George Muller of Bristol Part 7

2. To circulate the Holy Scriptures, wholly or in portions, over the widest possible territory.

3. To aid missionary efforts and a.s.sist labourers, in the Lord's vineyard anywhere, who are working upon a biblical basis and looking only to the Lord for support.

To project such a work, on such a scale, and at such a time, was doubly an act of faith; for not only was the work already in hand enough to tax all available time and strength, but at this very time this record appears in Mr. Muller's journal: _"We have only one s.h.i.+lling left."_ Surely no advance step would have been taken, had not the eyes been turned, not on the empty purse, but on the full and exhaustless treasury of a rich and bountiful Lord!

It was plainly G.o.d's purpose that, out of such abundance of poverty, the riches of His liberality should be manifested. It pleased Him, from whom and by whom are all things, that the work should be begun when His servants were poorest and weakest, that its growth to such giant proportions might the more prove it to be a plant of His own right hand's planting, and that His word might be fulfilled in its whole history:

"I the Lord do keep it: I will water it every moment: Lest any hurt it, I will keep it night and day:"

(Isa. xxvii. 3.)

Whatever may be thought as to the need of such a new organization, or as to such scruples as moved its founders to insist even in minor matters upon the closest adherence to scripture teaching, this at least is plain, that for more than half a century it has stood upon its original foundation, and its increase and usefulness have surpa.s.sed the most enthusiastic dreams of its founders; nor have the principles first avowed ever been abandoned. With the Living G.o.d as its sole patron, and prayer as its only appeal, it has attained vast proportions, and its world-wide work has been signally owned and blessed.

On March 19th Mrs. Muller gave birth to a son, to the great joy of his parents; and, after much prayer, they gave him the name Elijah--"My G.o.d is Jah"--the name itself being one of George Mullers life-mottoes. Up to this time the families of Mr. Muller and Mr. Craik had dwelt under one roof, but henceforth it was thought wise that they should have separate lodgings.

When, at the close of 1834, the usual backward glance was cast over the Lord's leadings and dealings, Mr. Muller gratefully recognized the divine goodness which had thus helped him to start upon its career the work with its several departments. Looking to the Lord alone for light and help, he had laid the corner-stone of this "little inst.i.tution"; and in October, after only seven months' existence, it had already begun to be established. In the Sunday-school there were one hundred and twenty children; in the adult cla.s.ses, forty; in the four day-schools, two hundred and nine boys and girls; four hundred and eighty-two Bibles and five hundred and twenty Testaments had been put into circulation, and fifty-seven pounds had been spent in aid of missionary operations.

During these seven months the Lord had sent, in answer to prayer, over one hundred and sixty-seven pounds in money, and much blessing upon the work itself. The brothers and sisters who were in charge had likewise been given by the same prayer-hearing G.o.d, in direct response to the cry of need and the supplication of faith.

Meanwhile another _object_ was coming into greater prominence before the mind and heart of Mr. Muller: it was the thought of _making some permanent provision for fatherless and motherless children._

An orphan boy who had been in the school had been taken to the poorhouse, no longer able to attend on account of extreme poverty; and this little incident set Mr. Muller thinking and praying about orphans.

Could not something be done to meet the temporal and spiritual wants of this cla.s.s of very poor children? Unconsciously to himself, G.o.d had set a seed in his soul, and was watching and watering it. The idea of a definite orphan work had taken root within him, and, like any other living germ, it was springing up and growing, he knew not how. As yet it was only in the blade, but in time there would come the ear and the full-grown corn in the ear, the new seed of a larger harvest.

Meanwhile the church was growing. In these two and a half years over two hundred had been added, making the total members.h.i.+p two hundred and fifty-seven; but the enlargement of the work generally neither caused the church life to be neglected nor any one department of duty to suffer declension--a very noticeable fact in this history.

The point to which we have now come is one of double interest and importance, as at once a point of arrival and of departure. The work of G.o.d's chosen servant may be considered as fairly if not fully inaugurated _in all its main forms of service._ He himself is in his thirtieth year, the age when his divine Master began to be fully manifest to the world and to go about doing good. Through the preparatory steps and stages leading up to his complete mission and ministry to the church and the world, Christ's humble disciple has likewise been brought, and his fuller career of usefulness now begins, with the various agencies in operation whereby for more than threescore years he was to show both proof and example of what G.o.d can do through one man who is willing to be simply the instrument for Him to work with.

Nothing is more marked in George Muller, to the very day of his death, than this, that he so looked to G.o.d and leaned on G.o.d that he felt himself to be nothing, and G.o.d everything. He sought to be always and in all things surrendered as a pa.s.sive tool to the will and hand of the Master Workman.

This point of arrival and of departure is also a point of _prospect._ Here, halting and looking backward, we may take in at a glance the various successive steps and stages of preparation whereby the Lord had made His servant ready for the sphere of service to which He called, and for which He fitted him. One has only, from this height, to look over the ten years that were past, to see beyond dispute or doubt the divine design that lay back of George Mullers life, and to feel an awe of the G.o.d who thus chooses and shapes, and then uses, His vessels of service.

It will be well, even if it involves some repet.i.tion, to pa.s.s in review the more important steps in the process by which the divine Potter had shaped His vessel for His purpose, educating and preparing George Muller for His work.

1. First of all, his _conversion._ In the most unforeseen manner and at the most unexpected time G.o.d led him to turn from the error of his way, and brought him to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.

2. Next, his _missionary spirit._ That consuming flame was kindled within him which, when it is fanned by the Spirit and fed by the fuel of facts, inclines to unselfish service and makes one willing to go wherever, and to do whatever, the Lord will.

3. Next, his _renunciation of self._ In more than one instance he was enabled to give up for Christ's sake an earthly attachment that was idolatrous, because it was a hindrance to his full obedience and single-eyed loyalty to his heavenly Master.

4. Then his _taking counsel of G.o.d._ Early in his Christian life he formed the habit, in things great and small, of ascertaining the will of the Lord before taking action, asking guidance in every matter, through the Word and the Spirit.

5. His humble and _childlike temper._ The Father drew His child to Himself, imparting to him the simple mind that asks believingly and trusts confidently, and the filial spirit that submits to fatherly counsel and guidance.

6. His _method of preaching._ Under this same divine tuition he early learned how to preach the Word, in simple dependence on the Spirit of G.o.d, studying the Scriptures in the original and expounding them without wisdom of words.

7. His _cutting loose from man._ Step by step, all dependence on man or appeals to man for pecuniary support were abandoned, together with all borrowing, running into debt, stated salary, etc. His eyes were turned to G.o.d alone as the Provider.

8. His _satisfaction in the Word._ As knowledge of the Scriptures grew, love for the divine oracles increased, until all other books, even of a religious sort, lost their charms in comparison with G.o.d's own text-book, as explained and illumined by the divine Interpreter.

9. His _thorough Bible study._ Few young men have ever been led to such a systematic search into the treasures of G.o.d's truth. He read the Book of G.o.d through and through, fixing its teachings on his mind by meditation and translating them into practice.

10. His _freedom from human control._ He felt the need of independence of man in order to complete dependence on G.o.d, and boldly broke all fetters that hindered his liberty in preaching, in teaching, or in following the heavenly Guide and serving the heavenly Master.

11. His _use of opportunity._ He felt the value of souls, and he formed habits of approaching others as to matters of salvation, even in public conveyances. By a word of witness, a tract, a humble example, he sought constantly to lead some one to Christ.

12. His _release from civil obligations._ This was purely providential.

In a strange way G.o.d set him free from all liability to military service, and left him free to pursue his heavenly calling as His soldier, without entanglement in the affairs of this life.

13. His _companions in service._ Two most efficient coworkers were divinely provided: first his brother Craik so like-minded with himself, and secondly, his wife, so peculiarly G.o.d's gift, both of them proving great aids in working and in bearing burdens of responsibility.

14. His _view of the Lord's coming._ He thanked G.o.d for unveiling to him that great truth, considered by him as second to no other in its influence upon his piety and usefulness; and in the light of it he saw clearly the purpose of this gospel age, to be not to convert the world but to call out from it a believing church as Christ's bride.

15. His _waiting on G.o.d for a message._ For every new occasion he asked of Him a word in season; then a mode of treatment, and unction in delivery; and, in G.o.dly simplicity and sincerity, with the demonstration of the Spirit, he aimed to reach the hearers.

16. His submission to the _authority of the Word._ In the light of the holy oracles he reviewed all customs, however ancient, and all traditions of men, however popular, submitted all opinions and practices to the test of Scripture, and then, regardless of consequences, walked according to any new light G.o.d gave him.

17. His _pattern of church life._ From his first entrance upon pastoral work, he sought to lead others only by himself following the Shepherd and Bishop of Souls. He urged the a.s.sembly of believers to conform in all things to New Testament models so far as they could be clearly found in the Word, and thus reform all existing abuses.

18. His _stress upon voluntary offerings._ While he courageously gave up all fixed salary for himself, he taught that all the work of G.o.d should be maintained by the freewill gifts of believers, and that pew-rents promote invidious distinctions among saints.

19. His _surrender of all earthly possessions._ Both himself and his wife literally sold all they had and gave alms, henceforth to live by the day, h.o.a.rding no money even against a time of future need, sickness, old age, or any other possible crisis of want.

20. His habit of _secret prayer._ He learned so to prize closet communion with G.o.d that he came to regard it as his highest duty and privilege. To him nothing could compensate for the lack or loss of that fellows.h.i.+p with G.o.d and meditation on His word which are the support of all spiritual life.

21. His _jealousy of his testimony._ In taking oversight of a congregation he took care to guard himself from all possible interference with fulness and freedom of utterance and of service. He could not brook any restraints upon his speech or action that might compromise his allegiance to the Lord or his fidelity to man.

22. His _organizing of work._ G.o.d led him to project a plan embracing several departments of holy activity, such as the spreading of the knowledge of the word of G.o.d everywhere, and the encouraging of world-wide evangelization and the Christian education of the young; and to guard the new Inst.i.tution from all dependence on worldly patronage, methods, or appeals.

23. His _sympathy with orphans._ His loving heart had been drawn out toward poverty and misery everywhere, but especially in the case of dest.i.tute children bereft of both parents; and familiarity with Francke's work at Halle suggested similar work at Bristol.

24. Beside all these steps of preparation, he had been guided by the Lord from his birthplace in Prussia to London, Teignmouth, and Bristol in Britain, and thus the chosen vessel, shaped for its great use, had by the same divine Hand been borne to the very place where it was to be of such signal service in testimony to the Living G.o.d.

Surely no candid observer can survey this course of divine discipline and preparation, and remember how brief was the period of time it covers, being less than ten years, and mark the many distinct steps by which this education for a life of service was made singularly complete, without a feeling of wonder and awe. Every prominent feature, afterward to appear conspicuous in the career of this servant of G.o.d, was antic.i.p.ated in the training whereby he was fitted for his work and introduced to it. We have had a vivid vision of the divine Potter sitting at His wheel, taking the clay in His hands, softening its hardness, subduing it to His own will; then gradually and skilfully shaping from it the earthen vessel; then baking it in His oven of discipline till it attained the requisite solidity and firmness, then filling it with the rich treasures of His word and Spirit, and finally setting it down where He would have it serve His special uses in conveying to others the excellency of His power!

To lose sight of this sovereign shaping Hand is to miss one of the main lessons G.o.d means to teach us by George Muller's whole career. He himself saw and felt that he was only an earthen vessel; that G.o.d had both chosen and filled him for the work he was to do; and, while this conviction made him happy in his work, it made him humble, and the older he grew the humbler he became. He felt more and more his own utter insufficiency. It grieved him that human eyes should ever turn away from the Master to the servant, and he perpetually sought to avert their gaze from himself to G.o.d alone. "For of Him, and through Him, and to Him are all things--to Whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen."

There are several important episodes in Mr. Muller's history which may be lightly pa.s.sed by, because not so characteristic of him as that they might not have been common to many others, and therefore not const.i.tuting features so distinguis.h.i.+ng this life from others as to make it a special lesson to believers.

For example, early in 1835 he made a visit to Germany upon a particular errand. He went to aid Mr. Groves, who had come from the East Indies to get missionary recruits, and who asked help of him, as of one knowing the language of the country, in setting the claims of India before German brethren, and pleading for its unsaved millions.

When Mr. Muller went to the alien office in London to get a pa.s.sport, he found that, through ignorance, he had broken the law which required every alien semi-annually to renew his certificate of residence, under penalty of fifty pounds fine or imprisonment. He confessed to the officer his non-compliance, excusing himself only on the ground of ignorance, and trusted all consequences with G.o.d, who graciously inclined the officer to pa.s.s over his non-compliance with the law.

Another hindrance which still interfered with obtaining his pa.s.sport, was also removed in answer to prayer; so that at the outset he was much impressed with the Lord's sanction of his undertaking.

His sojourn abroad continued for nearly two months, during which time he was at Paris, Strasburg, Basle, Tubingen, Wurtemberg, Sehaffhausen, Stuttgart, Halle, Sandersleben, Aschersleben, Heimersleben, Halberstadt, and Hamburg. At Halle, calling on Dr. Tholuck after seven years of separation, he was warmly welcomed and constrained to lodge at his house. From Dr. Tholuck he heard many delightful incidents as to former fellow students who had been turned to the Lord from impious paths, or had been strengthened in their Christian faith and devotion. He also visited Francke's orphan houses, spending an evening in the very room where G.o.d's work of grace had begun in his heart, and meeting again several of the same little company of believers that in those days had prayed together.

He likewise gave everywhere faithful witness to the Lord. While at his father's house the way was opened for him to bear testimony indirectly to his father and brother. He had found that a direct approach to his father upon the subject of his soul's salvation only aroused his anger, and he therefore judged that it was wiser to refrain from a course which would only repel one whom he desired to win. An unconverted friend of his father was visiting him at this time, before whom he put the truth very frankly and fully, in the presence of both his father and brother, and thus quite as effectively gave witness to them also. But he was especially moved to pray that he might by his whole life bear witness at his home, manifesting his love for his kindred and his own joy in G.o.d, his satisfaction in Christ, and his utter indifference to all former fascinations of a worldly and sinful life, through the supreme attraction he found in Him; for this, he felt sure, would have far more influence than any mere words: our walk counts for more than our talk, always.

The effect was most happy. G.o.d so helped the son to live before the father that, just before his leaving for England, he said to him: "My son, may G.o.d help me to follow your example, and to act according to what you have said to me!"

On June 22, 1835, Mr. Muller's father-in-law, Mr. Groves, died; and both of his own children were very ill, and four days later little Elijah was taken. Both parents had been singularly prepared for these bereavements, and were divinely upheld. They had felt no liberty in prayer for the child's recovery, dear as he was; and grandfather and grandson were laid in one grave. Henceforth Mr. and Mrs. Muller were to have no son, and Lydia was to remain their one and only child.