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George Mueller |
Appendix E |
Arthur Tappan Pierson |
GEORGE MUELLER OF BRISTOL
AND HIS WITNESS TO A PRAYER-HEARING GOD
1899
The originally "authorized memoir".
BY
ARTHUR T. PIERSON
This book is in the public domain.
OCR (Optical Character Recognition) and reformatting by Katie Stewart
WStS Note: All italics in this volume are by Dr. Pierson, himself.
We have chosen to spell Mr. Mueller's name without the umlaut.
Table of Contents
Available in a compressed
version ---New Window
Introduction by Mr. James Wright
A Prefatory Word
Chapter I. From His
Birth To His New Birth
Chapter II. The New
Birth And The New Life
Chapter III. Making
Ready The Chosen Vessel
Chapter IV. New Steps
And Stages Of Preparation
Chapter V. The Pulpit
And The Pastorate
Chapter VI. "The
Narrative Of The Lord's Dealings"
Chapter VII. Led Of
God Into A New Sphere
Chapter VIII. A Tree
Of God's Own Planting
Chapter IX. The Growth
Of God's Own Plant
Chapter X. The Word
Of God And Prayer
Chapter XI. Trials
Of Faith And Helpers To Faith
Chapter XII. New Lessons
In God's School Of Prayer
Chapter XIII. Following
The Pillar Of Cloud And Fire
Chapter XIV. God's
Building: The New Orphan Houses
Chapter XV. The Manifold
Grace Of God
Chapter XVI. The
Shadow Of A Great Sorrow
Chapter XVII. The
Period Of World-Wide Witness
Chapter XVIII. Faith
And Patience In Serving
Chapter XIX. At Evening-Time--
Light
Chapter XX The Summary
Of The Life-Work
Chapter XXI. The Church
Life And Growth
Chapter XXII. A Glance
At The Gifts And The Givers
Chapter XXIII. God's
Witness To The Work
Chapter XXIV. Last
Looks, Backward And Forward
Appendix.
A. Scripture Texts That Moulded George Mueller
B. Apprehension Of Truth
C. Separation From The London Society, Etc.
D. The Scriptural Knowledge Institution For
Home And Abroad
E. Reasons Which Led Mr. Mueller To Establish An Orphan House (this page)
F. Arguments In Prayer For The Orphan Work
G. The Purchase Of A Site, Etc.
H. God's Faithfulness In Providing
[WStS: I. or J. none listed]
K. Further Recollections Of Mr. Mueller
L. Soul Nourishment First
M. Church Conduct
N. The Wise Sayings Of George Mueller
.
APPENDIX
E. Reasons Which Led Mr. Mueller To Establish An Orphan House
I HAD constantly cases brought before me which proved that one of the especial things which the children of God needed in our day was to have their faith strengthened. For instance: I might visit a brother who worked fourteen or even sixteen hours a day at his trade, the necessary result of which was that not only his body suffered, but his soul was lean, and he had no enjoyment in the things of God. Under such circumstances I might point out to him that he ought to work less, in order that his bodily health might not suffer, and that he might gather strength for his inner man by reading the word of God, or by meditation over it, and by prayer. The reply, however, I generally found to be something like this:
"But if I work less, I do not earn enough for the support of my family. Even now, whilst I work so much, I have scarcely enough. The wages are so low, that I must work hard in order to obtain what I need."
There was no trust in God. No real belief in the truth of that word:
"Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness:
and all these things shall be added unto you."
I might reply something like this:
"My dear brother, it is not your work which supports your family, but the Lord; and He who has fed you and your family when you could not work at all, on account of illness, would surely provide for you and yours if, for the sake of obtaining food for your inner man, you were to work only for so many hours a day as would allow you proper time for retirement. And is it not the case now, that you begin the work of the day after having had only a few hurried moments for prayer and when you leave off your work in the evening, and mean then to read a little of the word of God, are you not too much worn out in body and mind to enjoy it, and do you not often fall asleep whilst reading the Scriptures or whilst on your knees in prayer?"
The brother would allow it was so; he would allow that my advice was good but still I read in his countenance, even if he should not have actually said so,
"How should I get on if I were to carry out your advice?"
I longed, therefore, to have something to point the brother to, as a visible proof
that our God and Father is the same faithful God as ever He was; as willing as ever
to PROVE Himself to be the LIVING GOD, in our day as formerly, to all who put
their trust in Him.--
Again, sometimes I found children of God tried in mind by the prospect of old age,
when they might be unable to work any longer, and therefore were harassed by the
fear of having to go into the poor-house. If in such a case I pointed out to them
how their Heavenly Father has always helped those who put their trust in Him, they
might not, perhaps, always say that times have changed; but yet it was evident enough
that God was not looked upon by them as the LIVING God. My spirit was oft times bowed
down by this, and I longed to see something before the children of God whereby they
might see that He does not forsake, even in our day those who rely upon Him.--
Another class of persons were brethren in business, who suffered in their soul and
brought guilt on their consciences, by carrying on their business almost in the same
way as unconverted persons do. The competition in trade, the bad times, the over-peopled
country, were given as reasons why, if the business were carried on simply according
to the word of God it could not be expected to do well. Such a brother, perhaps,
would express the wish that he might be differently situated; but very rarely did
I see that there was a stand made for God, that there was the holy determination
to trust in the living God, and to depend on Him, in order that a good conscience
might be maintained. To this class likewise I desired to show, by a visible proof,
that God is unchangeably the same.--
Then there was another class of persons, individuals who were in professions in which
they could not continue with a good conscience, or persons who were in an unscriptural
position with reference to spiritual things; but both classes feared, on account
of the consequences, to give up the profession in which they could not abide with
God, or to leave their position, lest they should be thrown out of employment. My
spirit longed to be instrumental in giving them not only instances from the word
of God of His willingness and ability to help all those who rely upon Him, but to
show them by proofs that He is the same in our day. I well knew that the word
of God ought to be enough, and it was, by grace, enough to me; but still, I considered
that I ought to lend a helping hand to my brethren, if by any means, by this visible
proof to the unchangeable faithfulness of the Lord I might strengthen their hands
in God; for I remembered what a great blessing my own soul had received through the
Lord's dealings with His servant, A. H. Francké, who, in dependence upon the
living God alone, established an immense orphan house, which I had seen many times
with my own eyes. I, therefore, judged myself bound to be the servant of the Church
of God, in the particular point on which I had obtained mercy namely, in being
able to take God by His word and to rely upon it. All these exercises of my soul,
which resulted from the fact that so many believers, with whom I became acquainted
were harassed and distressed in mind, or brought guilt on their consciences, on account
of not trusting in the Lord; were used by God to awaken in my heart the desire of
setting before the church at large, and before the world, a proof that He has not
in the least changed and this seemed to me best done by the establishing of an orphan
house. It needed to be something which could be seen, even by the natural eye. Now
if I, a poor man simply by prayer and faith, obtained, without asking any individual,
the means for establishing and carrying on an orphan house, there would be something
which, with the Lord's blessing, might be instrumental in strengthening the faith
of the children of God, besides being a testimony to the consciences of the unconverted
of the reality of the things of God. This, then, was the primary reason for establishing
the orphan house. I certainly did from my heart desire to be used by God to benefit
the bodies of poor children bereaved of both parents, and seek, in other respects,
with the help of God, to do them good for this life--
I also particularly longed to be used by God in getting the dear orphans trained
up in the fear of God;-- but still, the first and primary object of the work was
(and still is:) that God might be magnified by the fact that the orphans under my
care are provided with all the need only by prayer and faith, without any
one being asked by me or my fellow labourers, whereby it may be seen that God is
FAITHFUL STILL, AND HEARS PRAYER STILL,
The three chief reasons for establishing an orphan house are:
That to which my mind has been particularly directed is to establish an orphan house in which destitute fatherless and motherless children may be provided with food and raiment, and scriptural education. Concerning this intended orphan house I would say:
the reason for proposing to enlarge the field is not because we have of late particularly abounded in means; we have been rather straitened. The many gracious answers, however, which the Lord had given concerning this Institution led brother C--- r and me to give ourselves to prayer, asking Him to supply us with means to carry on the work, as we consider it unscriptural to contract debts. During five days, we prayed several times, both unitedly and separately. After that time, the Lord began to answer our prayers, so that, within a few days, about 50l. was given to us. I would further say that the very gracious and tender dealings of God with me, in having supplied, in answer to prayer, for the last five years, my own temporal wants without any certain income, so that money, provisions, and clothes have been sent to me at times when I was greatly straitened, and that not only in small but large quantities and not merely from individuals living in the same place with me, but at a considerable distance; and that not merely from intimate friends, but from individuals whom I have never seen: all this, I say, has often led me to think, even as long as four years ago, that the Lord has not given me this simple reliance on Him merely for myself, but also for others. Often, when I saw poor neglected children running about the streets at Teignmouth, I said to myself:
"May it not be the will of God that I should establish schools for these children, asking Him to give me the means?"
However, it remained only a thought in my mind for two or three years. About two years and six months since I was particularly stirred up afresh to do something for destitute children, by seeing so many of them begging in the streets of Bristol, and coming to our door. It was not, then, left undone on account of want of trust in the Lord, but through an abundance of other things calling for all the time and strength of my brother Craik and myself; for the Lord had both given faith, and had also shown by the following instance, in addition to very many others, both what He can and what He will do. One morning, while sitting in my room, I thought about the distress of certain brethren, and said thus to myself:
"Oh, that it might please the Lord to give me the means to help these poor brethren!"
In about an hour afterwards I had 601. sent as a present for myself from a brother whom up to this day I have never seen, and who was then, and is still, residing several thousand miles from this. Should not such an experience, together with promises like that one in John xiv.13,14, encourage us to ask with all boldness, for ourselves and others, both temporal and spiritual blessings? The Lord, for I cannot but think it was He, again and again brought the thought about these poor children to my mind, till at last it ended in the establishment of "The Scriptural Knowledge Institution for Home and Abroad"; since the establishment of which, I have had it in a similar way brought to my mind, first about fourteen months ago, and repeatedly since, but especially during these last weeks, to establish an orphan house. My frequent prayer of late has been, that if it be of God, He would let it come to pass; if not, that He would take from me all thoughts about it.
The latter has not been the case, but I have been led more and more to think that the matter may be of Him. Now, if so, He can influence His people in any part of the world (for I do not look to Bristol, nor even to England, but to the living God, whose is the gold and the silver), to intrust me and brother C---r, whom the Lord has made willing to help me in this work with the means. Till we have them, we can do nothing in the way of renting a house, furnishing it, etc. Yet, when once as much as is needed for this has been sent us, as also proper persons to engage in the work, we do not think it needful to wait till we have the orphan house endowed, or a number of yearly subscribers for it; but we trust to be enabled by the Lord, who has taught us to ask for our daily bread, to look to Him for the supply of the daily wants of those children whom He may be pleased to put under our care. Any donations will be received at my house. Should any believers have tables, chairs, bedsteads, bedding, earthenware, or any kind of household furniture to spare, for the furnishing of the house; or remnants, or pieces of calico, linen, flannel, cloth, or any materials useful for wearing apparel; or clothes already worn, they will be thankfully received.
Respecting the persons who are needed for carrying on the work, a matter of no less importance than the procuring of funds, I would observe that we look for them to God himself, as well as for the funds; and that all who may be engaged as masters, matrons, and assistants, according to the smallness or largeness of the Institution; must be known to us as true believers; and moreover, as far as we may be able to judge, must likewise be qualified for the work.
FURTHER ACCOUNT RESPECTING THE ORPHAN HOUSE, ETC.
When, of late, the thoughts of establishing an orphan house, in dependence upon the
Lord, revived in my mind, during the first two weeks I only prayed that if it were
of the Lord He would bring it about; but if not, that He graciously would be pleased
to take all thoughts about it out of my mind. My uncertainty about knowing the Lord's
mind did not arise from questioning whether it would be pleasing in His sight that
there should be an abode and scriptural education provided for destitute fatherless
and motherless children; but whether it were His will that I should be the instrument
of setting such an object on foot, as my hands were already more than filled. My
comfort, however, was, that, if it were His will, He would provide not merely the
means, but also suitable individuals to take care of the children, so that my part
of the work would take only such a portion of my time as, considering the importance
of the matter, I might give, notwithstanding my many other engagements. The whole
of those two weeks I never asked the Lord for money or for persons to engage in the
work. On December 5th, however, the subject of my prayer all at once became different.
I was reading Psalm Ixxxi., and was particularly struck, more than at any time before,
with verse 10:
"Open thy mouth wide and I will fill it."
I thought a few moments about these words, and then was led to apply them to the case of the orphan house. It struck me that I had never asked the Lord for anything concerning it, except to know His will respecting its being established or not; and I then fell on my knees, opened my mouth wide, asking him for much. I asked in submission to His will, and without fixing a time when He should answer my petition. I prayed that He would give me a house, i.e., either as a loan, or that someone might be led to pay the rent for one, or that one might be given permanently for this object; further, I asked Him for £1000; and likewise for suitable individuals to take care of the children. Besides this, I have been since led to ask the Lord to put into the hearts of His people to send me articles of furniture for the house, and for clothes for the children. When I was asking the petition I was fully aware what I was doing, i.e., that I was asking for something which I had no natural prospect of obtaining from the brethren whom I know, but which was not too much for the Lord to grant.
.
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