Closing Days

1894,
Death of the second Mrs. Müller.

JANUARY 13th. To-day it pleased God to take to Himself ‘’) my beloved wife, after He had left her to me twenty-three years and six weeks. By the grace of God I am not merely perfectly satisfied with this dispensation, but I kiss the hand which administered the stroke, and I look again for the fulfilment of that word in this instance, that “All things work together for good to them that love God” (Rom. viii. 28).

When I lost my first beloved wife, to whom I had been united thirty-nine years and four months, my inmost soul bowed under the trial, and I was perfectly satisfied not merely with this trying dispensation, but habitually kissed the hand of my loving Heavenly Father who had given the stroke; but how this bereavement could work for my good was entirely a matter of faith; yet I believed, what God had said, and waited, patiently, believingly waited, to see, how it would work for my good. When she was taken Home, I had only a little before opened two Orphan-Houses for 900 more Orphans. She had laboured, with all her might, for the benefit of the thousands of Orphans who had been under my care while she was my wife; and she had cared for them with a motherly love. And now, with the ability of receiving 2,050 Orphans in the five large buildings, she, who was so greatly needed, and who was so especially fitted by grace, and education, and gift for this work, was suddenly removed from my side, after she had been my helper thirty-four years in this work. I believed what God had said in His Word; but it was entirely a matter of faith, that this also should work for my good. However, I waited’ patiently to see it. After a year and ten months I married again, and in process of time I saw it clearly to be the will of God, four years and four months after my marriage, that I should spend the evening of my life preaching in other towns and cities, and other countries, as I had been for forty-three years almost constantly preaching in Bristol.

In March, 1875, my late dear wife and I set out for these my Preaching Tours and Missionary labours, in which for more than seventeen years she continually accompanied me. We travelled thus together 200,000 miles, by land and by water, in Europe,

America, Africa, Asia, and Australia; Mrs. Müller never taking any part in public, but helping me exceedingly by the circulation of many tens of thousands of Tracts in many different languages; by the circulation of the Holy Scriptures in different languages, and in conversing privately with thousands of persons about their souls. In these our labours it was a common thing to travel on the rail, ten, fifteen, twenty, yea thirty hours and more ata time; twice, even six days and six nights without leaving the train. Now after I had been month after month believing, that, in the removal of my first beloved wife, it would work for my good, nothing was seen of this; it was a matter of faith. And thus, it remained year after year, when all at once, after eight years, my eyes were opened. In the midst of these toils on the rail, night after night and day after day, I said to myself, my first dear wife could not have borne this fatigue of these long journeys, for she was taken from me in her seventy-third year; but my second wile, when [ came to this conclusion, was then only in her fifty-seventh year.

This work I consider to be one of the most important parts of what the Lord has allowed me to do for Him; but for many reasons I could not have travelled alone, and my beloved first wife was too advanced in years to be able to bear it, if she had lived; thus it was seen, even in this instance, how “Al things work together for good to them that love God.”

You may say, dear reader, But how will it be now? I look for the fulfilment of this word again. My loneliness, after sixty-two years and five months of a happy married life, has been great, and is great; but I continually praise God for what He gave me, for what He left me for a long time, and for what He has now taken; for it is all good for me. By constantly admiring the Lord’s kindness to me in this very thing, and that He has now entirely freed my beloved departed one from all bodily and spiritual infirmities, and made her unspeakably happy in His presence; He overpowers my loneliness, and is doing more than merely supporting me. The dear departed one desired health to be able to labour for the dear Orphans; for she loved her work among them greatly; she is now eternally free from all physical ailments, but for other service. She told me again and again, how she had thousands of times, within the last ten years, asked the Lord to fill her with His Spirit; she is now completely conformed to the mind of Christ, and unspeakably happy in His presence, and will be so eternally. This counterbalances not merely the feeling of great loneliness, in my case, but I praise God every day for what He has done, and I would not have it otherwise, for I really loved my dear departed one and therefore rejoice in her present unspeakable happiness.

I have written this because I consider it to be my special service to comfort tried ones, and to seek to strengthen the faith of the children of God.

1895 to 1897.

Mr. Müller, after the conclusion of his Missionary Tours, confined his work chiefly to Bristol, living at No. 3 New Orphan-House.

In September, 1895, on his ninetieth birthday, at a meeting in Bethesda Chapel, a presentation was made to him. In acknowledging it, he said that his voice was stronger than it had been sixty-nine years before, and his mental powers were as good as they had ever been.

He refrained from preaching at evening services, though continuing to take his customary part in the administration of the Orphan-Houses. He also still took part on Sunday mornings at Bethesda, Alma Road, and Stokes Croft Chapels.

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Confidence in the Word of God unshaken to the End.

Writing in the autumn of 1897 to excuse himself from attending a meeting at Birmingham of the British and Foreign Bible Society, Mr. Müller said:

“Will you have the kindness to read to the meeting that I have been for sixty-eight years and three months, viz., since July, 1829, a lover of the Word of God, and that uninterruptedly. “During this time I have read considerably more than one hundred times through the whole of the Old and New Testaments, with prayer and meditation. I also state to the glory of God, as His witness, that in my inmost soul I believe that all the books of the Old Testament and of the New Testament are written by inspiration. My great love for the Word of God, and my deep conviction of the need of its being spread far and wide, have led me to pray to God to use me as an instrument to do this, and to supply me with means for it; and He has condescended to enable me to circulate the Scriptures in all parts of the earth, and in various languages; and has been pleased thus, simply through the reading of the Holy Scriptures, to bring thousands of persons to the knowledge of the Lord Jesus.”

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Address given by Mr. Müller on the last Sunday of his life.

On Sunday morning, March 6th, 1898 (four days before his death), he gave an address at Alma Road Chapel, Clifton. Notes of this have been supplied by a friend.

He read Isaiah vi.; John xii. 37-41.

“* These things said Esaias, when he saw His glory, and spake of Him. This last verse settles the matter, that what we were reading in Isaiah vi. all refers to the glory of our adorable Lord Jesus Christ. In the whole divine testimony we do not find a single portion which speaks more of His majesty and glory. We

will now read it once more, verse by verse, in reference to our precious, adorable Lord Jesus.

“Verse 1. The time is fixed when Isaiah saw this vision: ‘ In the year that King Uzziah died.’ We are reminded here of what Uazziah passed through. All went on well with him until he was highly exalted, until he became mighty and powerful, and then he was lifted up, and went into the Temple and offered incense to Jehovah, contrary to the mind of Jehovah, for it was the business of the priests only, and in consequence of this he was smitten with leprosy; and to the end of his days he was a leper. A very deeply important and profitable lesson to us all, to seek for a lowly mind, and to pray that we may be kept from pride and highmindedness: this was the fault of Uzziah.

“Verse 2. ‘ Above Him’ (not ‘it’) stood the seraphim.’ He was surrounded by the highest order of holy angels — the seraphim. ‘ Bach one had six wings; with twain He covered His face.’ This lowly mind of these high angelic beings forbade them to look at Him. Justa lesson to us to seek to have an increasing abhorrence of ourselves on account of our numberless transgressions, to consider ourselves unworthy to look at the Holy One.

“Verse 5. ‘ Woe is me.’ This is the language of the prophet, conscious of his sinfulness, and being in the presence of the infinitely Holy One, he cried out, ‘ Woe is me, for I am undone, by reason of my great sinfulness.’

“Verses 6 and 7. The altar represents the Lord Jesus Christ, and the ‘taking the live coal from off the altar’ represents the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. And as this ‘ live coal,’ touching the lips of the prophet and taking away all vileness and sinfulness and transgression, made him clean before God, so the precious blood of our adorable Lord Jesus Christ, though our sins are numberless, removes all spiritual defilement from us, and makes us clean and spotless in the sight of God. O how unspeakably blessed the position into which we are brought by faith in the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, whose death we are now about again to remember in the breaking of bread!

“Verse 8. ‘ Here am I, send me.’ Just as it was with the prophet, at once ready to offer himself to do the work of the Lord, to go at His bidding, so it should be regarding ourselves. Whatever work the Lord may call us to, whatever business the Lord would have us do, whatever service the Lord would wish us to be engaged in, our hearts should at once respond to His desire, and we should offer ourselves to the Lord like the prophet. If it is to give some food to the poor, if it is to clothe the poor, if it is to go to Central Africa, if it is to go to India, whatever work the Lord would have us to do, our hearts should be ready at once to do that work, of whatever kind it may be. But often, often, often it is, as in the case of the prophet, trying work. He had to shut the eyes of Israel in the way of judgment, to harden their hearts in the way of judgment, to blind them so that they could not see the truth — trying work this. But, as servants of the Most High, our part is to do the work, whatever it may be, pleasant or unpleasant; our business is to be servants, and the servant has to do his Master’s work.

“* Verses 10-12. Of such terrible judgments we read little in the Holy Scriptures, but in this case the awful judgment came upon them, because Jehovah had sent His prophets, time alter time, and they would not attend to what these prophets said to them. And this awful judgment is yet on them up to the present; nevertheless, they remain the people of the Living God, and it will yet be seen that the promises made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob have their further fulfilment.

“Now, the great point regarding ourselves is this, that we should say to ourselves: ‘A like terrible judgment might have come upon me; I might have been left to myself, my eyes might have been shut, my ears might have been closed, my heart might have been hardened more and more in the way of chastisement, if God had been dealing with me according to my sins.’ O how pitifully, how mercifully, how tenderly, how graciously the Lord has been dealing with us in Christ Jesus! And what He has been doing and is doing, He will continue to do to the end of our earthly pilgrimage — He will not leave us nor forsake us, and a little while, and then He takes us home to Himself. O the bright, glorious prospect which we poor, miserable sinners have through faith in Christ Jesus! And at last taken home to be for ever with the Lord, and to see that lovely One who laid down His life for us, ourselves being permitted to kiss His feet, ourselves being permitted to kiss His hands! O the precious prospect that awaits us! ‘ Yet a little while, ypv A LITTLE WHILE,’ and all will be fulfilled. How our hearts should go forth continually in the deepest and liveliest gratitude to the Lord Jesus Christ for laying down His life for us, for shedding His blood for the remission of our sins! And how full of gratitude our hearts should be that now, guilty, wicked transgressors that we are by nature, and numberless though our transgressions have been, by the power of the blood of Christ we have been made as clean, as spotless as if we had never in our whole life been guilty of one sinful action: as if we had never uttered in our whole life one single, unholy word, and as if there had never been found in us a thought contrary to the mind of God. This is the position into which we are brought through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, so that during the remainder of our life, and throughout eternity, never one single sin shall be brought against us. O the precious blood of Christ!”

[A fitting close is this to a ministry of such long duration that ever had ‘‘ His glory” as its aim and object. ]

On the following Monday evening he attended the Prayer Meeting at Bethesda Chapel. At the end of the meeting he greeted several friends very warmly. On Tuesday and Wednesday he did his usual work at the Orphan-House.

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The last evening.

That day (Wednesday) he told Mr. Wright that he had felt weak when getting up in that morning, having had to rest three times whilst dressing; this passed off completely during the day, and he remarked, “‘I feel quite myself again.” He had not cared to have an attendant in his bedroom, but he consented to have one after the next day.

That evening he led the usual weekly prayer meeting in No. 3 New Orphan-House; the hymns he gave out were —

The countless multitude on high,
Who tune their songs to Jesus’ Name,
All merit of their own deny,

And Jesus’ worth alone proclaim.

We’ll sing of the Shepherd that died,
That died for the sake of the flock;

His love to the utmost was tried,
And immoyable stood as a rock.

When he wished “Good-night” to Mr. Wright, he seemed as well as usual. He retired to rest at his usual hour.

The Home Call.

On the Thursday morning about seven o’clock, his attendant went to his bedroom with a cup of tea. She knocked at the door, and entered as usual, and found Mr. Müller lying dead on the floor by the side of his bed. For some time past, as with increasing years his bodily strength grew less, it had been Mr. Müller’s custom to take some nourishment during the night; probably some little time before he was found dead, he had got out of bed for a glass of milk and a biscuit, which had been placed on the dressing-table. Whilst eating the biscuit he was, it is thought, seized with a fainting attack, from which he never recovered, and in falling he must have clutched at the table, for the cloth was disarranged, and various articles were found upon the floor. His medical attendant was at once sent for, and when he arrived at the Orphan-Houses, he formed the opinion that Mr. Müller had died between five and six o’clock that morning.*

The news, so totally unexpected at the moment, created a great sensation in Bristol. It was the theme of conversation amongst all classes. At the National Free Church Conference, which was holding its assembly in the City at the time, feeling references were made by several speakers, and a resolution, expressive of gratitude for Mr. Müller’s life and work, was passed. On the Sunday, there was scarcely a pulpit in the city, Anglican or Nonconformist, from which allusion was not made to the death

[* For the description of the funeral, etc., extracts have been made from a pamphlet published by Messrs. Mack & Co.] of the man who had done so much for Christianity and the little ones. In some of the churches, also, the Dead March was played.

The Funeral.

The funeral, which took place on Monday, March 14th, will long be remembered by all who witnessed it as a most remarkable exhibition of popular regard and affection. It was all the more remarkable inasmuch as he had never associated himself with the people in their social or civic life. ‘ This one thing I do,” was his motto. Tens of thousands of persons lined the route through which the funeral procession passed. One most gratifying feature was the very large proportion of the working classes who turned out to pay their last tribute of respect. Nothing like it had ever been seen in Bristol before. In all the leading thoroughfares black shutters were put up, or the blinds drawn; flags were at half mast on Bristol Cathedral and other churches; and muffled peals were rung. The whole city may be said to have been in mourning.

Service at the Orphan-Houses.

A short service was held at Orphan-House No. 3, where the remains were lying, prior to the funeral procession making a start. It was a most touching and solemn service. The elder boys and girls from the other Orphan-Houses, to the number of over a thousand, gathered at No. 3, and the coffin containing the body was placed in front of the reading-desk in the dining-room, where the service was held. The coffin, of plain elm, and bare of flowers, which had been withheld by special request, bore the inscription on a brass plate,

“George Müller,
fell asleep 10th March, 1898,
in his 93rd year.”

Tears came into the eyes of children and helpers alike as they gazed at the coffin with sorrowful thoughts. Mr. Wright gave an address, in which he impressed upon those present the fact that even the highest life must end, that those who die in the Lord are blessed, and that a glorified resurrection awaits those who are believers in Christ. The hymn, “Like Mists on the Mountains,” was sung, and shortly afterwards the children left the hall so as to be ready to take their place in the procession, Although only part of the total number of the inmates was present, there was something pathetic to see the long rows of these children, whose helpless condition had appealed to Mr. Müller’s kindly heart. Many of them passed out weeping bitterly.

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Orphans, there were not wanting links with the past. Among the friends waiting to take their places in the procession were four of those who had long years ago been among the occupants of Mr. Müller’s original Orphanage in Wilson Street, and who remembered in June, 1849, marching up from that modest building in a city street to the first of the spacious Orphanages built on Ashley Down. On the Saturday prior to the funeral, an old lady, whose recollections went still further back, called at the Orphan-House to see for the last time the man who sixty years ago had befriended her, for she was one of the first five received into the Girls’ House in Wilson Street.

From Ashley Down to Bethesda Chapel.

After the service the children filed out of the House, and were marshalled in processional order, the girls wearing their quaint bonnets and warm winter cloaks, and the lads carrying their cloaks. Many of the children were still crying, and even. the excitement caused by the crowds of people they were afterwards to meet had no effect in assuaging their grief. Many hearts were melted at the impressive sight. Strong men, who perhaps had not shed a tear for years, were observed to be moved by the spectacle. The coffin was borne from the House to the hearse by helpers connected with the Institution, and the mourners walked from the building to the front gates, where the carriages were waiting. After the three mile walk to Park Street the children left the procession to return to the Institution, and the mourners ‘proceeded to Bethesda Chapel, where an immense congregation had already been assembling for two hours previously.

Service at Bethesda Chapel.

Members of the church and sister churches were admitted to the area of the chapel by the side entrance, and at half-past ten the doors were thrown open to the public, who were allowed to take possession of the galleries. A. large portion of the body of the chapel had to be reserved for the mourners. Every inch of space was filled, and had the building been many times larger it would not have held the numbers who were eager for admission. Most of the congregation were in mourning, and all classes were represented — tich and poor, old and young. At about 11.15 the coffin was carried into the building, and placed on supports in front of the pulpit, the congregation meanwhile standing. Mr. G. F. Bergin, in giving out a hymn, said, “This hymn was given out by beloved Mr. Müller at a Prayer-Meeting in the Orphan-Houses the evening before he died.”

The countless multitude on high,
Who tune their songs to Jesus’ name,
All merit of their own deny,

And Jesus’ worth alone proclaim.

Firm on the ground of soy’reign grace,
They stand before Jehovah’s throne;
The only song in that blest place
Is — * Thou art worthy, Thou alone.”

With spotless robes of purest white,

And branches of triumphal palm,

They shout with transports of delight,
Heav’n’s ceaseless, universal psalm.
Salvation’s glory all be paid

To Him who sits upon the throne;

And to the Lamb whose blood was shed,
“Thou! Thou art worthy! Thou alone.”

For Thou wast slain, and in Thy blood
These robes were washed so spotless pure;
Thou mad’st us kings and priests to God:
For ever let Thy praise endure.

While thus the ransom’d myriads shout,
“Amen,” the holy angels ery;

Amen, Amen, resounds throughout

The boundless regions of the sky.

Let us with joy adopt the strain

We hope to sing for ever there;

“Worthy’s the Lamb for sinners slain,
Worthy alone the crown to wear.”

After Dr. Maclean had offered prayer, Mr. Wright said: ‘In the 13th chapter of the Epistle to the Hebrews, and the seventh and eighth verses, it is written, ‘ Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the Word of God; whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation; Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to-day, and for ever. I have read these verses and have found in them exhortations specially suitable to our present circumstances, and words of Divine consolation to us in these circumstances of sore need. We are exhorted to consider them that have the rule over us, who are our guides.:

“We are in the presence of the remains of such an one, who was connected with this church from its commencement, when seven believers gathered on that front form for the remembrance of the Lord’s death. This was, I think, about 67 years ago, and the long ministry of our departed friend has already been alluded to within the walls of this building. The life he had lived warrants us in reckoning him as one of those to whom allusion is made in the verse, and the substance of the petition we have now to offer is, that we may imitate the faith of the one whose mortal remains we are carrying to the grave.

“I want to remember one or two characteristics of that faith in order that we may be helped to imitate it. One chief feature of that faith was that it was based upon God’s written revelation, “Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.’ For every item of our beloved departed one’s faith he had a warrant — the inspired Word of God. He reckoned revelation to be God’s choicest gift next to the gift of the Holy Spirit. It was to him a rock that never quivered. He found a warrant in the Scriptures for his faith to rest on, and his faith never wavered. He accepted the whole of the Scriptures as coming by inspiration from God. Therefore, following the example of the great Apostle Paul, he believed all things that the prophets had written. On this account his faith was consistent; he would say when encouraging a young believer, “‘ Put your finger on the passage on which your faith rests.’ And his faith not only accepted the written records of the words of inspiration, but he had read the Bible from end to end between one and two hundred times. I hardly ever went into his room but that the Bible was open, and when no break in his ordinary life occurred, seven, eight, or ten chapters a day were his ordinary reading. Reading systematically, he imitated and applied the teachings of the Scripture to his own state of life. He fed on the bread of life, and that was why he was strong. He said, ‘I am a lover of the Word of God,’ and to this he added a living grasp of the Person who is the centre of that Word. This was the secret of the power of his testimony for God. To the last moment of his life his one ground of confidence before God was the atoning blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. On that hinged his whole work. He went to the Father relying on the infinite merits of the High Priest, and felt he could never exhaust the loving heart of his Father if he only came relying solely on the merits of the Saviour.

“He was always, according to his own views, wretched, vile, and weak. Within a week I have heard him say that, and descant upon his utter unworthiness to receive a single blessing from God. He used to say to us in our united meetings, that we should never let a shadow of doubt enter our minds as to the love of our Father’s heart and the power of His arm. ‘Never despair! More faith, more prayer, more patience, will bring the blessing.’ He worked, anticipating the judgment seat of Christ. The greatest thing to him was that ‘I am doing this to please my Lord. Will it meet with His approval in that day?’ It is a great thing at the close of every day to look over it and say, is this a work that my Lord can accept?

“There is a word of consolation in my text — Jesus Chrost is the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever. The guides come on the scene and they pass. Some bear testimony extending over ten, twenty, thirty, and some, like him, over seventy yeurs; but they pass off and are gone from our sight. And the Spirit says to us, “lemember them and attentively considering the issue of their course, imitate their faith.’ Imitate their faith, not their idiosyncrasies; not their philanthropy, but their faith.

“I feel it important, as the mouthpiece of my beloved father-in-law, to emphasize that philanthropy was not the leading feature of his life. I must on this point give you his own words.

In the last Report written by himself, on page 65, he says this in reference to the Orphan work: ‘ Further, when I began the Orphan work, I aimed from the beginning at the salvation of the children. To make them see their lost and ruined condition by nature, through instructing them in the Word of God, and to lead them to put their trust in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation, was my aim; and God has given us the joy of seeing thousands of them brought to believe in Him, so that few institutions, perhaps, have been more abundantly blessed in this respect than the Orphan-Houses on Ashley Down have been. Yet even this was not the primary object 1 had in view, when I began to care for poor destitute children, bereaved of both parents by death; but, in carrying on this work, simply through the instrumentality of prayer and faith, without applying to any human being for help, my great desire was, that it might be seen, that now, in the nineteenth century, God is still the Living God, and that now, as well as thousands of years ago, He listens to the prayers of His children, and helps those who trust in Him. Tn all the countries through which I travelled during the past twenty-one years of my Missionary service, numberless instances came before me of the benefit which our Orphan Institution has been in this respect, not only in making men of the world to see the reality of the things of God, and by converting them, but especially by leading the children of God more abundantly to give themselves to prayer, and by strengthening their faith. Far beyond what I at first expected to accomplish, the Lord has been pleased to give to me. But what I have seen as the fruit of my labour in this way may not be the thousandth part of what I shall see when the Lord Jesus comes again; as day by day, for sixty-one years, I have earnestly laboured in believing prayer, that God would be pleased, most abundantly, to bless this service in the way I have stated.’

“It has been asked again and again lately, ‘ Will the Orphan work go on?’ I have only a few words to say about that. First, 2 is going on. Since the commencement of this year we have received between forty and fifty fresh Orphans, and this week we expect to receive more. The other four Objects of the Institution, according to the ability that God gives us, are still being carried on. The next thing is that my loved fellow-labourers and myself believe that ‘known unto God are all His works from the foundation of the world.’ Another thing we know is that “‘ He Himself knows what He will do,” and we believe what He will do will be worthy of Himsel]. We don’t know much more, and we don’t want to. JI am no prophet, but when I remember the prayers which my beloved father-in-law offered for years for the future of this work, when I remember the prayers that his beloved daughter, my darling wife, with whom I lived for eighteen years and more in unbroken and unmarred felicity, offered, and when I remember the prayers that we together poured out to God, that He in His way would raise up some helper or helpers to share the responsibility of the work, and when T remember that this has been the theme of our united supplications, I cannot believe that the blessed God, who has so illustrated His faithfulness in this work for sixty-four years, is going to leave those prayers unanswered. But, as I say, what He does will be worthy of Himself. I would only ask the prayers of all believers on behalf of the little group of workers up at the Orphan-Houses, and those dear fatherless and motherless children, who, as I faced them this morning at 9 o’clock, so filled the air with their sobs that I scarcely knew when I should begin. I want you to pray for them, for prayer is the appointed means to get the blessing.

“The Apostle says in Galatians, * They glorified God im me.’ We are not here to glorify this man — this good man — we are here to glorify God. One characteristic of his ministry was its simplicity. God could afford to glorify him because he never aimed at anything magnificent or brilliant. Mr. Spurgeon once said of one of his discourses, ‘ There was nothing particular init. The diction and structure of the discourse were not above the average Sunday School teacher, but there was the man behind it.’ That is just the secret. I never knew any one who seemed less self-conscious when he was doing the mightiest thing for God. Therefore God could take him up and glorify and honour him, and we can glorify God in him.”

Mr. Benjamin Perry, an intimate friend of Mr. Müller’s, said: “We are met, dear friends, to pay our parting tribute of love and affectionate regard to the beloved one who, though he never sought earthly honours, has lived such a life in this city that unanimously he would be considered one of Bristol’s greatest citizens. Excuse me if I say, in my esteem, and I believe in that of many others, he was the greatest personality Bristol has known as a citizen in this generation. The influence of his life has been world-wide, and to us who have been privileged to listen to his ministry, and have enjoyed the blessing of his intimate and valued friendship, we have to realise a void and a loss which will make earth a poorer place so long as life lasts. The world is poorer to-day with beloved George Müller taken away from it, while heaven is enriched by his presence, where, no doubt, he has received a gladsome welcome into the presence of his Lord, and where he will in a pre-eminent degree receive the commendation, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant, enter thow into the joy of thy Lord.

“his church has been privileged in having the ministry of this beloved and honoured servant of Christ for over sixty years, excepting the intervals when he was away on his Missionary Tours. That ministry has been of the most practical character. He was an expounder of the Word of God rather than a preacher in the ordinary sense of the term. One striking feature of his ministry was that in the most simple language, that all could understand, he gave forth what had evidently been food to his own soul, and which he was at the time realising, and by the grace of God living upon and acting out in his own life, while he made a special point of not omitting to preach the Gospel as God’s only way of salvation for sinners.

“The reputation of his godly, holy life was the means which gave him access to the multitudes who flocked to hear him rather than any attempt at gathering crowds by eloquence. There is one special cause for praise to God for having continued His honoured servant in our midst for so many years in such strength of vigour to the end. The words, ‘Jf by reason of strength maws days should be four score years, yet is their strength lubowr and sorrow, were never experienced by him. When our beloved brother was eighty years old, and in this building, crowded as it is to-day, he was presented with a gift as an expression of the affection and gratitude we felt for all his loving and faithful ministry, then extending over fifty years, reference was made to Caleb’s words when he was eighty-five years old, and said he was as strong that day as he was when he was forty years of age, and our beloved brother was spoken of as another instance of the Lord’s goodness to one who wholly followed Him, and when beloved Mr. Müller replied, he said it was literally true, he was as strong and able to work as he was forty-five years before, but with his voice stronger than it was then, and he called the workers at Ashley Down to witness that he was as quick and active in his movements then as the youngest of them.

“And again, when he was ninety years of age, he was presented by the church with another proof of its love and affection, when he referred with much gratitude to God to the fact that when he was in his native land he was called as a young man to serve in the German Army, but after being examined by several medical officers he was pronounced to be too delicate, while he had been strengthened for service to the King of kings, so that he said, ‘Here I am at ninety years strong and able to serve without let or hindrance, either mental or physical.’ And it is worth mention as showing how his strength was continued to the end, if I refer to a conversation I had with him on the last Sunday afternoon of his life. He was telling me of a visit he had paid the week before to two highly esteemed and beloved friends, I suppose each of them eight or ten years younger than himself, who had been laid aside from active work for a number of years, and he said with a bright smile, ‘I came away feeling myself quite young in comparison,’ and then ascribing praise to God, he added, ‘Oh, how very kind and good the Lord has been to me! Now in my ninety-third year I am still without rheumatism, or an ache or pain, and I ean still do my ordinary work at the Orphan-Houses with as much comfort to myself as seventy years ago.’

““I have referred to this wonderful lengthening out of our beloved brother’s life in such strength and power to continue his work to the end, as being an abundant proof of the truth of his words, ‘I do not carry the burden of having to feed the large family of about 2,000 Orphans daily and the providing funds for the other branches of the work of the Scriptural Knowledge Institution. That is the Lord’s care, and I am most confidently and most trustfully looking to my Heavenly Father to supply all the needs.’ We thus can see that though outwardly he had responsibilities resting upon his shoulders that would have crushed him had he borne them himself, he so completely cast every care upon God that there are, I believe, very few men who have led a life so free from worry and care, and who realised so much joy in a life of abundant happy service for his Lord. How many times has he told us, with his face beaming with joy, ‘I am a very, very happy man.’

“It must not be supposed he had no trials; he had many and heavy trials. It was my great privilege to enjoy the love and affection of this loving, wise friend and counsellor for many years, and if I were asked to express in a few words what were the special characteristics of my beloved friend, I should say he was a man who, in response to the infinite love of God, was called from a life of sin as a young man to accept the gift of God, which is eternal life, by faith only in the atoning work of the Son of God. He loved God in response to that love above everybody and everything, so that his highest pleasure was found in seeking to please God, and he esteemed it a high privilege to be able in any degree to serve Him.

“Again, the Bible was no mere text-book to him; it was the constant medium of communication between him and his Heavenly Father. The expression ‘praying always’ was no mere figure of speech, but his daily practice. He prayed about everything, so that to be alone with him in private was to realise that he treated God as his infinitely wise, loving, almighty Friend, to whom he would turn at any moment for counsel and advice quite as much as he would for funds for the need of his work.

‘« Another special characteristic was his great humility. Always he was nothing, Christ everything. As an illustration of this I might say that not long ago a beloved friend said to him, ‘When God calls you home, beloved Mr. Müller, it will be like a ship going into harbour full sail.” Mr. Müller said, ‘ Oh, no; it is poor George Miller, who needs daily to pray, Hold Thou ine up that my footsteps slip not. Thus he finished his course with joy and to the glory of God. It may be that some may be ready to say, ‘A spiritual giant has fallen;’ but, dear friends, he has not fallen, but has been called up to a reward that has long been awaiting him. Wednesday last was the first time he allowed that he was weak or weary in his work, and that same night it seems to me as if a heavenly escort was sent to take him in triumph up, up, into the presence of the Lord, who would not let him labour on with any sense of weariness. After seventy and more years of such faithful service, the precious casket that had held his spirit so long, fell back to our loving care, to rest, where we shall reverently place it, till the resurrection morning. But he is far more happy ‘than ever and nearer to Christ, and it is only by our coming into closer communion and fellowship with Christ that our great loss can be made up.” Mr. J. L. Stanley followed with prayer, and asked that out of their great sorrow might come a blessing. Col. Molesworth gave out the second hymn — ‘Tis sweet to think of those at rest, Who sleep in Christ the Lord; Whose spirits now with Him are blest, According to His word. Mr. F. 8. Arnot offered the concluding prayer, and the service, which had been most solemn and impressive, was brought to a close.

To Arno’s Vale Cemetery.

Outside the chapel- — in fact. all along the remaining line of route — an immense concourse of people had gathered. The carriages also were supplemented by numerous fresh arrivals, including the Mayor’s state coach. It is estimated that over eighty carriages joined in the procession to the cemetery. The vast body of people was the more to be noticed from the fact that the funeral arrangements were characterised by the utmost simplicity — there was an entire absence of any attempt at show. The demonstration, quiet, reverent, and sympathetic, from the crowds en route, was really a remarkable ending to a remarkable career. The procession took an hour to reach Arno’s Vale, and here some thousands of persons had assembled. The grave, prepared for the interment, just a plain ordinary one, was that in which lay the remains of Mr. Miller’s two wives. It is situated on the hillside, immediately under the shadow of a yew tree. At about two o’clock the procession reached the main gates, and, alter the way had been cleared for the coffin and mourners, a matter of no little difficulty, the service was commenced.

The service, which was extremely simple, was commenced by the singing of the following hymn, and as the strains echoed round the hillside from probably seven thousand voices the effect was most solemn, not to say grand —

I rest in Christ, the Son of God,
Who took the servant’s form;

By faith I flee to Jesus’ cross,
My covert from the storm.

At peace with God, no ills I dread,
The Cup of blessing mine;

The Lamb was slain, His precious blood
Ts new and living wine.

Jesus put all my sins away,
When bruised to make me whole;
Who shall accuse or who condemn,
My blameless, ransomed soul?

Nor principalities, nor powers,
Nor death shall me divide

From my sure rest — the love of God — In Jesus crucified,

Colonel Molesworth then offered prayer.

Mr. G. Fred. Bergin first read from Cor. xv., and said: “I wish to say a very few words on the tenth verse, ‘ By the grace of God I am what I am; and His grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.’ These are the inspired — the God-breathed words of the Apostle Paul, and tell us the mind that he had concerning himself and concerning his tod. And in a very pre-eminent manner they express the mind and heart of the beloved one whose remains lie in this coffin waiting interment. How he would delight to sound out the truth, ‘ By the grace of God I am what I am.’ He loved to dwell on this theme. He delighted in it.

“Now let us glance for a moment or two at what the grace of God made him. He was a child of God by the grace of God. Seventy-five years ago he knew little or nothing of that grace, but God, in the riches of His grace, met him when he was treading the downward course to hell, and made him His own child, cleansed him in the blood of the Lord Jesus, and made him, during the last seventy-three years, infinitely to rejoice in the knowledge of his sins forgiven, through the precious blood of Christ. Now, as a child of God, he delighted in his Father. He used to speak of himself as a beloved child of God; I have often heard him, in the last twenty-five years of close fellowship with him, say he was ‘ the darling of the Lord.’ So he entered into God’s love as his Father.

“Then as a child of God he enjoyed a very rare amount of communion with God. This he had in a two-fold way. He had it daily in the Scriptures. The Word of God was indeed to him not the word of man; nota fable; not a forgery of later days than it purports to be; but the very living Word of God. He was hungry, and he ate, and satisfied his soul. He was thirsty and drank of it, and slaked his thirst. In conflict it was his sword, for he believed it to be the ‘ sword of the Spirit, and taking it from his blessed Master, who, when tempted by Satan, as recorded in the Gospels, used the book of Deuteronomy three times, thrusting it, as the sword of the Spirit, at him, and he forthwith ey

acknowledged his defeat and went away. So the beloved one used that Word of God as God’s good gift — the God-breathed gift to man.

“Then he communed with God as his Father marvellously by prayer. Perhaps no man that lived was more in habitual communion with God. It was indeed as one of the poets said, ‘His native breath.’ He lived in an attitude of prayer. I remember, it must be four and twenty years ago, when I was first struck by that very fact that beloved Mr. Wright mentioned to-day in Bethesda, which I had noted down to speak of. When T went to confer with him on a matter — unlike too many who speak for some time, and then, when parting, pray — Mr. Müller said, ‘Let us ask God’s guidance,’ and we got on our knees. And so it was with that beloved man throughout the whole of his life. Last Monday evening it was my joy to meet with him and speak with him at the close of the prayer meeting at Bethesda, and L introduced two friends who had just come from Barnstaple, and one brought a message of love from the beloved and honoured servant of Christ, Mr. Robert Chapman. The lady gave this message of love, and he (Mr. Müller) replied, ‘ Dear Mr. Chapman — give him again my love; he is the oldest friend I have.’ They had had sixty-eight years of close friendship. I was given, a day or two ago, the following, that fell from the lips of that saintly Robert Chapman on last Friday, the day after the beloved one departed; he remarked it at his own dinner table: ‘If 1 were asked to write Brother Müller’s life I should say, he brought everything to God, small and great, temporal and eternal, and brought God into everything. The details are written above, and to-morrow morning we shall have the leisure to read them. The night is far spent and the day is at hand. And verily that is the true epitome of the life of the beloved one.

“Then he was a servant of Christ by the grace of God, and not only a child of God, and as the servant of Christ he rejoiced to preach the Gospel that Paul preached. That ‘Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures ’ — that was the Gospel that George Müller delighted to proclaim to sinners. He began that work in Bristol in 1832. The older ones will remember that was the year the cholera visited Bristol; within two months of the arrival of himself and his beloved colleague, Henry Craik, the cholera broke out. Now those servants of God did not fly away from the cholera as they might have done, but they started a prayer meeting from 6 o’clock to 8 o’clock every morning, to meet those stricken with fear because of the outbreak. And God gave them great blessing. He loved to the end of his days to preach the Gospel. He loved to circulate the Scriptures of the grace of God. He aided in sending that Gospel far and wide all over the world by prayer and by counsel, and his God helped him, and sent in funds for the purpose of meeting the expense of taking the Gospel into other lands.

Portrait oF THE Late Mr. R. C. CHapman.
Mr. Mtuuer’s FRIEND For 68 YEARS.

ray “Then he cared for the Orphans. How vivid a sight is that to all Bristolians — the way in which this beloved one, by the grace of God, cared for the fatherless and motherless. ‘ By the grace of God I am what I am’ would be his language. And in all this he sought not the honour of man, sought not first the temporal blessing of the Orphans; no, as we heard to-day, not first even their spiritual blessing, but that he might honour and glorify the name of God, that he might adorn the doctrine of God, that he might give joy to the heart of God, and wherever he might be that he might spread abroad the wondrous truth that God is the Living God. He dearly loved the children of God. and apart from doctrinal bias and sectarianism he, by the grace of God, as a servant of Christ, laboured for their blessing in seeking the honour and glory of God. And that this grace which was bestowed upon him was not in vain is seen in the record of his work, in his abundant labours. Whether beginning so early every morning — as it was his habit for years to rise early and continue day after day — or continuing his long life of grace, which began im 1825 and ended in 1898, how abundant were his labours! How heartily would he, if he could speak from this coffin, say, ‘ Not I, but the grace of God which was with me.

“And, beloved, we have here indeed the manifest proof of the grace of God that through these abundant labours He kept His child and servant in such a measure — a gracious godly measure of humility, so that he ever delighted to say, * Not J, but the grace of God which was with me. God grant unto us all who are His children here to imitate that faith as we heard in Bethesda. God grant the unsaved within reach of my voice may from.the open grave of this beloved and honoured servant of God hear once more the truth he loved to tell — ‘* Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures; that He was buried, that He rose again from the dead, according to the Scriptures ;? and you will get life from that precious truth as George Müller did in the year 1825.”

The following hymn was then sung; it was the last hymn that beloved Mr. Müller gave out, and that at the close of the Prayer Meeting aforenamed.

We’ll sing of the Shepherd that died,
That died for the sake of the flock;

His love to the utmost was tried,
And immovable stood as a rock.

When the blood of a victim must flow,
The Shepherd by kindness was led

To stand between them and the foe,
And willingly died in their stead.

Our song then for ever shall be

Of the Shepherd who gave Himself thus;
No subject so glorious as He,

And none so affecting to us.

We’ll sing of such subjects alone,

None other our tongues shall employ;
But better His love will be known

In yonder bright regions of joy.

Mr. E. T. Davies concluded with prayer. Thus ended the service, and the body was then lowered into the grave. Most of the big assembly took the opportunity before leaving the cemetery of having a farewell look at the coffin.

Memorial service at Bethesda.

Mr. Müller had been for many years, when at home, a regular attendant at the Bethesda Monday night Prayer Meeting. On the evening of the Monday on which he was interred, instead of the usual Prayer Meeting, a Memorial Service was held. The widespread and reverent interest which had characterised the whole of the ceremonies of the day were again shown in the evening, when the chapel’s accommodation was taxed to the utmost, and numbers of persons were content to stand throughout the service.

The meeting was opened by Mr. Benjamin Perry inviting the congregation to join in the singing of a hymn, and after this, prayer was offered by Mr. W. H. Bennet (of Yeovil). Mr. James Stanley followed with an address. After another hymn, and the reading of a portion of Scripture and prayer, Mr. W. J. Morgan delivered an address on the words “With God.” Mr. Ormiston subsequently added to the general tribute of love and respect, remarking that Mr. Müller was the property of all God’s people. The service was concluded with singing and prayer.

Pusnic ALLusions tro Mr. MULLER’s DEATH.
National Free Church Conference.

Mr. Müller passed away while the National Conference of Free Churches was sitting in Bristol, and the announcement of his death created considerable sensation. The President said that, in consultation with the Secretary, he desired to ask that by a rising vote they should instruct the Council to bring up a resolution at the Communion service, expressive of thankfulness to God for the noble and beautiful life that had just passed into the higher life — the highest of all — and the great service rendered to humanity by their departed friend and father — George Miller. The instruction was acceded to by the unanimous vote of those present. later, the President read the following resolution which had been drawn up: “The National Council of Evangelical Free Churches has received the intelligence of the unexpected death of Mr. George Müller with deep personal regret, but with a

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deeper sense of triumph because of the grace of God manifested in His beloved servant. Mr. Müller has left behind him a record of services to the Orphan and destitute which will long remain an inspiration to the hope and effort of those whose hearts are touched by human necessity. Equally has he been distinguished for simple and courageous trust in God, in undertaking on their behalf responsibilities of great magnitude, which God in His great goodness enabled him unceasingly to fulfil. The piety, lowliness, and love of this man will long remain in the memory of the churches of God and all lovers of their fellows, and the Council, while expressing condolence with those who participated in his domestic affection and watchful care, and commending all these to the love of a gracious God, unite in solemn act of silent thanksgiving to Him whose choicest gift to the world is the gift of holy men.” The resolution was passed in solemn silence by the congregation all standing.

Bristol Board of Guardians.

At the meeting of the Bristol Board of Guardians, the Chairman said he desired to allude to the great event which had happened since they last met — the death of Mr. George Müller. No life, probably, in the world, had been of greater value than that life, and he could not help thinking, to them as Poor Law Guardians, it had appealed more directly than to almost any other branch of their fellow-citizens. He was sure they would all unite, not only in thanking God, for his past life and the great work he had done, but in prayerfully expressing the hope that others might be raised up to continue the good work so well performed.

In the Press.

Such results as Mr. Müller achieved, flowing from the benevolent efforts of one man, are, doubtless, unparalleled. Yet the founder of these Institutions was not fond of parading his person before the world. On the contrary, he was shy and retiring in disposition, and shrank from publicity. Many years ago he was offered £500 if he would allow a photograph of himself to be published, but he resolutely declined all such offers.* ... Amongst those who visited his Homes, and expressed their admiration of the management, and working, were the late Harl of Derby, Lord Salisbury, Lord Hampton, and many others of all ranks interested in beneficent social movements. — T’ mes.

Mr. George Müller will be remembered as the philanthropist who never advertised. The vast Orphanage which he established at Bristol, in which he passed away, was, as Müller believed, maintained by faith and prayer alone. His fame and his good works throve abundantly as the story came to be known, so

[* See Mr. Wright’s remarks about this on page 718.]

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CESS Se 2 aie ee SS et a ee ee
ai CLOSING DAYS. [1898

much so, indeed, that the reputation of the Orphanage perhaps transcended that of any advertised Institution. Müller’s personality made a deep impression on the Evangelical world.

When the venerated Dr. John Pulsford, “last of the mystics,” as he was called, was staying at Huntly, the beautiful home of Mr. C. F. Carpenter, of Bishopsteignton, Mr. Müller came over from Bristol to see him. But on the day when he arrived Dr. Pulsford had fallen ill, and so, Mr. Müller remarked, “I must wait a little while before I see him.” The “little while” has not been prolonged, for, full of years and good works, George Müller has gone to his well-earned rest. If ‘‘ every noble life leaves the fibre of it interwoven for ever in the work of the world,” then assuredly the life of this man of faith will accomplish yet more than the grand record it now has won. — Daily Chronicle.

Few men have had so long a career of active beneficence as Mr. George Müller, of Bristol, who was born in Prussia in 1805, and preached his first sermon in 1826. He never advertised, for his work was its own best appeal. His was the faith that moves mountains, for his simplicity was his strength, and he never wearied in well-doing. — St. James’ Gazette.

Mr. Miller occupied a unique position among the philanthropists of the nineteenth century. In an age of agnosticism and materialism, he put to a practical test theories about which many men were content to hold profitless controversy. Even those who talked about the operations of natural laws, and who did not share Mr. Müller’s views, as to the power of prayer, could not fail to admire the extraordinary faith and indomitable perseverance of the man who practically founded a colony for Orphans, and who had raised, up to May last, no less than £1,424,600 for various Objects in connection with the Scriptural Knowledge Institution for Home and Abroad. — Bristol Evening News.

Upon Ashley Down can be seen a substantial block of buildings where thousands of Orphan children have been fed, clothed, and educated out of funds which have poured in without any influential committee or organization, without appeal or advertisement of any sort, except, perhaps, the published story of the founder’s life. How was this wonder accomplished 2 Mr. Müller has told the world that it was the result of “Prayer.” The rationalism of the day will sneer at this declaration; but the facts remain, and remain to be explained. It would be unscientific to belittle historical occurrences when they are difficult to explain, and much juggling would be needed to make the Orphanages on Ashley Down vanish from view. — Liverpool Mercury.

Mr. Müller’s personality, his work, his philosophy of life, have presented to the world an object lesson of which the most

unsympathetic could not think without respect. Never was there a philanthropist with less of fanaticism and more of method. His bearing and his speech were not those of an emotional enthusiast who would incur heavy liabilities with a light heart; indeed, had he been such a man, his life would have been less surprising than it was; it was his calmness and confidence, associated with the most careful watchfulness over expenditure and most business-like habits, that presented a combination of qualities altogether unique and wholly surprising. The sound of Mr. Müller’s work has gone out into all lands, and it is simply impossible to try to estimate the extent of the influence, directly and indirectly, which he has exerted in the course of his long life. — Western Daily Press.

To-day the world is the poorer by the loss of a remarkable, if comparatively unknown, man, who has ended his labours and laid down the cares of an anxious though cheerful life at the great age of ninety-three. George Müller is dead. Upon looking back over the career of this extraordinary man, his life-story borders so much upon the marvellous as to be barely eredible. In him the old adage that “truth is stranger than fiction”? was verified in an astonishing manner. George Müller, the rackety young Prussian student from Halberstaedt, lived to become at once the oldest and most practical philanthropist of his adopted country. A man without friends, without influence, without money, without social position, and with a dissipated and reckless past, he became, by integrity of conduct and nobility of life, honoured and loved by thousands. The far-reaching effects of his labours can never be approximately gauged or estimated. He robbed the cruel streets of thousands of victims, the gaols of thousands of felons, the workhouse of thousands of helpless waifs. And he did it all — to use his own words — * with the sword of the Spirit.” Mr. Müller’s life and example, by their eloquent and touching beauty, cannot fail to impress even a sceptical and utilitarian age. It may be truly said, in this case, that “his works live after him.” — Daily Telegraph.

Bo a * *K ok *
Mr. Wrigur’s Remarks.*

In our first Prayer Meeting after the decease of the human guide whom all of us so loved and revered, no fear as to the future was permitted to distract our hearts. By God’s grace our minds were kept ‘“‘in perfect peace,’ — because “stayed wpon Him.” And thus it has been, without intermission, ever since, until the present hour; the only difference being that the constant proofs of His presence with us, and His power, love, and tender care toward us have confirmed our faith in Himself.

[*The remainder of this chapter was written by Mr. Wright in the first Report published after Mr, Müller’s death. ]

It is written (Job xxvi. 7), ““He hangeth the earth wpon nothing;”’ that is on no visible support. And so we exult in the fact that “The Scriptural Knowledge Institution for Home and Abroad” hangs, as it has ever hung, since its commencement, now more than sixty-four years ago, “upon nothing,’ — that is upon no VISIBLE support. It hangs upon no human patron, upon no endowment or funded property, but solely upon the good pleasure of the Blessed God.

Mr. Müller’s Wall.

In almost the last words he ever wrote, Mr. Müller reiterated what he had so often stated before, that his chief purpose in seeking to found this Institution was to emphasize the truth that this God is the “Living God,” and that now, in the 19th century, He listens to and delights to answer the prayers of His children. Like the apostle Peter, Mr. Müller was desirous that after his decease the Church of God should have these things ‘ always in remembrance,’ hence the language of his “last Will,” which is as follows: —

“T, George Miller, Minister of the Gospel and Founder and Director of the Five New Orphan-Houses on Ashley Down, Bristol, England, erected and fitted up for the accommodation of 2,050 Orphan Boys and Girls bereaved of both parents by death, and for 112 assistants and servants, declare that this document is my last Will (setting aside all former Wills) which I am now writing. I direct that the Orphan-Houses on Ashley Down be carried on after my decease on the same principles on which I founded them in 1835, and that Mr. James Wright, who for more than 37 years has been one of my principal assistants, and whom I appointed in the year 1872 to be Assistant Director with me, be after my decease the sole Director of the Five Orphan-Houses on Ashley Down. It is my particular wish that the Five New Orphan-Houses on Ashley Down continue to be Homes for destitute boys and girls who have been bereaved of both parents by death and who are legitimate children, and that such Orphans only be received into these Five Houses. I direct further that Mr. James Wright be my sole Executor of this my last Will. I also appoint Mr. James Wright my heir of all I possess in the way of personal or real estate, whether already actually in my hands or due to me by Will not yet carried out and matured. All my apparel, furniture, books, linen, everything I have, to go to him at my decease. The various branches of the Scriptural Knowledge Institution for Home and Abroad which for twenty-two years we have jointly carried on, namely Schools, viz., Day Schools and Sunday Schools for Poor children; the circulation of the Holy Scriptures for the benefit of the poor especially; Missionary operations; and the circulation of Religious publications especially for gratuitous circulation; these various branches of work which Mr. Wright and I have

jointly carried on for twenty-two years he no doubt will carry on alone after my death. All the property connected with the Five New Orphan-Houses on Ashley Down is vested in the hands of eleven Gentlemen whom I have chosen as Trustees, and the deeds are enrolled in Chancery. I have written this my last Will or Testament with my own hand, and now in finishing it T cannot help admiring God’s wondrous grace in bringing me to the knowledge of the Lord Jesus when I was an entirely careless and thoughtless young man twenty years and five weeks old, and that He has kept me in His fear and truth for sixty-nine years and four months, allowing me the great honour for so long a time of serving Him. And now in the prospect of eternity I confess that my only hope of salvation is faith in the merits and in the atoning death of my precious adorable Lord Jesus Christ. I sign this my last Will before two Witnesses, both of whom are present at the same time. Ashley Down, Bristol, March 16th, One thousand eight hundred and ninety-five (1895). “Grorce MULLER.”

Mr. Müller’s personal estate.

For the glory of God, whose grace made Mr. Müller what he was, I record the fact that his Personal Estate was sworn at £160 9s. 4d., consisting of books and household furniture valued at £100 6s., and money in his possession on the day of his death £60 3s. 4d. During his life he received by the gifts of God’s children and by legacies for his own absolute use, tens of thousands of pounds, but he counted it his joyful privilege to regard the whole as committed to his stewardship, and hence he never laid up any pecuniary provision for the future, either for himself personally, or for any member of his family, but sought to “ay up treasure in heaven” by expending it in spreading in various ways the knowledge of God’s truth, or in ministering to the necessities of the poor, “especially to those of the household of faith.’ Accompanying the Will (given above 7m eatenso), which was signed on March 16th, 1895, was a private letter to myself dated fourteen months later, viz., May 13th, 1896, in which he wishes me to make known his particular desire that those who minister the Word of God may be led to bring before their hearers the deep importance of systematic giving for the work of God, im proportion to the amount with which He is pleased to entrust His children.

Tomb Stone erected by former Orphans.

From many of the dear Orphans formerly under our care, I received most affectionate letters, saying that they wished to contribute toward the erection of a monument, in the Cemetery, to the memory of their beloved benefactor. One dear young servant, with the aid of friends, communicated with a nuriber of her former companions, and collected a sum of more than

£20 for this purpose. As the expressed wish of the deceased forbad my incurrmg any needless expense, or the erection of anything but of as simple a character as possible, I checked the flow of these loving gifts, because the amount in hand was more than sufficient, as judged, to meet the cost of the headstone that will be placed at the grave, and to keep it in repair.

Erection of a Statue suggested — Mr, Wright declines.

Further, suggestions reached me, from this country and from America, urging the erection of a statue, or some large visible memorial to the memory of the departed one. The subject was also agitated in the local newspapers, and various proposals were made as to the most suitable kind of memorial. At length, as I had taken no part in the discussion, I was directly interrogated, in a letter from a fellow-citizen, as to what my views on the subject were, telling me that he asked this for publication. I wrote, stating the view which I well knew my beloved father-in-law would have taken of such proposals. I think it well to insert here the whole of the letter, which is as follows : —

“New Orphan Houses, Ashley Down, Bristol,
* Dear Sir, “March 31st, 1898.

“The unusual pressure of my correspondence must be my plea for your forgiveness of a day or two’s delay in replying to your letter of the 28th.

“You ask me, as one long and closely associated with the late Mr. George Müller, to say what I think would be most in accordance with his own wishes as a fitting memorial of himself?

“Will not the best way of replying to this question be to let him speak for himself?

“1. When he erected Orphan-House No. 1, and the question came what is the building to be called, he deliberately avoided associating his own name with it, and named it ‘The New Orphan-House, Ashley Down.’ N.B. — To the end of his life he disliked hearing or reading the words ‘ Müller’s Orphanage.’ In keeping with this, for years, in every Annual Report, when referring to the Orphanage he reiterated the statement ‘ The New Orphan-Houses on Ashley Down, Bristol, are not my Orphan-Houses... they are God’s Orphan-Houses.’

“2. For years, in fact until he was nearly eighty years old, he steadily refused to allow any portrait of himself to be published; and only most reluctantly did he at length give way on this point.

“3. In the last published Report, at page 66, he states ‘ the primary object I had in view in carrying on this work,’ viz., ‘that it might be seen that now, in the 19th century, God is still the Living God, and that now, as well as thousands of years ago, He listens to the prayers of His children, and helps those who trust in Him. From these words and ways of acting, is it not evident, my dear Sir, that the only ‘memorial’ that George

Müller cared about was that which consists in the effect of his example, Godward, upon his fellow-men? Every soul converted to God (instrumentally) through his words or example, constitutes a permanent memorial to him as the father in Christ of such an one. Every believer strengthened in faith (instrumentally) through his words or example, constitutes a similar memorial.

“He knew that God had, already, in the riches of His grace, given him many such memorials; and he departed this life, as I well know, cherishing the most lively hope that he should greet, above, thousands more to whom it had pleased God to make him a channel of rich spiritual blessing.

“He used often to say to me, when he opened a letter in which the writer poured out a tale of sore pecuniary need, and besought his help to an extent twice or three or ten times exceeding the sum total of his (Mr. Müller’s) earthly possessions at the moment: ‘Ah! these dear people entirely miss the lesson I am trying to teach them, for they come to me, instead of going to God. And if he could come back to us for an hour, and listen to an account of what his sincerely admiring, but mistaken friends are proposing to do to perpetuate his memory, I can hear him, with a sigh, exclaiming, ‘Ah! these dear friends are entirely missing the lesson that I tried for seventy years to teach them,’ viz., * U’hat a man can receive nothing except it be given him from above,’ and that, therefore, it is the Blessed Giver, and not the poor receiver, that is to be glorified.

* Yours faithfully,

“RH. Di R., Esq.” * James Wright.”

Appointment of Mr. Bergin as Associate Director.

As if to show His delight in the life-testimony of His departed servant, and to confirm that testimony by a signal act of favour towards the Institution he had so long directed, it pleased God, within about a month of my father-in-law’s decease, to give me one of the most striking answers to long continued prayer which I ever experienced. — To enable the reader to appreciate its importance, I must refer, briefly, to some facts in the past history of “* The Scriptural Knowledge Institution.” — In the Report for the year 1872, Mr. Müller announced that he had associated me with himself in the direction of the Institution, and that he had also nominated me to become his successor in its direction, in the event of his decease. Three years later he commenced the Missionary Tours which formed the principal part of his labour for the Lord, during seventeen subsequent years. When, over seyenty years of age, he began to encounter the exposure and fatigues of voyages to the Antipodes — and in two successive years, faced the extremes of temperature in St Petersburg and Calcutta! my beloved wife (his only child) and I began to realize how uncertain, humanly speaking, was his precious life; and how, any day, we might find that the direct responsibility of the Institution had come to rest upon our shoulders. Under these circumstances we had only one resource; we “cust” our “burden on the LORD.’ Again and again our united prayer was that the Lord would be pleased to raise up some servant of His who would be able and willing (in the event of our beloved father’s departure) to share with me the labour and responsibility of the work. More or less, this was our constant wnited prayer for the happy years we laboured together. After the 10th of January, 1890, when my loved one went to her Lord, I continued, alone, to “seek unto God” for the long asked and waited for blessing, a congenial sharer of my labours and responsibilities. In 1895 (January 13th), Mr. Müller became a second time a widower, and I began to unite with him in daily private prayer concerning all matters affecting the welfare of the Institution. Latterly his mind became impressed with the importance of the will of God being clearly manifested as to a fellow-labourer with myself in the oversight of the work.

In August of last year, Mr. Müller had attacks of heart weakness which he evidently understood to indicate the approaching end of his service on earth, for one day he remarked to his medical attendant, in connection with the irregularity of his pulse, “It means death!” During the six or seven months that we were still permitted to have the cheer of his joyous and triumphant spirit with us, his prayer became more frequent, when we were together, that God would manifest His choice of “a man” who should be my helper. But no name escaped his lips. He was never led to drop a word from which I could gather that he had even thought of any one as the one in whom our prayers would find their answer.

After the 10th March, when, for the first time, I realised as a fact what I had looked forward to for twenty-six years asa possible, and, during the later portion of this time, as a probatle issue, it can be well understood with what increased earnestness [ urged my petition that our gracious tenderly pitiful Father in heaven would answer the prayers of so many years, and set before me, unmistakably, the man of His choice.

T had not much longer to wait; about two weeks later I became assured that it was the will of God that I should invite a brother in Christ, Mr. G. Frederic Bergin, to join me in the work. One thing which, at first, struck me as an insuperable difficulty, and which, I think, had hitherto prevented my ever thinking of him as eligible for the service, was that he had for twenty-four years been engaged in pastoral labour in the Church, and seemed to become, day by day, more needful to the Lord’s flock, in this capacity of under-shepherd. But it was brought to my mind that, sixty-four years ago, Mr. Müller, himself, had been placed in a very similar position; and that he then deliberately judged that, in consideration of the blessing to the Church of Christ at

large, which he believed the Institution he had been led to establish would prove, he was justified in retiring in a great measure from a personal attention to the needs of a local Church. I could not fail to see how subsequent events had proved that, in this decision, he had been guided of God; and T thought, may it not be the will of God that Mr. Bergin should be led to the same conclusion 2

At the end of another week I felt free to go forward; I had been intimately acquainted with my beloved friend for twenty-five years. Our hearts had become closely united through deep sympathy with each other in family joys and sorrows. We had worked, shoulder to shoulder, in the work of the Church for years; and, though of different temperaments, and, at times, differing from each other as to the course which should be taken, we had never had a misunderstanding. We had, invariably, been enabled to respect each other’s judgment, and to wait till God brought us to a common view of our duty.

Mr. Bergin is seventeen years my junior, and, therefore, has the prospect, if it please the Lord, of occupying in this service for a good many years. His personal experience in the path of faith for over twenty years will tend to fit him to encounter the trials of faith to which we are often subjected, in carrying on the work of this Institution. Moreover, his singularly happy domestic life fits him to find his element in the loving care of children. In the fullest certainty that I was directed of God, I went to Mr. Bergin, explained fully my need, and told him that I believed he was the man, who, as the Lord’s instrument, could meet it. To my delight, though not to my surprise, I found that the Lord had prepared his mind to entertain my invitation. After conferring with his beloved wife, who, up to that time, knew nothing of the exercises of his heart about the matter, he heartily consented to become my yoke-fellow, and on April 25th he was at my side on Ashley Down, actually at work.

I have dwelt, thus minutely, upon this event, not only because of its most important bearing upon the future conduct of this Institution, but because it furnishes what its beloved Founder so desired all the providential dealings of God with it should ever furnish, viz., a practical lesson of encouragement to the dear children of God to confide wéterly in the love, and wisdom, and power, and tender compassion of their Heavenly Father. As long as the Founder and Director of the Institution was spared to live and work on earth, there was no absolute need that the yoke-fellow of his successor should be manifested; so, it pleased the Lord to conceal him from us both, and thus to exercise the faith and patience of His servants. Both Mr. Müller and I felt, and felt deeply, that, which ever one of us should survive the other, that one would not be able to go on many weeks alone, but we were assured that our Father knew what He would do when the need actually came. And this confidence our good and gracious God abundantly justified in the way I have above described.