation; but he regarded no opportunity for service afforded him on\nthis tour as so inspiring as the repeated meetings with and for\nministers, evangelists, pastors, and Christian workers; and, next to\nthem in importance, his interviews with large bodies of students and\nprofessors in the universities, colleges, theological seminaries, and\nother higher schools of education. To cast the salt of the gospel into\nthe very springs of social influence, the sources whence power flows,\nwas to him a most sacred privilege. His singular catholicity, charity,\nand humility drew to him even those who differed with him, and all\ndenominations of Christians united in giving him access to the people.\nDuring this tour he spoke three hundred times, and travelled nearly ten\nthousand miles; over one hundred invitations being declined, for simple\nlack of time and strength.\n\nAfter a stay in Bristol of about two months, on September 5, 1878, he\nand his wife began the fifth of these missionary tours. In this case, it\nwas on the Continent, where he ministered in English, German, and\nFrench; and in Spain and Italy, when these tongues were not available,\nhis addresses were through an interpreter. Many open doors the Lord set\nbefore him, not only to the poorer and humbler classes, but to those in\nthe middle and higher ranks. In the Riviera, he had access to many of\nthe nobility and aristocracy, who from different countries sought health\nand rest in the equable climate of the Mediterranean, and at Mentone he\nand Mr. Spurgeon held sweet converse. In Spain Mr. Muller was greatly\ngladdened by seeing for himself the schools, entirely supported by the\nfunds of the Scriptural Knowledge Institution, and by finding that, in\nhundreds of cases, even popish parents so greatly valued these schools\nthat they continued to send their children, despite both the threats and\npersuasions of the Romish priests. He found, moreover, that the pupils\nfrequently at their homes read to their parents the word of God and sang\nto them the gospel hymns learned at these schools, so that the influence\nexerted was not bounded by its apparent horizon, as diffused or\nrefracted sunlight reaches with its illumining rays far beyond the\nvisible track of the orb of day.\n\nThe work had to contend with governmental opposition. When a place was\nfirst opened at Madrid for gospel services, a sign was placed outside,\nannouncing the fact. Official orders were issued that the sign should be\npainted over, so as to obliterate the inscription. The painter of the\nsign, unwilling both to undo his own work and to hinder the work of God,\npainted the sign over with water-colours, which would leave the original\nannouncement half visible, and would soon be washed off by the rains;\nwhereupon the government sent its own workman to daub the sign over with\nthick oil-colour.\n\nMr. Muller, ready to preach the gospel to those at Rome also, felt his\nspirit saddened and stirred within him, as he saw that city wholly given\nto idolatry--not pagan but papal idolatry--the Rome not of the Caesars,\nbut of the popes. While at Naples he ascended Vesuvius. Those masses of\nlava, which seemed greater in bulk than the mountain itself, more\nimpressed him with the power of God than anything else he had ever seen.\nAs he looked upon that smoking cone, and thought of the liquid death it\nhad vomited forth, he said within himself, \"What cannot God do!\" He had\nbefore felt somewhat of His Almightiness in love and grace, but he now\nsaw its manifestation in judgment and wrath. His visit to the Vaudois\nvalleys, where so many martyrs had suffered banishment and imprisonment,\nloss of goods and loss of life for Jesus' sake, moved him to the depths\nof his being and stimulated in him the martyr spirit.\n\nWhen he arrived again in Bristol, June 18, 1879, he had been absent nine\nmonths and twelve days, and preached two hundred and eighty-six times\nand in forty-six towns and cities. After another ten weeks in Bristol,\nhe and his wife sailed again for America, the last week of August, 1879,\nlanding at New York the first week in September. This visit took in the\nStates lying between the Atlantic Ocean and the valley of the\nMississippi--New York and New Jersey, Ohio, Indiana, Michigan and\nIllinois, Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota--and, from London and Hamilton to\nQuebec, Canada also shared the blessing. This visit covered only two\nhundred and seventy-two days, but he preached three hundred times, and\nin over forty cities. Over one hundred and fifty written invitations\nstill remained without response, and the number increased the longer his\nstay. Mr. Muller therefore assuredly gathered that the Lord called him\nto return to America, after another brief stay at Bristol, where he felt\nit needful to spend a season annually, to keep in close touch with the\nwork at home and relieve Mr. and Mrs. Wright of their heavy\nresponsibilities, for a time.\n\nAccordingly on September 15, 1880, again turning from Bristol, these\ntravellers embarked the next day on their seventh mission tour, landing,\nten days later, at Quebec. Mr. Muller had a natural antipathy to the\nsea, in his earlier crossing to the Continent having suffered much from\nsea-sickness; but he had undertaken these long voyages, not for his own\npleasure or profit, but wholly on God's errand; and he felt it to be a\npeculiar mark of the loving-kindness of the Lord that, while he was\nready to endure any discomfort, or risk his life for His sake, he had\nnot in his six crossings of the Atlantic suffered in the least, and on\nthis particular voyage was wholly free from any indisposition.\n\nFrom Quebec he went to Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey,\nand Pennsylvania. Among other places of special interest were Boston,\nPlymouth--the landing-place of the Pilgrims,--Wellesley and South Hadley\ncolleges--the great schools for woman's higher education,--and the\ncentres farther westward, where he had such wide access to Germans. This\ntour extended over a smaller area than before, and lasted but eight\nmonths; but the impression on the people was deep and permanent. He had\nspoken about two hundred and fifty times in all; and Mrs. Muller had\navailed herself of many opportunities of personal dealing with\ninquirers, and of distributing books and tracts among both believers and\nunbelievers. She had also written for her husband more than seven\nhundred letters,--this of itself being no light task, inasmuch as it\nreaches an average of about three a day. On May 30, 1881, they were\nagain on British shores.\n\nThe eighth long preaching tour, from August 23, 1881, to May 30, 1882,\nwas given to the Continent of Europe, where again Mr. Muller felt led by\nthe low state of religious life in Switzerland and Germany.\n\nThis visit was extended to the Holy Land in a way strikingly\nprovidential. After speaking at Alexandria, Cairo, and Port Said, he\nwent to Jaffa, and thence to Jerusalem, on November 28. With reverent\nfeet he touched the soil once trodden by the feet of the Son of God,\nvisiting, with pathetic interest, Gethsemane and Golgotha, and crossing\nthe Mount of Olives to Bethany, thence to Bethlehem and back to Jaffa,\nand so to Haipha, Mt. Carmel, and Beirut, Smyrna, Ephesus,\nConstantinople, Athens, Brindisi, Rome, and Florence. Again were months\ncrowded with services of all sorts whose fruit will appear only in the\nDay of the Lord Jesus, addresses being made in English, German, and\nFrench, or by translation into Arabic, Armenian, Turkish, and modern\nGreek. Sightseeing was always but incidental to the higher service of\nthe Master. During this eighth tour, covering some eight months, Mr.\nMuller spoke hundreds of times, with all the former tokens of God's\nblessing on his seed-sowing.\n\nThe _ninth_ tour, from August 8, 1882, to June 1, 1883, was occupied\nwith labours in Germany, Austria, and Russia, including Bavaria,\nHungary, Bohemia, Saxony, and Poland. His special joy it was to bear\nwitness in Kroppenstadt, his birthplace, after an absence of about\nsixty-four years. At St. Petersburg, while the guest of Princess Lieven,\nat her mansion he met and ministered to many of high rank; he also began\nto hold meetings in the house of Colonel Paschkoff, who had suffered not\nonly persecution but exile for the Lord's sake. While the Scriptures\nwere being read one day in Buss, with seven poor Russians, a policeman\nsummarily broke up the meeting and dispersed the little company. At Lodz\nin Poland, a letter was received, in behalf of almost the whole\npopulation begging him to remain longer; and so signs seemed to\nmultiply, as he went forward, that he was in the path of duty and that\nGod was with him.\n\nOn September 26, 1883, the _tenth_ tour began, this time his face being\nturned toward the Orient. Nearly sixty years before he had desired to go\nto the East Indies as a missionary; now the Lord permitted him to carry\nout the desire in a new and strange way, and _India_ was the\ntwenty-third country visited in his tours. He travelled over 21,000\nmiles, and spoke over two hundred times, to missionaries and Christian\nworkers, European residents, Eurasians, Hindus, Moslems, educated\nnatives, native boys and girls in the orphanage at Colar, etc. Thus, in\nhis seventy-ninth year, this servant of God was still in labours\nabundant, and in all his work conspicuously blessed of God.\n\nAfter some months of preaching in England, Scotland, and Wales, on\nNovember 19, 1885, he and his wife set out on their fourth visit to the\nUnited States, and their _eleventh longer mission tour._ Crossing to the\nPacific, they went to Sydney, New South Wales, and, after seven months\nin Australia, sailed for Java, and thence to China, arriving at Hong\nKong, September 12th; Japan and the Straits of Malacca were also\nincluded in this visit to the Orient. The return to England was by way\nof Nice; and, after travelling nearly 38,000 miles, in good health Mr.\nand Mrs. Muller reached home on June 14, 1887, having been absent more\nthan one year and seven months, during which Mr. Muller had preached\nwhenever and wherever opportunity was afforded.\n\nLess than two months later, on August 12, 1887, he sailed for South\nAustralia, Tasmania, New Zealand, Ceylon, and India. This twelfth long\ntour closed in March, 1890, having covered thousands of miles. The\nintense heat at one time compelled Mr. Muller to leave Calcutta, and on\nthe railway journey to Darjeeling his wife feared he would die. But he\nwas mercifully spared.\n\nIt was on this tour and in the month of January, 1890, while at\nJubbulpore, preaching with great help from the Lord, that a letter was\nput into Mr. Muller's hands, from a missionary at Agra, to whom Mr.\nWright had sent a telegram, informing his father-in-law of his dear\nLydia's death. For nearly thirty years she had laboured gratuitously at\nthe orphan houses and it would he difficult to fill that vacancy; but\nfor fourteen years she had been her husband's almost ideal companion,\nand for nearly fifty-eight years her father's unspeakable treasure--and\nhere were two other voids which could never be filled. But Mr. Muller's\nheart, as also Mr. Wright's, was kept at rest by the strong confidence\nthat, however mysterious God's ways, all His dealings belong to one\nharmonious spiritual mechanism in which every part is perfect and all\nthings work together for good. (Romans viii. 28.)\n\nThis sudden bereavement led Mr. Muller to bring his mission tour in the\nEast to a close and depart for Bristol, that he might both comfort Mr.\nWright and relieve him of undue pressure of work.\n\nAfter a lapse of two months, once more Mr. and Mrs. Muller left home for\nother extensive missionary journeys. They went to the Continent and were\nabsent from July, 1890, to May, 1892. A twelvemonth was spent in Germany\nand Holland, Austria and Italy. This absence in fact included two tours,\nwith no interval between them, and concluded the series of extensive\njourneys reaching through seventeen years.\n\nThis man--from his seventieth to his eighty-seventh year--when most men\nare withdrawing from all activities, had travelled in forty-two\ncountries and over two hundred thousand miles, a distance equivalent to\nnearly eight journeys round the globe! He estimated that during these\nseventeen years he had addressed over three million people; and from all\nthat can be gathered from the records of these tours, we estimate that\nhe must have spoken, outside of Bristol, between five thousand and six\nthousand times. What sort of teaching and testimony occupied these\ntours, those who have known the preacher and teacher need not be told.\nWhile at Berlin in 1891, he gave an address that serves as an example of\nthe vital truths which he was wont to press on the attention of fellow\ndisciples. We give a brief outline:\n\nHe first urged that believers should never, even under the greatest\ndifficulties, be discouraged, and gave for his position sound scriptural\nreasons. Then he pointed out to them that the chief business of every\nday is first of all to seek to be truly at rest and happy in God. Then\nhe showed how, from the word of God, all saved believers may know their\ntrue standing in Christ, and how in circumstances of particular\nperplexity they might ascertain the will of God. He then urged disciples\nto seek with intense earnestness to become acquainted with God Himself\nas revealed in the Holy Scriptures, and carefully to form and maintain\ngodly habits of systematic Bible study and prayer, holy living and\nconsecrated giving. He taught that God alone is the one all-satisfying\nportion of the soul, and that we must determine to possess and enjoy Him\nas such. He closed by emphasizing it as the one, single, all-absorbing,\ndaily aim to glorify God in a complete surrender to His will and\nservice.\n\nIn all these mission tours, again, the faithfulness of God\nconspicuously seen, in the bounteous supply of every need. Steamer fares\nand long railway journeys; hotel accommodations, ordinarily preferred to\nprivate hospitality, which seriously interfered with private habits of\ndevotion, public work, and proper rest--such expenses demanded a heavy\noutlay; the new mode of life, now adopted for the Lord's sake, was at\nleast three times as costly as the former frugal housekeeping; and yet,\nin answer to prayer and without any appeal to human help, the Lord\nfurnished all that was required.\n\nAccustomed to look, step by step, for such tokens of divine approval, as\nemboldened him to go forward, Mr. Muller records how, when one hundred\npounds was sent to him for personal uses, this was recognized as a\nforetoken from his great Provider, \"by which,\" he writes, \"God meant to\nsay to my own heart, 'I am pleased with thy work and service in going\nabout on these long missionary tours. I will pay the expenses thereof,\nand I give thee here a specimen of what I am yet willing to do for\nthee.'\"\n\nTwo other facts Mr. Muller specially records in connection with these\ntours: first, God's gracious guiding and guarding of the work at Bristol\nso that it suffered nothing from his absence; and secondly, the fact\nthat these journeys had no connection with collecting of money for the\nwork or even informing the public of it. No reference was made to the\nInstitution at Bristol, except when urgently requested, and not always\neven then; nor were collections ever made for it. Statements found their\nway into the press that in America large sums were gathered, but their\nfalsity is sufficiently shown by the fact that in his first tour in\nAmerica, for example, the sum total of all such gifts was less than\nsixty pounds, not more than two thirds of the outlay of every day at the\norphan houses.\n\nThese missionary tours were not always approved even by the friends and\nadvisers of Mr. Muller. In 1882, while experiencing no little difficulty\nand trial, especially as to funds, there were not a few who felt a deep\ninterest in the Institution on Ashley Down, who would have had God's\nservant discontinue his long absences, as to them it appeared that these\nwere the main reason for the falling off in funds. He was always open to\ncounsel, but he always reserved to himself an independent decision; and,\non weighing the matter well, these were some of the reasons that led him\nto think that the work of God at home did not demand his personal\npresence:\n\n1. He had observed year after year that, under the godly and efficient\nsupervision of Mr. Wright and his large staff of helpers, every branch\nof the Scriptural Knowledge Institution had been found as healthy and\nfruitful during these absences as when Mr. Muller was in Bristol.\n\n2. The Lord's approval of this work of wider witness had been in manner\nconclusive and in measure abundant, as in the ample supply of funds for\nthese tours, in the wide doors of access opened, and in the large fruit\nalready evident in blessing to thousands of souls.\n\n3. The strong impression upon his mind that this was the work which was\nto occupy the 'evening of his life,' grew in depth, and was confirmed by\nso many signs of God's leading that he could not doubt that he was led\nboth of God's providence and Spirit.\n\n4. Even while absent, he was never out of communication with the helpers\nat home. Generally he heard at least weekly from Mr. Wright, and any\nmatters needing his counsel were thus submitted to him by letter; prayer\nto God was as effectual at a distance from Bristol as on the spot; and\nhis periodical returns to that city for some weeks or months between\nthese tours kept him in close touch with every department of the work.\n\n5. The supreme consideration, however, was this: To suppose it necessary\nfor Mr. Muller himself to be at home _in order that sufficient means\nshould be supplied,_ was a direct contradiction of the very principles\nupon which, and to maintain which, the whole work had been begun. _Real\ntrust in God is above circumstances and appearances._ And this had been\nproven; for, during the third year after these tours began, the income\nfor the various departments of the Scriptural Knowledge Institution was\nlarger than ever during the preceding forty-four years of its existence;\nand therefore, notwithstanding the loving counsel of a few donors and\nfriends who advised that Mr. Muller should stay at home, he kept to his\npurpose and his principles, partly to demonstrate that no man's presence\nis indispensable to the work of the Lord. \"Them that honour Me I will\nhonour.\" (1 Samuel ii. 39.) He regarded it the greatest honour of his\nlife to bear this wide witness to God, and God correspondingly honoured\nHis servant in bearing this testimony.\n\nIt was during the first and second of these American tours that the\nwriter had the privilege of coming into personal contact with Mr.\nMuller. While I was at San Francisco, in 1878, he was to speak on\nSabbath afternoon, May 12th, at Oakland, just across the bay, but\nconscientious objections to needless Sunday travel caused me voluntarily\nto lose what then seemed the only chance of seeing and hearing a man\nwhose career had been watched by me for over twenty years, as he was to\nleave for the East a few days earlier than myself and was likely to be\nalways a little in advance. On reaching Ogden, however, where the branch\nroad from Salt Lake City joins the main line, Mr. and Mrs. Muller\nboarded my train and we travelled to Chicago together. I introduced\nmyself, and held with him daily converse about divine things, and, while\ntarrying at Chicago, had numerous opportunities for hearing him speak\nthere.\n\nThe results of this close and frequent contact were singularly blessed\nto me, and at my invitation he came to Detroit, Michigan, in his next\ntour, and spoke in the Fort Street Presbyterian Church, of which I was\npastor, on Sundays, January 18 and 25, 1880, and on Monday and Friday\nevenings, in the interval.\n\nIn addition to these numerous and favourable opportunities thus\nprovidentially afforded for hearing and conversing with Mr. Muller, he\nkindly met me for several days in my study, for an hour at a time, for\nconference upon those deeper truths of the word of God and deeper\nexperiences of the Christian life, upon which I was then very desirous\nof more light. For example, I desired to understand more clearly the\nBible teaching about the Lord's coming. I had opposed with much\npersistency what is known as the premillennial view, and brought out my\nobjections, to all of which he made one reply: \"My beloved brother, I\nhave heard all your arguments and objections against this view, but they\nhave one fatal defect: _not one of them is based upon the word of God._\nYou will never get at the truth upon any matter of divine revelation\nunless you lay aside your prejudices and like a little child ask simply\nwhat is the testimony of Scripture.\"\n\nWith patience and wisdom he unravelled the tangled skein of my\nperplexity and difficulty, and helped me to settle upon biblical\nprinciples all matters of so-called expediency. As he left me, about to\nvisit other cities, his words fixed themselves in my memory. I had\nexpressed to him my growing conviction that the worship in the churches\nhad lost its primitive simplicity; that the pew-rent system was\npernicious; that fixed salaries for ministers of the gospel were\nunscriptural; that the church of God should be administered only by men\nfull of the Holy Ghost, and that the duty of Christians to the\nnon-church-going masses was grossly neglected, etc. He solemnly said to\nme: \"My beloved brother, the Lord has given you much light upon these\nmatters, and will hold you correspondingly responsible for its use. If\nyou obey Him and walk in the light, you will have more; if not, the\nlight will be withdrawn.\"\n\nIt is a singular lesson on the importance of an anointed tongue, that\nforty simple words, spoken over twenty years ago, have had a daily\ninfluence on the life of him to whom they were spoken. Amid subtle\ntemptations to compromise the claims of duty and hush the voice of\nconscience, or of the Spirit of God, and to follow the traditions of men\nrather than the word of God, those words of that venerated servant of\nGod have recurred to mind with ever fresh force. We risk the forfeiture\nof privileges which are not employed for God, and of obscuring\nconvictions which are not carried into action. God's word to us is _\"use\nor lose.\"_ \"To him that hath shall be given: from him that hath not\nshall be taken away even that which he seemeth to have.\" It is the hope\nand the prayer of him who writes this memoir that the reading of these\npages may prove to be an interview with the man whose memorial they are,\nand that the witness borne by George Muller may be to many readers a\nsource of untold and lifelong blessing.\n\nIt need not be said that to carry out conviction into action is a costly\nsacrifice. It may make necessary renunciations and separations which\nleave one to feel a strange sense both of deprivation and loneliness.\nBut he who will fly as an eagle does into the higher levels where\ncloudless day abides, and live in the sunshine of God, must consent to\nlive a comparatively lonely life. No bird is so solitary as the eagle.\nEagles never fly in flocks: one, or at most two, and the two, mates,\nbeing ever seen at once. But the life that is lived unto God, however it\nforfeits human companionship, knows divine fellowship, and the child of\nGod who like his Master undertakes to \"do always the things that please\nHim,\" can like his Master say, \"The Father hath not left me alone.\" \"I\nam alone; yet not alone, for the Father is with me.\" Whosoever will\npromptly follow whatever light God gives, without regard to human\nopinion, custom, tradition, or approbation, will learn the deep meaning\nof these words: \"Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the Lord.\"\n\n\nCHAPTER XVIII\n\nFAITH AND PATIENCE IN SERVING\n\nQUANTITY of service is of far less importance than quality. To do well,\nrather than to do much, will be the motto of him whose main purpose is\nto please God. Our Lord bade His disciples tarry until endued with power\nfrom on high, because it is such enduement that gives to all witness and\nwork the celestial savour and flavour of the Spirit.\n\nBefore we come to the closing scenes, we may well look back over the\nlife-work of George Muller, which happily illustrates both quantity and\nquality of service. It may be doubted whether any other one man of this\ncentury accomplished as much for God and man, and yet all the abundant\nofferings which he brought to his Master were characterized by a\nheavenly fragrance.\n\nThe orphan work was but one branch of that tree--the Scriptural\nKnowledge Institution--which owed its existence to the fact that its\nfounder devised large and liberal things for the Lord's cause. He sought\nto establish or at least to aid Christian schools wherever needful, to\nscatter Bibles and Testaments, Christian books and tracts; to aid\nmissionaries who were witnessing to the truth and working on a\nscriptural basis in destitute parts; and though each of these objects\nmight well have engrossed his mind, they were all combined in the\nmany-sided work which his love for souls suggested.\n\nAn aggressive spirit is never content with what has been done, but is\nprompt to enter any new door that is providentially opened. When the\nParis Exposition of 1867 offered such rare opportunities, both for\npreaching to the crowds passing through the French capital, and for\ncirculating among them the Holy Scriptures, he gladly availed himself of\nthe services of two brethren whom God had sent to labour there, one of\nwhom spoke three, and the other, eight, modern languages; and through\nthem were circulated, chiefly at the Exposition, and in thirteen\ndifferent languages, nearly twelve thousand copies of the word of God,\nor portions of the same. It has been estimated that at this\nInternational Exhibition there were distributed in all over one and a\nquarter million Bibles, in sixteen tongues, which were gratefully\naccepted, even by Romish priests. Within six months those who thus\nentered God's open door scattered more copies of the Book of God than in\nordinary circumstances would have been done by ten thousand colporteurs\nin twenty times that number of months, and thousands of souls are known\nto have found salvation by the simple reading of the New Testament. Of\nthis glorious work, George Muller was permitted to be so largely a\npromoter.\n\nAt the Havre Exhibition of the following year, 1868, a similar work was\ndone; and in like manner, when a providential door was unexpectedly\nopened into the Land of the Inquisition, Mr. Muller promptly took\nmeasures to promote the circulation of the Word in Spain. In the\nstreets of Madrid the open Bible was seen for the first time, and\ncopies were sold at the rate of two hundred and fifty in an hour, so\nthat the supply was not equal to the demand. The same facts were\nsubstantially repeated when free Italy furnished a field for sowing the\nseed of the Kingdom. This wide-awake servant of God watched the signs of\nthe times and, while others slept, followed the Lord's signals of\nadvance.\n\nOne of the most fascinating features of the Narrative is found in the\nletters from his Bible distributors. It is interesting also to trace the\nstory of the growth of the tract enterprise, until, in 1874, the\ncirculation exceeded three and three-quarter millions, God in His\nfaithfulness supplying abundant means.*\n\n* Narrative, IV. 244.\n\nThe good thus effected by the distributors of evangelical literature\nmust not be overlooked in this survey of the many useful agencies\nemployed or assisted by Mr. Muller. To him the world was a field to be\nsown with the seed of the Kingdom, and opportunities were eagerly\nembraced for widely disseminating the truth. Tracts were liberally used,\ngiven away in large quantities at open-air services, fairs, races and\nsteeplechases, and among spectators at public executions, or among\npassengers on board ships and railway trains, and by the way. Sometimes,\nat a single gathering of the multitudes, fifteen thousand were\ndistributed judiciously and prayerfully, and this branch of the work\nhas, during all these years, continued with undiminished fruitfulness to\nyield its harvest of good.\n\nAll this was, from first to last, and of necessity, a work of faith. How\nfar faith must have been kept in constant and vigorous exercise can be\nappreciated only by putting one's self in Mr. Muller's place. In the\nyear 1874, for instance, about forty-four thousand pounds were needed,\nand he was compelled to count the cost and face the situation. Two\nthousand and one hundred hungry mouths were daily to be fed, and as many\nbodies to be clad and cared for. One hundred and eighty-nine\nmissionaries were needing assistance; one hundred schools, with about\nnine thousand pupils, to be supported; four million pages of tracts and\ntens of thousands of copies of the Scriptures to be yearly provided for\ndistribution; and, beside all these ordinary expenses, inevitable crises\nor emergencies, always liable to arise in connection with the conduct of\nsuch extensive enterprises, would from time to time call for\nextraordinary outlay. The man who was at the head of the Scriptural\nKnowledge Institution had to look at this array of unavoidable expenses,\nand at the same time face the human possibility and probability of an\nempty treasury whence the last shilling had been drawn. Let him tell us\nhow he met such a prospect: \"God, our infinitely rich Treasurer, remains\nto us. It is this which gives me peace.... Invariably, with this\nprobability before me, I have said to myself: 'God who has raised up\nthis work through me; God who has led me generally year after year to\nenlarge it; God, who has supported this work now for more than forty\nyears, will still help and will not suffer me to be confounded, because\nI rely upon Him. I commit the whole work to Him, and He will provide me\nwith what I need, in future also, though I know not whence the means are\nto come.'\"*\n\n* Narrative, IV. 386, 387.\n\nThus he wrote in his journal, on July 28, 1874. Since then twenty-four\nyears have passed, and to this day the work goes on, though he who then\nhad the guidance of it sleeps in Jesus. Whoever has had any such\ndealings with God, on however small a scale, cannot even _think_ of the\nLord as failing to honour a faith so simple, genuine, and childlike a\nfaith which leads a helpless believer thus to cast himself and all his\ncares upon God with utter abandonment of all anxiety. This man put God\nto proof, and proved to himself and to all who receive his testimony\nthat it is blessed to wait only upon Him. The particular point which he\nhad in view, in making these entries in his journal is the object also\nof embodying them in these pages, namely, to show that, while the annual\nexpenses of this Institution were so exceedingly large and the income so\napparently uncertain, the soul of this believer was, to use his own\nwords, \"THROUGHOUT, without the least wavering, stayed upon God,\nbelieving that He who had through him begun the Institution, enlarged it\nalmost year after year, and upheld it for forty years in answer to\nprayer by faith, would do this still and not suffer this servant of His\nto be confounded.\"* Believing that God would still help, and supply the\nmeans, George Muller was willing, and THOROUGHLY in heart prepared, if\nnecessary, to pass again through similar severe and prolonged seasons of\ntrial as he had already endured.\n\n* Narrative, IV. 389.\n\nThe Living God had kept him calm and restful, amid all the ups and downs\nof his long experience as the superintendent and director of this\nmany-sided work, though the tests of faith had not been light or short\nof duration. For more than ten years at a time--as from August, 1838, to\nApril, 1849, day by day, and for months together from meal to meal--it\nwas necessary to look to God, almost without cessation, for daily\nsupplies. When, later on, the Institution was twentyfold larger and the\nneeds proportionately greater, for months at a time the Lord likewise\nconstrained His servant to lean from hour to hour, in the same\ndependence, upon Him. All along through these periods of unceasing want,\nthe Eternal God was his refuge and underneath were the Everlasting Arms.\nHe reflected that God was aware of all this enlargement of the work and\nits needs; he comforted himself with the consoling thought that he was\nseeking his Master's glory; and that if in this way the greater glory\nwould accrue to Him for the good of His people and of those who were\nstill unbelievers, it was no concern of the servant; nay, more than\nthis, it behooved the servant to be willing to go on in this path of\ntrial, even unto the end of his course, if so it should please his\nMaster, who guides His affairs with divine discretion.\n\nThe trials of faith did not cease even until the end. July 28, 1881,\nfinds the following entry in Mr. Muller's journal:\n\n\"The income has been for some time past only about a third part of the\nexpenses. Consequently all we have for the support of the orphans is\nnearly gone; and for the first four objects of the Institution we have\nnothing at all in hand. The natural appearance now is that the work\ncannot be carried on. But I BELIEVE that the Lord will help, both with\nmeans for the orphans and also for other objects of the Institution, and\nthat we shall not be confounded; also that the work shall not need to be\ngiven up. I am fully expecting help, and have written this to the glory\nof God, that it may be recorded hereafter for the encouragement of His\nchildren. The result will be seen. I expect that we shall not be\nconfounded, though for some years we have not been so poor.\"\n\nWhile faith thus leaned on God, prayer took more vigorous hold. Six,\nseven, eight times a day, he and his dear wife were praying for means,\nlooking for answers, and firmly persuaded that their expectations would\nnot be disappointed. Since that entry was made, seventeen more years\nhave borne their witness that this trust was not put to shame. Not a\nbranch of this tree of holy enterprise has been cut off by the sharp\nblade of a stern necessity.\n\nThough faith had thus tenaciously held fast to the promises, the\npressure was not at once relieved. When, a fortnight after these\nconfident records of trust in God had been spread on the pages of the\njournal, the balance for the orphans was less than it had been for\ntwenty-five years, it would have seemed to human sight as though God had\nforgotten to be gracious. But, on August 22nd, over one thousand pounds\ncame in for the support of the orphans and thus relief was afforded for\na time.\n\nAgain, let us bear in mind how in the most unprecedented straits God\nalone was made the confidant, even the best friends of the Institution,\nalike the poor and the rich, being left in ignorance of the pressure of\nwant. It would have been no sin to have made known the circumstances, or\neven to have made an appeal for aid to the many believers who would\ngladly have come to the relief of the work. But the _testimony to the\nLord_ was to be jealously guarded, and the main object of this work of\nfaith would have been imperilled just so far as by any appeal to men\nthis witness to God was weakened.\n\nIn this crisis, and in every other, faith triumphed, and so the\ntestimony to a prayer-hearing God grew in volume and power as the years\nwent on. It was while as yet this period of testing was not ended, and\nno permanent relief was yet supplied, that Mr. Muller, with his wife,\nleft Bristol on August 23rd, for the Continent, on his eighth long\npreaching tour. Thus, at a time when, to the natural eye, his own\npresence would have seemed well-nigh indispensable, he calmly departed\nfor other spheres of duty, leaving the work at home in the hands of Mr.\nWright and his helpers. The tour had been already arranged for, under\nGod's leading, and it was undertaken, with the supporting power of a\ndeep conviction that God is as near to those who in prayer wait on Him\nin distant lands, as on Ashley Down, and needs not the personal presence\nof any man in any one place, or at any time, in order to carry on His\nwork.\n\nIn an American city, a half-idiotic boy who was bearing a heavy burden\nasked a drayman, who was driving an empty cart, for a ride. Being\npermitted, he mounted the cart with his basket, but thinking he might so\nrelieve the horse a little, while still himself riding, lifted his load\nand carried it. We laugh at the simplicity of the idiotic lad, and yet\nhow often we are guilty of similar folly! We profess to cast ourselves\nand our cares upon the Lord, and then persist in bearing our own\nburdens, as if we felt that He would be unequal to the task of\nsustaining us and our loads. It is a most wholesome lesson for Christian\nworkers to learn that all true work is primarily the Lord's, and only\nsecondarily ours, and that therefore all 'carefulness' on our part is\ndistrust of Him, implying a sinful self-conceit which overlooks the fact\nthat He is the one Worker and all others are only His instruments.\n\nAs to our trials, difficulties, losses, and disappointments, we are\nprone to hesitate about committing them to the Lord, trustfully and\ncalmly. We think we have done well if we take refuge in the Lord's\npromise to his reluctant disciple Peter, \"What I do thou knowest not\nnow, but thou shalt know hereafter,\" referring this 'hereafter' to the\nfuture state where we look for the solution of all problems. In Peter's\ncase the hereafter appears to have come when the feet-washing was done\nand Christ explained its meaning; and it is very helpful to our faith to\nobserve Mr. Muller's witness concerning all these trying and\ndisappointing experiences of his life, that, without one exception, he\nhad found already in this life that they worked together for his good;\nso that he had reason to praise God for them all. In the ninetieth psalm\nwe read:\n\n    \"Make us glad according to the days wherein Thou hast afflicted us\n     And the years wherein we have seen evil.\"\n                                        (Psalm xc. 15.)\n\nThis is an inspired prayer, and such prayer is a prophecy. Not a few\nsaints have found, this side of heaven, a divine gladness for every year\nand day of sadness, when their afflictions and adversities have been\npatiently borne.\n\nFaith is the secret of both peace and steadfastness, amid all tendencies\nto discouragement and discontinuance in well-doing. James was led by the\nSpirit of God to write that the unstable and unbelieving man is like the\n\"wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.\" There are two motions\nof the waves--one up and down, which we call undulation, the other to\nand fro, which we call fluctuation. How appropriately both are referred\nto--\"tossed\" up and down, \"driven\" to and fro! The double-minded man\nlacks steadiness in both respects: his faith has no uniformity of\nexperience, for he is now at the crest of the wave and now in the trough\nof the sea; it has no uniformity of progress, for whatever he gains\nto-day he loses to-morrow.\n\nFluctuations in income and apparent prosperity did not take George\nMuller by surprise. He expected them, for if there were no crises and\ncritical emergencies how could there be critical deliverances? His trust\nwas in God, not in donors or human friends or worldly circumstances: and\nbecause he trusted in the Living God who says of Himself, \"I am the\nLord, I change not,\" amid all other changes, his feet were upon the one\nRock of Ages that no earthquake shock can move from its eternal\nfoundations.\n\nTwo facts Mr. Muller gratefully records at this period of his life:\n(Narrative, IV. 411, 418.)\n\nFirst. \"For above fifty years I have now walked, by His grace, in a path\nof complete reliance upon Him who is the faithful one, for everything I\nhave needed; and yet I am increasingly convinced that it is by His help\nalone I am enabled to continue in this course; for, if left to myself,\neven after the precious enjoyment so long experienced of walking thus in\nfellowship with God, I should yet be tempted to abandon this path of\nentire dependence upon Him. To His praise, however, I am able to state\nthat for more than half a century I have never had the least desire to\ndo so.\"\n\nSecond. From May, 1880, to May 1881, a gracious work of the Spirit had\nvisited the orphans on Ashley Down and in many of the schools. During\nthe three months spent by Mr. Muller at home before sailing for America\nin September, 1880, he had been singularly drawn out in prayer for such\na visitation of grace, and had often urged it on the prayers of his\nhelpers. The Lord is faithful, and He cheered the heart of His servant\nin his absence by abundant answers to his intercessions. Before he had\nfairly entered on his work in America, news came from home of a blessed\nwork of conversion already in progress, and which went on for nearly a\nyear, until there was good ground for believing that in the five houses\nfive hundred and twelve orphans had found God their Father in Christ,\nand nearly half as many more were in a hopeful state.\n\nThe Lord did not forget His promise, and He did keep the plant He had\npermitted His servant to set in His name in the soil on Ashley Down.\nFaith that was tried, triumphed. On June 7, 1884, a legacy of over\neleven thousand pounds reached him, the _largest single gift_ ever yet\nreceived, the largest donations which had preceded being respectively\none thousand, two thousand, three thousand, five thousand, eight\nthousand one hundred, and nine thousand and ninety-one pounds.\n\nThis last amount, eleven thousand, had been due for over six years from\nan estate, but had been kept back by the delays of the Chancery Court.\nPrayer had been made day by day that the bequest might be set free for\nits uses, and now the full answer had come; and God had singularly timed\nthe supply to the need, for there was at that time only forty-one pounds\nten shillings in hand, not one half of the average daily expenses, and\ncertain sanitary improvements were just about to be carried out which\nwould require an outlay of over two thousand pounds.\n\nAs Mr. Muller closed the solemn and blessed records of 1884, he wrote:\n\n\"Thus ended the year 1884, during which we had been tried, greatly\ntried, in various ways, no doubt for the exercise of our faith, and to\nmake us know God more fully; but during which we had also been helped\nand blessed, and greatly helped and blessed. Peacefully, then, we were\nable to enter upon the year 1885, fully assured that, as we had God FOR\nus and WITH us, ALL, ALL would be well.\" John Wesley had in the same\nspirit said a century before, \"Best of all, God is with us.\"\n\nOf late years the orphanage at Ashley Down has not had as many inmates\nas formerly, and some four or five hundred more might now be received.\nMr. MUller felt constrained, for some years previous to his death, to\nmake these vacancies known to the public, in hopes that some destitute\norphans might find there a home. But it must be remembered that the\nprovision for such children has been greatly enlarged since this orphan\nwork was begun. In 1834 the total accommodation for all orphans, in\nEngland, reached thirty-six hundred, while the prisons contained nearly\ntwice as many children under eight years of age. This state of things\nled to the rapid enlargement of the work until over two thousand were\nhoused on Ashley Down alone; and this colossal enterprise stimulated\nothers to open similar institutions until, fifty years after Mr. Muller\nbegan his work, at least one hundred thousand orphans were cared for in\nEngland alone. Thus God used Mr. Muller to give such an impetus to this\nform of philanthropy, that destitute children became the object of a\nwidely organized charity both on the part of individuals and of\nsocieties, and orphanages now exist for various classes.\n\nIn all this manifold work which Mr. Muller did he was, to the last,\nself-oblivious. From the time when, in October, 1830, he had given up\nall stated salary, as pastor and minister of the gospel, he had never\nreceived any salary, stipend nor fixed income, of any sort, whether as a\npastor or as a director of the Scriptural Knowledge Institution. Both\nprinciple and preference led him to wait only upon God for all personal\nneeds, as also for all the wants of his work. Nevertheless God put into\nthe hearts of His believing children in all parts of the world, not only\nto send gifts in aid of the various branches of the work which Mr.\nMuller superintended, but to forward to him money for his own uses, as\nwell as clothes, food, and other temporal supplies. He never\nappropriated one penny which was not in some way indicated or designated\nas for his own personal needs, and subject to his personal judgment. No\nstraits of individual or family want ever led him to use, even for a\ntime, what was sent to him for other ends. Generally gifts intended for\nhimself were wrapped up in paper with his name written thereon, or in\nother equally distinct ways designated as meant for him. Thus as early\nas 1874 his year's income reached upwards of twenty-one hundred pounds.\nFew nonconformist ministers, and not one in twenty of the clergy of the\nestablishment, have any such income, which averages about six pounds for\nevery day in the year--and all this came from the Lord, simply in answer\nto prayer, and without appeal of any sort to man or even the revelation\nof personal needs. If we add legacies paid at the end of the year 1873,\nMr. Muller's entire income in about thirteen months exceeded thirty-one\nhundred pounds. Of this he gave, out and out to the needy, and to the\nwork of God, the whole amount save about two hundred and fifty, expended\non personal and family wants; and thus started the year 1875 as poor as\nhe had begun forty-five years before; and if his personal expenses were\nscrutinized it would be found that even what he ate and drank and wore\nwas with equal conscientiousness expended for the glory of God, so that\nin a true sense we may say he spent nothing on himself.\n\nIn another connection it has already been recorded that, when at\nJubbulpore in 1890, Mr. Muller received tidings of his daughter's death.\nTo any man of less faith that shock might have proved, at his advanced\nage, not only a stunning but a fatal blow. His only daughter and only\nchild, Lydia, the devoted wife of James Wright, had been called home, in\nher fifty-eighth year, and after nearly thirty years of labour at the\norphan houses. What this death meant to Mr. Muller, at the age of\neighty-four, no one can know who has not witnessed the mutual devotion\nof that daughter and that father: and what that loss was to Mr. Wright,\nthe pen alike fails to portray. If the daughter seemed to her father\nhumanly indispensable, she was to her husband a sort of inseparable part\nof his being; and over such experiences as these it is the part of\ndelicacy to draw the curtain of silence. But it should be recorded that\nno trait in Mrs. Wright was more pathetically attractive than her\nhumility. Few disciples ever felt their own nothingness as she did, and\nit was this ornament of a meek and quiet spirit--the only ornament she\nwore--that made her seem so beautiful to all who knew her well enough\nfor this 'hidden man of the heart' to be disclosed to their vision. Did\nnot that ornament in the Lord's sight appear as of great price? Truly\n\"the beauty of the Lord her God was upon her.\"\n\nJames Wright had lived with his beloved Lydia for more than eighteen\nyears, in \"unmarred and unbroken felicity.\" They had together shared in\nprayers and tears before God, bearing all life's burdens in common. Weak\nas she was physically, he always leaned upon her and found her a tower\nof spiritual strength in time of heavy responsibility. While, in her\nlowly-mindedness, she thought of herself as a 'little useless thing,' he\nfound her both a capable and cheerful supervisor of many most important\ndomestic arrangements where a competent woman's hand was needful: and,\nwith rare tact and fidelity, she kept watch of the wants of the orphans\nas her dear mother had done before her. After her decease, her husband\nfound among her personal effects a precious treasure--a verse written\nwith her own hand:\n\n       \"I have seen the face of Jesus,\n        Tell me not of aught beside;\n        I have heard the voice of Jesus,\n        All my soul is satisfied.\"\n\nThis invaluable little fragment, like that other writing found by this\nbeloved daughter among her mother's effects, became to Mr. Wright what\nthat had been to Mr. Muller, a sort of last legacy from his departed and\nbeloved wife. Her desires were fulfilled; she had seen the face and\nheard the voice of Him who alone could satisfy her soul.\n\nIn the Fifty-third Report, which extends to May 26, 1892, it is stated\nthat the expenses exceeded the income for the orphans by a total of over\nthirty-six hundred pounds, so that many dear fellow labourers, without\nthe least complaint, were in arrears as to salaries. This was the second\ntime only, in fifty-eight years, that the income thus fell short of the\nexpenses. Ten years previous, the expenses had been in excess of the\nincome by four hundred and eighty-eight pounds, but, within one month\nafter the new financial year had begun, by the payment of legacies three\ntimes as much as the deficiency was paid in; and, adding donations, six\ntimes as much. And now the question arose whether God would not have Mr.\nMuller contract rather than expand the work.\n\nHe says: \"The Lord's dealings with us during the last year indicate that\nit is His will we should contract our operations, and we are waiting\nupon Him for directions as to how and to what extent this should be\ndone; for we have but one single object--the glory of God. When I\nfounded this Institution, one of the principles stated was, 'that there\nwould be no enlargement of the work by going into debt': and in like\nmanner we cannot go on with _that which already exists_ if we have not\nsufficient means coming in to meet the current expenses.\" Thus the godly\nman who loved to expand his service for God was humble enough to bow to\nthe will of God if its contraction seemed needful.\n\nPrayer was much increased, and faith did not fail under the trial, which\ncontinued for weeks and months, but was abundantly sustained by the\npromises of an unfailing Helper. This distress was relieved in March by\nthe sale of ten acres of land, at one thousand pounds an acre, and at\nthe close of the year there was in hand a balance of over twenty-three\nhundred pounds.\n\nThe exigency, however, continued more or less severe until again, in\n1893-4, after several years of trial, the Lord once more bountifully\nsupplied means. And Mr. Muller is careful to add that though the\n_appearance_ during those years of trial was many times as if God had\nforgotten or forsaken them and would never care any more about the\nInstitution, it was only in appearance, for he was as mindful of it as\never, and he records how by this discipline faith was still further\nstrengthened, God was glorified in the patience and meekness whereby He\nenabled them to endure the testing, and tens of thousands of believers\nwere blessed in afterward reading about these experience's of divine\nfaithfulness.*\n\n* Fifty-fifth Report, p. 32.\n\nFive years after Mrs. Wright's death, Mr. Muller was left again a\nwidower. His last great mission tour had come to an end in 1892, and in\n1895, on the 13th of January, the beloved wife who in all these long\njourneys had been his constant companion and helper, passed to her rest,\nand once more left him peculiarly alone, since his devoted Lydia had\nbeen called up higher. Yet by the same grace of God which had always\nbefore sustained him he was now upheld, and not only kept in unbroken\npeace, but enabled to \"kiss the Hand which administered the stroke.\"\n\nAt the funeral of his second wife, as at that of the first, he made the\naddress, and the scene was unique in interest. Seldom does a man of\nninety conduct such a service. The faith that sustained him in every\nother trial held him up in this. He lived in such habitual communion\nwith the unseen world, and walked in such uninterrupted fellowship with\nthe unseen God, that the exchange of worlds became too real for him to\nmourn for those who had made it, or to murmur at the infinite Love that\nnumbers our days. It moved men more deeply than any spoken word of\nwitness to see him manifestly borne up as on everlasting Arms.\n\nI remember Mr. Muller remarking that he waited eight years before he\nunderstood at all the purpose of God in removing his first wife, who\nseemed so indispensable to him and his work. His own journal explains\nmore fully this remark. When it pleased God to take from him his second\nwife, after over twenty-three years of married life, again he rested on\nthe promise that \"All things work together for good to them that love\nGod\" and reflected on his past experiences of its truth. When he lost\nhis first wife after over thirty-nine years of happy wedlock, while he\nbowed to the Father's will, how that sorrow and bereavement could work\ngood had been wholly a matter of _faith,_ for no compensating good was\napparent to sight; yet he believed God's word and waited to see how it\nwould be fulfilled. That loss seemed one that could not be made up. Only\na little before, two orphan houses had been opened for nine hundred more\norphans, so that there were total accommodations for over two thousand;\nshe, who by nature, culture, gifts, and graces, was so wonderfully\nfitted to be her husband's helper, and who had with motherly love cared\nfor these children, was suddenly removed from his side. Four years after\nMr. Muller married his second wife, he saw it plainly to be God's will\nthat he should spend life's evening-time in giving witness to the\nnations. These mission tours could not be otherwise than very trying to\nthe physical powers of endurance, since they covered over two hundred\nthousand miles and obliged the travellers to spend a week at a time in a\ntrain, and sometimes from four to six weeks on board a vessel. Mrs.\nMuller, though never taking part in public, was severely taxed by all\nthis travel, and always busy, writing letters, circulating books and\ntracts, and in various ways helping and relieving her husband. All at\nonce, while in the midst of these fatiguing journeys and exposures to\nvarying climates, it flashed upon Mr. Muller that his first wife, who\nhad died in her seventy-third year, _could never have undertaken these\ntours,_ and that the Lord had thus, in taking her, left him free to make\nthese extensive journeys. She would have been over fourscore years old\nwhen these tours began, and, apart from age, could not have borne the\nexhaustion, because of her frail health; whereas the second Mrs. Muller,\nwho, at the time, was not yet fifty-seven, was both by her age and\nstrength fully equal to the strain thus put upon her.\n\n\nCHAPTER XIX\n\nAT EVENING-TIME--LIGHT\n\nTHE closing scene of this beautiful and eventful life-history has an\ninterest not altogether pathetic. Mr. Muller seems like an elevated\nmountain, on whose summit the evening sun shines in lingering splendour,\nand whose golden peak rises far above the ordinary level and belongs to\nheaven more than earth, in the clear, cloudless calm of God.\n\nFrom May, 1892, when the last mission tour closed; he devoted himself\nmainly to the work of the Scriptural Knowledge Institution, and to\npreaching at Bethesda and elsewhere as God seemed to appoint. His health\nwas marvelous, especially considering how, when yet a young man,\nfrequent and serious illnesses and general debility had apparently\ndisqualified him from all military duty, and to many prophesied early\ndeath or hopeless succumbing to disease. He had been in tropic heat and\narctic cold, in gales and typhoons at sea, and on journeys by rail,\nsometimes as continuously long as a sea-voyage. He had borne the pest of\nfleas, mosquitoes, and even rats. He had endured changes of climate,\ndiet, habits of life, and the strain of almost daily services, and come\nout of all unscathed. This man, whose health was never robust, had gone\nthrough labours that would try the mettle of an iron constitution; this\nman, who had many times been laid aside by illness and sometimes for\nmonths and who in 1837 had feared that a persistent head trouble might\nunhinge his mind, could say, in his ninety-second year: \"I have been\nable, every day and all the day, to work, and that with ease, as seventy\nyears since.\" When the writer was holding meetings in Bristol in 1896,\non an anniversary very sacred to himself, he asked his beloved father\nMuller to speak at the closing meeting of the series, in the Y.M.C.A.\nHall; and he did so, delivering a powerful address of forty-five\nminutes, on Prayer in connection with Missions, and giving his own\nlife-story in part, with a vigour of voice and manner that seemed a\ndenial of his advanced age.*\n\n* Appendix K.\n\nThe marvelous preservation of such a man at such an age reminds one of\nCaleb, who at eighty-five could boast in God that he was as strong even\nfor war as in the day that he was sent into the land as one of the\nspies; and Mr. Muller himself attributed this preservation to three\ncauses: first, the exercising of himself to have always a conscience\nvoid of offence both toward God and toward men; secondly to the love he\nfelt for the Scriptures, and the constant recuperative power they\nexercised upon his whole being; and third, to that happiness he felt in\nGod and His work, which relieved him of all anxiety and needless wear\nand tear in his labours.\n\nThe great fundamental truth that this heroic man stamped on his\ngeneration was that the Living God is the same to-day and forever as\nyesterday and in all ages past, and that, with equal confidence with the\nmost trustful souls of any age, we may believe His word, and to every\npromise add, like Abraham, our 'Amen'--IT SHALL BE SO!* When, a few\ndays after his death, Mr. E. H. Glenny, who is known to many as the\nbeloved and self-sacrificing friend of the North African Mission, passed\nthrough Barcelona, he found written in an album over his signature the\nwords: \"Jesus Christ, the same yesterday and to-day and for ever.\" And,\nlike the writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews, quoting from the 102nd\nPsalm, we may say of Jehovah, while all else changes and perishes:\n\n        \"THOU REMAINEST\";\n        \"THOU ART THE SAME.\"\n\nToward the close of life Mr. Muller, acting under medical advice, abated\nsomewhat of his active labours, preaching commonly but once a Sunday. It\nwas my privilege to hear him on the morning of the Lord's day, March 22,\n1896. He spoke on the 77th Psalm; of course he found here his favourite\ntheme--prayer; and, taking that as a fair specimen of his average\npreaching, he was certainly a remarkable expositor of Scripture even at\nninety-one years of age. Later on the outline of this discourse will be\nfound.\n\n* Gen. xv. 6. (Hebrew.)\n\nOn Sunday morning, March 6, 1898, he spoke at Alma Road Chapel, and on\nthe Monday evening following was at the prayer service at Bethesda, on\nboth occasions in his usual health. On Wednesday evening following, he\ntook his wonted place at the Orphan House prayer meeting and gave out\nthe hymns:\n\n        \"The countless multitude on high.\"\nand\n        \"We'll sing of the Shepherd that died.\"\n\nWhen he bade his beloved son-in-law \"good-night,\" there was no outward\nsign of declining strength. He seemed to the last the vigorous old man,\nand retired to rest as usual. It had been felt that one so advanced in\nyears should have some night-attendant, especially as indications of\nheart-weakness had been noticed of late, and he had yielded to the\npressure of love and consented to such an arrangement _after that\nnight._ But the consent came too late. He was never more to need human\nattendance or attention. On Thursday morning, March 10th, at about seven\no'clock, the usual cup of tea was taken to his room. To the knock at the\ndoor there was no response save an ominous silence. The attendant opened\nthe door, only to find that the venerable patriarch lay dead, on the\nfloor beside the bed. He had probably risen to take some nourishment--a\nglass of milk and a biscuit being always put within reach--and, while\neating the biscuit, he had felt faint, and fallen, clutching at the\ntable-cloth as he fell, for it was dragged off, with certain things that\nhad lain on the table. His medical adviser, who was promptly summoned,\ngave as his opinion that he had died of heart-failure some hour or two\nbefore he had been found by his attendant.\n\nSuch a departure, even at such an age, produced a worldwide sensation.\nThat man's moral and spiritual forces reached and touched the earth's\nends. Not in Bristol, or in Britain alone, but across the mighty waters\ntoward the sunrise and sunset was felt the responsive pulse-beat of a\ndeep sympathy. Hearts bled all over the globe when it was announced, by\ntelegraph wire and ocean cable, that George Muller was dead. It was said\nof a great Englishman that his influence could be measured only by\n\"parallels of latitude\"; of George Muller we may add, and by meridians\nof longitude. He belonged to the whole church and the whole world, in a\nunique sense; and the whole race of man sustained a loss when he died.\n\nThe funeral, which took place on the Monday following, was a popular\ntribute of affection, such as is seldom seen. Tens of thousands of\npeople reverently stood along the route of the simple procession; men\nleft their workshops and offices, women left their elegant homes or\nhumble kitchens, all seeking to pay a last token of respect. Bristol had\nnever before witnessed any such scene.\n\nA brief service was held at Orphan House No. 3, where over a thousand\nchildren met, who had for a second time lost a 'father'; in front of the\nreading-desk in the great dining-room, a coffin of elm, studiously\nplain, and by request without floral offerings, contained all that was\nmortal of George Muller, and on a brass plate was a simple inscription,\ngiving the date of his death, and his age.\n\nMr. James Wright gave the address, reminding those who were gathered\nthat, to all of us, even those who have lived nearest God, death comes\nwhile the Lord tarries; that it is blessed to die in the Lord; and that\nfor believers in Christ there is a glorious resurrection waiting. The\ntears that ran down those young cheeks were more eloquent than any\nwords, as a token of affection for the dead. The procession silently\nformed. Among those who followed the bier were four who had been\noccupants of that first orphan home in Wilson Street. The children's\ngrief melted the hearts of spectators, and eyes unused to weeping were\nmoistened that day. The various carriages bore the medical attendants,\nthe relatives and connections of Mr. Muller, the elders and deacons of\nthe churches with which he was associated, and his staff of helpers in\nthe work on Ashley Down. Then followed forty or fifty other vehicles\nwith deputations from various religious bodies, etc.\n\nAt Bethesda, every foot of space was crowded, and hundreds sought in\nvain for admission. The hymn was sung which Mr. Muller had given out at\nthat last prayer meeting the night before his departure. Dr. Maclean of\nBath offered prayer, mingled with praise for such a long life of service\nand witness, of prayer and faith, and Mr. Wright spoke from Hebrews\nxiii. 7, 8:\n\n   \"Remember them which have the rule over you,\n    Who have spoken unto you the word of God:\n    Whose faith follow,\n    Considering the end of their conversation:\n    Jesus Christ, the same yesterday and to-day and forever.\"\n\nHe spoke of those spiritual rulers and guides whom God sets over his\npeople; and of the privilege of imitating their faith, calling attention\nto the two characteristics of his beloved father-in-law's faith: first,\nthat it was based on that immovable Rock of Ages, God's written word;\nand secondly, that it translated the precepts and promises of that word\ninto daily life.\n\nMr. Wright made very emphatic Mr. Muller's acceptance of the whole\nScriptures, as divinely inspired. He had been wont to say to young\nbelievers, \"Put your finger on the passage on which your faith rests,\"\nand had himself read the Bible from end to end nearly two hundred times.\nHe fed on the Word and therefore was strong. He found the centre of that\nWord in the living Person it enshrines, and his one ground of confidence\nwas His atoning work. Always in his own eyes weak, wretched, and vile,\nunworthy of the smallest blessing, he rested solely on the merit and\nmediation of His great High Priest.\n\nGeorge Muller _cultivated_ faith. He used to say to his helpers in\nprayer and service, \"Never let enter your minds a shadow of doubt as to\nthe love of the Father's heart or the power of the Father's arm.\" And he\nprojected his whole life forward, and looked at it in the light of the\nJudgment Day.\n\nMr. Wright's address made prominent one or two other most important\nlessons, as, for example, that the Spirit bids us imitate, not the\nidiosyncrasies or philanthropy of others, but _their faith._ And he took\noccasion to remind his hearers that philanthropy was not the foremost\naim or leading feature of Mr. Muller's life, but above all else to\nmagnify and glorify God, _\"as still the living God who, now as well as\nthousands of years ago, hears the prayers of His children and helps\nthose who trust Him.\"_ He touchingly referred to the humility that led\nMr. Muller to do the mightiest thing for God without self-consciousness,\nand showed that God can take up and use those who are willing to be only\ninstruments.\n\nMr. Wright further remarked: \"I have been asked again and again lately\nas to whether the orphan work would go on. It is going on. Since the\ncommencement of the year we have received between forty and fifty fresh\norphans, and this week expect to receive more. The other four objects of\nthe Institution, according to the ability God gives us, are still being\ncarried on. We believe that whatever God would do with regard to the\nfuture will be worthy of Him. We do not know much more, and do not want\nto. He knows what He will do. I cannot think, however, that the God who\nhas so blessed the work for so long will leave our prayers as to the\nfuture unanswered.\"\n\nMr. Benjamin Perry then spoke briefly, characterizing Mr. Muller as the\ngreatest personality Bristol had known as a citizen. He referred to his\npower as an expounder of Scripture, and to the fact that he brought to\nothers for their comfort and support what had first been food to his own\nsoul. He gave some personal reminiscences, referring, for instance, to\nhis ability at an extreme old age still to work without hindrance either\nmental or physical, free from rheumatism, ache, or pain, and seldom\nsuffering from exhaustion. He briefly described him as one who, in\nresponse to the infinite love of God, which called him from a life of\nsin to a life of salvation and service, wholly loved God above everybody\nand everything, so that his highest pleasure was to please and serve\nHim. As an illustration of his humility, he gave an incident. When of\nlate a friend had said, \"When God calls you home, it will be like a\nship going into harbour, full sail.\"--\"Oh no!\" said Mr. Muller, \"it is\npoor George Muller who needs daily to pray, 'Hold Thou me up in my\ngoings, that my footsteps slip not.'\" The close of such lives as those\nof Asa and Solomon were to Mr. Muller a perpetual warning, leading him\nto pray that he might never thus depart from the Lord in his old age.\n\nAfter prayer by Mr. J. L. Stanley, Col. Molesworth gave out the hymn,\n\n        \"'Tis sweet to think of those at rest.\"\n\nAnd after another prayer by Mr. Stanley Arnot, the body was borne to its\nresting-place in Arno's Vale Cemetery, and buried beside the bodies of\nMr. Muller's first and second wives, some eighty carriages joining in the\nprocession to the grave. Everything from first to last was as simple and\nunostentatious as he himself would have wished. At the graveside Col.\nMolesworth prayed, and Mr. George F. Bergin read from 1 Cor. xv. and\nspoke a few words upon the tenth verse, which so magnifies the grace of\nGod both in what we _are_ and what we _do._\n\nMr. E. K. Groves, nephew of Mr. Muller, announced as the closing hymn\nthe second given out by him at that last prayer meeting at the\norphanage.\n\n        \"We'll sing of the Shepherd that died.\"\n\nMr. E. T. Davies then offered prayer, and the body was left to its\nundisturbed repose, until the Lord shall come.\n\nOther memorial services were held at the Y.M.C.A. Hall, and very\nnaturally at Bethesda Chapel, which brought to a fitting close this\nseries of loving tributes to the departed. On the Lord's day preceding\nthe burial, in nearly all the city pulpits, more or less extended\nreference had been made to the life, the character, and the career of\nthe beloved saint who had for so many years lived his irreproachable\nlife in Bristol. Also the daily and weekly press teemed with obituary\nnotices, and tributes to his piety, worth, and work.\n\nIt was touchingly remarked at his funeral that he first confessed to\nfeeling weak and weary in his work that last night of his earthly\nsojourn; and it seemed specially tender of the Lord not to allow that\nsense of exhaustion to come upon him until just as He was about to send\nHis chariot to bear him to His presence. Mr. Muller's last sermon at\nBethesda Chapel, after a ministry of sixty-six years, had been from 2\nCor. v. 1:\n\n\"For we know that, if our earthly house of this tabernacle were\ndissolved, we have a building of God, a house not made with hands,\neternal in the heavens.\"\n\nIt was as though he had some foretokens of his being about shortly to\nput off this his tabernacle. Evidently he was not taken by surprise. He\nhad foreseen that his days were fast completing their number. Seven\nmonths before his departure, he had remarked to his medical attendant,\nin connection with the irregularity of his pulse: \"It means _death.\"_\n\nMany of the dear orphans--as when the first Mrs. Muller died--wrote,\nasking that they might contribute toward the erection of a monument to\nthe memory of their beloved benefactor. Already one dear young servant\nhad gathered, for the purpose, over twenty pounds. In conformity with\nthe known wishes of his father-in-law that only the simplest headstone\nbe placed over his remains, Mr. Wright thought necessary to check the\ninflow of such gifts, the sum in hand being quite sufficient.\n\nFurther urgent appeals were made both from British and American friends,\nfor the erection of some statue or other large visible monument or\nmemorial, and in these appeals the local newspapers united. At length\nprivate letters led Mr. Wright to communicate with the public press, as\nthe best way at once to silence these appeals and express the ground of\nrejecting such proposals. He wrote as follows:\n\n\"You ask me, as one long and closely associated with the late Mr. George\nMuller, to say what I think would be most in accordance with his own\nwishes as a fitting memorial of himself.\n\n\"Will not the best way of replying to this question be to let him speak\nfor himself?\n\n\"1st. When he erected Orphan House No. 1, and the question came what is\nthe building to be called, he deliberately avoided associating his own\nname with it, and named it 'The New Orphan House, Ashley Down.' N.B.--To\nthe end of his life he _disliked_ hearing or reading the words 'Muller's\nOrphanage.' In keeping with this, for years, in _every Annual Report,_\nwhen referring to the Orphanage he reiterated the statement, 'The New\nOrphan Houses on Ashley Down, Bristol, are not _my_ Orphan Houses,...\nthey are God's Orphan Houses.' (See, for example, the Report for 1897,\np. 69.)\n\n\"2nd. For years, in fact until he was nearly eighty years old, he\nsteadily refused to allow any _portrait_ of himself to be published; and\nonly most reluctantly (for reasons which he gives with characteristic\nminuteness in the preface to 'Preaching Tours') did he at length give\nway on this point.\n\n\"3rd. In the last published Report, at page 66, he states: 'The primary\nobject I had in view in carrying on this work,' viz., 'that it might be\nseen that now, in the nineteenth century, _God is still the Living God,\nand that now, as well as thousands of years ago, He listens to the\nprayers of His children and helps those who trust in Him.'_ From these\nwords and ways of acting, is it not evident, that the only 'memorial'\nthat George Muller cared about was that which consists in the effect of\nhis example, Godward, upon his fellow men? Every soul converted to God\n(instrumentally) through his words or example constitutes a permanent\nmemorial to him as the father in Christ of such an one. Every believer\nstrengthened in faith (instrumentally) through his words or example\nconstitutes a similar memorial to his spiritual teacher.\n\n\"He knew that God had, already, in the riches of His grace, given him\nmany such memorials; and he departed this life, as I well know,\ncherishing the most lively hope that he should greet _above_ thousands\nmore to whom it had pleased God to make him a channel of rich spiritual\nblessing.\n\n\"He used often to say to me, when he opened a letter in which the writer\npoured out a tale of sore pecuniary need, and besought his help to an\nextent twice or three or ten times exceeding the sum total of his (Mr.\nMuller's) earthly possessions at the moment, 'Ah! these dear people\nentirely miss the lesson I am _trying_ to teach them, for they come to\n_me,_ instead of going to _God.'_ And if he could come back to us for an\nhour, and listen to an account of what his sincerely admiring, but\nmistaken, friends are proposing to do to _perpetuate_ his memory, I can\nhear him, with a sigh, exclaiming, 'Ah! these _dear_ friends are\nentirely missing the lesson that I tried for seventy years to teach\nthem,' viz., 'That a _man_ can receive nothing except it be _given_ him\n_from above,'_ and that, therefore, it is the Blessed _Giver,_ and not\nthe poor receiver, that is to be glorified.\n\n    \"Yours faithfully,\n        \"JAMES WRIGHT.\"\n\n\nCHAPTER XX\n\nTHE SUMMARY OF THE LIFE-WORK\n\nDEATH shuts the door upon earthly service, whatever door it may open to\nother forms and spheres of activity. There are many intimations that\nservice beyond the grave is both unceasing and untiring: the blessed\ndead \"rest indeed from their _labours\"_--toilsome and painful\ntasks--\"but their works\"--activities for God--\"do follow them,\" where\nexertion is without exhaustion.\n\nThis is therefore a fit point for summing up the results of the work\nover which, from its beginning, one man had specially had charge. One\nsentence from Mr. Muller's pen marks the purpose which was the very\npivot of his whole being: \"I have joyfully dedicated my whole life to\nthe object of exemplifying how much may be accomplished by prayer and\nfaith.\" This prepared both for the development of the character of him\nwho had such singleness of aim, and for the development of the work in\nwhich that aim found action. Mr. Muller's oldest friend, Robert C.\nChapman of Barnstaple, beautifully says that \"when a man's chief\nbusiness is to serve and please the Lord, all his circumstances become\nhis servants\"; and we shall find this maxim true in Mr. Muller's\nlife-work.\n\nThe Fifty-ninth Report, issued May 26, 1898, was the last up to the date\nof the publication of this volume, and the first after Mr. Muller's\ndeath. In this, Mr. Wright gives the brief but valuable summary not only\nof the whole work of the year preceding, but of the whole work from its\nbeginning, and thus helps us to a comprehensive survey.\n\nThis report is doubly precious as it contains also the last contribution\nof Mr. Muller's own pen to the record of the Lord's dealings. It is\nprobable that on the afternoon of March 9th he laid down his pen, for\nthe last time, all unconscious that he was never again to take it up. He\nhad made, in a twofold sense, his closing entry in life's solemn\njournal! In the evening of that day he took his customary part in the\nprayer service in the orphan house--then went to sleep for the last time\non earth; there came a waking hour, when he was alone with God, and\nsuddenly departed, leaving his body to its long sleep that knows no\nwaking until the day of the Lord's coming, while his spirit returned\nunto God who gave it.\n\nThe afternoon of that day of death, and of 'birth' into the heavenly\nlife--as the catacomb saints called it--found the helpers again\nassembled in the same prayer room to commit the work to him \"who only\nhath immortality,\" and who, amid all changes of human administration,\never remains the divine Master Workman, never at a loss for His own\nchosen instruments.\n\nMr. Wright, in this report, shows himself God's chosen successor in the\nwork, evidently like-minded with the departed director. The first\nparagraph, after the brief and touching reference to his father-in-law,\nserves to convey to all friends of this work the assurance that he to\nwhom Mr. Muller left its conduct has also learned the one secret of all\nsuccess in coworking with God. It sounds, as the significant _keynote_\nfor the future, the same old keynote of the past, carrying on the melody\nand harmony, without change, into the new measures. It is the same\noratorio, without alteration of theme, time, or even key: the leading\nperformer is indeed no more, but another hand takes up his instrument\nand, trembling with emotion, continues the unfinished strain so that\nthere is no interruption. Mr. Wright says:\n\n\"It is written (Job xxvi. 7): 'He hangeth the earth upon\n_nothing'_--that is, no _visible_ support. And so we exult in the fact\nthat 'the Scriptural Knowledge Institution for Home and Abroad' hangs,\nas it has ever hung, since its commencement, now more than sixty-four\nyears ago, 'upon nothing,' that is, upon no VISIBLE support. It hangs\nupon no human patron, upon no endowment or funded property, but solely\nupon the good pleasure of the blessed God.\"\n\nBlessed lesson to learn! that to hang upon the invisible God is not to\nhang \"upon nothing,\" though it be upon nothing _visible._ The power and\npermanence of the invisible forces that hold up the earth after sixty\ncenturies of human history are sufficiently shown by the fact that this\ngreat globe still swings securely in space and is whirled through its\nvast orbit, and that, without variation of a second, it still moves with\ndivine exactness in its appointed path. We can therefore trust the same\ninvisible God to sustain with His unseen power all the work which faith\nsuspends upon His truth and love and unfailing word of promise, though\nto the natural eye all these may seem as nothing.\n\nMr. Wright records also a very striking answer to long-continued prayer,\nand a most impressive instance of the tender care of the Lord, in the\n_providing of an associate,_ every way like-minded, and well fitted to\nshare the responsibility falling upon his shoulders at the decease of\nhis father-in-law.\n\nFeeling the burden too great for him, his one resource\nwas to cast his burden on the Lord. He and Mr. Muller had asked of God\nsuch a companion in labour for three years before his departure, and Mr.\nWright and his dear wife had, for twenty-five years before that--from\nthe time when Mr. Muller's long missionary tours began to withdraw him\nfrom Bristol--besought of the Lord the same favour. But to none of them\nhad any _name_ been suggested, or, if so, it had never been mentioned.\n\nAfter that day of death, Mr. Wright felt that a gracious Father would\nnot long leave him to sustain this great burden alone, and about a\nfortnight later he felt assured that it was the will of God that he\nshould ask Mr. George Frederic Bergin to join him in the work, who\nseemed to him a _\"true yoke-fellow.\"_ He had known him well for a\nquarter-century; he had worked by his side in the church; and though\nthey were diverse in temperament, there had never been a break in unity\nor sympathy. Mr. Bergin was seventeen years his junior, and so likely to\nsurvive and succeed him; he was very fond of children, and had been much\nblessed in training his own in the nurture and admonition of the Lord,\nand hence was fitted to take charge of this larger family of orphans.\nConfident of being led of God, he put the matter before Mr. Bergin,\ndelighted but not surprised to find that the same God had moved on his\nmind also, and in the same direction; for not only was he ready to\nrespond to Mr. Wright's appeal, but he had been led of God to feel that\nhe should, after a certain time, _go to Mr. Wright and offer himself._\nThe Spirit who guided Philip to the Eunuch and at the same time had made\nthe Eunuch to inquire after guidance; who sent men from Cornelius and,\nwhile they were knocking at Simon's house, was bidding Peter go with\nthem, still moves in a mysterious way, and simultaneously, on those whom\nHe would bring together for cooperation in loving service. And thus Mr.\nWright found the Living God the same Helper and Supplier of every need,\nafter his beloved father-in-law had gone up higher; and felt constrained\nto feel that the God of Elijah was still at the crossing of the Jordan\nand could work the same wonders as before, supplying the need of the\nhour when the need came.\n\nMr. Muller's own gifts to the service of the Lord find in this\nposthumous report their first full record and recognition. Readers of\nthe Annual Reports must have noticed an entry, recurring with strange\nfrequency during all these thirty or forty years, and therefore\nsuggesting a giver that must have reached a very ripe age: \"from a\nservant of the Lord Jesus, who, constrained by the love of Christ, seeks\nto lay up treasure in heaven.\" If that entry be carefully followed\nthroughout and there be added the personal gifts made by Mr. Muller to\nvarious benevolent objects, it will be found that the aggregate sum from\nthis \"servant\" reaches, up to March 1, 1898, a total of _eighty-one\nthousand four hundred and ninety pounds eighteen shillings and\neightpence._ Mr. Wright, now that this \"servant of the Lord Jesus\" is\nwith his Master, who promised, \"Where I am there shall also My servant\nbe,\" feels free to make known that this donor was no other than _George\nMuller himself_ who thus gave out of his own money--money given to him\nfor his own use or left to him by legacies--the total sum of about\nsixty-four thousand five hundred pounds to the Scriptural Knowledge\nInstitution, and, in other directions, seventeen thousand more.\n\nThis is a record of personal gifts to which we know no parallel. It\nreminds us of the career of John Wesley, whose simplicity and frugality\nof habits enabled him not only to limit his own expenditure to a very\nsmall sum, but whose Christian liberality and unselfishness prompted him\nto give all that he could thus save to purely benevolent\nobjects. While he had but thirty pounds a year, he lived on twenty-eight\nand gave away forty shillings. Receiving twice as much the next year, he\nstill kept his living expenses down to the twenty-eight pounds and had\nthirty-two to bestow on the needy; and when the third year his income\nrose to ninety pounds, he spent no more than before and gave away\nsixty-two. The fourth year brought one hundred and twenty, and he\ndisbursed still but the same sum for his own needs, having ninety-two to\nspare. It is calculated that in the course of his life he thus gave away\nat least thirty thousand pounds, and four silver spoons comprised all\nthe silver plate that he possessed when the collectors of taxes called\nupon him. Such economy on the one hand and such generosity on the other\nhave seldom been known in human history. But George Muller's record will\ncompare favourably with this or any other of modern days. His frugality,\nsimplicity, and economy were equal to Wesley's, and his gifts aggregated\neighty-one thousand pounds. Mr. Muller had received increasingly large\nsums from the Lord which he _invested_ well and most profitably, so that\nfor over sixty years he never lost a penny through a bad speculation!\nBut his investments were not in lands or banks or railways, but in the\n_work of God._ He made friends out of the mammon of unrighteousness that\nwhen he failed received him into everlasting habitations. He continued,\nyear after year, to make provision for himself, his beloved wife and\ndaughter, by laying up treasure--in heaven. Such a man had certainly a\nright to exhort others to systematic beneficence. He gave--as not one in\na million gives--not a tithe, not any fixed proportion of annual income,\nbut _all that was left_ after the simplest and most necessary supply of\nactual wants. While most Christians regard themselves as doing their\nduty if, after they have given a portion to the Lord, they spend all the\nrest on themselves, God led George Muller to reverse this rule and\nreserve only the most frugal sum for personal needs, that the entire\nremainder might be given to him that needeth. The utter _revolution_\nimplied in our habits of giving which would be necessary were such a\nrule adopted is but too obvious. Mr. Muller's own words are:\n\n\"My aim never was, how much I could _obtain,_ but rather how much I\ncould give.\"\n\nHe kept continually before him _his stewardship_ of God's property; and\nsought to make the most of the one brief life on earth, and to use for\nthe best and largest good the property held by him in trust. The things\nof God were deep realities, and, projecting every action and decision\nand motive into the light of the judgment-seat of Christ, he asked\nhimself how it would appear to him in the light of that tribunal. Thus\nhe sought prayerfully and conscientiously so to live and labour, so to\ndeny himself, and, by love, serve God and man, as that he should not be\nashamed before Him at His coming. But not in a spirit of _fear_ was this\ndone; for if any man of his generation knew the perfect love that casts\nout fear, it was George Muller. He felt that God is love, and love is of\nGod. He saw that love manifested in the greatest of gifts--His\nonly-begotten Son at Calvary--he knew and believed the Love that God\nhath to us; he received it into his own heart; it became an abiding\npresence, manifested in obedience and benevolence, and, subduing him\nmore and more, it became perfected so as to expel tormenting fear and\nimpart a holy confidence and delight in God.\n\nAmong the texts which strongly impressed and moulded Mr. Muller's habits\nof giving was Luke vi. 38:\n\n\"Give and it shall be given unto you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken\ntogether and running over shall men give into your bosom.\"\n\nHe believed this promise and he verified it. His testimony is: \"I had\nGIVEN, and God had caused to be GIVEN TO ME AGAIN, and bountifully.\"\n\nAgain he read: \"It is more blessed to give than to receive.\"\n\nHe says that he BELIEVED what he found in the word of God, and by His\ngrace sought to ACT ACCORDINGLY, and thus again records that he was\nblessed abundantly and his peace and joy in the Holy Ghost increased\nmore and more.\n\nIt will not be a surprise, therefore, that, as has been already noted,\nMr. Muller's _entire personal estate_ at his death, as sworn to, when\nthe will was admitted to probate, was only 169 pounds 9s. 4d., of which\nbooks, household furniture, etc., were reckoned at over one hundred\npounds, the only _money_ in his possession being a trifle over sixty\npounds, and even this only awaiting disbursement as God's steward.\n\nThe will of Mr. Muller contains a pregnant clause which should not be\nforgotten in this memorial. It closes with a paragraph which is deeply\nsignificant as meant to be his posthumous word of testimony--\"a last\ntestament\":\n\n\"I cannot help admiring God's wondrous grace in bringing me to the\nknowledge of the Lord Jesus when I was an entirely careless and\nthoughtless young man, and that He has kept me in His fear and truth,\nallowing me the great honour, for so long a time, of serving Him.\"\n\nIn the comprehensive summary contained in this Fifty-ninth Report,\nremarkable growth is apparent during the sixty-four years since the\noutset of the work in 1834. During the year ending May 26, 1898, the\nnumber of day-schools was 7, and of pupils, 354; the number of children\nin attendance from the beginning, 81,501. The number of home\nSunday-schools, 12, and of children in them, 1341; but from the\nbeginning, 32,944. The number of Sunday-schools _aided_ in England and\nWales, 25. The amount expended in connection with home schools, 736\npounds 13s. 10d.; from the outset, 109,992 pounds 19s. 10d. The Bibles\nand parts thereof circulated, 15,411; from the beginning, 1,989,266.\nMoney expended for this purpose the past year, 439 pounds; from the\nfirst, 41,090 pounds 13s. 3d. Missionary labourers aided, 115. Money\nexpended, 2082 pounds 9s. 6d; from the outset, 261,859 pounds 7s. 4d.\nCirculation of books and tracts, 3,101,338. Money spent, 1001 pounds\n3s.; and from the first, 47,188 pounds 11s. 10d. The number of orphans\non Ashley Down, 1620; and from the first, 10,024. Money spent in orphan\nhouses, last year, 22,523 pounds 13s. 1d.; and from the beginning,\n988,829 pounds.\n\nTo carry out conviction into action is sometimes a costly sacrifice; but\nwhatever Mr. Muller's fidelity to conviction cost in one way, he had\nstupendous results of his life-work to contemplate, even while he lived.\nLet any one look at the above figures and facts, and remember that here\nwas one poor man who, dependent on the help of God only in answer to\nprayer, could look back over threescore years and see how he had built\nfive large orphan houses and taken into his family over ten thousand\norphans, expending, for their good, within twelve thousand pounds of a\nround million. He had given aid to day-schools and Sunday-schools, in\nthis and other lands, where nearly one hundred and fifty thousand\nchildren have been taught, at a cost of over one hundred and ten\nthousand pounds more. He had circulated nearly two million Bibles and\nparts thereof at the cost of over forty thousand pounds; and over three\nmillion books and tracts, at a cost of nearly fifty thousand pounds\nmore. And besides all this he had spent over two hundred and sixty\nthousand pounds to aid missionary labourers in various lands. The sum\ntotal of the money thus spent during sixty years has thus reached very\nnearly the astonishing aggregate of one and a half million of pounds\nsterling ($7,500,000).\n\nTo summarize Mr. Muller's service we must understand his great secret.\nSuch a life and such a work are the result of one habit more than all\nelse,--daily and frequent communion with God. Unwearied in supplications\nand intercessions, we have seen how, in every new need and crisis,\nprayer was the one resort, the prayer of faith. He first satisfied\nhimself that he was in the way of duty; then he fixed his mind upon the\nunchanging word of promise; then, in the boldness of a suppliant who\ncomes to a throne of grace in the name of Jesus Christ and pleads the\nassurance of the immutable Promiser, he presented every petition. He was\nan unwearied intercessor. No delay discouraged him. This is seen\nparticularly in the case of individuals for whose conversion or special\nguidance into the paths of full obedience he prayed. On his prayer list\nwere the names of some for whom he had besought God, daily, by name, for\none, two, three, four, six, ten years before the answer was given. The\nyear just before his death, he told the writer of two parties for whose\nreconciliation to God he had prayed, day by day, _for over sixty years,_\nand who had not as yet to his knowledge turned unto God: and he\nsignificantly added, \"I have not a doubt that I shall meet them both in\nheaven; for my Heavenly Father would not lay upon my heart a burden of\nprayer for them for over threescore years, if He had not concerning them\npurposes of mercy.\"\n\nThis is a sufficient example of his almost unparalleled perseverance and\nimportunity in intercession. However long the delay, he held on, as with\nboth hands clasping the very horns of the altar; and his childlike\nspirit reasoned simply but confidently, that the very fact of his own\nspirit being so long drawn out in prayer for one object, and of the\nLord's enabling him so to continue patiently and believingly to wait on\nHim for the blessing, was a promise and prophecy of the answer; and so\nhe waited on, so assured of the ultimate result that he praised God in\nadvance, believing that he had practically received that for which he\nasked.\n\nIt is most helpful here to add that one of the parties for whom for so\nmany years he unceasingly prayed has recently died in faith, having\nreceived the promises and embraced them and confessed Jesus as his Lord.\nJust before leaving Bristol with this completed manuscript of Mr.\nMuller's life, I met a lady, a niece of the man referred to, through\nwhom I received a knowledge of these facts. He had, before his\ndeparture, given most unequivocal testimony to his faith and hope in the\nSaviour of sinners.\n\nIf George Muller could still speak to us, he would again repeat the\nwarning so frequently found in his journal and reports, that his fellow\ndisciples must not regard him as a _miracle-worker,_ as though his\nexperience were to be accounted so exceptional as to have little\napplication in our ordinary spheres of life and service. With patient\nrepetition he affirms that in all essentials such an experience is the\nprivilege of all believers. God calls disciples to various forms of\n_work,_ but all alike to the same _faith._ To say, therefore, \"I am not\ncalled to build orphan houses, etc., and have no right to expect answers\nto my prayers as Mr. Muller did,\" is wrong and unbelieving. Every child\nof God, he maintained, is first to get into the sphere appointed of God,\nand therein to exercise full trust, and live by faith upon God's sure\nword of promise.\n\nThroughout all these thousands of pages written by his pen, he teaches\nthat every experience of God's faithfulness is both the reward of past\nfaith and prayer, and the preparation of the servant of God for larger\nwork and more efficient service and more convincing witness to his Lord.\n\nNo man can understand such a work who does not see in it the\n_supernatural_ power of God. Without that the enigma defies solution;\nwith that all the mystery is at least an open mystery. He himself felt\nfrom first to last that this supernatural factor was the key to the\nwhole work, and without that it would have been even to himself a\nproblem inexplicable. How pathetically we find him often comparing\nhimself and his work for God to \"the Burning Bush in the Wilderness\"\nwhich, always aflame and always threatened with apparent destruction,\nwas not consumed, so that not a few turned aside wondering to see this\ngreat sight. And why was it not burnt? Because Jehovah of hosts, who was\nin the Bush, dwelt in the man and in his work: or, as Wesley said with\nalmost his last breath, \"Best of all, God is with us.\"\n\nThis simile of the Burning Bush is the more apt when we consider the\n_rapid growth of the work._ At first so very small as to seem almost\ninsignificant, and conducted in one small rented house, accommodating\nthirty orphans, then enlarged until other rented premises became\nnecessary; then one, two, three, four, and even five immense structures\nbeing built, until three hundred, seven hundred, eleven hundred and\nfifty, and finally two thousand and fifty inmates could find shelter\nwithin them,--how seldom has the world seen such vast and, at the same\ntime, rapid enlargement! Then look at the outlay! At first a trifling\nexpenditure of perhaps five hundred pounds for the first year of the\nScriptural Knowledge Institution, and of five hundred pounds for the\nfirst twelve month of the orphan work, and in the last year of Mr.\nMuller's life a grand total of over twenty-seven thousand five hundred,\nfor all the purposes of the Institution.\n\nThe cost of the houses built on Ashley Down might have staggered a man\nof large capital, but this poor man only cried and the Lord helped him.\nThe first house cost fifteen thousand pounds; the second, over\ntwenty-one thousand; the third, over twenty-three thousand; and the\nfourth and fifth, from fifty thousand to sixty thousand more--so that\nthe total cost reached about one hundred and fifteen thousand. Besides\nall this, there was a yearly expenditure which rose as high as\ntwenty-five thousand for the orphans alone, irrespective of those\noccasional outlays made needful for emergencies, such as improved\nsanitary precautions, which in one case cost over two thousand pounds.\n\nHere is a burning bush indeed, always in seeming danger of being\nconsumed, yet still standing on Ashley Down, and still preserved because\nthe same presence of Jehovah burns in it. Not a branch of this\nmany-sided work has utterly perished, while the whole bush still\nchallenges unbelievers to turn aside and see the great sight, and take\noff the shoes from their feet as on holy ground where God manifests\nHimself.\n\nAny complete survey of this great life-work must include much that was\nwholly outside of the Scriptural Knowledge Institution; such as that\nservice which Mr. Muller was permitted to render to the church of Christ\nand the world at large as a preacher, pastor, witness for truth, and\nauthor of books and tracts.\n\nHis preaching period covered the whole time from 1826 to 1898, the year\nof his departure, over seventy years; and from 1830, when he went to\nTeignmouth, his preaching continued, without interruption except from\nill health, until his life closed, with an average through the whole\nperiod of probably three sermons a week, or over ten thousand for his\nlifetime. This is probably a low estimate, for during his missionary\ntours, which covered over two hundred thousand miles and were spread\nthrough' seventeen years, he spoke on an average about once a day\nnotwithstanding already advanced age.\n\nHis church life was much blessed even in visible and tangible results.\nDuring the first two and a half years of work in Bristol, two hundred\nand twenty-seven members were added, about half of whom were new\nconverts, and it is probable that, if the whole number brought to the\nknowledge of Christ by his preaching could now be ascertained, it would\nbe found to aggregate full as many as the average of those years, and\nwould thus reach into the thousands, exclusive of orphans converted on\nAshley Down. Then when we take into account the vast numbers addressed\nand impressed by his addresses, given in all parts of the United\nKingdom, on the Continent of Europe, and in America, Asia, and\nAustralia, and the still vaster numbers who have read his Narrative, his\nbooks and tracts, or who have in various other ways felt the quickening\npower of his example and life, we shall get some conception--still, at\nbest, inadequate--of the range and scope of the influence he wielded by\nhis tongue and pen, his labours, and his life. Much of the best\ninfluence defies all tabulated statistics and evades all mathematical\nestimates; it is like the fragrance of the alabaster flask which fills\nall the house but escapes our grosser senses of sight, hearing, and\ntouch. This part of George Muller's work we cannot summarize: it belongs\nto a realm where we cannot penetrate. But God sees, knows, and rewards\nit.\n\n\nCHAPTER XXI\n\nTHE CHURCH LIFE AND GROWTH\n\nTHROUGHOUT Mr. Muller's journal we meet scattered and fragmentary\nsuggestions as to the true conception of Christian teaching and\npractice, the nature and office of the Christian ministry, the\nprinciples which should prevail in church conduct, the mutual relations\nof believers, and the Spirit's relation to the Body of Christ, to pure\nworship, service, and testimony. These hints will be of more value if\nthey are crystallized into unity so as to be seen in their connection\nwith each other.\n\nThe founder of the orphan houses began and ended his public career as a\npreacher, and, for over sixty years, was so closely related to one body\nof believers that no review of his life can be complete without a\nsomewhat extended reference to the church in Bristol of which he was one\nof the earliest leaders, and, of all who ministered to it, the longest\nin service.\n\nHis church-work in Bristol began with his advent to that city and ended\nonly with his departure from it for the continuing city and the Father's\nHouse. The joint ministry of himself and Mr. Henry Craik has been traced\nalready in the due order of events; but the development of church-life,\nunder this apostolic ministry, furnishes instructive lessons which yield\ntheir full teaching only when gathered up and grouped together so as to\nsecure unity, continuity, and completeness of impression.\n\nWhen Mr. Muller and Mr. Craik began joint work in Bristol, foundations\nneeded to be relaid. The church-life, as they found it, was not on a\nsufficiently scriptural basis, and they waited on God for wisdom to\nadjust it more completely to His word and will. This was the work of\ntime, for it required the instruction of fellow believers so that they\nmight be prepared to cooperate, by recognizing scriptural and spiritual\nteaching; it required also the creation of that bond of sympathy which\ninclines the flock to hear and heed the shepherd's voice, and follow a\ntrue pastoral leadership. At the outset of their ministry, these\nbrethren carefully laid down some principles on which their ministry was\nto be based. On May 23, 1832, they frankly stated, at Gideon Chapel,\ncertain terms on which alone they could take charge of the church: they\nmust be regarded as simply God's servants to labour among them so long\nas, and in such way as might be His will, and under no bondage of fixed\nrules; they desired pew-rents to be done away with, and voluntary\nofferings substituted, etc.\n\nThere was already, however, a strong conviction that a new start was in\nsome respects indispensable if the existing church-life was to be\nthoroughly modelled on a scriptural pattern. These brethren determined\nto stamp upon the church certain important features such as these:\nApostolic simplicity of worship, evangelical teaching, evangelistic\nwork, separation from the world, systematic giving, and dependence on\nprayer. They desired to give great prominence to the simple testimony of\nthe Word, to support every department of the work by free-will\nofferings, to recognize the Holy Spirit as the one presiding and\ngoverning Power in all church assemblies, and to secure liberty for all\nbelievers in the exercise of spiritual gifts as distributed by that\nSpirit to all members of the Body of Christ for service. They believed\nit scriptural to break bread every Lord's day, and to baptize by\nimmersion; and, although this latter has not for many years been a term\nof communion or of fellowship, believers have always been carefully\ntaught that this is the duty of all disciples.\n\nIt has been already seen that in August, 1832, seven persons in all,\nincluding these two pastors, met at Bethesda Chapel to unite in\nfellowship, without any formal basis or bond except that of loyalty to\nthe Word and Spirit of God. This step was taken in order to start anew,\nwithout the hindrance of customs already prevailing, which were felt to\nbe unscriptural and yet were difficult to abolish without discordant\nfeeling; and, from that date on, Bethesda Chapel has been the home of an\nassembly of believers who have sought steadfastly to hold fast the New\nTestament basis of church-life.\n\nSuch blessed results are largely due to these beloved colleagues in\nlabour who never withheld their testimony, but were intrepidly\ncourageous and conscientiously faithful in witnessing against whatever\nthey deemed opposed to the Word. Love ruled, but was not confounded with\nlaxity in matters of right and wrong; and, as they saw more clearly what\nwas taught in the Word, they sought to be wholly obedient to the Lord's\nteaching and leading, and to mould and model every matter, however\nminute, in every department of duty, private or public, according to the\nexpressed will of God.\n\nIn January, 1834, all teachers who were not believers were dismissed\nfrom the Sunday-school; and, in the Dorcas Society, only believing\nsisters were accepted to make clothes for the destitute. The reason was\nthat it had been found unwise and unwholesome to mix up or yoke together\nbelievers and unbelievers.* Such association proved a barrier to\nspiritual converse and injurious to both classes, fostering in the\nunbelievers a false security, ensnaring them in a delusive hope that to\nhelp in Christian work might somehow atone for rejection of Jesus Christ\nas a Saviour, or secure favour from God and an open door into heaven. No\ndoubt all this indiscriminate association of children of God with\nchildren of the world in a \"mixed multitude\" is unscriptural.\nUnregenerate persons are tempted to think there is some merit at least\nin mingling with worshippers and workers, and especially in giving to\nthe support of the gospel and its institutions. The devil seeks to\npersuade such that it is acceptable to God to conform externally to\nreligious rites, and forms, and take part in outward acts of service and\nsacrifice, and that He will deal leniently with them, despite their\nunbelief and disobedience. Mr. Muller and Mr. Craik felt keenly that\nthis danger existed and that even in minor matters there must be a line\nof separation, for the sake of all involved.\n\n* 2 Cor. vi. 14-18.\n\nWhen, in 1837, in connection with the congregation at Bethesda, the\nquestion was raised--commonly known as that of close communion--whether\nbelievers who had not been baptized as such should be received into\nfellowship, it was submitted likewise to the one test of clear scripture\nteaching. Some believers were conscientiously opposed to such reception,\nbut the matter was finally and harmoniously settled by \"receiving all\nwho love our Lord Jesus into full communion, irrespective of baptism,\"\nand Mr. Muller, looking back forty-four years later upon this action,\nbears witness that the decision never became a source of dissension.*\n\n* Appendix L.\n\nIn all other church matters, prayer and searching the Word, asking\ncounsel of the Holy Oracles and wisdom from above, were the one resort,\nand the resolution of all difficulties. When, in the spring of 1838,\nsundry questions arose somewhat delicate and difficult to adjust, Mr.\nMuller and Mr. Craik quietly withdrew from Bristol for two weeks, to\ngive themselves to prayer and meditation, seeking of God definite\ndirection.\n\nThe matters then at issue concerned the scriptural conception, mode of\nselection and appointment, scope of authority and responsibility, of\n_the Eldership;_ the proper mode of observance of the _Lord's Supper,_\nits frequency, proper subjects, etc. Nothing is ever settled finally\nuntil settled rightly, nor settled rightly until settled scripturally. A\nserious peril confronted the church--not of controversy only, but of\nseparation and schism; and in such circumstances mere discussion often\nonly fans the embers of strife and ends in hopeless alienation. These\nspiritually minded pastors followed the apostolic method, referring all\nmatters to the Scriptures as the one rule of faith and practice, and to\nthe Holy Spirit as the presiding Presence in the church of God; and they\npurposely retired into seclusion from the strife of tongues and of\nconflicting human opinion, that they might know the mind of the Lord and\nact accordingly. The results, as might be foreseen, were clear light\nfrom above for themselves, and a united judgment among the brethren; but\nmore than this, God gave them wisdom so to act, combining the courage of\nconviction with the meekness and gentleness of Christ, as that all\nclouds were dispelled and peace restored.*\n\n* Appendix M.\n\nFor about eight years, services had been held in both Gideon and\nBethesda chapels; but on April 19, 1840, the last of the services\nconducted by Mr. Muller and Mr. Craik was held at Gideon,--Bethesda,\nfrom this time on, becoming the central place of assembly. The reasons\nfor this step were somewhat as follows:\n\nThese joint pastors strongly felt, with some others, that not a few of\nthe believers who assembled at Gideon Chapel were a hindrance to the\nclear, positive, and united testimony which should be given both to the\nchurch and world; and it was on this account that, after many meetings\nfor prayer and conference, seeking to know God's mind, it was determined\nto relinquish Gideon as a place of worship. The questions involved\naffected the preservation of the purity and simplicity of apostolic\nworship, and so the conformity of church-life to the New Testament\npattern. These well-yoked pastors were very jealous for the Lord God of\nhosts, that, among the saints to whom they ministered, nothing should\nfind a lodgment which was not in entire accord with scriptural\nprinciples, precepts, and practices.\n\nPerhaps it is well here to put on record, even at risk of repetition,\nthe principles which Mr. Muller and his colleague were wont to enforce\nas guards or landmarks which should be set up and kept up, in order to\nexclude those innovations which always bring spiritual declension.\n\n1. Believers should meet, simply as such, without reference to\ndenominational lines, names, or distinctions, as a corrective and\npreventive of sectarianism.\n\n2. They should steadfastly maintain the Holy Scriptures as the divine\nrule and standard of doctrine, deportment, and discipline.\n\n3. They should encourage freedom for the exercise of whatever spiritual\ngifts the Lord might be pleased by His Spirit to bestow for general\nedification.\n\n4. Assemblies on the Lord's day should be primarily for believers, for\nthe breaking of bread, and for worship; unbelievers sitting\npromiscuously among saints would either hinder the appearance of meeting\nfor such purposes, or compel a pause between other parts of the service\nand the Lord's Supper.\n\n5. The pew-rent system should be abolished, as promoting the caste\nspirit, or at least the outward appearance of a false distinction\nbetween the poorer and richer classes, especially as pew-holders\ncommonly look on their sittings as private property.\n\n6. All money contributed for pastoral support, church work, and\nmissionary enterprises at home and abroad should be by free-will\nofferings.\n\nIt was because some of these and other like scriptural principles were\nthought to be endangered or compromised by practices prevailing at\nGideon Chapel before Mr. Muller and Mr. Craik took charge, that it\nseemed best on the whole to relinquish that chapel as a place of\nworship. As certain customs there obtaining had existed previously, it\nseemed to these godly-minded brethren that it would be likely to cause\nneedless offence and become a root of bitterness should they require\nwhat they deemed unscriptural to be renounced; and it seemed the way of\nlove to give up Gideon Chapel after these eight years of labour there,\nand to invite such as felt called on to separate from every sectarian\nsystem, and meet for worship where free exercise would be afforded for\nevery spiritual gift, and where New Testament methods might be more\nfully followed, to assemble with other believers at Bethesda, where\nprevious hindering conditions had not existed.\n\nMr. Muller remained very intimately connected with Bethesda and its\nvarious outgrowths, for many years, as the senior pastor, or\nelder,--though only _primus inter pares,_ i.e., leader among equals. His\nopinions about the work of the ministry and the conduct of church-life,\nwhich did so much to shape the history of these churches, therefore form\na necessary part of this sketch of the development of church-life.\n\nIt was laid upon his heart frequently to address his brethren in the\nministry of the Word and the curacy of souls. Everywhere, throughout the\nworld, he welcomed opportunities for interviews, whether with many or\nfew, upon whom he could impress his own deep convictions as to the vital\nsecrets of effective service in the pulpit and pastorate. Such meetings\nwith brethren in the ministry numbered hundreds and perhaps thousands in\nthe course of his long life, and as his testimony was essentially the\nsame on all occasions, a single utterance may be taken as the type of\nall. During his American tours, he gave an hour's address which was\nreported and published, and the substance of which may therefore be\ngiven.\n\nFirst of all he laid great stress upon the _need of conversion._ Until a\nman is both truly turned unto God and sure of this change in himself he\nis not fitted to convert others. The ministry is not a human profession,\nbut a divine vocation. The true preacher is both a _herald_ and a\n_witness,_ and hence must back up his message by his personal testimony\nfrom experience.\n\nBut even conversion is not enough: there must be an _intimate knowledge\nof the Lord Jesus._ One must know the Lord as coming near to himself,\nand know the joy and strength found in hourly access. However it be\ndone, and at any cost, the minister of Christ must reach this close\nrelationship. It is an absolute necessity to peace and power.\n\n_Growth in happiness and love_ was next made very prominent. It is\nimpossible to set limits to the experience of any believer who casts\nhimself wholly on God, surrenders himself wholly to God, and cherishes\ndeep love for His word and holy intimacy with Himself. The first\nbusiness of every morning should be to secure happiness in God.\n\nHe who is to nourish others must carefully _feed his own soul._ Daily\nreading and study of the Scriptures, with much prayer, especially in the\nearly morning hours, was strenuously urged. Quietness before God should\nbe habitually cultivated, calming the mind and freeing it from\npreoccupation. Continuous reading of the Word, in course, will throw\nlight upon the general teaching of the Word, and reveal God's thoughts\nin their variety and connection, and go far to correct erroneous views.\n\n_Holiness_ must be the supreme aim: prompt obedience to all known truth,\na single eye in serving God, and zeal for His glory. Many a life has\nbeen more or less a failure because habits of heart well pleasing to God\nhave been neglected. Nothing is more the crowning grace than the\nunconscious grace of _humility._ All praise of man robs God of His own\nhonour. Let us therefore be humble and turn all eyes unto God.\n\nThe _message_ must be gotten from God, if it is to be with power. \"Ask\nGod for it,\" said Mr. Muller, \"and be not satisfied until the heart is\nat rest. When the text is obtained ask further guidance in meditating\nupon it, and keep in constant communion so as to get God's mind in the\nmatter and His help in delivery. Then, after the work is done, pray much\nfor blessing, as well as in advance.\" He then told some startling facts\nas to seed sown many years before, but even now yielding fruit in answer\nto prayer.\n\nHe laid also special emphasis upon _expounding the Scripture._ The word\nof God is the staple of all preaching; Christ and nothing else the\ncentre of all true ministry of the Word. Whoever faithfully and\nconstantly preaches Christ will find God's word not returning to him\nvoid. Preach simply. Luther's rule was to speak so that an ignorant\nmaid-servant could understand; if she does, the learned professor\ncertainly will; but it does not hold true that the simple understand all\nthat the wise do.\n\nMr. Muller seldom addressed his brethren in the ministry without giving\nmore or less counsel as to the conduct of church-life, giving plain\nwitness against such hindrances as unconverted singers and choirs,\nsecular methods of raising money, pew-rents and caste distinctions in\nthe house of prayer, etc.; and urging such helps as inquirers' meetings,\npastoral visits, and, above all else, believing prayer. He urged\ndefinite praying and importunate praying, and remarked that Satan will\nnot mind how we labour in prayer for a few days, weeks, or even months,\nif he can at last discourage us so that we cease praying, as though it\nwere of no use.\n\nAs to prayers for past seed-sowing, he told the writer of this memoir\nhow in all supplication to God he looked not only forward but\n_backward._ He was wont to ask that the Lord would be pleased to bless\nseed long since sown and yet apparently unfruitful; and he said that, in\nanswer to these prayers, he had up to that day evidence of God's loving\nremembrance of his work of faith and labour of love in years long gone\nby. He was permitted to know that messages delivered for God, tracts\nscattered, and other means of service had, after five, ten, twenty, and\neven sixty years, at last brought forth a harvest. Hence his urgency in\nadvising fellow labourers to pray unceasingly that God would work\nmightily in the hearts of those who had once been under their care,\nbringing to their remembrance the truth which had been set before them.\n\nThe humility Mr. Muller enjoined he practised. He was ever only the\n_servant_ of the Lord. Mr. Spurgeon, in one of his sermons, describes\nthe startling effect on London Bridge when he saw one lamp after another\nlit up with flame, though in the darkness he could not see the\nlamplighter; and George Muller set many a light burning when he was\nhimself content to be unseen, unnoticed, and unknown. He honestly sought\nnot his own glory, but had the meek and quiet spirit so becoming a\nminister of Jesus Christ.\n\nMr. Henry Craik's death in 1866, after thirty-four years of co-labour in\nthe Lord, left Mr. Muller comparatively alone with a double burden of\nresponsibility, but his faith was equal to the crisis and his peace\nremained unbroken. A beloved brother, then visiting Bristol, after\ncrowded services conducted by him at Bethesda, was about leaving the\ncity; and he asked Mr. Muller, \"What are you going to do, now that Mr.\nCraik is dead, to hold the people and prevent their scattering?\" \"My\nbeloved brother,\" was the calm reply, \"we shall do what we have always\ndone, _look only to the Lord.\"_\n\nThis God has been the perpetual helper. Mr. Muller almost totally\nwithdrew from the work, during the seventeen years of his missionary\ntours, between 1875 and 1892, when he was in Bristol but a few weeks or\nmonths at a time, in the intervals between his long journeys and\nvoyages. This left the assembly of believers still more dependent upon\nthe great Shepherd and Bishop of souls. But Bethesda has never, in a\nsense, been limited to any one or two men, as the only acknowledged\nleaders; from the time when those seven believers gathered about the\nLord's table in 1832, the New Testament conception of the equality of\nbelievers in privilege and duty has been maintained. The one supreme\nLeader is the Holy Ghost, and under Him those whom He calls and\nqualifies. One of the fundamental principles espoused by these brethren\nis that the Spirit of God controls in the assemblies of the saints; that\nHe sets the members, every one of them, in the Body as it pleaseth Him,\nand divides unto them, severally as He will, gifts for service in the\nBody; that the only true ordination is His ordination, and that the\nmanifestation of His gifts is the sufficient basis for the recognition\nof brethren as qualified for the exercise of an office or function, the\npossession of spiritual gifts being sufficient authority for their\nexercise. It is with the Body of Christ as with the human body: the eye\nis manifestly made for seeing and the ear for hearing, the hand and foot\nfor handling and walking; and this adaptation both shows the design of\nGod and their place in the organism. And so for more than threescore\nyears the Holy Spirit has been safely trusted to supply and qualify all\nneeded teachers, helpers, and leaders in the assembly. There has always\nbeen a considerable number of brethren and sisters fitted and disposed\nto take up the various departments of service to which they were\nobviously called of the Spirit, so that no one person has been\nindispensable. Various brethren have been able to give more or less time\nand strength to preaching, visiting, and ruling in the church; while\nscores of others, who, like Paul, Priscilla and Aquila, the tent-makers,\nhave their various business callings and seek therein to \"abide with\nGod,\" are ready to aid as the Lord may guide in such other forms of\nservice as may consist with their ordinary vocations. The prosperity of\nthe congregation, its growth, conduct, and edification, have therefore\nbeen dependent only on God, who, as He has withdrawn one worker after\nanother, has supplied others in their stead, and so continues to do.\n\nTo have any adequate conception of the fruits of such teaching and such\nliving in church-life, it is needful to go at least into one of the\nMonday-night prayer meetings at Bethesda. It is primitive and apostolic\nin simplicity. No one presides but the unseen Spirit of God. A hymn is\nsuggested by some brother, and then requests for prayer are read,\nusually with definite mention of the names of those by and for whom\nsupplication is asked. Then prayer, scripture reading, singing, and\nexhortation follow, without any prearrangement as to subject, order in\nwhich or persons by whom, the exercises are participated in. The fullest\nliberty is encouraged to act under the Spirit's guidance; and the fact\nof such guidance is often strikingly apparent in the singular unity of\nprayer and song, scripture reading and remarks, as well as in the\nharmonious fellowship apparent. After more than half a century these\nMonday-night prayer services are still a hallowed centre of attraction,\na rallying-point for supplication, and a radiating-point for service,\nand remain unchanged in the method of their conduct.\n\nThe original congregation has proved a tree whose seed is in itself\nafter its kind. At the time of Mr. Muller's decease it was nearly\nsixty-six years since that memorable evening in 1832 when those seven\nbelievers met to form a church; and the original body of disciples\nmeeting in Bethesda had increased to ten, six of which are now\nindependent of the mother church, and four of which still remain in\nclose affiliation and really constitute one church, though meeting in\nBethesda, Alma Road, Stokes Croft, and Totterdown chapels. The names of\nthe other churches which have been in a sense offshoots from Bethesda\nare as follows: Unity, Bishopston, Cumberland Hall, Charleton Hall,\nNicholas Road, and Bedminster.\n\nAt the date of Mr. Muller's decease the total membership of the four\naffiliated congregations was upwards of twelve hundred.\n\nIn this brief compass no complete outline could be given of the church\nlife and work so dear to him, and over which he so long watched and\nprayed. This church has been and is a missionary church. When on March\n1, 1836, Mr. and Mrs. Groves, with ten helpers, left Bristol to carry on\nmission work in the East Indies, Mr. Muller felt deeply moved to pray\nthat the body of disciples to whom he ministered might send out from\ntheir own members labourers for the wide world-field. That prayer was\nnot forgotten before God, and has already been answered exceeding\nabundantly above all he then asked or thought. Since that time some\nsixty have gone forth to lands afar to labour in the gospel, and at the\nperiod of Mr. Muller's death there were at work, in various parts of the\nworld, at least twenty, who are aided by the free-will offerings of\ntheir Bristol brethren.\n\nWhen, in 1874, Mr. Muller closed the third volume of his Narrative, he\nrecorded the interesting fact that, of the many nonconformist ministers\nof the gospel resident in Bristol when he took up work there more than\nforty-two years before, _not one remained,_ all having been removed\nelsewhere or having died; and that, of all the Evangelical clergy of the\nestablishment, only _one_ survived. Yet he himself, with very rare\nhindrance through illness, was permitted to preach and labour with\nhealth and vigour both of mind and body; over a thousand believers were\nalready under his pastoral oversight, meeting in three different\nchapels, and over three thousand had been admitted into fellowship.\n\nIt was the writer's privilege to hear Mr. Muller preach on the morning\nof March 22, 1896, in Bethesda Chapel. He was in his ninety-first year,\nbut there was a freshness, vigour, and terseness in his preaching that\ngave no indication of failing powers; in fact, he had never seemed more\nfitted to express and impress the thoughts of God.\n\nHis theme was the seventy-seventh psalm, and it afforded him abundant\nscope for his favourite subject--prayer. He expounded the psalm verse by\nverse, clearly, sympathetically, effectively, and the outline of his\ntreatment strongly engraved itself on my memory and is here reproduced.\n\n\"I cried unto God with my voice.\" Prayer seeks a voice--to utter itself\nin words: the effort to clothe our desires in language gives\ndefiniteness to our desires and keeps the attention on the objects of\nprayer.\n\n\"In the day of my trouble.\" The Psalmist was in trouble; some distress\nwas upon him, perhaps physical as well as mental, and it was an\nunceasing burden night and day.\n\n\"My soul refused to be comforted.\" The words, \"my sore ran in the\nnight,\" may be rendered, \"my hand reached out\"--that is in prayer. But\nunbelief triumphed, and his soul refused all comfort--even the comfort\nof God's promises. His trouble overshadowed his faith and shut out the\nvision of God.\n\n\"I remembered, or thought of God, and was troubled.\" Even the thought of\nGod, instead of bringing peace, brought distress; instead of silencing\nhis complaint, it increased it, and his spirit was overwhelmed--the sure\nsign, again, of unbelief. If in trouble God's promises and the thought\nof God bring no relief, they will only become an additional burden.\n\n\"Thou holdest mine eyes waking.\" There was no sleep because there was no\nrest or peace. Care makes wakeful. Anxiety is the foe of repose. His\nspirit was unbelieving and therefore rebellious. He would not take God\nat His word.\n\n\"I have considered the days of old.\" Memory now is at work. He calls to\nremembrance former experiences of trouble and of deliverance. He had\noften sought God and been heard and helped, and why not now? As he made\ndiligent search among the records of his experience and recollected all\nGod's manifest and manifold interpositions, he began to ask whether God\ncould be fickle and capricious, whether His mercy was exhausted and His\npromise withdrawn, whether He had forgotten His covenant of grace, and\nshut up His fountains of love.\n\nThus we follow the Psalmist through six stages of unbelief:\n\n1. The thought of God is a burden instead of a blessing.\n\n2. The complaining spirit increases toward God.\n\n3. His spirit is agitated instead of soothed and calmed.\n\n4. Sleep departs, and anxiety forbids repose of heart.\n\n5. Trouble only deepens and God seems far off.\n\n6. Memory recalls God's mercies, but only to awaken distrust.\n\nAt last we reach the _turning-point_ in the psalm: he asks as he reviews\nformer experiences, WHERE IS THE DIFFERENCE? IS THE CHANGE IN GOD OR IN\nME? \"Selah\"--the pause marks this turning-point in the argument or\nexperience.\n\n\"And I said, This is _my infirmity.\"_ In other words, \"I HAVE BEEN A\nFOOL!\" God is faithful. He never casts off. His children are always dear\nto Him. His grace is exhaustless and His promise unfailing. Instead of\nfixing his eyes on his trouble he now fixes his whole mind on God. He\nremembers His work, and meditates upon it; instead of rehearsing his own\ntrials, he talks of His doings. He gets overwhelmed now, not with the\ngreatness of his troubles, but the greatness of his Helper. He recalls\nHis miracles of power and love, and remembers the mystery of His mighty\ndeeds--His way in the sea, His strange dealings and leadings and their\ngracious results--and so faith once more triumphs.\n\nWhat is the conclusion, the practical lesson?\n\nUnbelief is folly. It charges God foolishly. Man's are the weakness and\nfailure, but never God's. My faith may be lacking, but not His power.\nMemory and meditation, when rightly directed, correct unbelief. God has\nshown Himself great. He has always done wonders. He led even an\nunbelieving and murmuring people out of Egypt and for forty years\nthrough the wilderness, and His miracles of power and love were\nmarvelous.\n\nThe psalm contains a _great lesson._ Affliction is inevitable. But our\nbusiness is never to lose sight of the Father who will not leave His\nchildren. We are to roll all burdens on Him and wait patiently, and\ndeliverance is sure. Behind the curtain He carries on His plan of love,\nnever forgetting us, always caring for His own. His ways of dealing we\ncannot trace, for His footsteps are in the trackless sea, and unknown to\nus. But HE IS SURELY LEADING, and CONSTANTLY LOVING. Let us not be\nfools, but pray in faith to a faithful God.\n\nThis is the substance of that morning exposition, and is here given very\ninadequately, it is true, yet it serves not only to illustrate Mr.\nMuller's mode of expounding and applying the Word, but the exposition of\nthis psalm is a sort of exponent also of his life. It reveals his habits\nof prayer, the conflicts with unbelief, and how out of temptations to\ndistrust God he found deliverance; and thus is doubly valuable to us as\nan experimental commentary upon the life-history we are studying.\n\n\nCHAPTER XXII\n\nA GLANCE AT THE GIFTS AND THE GIVERS\n\nTHERE is One who still sits over against the Treasury, watching the\ngifts cast into it, and impartially weighing their worth, estimating the\nrich man's millions and the widow's mites, not by the amount given, but\nby the motives which impel and the measure of self-sacrifice accepted\nfor the Lord's sake.\n\nThe ample supplies poured into Mr. Muller's hands came alike from those\nwho had abundance of wealth and from those whose only abundance was that\nof deep poverty, but the rills as well as the rivers were from God. It\nis one of the charms of this life-story to observe the variety of\npersons and places, sums of money and forms of help, connected with the\ndonations made to the Lord's work; and the exact adaptation between the\nneed and the supply, both as to time and amount. Some instances of this\nhave been given in the historic order; but to get a more complete view\nof the lessons which they suggest it is helpful to classify some of the\nstriking and impressive examples, which are so abundant, and which\nafford such valuable hints as to the science and the art of giving.\n\nValuable lessons may be drawn from the beautiful spirit shown by givers\nand from the secret history of their gifts.\n\nIn some cases the facts were not known till long after, even by Mr.\nMuller himself; and when known, could not be disclosed to the public\nwhile the parties were yet alive. But when it became possible and proper\nto unveil these hidden things they were revealed for the glory of God\nand the good of others, and shine on the pages of this record like stars\nin the sky. Paul rejoiced in the free-will offerings of Philippian\ndisciples, not because he desired a gift, but fruit that might abound to\ntheir account; not because their offerings ministered to his necessity,\nbut because they became a sacrifice of a sweet smell acceptable, well\npleasing to God. Such joy constantly filled Mr. Muller's heart. He was\ndaily refreshed and reinvigorated by the many proofs that the gifts\nreceived had been first sanctified by prayer and self-denial. He lived\nand breathed amid the fragrance of sweet-savour offerings, permitted for\nmore than threescore years to participate in the joy of the Lord Himself\nover the cheerful though often costly gifts of His people. By reason of\nidentification with his Master, the servant caught the sweet scent of\nthese sacrifices as their incense rose from His altars toward heaven.\nEven on earth the self-denials of his own life found compensation in\nthus acting in the Lord's behalf in receiving and disbursing these\ngifts; and, he says, \"the Lord thus impressed on me from the beginning\nthat the orphan houses and work were HIS, _not_ MINE.\"\n\nMany a flask of spikenard, very precious, broken upon the feet of the\nSaviour, for the sake of the orphans, or the feeding of starving souls\nwith the Bread of Life, filled the house with the odour of the ointment,\nso that to dwell there was to breathe a hallowed atmosphere of devotion.\n\nAmong the first givers to the work was a poor needlewoman, who, to Mr.\nMuller's surprise, brought _one hundred pounds._ She earned by her work\nonly an _average, per week,_ of _three shillings and sixpence,_ and was\nmoreover weak in body. A small legacy of less than five hundred pounds\nfrom her grandmother's estate had come to her at her father's death by\nthe conditions of her grandmother's will. But that father had died a\ndrunkard and a bankrupt, and her brothers and sisters had settled with\nhis creditors by paying them five shillings to the pound. To her\nconscience, this seemed robbing the creditors of three fourths of their\nclaim, and, though they had no legal hold upon her, she privately paid\nthem the other fifteen shillings to the pound, of the unpaid debts of\nher father. Moreover, when her unconverted brother and two sisters gave\neach fifty pounds to the widowed mother, she as a child of God felt that\nshe should give double that amount. By this time her own share of the\nlegacy was reduced to a small remainder, and it was out of this that she\ngave the one hundred pounds for the orphan work!\n\nAs Mr. Muller's settled principle was _never to grasp eagerly at any\ngift whatever the need or the amount of the gift,_ before accepting this\nmoney he had a long conversation with this woman, seeking to prevent her\nfrom giving either from an unsanctified motive or in unhallowed haste,\nwithout counting the cost. He would in such a case dishonour his Master\nby accepting the gift, as though God were in need of our offerings.\nCareful scrutiny, however, revealed no motives not pure and Christlike;\nthis woman had calmly and deliberately reached her decision. \"The Lord\nJesus,\" she said, \"has given His last drop of blood for me, and should I\nnot give Him this hundred pounds?\" He who comes into contact with such\ngivers in his work for God finds therein a means of grace.\n\nThis striking incident lends a pathetic interest to the beginnings of\nthe orphan work, and still more as we further trace the story of this\nhumble needlewoman. She had been a habitual giver, but so unobtrusively\nthat, while she lived, not half a dozen people knew of either the legacy\nor of this donation. Afterward, however, it came to the light that in\nmany cases she had quietly and most unostentatiously given food,\nclothing, and like comforts to the deserving poor. Her gifts were so\ndisproportionate to her means that her little capital rapidly\ndiminished. Mr. Muller was naturally very reluctant to accept what she\nbrought, until he saw that the love of Christ constrained her. He could\nthen do no less than to receive her offering, in his Master's name,\nwhile like the Master he exclaimed, \"O woman, great is thy faith!\"\n\nFive features made her benevolence praiseworthy. First, all these deeds\nof charity were done in secret and without any show; and she therefore\nwas kept humble, not puffed up with pride through human applause; her\npersonal habits of dress and diet remained as simple after her legacy as\nbefore, and to the last she worked with her needle for her own support;\nand, finally, while her _earnings_ were counted in shillings and pence,\nher _givings_ were counted in sovereigns or five-pound notes, and in one\ncase by the hundred pounds. Her money was entirely gone, years before\nshe was called higher, but the faithful God never forgot His promise: \"I\nwill never leave thee nor forsake thee.\" Never left to want, even after\nbodily weakness forbade her longer to ply her needle, she asked no human\nbeing for help, but in whatever straits made her appeal to God, and was\nnot only left to suffer no lack, but, in the midst of much bodily\nsuffering, her mouth was filled with holy song.\n\nMr. Muller records the _first bequest_ as from a dear lad who died in\nthe faith. During his last illness, he had received a gift of some new\nsilver coins; and he asked that this, his only treasure in money, might\nbe sent for the orphans. With pathetic tenderness Mr. Muller adds that\nthis precious little legacy of _six shillings sixpence halfpenny,_\nreceived September 15, 1837, was the first they ever had. Those who\nestimate all donations by money-worth can little understand how welcome\nsuch a bequest was; but to such a man this small donation, bequeathed by\none of Christ's little ones, and representing all he possessed, was of\ninestimable worth.\n\nIn May, 1842, a gold watch and chain were accompanied by a brief note,\nthe contents of which suggest the possibilities of service, open to us\nthrough the voluntary limitation of artificial or imaginary wants. The\nnote reads thus: \"A pilgrim does not want such a watch as this to make\nhim happy; one of an inferior kind will do to show him how swiftly time\nflies, and how fast he is hastening on to that Canaan where time will be\nno more: so that it is for you to do with this what it seemeth good to\nyou. It is the last relic of earthly vanity, and, while I am in the\nbody, may I be kept from all idolatry!\"\n\nIn March, 1884, a contribution reached Mr. Muller from one who had been\nenabled in a like spirit to increase the amount over all previous gifts\nby the sale of some jewelry which had been put away in accordance with 1\nPeter iii. 3. How much superfluous ornament, worn by disciples, might be\nblessedly sacrificed for the Lord's sake! The one ornament which is in\nHis sight of great price would shine with far more lustre if it were the\nonly one worn.\n\nAnother instance of turning all things to account was seen in the case\nof a giver who sent a box containing four old crown pieces which had a\ncurious history. They were the wedding-day present of a bridegroom to\nhis bride, who, reluctant to spend her husband's first gift, kept them\nuntil she passed them over, as heirlooms, to her four grand-children.\nThey were thus at last put out to usury, after many years of gathering\n\"rust\" in hoarded idleness and uselessness. Little did bridegroom or\nbride foresee how these coins, after more than a hundred years, would\ncome forth from their hiding-place to be put to the Lord's uses. Few\npeople have ever calculated how much is lost to every good cause by the\nsimple withdrawal of money from circulation. Those four crown pieces had\nthey been carefully invested, so as to double in value, by compound\ninterest, every ten years, would have increased to one thousand pounds\nduring the years they had lain idle!\n\nOne gift was sent in, as an offering to the Lord, instead of being used\nto purchase an engagement-ring by two believers who desired their lives\nto be united by that highest bond, the mutual love of the Lord who\nspared not His own blood for them.\n\nAt another time, a box came containing a new satin jacket, newly bought,\nbut sacrificed as a snare to pride. Its surrender marked an epoch, for\nhenceforth the owner determined to spend in dress only what is needful,\nand not waste the Lord's money on costly apparel. Enlightened believers\nlook on all things as inalienably God's, and, even in the voluntary\ndiversion of money into sacred rather than selfish channels, still\nremember that they give to Him only what is His own! \"The little child\nfeels proud that he can drop the money into the box after the parent has\nsupplied the means, and told him to do so; and so God's children are\nsometimes tempted to think that they are giving of their own, and to be\nproud over their gifts, forgetting the divine Father who both gives us\nall we have and bids us give all back to Him.\"\n\nA gift of two thousand pounds on January 29,1872, was accompanied by a\nletter confessing that the possession of property had given the writer\nmuch trouble of mind, and it had been disposed of from a conviction that\nthe Lord \"saw it not good\" for him to _hold so much_ and therefore\nallowed its possession to be a curse rather than a blessing. Fondness\nfor possessions always entails curse, and external riches thus become a\nsource of internal poverty. It is doubtful whether any child of God ever\nyet hoarded wealth without losing in spiritual attainment and enjoyment.\nGreed is one of the lowest and most destructive of vices and turns a man\ninto the likeness of the coin he worships, making him hard, cold,\nmetallic, and unsympathetic, so that, as has been quaintly said, he\ndrops into his coffin \"with a chink.\"\n\nGod estimates what we _give_ by what we _keep,_ for it is possible to\nbestow large sums and yet reserve so much larger amounts that no\nself-denial is possible. Such giving to the Lord _costs us nothing._\n\nIn 1853, a brother in the Lord took out of his pocket a roll of\nbank-notes, amounting to one hundred and ten pounds, and put it into Mr.\nMuller's hand, it being _more than one half of his entire worldly\nestate._ Such giving is an illustration of self-sacrifice on a large\nscale, and brings corresponding blessing.\n\nThe _motives_ prompting gifts were often unusually suggestive. In\nOctober, 1857, a donation came from a Christian merchant who, having\nsustained a heavy pecuniary loss, _wished to sanctify his loss by a gift\nto the Lord's work._ Shortly after, another offering was handed in by a\nyoung man in thankful remembrance that twenty-five years before Mr.\nMuller had prayed over him, as a child, that God would convert him. Yet\nanother gift, of thirty-five hundred pounds, came to him in 1858, with a\nletter stating that the giver had further purposed to give to the orphan\nwork the chief preference in his will, but had now seen it to be far\nbetter to _act as his own executor_ and give the whole amount while he\nlived. Immense advantage would accrue, both to givers and to the causes\nthey purpose to promote, were this principle generally adopted! There is\n\"many a slip betwixt the cup\" of the legator and \"the lip\" of the\nlegatee. Even a wrong wording of a will has often forfeited or defeated\nthe intent of a legacy. Mr. Muller had to warn intending donors that\nnothing that was reckoned as real estate was available for legacies for\ncharitable institutions, nor even money lent on real estate or in any\nother way derived therefrom. These conditions no longer exist, but they\nillustrate the ease with which a will may often be made void, and the\ndesign of a bequest be defeated.\n\nMany donors were led to send thank-offerings for _avoided_ or _averted\ncalamities:_ as, for example, for a sick horse, given up by the\nveterinary surgeon as lost, but which recovered in answer to prayer.\nAnother donor, who broke his left arm, sends grateful acknowledgment to\nGod that it was not the _right_ arm, or some more vital part like the\nhead or neck.\n\nThe offerings were doubly precious because of the unwearied faithfulness\nof God who manifestly prompted them, and who kept speaking to the hearts\nof thousands, leading them to give so abundantly and constantly that no\nwant was unsupplied. In 1859, so great were the outlays of the work that\nif day by day, during the whole three hundred and sixty-five, fifty\npounds had been received, the income would not have been more than\nenough. Yet in a surprising variety and number of ways, and from persons\nand places no less numerous and various, donations came in. Not one of\ntwenty givers was personally known to Mr. Muller, and no one of all\ncontributors had ever been asked for a gift, and yet, up to November,\n1858, over _six hundred thousand pounds_ had already been received, and\nin amounts varying from eighty-one hundred pounds down to a single\nfarthing.\n\nUnique circumstances connected with some donations made them remarkable.\nWhile resting at Ilfracombe, in September, 1865, a gentleman gave to Mr.\nMuller a sum of money, at the same time narrating the facts which led to\nthe gift. He was a hard-working business man, wont to doubt the reality\nof spiritual things, and strongly questioned the truth of the narrative\nof answered prayers which he had read from Mr. Muller's pen. But, in\nview of the simple straightforward story, he could not rest in his\ndoubts, and at last proposed to himself a test as to whether or not God\nwas indeed with Mr. Muller, as he declared. He wished to buy a certain\nproperty if rated at a reasonable valuation; and he determined, if he\nshould secure it at the low price which he set for himself, he would\ngive to him one hundred pounds. He authorized a bid to be put in, in his\nbehalf, but, curious to get the earliest information as to the success\nof his venture, he went himself to the place of sale, and was surprised\nto find the property actually knocked off to him at his own price.\nAstonished at what he regarded as a proof that God was really working\nwith Mr. Muller and for him, he made up his mind to go in person and pay\nover the sum of money to him, and so make his acquaintance and see the\nman whose prayers God answered. Not finding him at Bristol, he had\nfollowed him to Ilfracombe.\n\nHaving heard his story, and having learned that he was from a certain\nlocality, Mr. Muller remarked upon the frequent proofs of God's strange\nway of working on the minds of parties wholly unknown to him and leading\nthem to send in gifts; and he added: \"I had a letter from a lawyer in\nyour very neighbourhood, shortly since, asking for the proper form for a\nbequest, as a client of his, not named, wished to leave one thousand\npounds to the orphan work.\" It proved that the man with whom he was then\ntalking was this nameless client, who, being convinced that his doubts\nwere wrong, had decided to provide for this legacy.\n\nIn August, 1884, a Christian brother from the United States called to\nsee Mr. Muller. He informed him how greatly he had been blessed of God\nthrough reading his published testimony to God's faithfulness; and that\nhaving, through his sister's death, come into the possession of some\nproperty, he had _come across the sea,_ that he might see the orphan\nhouses and know their founder, for himself, and hand over to him for the\nLord's work the entire bequest of about seven hundred pounds.\n\nOnly seventeen days later, a letter accompanying a donation gave further\njoy to Mr. Muller's heart. It was from the husband of one of the orphans\nwho, in her seventeenth year, had left the institution, and to whom Mr.\nMuller himself, on her departure, had given the first two volumes of the\nReports. Her husband had read them with more spiritual profit than any\nvolume except the Book of books, and had found his faith much\nstrengthened. Being a lay preacher in the Methodist Free Church, the\nblessed impulses thus imparted to himself were used of God to inspire a\nlike self-surrender in the class under his care.\n\nThese are a few examples of the countless encouragements that led Mr.\nMuller, as he reviewed them, to praise God unceasingly.\n\nA Christian physician enclosed ten pounds in a letter, telling how first\nhe tried a religion of mere duty and failed; then, after a severe\nillness, learned a religion of love, apprehending the love of God to\nhimself in Christ and so learning how to love others. In his days of\ndarkness he had been a great lover of flowers and had put up several\nplant-houses; flower-culture was his hobby, and a fine collection of\nrare plants, his pride. He took down and sold one of these\nconservatories and sent the proceeds as _\"the price of an idol,_ cast\ndown by God's power.\" Another giver enclosed a like amount from the sale\nof unnecessary books and pictures; and a poor man his half-crown, \"the\nfruit of a little tree in his garden.\"\n\nA poor woman, who had devoted the progeny of a pet rabbit to the orphan\nwork, when the young became fit for sale changed her mind and \"kept back\na part of the price\"; _that part,_ however, _two rabbits,_ she found\n_dead_ on the day when they were to be sold.\n\nIn July, 1877, ten pounds from an anonymous source were accompanied by a\nletter which conveys another instructive lesson. Years before, the\nwriter had resolved before God to discontinue a doubtful habit, and send\nthe cost of his indulgence to the Institution. The vow, made in time of\ntrouble, was unpaid until God brought the sin to remembrance by a new\ntrouble, and by a special message from the Word: \"Grieve not the Spirit\nof God.\" The victory was then given over the habit, and, the practice\nhaving annually cost about twenty-six shillings, the full amount was\nsent to cover the period during which the solemn covenant had not been\nkept, with the promise of further gifts in redemption of the same\npromise to the Lord. This instance conveys more than one lesson. It\nreminds us of the costliness of much of our self-indulgence. Sir Michael\nHicks-Beach, in submitting the Budget for 1897, remarked that what is\nannually wasted in the unsmoked remnants of cigars and cigarettes in\nBritain is estimated at a million and a quarter pounds--the equivalent\nof all that is annually spent on foreign missions by British Christians.\nAnd many forms of self-gratification, in no way contributing to either\nhealth or profit, would, if what they cost were dedicated to the Lord,\nmake His treasuries overflow. Again, this incident reminds us of the\nmany vows, made in time of trouble, which have no payment in time of\nrelief. Many sorrows come back, like clouds that return after the rain,\nto remind of broken pledges and unfulfilled obligations, whereby we have\ngrieved the Holy Spirit of God. \"Pay that which thou hast vowed; for God\nhath no pleasure in fools.\" And again we are here taught how a sensitive\nand enlightened conscience will make restitution to God as well as to\nman; and that past unfaithfulness to a solemn covenant cannot be made\ngood merely by keeping to its terms _for the future._ No honest man\ndishonours a past debt, or compromises with his integrity by simply\nbeginning anew and paying as he goes. Reformation takes a retrospective\nglance and begins in restitution and reparation for all previous wrongs\nand unfaithfulness. It is one of the worst evils of our day that even\ndisciples are so ready to bury the financial and moral debts of their\npast life in the grave of a too-easy oblivion.\n\nOne donor, formerly living in Tunbridge Wells, followed a principle of\ngiving, the reverse of the worldly way. As his own family increased,\ninstead of decreasing his gifts, he gave, for each child given to him of\nGod, the average cost of maintaining one orphan, until, having seven\nchildren, he was supporting seven orphans.\n\nAn anonymous giver wrote: \"It was my idea that when a man had sufficient\nfor his own wants, he ought then to supply the wants of others, and\nconsequently I never had sufficient. I now clearly see that God expects\nus to give of what we have and not of what we have not, and to leave the\nrest to Him. I therefore give in faith and love, knowing that if I first\nseek the kingdom of God and His righteousness, all other things will be\nadded unto me.\"\n\nAnother sends five pounds in fulfillment of a secret promise that, if he\nsucceeded in passing competitive examination for civil service, he would\nmake a thank-offering. And he adds that Satan had repeatedly tried to\npersuade him that he could not afford it yet, and could send it better\nin a little while. Many others have heard the same subtle suggestion\nfrom the same master of wiles and father of lies. Postponement in giving\nis usually its practical abandonment, for the habit of procrastination\ngrows with insensibly rapid development.\n\nHabitual givers generally witnessed to the conscious blessedness of\nsystematic giving. Many who began by giving a tenth, and perhaps in a\nlegal spirit, felt constrained, by the growing joy of imparting, to\nincrease, not the amount only, but the proportion, to a fifth, a fourth,\na third, and even a half of their profits. Some wholly reversed the law\nof appropriation with which they began; for at first they gave a tithe\nto the Lord's uses, reserving nine tenths, whereas later on they\nappropriated nine tenths to the Lord's uses, and reserved for themselves\nonly a tithe. Those who learn the deep meaning of our Lord's words, \"It\nis more blessed to give than to receive,\" find such joy in holding all\nthings at His disposal that even personal expenditures are subjected to\nthe scrutiny of conscience and love, lest anything be wasted in\nextravagance or careless self-indulgence. Frances Ridley Havergal in her\nlater years felt herself and all she possessed to be so fully and\njoyfully given up to God, that she never went into a shop to spend a\nshilling without asking herself whether it would be for God's glory.\n\nGifts were valued by Mr. Muller only so far as they were the Lord's\nmoney, procured by lawful means and given in the Lord's own way. To the\nlast his course was therefore most conscientious in the caution with\nwhich he accepted offerings even in times of sorest extremity.\n\nIn October, 1842, he felt led to offer aid to a sister who seemed in\ngreat distress and destitution, offering to share with her, if need be,\neven his house and purse.\n\nThis offer drew out the acknowledgment that she had some five hundred\npounds of her own; and her conversation revealed that this money was\nheld as a provision against possible future want, and that she was\nleaning upon that instead of upon God. Mr. Muller said but little to\nher, but after her withdrawal he besought the Lord to make so real to\nher the exhaustless riches she possessed in Christ, and her own heavenly\ncalling, that she might be constrained to lay down at His feet the whole\nsum which was thus a snare to her faith and an idol to her love. _Not a\nword spoken or written passed between him and her on the subject, nor\ndid he even see her;_ his express desire being that if any such step\nwere to be taken by her, it might result from no human influence or\npersuasion, lest her subsequent regret might prove both a damage to\nherself and a dishonour to her Master.\n\nFor nearly four weeks, however, he poured out his heart to God for her\ndeliverance from greed. Then she again sought an interview and told him\nhow she had been day by day seeking to learn the will of God as to this\nhoarded sum, and had been led to a clear conviction that it should be\nlaid entire upon His altar. Thus the goodly sum of five hundred pounds\nwas within so easy reach, at a time of very great need, that a word from\nMr. Muller would secure it. Instead of saying that word, he exhorted her\nto make no such disposition of the money at that time, but to count the\ncost; to do nothing rashly lest she should repent it, but wait at least\na fortnight more before reaching a final decision. His correspondence\nwith this sister may be found fully spread out in his journal,* and is a\nmodel of devout carefulness lest he should snatch at a gift that might\nbe prompted by wrong motives or given with an unprepared heart. When\nfinally given, unexpected hindrances arose affecting her actual\npossession and transfer, so that more than a third of a year elapsed\nbefore it was received; but meanwhile there was on his part neither\nimpatience nor distrust, nor did he even communicate further with her.\nTo the glory of God let it be added that she afterward bore cheerful\nwitness that never for one moment did she regret giving the whole sum to\nHis service, and thus transferring her trust from the money to the\nMaster.\n\n* Narrative, I. 487 _et seq._\n\nIn August, 1853, a poor widow of sixty, who had sold the little house\nwhich constituted her whole property, put into an orphan-house box\nelsewhere, for Mr. Muller, the entire proceeds, ninety pounds. Those who\nconveyed it to Mr. Muller, knowing the circumstances, urged her to\nretain at least a part of this sum, and prevailed on her to keep five\npounds and sent on the other eighty-five. Mr. Muller, learning the\nfacts, and fearing lest the gift might result from a sudden impulse to\nbe afterward regretted, offered to pay her travelling expenses that he\nmight have an interview with her. He found her mind had been quite made\nup for ten years before the house was sold that such disposition should\nbe made of the proceeds. But he was the more reluctant to accept the\ngift lest, as she had already been prevailed on to take back five pounds\nof the original donation, she might wish she had reserved more; and only\nafter much urgency had failed to persuade her to reconsider the step\nwould he accept it. Even then, however, lest he should be evil spoken of\nin the matter, he declined to receive any part of the gift for personal\nuses.\n\nIn October, 1867, a small sum was sent in by one who had years before\ntaken it from another, and who desired thus to _make restitution,_\nbelieving that the Christian believer from whom it was taken would\napprove of this method of restoring it. Mr. Muller promptly returned it,\nirrespective of amount, that restitution might be made directly to the\nparty who had been robbed or wronged, claiming that such party should\nfirst receive it and then dispose of it as might seem fit. As it did not\nbelong to him who took it, it was not his to give even in another's\nbehalf.\n\nDuring a season of great straits Mr. Muller received a sealed parcel\ncontaining money. He knew from whom it came, and that the donor was a\nwoman not only involved in debt, but frequently asked by creditors for\ntheir lawful dues in vain. It was therefore clear that it was not _her_\nmoney, and therefore not hers to _give;_ and without even opening the\npaper wrapper he returned it to the sender--and this at a time when\nthere was _not in hand enough to meet the expenses of that very day._ In\nJune, 1838, a stranger, who confessed to an act of fraud, wished through\nMr. Muller to make restitution, with interest; and, instead of sending\nthe money by post, Mr. Muller took pains to transmit it by bank orders,\nwhich thus enabled him, in case of need, to prove his fidelity in acting\nas a medium of transmission--an instance of the often-quoted maxim that\nit is the honest man who is most careful to provide things honest in the\nsight of all men.\n\nMoney sent as proceeds of a musical entertainment held for the benefit\nof the orphans in the south of Devon was politely returned, Mr. Muller\nhad no doubt of the kind intention of those who set this scheme on foot,\nbut he felt that money for the work of God _should not be obtained in\nthis manner,_ and he desired only money provided in God's way.\n\nFriends who asked that they might know whether their gifts had come at a\nparticularly opportune time were referred to the next Report for answer.\nTo acknowledge that the help came very seasonably would be an indirect\nrevelation of need, and might be construed into an indirect appeal for\nmore aid--as help that was peculiarly timely would soon be exhausted.\nAnd so this man of God consistently avoided any such disclosure of an\nexigency, lest his chief object should be hindered, namely, \"to show how\nblessed it is to deal with God alone, and to trust Him in the darkest\nmoments.\" And though the need was continual, and one demand was no\nsooner met than another arose, he did not find this a trying life nor\ndid he ever tire of it.\n\nAs early as May, 1846, a letter from a brother contained the following\nparagraph:\n\n\"With regard to property, I do not see my way clearly. I trust it is all\nindeed at the disposal of the Lord; and, if you would let me know of any\nneed of it in His service, any sum under two hundred pounds shall be at\nyour disposal at about a week's notice.\"\n\nThe need at that time was great. How easy and natural to write back that\nthe orphan work was then in want of help, and that, as Mr. Muller was\njust going away from Bristol for rest, it would be a special comfort if\nhis correspondent would send on, say a hundred and ninety pounds or so!\nBut to deal with the Lord alone in the whole matter seemed so\nindispensable, both for the strengthening of his own faith and for the\neffectiveness of his testimony to the church and the world, that at once\nthis temptation was seen to be a snare, and he replied that only to the\nLord could the need of any part of the work be confided.\n\n_Money to be laid up_ as a fund for his old age or possible seasons of\nillness or family emergencies was always declined. Such a donation of\none hundred pounds was received October 12, 1856, with a note so\nconsiderate and Christian that the subtle temptation to lay up for\nhimself treasures on earth would have triumphed but for a heart fixed\nimmovably in the determination that there should be no dependence upon\nany such human provision. He had settled the matter beyond raising the\nquestion again, that he would live from day to day upon the Lord's\nbounty, and would make but _one investment,_ namely, using whatever\nmeans God gave, to supply the necessities of the poor, depending on God\nrichly to repay him in the hour of his own need, according to the\npromise:\n\n       \"He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the Lord;\n        And that which he hath given will He pay him again.\"\n                                Proverbs xix. 17.\n\nGod so owned, at once, this disposition on Mr. Muller's part that his\ncourteous letter, declining the gift for himself, led the donor not only\nto ask him to use the hundred pounds for the orphan work, but to add to\nthis sum a further gift of two hundred pounds more.\n\n\nCHAPTER XXIII\n\nGOD'S WITNESS TO THE WORK\n\nTHE eleventh chapter of Hebrews--that \"Westminster Abbey\" where Old\nTestament saints have a memorial before God--gives a hint of a peculiar\nreward which faith enjoys, even in this life, as an earnest and\nforetaste of its final recompense.\n\nBy faith \"the elders obtained a good report,\" that is, _they had witness\nborne to them_ by God in return for witness borne to Him. All the marked\nexamples of faith here recorded show this twofold testimony. Abel\ntestified to his faith in God's Atoning Lamb, and God testified to his\ngifts. Enoch witnessed to the unseen God by his holy walk with Him, and\nHe testified to Enoch, by his translation, and even before it, that he\npleased God. Noah's faith bore witness to God's word, by building the\nark and preaching righteousness, and God bore witness to him by bringing\na flood upon a world of the ungodly and saving him and his family in the\nark.\n\nGeorge Muller's life was one long witness to the prayer-hearing God;\nand, throughout, God bore him witness that his prayers were heard and\nhis work accepted. The pages of his journal are full of striking\nexamples of this witness--the earnest or foretaste of the fuller\nrecompense of reward reserved for the Lord's coming.\n\nCompensations for renunciations, and rewards for service, do not all\nwait for the judgment-seat of Christ, but, as some men's sins are open\nbeforehand, going before to judgment, so the seed sown for God yields a\nharvest that is 'open beforehand' to joyful recognition. Divine love\ngraciously and richly acknowledged these many years of self-forgetful\ndevotion to Him and His needy ones, by large and unexpected tokens of\nblessing. Toils and trials, tears and prayers, were not in vain even\nthis side of the Hereafter.\n\nFor illustrations of this we naturally turn first of all to the orphan\nwork. Ten thousand motherless and fatherless children had found a home\nand tender parental care in the institution founded by George Muller,\nand were there fed, clad, and taught, before he was called up higher.\nHis efforts to improve their state physically, morally, and spiritually\nwere so manifestly owned of God that he felt his compensation to be both\nconstant and abundant, and his journal, from time to time, glows with\nhis fervent thanksgivings.\n\nThis orphan work would amply repay all its cost during two thirds of a\ncentury, should only its _temporal benefits_ be reckoned. Experience\nproved that, with God's blessing, one half of the lives sacrificed among\nthe children of poverty would be saved by better conditions of\nbody--such as regularity and cleanliness of habits, good food, pure air,\nproper clothing, and wholesome exercise. At least two thirds, if not\nthree fourths, of the parents whose offspring have found a shelter on\nAshley Down had died of consumption and kindred diseases; and hence the\nchildren had been largely tainted with a like tendency. And yet, all\nthrough the history of this orphan work, there has been such care of\nproper sanitary conditions that there has been singular freedom from all\nsorts of ailments, and especially epidemic diseases; and when scarlet\nfever, measles, and such diseases have found entrance, the cases of\nsickness have been comparatively few and mild, and the usual percentage\nof deaths exceedingly small.\n\nThis is not the only department of training in which the recompense has\nbeen abundant. Ignorance is everywhere the usual handmaid of poverty,\nand there has been very careful effort to secure proper _mental_\nculture. With what success the education of these orphans has been\nlooked after will sufficiently appear from the reports of the school\ninspector. From year to year these pupils have been examined in reading,\nwriting, arithmetic, Scripture, dictation, geography, history, grammar,\ncomposition, and singing; and Mr. Horne reported in 1885 an average per\ncent of all marks as high as 91.1, and even this was surpassed the next\nyear when it was 94, and, two years later, when it was 96.1.\n\nBut in the moral and spiritual welfare of these orphans, which has been\nprimarily sought, the richest recompense has been enjoyed. The one main\naim of Mr. Muller and his whole staff of helpers, from first to last,\nhas been to save these children--to bring them up in the nurture and\nadmonition of the Lord. The hindrances were many and formidable. If the\nhereditary taint of disease is to be dreaded, what of the awful legacy\nof sin and crime! Many of these little ones had no proper bringing up\ntill they entered the orphan houses; and not a few had been trained\nindeed, but only in Satan's schools of drink and lust. And yet,\nnotwithstanding all these drawbacks, Mr. Muller records, with devout\nthankfulness, that _\"the Lord had constrained them,_ on the whole, to\nbehave exceedingly well, so much so as to attract the attention of\nobservers.\" Better still, large numbers have, throughout the whole\nhistory of this work, given signs of a really regenerate state, and have\nafterwards maintained a consistent character and conduct, and in some\ncases have borne singular witness to the grace of God, both by their\ncomplete transformation and by their influence for good.\n\nIn August, 1858, an orphan girl, Martha Pinnell, who had been for over\ntwelve years under Mr. Muller's care, and for more than five years ill\nwith consumption, fell asleep in Jesus. Before her death, she had, for\ntwo and a half years, known the Lord, and the change in her character\nand conduct had been remarkable. From an exceedingly disobedient and\ntroublesome child with a pernicious influence, she had become both very\ndocile and humble and most influential for good. In her unregenerate\ndays she had declared that, if she should ever be converted, she would\nbe \"a thorough Christian,\" and so it proved. Her happiness in God, her\nstudy of His word, her deep knowledge of the Lord Jesus, her earnest\npassion for souls, seemed almost incredible in one so young and so\nrecently turned to God. And Mr. Muller has preserved in the pages of his\nJournal four of the precious letters written by her to other inmates of\nthe orphan houses.*\n\n* Narrative, III. 253-257.\n\nAt times, and frequently, extensive revivals have been known among them\nwhen scores and hundreds have found the Lord. The year ending May 26,\n1858 was especially notable for the unprecedented greatness and rapidity\nof the work which the Spirit of God had wrought, in such conversions.\nWithin a few days and without any special apparent cause except the very\npeaceful death of a Christian orphan, Caroline Bailey, more than fifty\nof the one hundred and forty girls in Orphan House No. 1 were under\nconviction of sin, and the work spread into the other departments, till\nabout sixty were shortly exercising faith. In July, 1859, again, in a\nschool of one hundred and twenty girls more than half were brought under\ndeep spiritual concern; and, after a year had passed, shewed the grace\nof continuance in a new life. In January and February, 1860, another\nmighty wave of Holy Spirit power swept over the institution. It began\namong little girls, from six to nine years old, then extended to the\nolder girls, and then to the boys, until, inside of ten days, above two\nhundred were inquiring and in many instances found immediate peace. The\nyoung converts at once asked to hold prayer meetings among themselves,\nand were permitted; and not only so, but many began to labour and pray\nfor others, and, out of the seven hundred orphans then in charge, some\ntwo hundred and sixty were shortly regarded as either converted or in a\nmost hopeful state.\n\nAgain, in 1872, on the first day of the week of prayer, the Holy Spirit\nso moved that, without any unusual occasion for deep seriousness,\nhundreds were, during that season, hopefully converted. Constant prayer\nfor their souls made the orphan homes a hallowed place, and by August\n1st, it was believed, after careful investigation, that seven hundred\nand twenty-nine might be safely counted as being disciples of Christ,\nthe number of believing orphans being thus far in excess of any previous\nperiod. A series of such blessings have, down to this date, crowned the\nsincere endeavours of all who have charge of these children, to lead\nthem to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.\n\nBy far the majority of orphans sent out for service or apprenticeship,\nhad for some time before known the Lord; and even of those who left the\nInstitution unconverted, the after-history of many showed that the\ntraining there received had made impossible continuance in a life of\nsin.\n\nThus, precious harvests of this seed-sowing, gathered in subsequent\nyears, have shown that God was not unrighteous to forget this work of\nfaith, and labour of love, and patience of hope.\n\nIn April, 1874, a letter from a former inmate of the orphanage enclosed\na thank offering for the excellent Bible-teaching there received which\nhad borne fruit years after. So carefully had she been instructed in the\nway of salvation that, while yet herself unrenewed, she had been God's\ninstrument of leading to Christ a fellow servant who had long been\nseeking peace, and so, became, like a sign-board on the road, the means\nof directing another to the true path, by simply telling her what she\nhad been taught, though not then following the path herself.\n\nAnother orphan wrote, in 1876, that often, when tempted to indulge the\nsin of unbelief, the thought of that six years' sojourn in Ashley Down\ncame across the mind like a gleam of sunshine. It was remembered how the\nclothes there worn, the food eaten, the bed slept on, and the very walls\naround, were the visible answers to believing prayer, and the\nrecollection of all these things proved a potent prescription and remedy\nfor the doubts and waverings of the child of God, a shield against the\nfiery darts of satanic suggestion.\n\nDuring the thirty years between 1865 and 1895, two thousand five hundred\nand sixty-six orphans were known to have left the institution as\nbelievers, an average of eighty-five every year; and, at the close of\nthis thirty years, nearly six hundred were yet in the homes on Ashley\nDown who had given credible evidence of a regenerate state.\n\nMr. Muller was permitted to know that not only had these orphans been\nblessed in health, educated in mind, converted to God, and made useful\nChristian citizens, but many of them had become fathers or mothers of\nChristian households. One representative instance may be cited. A man\nand a woman who had formerly been among these orphans became husband and\nwife, and they have had eight children, all earnest disciples, one of\nwhom went as a foreign missionary to Africa.\n\nFrom the first, God set His seal upon this religious training in the\norphan houses. The _first two children_ received into No. 1 both became\ntrue believers and zealous workers: one, a Congregational deacon, who,\nin a benighted neighbourhood, acted the part of a lay preacher; and the\nother, a laborious and successful clergyman in the Church of England,\nand both largely used of God in soul-winning. Could the full history be\nwritten of all who have gone forth from these orphan homes, what a\nvolume of testimony would be furnished, since these are but a few\nscattered examples of the conspicuously useful service to which God has\ncalled those whose after-career can be traced!\n\nIn his long and extensive missionary tours, Mr. Muller was permitted to\nsee, gather, and partake of many widely scattered fruits of his work on\nAshley Down. When preaching in Brooklyn, N. Y., in September, 1877, he\nlearned that in Philadelphia a legacy of a thousand pounds was waiting\nfor him, the proceeds of a life-insurance, which the testator had willed\nto the work, and in city after city he had the joy of meeting scores of\norphans brought up under his care.\n\nHe minutely records the remarkable usefulness of a Mr. Wilkinson, who,\nup to the age of fourteen and a half years, had been taught at the\norphanage. Twenty years had elapsed since Mr. Muller had seen him, when,\nin 1878, he met him in Calvary Church, San Francisco, six thousand five\nhundred miles from Bristol. He found him holding fast his faith in the\nLord Jesus, a happy and consistent Christian. He further heard most\ninspiring accounts of this man's singular service during the Civil War\nin America. Being on the gunboat Louisiana, he had there been the\nleading spirit and recognized head of a little Bethel church among his\nfellow seamen, who were by him led so to engage in the service of Christ\nas to exhibit a devotion that, without a trace of fanatical enthusiasm,\nwas full of holy zeal and joy. Their whole conversation was of God. It\nfurther transpired that, months previous, when the cloud of impending\nbattle overhung the ship's company, he and one of his comrades had met\nfor prayer in the 'chain-locker'; and thus began a series of most\nremarkable meetings which, without one night's interruption, lasted for\nsome twenty months. Wilkinson alone among the whole company had any\nprevious knowledge of the word of God, and he became not only the leader\nof the movement, but the chief interpreter of the Scriptures as they met\nto read the Book of God and exchange views upon it. Nor was he satisfied\nto do thus much with his comrades daily, but at another stated hour he,\nwith some chosen helpers, gathered the coloured sailors of the ship to\nteach them reading, writing, etc.\n\nA member of the Christian Commission, Mr. J. E. Hammond, who gave these\nfacts publicity, and who was intimately acquainted with Mr. Wilkinson\nand his work on shipboard, said that he seemed to be a direct \"product\nof Mr. Muller's faith, his calm confidence in God, the method in his\nwhole manner of life, the persistence of purpose, and the quiet\nspiritual power,\" which so characterized the founder of the Bristol\norphanage, being eminently reproduced in this young man who had been\ntrained under his influence. When in a sail-loft ashore, he was\ncompelled for two weeks to listen to the lewd and profane talk of two\nassociates detailed with him for a certain work. For the most part he\ntook refuge in silence; but his manner of conduct, and one sentence\nwhich dropped from his lips, brought both those rough and wicked sailors\nto the Saviour he loved, one of whom in three months read the word of\nGod from Genesis to Revelation.\n\nMr. Muller went nowhere without meeting converted orphans or hearing of\ntheir work, even in the far-off corners of the earth. Sometimes in great\ncities ten or fifteen would be waiting at the close of an address to\nshake the hand of their \"father,\" and tell him of their debt of\ngratitude and love. He found them in every conceivable sphere of\nservice, many of them having households in which the principles taught\nin the orphan homes were dominant, and engaged in the learned\nprofessions as well as humbler walks of life.\n\nGod gave His servant also the sweet compensation of seeing great\nblessing attending the day-schools supported by the Scriptural Knowledge\nInstitution.\n\nThe master of the school at Clayhidon, for instance, wrote of a poor\nlad, a pupil in the day-school, prostrate with rheumatic fever, in a\nwretched home and surrounded by bitter opposers of the truth. Wasted to\na skeleton, and in deep anxiety about his own soul, he was pointed to\nHim who says, \"Come unto Me,... and I will give you rest.\" While yet\nthis conversation was going on, as though suddenly he had entered into a\nnew world, this emaciated boy began to repeat texts such as \"Suffer the\nlittle children to come unto me,\" and burst out singing:\n\n       \"Jesus loves me, this I know,\n        For the Bible tells me so.\"\n\nHe seemed transported with ecstasy, and recited text after text and hymn\nafter hymn, learned at that school. No marvel is it if that schoolmaster\nfelt a joy, akin to the angels, in this one proof that his labour in the\nLord was not in vain. Such examples might be indefinitely multiplied,\nbut this handful of first-fruits of a harvest may indicate the character\nof the whole crop.\n\nLetters were constantly received from missionary labourers in various\nparts of the world who were helped by the gifts of the Scriptural\nKnowledge Institution. The testimony from this source alone would fill a\ngood-sized volume, and therefore its incorporation into this memoir\nwould be impracticable. Those who would see what grand encouragement\ncame to Mr. Muller from fields of labour where he was only represented\nby others, whom his gift's aided, should read the annual reports. A few\nexamples may be given of the blessed results of such wide scattering of\nthe seed of the kingdom, as specimens of thousands.\n\nMr. Albert Fenn, who was labouring in Madrid, wrote of a civil guard\nwho, because of his bold witness for Christ and renunciation of the\nRomish confessional, was sent from place to place and most cruelly\ntreated, and threatened with banishment to a penal settlement. Again he\nwrites of a convert from Borne who, for trying to establish a small\nmeeting, was summoned before the governor.\n\n\"Who pays you for this?\" \"No one.\" \"What do you gain by it?\" \"Nothing.\"\n\"How do you live?\" \"I work with my hands in a mine.\" \"Why do you hold\nmeetings?\" \"Because God has blessed my soul, and I wish others to be\nblessed.\" \"You? you were made a miserable day-labourer; I prohibit the\nmeetings.\" \"I yield to force,\" was the calm reply, \"but as long as I\nhave a mouth to speak I shall speak for Christ.\" How like those\nprimitive disciples who boldly faced the rulers at Jerusalem, and, being\nforbidden to speak in Jesus' name, firmly answered: \"We ought to obey\nGod rather than men. Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken\nunto you more than unto God judge ye: for we cannot but speak the things\nwhich we have seen and heard.\"\n\nA missionary labourer writes from India, of three Brahman priests and\nscores of Santhals and Hindus, sitting down with four Europeans to keep\nthe supper of the Lord--all fruits of his ministry. Within a twelvemonth,\nsixty-two men and women, including head men of villages, and four\nBrahman women, wives of priests and of head men, were baptized,\nrepresenting twenty-three villages in which the gospel had been\npreached. At one time more than one hundred persons were awakened in one\nmission in Spain; and such harvests as these were not infrequent in\nvarious fields to which the founder of the orphan work had the joy of\nsending aid.\n\nIn 1885, a scholar of one of the schools at Carrara, Italy, was\nconfronted by a priest. \"In the Bible,\" said he, \"you do not find the\ncommandments of the church.\" \"No, sir,\" said the child, \"for it is not\nfor the church of God to _command,_ but to _obey.\"_ \"Tell me, then,\"\nsaid the priest, \"these commandments of God.\" \"Yes, sir,\" replied the\nchild; \"I am the Lord thy God. Thou shalt have no other God before me.\nNeither shalt thou make any graven image.\" \"Stop! stop!\" cried the\npriest, \"I do not understand it so.\" \"But so,\" quietly replied the\nchild, \"it is written in God's word.\" This simple incident may\nillustrate both the character of the teaching given in the schools, and\nthe character often developed in those who were taught.\n\nOut of the many pages of Mr. Muller's journal, probably about one-fifth\nare occupied wholly with extracts from letters like these from\nmissionaries, teachers, and helpers, which kept him informed of the\nprogress of the Lord's work at home and in many lands where the\nlabourers were by him enabled to continue their service.\nBible-carriages, open-air services, Christian schools, tract\ndistribution, and various other forms of holy labour for the benighted\nsouls near and far, formed part of the many-branching tree of life that\nwas planted on Ashley Down.\n\nAnother of the main encouragements and rewards which Mr. Muller enjoyed\nin this life was the knowledge that his example had emboldened other\nbelievers to attempt like work for God, on like principles. This he\nhimself regarded as the greatest blessing resulting from his life-work,\nthat hundreds of thousands of children of God had been led in various\nparts of the world to trust in God in all simplicity; and when such\ntrust found expression in similar service to orphans, it seemed the\nconsummation of his hopes, for the work was thus proven to have its seed\nin itself after its kind, a self-propagating life, which doubly\ndemonstrated it to be a tree of the Lord's own planting, that He might\nbe glorified.\n\nIn December, 1876, Mr. Muller learned, for instance, that a Christian\nevangelist, simply through reading about the orphan work in Bristol, had\nit laid on his heart to care about orphans, and encouraged by Mr.\nMuller's example, solely in dependence on the Lord, had begun in 1863\nwith three orphans at Nimwegen in Holland, and had at that date, only\nfourteen years after, over four hundred and fifty in the institution. It\npleased the Lord that he and Mrs. Muller should, with their own eyes,\nsee this institution, and he says that in \"almost numberless instances\"\nthe Lord permitted him to know of similar fruits of his work.\n\nAt his first visit to Tokyo, Japan, he gave an account of it, and as the\nresult, Mr. Ishii, a native Christian Japanese, started an orphanage\nupon a similar basis of prayer, faith, and dependence upon the Living\nGod, and at Mr. Muller's second visit to the Island Empire he found this\norphan work prosperously in progress.\n\nHow generally fruitful the example thus furnished on Ashley Down has\nbeen in good to the church and the world will never be known on earth. A\nman living at Horfield, in sight of the orphan buildings, has said that,\nwhenever he felt doubts of the Living God creeping into his mind, he\nused to get up and look through the night at the many windows lit up on\nAshley Down, and they gleamed out through the darkness as stars in the\nsky.\n\nIt was the witness of Mr. Muller to a prayer-hearing God which\nencouraged Rev. J. Hudson Taylor, in 1863, thirty years after Mr.\nMuller's great step was taken, to venture wholly on the Lord, in\nfounding the China Inland Mission. It has been said that to the example\nof A. H. Francke in Halle, or George Muller in Bristol, may be more or\nless directly traced every form of 'faith work,' prevalent since.\n\nThe Scriptural Knowledge Institution was made in all its departments a\nmeans of blessing. Already in the year ending May 26, 1860, a hundred\nservants of Christ had been more or less aided, and far more souls had\nbeen hopefully brought to God through their labours than during any year\nprevious. About six hundred letters, received from them, had cheered Mr.\nMuller's heart during the twelvemonth, and this source of joy overflowed\nduring all his life. In countless cases children of God were lifted to a\nhigher level of faith and life, and unconverted souls were turned to God\nthrough the witness borne to God by the institutions on Ashley Down. Mr.\nMuller has summed up this long history of blessing by two statements\nwhich are worth pondering.\n\nFirst, that the Lord was pleased to give him far beyond all he at first\nexpected to accomplish or receive.\n\nAnd secondly, that he was fully persuaded that all he had seen and known\nwould not equal the thousandth part of what he should see and know when\nthe Lord should come, His reward with Him, to give every man according\nas his work shall be.\n\nThe _circulation of Mr. Muller's Narrative_ was a most conspicuous means\nof untold good.\n\nIn November, 1856, Mr. James McQuilkin, a young Irishman, was converted,\nand early in the next year, read the first two volumes of that Narrative\nHe said to himself: \"Mr. Muller obtains all this simply by prayer; so\nmay I be blessed by the same means,\" and he began to pray. First of all\nhe received from the Lord, in answer, a spiritual companion, and then\ntwo more of like mind; and they four began stated seasons of prayer in a\nsmall schoolhouse near Kells, Antrim, Ireland, every Friday evening. On\nthe first day of the new year, 1858, a farm-servant was remarkably\nbrought to the Lord in answer to their prayers, and these _five_ gave\nthemselves anew to united supplication. Shortly a sixth young man was\nadded to their number by conversion, and so the little company of\npraying souls slowly grew, only believers being admitted to these simple\nmeetings for fellowship in reading of the Scriptures, prayer, and mutual\nexhortation.\n\nAbout Christmas, that year, Mr. McQuilkin, with the two brethren who had\nfirst joined him--one of whom was Mr. Jeremiah Meneely, who is still at\nwork for God--held a meeting by request at Ahoghill. Some believed and\nsome mocked, while others thought these three converts presumptuous; but\ntwo weeks later another meeting was held, at which God's Spirit began to\nwork most mightily and conversions now rapidly multiplied. Some converts\nbore the sacred coals and kindled the fire elsewhere, and so in many\nplaces revival flames began to burn; and in Ballymena, Belfast, and at\nother points the Spirit's gracious work was manifest.\n\nSuch was the starting-point, in fact, of one of the most widespread and\nmemorable revivals ever known in our century, and which spread the next\nyear in England, Wales, and Scotland. Thousands found Christ, and walked\nin newness of life; and the results are still manifest after more than\nforty years.\n\nAs early as 1868 it was found that one who had thankfully read this\nNarrative had issued a compendium of it in Swedish. We have seen how\nwidely useful it has been in Germany; and in many other languages its\nsubstance at least has been made available to native readers.\n\nKnowledge came to Mr. Muller of a boy of ten years who got hold of one\nof these Reports, and, although belonging to a family of unbelievers,\nbegan to pray: \"God, teach me to pray like George Muller, and hear me as\nThou dost hear George Muller.\" He further declared his wish to be a\npreacher, which his widowed mother very strongly opposed, objecting that\nthe boy did not know enough to get into the grammar-school, which is the\nfirst step toward such a high calling. The lad, however, rejoined: \"I\nwill learn and pray, and God will help me through as He has done George\nMuller.\" And soon, to the surprise of everybody, the boy had\nsuccessfully passed his examination and was received at the school.\n\nA donor writes, September 20, 1879, that the reading of the Narrative\ntotally changed his inner life to one of perfect trust and confidence in\nGod. It led to the devoting of at least a tenth of his earnings to the\nLord's purposes, and showed him how much more blessed it is to give than\nto receive; and it led him also to place a copy of that Narrative on the\nshelves of a Town Institute library where three thousand members and\nsubscribers might have access to it.\n\nAnother donor suggests that it might be well if Prof. Huxley and his\nsympathisers, who had been proposing some new arbitrary \"prayer-gauge\"\nwould, instead of treating prayer as so much waste of breath, try how\nlong they could keep five orphan houses running, with over two thousand\norphans, and without asking any one for help,--either \"GOD or MAN.\"\n\nIn September, 1882, another donor describes himself as \"simply astounded\nat the blessed results of prayer and faith,\" and many others have found\nthis brief narrative \"the most wonderful and complete refutation of\nskepticism it had ever been their lot to meet with\"--an array of facts\nconstituting the most undeniable \"evidences of Christianity.\" There are\nabundant instances of the power exerted by Mr. Muller's testimony, as\nwhen a woman who had been an infidel, writes him that he was \"the first\nperson by whose example she learned that there are some men who live by\nfaith,\" and that for this reason she had willed to him all that she\npossessed.\n\nAnother reader found these Reports \"more faith-strengthening and\nsoul-refreshing than many a sermon,\" particularly so after just wading\nthrough the mire of a speech of a French infidel who boldly affirmed\nthat of all of the millions of prayers uttered every day, not one is\nanswered. We should like to have any candid skeptic confronted with Mr.\nMuller's unvarnished story of a life of faith, and see how he would on\nany principle of' compound probability' and 'accidental coincidences,'\naccount for the tens of thousand's of answers to believing prayer! The\nfact is that one half of the infidelity in the world is dishonest, and\nthe other half is ignorant of the daily proofs that God is, and is a\nRewarder of them that diligently seek Him.\n\nFrom almost the first publication of his Narrative, Mr. Muller had felt\na conviction that it was thus to be greatly owned of God as a witness to\nHis faithfulness; and, as early as 1842, it was laid on his heart to\nsend a copy of his Annual Report gratuitously to every Christian\nminister of the land, which the Lord helped him to do, his aim being not\nto get money or even awaken interest in the work, but rather to\nstimulate faith and quicken prayer.*\n\n* The author of this memoir purposes to give a copy of it to every\nforeign missionary, and to workers in the home fields, so far as means\nare supplied in answer to prayer. His hope is that the witness of this\nlife may thus have still wider influence in stimulating prayer and\nfaith. The devout reader is asked to unite his supplications with those\nof many others who are asking that the Lord may be pleased to furnish\nthe means whereby this purpose may be carried out. Already about one\nhundred pounds sterling have been given for this end, and part of it,\nsmall in amount but rich in self-denial, from the staff of helpers and\nthe orphans on Ashley Down. A. T. P.\n\nTwenty-two years later, in 1868, it was already so apparent that the\npublished accounts of the Lord's dealings was used so largely to\nsanctify and edify saints and even to convert sinners and convince\ninfidels, that he records this as _the greatest of all the spiritual\nblessings_ hitherto resulting from his work for God. Since then thirty\nyears more have fled, and, during this whole period, letters from a\nthousand sources have borne increasing witness that the example he set\nhas led others to fuller faith and firmer confidence in God's word,\npower, and love; to a deeper persuasion that, though Elijah has been\ntaken up, God, the God of Elijah, is still working His wonders.\n\nAnd so, in all departments of his work for God, the Lord to whom he\nwitnessed bore witness to him in return, and anticipated his final\nreward in a recompense of present and overflowing joy. This was\nespecially true in the long tours undertaken, when past threescore and\nten, to sow in lands afar the seeds of the Kingdom! As the sower went\nforth to sow he found not fallow fields only, but harvest fields also,\nfrom which his arms were filled with sheaves. Thus, in a new sense the\nreaper overtook the ploughman, and the harvester, him that scattered the\nseed. In every city of the United Kingdom and in the \"sixty-eight\ncities\" where, up to 1877, he had preached on the continents of Europe\nand America, he had found converted orphans, and believers to whom\nabundant blessing had come through reading his reports. After this date,\ntwenty-one years more yet remained crowded with experiences of good.\nThus, before the Lord called George Muller higher, He had given him a\nforetaste of his reward, in the physical, intellectual and spiritual\nprofit of the orphans; in the fruits of his wide seed-sowing in other\nlands as well as Britain; in the scattering of God's word and Christian\nliterature; in the Christian education of thousands of children in the\nschools he aided; in the assistance afforded to hundreds of devoted\nmissionaries; in the large blessing imparted by his published narrative,\nand in his personal privilege of bearing witness throughout the world to\nthe gospel of grace.\n\n\nCHAPTER XXIV\n\nLAST LOOKS, BACKWARD AND FORWARD.\n\nTHE mountain-climber, at the sunset hour, naturally takes a last\nlingering look backward at the prospect visible from the lofty height,\nbefore he begins his descent to the valley. And, before we close this\nvolume, we as naturally cast one more glance backward over this\nsingularly holy and useful life, that we may catch further inspiration\nfrom its beauty and learn some new lessons in holy living and unselfish\nserving.\n\nGeorge Muller was divinely fitted for, fitted into his work, as a\nmortise fits the tenon, or a ball of bone its socket in the joint. He\nhad adaptations, both natural and gracious, to the life of service to\nwhich he was called, and these adaptations made possible a career of\nexceptional sanctity and service, because of his complete self-surrender\nto the will of God and his childlike faith in His word.\n\nThree qualities or characteristics stand out very conspicuous in him:\n_truth, faith,_ and _love._ Our Lord frequently taught His disciples\nthat the childlike spirit is the soul of discipleship, and in the ideal\nchild these three traits are central. Truth is one centre, about which\nrevolve childlike frankness and sincerity, genuineness and simplicity.\nFaith is another, about which revolve confidence and trust, docility and\nhumility. Love is another centre, around which gather unselfishness and\ngenerosity, gentleness and restfulness of spirit. In the typical or\nperfect child, therefore, all these beautiful qualities would coexist,\nand, in proportion as they are found in a disciple, is he worthy to be\ncalled _a child of God._\n\nIn Mr. Muller these traits were all found and conjoined in a degree very\nseldom found in any one man, and this fact sufficiently accounts for his\nremarkable likeness to Christ and fruitfulness in serving God and man.\nNo pen-portrait of him which fails to make these features very prominent\ncan either be accurate in delineation or warm in colouring. It is\ndifficult to overestimate their importance in their relation to what\nGeorge Muller _was_ and _did._\n\nTruth is the corner-stone of all excellence, for without it nothing else\nis true, genuine, or real. From the hour of his conversion his\ntruthfulness was increasingly dominant and apparent. In fact, there was\nabout him a scrupulous exactness which sometimes seemed unnecessary. One\nsmiles at the mathematical precision with which he states facts, giving\nthe years, days, and hours since he was brought to the knowledge of God,\nor since he began to pray for some given object; and the pounds,\nshillings, pence, halfpence, and even farthings that form the total sum\nexpended for any given purpose. We see the same conscientious exactness\nin the repetitions of statements, whether of principles or of\noccurrences, which we meet in his journal, and in which oftentimes there\nis not even a change of a word. But all this has a significance. It\n_inspires absolute confidence_ in the record of the Lord's dealings.\n\nFirst, because it shows that the writer has disciplined himself to\naccuracy of statement. Many a falsehood is not an intentional lie, but\nan undesigned inaccuracy. Three of our human faculties powerfully affect\nour veracity: one is memory, another is imagination, and another is\nconscience. Memory takes note of facts, imagination colours facts with\nfancies, and conscience brings the moral sense to bear in sifting the\nreal from the unreal. Where conscience is not sensitive and dominant,\nmemory and imagination will become so confused that facts and fancies\nwill fail to be separated. The imagination will be so allowed to invest\nevents and experiences with either a halo of glory or a cloud of\nprejudice that the narrator will constantly tell, not what he clearly\nsees written in the book of his remembrance, but what he beholds painted\nupon the canvas of his own imagination. Accuracy will be, half\nunconsciously perhaps, sacrificed to his own imaginings; he will\nexaggerate or depreciate--as his own impulses lead him; and a man who\nwould not deliberately lie may thus be habitually untrustworthy: you\ncannot tell, and often he cannot tell, what the exact truth would be,\nwhen all the unreality with which it has thus been invested is\ndissipated like the purple and golden clouds about a mountain, leaving\nthe bare crag of naked rock to be seen, just as it is in itself.\n\nGeorge Muller felt the immense importance of exact statement. Hence he\ndisciplined himself to accuracy. Conscience presided over his narrative,\nand demanded that everything else should be scrupulously sacrificed to\nveracity. But, more than this, God made him, in a sense, a _man without\nimagination_--comparatively free from the temptations of an enthusiastic\ntemperament. He was a mathematician rather than a poet, an artisan\nrather than an artist, and he did not see things invested with a false\nhalo. He was deliberate, not impulsive; calm and not excitable. He\nnaturally weighed every word before he spoke, and scrutinized every\nstatement before he gave it form with pen or tongue. And therefore the\nvery qualities that, to some people, may make his narrative bare of\ncharm, and even repulsively prosaic, add to its value as a plain,\nconscientious, unimaginative, unvarnished, and trustworthy statement of\nfacts. Had any man of a more poetic mind written that journal, the\nreader would have found himself constantly and unconsciously making\nallowance for the writer's own enthusiasm, discounting the facts,\nbecause of the imaginative colouring. The narrative might have been more\nreadable, but it would not have been so reliable; and, in this story of\nthe Lord's dealings, nothing was so indispensable as exact truth. It\nwould be comparatively worthless, were it not undeniable. The Lord\nfitted the man who lived that life of faith and prayer, and wrote that\nlife-story, to inspire confidence, so that even skeptics and doubters\nfelt that they were reading, not a novel or a poem, but a history.\n\nFaith was the second of these central traits in George Muller, and it\nwas purely the product of grace. We are told, in that first great lesson\non faith in the Scripture, that (Genesis xv. 6) Abram believed in\nJehovah--literally, _Amened_ Jehovah. The word \"Amen\" means not 'Let it\nbe so,' but rather _'it shall be so.'_ The Lord's word came to Abram,\nsaying this 'shall not be,' but something else 'shall be'; and Abram\nsimply said with all his heart, 'Amen'--'it shall be as God hath said.'\nAnd Paul seems to be imitating Abram's faith when, in the shipwreck off\nMalta, he said, \"I believe God, that _it shall be_ even as it was told\nme.\" That is faith in its simplest exercise and it was George Muller's\nfaith. He found the word of the Lord in His blessed Book, a new word of\npromise for each new crisis of trial or need; he put his finger upon the\nvery text and then looked up to God and said: \"Thou hast spoken. I\nbelieve.\" Persuaded of God's unfailing truth, he rested on His word with\nunwavering faith, and consequently he was at peace.\n\nNothing is more noticeable, in the entire career of this man of God,\nreaching through sixty-five years, than the steadiness of his faith and\nthe steadfastness it gave to his whole character. To have a word of God\nwas enough. He built upon it, and, when floods came and beat against\nthat house, how could it fall! He was never confounded nor obliged to\nflee. Even the earthquake may shake earth and heaven, but it leaves the\ntrue believer the inheritor of a kingdom which cannot be moved; for the\nobject of all such shaking is to remove what can be shaken, that what\ncannot be shaken may remain.\n\nIf Mr. Muller had any great mission, it was not to found a world-wide\ninstitution of any sort, however useful in scattering Bibles and books\nand tracts, or housing and feeding thousands of orphans, or setting up\nChristian schools and aiding missionary workers. His main mission was to\nteach men that it is _safe to trust God's word,_ to rest implicitly upon\nwhatever He hath said, and obey explicitly whatever He has bidden; that\nprayer offered in faith, trusting His promise and the intercession of\nHis dear Son, is never offered in vain; and that the life lived by faith\nis a walk with God, just outside the very gates of heaven.\n\n_Love,_ the third of that trinity of graces, was the other great secret\nand lesson of this life. And what is love? _Not_ merely a complacent\naffection for what is lovable, which is often only a half-selfish taking\nof pleasure in the society and fellowship of those who love us. Love is\nthe _principle of unselfishness:_ love 'seeketh not her own'; it is the\npreference of another's pleasure and profit over our own, and hence is\nexercised toward the unthankful and unlovely, that it may lift them to a\nhigher level. Such love is benevolence rather than complacence, and so\nit is \"of God,\" for He loveth the unthankful and the evil: and he that\nloveth is born of God and knoweth God. Such love is obedience to a\nprinciple of unselfishness, and makes self-sacrifice habitual and even\nnatural. While Satan's motto is 'Spare thyself!' Christ's motto is to\nDeny thyself!' The sharpest rebuke ever administered by our Lord was\nthat to Peter when he became a Satan by counselling his Master to adopt\nSatan's maxim.* We are bidden by Paul, _\"Remember Jesus Christ,\"_** and\nby Peter, _\"Follow His steps.\"_*** If we seek the inmost meaning of these\ntwo brief mottoes, we shall find that, about Jesus Christ's character,\nnothing was more conspicuous than the obedience of faith and\nself-surrender to God: and in His career, which we are bidden to follow,\nthe renunciation of love, or self-sacrifice for man. The taunt was\nsublimely true: \"He saved others, Himself He cannot save\"; it was\n_because_ he saved others that He could not save Himself. The seed must\ngive up its own life for the sake of the crop; and he who will be life\nto others must, like his Lord, consent to die.\n\n* Matt. xvi.\n\n** 2 Tim. II. (Greek).\n\n*** 1 Pet. II. 21.\n\nHere is the real meaning of that command, \"Let him deny himself and take\nup his cross.\" Self-denial is not cutting off an indulgence here and\nthere, but laying the axe at the root of the tree of self, of which all\nindulgences are only greater or smaller branches. Self-righteousness and\nself-trust, self-seeking and self-pleasing, self-will, self-defence,\nself-glory--these are a few of the myriad branches of that deeply rooted\ntree. And what if one or more of these be cut off, if such lopping off\nof some few branches only throws back into others the self-life to\ndevelop more vigorously in them?\n\nAnd what is _cross_-bearing? We speak of our 'crosses'--but the word of\nGod never uses that word in the plural, for there is but _one_\ncross--the cross on which the self-life is crucified, the cross of\nvoluntary self-renunciation. How did Christ come to the cross? We read\nin Philippians the seven steps of his descent from heaven to Calvary. He\nhad everything that even the Son of God could hold precious, even to the\nactual equal sharing of the glory of God. Yet for man's sake what did he\ndo? He did not hold fast even His equality with God, He emptied Himself,\ntook on Him the form of a servant, was made in the likeness of fallen\nhumanity; even more than this, He humbled Himself even as a man,\nidentifying Himself with our poverty and misery and sin; He accepted\ndeath for our sakes, and that, the death of shame on the tree of curse.\nEvery step was downward until He who had been worshipped by angels was\nreviled by thieves, and the crown of glory was displaced by the crown of\nthorns! That is what the cross meant to _Him._ And He says: \"If any man\nwill _come after Me,_ let him deny himself, and _take up the cross_ and\nfollow Me.\" This cross is not _forced upon_ us as are many of the little\nvexations and trials which we call 'our crosses'; it is _taken up_ by\nus, in voluntary self-sacrifice for His sake. We choose self-abnegation,\nto lose our life in sacrifice that we may find it again in service. That\nis the self-oblivion of love. And Mr. Muller illustrated it. From the\nhour when he began to serve the Crucified One he entered more and more\nfully into the fellowship of His sufferings, seeking to be made\nconformable unto His death. He gave up fortune-seeking and fame-seeking;\nhe cut loose from the world with its snares and joys; he separated\nhimself from even its doubtful practices, he tested even churchly\ntraditions and customs by the word of God, and step by step conformed to\nthe pattern showed in that word. Every such step was a new self-denial,\nbut it was following _Him._ He chose voluntary poverty that others might\nbe rich, and voluntary loss that others might have gain. His life was\none long endeavour to bless others, to be the channel for conveying\nGod's truth and love and grace to them. Like Paul he rejoiced in such\nsufferings for others, because thus he filled up that which is behind of\nthe afflictions of Christ in his flesh for His body's sake which is the\nchurch.* And unless Love's voluntary sacrifice be taken into account,\nGeorge Muller's life will still remain an enigma. Loyalty to truth, the\nobedience of faith, the sacrifice of love--these form the threefold key\nthat unlocks to us all the closed chambers of that life, and these will,\nin another sense, unlock any other life to the entrance of God, and\npresent to Him an open door into all departments of one's being. George\nMuller had no monopoly of holy living and holy serving. He followed his\nLord, both in self-surrender to the will of God and in self-sacrifice\nfor the welfare of man, and herein lay his whole secret.\n\n* Coloss. 1: 24.\n\nTo one who asked him the secret of his service he said: \"There was a day\nwhen I died, _utterly died;\"_ and, as he spoke, he bent lower and lower\nuntil he almost touched the floor--\"died to George Muller, his opinions,\npreferences, tastes and will--died to the world, its approval or\ncensure--died to the approval or blame even of my brethren and\nfriends--and since then I have studied only to show myself approved unto\nGod.\"\n\nWhen George Muller trusted the blood for salvation, he took Abel's\nposition; when he undertook a consecrated walk he took Enoch's; when he\ncame into fellowship with God for his life-work he stood beside Noah;\nwhen he rested only on God's word, he was one with Abraham; and when he\ndied to self and the world, he reached the self-surrender of Moses.\n\nThe godlike qualities of this great and good man made him none the less\na man. His separation unto God implied no unnatural isolation from his\nfellow mortals. Like Terence, he could say: \"I am a man, and nothing\ncommon to man is foreign to me.\" To be well known, Mr. Muller needed to\nbe known in his daily, simple, home life. It was my privilege to meet\nhim often, and in his own apartment at Orphan House No. 3. His room was\nof medium size, neatly but plainly furnished, with table and chairs,\nlounge and writing-desk, etc. His Bible almost always lay open, as a\nbook to which he continually resorted.\n\nHis form was tall and slim, always neatly attired, and very erect, and\nhis step firm and strong. His countenance, in repose, might have been\nthought stern, but for the smile which so habitually lit up his eyes and\nplayed over his features that it left its impress on the lines of his\nface. His manner was one of simple courtesy and unstudied dignity: no\none would in his presence, have felt like vain trifling, and there was\nabout him a certain indescribable air of authority and majesty that\nreminded one of a born prince; and yet there was mingled with all this a\nsimplicity so childlike that even children felt themselves at home with\nhim. In his speech, he never quite lost that peculiar foreign quality,\nknown as accent, and he always spoke with slow and measured\narticulation, as though a double watch were set at the door of his lips.\nWith him that unruly member, the tongue, was tamed by the Holy Spirit,\nand he had that mark of what James calls a 'perfect man, able also to\nbridle the whole body.'\n\nThose who knew but little of him and saw him only in his serious moods\nmight have thought him lacking in that peculiarly human quality,\n_humour._ But neither was he an ascetic nor devoid of that element of\ninnocent appreciation of the ludicrous and that keen enjoyment of a good\nstory which seem essential to a complete man. His habit was sobriety,\nbut he relished a joke that was free of all taint of uncleanness and\nthat had about it no sting for others. To those whom he best knew and\nloved he showed his true self, in his playful moods,--as when at\nIlfracombe, climbing with his wife and others the heights that overlook\nthe sea, he walked on a little in advance, seated himself till the rest\ncame up with him, and then, when they were barely seated, rose and\nquietly said, \"Well now, we have had a good rest, let us go on.\" This\none instance may suffice to show that his sympathy with his divine\nMaster did not lessen or hinder his complete fellow feeling with man.\nThat must be a defective piety which puts a barrier between a saintly\nsoul and whatsoever pertains to humanity. He who chose us out of the\nworld sent us back into it, there to find our sphere of service; and in\norder to such service we must keep in close and vital touch with human\nbeings as did our divine Lord Himself.\n\nService to God was with George Muller a passion. In the month of May,\n1897, he was persuaded to take at Huntly a little rest from his constant\ndaily work at the orphan houses. The evening that he arrived he said,\nWhat opportunity is there here for services for the Lord? When it was\nsuggested to him that he had just come from continuous work, and that it\nwas a time for rest, he replied that, being now free from his usual\nlabours, he felt he must be occupied in some other way in serving the\nLord, to glorify whom was his object in life. Meetings were accordingly\narranged and he preached both at Huntly and at Teignmouth.\n\nAs we cast this last glance backward over this life of peculiar sanctity\nand service, one lesson seems written across it in unmistakable letters:\nPREVAILING PRAYER. If a consecrated human life is an _example_ used by\nGod to teach us the _philosophy_ of holy living, then this man was meant\nto show us how _prayer, offered in simple faith, has power with God._\n\nOne paragraph of Scripture conspicuously presents the truth which George\nMuller's living epistle enforces and illustrates; it is found in James\nv. 16-18:\n\n\"The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much,\" is the\nsentence which opens the paragraph. No translation has ever done it\njustice. Rotherham renders it: \"Much avails a righteous man's\nsupplication, working inwardly.\" The Revised Version translates, \"avails\nmuch in its working.\" The difficulty of translating lies not in the\n_obscurity_ but in the _fulness_ of the meaning of the original. There\nis a Greek middle participle here (Transcriber's note: The Greek word\nappears here in parentheses), which may indicate \"either the _cause_ or\nthe _time_ of the effectiveness of the prayer,\" and may mean, through\nits working, or while it is actively working. The idea is that such\nprayer has about it supernatural energy. Perhaps the best key to the\nmeaning of these ten words is to interpret them in the light of the\nwhole paragraph:\n\n\"Elijah was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed\nearnestly that it might not rain; and it rained not on the earth by the\nspace of three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven\ngave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.\"\n\nTwo things are here plainly put before us: first, that Elijah was but a\nman, of like nature with other men and subject to all human frailties\nand infirmities; and, secondly, that this man was such a power because\nhe was a man of prayer: he prayed earnestly; literally \"he prayed with\nprayer\"; prayed habitually and importunately. No man can read Elijah's\nshort history as given in the word of God, without seeing that he was a\nman like ourselves. Under the juniper-tree of doubt and despondency, he\ncomplained of his state and wished he might die. In the cave of a morbid\ndespair, he had to be met and subdued by the vision of God and by the\nstill, small voice. He was just like other men. It was not, therefore,\nbecause he was above human follies and frailties, but because he was\nsubject to them, that he is held up to us as an encouraging example of\npower that prevails in prayer. He laid hold of the Almighty Arm because\nhe was weak, and he kept hold because to lose hold was to let weakness\nprevail. Nevertheless, this man, by prayer alone, shut up heaven's\nfloodgates for three years and a half, and then by the same key unlocked\nthem. Yes, this man tested the meaning of those wonderful words:\n\"concerning the work of My hands command ye Me.\" (Isaiah xlv. 11.) God\nput the forces of nature for the time under the sway of this one man's\nprayer--one frail, feeble, foolish mortal locked and unlocked the\nsprings of waters, because he held God's key.\n\nGeorge Muller was simply another Elijah. Like him, a man subject to all\nhuman infirmities, he had his fits of despondency and murmuring, of\ndistrust and waywardness; but he prayed and kept praying. He denied that\nhe was a miracle-worker, in any sense that implies elevation of\ncharacter and endowment above other fellow disciples, as though he were\na specially privileged saint; but in a sense he _was_ a miracle-worker,\nif by that is meant that he wrought wonders impossible to the natural\nand carnal man. With God all things are possible, and so are they\ndeclared to be to him that believeth. God meant that George Muller,\nwherever his work was witnessed or his story is read, should be a\nstanding rebuke, to the _practical impotence of the average disciple._\nWhile men are asking whether prayer can accomplish similar wonders as of\nold, here is a man who answers the question by the indisputable logic of\nfacts. _Powerlessness always means prayerlessness._ It is not necessary\nfor us to be sinlessly perfect, or to be raised to a special dignity of\nprivilege and endowment, in order to wield this wondrous weapon of power\nwith God; but it _is_ necessary that we be men and women of\nprayer--habitual, believing, importunate prayer.\n\nGeorge Muller considered nothing too small to be a subject of prayer,\nbecause nothing is too small to be the subject of God's care. If He\nnumbers our hairs, and notes a sparrow's fall, and clothes the grass in\nthe field, nothing about His children is beneath His tender thought. In\nevery emergency, his one resort was to carry his want to his Father.\nWhen, in 1858, a legacy of five hundred pounds was, after fourteen\nmonths in chancery, still unpaid, the Lord was besought to cause this\nmoney soon to be placed in his hands; and he prayed that legacy out of\nthe bonds of chancery as prayer, long before, brought Peter out of\nprison. The money was paid contrary to all human likelihood, and with\ninterest at four per cent. When large gifts were proffered, prayer was\noffered for grace to know whether to accept or decline, that no money\nmight be greedily grasped at for its own sake; and he prayed that, if it\ncould not be accepted without submitting to conditions which were\ndishonouring to God, it might be declined so graciously, lovingly,\nhumbly, and yet firmly, that the manner of its refusal and return might\nshow that he was acting, not in his own behalf, but as a servant under\nthe authority of a higher Master.\n\nThese are graver matters and might well be carried to God for guidance\nand help. But George Muller did not stop here. In the lesser affairs,\neven down to the least, he sought and received like aid. His oldest\nfriend, Robert C. Chapman of Barnstaple, gave the writer the following\nsimple incident:\n\nIn the early days of his love to Christ, visiting a friend, and seeing\nhim mending a quill pen, he said: \"Brother H----, do you pray to God\nwhen you mend your pen?\" The answer was: \"It would be well to do so, but\nI cannot say that I do pray when mending my pen.\" Brother Muller\nreplied: \"I always do, and so I mend my pen much better.\"\n\nAs we cast this last backward glance at this man of God, seven\nconspicuous qualities stand out in him, the combination of which made\nhim what he was: Stainless uprightness, child-like simplicity,\nbusiness-like precision, tenacity of purpose, boldness of faith,\nhabitual prayer, and cheerful self-surrender. His _holy living_ was a\nnecessary condition of his _abundant serving,_ as seems so beautifully\nhinted in the seventeenth verse of the ninetieth Psalm:\n\n       \"Let the _beauty of the Lord our God be upon us,_\n        And _establish Thou the work of our hands upon us.\"_\n\nHow can the work of our hands be truly established by the blessing of\nour Lord, unless His beauty also is upon us--the beauty of His holiness\ntransforming our lives and witnessing to His work in us?\n\nSo much for the backward look. We must not close without a forward look\nalso. There are two remarkable sayings of our Lord which are complements\nto each other and should be put side by side:\n\n[Transcriber's note: The following two paragraphs are printed\nside-by-side in two columns.]\n\n\"If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his\ncross and follow Me.\"\n\n\"If any man serve Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there shall\nalso my servant be. If any man serve Me, him will My Father honour.\"\n\nOne of these presents the cross, the other the crown; one the\nrenunciation, the other the compensation. In both cases it is, \"Let him\nfollow Me\"; but in the second of these passages the following of Christ\n_goes further than the cross of Calvary;_ it reaches through the\nsepulchre to the Resurrection Life, the Forty Days' Holy Walk in the\nSpirit, the Ascension to the Heavenlies, the session at the Right Hand\nof God, the Reappearing at His Second Coming, and the fellowship of His\nfinal Reign in Glory. And two compensations are especially made\nprominent: first, the _Eternal Home with Christ;_ and, second the\n_Exalted Honour from the Father._ We too often look only at the cross\nand the crucifixion, and so see our life in Christ only in its oneness\nwith Him in suffering and serving; we need to look beyond and see our\noneness with Him in recompense and reward, if we are to get a complete\nview of His promise and our prospect. Self-denial is not so much an\n_impoverishment_ as a _postponement:_ we make a sacrifice of a present\ngood for the sake of a future and greater good. Even our Lord Himself\nwas strengthened to endure the cross and despise the shame by the joy\nthat was set before Him and the glory of His final victory. If there\nwere seven steps downward in humiliation, there are seven upward in\nexaltation, until beneath His feet every knee shall bow in homage, and\nevery tongue confess His universal Lordship. He that descended is the\nsame also that ascended up far above all heavens, that He might fill all\nthings.\n\nGeorge Muller counted all as loss that men count gain, but it was for\nthe excellency of the knowledge of Jesus, his Lord. He suffered the loss\nof all things and counted them as dung, but it was that he might win\nChrist and be found in Him; that he might know Him, and not only the\nfellowship of His sufferings and conformity to His death, but the power\nof His resurrection, conformity to His life, and fellowship in His\nglory. He left all behind that the world values, but he reached forth\nand pressed forward toward the goal, for the prize of the high calling\nof God in Christ Jesus. \"Let us, therefore, as many as be perfect, be\nthus minded.\"\n\nWhen the Lord Jesus was upon earth, there was one disciple whom He\nloved, who also leaned on His breast, having the favoured place which\nonly one could occupy. But now that He is in heaven, every disciple may\nbe the loved one, and fill the favoured place, and lean on His bosom.\nThere is no exclusive monopoly of privilege and blessing. He that\nfollows closely and abides in Him knows the peculiar closeness of\ncontact, the honour of intimacy, that are reserved for such as are\ncalled and chosen and faithful, and follow the Lamb whithersoever He\ngoeth. God's self-denying servants are on their way to the final\nsevenfold perfection, at home with Him, and crowned with honour:\n       \"And there shall be no more curse;\n        But the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it;\n        And His servants shall serve Him;\n        And they shall see His face;\n        And His name shall be in their foreheads,\n        And there shall be no night there,\n        And they shall reign for ever and ever.\"\n                                Amen!\n\n\nAPPENDIX A\n\nSCRIPTURE TEXTS THAT MOULDED GEORGE MULLER\n\nCERTAIN marked Scripture precepts and promises had such a singular\ninfluence upon this man of God, and so often proved the guides to his\ncourse, that they illustrate Psalm cxix. 105:\n\n\"Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, And a light unto my path.\"\n\nThose texts which, at the parting of the way, became to him God's\nsignboards, showing him the true direction, are here given, as nearly as\nmay be in the order in which they became so helpful to him. The study of\nthem will prove a kind of spiritual biography, outlining his career.\nSome texts, known to have been very conspicuous in their influence, we\nput in capitals. The italics are his own.\n\n\"GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD THAT HE GAVE HIS ONLY-BEGOTTEN SON, THAT\nWHOSOEVER BELIEVETH IN HIM SHOULD NOT PERISH, BUT HAVE EVERLASTING\nLIFE.\" (John iii. 16.)\n\n\"Cursed be the man that trusteth in man and maketh flesh his arm.\"\n(Jeremiah xvii. 5.)\n\n\"O, fear the Lord, ye His saints; for there is no want to them that fear\nHim.\" (Psa. xxxiv. 9.)\n\n\"Owe no man anything, but to love one another.\" (Rom. xiii. 8.)\n\n\"SEEK YE FIRST THE KINGDOM OF GOD AND HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS; AND ALL THESE\nTHINGS SHALL BE ADDED UNTO YOU.\" (Matt. vi. 33.)\n\n\"The holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation.\"\n(2 Tim. iii. 15.)\n\n\"Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it\nshall be opened unto you: for every one that asketh receiveth; and he\nthat seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.\"\n(Matt. vii. 7, 8.)\n\n\"WHATSOEVER YE SHALL ASK IN MY NAME, THAT WILL I DO, THAT THE FATHER MAY\nBE GLORIFIED IN THE SON: IF YE SHALL ASK ANYTHING IN MY NAME I WILL DO\nIT.\" (John xiv. 13, 14.)\n\n\"Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall\neat, and what ye shall drink, nor yet for your body what ye shall put\non.... Take, therefore, no thought for the morrow.\" (Matt. vi. 25-34.)\n\n\"If any man will do His will, he shall know of the doctrine.\" (John vii.\n17.)\n\n\"If ye continue in My word, then are ye My disciples indeed; and ye\nshall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.\" (John viii.\n31, 32.)\n\n\"And the eunuch said, See, here is water: what doth hinder me to be\nbaptized? And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou\nmayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son\nof Gad. And they went down both into the water, both Philip and the\neunuch, and he baptized him.\" (Acts viii, 36-38.)\n\n\"Know ye not that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were\nbaptized into His death? Therefore we are buried with Him by baptism\ninto death.\" (Rom. vi. 3, 4.)\n\n\"Upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to\nbreak bread.\" (Acts xx. 7.)\n\n\"My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of\nglory, with respect of persons. For if there come unto your assembly a\nman with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a man in\nvile raiment; and ye have respect unto him that weareth the gay\nclothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to\nthe poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool, are ye not\nthen partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts?\"\n(James ii. 1-6.)\n\n\"Having, then, gifts differing according to the grace that is given us.\"\n(Rom. xii. 6.)\n\n\"All these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every\nman severally as he will.\" (1 Cor. xii. 11.)\n\n\"Not because I desire a gift, but I desire fruit that may abound to your\naccount.\" (Philip, iv. 17.)\n\n\"Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall\ndrink; nor yet for your body what ye shall put on.\".... \"Behold the\nfowls of the air.... Consider the lilies of the field.... For your\nheavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of these things.\" (Matt. vi.\n25-32.)\n\n\"Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth.\" (Matt. vi. 19.)\n\n\"SELL THAT YE HAVE AND GIVE ALMS.\" (Luke xii. 33.)\n\n\"A man can receive nothing except it be given him from heaven.\" (John\niii. 27.)\n\n\"Simeon hath declared how God at the first did visit the Gentiles, to\ntake out of them a people for His name.\" (Acts xv. 14. Comp. Matt. xiii.\n24-30, 36-43.)\n\n\"This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come....\nEvil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving and being\ndeceived.\" (2 Tim. iii. 1, 13.)\n\n\"Come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch\nnot the unclean thing.\" (2 Cor. vi. 14-18.)\n\n\"Not by might, nor by power, but by My spirit, saith the Lord of hosts.\"\n(Zech. iv. 6.)\n\n\"MY GRACE IS SUFFICIENT FOR THEE.\" (2 Cor. xii. 9.)\n\n\"Let every man abide in the same calling wherein he was called. Let\nevery man, wherein he is called, therein abide with God.\" (1 Cor. vii.\n20, 24.)\n\n\"All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for\ndoctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in\nrighteousness.\" (2 Tim. iii. 16.)\n\n\"OPEN THY MOUTH WIDE, AND I WILL FILL IT.\" (Psa. lxxxi. 10.)\n\n\"Mine hour is not yet come.\" (John ii. 4.)\n\n\"He took a child, and set him in the midst of them; and when He had\ntaken him in His arms, He said unto them, Whosoever shall receive one of\nsuch children in My name, receiveth Me; and whosoever shall receive Me,\nreceiveth not Me, but Him that sent Me.\" (Mark ix. 36, 37.)\n\n\"If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all\nmen.\" (Rom. xii. 18.)\n\n\"For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure;\nbut He for our profit, that we might be partakers of His holiness. Now\nno chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous;\nnevertheless, afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness\nunto them which are exercised thereby.\" (Heb. xii. 10, 11.)\n\n\"WHAT THINGS SOEVER YE DESIRE, WHEN YE PRAY, BELIEVE THAT YE RECEIVE\nTHEM, AND YE SHALL HAVE THEM.\" (Mark xi. 24.)\n\n\"He that believeth on Him shall not be confounded.\" (1 Pet. ii. 6.)\n\n\"O Thou that hearest prayer, unto Thee shall all flesh come.\" (Psa. lxv.\n2.)\n\n\"Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will declare what He hath\ndone for my soul.\" (Psa. lxvi. 16.)\n\n\"A FATHER OF THE FATHERLESS.\" (Psa. lxviii. 5.)\n\n\"My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord; neither be weary\nof His correction.\" (Prov. iii. 11.)\n\n\"Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that\nfear Him.\" (Psa. ciii. 13.)\n\n\"JESUS CHRIST THE SAME YESTERDAY, AND TO-DAY, AND FOR EVER.\" (Heb. xiii.\n8.)\n\n\"To-morrow shall take thought for the things of itself.\" \"Sufficient\nunto the day is the evil thereof.\" (Matt, vi. 34.)\n\n\"Hitherto hath the Lord helped us.\" (1 Sam. vii. 12.)\n\n\"Oh taste and see that the Lord is good:\"\n\n\"Blessed is the man that trusteth in Him!\" (Psalm xxxiv. 8.)\n\n\"All the fat is the Lord's.\" (Lev. iii. 16.)\n\n\"I am poor and needy; yet the Lord thinketh upon me.\" (Psa. xl. 17.)\n\n\"Delight thyself also in the Lord, and He shall give thee the desires of\nthine heart.\" (Psa. xxxvii. 4.)\n\n\"If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.\" (Psa.\nlxvi. 18.)\n\n\"Know that the Lord hath set apart him that is godly for Himself: The\nLord will hear when I call unto Him.\" (Psa. iv. 3.)\n\n\"JEHOVAH JIREH.\" (The Lord will provide.) (Gen. xxii. 14.)\n\n\"HE HATH SAID, I WILL NEVER LEAVE THEE, NOR FORSAKE THEE; SO THAT WE MAY\nBOLDLY SAY, THE LORD IS MY HELPER.\" (Heb. xiii. 5, 6.)\n\n\"Be thou not one of them that strike hands, or of them that are sureties\nfor debts.\" (Prov. xxii. 26.)\n\n\"He that hateth suretyship is sure.\" (Prov. xi. 15.)\n\n\"I will very gladly spend and be spent for you; though the more\nabundantly I love you, the less I be loved.\" (2 Cor. xii. 15.)\n\n\"Ye are all children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.\" (Gal. iii. 26.)\n\n\"CASTING ALL YOUR CARE UPON HIM FOR HE CARETH FOR YOU.\" (1 Pet. v. 7.)\n\n\"Be careful for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication\nwith thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.\" (Phil. iv.\n6.)\n\n\"Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest\nsee the glory of God?\" (John xi. 40.)\n\n\"WE KNOW THAT ALL THINGS WORK TOGETHER FOR GOOD TO THEM THAT LOVE GOD.\"\n(Rom. viii. 28.)\n\n\"Shall not the judge of all the earth do right?\" (Gen. xviii. 25.)\n\n\"Of such (little children) is the kingdom of heaven.\" (Matt. xix. 14.)\n\n\"He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how\nshall He not with Him also freely give us all things?\" (Rom. viii. 32.)\n\n\"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above.\" (James i. 17.)\n\n\"The young lions do lack and suffer hunger; but they that seek the Lord\nshall not want any good thing.\" (Psa. xxxiv. 10.)\n\n\"There is that scattereth and yet increaseth; and there is that\nwithholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty. The liberal\nsoul shall be made fat, and he that watereth shall be watered also\nhimself.\" (Prov. xi. 24, 25.)\n\n\"Give and it shall be given unto you: good measure, pressed down and\nshaken together, and running over, shall men give unto your bosom. For\nwith the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you\nagain.\" (Luke vi. 38.)\n\n\"The liberal deviseth liberal things; and by liberal things shall he\nstand.\" (Isa. xxxii. 8.)\n\n\"For ye have the poor with you always, and whensoever ye will ye may do\nthem good. (Mark xiv. 7.)\n\n\"Let not then your good be evil spoken of.\" (Rom. xiv. 16.)\n\n\"Let your moderation (yieldingness) be known unto all men.\" (Phil. iv.\n5.)\n\n\"MY BRETHREN, COUNT IT ALL JOY WHEN YE FALL INTO DIVERS TEMPTATIONS\n(_i.e._ TRIALS); KNOWING THIS, THAT THE TRYING OF YOUR FAITH WORKETH\nPATIENCE. BUT LET PATIENCE HAVE HER PERFECT WORK, THAT YE MAY BE PERFECT\nAND ENTIRE, WANTING NOTHING.\" (James i. 2-4.)\n\n\"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own\nunderstanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy\npaths.\" (Prov. iii. 5,6.)\n\n\"The integrity of the upright shall guide them; but the perverseness of\ntransgressors shall destroy them.\" (Prov. xi. 3.)\n\n\"Commit thy works unto the Lord and thy thoughts shall be established.\"\n(Prov. xvi. 3.)\n\n\"For I say through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among\nyou, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to\nthink soberly, according as God has dealt to every man the measure of\nfaith.\" (Rom. xii. 3.)\n\n\"Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine\nheart: Wait, I say, on the Lord.\" (Psa. xxvii. 14.)\n\n\"After he had patiently endured he obtained the promise.\" (Heb. vi. 15.)\n\n\"VERILY, VERILY, I SAY UNTO YOU, WHATSOEVER YE SHALL ASK THE FATHER IN\nMY NAME, HE WILL GIVE IT YOU.\" (John xvi. 23.)\n\n\"He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which\nsoweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.\" (2 Cor. ix. 6.)\n\n\"Ye are bought with a price: therefore, glorify God in your body, and in\nyour spirit, which are God's.\" (1 Cor. vi. 20.)\n\n\"THEY THAT KNOW THY NAME WILL PUT THEIR TRUST IN THEE: FOR THOU, LORD,\nHAST NOT FORSAKEN THEM THAT TRUST THEE.\" (Psa. ix. 10.)\n\n\"Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Thee,\nbecause he trusteth in Thee. Trust ye in the Lord forever; for in the\nLord Jehovah is everlasting strength.\" (Isa. xxvi. 3, 4.)\n\n\"If there be first a willing mind it is accepted according to that a man\nhath and not according to that he hath not.\" (2 Cor viii. 12.)\n\n\"BE YE STEADFAST, UNMOVABLE, ALWAYS ABOUNDING IN THE WORK OF THE LORD,\nFORASMUCH AS YE KNOW THAT YOUR LABOUR IS NOT IN VAIN IN THE LORD.\" (1\nCor. xv. 58.)\n\n\"Let us not be weary in well doing, for _in due season_ we shall reap if\nwe faint not.\" (Gal. vi. 9.)\n\n\"Oh how great is Thy goodness, which Thou hast laid up for them that\nfear Thee; which Thou 'hast wrought for them that trust in Thee before\nthe sons of men!\" (Psa. xxxi. 19.)\n\n\"THOU ART GOOD AND DOEST GOOD.\" (Psa. cxix. 68.)\n\n\"I know, O Lord, that Thy judgments are right, and that Thou in\nfaithfulness hast afflicted me. (Psa. cxix. 75.)\n\n\"My times are in Thy hand.\" (Psa. xxxi. 15.)\n\n\"The LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory:\nno good thing will He withhold from them that walk uprightly.\" (Psa.\nlxxxiv. 11.)\n\n\"Hold Thou me up and I shall be safe.\" (Psa. cxix. 117.)\n\n\"Behold I come quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give every man\naccording as his work shall be.\" (Rev. xxii. 12.)\n\n\"It is more blessed to give than to receive.\" (Acts xx. 35.)\n\n\"Give us _this day_ our _daily_ bread.\" (Matt. vi. 11.)\n\n\"Able to do exceeding abundantly above all we ask or think.\" (Eph. iii.\n20.)\n\n\"Them that honour Me I will honour.\" (1 Sam. ii. 30.)\n\n\"That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold\nthat perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise\nand honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ.\" (1 Peter i. 7.)\n\n\nAPPENDIX B\n\nAPPREHENSION OF TRUTH\n\nSOME points which God began to show Mr. Muller while at Teignmouth in\n1829:\n\n1. That the word of God alone is our standard of judgment in spiritual\nthings; that it can be explained only by the Holy Spirit; and that in\nour day, as well as in former times, He is the teacher of His people.\nThe office of the Holy Spirit I had not experimentally understood before\nthat time. Indeed, of the office of each of the blessed persons, in what\nis commonly called the Trinity, I had no experimental apprehension. I\nhad not before seen from the Scriptures that the Father chose us before\nthe foundation of the world; that in Him that wonderful plan of our\nredemption originated, and that He also appointed all the means by which\nit was to be brought about. Further, that the Son, to save us, had\nfulfilled the law, to satisfy its demands, and with it also the holiness\nof God; that He had borne the punishment due to our sins, and had thus\nsatisfied the justice of God. And further, that the Holy Spirit alone\ncan teach us about our state by nature, show us the need of a Saviour,\nenable us to believe in Christ, explain to us the Scriptures, help us in\npreaching, etc. It was my beginning to understand this latter point in\nparticular, which had a great effect on me; for the Lord enabled me to\nput it to the test of experience, by laying aside commentaries, and\nalmost every other book, and simply reading the word of God and studying\nit. The result of this was, that the first evening that I shut myself\ninto my room, to give myself to prayer and meditation over the\nScriptures, I learned more in a few hours than I had done during a\nperiod of several months previously. _But the particular difference was\nthat I received real strength for my soul in doing so._ I now began to\ntry by the test of the Scriptures the things which I had learned and\nseen, and found that only those principles which stood the test were\nreally of value.\n\n2. Before this period I had been much opposed to the doctrines of\nelection, particular redemption, and final persevering grace: so much so\nthat, a few days after my arrival at Teignmouth I called election a\ndevilish doctrine. I did not believe that I had brought myself to the\nLord, for that was too manifestly false; but yet I held, that I might\nhave resisted finally. And further, I knew nothing about the choice of\nGod's people, and did not believe that the child of God, when once made\nso; was safe for ever. In my fleshly mind I had repeatedly said, If once\nI could prove that I am a child of God for ever, I might go back into\nthe world for a year or two, and then return to the Lord, and at last be\nsaved. But now I was brought to examine these precious truths by the\nword of God. Being made willing to have no glory of my own in the\nconversion of sinners, but to consider myself merely as an instrument;\nand being made willing to receive what the Scriptures said; I went to\nthe Word, reading the New Testament from the beginning, with a\nparticular reference to these truths. To my great astonishment I found\nthat the passages which speak decidedly for election and persevering\ngrace were about four times as many as those which speak apparently\nagainst these truths; and even those few, shortly after, when I had\nexamined and understood them, served to confirm me in the above\ndoctrines. As to the effect which my belief in these doctrines had on\nme, I am constrained to state, for God's glory, that though I am still\nexceedingly weak, and by no means so dead to the lusts of the flesh, and\nthe lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, as I might and as I ought\nto be, yet, by the grace of God, I have walked more closely with Him\nsince that period. My life has not been so variable, and I may say that\nI have lived much more for God than before. And for this have I been\nstrengthened by the Lord, in a great measure, through the\ninstrumentality of these truths. For in the time of temptation, I have\nbeen repeatedly led to say: Should I thus sin? I should only bring\nmisery into my soul for a time, and dishonour God; for, being a son of\nGod for ever, I should have to be brought back again, though it might be\nin the way of severe chastisement. Thus, I say, the electing love of God\nin Christ (when I have been able to realize it) has often been, the\nmeans of _producing holiness, instead of leading me into sin._ It is\nonly the notional apprehension of such truths, the want of having them\nin the heart, whilst they are in the head, which is dangerous.\n\n3. Another truth, into which, in a measure, I was led, respected the\nLord's coming. My views concerning this point, up to that time, had been\ncompletely vague and unscriptural. I had believed what others told me,\nwithout trying it by the Word. I thought that things were getting better\nand better, and that soon the whole world would be converted. But now I\nfound in the Word that we have not the least Scriptural warrant to look\nfor the conversion of the world before the return of our Lord. I found\nin the Scriptures that that which will usher in the glory of the church,\nand uninterrupted joy to the saints, is the return of the Lord Jesus,\nand that, till then, things will be more or less in confusion. I found\nin the Word, that the return of Jesus, and not death, was the hope of\nthe apostolic Christians; and that it became me, therefore, to look for\nHis appearing. And this truth entered so into my heart that, though I\nwent into Devonshire exceedingly weak, scarcely expecting that I should\nreturn again to London, yet I was immediately, on seeing this truth,\nbrought off from looking for death, and was made to look for the return\nof the Lord. Having seen this truth, the Lord also graciously enabled me\nto apply it, in some measure at least, to my own heart, and to put the\nsolemn question to myself--What may I do for the Lord, before He\nreturns, as He may soon come?\n\n4. In addition to these truths, it pleased the Lord to lead me to see a\nhigher standard of devotedness than I had seen before. He led me, in a\nmeasure, to see what is my true glory in this world, even to be\ndespised, and to be poor and mean with Christ. I saw then, in a measure,\nthough I have seen it more fully since, that it ill becomes the servant\nto seek to be rich, and great, and honoured in that world where his Lord\nwas poor, and mean, and despised.\n\n\nAPPENDIX C\n\nSEPARATION FROM THE LONDON SOCIETY FOR PROMOTING CHRISTIANITY AMONG THE\nJEWS.\n\nIT became a point of solemn consideration with me, whether I could\nremain connected with the Society in the usual way. My chief objections\nwere these: 1. If I were sent out by the Society, it was more than\nprobable, yea, almost needful, if I were to leave England, that I should\nlabour on the Continent, as I was unfit to be sent to eastern countries\non account of my health, which would probably have suffered, both on\naccount of the climate, and of my having to learn other languages. Now,\nif I _did_ go to the Continent, it was evident that without ordination I\ncould not have any extensive field of usefulness, as unordained\nministers are generally prevented from labouring freely there; but I\ncould not conscientiously submit to be ordained by unconverted men,\nprofessing to have power to set me apart for the ministry, or to\ncommunicate something to me for this work which they do not possess\nthemselves. Besides this, I had other objections to being connected with\n_any_ state church or national religious establishment, which arose from\nthe increased light which I had obtained through the reception of this\ntruth, that _the word of God is our only standard, and the Holy Spirit\nour only teacher._ For as I now began to compare what I knew of the\nestablishment in England and those on the Continent with this only true\nstandard, the word of God, I found that all establishments, even because\nthey are establishments, i.e., the world and the church mixed up\ntogether, not only contain in them the principles which necessarily must\nlead to departure from the word of God; but also, as long as they remain\nestablishments, entirely preclude the acting throughout according to the\nHoly Scriptures.--Then again, if I were to stay in England, the Society\nwould not allow me to preach in any place indiscriminately, where the\nLord might open a door for me; and to the ordination of English bishops\nI had still greater objections than to the ordination of a Prussian\nConsistory.\n\n2. I further had a conscientious objection against being led and\ndirected by _men_ in my missionary labours. As a servant of Christ, it\nappeared to me I ought to be guided by the Spirit, and not by men, as to\ntime and place; and this I would say, with all deference to others, who\nmay be much more taught and much more spiritually minded than myself. A\nservant of Christ has but one Master.\n\n3. I had love for the Jews, and I had been enabled to give proofs of it;\nyet I could not conscientiously say, as the committee would expect from\nme, that I would spend the greater part of my time only among them. For\nthe scriptural plan seemed to me that, in coming to a place, I should\nseek out the Jews, and commence my labour particularly among them; but\nthat, if they rejected the gospel, I should go to the nominal\nChristians.--The more I weighed these points, the more it appeared to me\nthat I should be acting hypocritically, were I to suffer them to remain\nin my mind, without making them known to the committee.\n\n\nAPPENDIX D\n\nTHE SCRIPTURAL KNOWLEDGE INSTITUTION FOR HOME AND ABROAD\n\nI. THE PRINCIPLES OF THE INSTITUTION.\n\n1. WE consider every believer bound, in one way or other, to help the\ncause of Christ, and we have scriptural warrant for expecting the Lord's\nblessing upon our work of faith and labour of love: and although,\naccording to Matt. xiii. 24-43, 2 Tim. iii. 1-13, and many other\npassages, the world will not be converted before the coming of our Lord\nJesus, still, while He tarries, all scriptural means ought to be\nemployed for the ingathering of the elect of God.\n\n2. The Lord helping us, we do not mean to seek the patronage of the\nworld; i.e., we never intend to ask _unconverted_ persons of rank or\nwealth to countenance this Institution, because this, we consider, would\nbe dishonourable to the Lord. In the name of our God we set up our\nbanners, Psa. xx. 5; He alone shall be our Patron, and if He helps us we\nshall prosper, and if He is not on our side, we shall not succeed.\n\n3. We do not mean to _ask_ unbelievers for money (2 Cor. vi. 14--18);\nthough we do not feel ourselves warranted to refuse their contributions,\nif they, of their own accord should offer them. (Acts xxviii. 2-10.) 4.\nWe reject altogether the help of unbelievers in managing or carrying on\nthe affairs of the Institution. (2 Cor. vi. 14-18.)\n\n5. We intend never to enlarge the field of labour by contracting debts\n(Rom. xiii. 8), and afterwards appealing to the Church of God for help,\nbecause this we consider to be opposed both to the letter and the spirit\nof the New Testament; but in secret prayer, God helping us, we shall\ncarry the wants of the Institution to the Lord, and act according to the\nmeans that God shall give.\n\n6. We do not mean to reckon the success of the Institution by the amount\nof money given, or the number of Bibles distributed, etc., but by the\nLord's blessing upon the work (Zech. iv. 6); and we expect this, in the\nproportion in which He shall help us to wait upon Him in prayer.\n\n7. While we would avoid aiming after needless singularity, we desire to\ngo on simply according to Scripture, without compromising the truth; at\nthe same time thankfully receiving any instruction which experienced\nbelievers, after prayer, upon scriptural ground, may have to give us\nconcerning the Institution.\n\nII. THE OBJECTS OF THE INSTITUTION ARE:\n\n1. To _assist_ day-schools, Sunday-schools, and adult-schools, in which\ninstruction is given upon _scriptural principles,_ and, as far as the\nLord may give the means, and supply us with suitable teachers, and in\nother respects make our path plain, to establish schools of this kind.\n\na. By day-schools upon scriptural principles, we understand day-schools\nin which the teachers are godly persons,--in which the way of salvation\nis scripturally pointed out,--and in which no instruction is given\nopposed to the principles of the gospel.\n\nb. Sunday-schools, in which all the teachers are believers, and in which\nthe Holy Scriptures alone are the foundation of instruction, are such\nonly as the Institution assists with the supply of Bibles, Testaments,\netc.; for we consider it unscriptural that any persons who do not\nprofess to know the Lord themselves should be allowed to give religious\ninstruction.\n\nc. The Institution does not assist any adult-schools with the supply of\nBibles, Testaments, spelling-books, etc., except the teachers are\nbelievers.\n\n2. To circulate the Holy Scriptures.\n\nWe sell Bibles and Testaments to poor persons at a reduced price. But\nwhile we, in general, think it better that the Scriptures should be\n_sold,_ and not given altogether gratis, still, in cases of extreme\npoverty, we think it right to give, without payment, a cheap edition.\n\n3. The third object of this Institution is to aid missionary efforts.\n\nWe desire to assist those missionaries whose proceedings appear to be\nmost according to the Scriptures.\n\nIt is proposed to give such a portion of the amount of the donations to\neach of the fore-mentioned objects as the Lord may direct; but if none\nof the objects should claim a more particular assistance, to lay out an\nequal portion upon each; yet so that if any donor desires to give for\none of the objects exclusively the money shall be appropriated\naccordingly.\n\n\nAPPENDIX E\n\nREASONS WHICH LED MR. MULLER TO ESTABLISH AN ORPHAN HOUSE\n\nI HAD constantly cases brought before me which proved that one of the\nespecial things which the children of God needed in our day was _to have\ntheir faith strengthened._ For instance: I might visit a brother who\nworked fourteen or even sixteen hours a day at his trade, the necessary\nresult of which was that not only his body suffered, but his soul was\nlean, and he had no enjoyment in the things of God. Under such\ncircumstances I might point out to him that he ought to work less, in\norder that his bodily health might not suffer, and that he might gather\nstrength for his inner man by reading the word of God, by meditation\nover it, and by prayer. The reply, however, I generally found to be\nsomething like this: \"But if I work less, I do not earn enough for the\nsupport of my family. Even now, whilst I work so much, I have scarcely\nenough. The wages are so low, that I must work hard in order to obtain\nwhat I need.\" There was no trust in God. No real belief in the truth of\nthat word: \"Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness: and\nall these things shall be added unto you.\" I might reply something like\nthis: \"My dear brother, it is not your work which supports your family,\nbut the Lord; and He who has fed you and your family when you could not\nwork at all, on account of illness, would surely provide for you and\nyours if, for the sake of obtaining food for your inner man, you were to\nwork only for so many hours a day as would allow you proper time for\nretirement. And is it not the case now, that you begin the work of the\nday after having had only a few hurried moments for prayer; and when you\nleave off your work in the evening, and mean then to read a little of\nthe word of God, are you not too much worn out in body and mind to enjoy\nit, and do you not often fall asleep whilst reading the Scriptures, or\nwhilst on your knees in prayer?\" The brother would allow it was so; he\nwould allow that my advice was good; but still I read in his\ncountenance, even if he should not have actually said so, \"How should I\nget on if I were to _carry out_ your advice?\" I longed, therefore, to\nhave something to point the brother to, as a visible proof that our God\nand Father is the same faithful God as ever He was; as willing as ever\nto PROVE Himself to be the LIVING GOD, in our day as formerly, _to all\nwho put their trust in Him._--Again, sometimes I found children of God\ntried in mind by the prospect of old age, when they might be unable to\nwork any longer, and therefore were harassed by the fear of having to go\ninto the poor-house. If in such a case I pointed out to them how their\nHeavenly Father has always helped those who put their trust in Him, they\nmight not, perhaps, always say that times have changed; but yet it was\nevident enough that God was not looked upon by them as the LIVING God.\nMy spirit was ofttimes bowed down by this, and I longed to set something\nbefore the children of God whereby they might see that He does not\nforsake, even in our day, those who rely upon Him.--Another class of\npersons were brethren in business, who suffered in their souls, and\nbrought guilt on their consciences, by carrying on their business almost\nin the same way as unconverted persons do. The competition in trade, the\nbad times, the over-peopled country, were given as reasons why, if the\nbusiness were carried on simply according to the word of God it could\nnot be expected to do well. Such a brother, perhaps, would express the\nwish that he might be differently situated; but very rarely did I see\n_that there was a stand made for God, that there was the holy\ndetermination to trust in the living God, and to depend on Him, in order\nthat a good conscience might be maintained._ To this class likewise I\ndesired to show, by a visible proof, that God is unchangeably the\nsame.--Then there was another class of persons, individuals who were in\nprofessions in which they could not continue with a good conscience, or\npersons who were in an unscriptural position with reference to spiritual\nthings; but both classes feared, on account of the consequences, to give\nup the profession in which they could not abide with God, or to leave\ntheir position, lest they should be thrown out of employment. My spirit\nlonged to be instrumental in strengthening their faith by giving them\nnot only instances from the word of God of His willingness and ability\nto help all those who rely upon Him, but _to show them by proofs_ that\nHe is the same in our day. I well knew _that the word of God ought to be\nenough,_ and it was, by grace, enough to me; but still, I considered\nthat I ought to lend a helping hand to my brethren, if by any means, by\nthis visible proof to the unchangeable faithfulness of the Lord I might\nstrengthen their hands in God; for I remembered what a great blessing my\nown soul had received through the Lord's dealings with His servant, A.\nH. Francke, who, in dependence upon the living God alone, established an\nimmense orphan house, which I had seen many times with my own eyes. I,\ntherefore, judged myself bound to be the servant of the Church of God,\nin the particular point on which I had obtained mercy: namely, _in being\nable to take God by His word and to rely upon it._ All these exercises\nof my soul, which resulted from the fact that so many believers, with\nwhom I became acquainted, were harassed and distressed in mind, or\nbrought guilt on their consciences, on account of not trusting in the\nLord, were used by God to awaken in my heart the desire of setting\nbefore the church at large, and before the world, a proof that He has\nnot in the least changed; and this seemed to me best done by the\nestablishing of an orphan house. It needed to be something which could\nbe seen, even by the natural eye. Now if I, a poor man, simply by prayer\nand faith, obtained, _without asking any individual,_ the means for\nestablishing and carrying on an orphan house, there would be something\nwhich, with the Lord's blessing, might be instrumental in strengthening\nthe faith of the children of God, besides being a testimony to the\nconsciences of the unconverted of the reality of the things of God.\nThis, then, was the primary reason for establishing the orphan house. I\ncertainly did from my heart desire to be used by God to benefit the\nbodies of poor children bereaved of both parents, and seek, in other\nrespects, with the help of God, to do them good for this life;--I also\nparticularly longed to be used by God in getting the dear orphans\ntrained up in the fear of God;--but still, the first and primary object\nof the work was (and still is) that God might be magnified by the fact\nthat the orphans under my care are provided with all they need only _by\nprayer and faith,_ without any one being asked by me or my fellow\nlabourers, whereby it may be seen that God is FAITHFUL STILL, and HEARS\nPRAYER STILL.\n\nThe three chief reasons for establishing an orphan house are: 1. That\nGod may be glorified, should He be pleased to furnish me with the means,\nin its being seen that it is not a vain thing to trust in Him; and that\nthus the faith of His children may be strengthened. 2. The spiritual\nwelfare of fatherless and motherless children. 3. Their temporal\nwelfare.\n\nThat to which my mind has been particularly directed is to establish an\norphan house in which destitute fatherless and motherless children may\nbe provided with food and raiment, and scriptural education. Concerning\nthis intended orphan house I would say:\n\n1. It is intended to be in connection with the Scriptural Knowledge\nInstitution for Home and Abroad, in so far as it respects the reports,\naccounts, superintendence, and the principles on which it is conducted,\nso that, in one sense, it may be considered as a new object of the\nInstitution, yet with this difference, _that only those funds shall be\napplied to the orphan house which are expressly given for it._ If,\ntherefore, any believer should prefer to support either those objects\nwhich have been hitherto assisted by the funds of this Institution, or\nthe intended orphan house, it need only be mentioned, in order that the\nmoney may be applied accordingly.\n\n2. It will only be established if the Lord should provide both the means\nfor it and suitable persons to conduct it.\n\nAs to the means, I would make the following remarks: The reason for\nproposing to enlarge the field is not because we have of late\nparticularly abounded in means; for we have been rather straitened. The\nmany gracious answers, however, which the Lord had given us concerning\nthis Institution led brother C----r and me to give ourselves to prayer,\nasking Him to supply us with the means to carry on the work, as we\nconsider it unscriptural to contract debts. During five days, we prayed\nseveral times, both unitedly and separately. After that time, the Lord\nbegan to answer our prayers, so that, within a few days, about 501. was\ngiven to us. I would further say that the very gracious and tender\ndealings of God with me, in having supplied, in answer to prayer, for\nthe last five years, my own temporal wants without any certain income,\nso that money, provisions, and clothes have been sent to me at times\nwhen I was greatly straitened, and that not only in small but large\nquantities; and not merely from individuals living in the same place\nwith me, but at a considerable distance; and that not merely from\nintimate friends, but from individuals whom I have never seen: all this,\nI say, has often led me to think, even as long as four years ago, that\nthe Lord had not given me this simple reliance on Him merely for myself,\nbut also for others. Often, when I saw poor neglected children running\nabout the streets at Teignmouth, I said to myself: \"May it not be the\nwill of God that I should establish schools for these children, asking\nHim to give me the means?\" However, it remained only a thought in my\nmind for two or three years. About two years and six months since I was\nparticularly stirred up afresh to do something for destitute children,\nby seeing so many of them begging in the streets of Bristol, and coming\nto our door. It was not, then, left undone on account of want of trust\nin the Lord, but through an abundance of other things calling for all\nthe time and strength of my brother Craik and myself; for the Lord had\nboth given faith, and had also shown by the following instance, in\naddition to very many others, both what He can and what He will do. One\nmorning, whilst sitting in my room, I thought about the distress of\ncertain brethren, and said thus to myself: \"Oh, that it might please the\nLord to give me the means to help these poor brethren!\" About an hour\nafterwards I had 60 pounds sent as a present for myself from a brother\nwhom up to this day I have never seen, and who was then, and is still,\nresiding several thousand miles from this. Should not such an\nexperience, together with promises like that one in John xiv. 13, 14,\nencourage us to ask with all boldness, for ourselves and others, both\ntemporal and spiritual blessings? The Lord, for I cannot but think it\nwas He, again and again brought the thought about these poor children to\nmy mind, till at last it ended in the establishment of \"The Scriptural\nKnowledge Institution, for Home and Abroad\"; since the establishment of\nwhich, I have had it in a similar way brought to my mind, first about\nfourteen months ago, and repeatedly since, but especially during these\nlast weeks, to establish an orphan house. My frequent prayer of late has\nbeen, that if it be of God, He would let it come to pass; if not, that\nHe would take from me all thoughts about it. The latter has not been the\ncase, but I have been led more and more to think that the matter may be\nof Him. Now, if so, He can influence His people _in any part of the\nworld_ (for I do not look to Bristol, nor even to England, but to the\nliving God, whose is the gold and the silver), to intrust me and brother\nC----r, whom the Lord has made willing to help me in this work with the\nmeans. Till we have _them,_ we can do nothing in the way of renting a\nhouse, furnishing it, etc. Yet, when once as much as is needed for this\nhas been sent us, as also proper persons to engage in the work, we do\nnot think it needful to wait till we have the orphan house endowed, or a\nnumber of yearly subscribers for it; but we trust to be enabled by the\nLord, who has taught us to ask for our _daily_ bread, to look to Him for\nthe supply of the _daily_ wants of those children whom He may be pleased\nto put under our care. Any donations will be received at my house.\nShould any believers have tables, chairs, bedsteads, bedding,\nearthenware, or any kind of household furniture to spare, for the\nfurnishing of the house; or remnants, or pieces of calico, linen,\nflannel, cloth, or any materials useful for wearing apparel; or clothes\nalready worn, they will be thankfully received.\n\nRespecting the persons who are needed for carrying on the work, a matter\nof no less importance than the procuring of funds, I would observe that\nwe look for them to God Himself, as well as for the funds; and that all\nwho may be engaged as masters, matrons, and assistants, according to the\nsmallness or largeness of the Institution, must be known to us as true\nbelievers; and moreover, as far as we may be able to judge, must\nlikewise be qualified for the work.\n\n3. At present nothing can be said as to the time when the operations are\nlikely to commence; nor whether the Institution will embrace children of\nboth sexes, or be restricted either to boys or girls exclusively; nor of\nwhat age they will be received, and how long they may continue in it;\nfor though we have thought about these things, yet we would rather be\nguided in these particulars by the amount of the means which the Lord\nmay put into our hands, and by the number of the individuals whom He may\nprovide for conducting the Institution. Should the Lord condescend to\nuse us as instruments, a short printed statement will be issued as soon\nas something more definite can be said.\n\n4. It has appeared well to us to receive only such destitute children as\nhave been bereaved of both parents.\n\n5. The children are intended, if girls, to be brought up for service; if\nboys, for a trade; and therefore they will be employed, according to\ntheir ability and bodily strength, in useful occupations, and thus help\nto maintain themselves; besides this, they are intended to receive a\nplain education; but the chief and the special end of the Institution\nwill be to seek, with God's blessing, to bring them to the knowledge of\nJesus Christ by instructing them in the Scriptures.\n\nFURTHER ACCOUNT RESPECTING THE ORPHAN HOUSE, ETC.\n\nWhen, of late, the thoughts of establishing an orphan house, in\ndependence upon the Lord, revived in my mind, during the first two weeks\nI only prayed that if it were of the Lord He would bring it about; but\nif not, that He graciously would be pleased to take all thoughts about\nit out of my mind. My uncertainty about knowing the Lord's mind did not\narise from questioning whether it would be pleasing in His sight that\nthere should be an abode and scriptural education provided for destitute\nfatherless and motherless children; but whether it were His will that\n_I_ should be the instrument of setting such an object on foot, as my\nhands were already more than filled. My comfort, however, was, that, if\nit were His will, He would provide not merely the means, but also\nsuitable individuals to take care of the children, so that my part of\nthe work would take only such a portion of my time as, considering the\nimportance of the matter, I might give, notwithstanding my many other\nengagements. The whole of those two weeks I never asked the Lord for\nmoney or for persons to engage in the work. On December 5th, however,\nthe subject of my prayer all at once became different. I was reading\nPsalm lxxxi., and was particularly struck, more than at any time before,\nwith verse 10: _\"Open thy mouth wide and I will fill it.\"_ I thought a\nfew moments about these words, and then was led to apply them to the\ncase of the orphan house. It struck me that I had never asked the Lord\nfor anything concerning it, except to know His will respecting its being\nestablished or not; and I then fell on my knees, and opened my mouth\nwide, asking him for much. I asked in submission to His will, and\nwithout fixing a time when He should answer my petition. I prayed that\nHe would give me a house, i.e., either as a loan, or that some one might\nbe led to pay the rent for one, or that one might be given permanently\nfor this object; further, I asked Him for 1000 pounds; and likewise for\nsuitable individuals to take care of the children. Besides this, I have\nbeen since led to ask the Lord to put into the hearts of His people to\nsend me articles of furniture for the house, and some clothes for the\nchildren. When I was asking the petition I was fully aware what I was\ndoing, i.e., that I was asking for something which I had no natural\nprospect of obtaining from the brethren whom I know, but which was not\ntoo much for the Lord to grant.\n\n\nAPPENDIX F\n\nARGUMENTS IN PRAYER FOR THE ORPHAN WORK\n\nTHE arguments which I plead with God are:\n\n1. That I set about the work for the glory of God, i.e., that there\nmight be a visible proof, by God supplying, _in answer to prayer only,_\nthe necessities of the orphans, that He is the _living_ God, and most\nwilling, even in _our_ day, to answer prayer: and that, therefore, He\nwould be pleased to send supplies.\n\n2. That God is the \"Father of the fatherless,\" and that He, therefore,\nas their Father, would be pleased to provide. (Psalm lxviii. 5.)\n\n3. That I have received the children in the name of Jesus, and that,\ntherefore, He, in these children, has been received, and is fed, and is\nclothed; and that, therefore, He would be pleased to consider this.\n(Mark ix. 36, 37.)\n\n4. That the faith of many of the children of God has been strengthened\nby this work hitherto, and that, if God were to withhold the means for\nthe future, those who are weak in faith would be staggered; whilst, by a\ncontinuance of means, their faith might still further be strengthened.\n\n5. That many enemies would laugh, were the Lord to withhold supplies,\nand say, did we not foretell that this enthusiasm would come to nothing?\n\n6. That many of the children of God, who are uninstructed, or in a\ncarnal state, would feel themselves justified to continue their alliance\nwith the world in the work of God, and to go on as heretofore, in their\nunscriptural proceedings respecting similar institutions, so far as the\nobtaining of means is concerned, if He were not to help me.\n\n7. That the Lord would remember that I am His child, and that He would\ngraciously pity me, and remember that _I_ cannot provide for these\nchildren, and that therefore He would not allow this burden to lie upon\nme long without sending help.\n\n8. That He would remember likewise my fellow labourers in the work, who\ntrust in Him, but who would be tried were He to withhold supplies.\n\n9. That He would remember that I should have to dismiss the children\nfrom under our scriptural instruction to their former companions.\n\n10. That He would show that those were mistaken who said that, _at the\nfirst,_ supplies might be expected, while the thing was new, but not\nafterwards.\n\n11. That I should not know were He to withhold means, what construction\nI should put upon all the many most remarkable answers to prayer which\nHe has given me heretofore in connection with this work, and which most\nfully have shown to me that it is of God.\n\n\nAPPENDIX G\n\nTHE PURCHASE OF A SITE, ETC.\n\nMR. BENJAMIN PERRY gives an account of the circumstances under which the\nland was purchased, prior to the erection of the orphan houses on Ashley\nDown, as he heard it from Mr. Muller's own mouth, showing how directly\nthe Lord worked on the mind of the owner. Mr. Muller had been making\ninquiries respecting the purchase of land much nearer Bristol, the\nprices asked being not less than 1000 pounds per acre, when he heard\nthat the land upon which the Orphan Houses Nos. 1 and 2 stand was for\nsale, the price being 200 pounds per acre. He therefore called at the\nhouse of the owner, and was informed that he was not at home, but that\nhe could be seen at his place of business in the city. Mr. Muller went\nthere, and was informed that he had left a few minutes before, and that\nhe would find him at home. Most men would have gone off to the owner's\nhouse at once; but Mr. Muller stopped and reflected, \"Peradventure the\nLord, having allowed me to miss the owner twice in so short a time, has\na purpose that I should not see him to-day; and lest I should be going\nbefore the Lord in the matter, I will wait till the morning.\" And\naccordingly he waited and went the next morning, when he found the owner\nat home; and on being ushered into his sitting-room, he said: \"Ah, Mr.\nMuller, I know what you have come to see me about. You want to buy my\nland on Ashley Down. I had a dream last night, and I saw you come in to\npurchase the land, for which I have been asking 200 pounds per acre; but\nthe Lord told me not to charge you more than 120 pounds per acre, and\ntherefore if you are willing to buy at that price the matter is\nsettled.\" And within ten minutes the contract was signed. \"Thus,\" Mr.\nMuller pointed out, \"by being careful to _follow_ the Lord, instead of\n_going before_ His leading, I was permitted to purchase the land for 80\npounds per acre less than I should have paid if I had gone to the owner\nthe evening before.\"\n\n\nAPPENDIX H\n\nGOD'S FAITHFULNESS IN PROVIDING\n\nMR. PERRY writes: At one meeting at Huntly, by special request Mr.\nMuller gave illustrations of God's faithfulness in answer to prayer,\nconnected with the orphan work, of which the following are examples:\n\na. He stated that at various times, not only at the beginning of the\nwork, but also in later years, God had seen fit to try his faith to the\nutmost, but only to prove to him the more definitely that He would never\nbe other than his faithful covenant-keeping God. In illustration he\nreferred to a time when, the children having had their last meal for the\nday, there was nothing left in money or kind for their breakfast the\nfollowing morning. Mr. Muller went home, but nothing came in, and he\nretired for the night, committing the need to God to provide. Early the\nnext morning he went for a walk, and while praying for the needed help\nhe took a turn into a road which he was quite unconscious of, and after\nwalking a short distance a friend met him, and said how glad he was to\nmeet him, and asked him to accept 5 pounds for the orphans. He thanked\nhim, and without saying a word to the donor about the time of need, he\nwent at once to the orphan houses, praising God for this direct answer\nto prayer.\n\nb. On another occasion, when there were no funds in hand to provide\nbreakfast for the orphans, a gentleman called before the time for\nbreakfast and left a donation that supplied all their present needs.\nWhen that year's report was issued, this proof of God's faithfulness in\nsending help just when needed was recorded, and a short time after the\ndonor called and made himself known, saying that as his donation had\nbeen given at such a special time of need he felt he must state the\ncircumstances under which he had given the money, which were as follows:\nHe had occasion to go to his office in Bristol early that morning before\nbreakfast, and on the way the thought occurred to him: \"I will go to Mr.\nMuller's orphan house and give them a donation,\" and accordingly turned\nand walked about a quarter of a mile toward the orphanage, when he\nstopped, saying to himself, \"How foolish of me to be neglecting the\nbusiness I came out to attend to! I can give money to the orphans\nanother time,\" and he turned round and walked back towards his office,\nbut soon felt that he _must_ return. He said to himself: \"The orphans\nmay be needing the money _now._ I may be leaving them in want when God\nhad sent me to help them;\" and so strong was this impression that he\nagain turned round and walked back till he reached the orphanages, and\nthus handed in the money which provided them with breakfast. Mr. Mullets\ncomment on this was: \"Just like my gracious heavenly Father!\" and then\nhe urged his hearers to trust and prove what a faithful covenant-keeping\nGod He is to those who put their trust in Him.\n\n\nAPPENDIX K\n\nFURTHER RECOLLECTIONS OF MR. MULLER\n\nMR. PERRY furnishes also the following reminiscences: As George Muller\nwas engaged in free, homely conversation with his friends on a Sunday\nafternoon within about three weeks of his departure to be with the Lord,\nhe referred to two visits he had made during the previous week to two\nold and beloved friends. He had fully appreciated that, though they were\nabout ten years younger than himself, his power to walk, and specially\nhis power to continue his service for his Lord, was far greater than\ntheirs. So that he playfully said, with a bright smile: \"I came away\nfrom both these beloved brethren feeling that I was quite young by\ncomparison as to strength, though so much older,\" and then at once\nfollowed an ascription of praise to God for His goodness to him: \"Oh,\nhow very kind and good my heavenly Father has been to me! I have no\naches or pains, no rheumatism, and now in my ninety-third year I can do\na day's work at the orphan houses with as much ease and comfort to\nmyself as ever.\"\n\nOne sentence aptly sets forth a striking feature in his Christian\ncharacter, viz.: George Muller, nothing. In himself worse than nothing.\n\nThe Lord Jesus, everything. By grace, in Christ, the son of the King.\n\nAnd as such he lived; for all those who knew and loved this beloved and\nhonoured servant of Christ best would testify that his habitual attitude\ntowards the Lord was to treat Him as an ever-present, almighty, loving\nFriend, whose love was far greater to him than he could ever return, and\nwho delighted in having his entire confidence about everything, and was\nnot only ready at hand to listen to his prayers and praises about great\nand important matters, but nothing was too small to speak to Him about.\nSo real was this that it was almost impossible to be enjoying the\nprivilege of private, confidential intercourse with him without being\nconscious that at least to him the Lord was really present, One to whom\nhe turned for counsel, in prayer, or in praise, as freely as most men\nwould speak to a third person present; and again and again most marked\nanswers to prayer have been received in response to petitions thus\nunitedly presented to the Lord altogether apart from his own special\nwork.\n\n\nAPPENDIX L\n\nCHURCH FELLOWSHIP, BAPTISM, ETC.\n\nWHEN brother Craik and I began to labour in Bristol, and consequently\nsome believers united with us in fellowship, assembling together at\nBethesda, we began meeting together on the basis of the written Word\nonly, without having any church rules whatever. From the commencement it\nwas understood that, as the Lord should help us, we would try everything\nby the word of God, and introduce and hold fast that only which could be\nproved by Scripture. When we came to this determination on Aug. 13,\n1832, it was indeed in weakness, but it was in uprightness of heart.--On\naccount of this it was that, as we ourselves were not fully settled as\nto whether those only who had been baptized after they had believed, or\nwhether all who believed in the Lord Jesus, irrespective of baptism,\nshould be received into fellowship, nothing was determined about this\npoint. We felt free to break bread and be in communion with those who\nwere not baptized, and therefore could with a good conscience labour at\nGideon, where the greater part of the saints, at least at first, were\nunbaptized; but, at the same time, we had a secret wish that none but\nbelievers who were baptized might be united with us at Bethesda. Our\nreason for this was that we had witnessed in Devonshire much painful\ndisunion, resulting as we thought, from baptized and unbaptized\nbelievers being in fellowship. Without, then, making it a rule, that\nBethesda Church was to be one of close communion, we nevertheless took\ncare that those who applied for fellowship should be instructed about\nbaptism. For many months there occurred no difficulty as none applied\nfor communion but such as had either been already baptized, or wished to\nbe, or who became convinced of the scriptural character of believers'\nbaptism, after we had conversed with them; afterwards, however, three\nsisters applied for fellowship, none of whom had been baptized; nor were\ntheir views altered after we had conversed with them. As, nevertheless,\nbrother Craik and I considered them true believers, and we ourselves\nwere not fully convinced what was the mind of the Lord in such a case,\nwe thought it right that these sisters should be received; yet so that\nit might be unanimously, as all our church acts _then_ were done; but we\nknew _by that time_ that there were several in fellowship with us who\ncould not conscientiously receive unbaptized believers. We mentioned,\ntherefore, the names of the three sisters to the church, stating that\nthey did not see believers' baptism to be scriptural, and that, if any\nbrother saw, on that account, a reason why they should not be received,\nhe should let us know. The result was that several objected, and two or\nthree meetings were held, at which we heard the objections of the\nbrethren, and sought for ourselves to obtain acquaintance with the mind\nof God on the point. Whilst several days thus passed away before the\nmatter was decided, one of those three sisters came and thanked us that\nwe had not received her, before being baptized, for she now saw that it\nwas only shame and the fear of man which had kept her back, and that the\nLord had now made her willing to be baptized. By this circumstance those\nbrethren who considered it scriptural that all ought to be baptized\nbefore being received into fellowship, were confirmed in their views;\nand as to brother Craik and me, it made us, at least, still more\nquestion whether those brethren might not be right; and we felt,\ntherefore, that in such a state of mind we could not oppose them. The\none sister, therefore, who wished to be baptized was received into\nfellowship, but the two others not. Our consciences were the less\naffected by this because all, though not baptized, might take the Lord's\nsupper with us at Bethesda, though not be received into full fellowship;\nand because at Gideon, where there were baptized and unbaptized\nbelievers, they might even be received into full fellowship; for we had\nnot then clearly seen that there is _no scriptural_ distinction between\nbeing in fellowship with individuals and breaking bread with them. Thus\nmatters stood for many months, i.e., believers were received to the\nbreaking of bread even at Bethesda, though not baptized, but they were\nnot received to all the privileges of fellowship.--In August of 1836 I\nhad a conversation with brother K. C. on, the subject of receiving the\nunbaptized into communion, a subject about which, for years, my mind had\nbeen more or less exercised. This brother put the matter thus before me:\neither unbaptized believers come under the class of persons who walk\ndisorderly, and, in that case, we ought to withdraw from them (2 Thess.\niii. 6); or they do not walk disorderly. If a believer be walking\ndisorderly, we are not merely to withdraw from him at the Lord's table,\nbut our behaviour towards him ought to be decidedly different from what\nit would be were he not walking disorderly, _on all occasions_ when we\nmay have intercourse with him, or come in any way into contact with him.\nNow this is evidently not the case in the conduct of baptized believers\ntowards their unbaptized fellow believers. The Spirit does not suffer it\nto be so, but He witnesses that their not having been baptized does not\nnecessarily imply that they are walking disorderly; and hence there may\nbe the most precious communion between baptized and unbaptized\nbelievers. The Spirit does not suffer us to refuse fellowship with them\nin prayer, in reading or searching the Scriptures, in social and\nintimate intercourse, and in the Lord's work; and yet this ought to be\nthe case, were they walking disorderly.--This passage, 2 Thess. iii. 6,\nto which brother E. C. referred, was the means of showing me the mind of\nthe Lord on the subject, which is, _that we ought to receive all whom\nChrist has received_ (Rom. xv. 7), _irrespective of the measure of grace\nor knowledge which they have attained unto._--Some time after this\nconversation, in May, 1837, an opportunity occurred, when we (for\nbrother Craik had seen the same truth) were called upon to put into\npractice the light which the Lord had been pleased to give us. A sister,\nwho neither _had been baptized,_ nor considered herself under any\nobligation to be baptized, applied for fellowship. We conversed with her\non this as on other subjects and proposed her for fellowship, though our\nconversation had not convinced her that she ought to be baptized. This\nled the church again to the consideration of the point. We gave our\nreasons, from Scripture, for considering it right to receive this\nunbaptized sister to all the privileges of the children of God; but a\nconsiderable number, one-third perhaps, expressed conscientious\ndifficulty in receiving her. The example of the Apostles, in baptizing\nthe first believers upon a profession of faith, was especially urged,\nwhich indeed would be an unsurmountable difficulty had not the truth\nbeen mingled with error for so long a time, so that it does not prove\nwilful disobedience if any one in our day should refuse to be baptized\nafter believing. The Lord, however, gave us much help in pointing out\nthe truth to the brethren, so that the number of those who considered\nthat only baptized believers should be in communion decreased almost\ndaily. At last, only fourteen brethren and sisters out of above 180\nthought it right, this August 28, 1837, to separate from us, after we\nhad had much intercourse with them. [I am glad to be able to add that,\neven of these fourteen, the greater part afterwards saw their error, and\ncame back again to us, and that the receiving of all who love our Lord\nJesus into full communion, irrespective of baptism, has never been the\nsource of disunion among us, though more than fifty-seven years have\npassed away since.]\n\n\nAPPENDIX M\n\nCHURCH CONDUCT\n\nI.--QUESTIONS RESPECTING THE ELDERSHIP.\n\n(1) _How does it appear to be the mind of God that, in every church,\nthere should be recognized Elders?_\n\n_Ans._ From the following passages compared together: Matt. xxiv. 45;\nLuke xii. 42.\n\nFrom these passages we learn that some are set by the Lord Himself in\nthe office of rulers and teachers, and that this office (in spite of the\nfallen state of the church) should be in being, even down to the close\nof the present dispensation. Accordingly, we find from Acts xiv. 23, xx.\n17; Tit. i. 5; and 1 Pet. v. 1, that soon after the saints had been\nconverted, and had associated together in a church character, Elders\nwere appointed to take the rule over them and to fulfil the office of\nunder-shepherds.\n\nThis must not be understood as implying that, when believers are\nassociated in church fellowship, they ought to elect Elders according to\ntheir own will, whether the Lord may have qualified persons or not; but\nrather that such should wait upon God, that He Himself would be pleased\nto raise up such as may be qualified for teaching and ruling in His\nchurch.\n\n(2) _How do such come into office?_\n\n_Ans._ By the appointment of the Holy Ghost, Acts xx. 28.\n\n(3) _How may this appointment be made known to the individuals called to\nthe office, and to those amongst whom they may be called to labour?_\n\n_Ans._ By the secret call of the Spirit, 1 Tim. iii. 1, confirmed by the\npossession of the requisite qualifications, 1 Tim. iii. 2-7; Tit. i.\n6-9, and by the Lord's blessing resting upon their labours, 1 Cor. ix.\n2.\n\nIn 1 Cor. ix. 2, Paul condescends to the weakness of some, who were in\ndanger of being led away by those factious persons who questioned his\nauthority. As an Apostle--appointed by the express word of the Lord--he\nneeded not such outward confirmation. But if he used his success as an\nargument in confirmation of his call, how much more may ordinary\nservants of the Lord Jesus employ such an argument, seeing that the way\nin which they are called for the work is such as to require some outward\nconfirmation!\n\n(4) _Is it incumbent upon the saints to acknowledge such and to submit\nto them in the Lord?_\n\n_Ans._ Yes. See 1 Cor. xvi. 15, 16; 1 Thess. v. 12, 13; Heb. xiii. 7,\n17; and 1 Tim. v. 17.\n\nIn these passages obedience to pastoral authority is clearly enjoined.\n\nII.--_Ought matters of discipline to be finally settled by the Elders_\nin private, _or_ in the presence of the church, and as the act of the\nwhole body?\n\n_Ans._ (1) Such matters are to be finally settled in the presence of the\nchurch. This appears from Matt. xviii. 17; 1 Cor. v. 4, 5; 2 Cor. ii.\n6-8; 1 Tim. v. 20.\n\n(2) Such matters are to be finally settled _as the act of the whole\nbody,_ Matt. xviii. 17, 18. In this passage the act of exclusion is\nspoken of as the act of the whole body. 1 Cor. v. 4, 5, v. 12, 13. In\nthis passage Paul gives the direction, respecting the exercise of\ndiscipline, in such a way to render the whole body responsible: verse 7,\n\"Purge out the old leaven that ye may be a new lump\"; and verse 13,\n\"Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person.\" From 2\nCor. ii. 6-8 we learn that the act of exclusion was not the act of the\nElders only, but of the church: \"Sufficient to such a man is this\npunishment [rather, public censure] _which was inflicted of many.\"_ From\nverse 8 we learn that the act of restoration was to be a public act of\nthe brethren: \"Wherefore I beseech you that ye would confirm [rather,\nratify by a public act] your love towards him.\"\n\nAs to the reception of brethren into fellowship, this is an act of\nsimple obedience to the Lord, both on the part of the elders and the\nwhole church. We are bound and privileged to receive all those who make\na credible profession of faith in Christ, according to that Scripture,\n\"Receive ye one another, as Christ also received us, to the glory of\nGod.\" (Rom. xv. 7.)\n\nIII.--_When should church acts (such as acts of reception, restoration,\nexclusion, etc.) be attended to?_\n\n_Ans._ It cannot be expressly proved from Scripture whether such acts\nwere attended to at the meeting for the breaking of bread, or at any\nother meeting; therefore this is a point on which, if different churches\ndiffer, mutual forbearance ought to be exercised. The way in which such\nmatters have hitherto been managed amongst us has been by the church\ncoming together on a week-evening. Before we came to Bristol we had been\naccustomed to this mode, and, finding nothing in Scripture against it,\nwe continued the practice. But, after prayer and more careful\nconsideration of this point, it has appeared well to us that such acts\nshould be attended to on the Lord's days, when the saints meet together\nfor the breaking of bread. We have been induced to make this alteration\nby the following reasons:\n\n(1) _This latter mode prevents matters from being delayed._ There not\nbeing a sufficiency of matter for a meeting on purpose every week, it\nhas sometimes happened that what would better have been stated to the\nchurch at once has been kept back from the body for some weeks. Now, it\nis important that what concerns the whole church should be made known as\nsoon as possible to those who are in fellowship, that they may act\naccordingly. Delay, moreover, seems inconsistent with the\npilgrim-character of the people of God.\n\n(2) _More believers can be present on the Lord's days than can attend on\nweek-evenings._ The importance of this reason will appear from\nconsidering how everything which concerns the church should be known to\n_as many as possible._ For how can the saints pray for those who may\nhave to be excluded,--how can they sympathize in cases of peculiar\ntrial,--and how can they rejoice and give thanks on account of those who\nmay be received or restored, unless they are made acquainted with the\nfacts connected with such cases?\n\n(3) _A testimony is thus given that all who break bread are church\nmembers._ By attending to church acts in the meeting for breaking of\nbread, we show that we _make no difference_ between receiving into\nfellowship at the Lord's Supper, and into church membership, but that\nthe individual who is admitted to the Lord's table is therewith also\nreceived to all the privileges, trials, and responsibilities of church\nmembership.\n\n(4) There is a peculiar propriety in acts of reception, restoration, and\nexclusion being attended to when the saints meet together for the\nbreaking of bread, as, in that ordinance especially, we show forth our\nfellowship with each other.\n\nObjections answered.\n\n(1) This alteration has the appearance of changeableness.\n\n_Reply._ Such an objection would apply to any case in which increased\nlight led to any improvement, and is, therefore, not to be regarded. It\nwould be an evil thing if there were any change respecting the\nfoundation truths of the Gospel; but the point in question is only a\nmatter of church order.\n\n(2) More time may thus be required than it would be well to give to such\na purpose on the Lord's day.\n\n_Reply._ As, according to this plan, church business will be attended to\n_every Lord's day,_ it is more than probable that the meetings will be\nthereby prolonged for a few minutes only; but, should circumstance\nrequire it, a special meeting may still be appointed during the week,\nfor all who break bread with us. This, however, would only be needful,\nprovided the matters to be brought before the brethren were to require\nmore time than could be given to them at the breaking of bread.*\n\n* The practice, later on, gave place to a week-night meeting, on\nTuesday, for transaction of such \"church acts.\"--A. T. P.\n\nN.B. (1) Should any persons be present who do not break bread with us,\nthey may be requested to withdraw whenever such points require to be\nstated as it would not be well to speak of in the presence of\nunbelievers.\n\n(2) As there are two places in which the saints meet for the breaking of\nbread, the matters connected with church acts must be brought out at\neach place.\n\nIV.--QUESTIONS RELATIVE TO THE LORD'S SUPPER.\n\n(1) _How frequently ought the breaking of bread to be attended to?_\n\n_Ans._ Although we have no express command respecting the frequency of\nits observance, yet the example of the apostles and of the first\ndisciples would lead us to observe this ordinance every Lord's day.\n(Acts xx. 7.)\n\n(2) _What ought to be the character of the meeting at which the saints\nare assembled for the breaking of bread?_\n\n_Ans._ As in this ordinance we show forth our common participation in\nall the benefits of our Lord's death, and our union to Him and to each\nother (1 Cor. x. 16, 17), opportunity ought to be given for the exercise\nof the gifts of teaching or exhortation, and communion in prayer and\npraise. (Rom. xii. 4-8; Eph. iv. 11-16.) The manifestation of our common\nparticipation in each other's gifts cannot be fully given at such\nmeetings, if the whole meeting is, necessarily, conducted by one\nindividual. This mode of meeting does not, however, take off from those\nwho have the gifts of teaching or exhortation the responsibility of\nedifying the church as opportunity may be offered.\n\n(3) _Is it desirable that the bread should be broken at the Lord's\nSupper by one of the elders, or should each individual of the body break\nit for himself?_\n\n_Ans._ Neither way can be so decidedly proved from Scripture that we are\nwarranted in objecting to the other as positively unscriptural, yet--\n\n(1) The letter of Scripture seems rather in favour of its being done by\neach brother and sister (1 Cor. x. 16, 17): \"The bread which _we\nbreak.\"_\n\n(2) Its being done by each of the disciples is more fitted to express\nthat we all, by our sins, have broken the body of our Lord.\n\n(3) By attending to the ordinance in this way, we manifest our freedom\nfrom the common error that the Lord's Supper must be administered by\nsome particular individual, possessed of what is called a ministerial\ncharacter, instead of being an act of social worship and obedience.\n\n\nAPPENDIX N\n\nTHE WISE SAYINGS OF GEORGE MULLER\n\nFEW who have not carefully read the Narrative of Mr. Muller and the\nsubsequent Reports issued year by year, have any idea of the large\namount of wisdom which there finds expression. We give here a few\nexamples of the sagacious and spiritual counsels and utterances with\nwhich these pages abound.\n\nTHE BODY.\n\nCARE OF THE BODY.\n\nI find it a difficult thing, whilst caring for the body, not to neglect\nthe soul. It seems to me much easier to go on altogether regardless of\nthe body, in the service of the Lord, than to take care of the body, in\nthe time of sickness, and not to neglect the soul, especially in an\naffliction like my present one, when the head allows but little reading\nor thinking.--What a blessed prospect to be delivered from this wretched\nevil nature!\n\nHABITS OF SLEEP.\n\nMy own experience has been, almost invariably, that if I have not the\n_needful_ sleep, my spiritual enjoyment and strength is greatly affected\nby it. I judge it of great moment that the believer, in travelling,\nshould seek as much as possible to refrain from travelling by night, or\nfrom travelling in such a way as that he is deprived of the needful\nnight's rest; for if he does not, he will be unable with renewed bodily\nand mental strength to give himself to prayer and meditation, and the\nreading of the Holy Scriptures, and he will surely feel the pernicious\neffects of this all the day long. There may occur cases when travelling\nby night cannot be avoided; but, if it can, _though we should seem to\nlose time by it, and though it should cost more money,_ I would most\naffectionately and solemnly recommend the refraining from\nnight-travelling; for, in addition to our drawing beyond measure upon\nour bodily strength, we must be losers spiritually. The next thing I\nwould advise with reference to travelling is, with all one's might to\nseek morning by morning, before setting out, to take time for meditation\nand prayer, and reading the word of God; for although we are always\nexposed to temptation, yet we are so especially in travelling.\nTravelling is one of the devil's especial opportunities for tempting us.\nThink of that, dear fellow believers. Seek always to ascertain carefully\nthe mind of God, before you begin anything; but do so in particular\nbefore you go on a journey, so that you may be quite sure that it is the\nwill of God that you should undertake that journey, lest you should\nneedlessly expose yourself to one of the special opportunities of the\ndevil to ensnare you. So far from envying those who have a carriage and\nhorses at their command, or an abundance of means, so that they are not\nhindered from travelling for want of means, let us who are not thus\nsituated rather thank God that _in this particular_ we are not exposed\nto the temptation of needing to be less careful in ascertaining the will\nof God before we set out on a journey.\n\nCHILDREN.\n\nCONVERSION OF CHILDREN.\n\nAs far as my experience goes, it appears to me that believers generally\nhave expected far too little of present fruit upon their labours among\nchildren. There has been a hoping that the Lord some day or other would\nown the instruction which they give to children, and would answer at\nsome time or other, though after many years only, the prayers which they\noffer up on their behalf. Now, while such passages as Proverbs xxii. 6,\nEcclesiastes xi. 1, Galatians vi. 9, 1 Cor. xv. 58, give unto us\nassurance not merely respecting everything which we do for the Lord, in\ngeneral, but also respecting bringing up children in the fear of the\nLord, in particular, that our labour is not in vain in the Lord; yet we\nhave to guard against abusing such passages, by thinking it a matter of\nlittle moment whether we see _present_ fruit or not; but, on the\ncontrary, we should give the Lord no rest till we see present fruit, and\ntherefore, in persevering, yet submissive, prayer, we should make known\nour requests unto God. I add, as an encouragement to believers who\nlabour among children, that during the last two years seventeen other\nyoung persons or children, from the age of eleven and a half to\nseventeen, have been received into fellowship among us, and that I am\nlooking out now for many more to be converted, and that not merely of\nthe orphans, but of the Sunday-school and day-school children.\n\nNEGLECT OF CHILDREN.\n\nThe power for good or evil that resides in a little child is great\nbeyond all human calculation. A child rightly trained may be a\nworld-wide blessing, with an influence reaching onward to eternal years.\nBut a neglected or misdirected directed child may live to blight and\nblast mankind, and leave influences of evil which shall roll on in\nincreasing volume till they plunge into the gulf of eternal perdition.\n\n\"A remarkable instance was related by Dr. Harris, of New York, at a\nrecent meeting of the State Charities Aid Association. In a small\nvillage in a county on the upper Hudson, some seventy years ago, a young\ngirl named 'Margaret' was sent adrift on the casual charity of the\ninhabitants. She became the mother of a long race of criminals and\npaupers, and her progeny has cursed the county ever since. The county\nrecords show _two hundred_ of her descendants who have been criminals.\nIn one single generation of her unhappy line there were twenty children;\nof these, three died in infancy, and seventeen survived to maturity. Of\nthe seventeen, nine served in the State prison for high crimes an\naggregate term of fifty years, while the others were frequent inmates of\njails and penitentiaries and almshouses. Of the nine hundred\ndescendants, through six generations, from this unhappy girl who was\nleft on the village streets and abandoned in her childhood, a great\nnumber have been idiots, imbeciles, drunkards, lunatics, paupers, and\nprostitutes: but two hundred of the more vigorous are on record as\ncriminals. This neglected little child has thus cost the county\nauthorities, in the effects she has transmitted, _hundreds of thousands\nof dollars,_ in the expense and care of criminals and paupers, besides\nthe untold damage she has inflicted on property and public morals.\"\n\nTRAINING OF CHILDREN.\n\nSeek to cherish in your children early the habit of being interested\nabout the work of God, and about cases of need and distress, and use\nthem too at _suitable times,_ and under _suitable circumstances,_ as\nyour almoners, and you will reap fruit from doing so.\n\nCHRISTIAN LIFE.\n\nBEGINNING OF LIFE, ETC.\n\nGod alone can give spiritual life at the first, and keep it up in the\nsoul afterwards.\n\nCROSS-BEARING.\n\nThe Christian, like the bee, might suck honey out of every flower. I saw\nupon a snuffer-stand in bas-relief, \"A heart, a cross under it, and\nroses under both.\" The meaning was obviously this, that the heart which\nbears the cross for a time meets with roses afterwards.\n\nKEEPING PROMISES.\n\nIt has been often mentioned to me, in various places, that brethren in\nbusiness do not sufficiently attend to the keeping of promises, and I\ncannot therefore but entreat all who love our Lord Jesus, and who are\nengaged in a trade or business, to seek for His sake not to make any\npromises, except they have every reason to believe they shall be able to\nfulfil them, and therefore carefully to weigh all the circumstances,\nbefore making any engagement, lest they should fail in its\naccomplishment. It is even in these little ordinary affairs of life that\nwe may either bring much honour or dishonour to the Lord; and these are\nthe things which every unbeliever can take notice of. Why should it be\nso often said, and sometimes with a measure of ground, or even much\nground: \"Believers are bad servants, bad tradesmen, bad masters\"? Surely\nit ought not to be true that _we, who have power with God to obtain by\nprayer and faith all needful grace, wisdom, and skill,_ should be bad\nservants, bad tradesmen, bad masters.\n\nTHE LOT AND THE LOTTERY.\n\nIt is altogether wrong that I, a child of God, should have anything to\ndo with so worldly a system as that of the lottery. But it was also\nunscriptural to go to the lot at all for the sake of ascertaining the\nLord's mind, and this I ground on the following reasons. We have neither\na commandment of God for it, nor the example of our Lord, nor that of\nthe apostles, _after the Holy Spirit had been given on the day of\nPentecost._ 1. We have many exhortations in the word of God to seek to\nknow His mind by prayer and searching the Holy Scriptures, but no\npassage which exhorts us to use the lot. 2. The example of the apostles\n(Acts i.) in using the lot, in the choice of an apostle in the room of\nJudas Iscariot, is the only passage which can be brought in favour of\nthe lot from the New Testament (and to the Old we have not to go, under\nthis dispensation, for the sake of ascertaining how we ought to live as\ndisciples of Christ). Now concerning this circumstance we have to\nremember that the Spirit was not yet given (John vii. 39; xiv. 16, 17;\nxvi. 7, 13), by whose teaching especially it is that we may know the\nmind of the Lord; and hence we find that, after the day of Pentecost,\nthe lot was no more used, but the apostles gave themselves to prayer and\nfasting to ascertain how they ought to act.\n\nNEW TASTES.\n\nWhat a difference grace makes! There were few people, perhaps, more\npassionately fond of travelling, and seeing fresh places, and new\nscenes, than myself; but now, since, by the grace of God, I have seen\nbeauty in the Lord Jesus, I have lost my taste for these things.... What\na different thing, also, to travel in the service of the Lord Jesus,\nfrom what it is to travel in the service of the flesh!\n\nOBEDIENCE.\n\n_Every instance of obedience, from right motives, strengthens us\nspiritually, whilst every act of disobedience weakens us spiritually._\n\nSEPARATION UNTO GOD.\n\nMay the Lord grant that the eyes of many of His children may be opened,\nso that they may seek, in all spiritual things, to be separated from\nunbelievers (2 Cor. vi. 14-18), and to do _God's work_ according to\n_God's mind!_\n\nSERVICE TO ONE'S GENERATION.\n\nMy business is, with all my might to serve my own generation; in doing\nso I shall best serve the next generation, should the Lord Jesus\ntarry.... The longer I live, the more I am enabled to realize that I\nhave but one life to live on earth, and that this one life is but a\n_brief_ life, for sowing, in comparison with _eternity,_ for reaping.\n\nSURETY FOR DEBT.\n\nHow precious it is, even for this life, to act according to the word of\nGod! This perfect revelation of His mind gives us directions for\neverything, even the most minute affairs of this life. It commands us,\n\"Be thou not one of them that strike hands, or of them that are sureties\nfor debts.\" (Prov. xxii. 26.) The way in which Satan ensnares persons,\nto bring them into the net, and to bring trouble upon them by becoming\nsureties, is, that he seeks to represent the matter as if there were no\ndanger connected with that particular case, and that one might be sure\none should never be called upon to pay the money; but the Lord, the\nfaithful Friend, tells us in His own word that the only way in such a\nmatter \"to be sure\" is \"to hate suretyship.\" (Prov. xi. 15.) The\nfollowing points seem to me of solemn moment for consideration, if I\nwere called upon to become surety for another: 1. What obliges the\nperson, who wishes me to become surety for him, to need a surety? Is it\nreally a good cause in which I am called upon to become surety? I do not\nremember ever to have met with a case in which in a plain, and godly,\nand in all respects scriptural matter such a thing occurred. There was\ngenerally some sin or other connected with it. 2. If I become surety,\nnotwithstanding what the Lord has said to me in His word, am I in such a\nposition that no one will be injured by my being called upon to fulfil\nthe engagements of the person for whom I am going to be surety? In most\ninstances this alone ought to keep one from it.\n\n3. If still I become surety, the amount of money for which I become\nresponsible must be so in my power that I am able to produce it whenever\nit is called for, in order that the name of the Lord may not be\ndishonoured.\n\n4. But if there be the possibility of having to fulfil the engagements\nof the person in whose stead I have to stand, is it the will of the Lord\nthat I should spend my means in that way? Is it not rather His will that\nmy means should be spent in another way? 5. How can I get over the plain\nword of the Lord, which is to the contrary, even if the first four\npoints could be satisfactorily settled?\n\nCHURCH LIFE.\n\nASSEMBLY OF BELIEVERS.\n\nIt has been my own happy lot, during the last thirty-seven years, to\nbecome acquainted with hundreds of individuals, who were not inferior to\napostolic Christians.\n\nThat the disciples of Jesus should meet together on the first day of the\nweek for the breaking of bread, and that that should be their principal\nmeeting, and that those, whether one or several, who are truly gifted by\nthe Holy Spirit for service, be it for exhortation, or teaching, or\nrule, etc., are responsible to the Lord for the exercise of their\ngifts--these are to me no matters of uncertainty, but points on which my\nsoul, by grace, is established, through the revealed will of God.\n\nFORMALISM.\n\nI have often remarked the injurious effects of doing things because\nothers did them, or because it was the custom, or because they were\npersuaded into acts of _outward_ self-denial, or giving up things whilst\nthe heart did not go along with it, and whilst the _outward act_ WAS NOT\n_the result of the inward powerful working of the Holy Ghost, and the\nhappy entering into our fellowship with the Father and with the Son._\n\nEverything that is a mere form, a mere habit and custom in divine\nthings, is to be dreaded exceedingly: _life, power, reality,_ this is\nwhat we have to aim after. Things should not result from without, but\nfrom within. The sort of clothes I wear, the kind of house I live in,\nthe quality of the furniture I use, all such like things should not\nresult from other persons' doing so and so, or because it is customary\namong those brethren with whom I associate to live in such and such a\nsimple, inexpensive self-denying way; but whatever be done in these\nthings, in the way of giving up, or self-denial, or deadness to the\nworld, should result from the joy we have in God, from the knowledge of\nour being the children of God, from the entering into the preciousness\nof our future inheritance, etc. Far better that for the time being we\nstand still, and do not take the steps which we see others take, than\nthat it is merely the force of example that leads us to do a thing, and\nafterwards it be regretted. Not that I mean in the least by this to\nimply we should continue to live in luxury, self-indulgence, and the\nlike, whilst others are in great need; but we should begin the thing in\na right way, i.e., aim after the right state of heart; begin _inwardly_\ninstead of _outwardly._ If otherwise, it will not last. We shall look\nback, or even get into a worse state than we were before. But oh, how\ndifferent if joy in God leads us to any little act of self-denial! How\ngladly do we do it then! How great an honour then do we esteem it to be!\nHow much does the heart then long to be able to do more for Him who has\ndone so much for us! We are far then from looking down in proud\nself-complacency upon those who do not go as far as we do, but rather\npray to the Lord that He would be pleased to help our dear brethren and\nsisters forward who may seem to us weak in any particular point; and we\nalso are conscious to ourselves that if we have a little more light or\nstrength with reference to one point, other brethren may have more light\nor grace in other respects.\n\nHELPING ONE ANOTHER.\n\nAs to the importance of the children of God's opening their hearts to\neach other, especially when they are getting into a cold state, or are\nunder the power of a certain sin, or are in especial difficulty; I know\nfrom my own experience how often the snare of the devil has been broken\nwhen under the power of sin; how often the heart has been comforted when\nnigh to be overwhelmed; how often advice, under great perplexity, has\nbeen obtained,--by opening my heart to a brother in whom I had\nconfidence. We are children of the same family, and ought therefore to\nbe helpers one of another.\n\nINQUIRY MEETINGS.\n\n1. Many persons, on account of timidity, would prefer coming at an\nappointed time to the vestry to converse with us, to calling on us in\nour own house. 2. The very fact of appointing a time for seeing people,\nto converse with them in private concerning the things of eternity, has\nbrought some who, humanly speaking, never would have called on us under\nother circumstances; yea, it has brought even those who, though they\nthought they were concerned about the things of God, yet were completely\nignorant; and thus we have had an opportunity of speaking to them. 3.\nThese meetings have also been a great encouragement to ourselves in the\nwork; for often, when we thought that such and such expositions of the\nWord had done no good at all, it was, through these meetings, found to\nbe the reverse; and likewise, when our hands were hanging down, we have\nbeen afresh encouraged to go forward in the work of the Lord, and to\ncontinue sowing the seed in hope, by seeing at these meetings fresh\ncases, in which the Lord had condescended to use us as instruments,\nparticularly as in this way instances have sometimes occurred in which\nindividuals have spoken to us about the benefit which they derived from\nour ministry, not only a few months before, but even as long as two,\nthree, and four years before.\n\nFor the above reasons I would particularly recommend to other servants\nof Christ, especially to those who live in large towns, if they have not\nalready introduced a similar plan, to consider whether it may not be\nwell for them also to set apart such times for seeing inquirers. Those\nmeetings, however, require much prayer, to be enabled to speak aright,\nto all those who come, according to their different need; and one is led\ncontinually to feel that one is not sufficient of one's self for these\nthings, but that our sufficiency can be alone of God. These meetings\nalso have been by far the most wearing-out part of all our work, though\nat the same time the most refreshing.\n\nPASTORAL VISITATION.\n\nAn _unvisited_ church will sooner or later become an _unhealthy church._\n\nPEW-RENTS.\n\n1. Pew-rents are, according to James ii. 1-6, against the mind of the\nLord, as, in general, the poor brother cannot have so good a seat as the\nrich. 2. A brother may gladly do something towards my support if left to\nhis own time; but when the quarter is up, he has perhaps other expenses,\nand I do not know whether he pays his money grudgingly, and of\nnecessity, or cheerfully; but God loveth a cheerful giver. _I knew it to\nbe a fact_ that sometimes it had not been convenient to individuals to\npay the money, when it had been asked for by the brethren who collected\nit. 3. Though the Lord had been pleased to give me grace to be faithful,\nso that I had been enabled not to keep back the truth, when He had shown\nit to me; still I felt that the pew-rents were a snare to the servant of\nChrist. It was a temptation to me, at least for a few minutes, at the\ntime when the Lord had stirred me up to pray and search the Word\nrespecting the ordinance of baptism, because 30 pounds of my salary was\nat stake if I should be baptized.\n\nSTATE CHURCHES.\n\nAll establishments, even because they are establishment, i.e., the world\nand the church mixed up together, not only contain in them the\nprinciples which necessarily must lead to departure from the word of\nGod; but also, as long as they remain establishments, entirely preclude\nthe acting throughout according to the Holy Scriptures.\n\nFAITH.\n\nANXIETY.\n\n        Where Faith begins, anxiety ends;\n        Where anxiety begins, Faith ends.\n\nPonder these words of the Lord Jesus, \"Only believe.\" As long as we are\nable to trust in God, holding fast in heart, that he is able and willing\nto help those who rest on the Lord Jesus for salvation, in all matters\nwhich are for His glory and their good, the heart remains calm and\npeaceful. It is only when we _practically_ let go faith in His power or\nHis love, that we lose our peace and become troubled. This very day I am\nin great trial in connection with the work in which I am engaged; yet my\nsoul was calmed and quieted by the remembrance of God's power and love;\nand I said to myself this morning: \"As David encouraged himself in\nJehovah his God, when he returned to Ziklag, so will I encourage myself\nin God;\" and the result was peace of soul.... It is the very time for\n_faith_ to work, when _sight_ ceases. The greater the difficulties, the\neasier for _faith._ As long as there remain certain natural prospects,\nfaith does not get on even as easily (if I may say so), as when all\nnatural prospects fail.\n\nDEPENDENCE ON GOD.\n\nObserve two things! We acted _for God_ in delaying the public meetings\nand the publishing of the Report; but _God's way leads always into\ntrial, so far as sight and sense are concerned. Nature_ always will be\ntried _in God's ways._ The Lord was saying by this poverty, \"I will now\nsee whether you truly lean upon me, and whether you truly look to me.\"\nOf all the seasons that I had ever passed through since I had been\nliving in this way, _up to that time,_ I never knew any period in which\nmy faith was tried so sharply, as during the four months from Dec. 12,\n1841, to April 12, 1842. But observe further: We might even now have\naltered our minds with respect to the public meetings and publishing the\nReport; for _no one knew our determination, at this time,_ concerning\nthe point. Nay, on the contrary, we knew with what delight very many\nchildren of God were looking forward to receive further accounts. But\nthe Lord kept us steadfast to the conclusion, at which we had arrived\nunder His guidance.\n\nGIFT AND GRACE OF FAITH.\n\nIt pleased the Lord, I think, to give me in some cases something like\nthe gift (not grace) of faith, so that unconditionally I could ask and\nlook for an answer. The difference between the _gift_ and the _grace_ of\nfaith seems to me this. According to the _gift of faith_ I am able to do\na thing, or believe that a thing will come to pass, the not doing of\nwhich, or the not believing of which would not be sin; according to the\n_grace of faith_ I am able to do a thing, or believe that a thing will\ncome to pass, respecting which I have the word of God as the ground to\nrest upon, and, therefore, the not doing it, or the not believing it\n_would be sin._ For instance, _the gift of faith_ would be needed, to\nbelieve that a sick person should be restored again, though _there is no\nhuman probability: for there is no promise to that effect; the grace of\nfaith_ is needed to believe that the Lord will give me the necessaries\nof life, if I first seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness: for\n_there is a promise to that effect._ (Matt. vi. 33.)\n\nSELF-WILL.\n\nThe natural mind is ever prone _to reason, _when we ought _to believe;_\nto be _at work,_ when we ought to be _quiet;_ to go our own way, when we\nought steadily to walk on in God's ways, however trying to nature.\n\nTRIALS OF FAITH.\n\nThe Lord gives faith, for the very purpose of trying it for the glory of\nHis own name, and for the good of him who has it; and, by the very trial\nof our faith, we not only obtain blessing to our own souls, by becoming\nthe better acquainted with God, if we hold fast our confidence in Him,\nbut our faith is also, by the exercise, strengthened: and so it comes,\nthat, if we walk with God in any measure of uprightness of heart, the\ntrials of faith will be greater and greater.\n\nIt is for the church's benefit that we are put in these straits; and if,\ntherefore, in the hour of need, we were to take goods on credit, the\nfirst and primary object of the work would be completely frustrated, and\nno heart would be further strengthened to trust in God, nor would there\nbe any longer that manifestation of the special and particular\nprovidence of God, which has hitherto been so abundantly shown through\nthis work, even in the eyes of unbelievers, whereby they have been led\nto see _that there is, after all, reality in the things of God,_ and\nmany, through these printed accounts, have been truly converted. For\nthese reasons, then, we consider it our precious privilege, as\nheretofore, to continue to wait upon the Lord only, instead of taking\ngoods on credit, or borrowing money from some kind friends, when we are\nin need. Nay, we purpose, as God shall give us grace, to look to Him\nonly, though morning after morning we should have nothing in hand for\nthe work--yea, though from meal to meal we should have to look to Him;\nbeing fully assured that He who is now (1845) in the tenth year feeding\nthese many orphans, and who has never suffered them to want, and that He\nwho is now (1845) in the twelfth year carrying on the other parts of the\nwork, without any branch of it having had to be stopped for want of\nmeans, will do so for the future also. And here I do desire in the deep\nconsciousness of my natural helplessness and dependence upon the Lord to\nconfess that through the grace of God my soul has been in peace, though\nday after day we have had to wait for our daily provisions upon the\nLord; yea, though even from meal to meal we have been required to do\nthis.\n\nGIVING.\n\nASKING GIFTS, ETC.\n\nIt is not enough to obtain means for the work of God, but that these\nmeans should be obtained in God's way. To ask unbelievers for means is\n_not_ God's way; to _press_ even believers to give, is _not_ God's way;\nbut the _duty_ and the _privilege_ of being allowed to contribute to the\nwork of God should be pointed out, and this should be followed up with\nearnest prayer, believing prayer, and will result in the desired end.\n\nCLAIMS OF GOD.\n\nIt is true, the Gospel demands our _All;_ but I fear that, in the\ngeneral claim on _All,_ we have shortened the claim on _everything._ We\nare not under law. True; but that is not to make our obedience less\ncomplete, or our giving less bountiful: rather, is it not, that after\nall claims of law are settled, the new nature finds its joy in doing\nmore than the law requires? Let us abound in the work of the Lord more\nand more.\n\nGIVING IN ADVERSITY.\n\nAt the end of the last century a very godly and liberal merchant in\nLondon was one day called on by a gentleman, to ask him for some money\nfor a charitable object. The gentleman expected very little, having just\nheard that the merchant had sustained heavy loss from the wreck of some\nof his ships. Contrary, however, to expectation, he received about ten\ntimes as much as he had expected for his object. He was unable to\nrefrain from expressing his surprise to the merchant, told him what he\nhad heard, how he feared he should scarcely have received anything, and\nasked whether after all there was not a mistake about the shipwreck of\nthe vessels. The merchant replied, It is quite true, I have sustained\nheavy loss, by these vessels being wrecked, but that is the very reason,\nwhy I give you so much; for I must make better use than ever of my\nstewardship, lest it should be entirely taken from me.\n\nHow have we to act if prosperity in our business, our trade, our\nprofession, etc., should suddenly cease, notwithstanding our having\ngiven a considerable proportion of our means for the Lord's work? My\nreply is this: \"In the day of adversity _consider.\"_ It is the will of\nGod that we should ponder our ways; that we should see whether there is\nany particular reason, why God has allowed this to befall us. In doing\nso, we may find, that we have too much looked on our prosperity as a\nmatter of course, and have not sufficiently owned and recognized\n_practically_ the hand of God in our success. Or it may be, while the\nLord has been pleased to prosper us, we have spent too much on\nourselves, and may have thus, though unintentionally, _abused_ the\nblessing of God. I do not mean by this remark to bring any children of\nGod into bondage, so that, with a scrupulous conscience, they should\nlook at every penny, which they spend on themselves; this is not the\nwill of God concerning us; and yet, on the other hand, there is verily\nsuch a thing as propriety or impropriety in our dress, our furniture,\nour table, our house, our establishment, and in the yearly amount we\nspend on ourselves and family.\n\nGIVING AND HOARDING.\n\nI have every reason to believe, that, had I begun to lay up, the Lord\nwould have stopped the supplies, and thus, the ability of doing so was\nonly _apparent._ Let no one profess to trust in God, and yet lay up for\nfuture wants, otherwise the Lord will first send him to the hoard he has\namassed, before He can answer the prayer for more.\n\n\"There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that\nwithholdeth _more than is meet,_ but it tendeth to poverty.\" (Prov. xi.\n24.) Notice here the word _\"more than is meet;\"_ it is not said,\nwithholdeth all; but \"more than is meet\" viz., while he gives, it is so\nlittle, in comparison with what it might be, and ought to be, that it\ntendeth to poverty.\n\nMOTIVES TO GIVING.\n\nBelievers should seek more and more to enter into the grace and love of\nGod, in giving His only-begotten Son, and into the grace and love of the\nLord Jesus, in giving Himself in our room, in order that, constrained by\nlove and gratitude, they may be increasingly led to surrender their\nbodily and mental strength, their time, gifts, talents, property,\nposition in life, rank, and all they have and are to the Lord. By this I\ndo not mean that they should give up their business, trade, or\nprofession, and become preachers; nor do I mean that they should take\nall their money and give it to the first beggar who asks for it; but\nthat they should hold all they have and are, for the Lord, not as\nowners, but as stewards, and be willing, _at His bidding,_ to use for\nHim part or all they have. However short the believer may fall, nothing\nless than this should be his aim.\n\nSTEWARDSHIP.\n\nIt is the Lord's order, that in whatever way He is pleased to make us\nHis stewards, whether as to temporal or spiritual things, if we are\nindeed acting as _stewards_ and not as _owners,_ He will make us\nstewards over _more._\n\nEven in this life, and as to temporal things, the Lord is pleased to\nrepay those who act for Him as stewards, and who contribute to His work\nor to the poor, as He may be pleased to prosper them? But how much\ngreater is the _spiritual_ blessing we receive, both in this life and in\nthe world to come, if constrained by the love of Christ, we act as God's\nstewards, respecting that with which He is pleased to intrust us!\n\nSYSTEMATIC GIVING.\n\nOnly _fix even the smallest amount_ you purpose to give of your income,\nand give this regularly; and as God is pleased to increase your light\nand grace, and is pleased to prosper you more, so give more. If you\nneglect an _habitual giving, a regular giving, a giving from principle\nand upon scriptural ground,_ and leave it only to feeling and impulse,\nor particular arousing circumstances, you will certainly be a loser.\n\nA merchant in the United States said in answer to inquiries relative to\nhis mode of giving, \"In consecrating my life anew to God, aware of the\nensnaring influence of riches and the necessity of deciding on a plan of\ncharity, before wealth should bias my judgment, I adopted the following\nsystem:\n\n\"I decided to balance my accounts as nearly as I could every month,\nreserving such portion of profits as might appear adequate to cover\nprobable losses, and to lay aside, by entry on a benevolent account, one\ntenth of the remaining profits, great or small, as a fund for benevolent\nexpenditure, supporting myself and family on the remaining nine tenths.\nI further determined that if at any time my net profits, that is profits\nfrom which clerk-hire and store expenses had been deducted, should\nexceed five hundred dollars in a month, I would give 12 per cent.; if\nover seven hundred dollars, 15 per cent.; if over nine hundred dollars,\n17 per cent.; if over thirteen hundred dollars, 22 per cent.--thus\nincreasing the proportion of the whole as God should prosper me, until\nat fifteen hundred dollars I should give 25 per cent, or 375 dollars a\nmonth. As capital was of the utmost importance to my success in\nbusiness, I decided not to increase the foregoing scale until I had\nacquired a certain capital, after which I would give one quarter of all\nnet profits, great or small, and, on the acquisition of another certain\namount of capital, I decided to give half, and, on acquiring what I\ndetermined would be a full sufficiency of capital, then to give the\nwhole of my net profits.\n\n\"It is now several years since I adopted this plan, and under it I have\nacquired a handsome capital, and have been prospered beyond my most\nsanguine expectations. Although constantly giving, I have never yet\ntouched the bottom of my fund, and have repeatedly been surprised to\nfind what large drafts it would bear. True, during some months, I have\nencountered a salutary trial of faith, when this rule has led me to lay\nby the tenth while the remainder proved inadequate to my support; but\nthe tide has soon turned, and with gratitude I have recognized a\nheavenly hand more than making good all past deficiencies.\"\n\nThe following deeply interesting particulars are recorded in the memoir\nof Mr. Cobb, a Boston merchant. At the age of twenty-three, Mr. Cobb\ndrew up and subscribed the following remarkable document:\n\n\"By the grace of God I will never be worth more than 50,000 dollars,\n\n\"By the grace of God I will give one fourth of the net profits of my\nbusiness to charitable and religious uses.\n\n\"If I am ever worth 20,000 dollars I will give one half of my net\nprofits; and if ever I am worth 30,000 dollars, I will give three\nfourths; and the whole after 50,000 dollars. So help me God, or give to\na more faithful steward, and set me aside.\"\n\n\"To this covenant,\" says his memoir \"he adhered with conscientious\nfidelity. He distributed the profits of his business with an increasing\nratio, from year to year, till he reached the point which he had fixed\nas a limit to his property, and then gave to the cause of God all the\nmoney which he earned. At one time, finding that his property had\nincreased beyond 50,000 dollars, he at once devoted the surplus 7,500\ndollars.\n\n\"On his death-bed he said, 'by the grace of God--_nothing else_--by the\ngrace of God I have been enabled, under the influence of these\nresolutions to give away more than 40,000 dollars.' How good the Lord\nhas been to me!\"\n\nMr. Cobb was also an active, humble, and devoted Christian, seeking the\nprosperity of feeble churches; labouring to promote the benevolent\ninstitutions of the day; punctual in his attendance at prayer meetings,\nand anxious to aid the inquiring sinner; watchful for the eternal\ninterests of those under his charge; mild and amiable in his deportment;\nand, in the general tenor of his life and character, an example of\nconsistent piety.\n\nHis last sickness and death were peaceful, yea triumphant. \"It is a\nglorious thing,\" said he, \"to die. I have been active and busy in the\nworld--I have enjoyed as much as any one--God has prospered me--I have\neverything to bind me here--I am happy in my family--I have property\nenough--but how small and mean does this world appear on a sick-bed!\nNothing can equal my enjoyment in the near view of heaven. _My hope in\nChrist_ is worth infinitely more than all other things. The blood of\nChrist--the blood of Christ--none but Christ! Oh! how thankful I feel\nthat God has provided a way that I, sinful as I am, may look forward\nwith joy to another world, through His dear Son.\"\n\nGOD.\n\nAPPROVAL OF GOD.\n\n_In the whole work we desire to stand with God, and not to depend upon\nthe favourable or unfavourable judgment of the multitude._\n\nCHASTISEMENTS OF GOD.\n\n_Our Heavenly Father never takes any earthly thing from His children\nexcept He means to give them something better instead._\n\nThe Lord, in His very love and faithfulness, will not, and cannot, let\nus go on in backsliding, but He will visit us with stripes, to bring us\nback to Himself!\n\nThe Lord never lays more on us, in the way of chastisement, than our\nstate of heart makes needful; so that whilst He smites with the one\nhand, He supports with the other.\n\nIf, as believers in the Lord Jesus, we see that our Heavenly Father, on\naccount of wrong steps, or a wrong state of heart, is dealing with us in\nthe way of discipline or correction, we have to be grateful for it; for\nHe is acting thus towards us according to that selfsame love, which led\nHim not to spare His only begotten Son, but to deliver Him up for us;\nand our gratitude to Him is to be expressed in words, and even by deeds.\nWe have to guard against _practically_ despising the chastening of the\nLord, though we may not do so in word, and against _fainting_ under\nchastisement: since all is intended for blessing to us.\n\nFAITHFULNESS OF GOD.\n\nPerhaps you have said in your heart: \"How would it be, suppose the funds\nof the orphans were reduced to nothing, and those who are engaged in the\nwork had nothing of their own to give, and a meal-time were to come, and\nyou had no food for the children.\" Thus indeed it may be, for our hearts\nare desperately wicked. If ever we should be so left to ourselves, as\nthat either we depend no more upon the living God, or that \"we regard\niniquity in our hearts,\" then such a state of things, we have reason to\nbelieve, would occur. But so long as we shall be enabled to trust in the\nliving God, and so long as, though falling short in every way of what we\nmight be, and ought to be, we are at least kept from living in sin, such\na state of things cannot occur.\n\nThe Lord, to show His continued care over us, raises up new helpers.\nThey that trust in the Lord shall never be confounded! Some who helped\nfor a while may fall asleep in Jesus; others may grow cold in the\nservice of the Lord; others may be as desirous as ever to help, but have\nno longer the means; others may have both a willing heart to help, and\nhave also the means, but may see it the Lord's will to lay them out in\nanother way;--and thus, from one cause or another, were we to lean upon\nman, we should surely be confounded; but, in leaning upon the living God\nalone, we are BEYOND _disappointment, and_ BEYOND _being forsaken\nbecause of death,_ or _want of means,_ or _want of love,_ or _because of\nthe claims of other work._ How precious to have learned in any measure\nto stand with God alone in the world, and yet to be happy, and to know\nthat surely no good thing shall be withheld from us whilst we walk\nuprightly!\n\nPARTNERSHIP WITH GOD.\n\nA brother, who is in about the same state in which he was eight years\nago, has very little enjoyment, and makes no progress in the things of\nGod. The reason is that, against his conscience, he remains in a\ncalling, which is opposed to the profession of a believer. We are\nexhorted in Scripture to abide in our calling; but only if we can abide\nin it _\"with God.\"_ (1 Cor. vii. 24.)\n\nPOWER OF GOD.\n\nThere is a worldly proverb, dear Christian reader, with which we are all\nfamiliar, it is this, \"Where there is a will there is a way.\" If this is\nthe proverb of those who know not God, how much more should believers in\nthe Lord Jesus, who have power with God, say: \"Where there is a will\nthere is a way.\"\n\nTRUST IN GOD.\n\nOnly let it be trust _in God,_ not in _man,_ not in _circumstances,_ not\n_in any of your own exertions,_ but real trust in God, and you will be\nhelped in your various necessities.... Not in circumstances, not in\nnatural prospects, not in former donors, _but solely in God._ This is\njust that which brings the blessing. If we _say_ we trust in Him, but in\nreality do not, then God, taking us at our word, lets us see that we do\nnot really confide in Him; and hence failure arises. On the other hand,\nif our trust in the Lord is real, help will surely come, \"According unto\nthy faith be it unto thee.\"\n\nIt is a source of deep sorrow to me, that, notwithstanding my having so\nmany times before referred to this point, thereby to encourage believers\nin the Lord Jesus, to roll all their cares upon God, and to trust in Him\nat all times, it is yet, by so many, put down to mere natural causes,\nthat I am helped; as if the Living God were no more the Living God, and\nas if in former ages answers to prayers might have been expected, but\nthat in the nineteenth century they must not be looked for.\n\nWILL OF GOD.\n\nHow important it is to ascertain the will of God, before we undertake\nanything, because we are then not only blessed in our own souls, but\nalso the work of our hands will prosper.\n\nJust in as many points as we are acting according to the mind of God, in\nso many are we blessed and made a blessing. Our manner of living is\naccording to the mind of the Lord, for He delights in seeing His\nchildren thus come to Him (Matt. vi); and therefore, though I am weak\nand erring in many points, yet He blesses me in this particular.\n\nFirst of all, to see well to it, that the work in which he desires to be\nengaged is _God's work;_ secondly, that _he_ is the person to be engaged\nin this work; thirdly, that _God's time_ is come, when he should do this\nwork; and then to be assured, that, if he seeks God's help in His own\nappointed way, He will not fail him. We have ever found it thus, and\nexpect to find it thus, on the ground of the promises of God, to the end\nof our course.\n\n1. Be slow to take new steps in the Lord's service, or in your business,\nor in your families. Weigh everything well; weigh all in the light of\nthe Holy Scriptures, and in the fear of God. 2. Seek to have no will of\nyour own, in order to ascertain the mind of God, regarding any steps you\npropose to take, so that you can honestly say, you are willing to do the\nwill of God, if He will only please to instruct you. 3. But when you\nhave found out what the will of God is, seek for His help, and seek it\nearnestly, perseveringly, patiently, believingly, and expectingly: and\nyou will surely, in His own time and way, obtain it.\n\nWe have not to rush forward in self-will and say, I will do the work,\nand I will trust the Lord for means, this cannot be real trust, it is\nthe counterfeit of faith, it is presumption; and though God, in great\npity and mercy, may even help us finally out of debt; yet does this, on\nno account, prove that we were right in going forward before His time\nwas come. We ought, rather, under such circumstances to say to\nourselves: Am I indeed doing the _work of God?_ And if so, _I_ may not\nbe the person to do it; or if I am the person, _His time_ may not yet be\ncome for me to go forward; it may be His good pleasure to exercise my\nfaith and patience. I ought, therefore, quietly to wait His time; for\nwhen it is come, God will help. Acting on this principle brings\nblessing.\n\nTo ascertain the Lord's will we ought to use scriptural means. Prayer,\nthe word of God, and His Spirit should be united together. We should go\nto the Lord repeatedly in prayer, and ask Him to teach us by His Spirit\nthrough His word. I say by His Spirit through His word. For if we should\nthink that His Spirit led us to do so and so, because certain facts are\nso and so, and yet His word is opposed to the step which we are going to\ntake, we should be deceiving ourselves.... No situation, no business\nwill be given to me _by God,_ in which I have not time enough to care\nabout my soul. Therefore, however outward circumstances may appear, it\ncan only be considered as permitted of God, to prove the genuineness of\nmy love, faith, and obedience, but by no means as the leading of His\nprovidence to induce me to act contrary to His revealed will.\n\nMARRIAGE.\n\nTo enter upon the marriage union is one of the most deeply important\nevents of life. It cannot be too prayerfully treated. Our happiness, our\nusefulness, our living for God or for ourselves after wards, are often\nmost intimately connected with our choice. Therefore, in the most\nprayerful manner, this choice should be made. Neither beauty, nor age,\nnor money, nor mental powers, should be that which prompts the decision;\nbut 1st, Much waiting upon God for guidance should be used; 2nd, A\nhearty purpose to be willing to be guided by Him should be aimed after;\n3rd, True godliness without a shadow of doubt, should be the first and\nabsolutely needful qualification, to a Christian, with regard to a\ncompanion for life. In addition to this, however, it ought to be, at the\nsame time, calmly and patiently weighed, whether, in other respects,\nthere is a suitableness. For instance, for an educated man to choose an\nentirely uneducated woman, is unwise; for however much on his part love\nmight be willing to cover the defect, it will work very unhappily with\nregard to the children.\n\nPRAYER.\n\nANSWERS TO PRAYER.\n\nI myself have for twenty-nine years been waiting for an answer to prayer\nconcerning a certain spiritual blessing. Day by day have I been enabled\nto continue in prayer for this blessing. At home and abroad, in this\ncountry and in foreign lands, in health and in sickness, however much\noccupied, I have been enabled, day by day, by God's help, to bring this\nmatter before Him; and still I have not the full answer yet.\nNevertheless, I look for it. I expect it confidently. The very fact that\nday after day, and year after year, for twenty-nine years, the Lord has\nenabled me to continue, patiently, believingly, to wait on Him for the\nblessing, still further encourages me to wait on; and so fully am I\nassured that God hears me about this matter, that I have often been\nenabled to praise Him beforehand for the full answer, which I shall\nultimately receive to my prayers on this subject. Thus, you see, dear\nreader, that while I have hundreds, yea, thousands of answers, year by\nyear, I have also, like yourself and other believers, the trial of faith\nconcerning certain matters.\n\nANXIETY AVOIDED BY PRAYER.\n\nThough all believers in the Lord Jesus are not called upon to establish\norphan houses, schools for poor children, etc., and trust in God for\nmeans; yet all believers, according to the will of God concerning them\nin Christ Jesus, may cast, and ought to cast, all their care upon Him\nwho careth for them, and need not be anxiously concerned about anything,\nas is plainly to be seen from 1 Peter v. 7; Philippians iv. 6; Matthew\nvi. 25-34.\n\nMy Lord is not limited; He can again supply; He knows that this present\ncase has been sent to me; and thus, this way of living, so far from\n_leading to anxiety,_ as it regards possible future want, is rather the\nmeans of _keeping from it_.... This way of living has often been the\nmeans of reviving the work of grace in my heart, when I have been\ngetting cold; and it also has been the means of bringing me back again\nto the Lord, after I have been backsliding. For it will not do,--it is\nnot possible, to live in sin, and at the same time, by communion with\nGod, to draw down from heaven everything one needs for the life that now\nis.... Answer to prayer, obtained in this way, has been the means of\nquickening my soul, and filling me with much joy.\n\nI met at a brother's house with several believers, when a sister said\nthat she had often thought about the care and burden I must have on my\nmind, as it regards obtaining the necessary supplies for so many\npersons. As this may not be a solitary instance, I would state that, by\nthe grace of God, this is no cause of anxiety to me. The children I have\nyears ago cast upon the Lord. The whole work is His, and it becomes me\nto be _without carefulness._ In whatever points I am lacking, in this\npoint I am able, by the grace of God, to roll the burden upon my\nheavenly Father. Though now (July 1845) for about seven years our funds\nhave been so exhausted, that it has been comparatively a _rare_ case\nthat there have been means in hand to meet the necessities of the\norphans for _three days_ together; yet have I been only once tried in\nspirit, and that was on Sept. 18, 1838, when for the first time the Lord\nseemed not to regard our prayer. But when He did send help at that time,\nand I saw that it was only for the trial of our faith, and not because\nHe had forsaken the work that we were brought so low, my soul was so\nstrengthened and encouraged, that I have not only not been allowed to\ndistrust the Lord since that time, but I have not even been cast down\nwhen in the deepest poverty. Nevertheless, in this respect also am I\nnow, as much as ever, dependent on the Lord; and I earnestly beseech for\nmyself and my fellow-labourers the prayers of all those, to whom the\nglory of God is dear. How great would be the dishonour to the name of\nGod, if we, who have so publicly made our boast in Him, should so fall\nas to act in these very points as the world does! Help us, then,\nbrethren, with your prayers, that we may trust in God to the end. We can\nexpect nothing but that our faith will yet be tried, and it may be more\nthan ever; and we shall fall, if the Lord does not uphold us.\n\nBORROWING AND PRAYING.\n\nAs regards borrowing money, I have considered that there is no ground to\ngo away from the door of the Lord to that of a believer, so long as He\nis willing to supply our need.\n\nCOMMUNION WITH GOD IN PRAYER.\n\nHow truly precious it is that every one who rests alone upon the Lord\nJesus for salvation, has in the living God a father, to whom he may\nfully unbosom himself concerning the most minute affairs of his life,\nand concerning everything that lies upon his heart! Dear reader, do you\nknow the living God? Is He, in Jesus, your Father? Be assured that\nChristianity is something more than forms and creeds and ceremonies:\nthere is life, and power, and reality, in our holy faith. If you never\nyet have known this, then come and taste for yourself. I beseech you\naffectionately to meditate and pray over the following verses: John iii.\n16; Rom. x. 9, 10; Acts x. 43; 1 John v. 1.\n\nCONDITIONS OF PRAYER.\n\nGo for yourself, with all your temporal and spiritual wants, to the\nLord. Bring also the necessities of your friends and relatives to the\nLord. Only make the trial, and you will perceive how able and willing He\nis to help you. Should you, however, not at once obtain answers to your\nprayers, be not discouraged; but continue patiently, believingly,\nperseveringly to wait upon God: and as assuredly as that which you ask\nwould be for your real good, and therefore for the honour of the Lord;\nand as assuredly as you ask it solely on the ground of the worthiness of\nour Lord Jesus, so assuredly you will at last obtain the blessing. I\nmyself have had to wait upon God concerning certain matters for years,\nbefore I obtained answers to my prayers; but at last they came. At this\nvery time, I have still to renew my requests daily before God,\nrespecting a certain blessing for which I have besought Him for eleven\nyears and a half, and which I have as yet obtained only in part, but\nconcerning which I have no doubt that the full blessing will be granted\nin the end.... The great point is that we ask only for that which it\nwould be for the glory of God to give to us; for that, and that alone,\ncan be for our real good. But it is not enough that the thing for which\nwe ask God be for His honour and glory, but we must secondly ask it in\nthe name of the Lord Jesus, viz., expect it only on the ground of His\nmerits and worthiness. Thirdly, we should believe that God is able and\nwilling to give us what we ask Him for. Fourthly, we should continue in\nprayer till the blessing is granted; without fixing to God a time when,\nor the circumstances under which, He should give the answer. Patience\nshould be in exercise, in connection with our prayer. Fifthly, we\nshould, at the same time, look out for and expect an answer till it\ncomes. If we pray in this way, we shall not only have answers, thousands\nof answers to our prayers; but our own souls will be greatly refreshed\nand invigorated in connection with these answers.\n\nIf the obtaining of your requests were not for your real good, or were\nnot tending to the honour of God, you might pray for a long time,\nwithout obtaining what you desire. The glory of God should be always\nbefore the children of God, in what they desire at His hands; and their\nown spiritual profit, being so intimately connected with the honour of\nGod, should never be lost sight of, in their petitions. But now, suppose\nwe are believers in the Lord Jesus, and make our requests unto God,\ndepending alone on the Lord Jesus as the ground of having them granted;\nsuppose, also, that, so far as we are able honestly and uprightly to\njudge, the obtaining of our requests would be for our real spiritual\ngood and for the honour of God; we yet need, lastly, to _continue_ in\nprayer, until the blessing is granted unto us. It is not enough to begin\nto pray, nor to pray aright; nor is it enough to continue _for a time_\nto pray; but we must patiently, believingly continue in prayer, until we\nobtain an answer; and further, we have not only to _continue_ in prayer\nunto the end, but we have also _to believe_ that God does hear us, and\nwill answer our prayers. Most frequently we fail in not continuing in\nprayer until the blessing is obtained and _in not expecting_ the\nblessing.\n\nFAITH, PRAYER, AND THE WORD OF GOD.\n\n_Prayer and faith, the universal remedies against every want and every\ndifficulty;_ and the nourishment of prayer and faith, God's holy word,\nhelped me over all the difficulties.--I never remember, in all my\nChristian course, a period now (in March 1895) of sixty-nine years and\nfour months, that I ever SINCERELY and PATIENTLY sought to know the will\nof God by _the teaching of the Holy Ghost,_ through the instrumentality\nof the _word of God,_ but I have been ALWAYS directed rightly. But if\n_honesty of heart_ and _uprightness before God_ were lacking, or if I\ndid not _patiently_ wait upon God for instruction, or if I preferred\n_the counsel of my fellow men_ to the declarations of _the word of the\nliving God,_ I made great mistakes.\n\nSECRET PRAYER.\n\nLet none expect to have the mastery over his inward corruption in any\ndegree, without going in his weakness again and again to the Lord for\nstrength. Nor will prayer with others, or conversing with the brethren,\nmake up for secret prayer.\n\nSNARES OF SATAN AS TO PRAYER.\n\nIt is a common temptation of Satan to make us give up the reading of the\nWord and prayer when our enjoyment is gone; as if it were of no use to\nread the Scriptures when we do not enjoy them, and as if it were of no\nuse to pray when we have no spirit of prayer; whilst the truth is, in\norder to enjoy the Word, we ought to continue to read it, and the way to\nobtain a spirit of prayer is to continue praying; for the less we read\nthe word of God, the less we desire to read it, and the less we pray,\nthe less we desire to pray.\n\nWORK AND PRAYER.\n\nOften the work of the Lord itself may be a temptation to keep us from\nthat communion with Him which is so essential to the benefit of our own\nsouls.... Let none think that public prayer will make up for closet\ncommunion.\n\nHere is the great secret of success. Work with all your might; but trust\nnot in the least in your work. Pray with all your might for the blessing\nof God; but work, at the same time, with all diligence, with all\npatience, with all perseverance. Pray then, and work. Work and pray. And\nstill again pray, and then work. And so on all the days of your life.\nThe result will surely be, abundant blessing. Whether you _see_ much\nfruit or little fruit, such kind of service will be blessed.... Speak\nalso for the Lord, as if everything depended on your exertions; yet\ntrust not the least in your exertions, but in the Lord, who alone can\ncause your efforts to be made effectual, to the benefit of your fellow\nmen or fellow believers. Remember, also, that God delights to bestow\nblessing, but, generally, as the result of earnest, believing prayer.\n\nPREACHING.\n\nIt came immediately to my mind that such sort of preaching might do for\nilliterate country people, but that it would never do before a\nwell-educated assembly in town. I thought, the truth ought to be\npreached at all hazards, but it ought to be given in a different form,\nsuited to the hearers. Thus I remained unsettled in my mind as it\nregards the mode of preaching; and it is not surprising that I did not\nthen see the truth concerning this matter, for I did not understand the\nwork of the Spirit, and therefore saw not the powerlessness of human\neloquence. Further, I did not keep in mind that if the most illiterate\npersons in the congregation can comprehend the discourse, the most\neducated will understand it too; but that the reverse does not hold\ntrue.\n\nRESTITUTION.\n\nRestitution is the revealed will of God. If it is omitted, while we have\nit in our power to make it, guilt remains on the conscience, and\nspiritual progress is hindered. Even though it should be connected with\ndifficulty, self-denial, and great loss, it is to be attended to. Should\nthe persons who have been defrauded be dead, their heirs are to be found\nout, if this can be done, and restitution is to be made to them. But\nthere may be cases when this cannot be done, and then _only_ the money\nshould be given to the Lord for His work or His poor. One word more.\nSometimes the guilty person may not have grace enough, if the rightful\nowners are living, to make known to them the sin; under such\ncircumstances, though not the best and most scriptural way, rather than\nhave guilt remaining on the conscience, it is better to make restitution\nanonymously than not at all. About fifty years ago, I knew a man under\nconcern about his soul, who had defrauded his master of two sacks of\nflour, and who was urged by me to confess this sin to his late employer,\nand to make restitution. He would not do it, however, and the result was\nthat for twenty years he never obtained real peace of soul till the\nthing was done.\n\nREWARDS.\n\nChristians do not practically remember that while we are saved by grace,\naltogether by grace, so that in the matter of salvation works are\naltogether excluded; yet that so far as the rewards of grace are\nconcerned, in the world to come, there is an intimate connection between\nthe life of the Christian here and the enjoyment and the glory in the\nday of Christ's appearing.\n\nSIN AND SALVATION.\n\nRumblings last our whole life. Jesus came not to save _painted_ but\n_real_ sinners; but He _has_ saved us, and will surely make it manifest.\n\nSPIRIT OF GOD.\n\nAt Stuttgart, the dear brethren had been entirely uninstructed about the\ntruths relating to the power and presence of the Holy Ghost in the\nchurch of God, and to our ministering one to another as fellow members\nin the body of Christ; and I had known enough of painful consequences\nwhen brethren began to meet professedly in dependence upon the Holy\nSpirit without knowing what was meant by it, and thus meetings had\nbecome opportunities _for unprofitable talking rather than for godly\nedifying...._ All these matters ought to be left to the ordering of the\nHoly Ghost, and that if it had been truly good for them, the Lord would\nhave not only led me to speak _at that time,_ but also on _the very\nsubject_ on which they desired that I should speak to them.\n\nTRUTH--PROPORTION OF FAITH.\n\nWhatever parts of truth are made too much of, though they were even the\nmost precious truths connected with our being risen in Christ, or our\nheavenly calling, or prophecy, sooner or later those who lay an _undue_\nstress upon _these parts_ of truth, and thus make them too prominent,\nwill be losers in their own souls, and, if they be teachers, they will\ninjure those whom they teach.\n\nUNIVERSALISM.\n\nIn reference to universal salvation, I found that they had been led into\nthis error because (1) They did not see the difference between the\nearthly calling of the Jews, and the heavenly calling of the believers\nin the Lord Jesus in the present dispensation, and therefore they said\nthat, because the words \"everlasting,\" etc., are applied to \"the\npossession of the land of Canaan\" and the \"priesthood of Aaron,\"\ntherefore, the punishment of the wicked cannot be without end, seeing\nthat the possession of Canaan and the priesthood of Aaron are not\nwithout end. My endeavour, therefore, was to show the brethren the\ndifference between the _earthly_ calling of Israel and our _heavenly_\none, and to prove from Scripture that, whenever the word \"everlasting\"\nis used with reference to things purely not of the earth, but beyond\ntime, it denotes a period without end. (2) They had laid exceeding great\nstress upon a few passages where, in Luther's translation of the German\nBible, the word hell occurs, and where it ought to have been translated\neither \"hades\" in some passages, or \"grave\" in others, and where they\nsaw a _deliverance out of hell,_ and a _being brought up out of hell,_\ninstead of _\"out of the grave.\"_\n\nWORD OF GOD.\n\n_The word of God is our only standard, and the Holy Spirit our only\nteacher._\n\nBesides the Holy Scriptures, which should be always THE book, THE CHIEF\nbook to us, not merely in theory, but also in practice, such like books\nseem to me the most useful for the growth of the inner man. Yet one has\nto be cautious in the choice, and to guard against reading too much.\n\nWORK FOR GOD.\n\nWhen He orders something to be done for the glory of His name, He is\nboth able and willing to find the needed individuals for the work and\nthe means required. Thus, when the Tabernacle in the Wilderness was to\nbe erected, He not only fitted men for the work, but He also touched the\nhearts of the Israelites to bring the necessary materials and gold,\nsilver, and precious stones; and all these things were not only brought,\nbut in such abundance that a proclamation had to be made in the camp,\nthat no more articles should be brought, because there were more than\nenough. And again, when God for the praise of His name would have the\nTemple to be built by Solomon, He provided such an amount of gold,\nsilver, precious stones, brass, iron, etc., for it, that all the palaces\nor temples which have been built since have been most insignificant in\ncomparison.\n\n\nPRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA","title":"George M\u00fcller of Bristol, and His Witness to a Prayer-Hearing God","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":136845}