Second Orphan House

Aqes 5, 1850. — It is sixteen years and five months

since I began the Scriptural Knowledge Institution. Have disbursed about fifty thousand pounds. The current expenses amount to six thousands pounds a year. I did “open my mouth wide,” this evening fifteen years ago, and the Lord has filled it. The new Orphan House is now inhabited by three hundred and thirty-five persons. My labor is abundant. The separation from my dear wife and child is great, on account of my being at the Orphan House all day and at night. I have thought more than ever about building another Orphan House, large enough for seven hundred, that I might care for one thousand. There are many distressing cases of children bereaved of both parents. I have received two hundred and seven orphans within the last sixteen months, and seventy-eight are waiting a vacancy for admission.

Dec. 26. — Every day I pray about this matter, but converse with no one, not even my dear wife. I deal with God alone, that no outward influence or excitement may keep me from a clear discovery of His will. As this is one of the most momentous steps I have ever taken, I can not be too prayerful and deliberate. I am in no hurry. I could wait years before taking one step or speaking to any one. On the other hand, I would set to work to-morrow, were the Lord to bid me. This calmness of mind, having no will of my own, only wishpoe ie ae sie pe Pa es ing to please my Heavenly Father, only seeking His honor, is the fullest assurance that my heart is not under fleshly excitement, and i shall know the will of God to the full. But I crave to be more used by the Lord. I served Satan in my younger years, and desire now, with all my might, to serve God during the remainder of my life. I am forty-five years old. Every day decreases my stay on earth. There are multitudes of orphans to be provided for. Six thousand young orphans in the prisons of England! My heart longs to be instrumental in keeping such from prison. I desire yet more to alleviate the sufferings of poor, dying widows, when looking on their helpless orphans about to be left. I desire to assist poor persons to whom destitute orphans are left and who are unable to provide for them.

I desire to expound the Scriptures to a thousand orphans instead of three hundred. I desire that it may be manifest that God hears and answers prayer. This last consideration is the most important.

Jan. 2, 1851. — During the past week, Proverbs has been in my Scripture reading, and my heart has been refreshed by the following: “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways, acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths.” (Proverbs iii, 5, 6.) By the grace of God, I do acknowledge the Lord in my ways; and in this particular thing I have assurance that He will direct my paths. “The integrity of the upright shall preserve them; but the perverseness of fools shall destroy them.” (Proverbs xi, 3.) By the grace of God, I am upright in this business. My honest purpose is to get glory to God. I expect.to be guided. “Commit thy works unto the Lord, and thy thoughts shall be established.” (Proverbs xvi, 3.) I do commit my works unto the Lord. My thoughts will be established. My heart is coming to a calm, settled assurance that the Lord will use me yet further in the orphan work. l

Jan. 14. — 1 have sought to let all the reasons against building another Orphan House, and for doing so, pass before my mind. For the sake of clearness and definiteness, I write them.

Reasons against establishing another Orphan House:

1. Would this be going beyond my measure spiritually according to that word: “For I say to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God has dealt to every man the measure of faith?” (Romans. xii, 3.)

Answer. — If the Lord were to leave me to myself, the tenth part of the difficulties and trials which befall me now in connection with the Institution would overwhelm me; but I am able, day by day, to go on peacefully, carried through one difficulty after another. Thus, by God’s help, I bear up under trials, and I look for an increase of faith with every difficulty.

2. Would it be-going beyond my measure naturally, with reference to mental and bodily strength?

Answer. — By husbanding my strength, regular habits, lightening the work, and using every help, I have been enabled to do a vast quantity of work. My correspondence of about three thousand letters a year I have been enabled to accomplish without a secretary. The whole management and direction of the Institution has deyolved on myself these sixteen years and ten months, and, by seeking for an efficient secretary, or clerk, and inspector of schools, I ey with God’s help, accomplish yet more.

3. There must be a limit to my work and service.

Answer. — That is true; and if I were quite sure that the present state of the Institution were the limit, I would at once lay aside this thing.

4. ls it not like “tempting God” to think of building another Orphan House?

Answer. — “Tempting God” means = limit Him. in His attributes. I do not wish to limit His power or willingness to give His poor servant, in answer to prayer, all he needs to build another large Orphan House. =

5. You will not get the means for building and fitting up so large an Orphan House.

Answer. — The new Orphan House cost about fifteen thousand pounds to build, fit up, and furnish. A building to accommodate seven hundred orphans will not “cost less than thirty-five thousand pounds. While, naturally, 1 have no hope of succeeding, I am not discouraged spiritually; for God has power to give me thirty-five thousand pounds, and much more. 3

6. Suppose you were to get this large Orphan House built, how would you be able to provide for seven hundred other orphans?

Answer. — The current expenses of the institution would be about fifteen thousand pounds a year. I have no human prospect of obtaining such a sum. If, according to the will of God, I build, He will surely provide for those gathered in it as long as He shall enable me to trust Him for supplies. And here I look back

SECOND ORPHAN HOUSE. ior

on the way the Lord has led me. When, seventeen years ago, I took up, in dependence upon Him for means, two charity schools, with which the Institution commenced, an expense of less than one hundred pounds a year, I had no prospect of being able to meet that sum; but God so helped me that I had, shortly, six schools. When, fifteen years ago, I began the orphan work, with far heavier expenses, I had less prospect of being able to meet them; but I trusted God, and He not only enabled me to meet the expenses of thirty orphans in the first house rented, but also to open another for thirty-six. After I had gone on some time with the two houses, the Lord encouraged and increased my faith by a donation of five hundred pounds. Up to that period I had never received more than one hundred pounds at once. I took this five hundred pounds toward fitting a third house. From that time the work has increased. If I had said, seventeen years ago, according to natural reason, “The two charity schools are enough, I must not go any further,” the work would have stopped there. Instead, in 1834, ten thousand souls were under our instruction in the day-schools, Sunday-schools, and adult schools. Several hundred orphans have been brought up from their tenderest infancy; several hundred thousand tracts and many thousand copies of the Word have been circulated; about forty preachers of the gospel, at home and abroad, have been, for several years, assisted; and a house has been built and fitted up for the accommodation of three hundred destitute orphans. How blessed to trust in God and not in circumstances nor friends!

7. Suppose you were able, by prayer, to obtain this building for seven hundred other orphans, and to provide for them during your lifetime, what would become of this Institution after your death?

Answer. — My business is to serve my own generation. In doing so, I shall best serve the next generation, should the Lord tarry. Suppose this objection were sound, I ought never to have commenced the orphan work, for fear of what might become of it after my death, and all the hundreds of destitute children, whom the Lord has given me during the last fifteen years, would not have been cared for. But the new Orphan House has been placed in the hands of eleven trustees and properly enrolled in chancery. =

8. Should I not be in danger of being lifted up?

Answer. — I can not say that hitherto the Lord has kept me humble; but He has given me a desire to give Him all the glory, and to consider it a condescension that He has used me as an instrument in His service. I do not see that fear of being lifted up ought to keep me from going forward, but rather to beseech the Lord to give me a lowly mind.

Reasons for establishing another Orphan House.

1. The many applications for the admission of destitute orphans, which continue to be made.

2. The moral*state of the poor-houses. Children, placed at the Unions, are corrupted by children of vagrants and other bad young people in such places; so the’ poor relatives of orphans, though unable to provide for them, can not bear the idea of their going there, lest they should be corrupted.

3. The Orphan Houses in the kingdom are not suffiys cient to admit even the most deserving and distressing cases. Moreover, there is great difficulty connected with the admission of an orphan into most of the ordinary orphan establishments, on account of the votes which must be obtained, and needy persons have neither time nor money to obtain them.

4. The great help which the Lord has hitherto given me in this blessed service.

5. The experience I have had. From the commence-. ment to the present state of the establishment, with three hundred orphans, I have been the sole director of the work under God. In the work itself I obtained the experience. It has grown with the work.

6. The spiritual benefit to more orphans. Those under my care are almost all children of parents naturally weak in body, if not consumptive. The fact of a child being deprived of both parents when four or five years old shows that, except the parents lost their lives by casualty, they were constitutionally weak. On this account young orphans require particular care. I desire thus to care for them; but more than that, I desire to keep them from the corrupting and demoralizing effect of the lowest children in the streets, courts, and Unions. But I desire more: I desire that they should be useful members of society, and that the prisons of the. United Kingdom should not be filled with poor, destitute, and homeless orphans. We bring them up in habits of industry, and instruct them in those things which are useful for the life that now is. But I desire more than this, — that their souls be won for the Lord. For this reason I long to have them from their early days — the younger the better — that, under the care of godly nurses and teachers, they may be brought up in the fear of the Lord. As this is the primary aim concerning the orphans, the salvation of their souls through faith in Jesus, I long to be used for-a thousand instead of three hundred. s

7. I began the orphan work for the definite purpose that the unconverted might see, through answers to prayer, that there is a reality in the things of God; and that the children of God might have their faith strengthened. But if this would be so in the orphan work in former times, it would be still more so, by the blessing of God, in going forward.

8. T am peaceful and opor spiritually, in the prospect of enlarging the work, as on former occasions. This weighs particularly with me as a reason for going forward. On the ground of the objections, answered, and these eight reasons for enlarging the work, I come to. the conclusion that it is the will of God that His servant should more extensively serve Him in this work. I purpose to go forward and build, to the honor of God, another Orphan House, to accommodate seven hundred orphans. The means requisite, though the building be simple, can not be less than thirty-five thousand pounds, including fifteen acres of land for cultivation, to obtain the vegetables so important to the health of the children.

I do not mean to begin the building till I have the means. The greatness of the sum required affords me joy; for the greater the difficulty, the more will it be seen, to the glory of God, how much can be done by prayer and faith; and, also, when God overcomes our

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difficulties, we have the assurance that we are engagéd in His work,-not our own.

Jan. 4. — This day the Lord has given me a precious proof that He delights in our having large expectations from Him. I received the sum of three thousand pounds, the largest donation I have had. I expect larger sums that it may be yet more manifest that there is no happier, easier, better way of obtaining means for the work of the Lord than the one in which I have been led.

May 29. — My intention became publicly known. I received a sovereign toward the building fund.

Aug. 12. — My soul has been at peace, though so little has come in, and though Satan has sought to shake my confidence and to lead me to question if I had not been mistaken. Yet, to the praise of God, he has not triumphed. I have besought the Lord of late that He would refresh my spirit by sending in some large donation, and received, this morning, five hundred pounds for the new building.

Mar. 17, 1852 — Day by day I am waiting upon God for means, with full confidence, both as to His power and willingness to give. But He is pleased to exercise my faith and patience, especially of late. Only twenty-seven pounds, eleven shillings have come in during the last four weeks for the building fund. To-day, my heart has been greatly refreshed by a donation of nine hundred and ninety-nine pounds thirteen shillings fivepence. Having been, for weeks, waiting upon the Lord, and receiving so little, either for current expenses or for the building fund, this answer to prayer is exceedingly sweet to my spirit.

June 29. — Received, to-day, one of the most remarkable donations I ever had, with the following letter:

“LYONS, June 24, 1852.

“DEAR BROTHER IN CHRIST, — Several years since, I read, with interest and benefit. to my soul, the account of your labors. Ever since then your work was the object of many thoughts and prayers, and I gave many copies of your book to Christian friends. One of them read it in Syria, on Mount Lebanon, where he is in business; and, while praying for you and your orphans, the Lord put it in his heart to send you two pounds, to’ which my husband added two; and we beg you to accept the offering in the name of the Lord.

“Yours in the Lord, EAS

I have had donations from Australia, East Indies, West Indies, United States, Canada, Cape of Good Hope, France, Switzerland, Germany, Italy, and now comes this donation from Mount Lebanon, with the prayer of a Christian brother, whose name I never heard.

Oct. 9. — This morning, Luke vii came in my reading before breakfast. While reading about the centurion and the raising of the widow’s son, I lifted my heart thus: “Lord Jesus, Thou hast the same power now. ‘Thou canst provide me with means for Thy work in my hands. Be pleased to do so.” About half an hour afterwards, `I received two hundred and thirty pounds fifteen shillings.

Jan., 1853 — From London, two shillings sixpence. Have now been waiting on God for the building fund nineteen months, and almost daily received something in answer to prayer. I have been assured that the Lord, in His own time, would give larger sums for this work. Now, at last, He has abundantly answered. I received, to-day, the promise that, as the joint donation of several Christians, there should be paid me eight thousand and one hundred pounds for the work of the Lord.

Impossible to describe the spiritual refreshment my heart received through this donation.

May 20. — My brother-in-law, Mr. A. N. Groves, helpful to me by his example when I began my labors in England, in 1829, in that he, without any visible support, went with his wife and children to Bagdad as a missionary, giving up a practice of fifteen hundred pounds a year, returned in the autumn of 1852 from the East Indies, a third time, being exceedingly ill. He lived till to-day, when, after a most blessed testimony, he fell asleep in Jesus in my house.

Jan. 17, 1854. — From $. R. and E. R., two poor factory girls, near Stroud, one shilling sevenpence; also received the promise of five thousand two hundred and seven pounds, to be disposed of as I might consider best. There is yet a large sum required before I can build a house for seven hundred orphans. When I concluded it was the will of God that I should build another Orphan House, I had not only no natural prospect of obtaining the thirty-five thousand pounds, but no natural prospect of being able to provide for the three hundred orphans under my care. Three years have elapsed, and T have had all I needed for them, ten thousand five hundred pounds; and have received for the building fund £17,816, tos. 514d. May I not well trust in the Lord for what is yet needed?

One point particularly encourages me: applications for the admission of orphans continue. Six hundred and sixty-one children, three months old and upward, all bereaved of both parents, are waiting for admission.

Dec. 31, 1854. — During this year, received into fellowship, sixty-one. The Lord has been pleased to give me £697, LIS: 5d:

My reader may exclaim: “Six hundred and ninety-seven pounds! Not one out of a hundred ministers has such a large salary!” Indeed, mine is a happy way of obtaining temporal supplies; but if any one desires to go this way, he must —

1. Not merely say he trusts in God, but really do so. Often individuals profess to trust God, but embrace every opportunity to expose their need, and thus induce persons to help them. 1 do not say it is wrong to make known our wants; but it ill agrees with trust in God to expose our wants for the sake of inducing persons to help us. God will take us at our word. If we say we trust, He will try whether we really do or only profess to; and if indeed we trust, we are satisfied to stand with Him alone.

2. He must be willing to be rich or poor, as the Lord pleases; willing to know what it is to have an abundance or scarcely anything; willing to leave this world without any possessions.

3. Willing to take the money in God’s way, not merely in large sums, but jn small. Again and again have I had a single shilling given. To have refused such tokens of Christian love would have been ungracious.

4. Willing to live as the Lord’s steward. If any one were to begin this way of living, and did not communicate out of that given him, the Lord, who influences the hearts of His children, would soon cause those channels to be dried up. How it came that my already good income increased to what it is, I have stated. It was when I determined, by God’s help, His poor and His work should more than ever partake of my means. - From that time the Lord was pleased more and more to trust me with means for my own purse.

May 26, 1855 — The sum on hand for the second Or- ` phan House is twenty-three thousand pounds. Though not such an amount as I considered necessary before being warranted to build, I applied for the purchase of two fields which join the land of the new Orphan House. On these fields I had my eye for years and purposed to purchase them when I might be in a position to. I found that, according to the will of the late owner, they could not be sold now. Thus my prospects were blighted. When I obtained this information, though naturally tried by it, I said, by God’s grace, “The Lord has something better instead of these two fields.” Thus my heart was kept in peace. But what was I to do for land? Some of my Christian friends asked why I did not build on the ground around the new Orphan House. My reply was: 1. Because it would throw the new Orphan House for nearly two years into disorder, on account of building round it. 2. There would not be room without shutting in the present house to a great extent. 3. As the new Orphan House stands in the center of our ground, there would not be room on any side for a building so large. I was, however, led to consider the subject. I found that, — 1. By having a high temporary boundary made of old boards, the building ground could be separated from the present establishment; 2. By building on an entirely different plan, we should have room; 3. The present house would not be so inclosed that the health of the inmates would be injured.

But another point now came under consideration. Though for years I had not doubted the will of God that I should build for seven hundred orphans, yet I had, for a long time, seen the desirableness of having two houses, instead of one, for the seven hundred. This previously-formed judgment led me now to see whether there could be another house built on each side of the present Orphan House. s

There was no objection to this plan. I called architects to survey the ground and make a rough plan of two houses, one on each side, and found it could be accomplished. I soon saw that we should save expense by this plan in various ways, the direction of the establishment would be much easier, as the buildings would be near together; and we could still retain much land for cultivation, to furnish out-door employment for many boys, and produce such vegetables as are most important for young children; or ave could easily rent a piece + Of ground near for that purpose, though it could not be bought.

I decided to build without further delay than was necessary for preparing the plans, at the south side of the’new Orphan House, another house for four hundred female orphans.

Dec. 31. 1855 — During this year, the Lord has been ’ pleased tó give me £726, 16s, 24d,

Rees May 26, 1856. — Y esterday it was twenty-four years since my beloved fellow-laborer and I first came to Bristol. One thousand five hundred and eighty-six believers have been received into fellowship, which, with the 68 we found in communion, makes 1,654. But 252 have fallen asleep, 53 been separated from fellowship, 145 left — some, however, merely through circumstances and im love — and 510 left Bristol. There are 694 in communion.:

Oct. 12, 1856. — Received a check for one hundred pounds, with the following letter: “October 11, 1856.

“DEAR SIr, — In admiration of the services you have rendered, I think it right that some provision should be made for yourself. I send you one hundred pounds, as a beginning to form a fund which I hope many good Christians will add to, for the maintenance of you and your family, if your own labors should be unequal to it; and I hope you will lay out this as a beginning accordingly. May God bless you!

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‘I am, dear sir, A

By God’s grace, I had not a moment’s hesitation as to what to do. While I appreciated the great kindness of the donor, I looked upon this as being permitted by God as a temptation to put my trust in something else than Himself, and sent the following reply:

“BRISTOL, October 12, 1856. “My DEAR Sir, — I hasten to thank you for your kind communication, and to inform you that your check for one hundred pounds has safely come to hand, “I have no property whatever, nor has my dear wife; nor have I had one single shilling regular salary for the last twenty-six years. When I am in need of anything, I’ask God to give me what I need; and He puts it into the heart of some one to help me. Thus all my wants have been amply supplied during the last twenty-six years, and I can say, to the praise of God, I have lacked nothing. My dear wife and my only child, a daughter of twenty-four, are of the same mind with me. Of this blessed way of living none of ús are tired, but, day by day, more convinced of its blessedness.

“I have never thought it right to make provision for myself or my dear wife and daughter, except in this way, that when I saw a case of need, such as an aged widow, or a sick person, or a helpless infant, I would use my means freely, fully believing that if either myself, or my dear wife or daughter, at some time or other, should be in need of anything, God would richly repay what was given to the poor, considering it as lent to Himself.

“Under these circumstances 1 am unable to accept your kindness of the gift of one hundred pounds towards making a provision for myself and family. T hold the check till I hear again from you.

“In the mean time, my dear sir, however you meant your letter, I am deeply sensible of your kindness, and daily pray that God would be pleased richly to recompense you for it, both temporally and spiritually.

“Yours very gratefully,
$r “GEORGE- MÜLLER.”

Two days after, I received a reply, in which the donor ` desired me to use the one hundred pounds for the support of the orphans. The day after, I received another hundred pounds from the same donor, and four days after that, one hundred pounds more, for the orphans, all from one whom I have never seen.

The Lord is pleased to continue to allow us to see fruit in connection with the orphan work, with reference to those who are now under our care; and we hear again and again of those who were formerly under our care who have been led to declare themselves openly for the Lord.

Nov. 12, 1857. — The long-looked-for, long-prayed-for day arrived, when the desire of my heart was granted to me to be.able to open the house for four hundred additional orphans. Much had I labored, in prayer and active engagements, to accomplish what was to be done previously; and now the new house was ready for use;

and, a few days after, we began to receive the children. 8