Large Income for the First Four Objects, 1874–1885 (part 2 of 2)
April 20th. Two bonds (£100 each) of the Association of Land Financiers.—April 21st. With 2 Corinthians 9:15, £50.—May 2nd. From Scotland £100.
May 26th, 1881, to May 26th, 1882
At the commencement of our new financial year, we, had in hand for these Objects, £124 6s. 2½d., viz., a sum which would only supply the average expenses of three days.
June 7th. From a Scotch lady, then at Perth, £80 for these Objects, with £20 for the Orphans.—June 16th. From Yorkshire £190 for Foreign Missions.—June 17th. From Scotland £270, with £30 for my own personal expenses. "Saved during 23 weeks, by using ¼–1b. butter less per week, 8s. 7½d."—June 21st. From Ireland £200 for Missions. Do you see, dear reader, that we do not wait upon the Lord in vain? He helps us, in answer to prayer. To Him alone we look, and we do not do so without being helped.
July 5th. All our money for these Objects was gone. Under these circumstances I received this morning from a distance of several hundred miles, a cheque for £250.—-July 13th. By sale of dentist gold, gold and silver articles, etc., for the Bible, Missionary, and Tract Fund, £44 5s., with £120 for the Orphans.
July 28th. The income has been for some time past only about the third part of the expenses. Consequently, all we have for the support of the Orphans is nearly gone; and for the first four Objects of the Institution we have nothing at all in hand. The natural appearance now is, that the work cannot be carried on. But I BELIEVE that the Lord will help, both with means for the Orphans and also for the other Objects of the Institution, and that we shall not be confounded; also, that the work will not need to be given up. I am fully expecting help, and have written this to the glory of God, that it may be recorded hereafter for the encouragement of His children. The result will be seen. The foregoing was written at 7 a.m., July 28th, 1881. In the course of the day there came in altogether for the various Objects £69 11s. 10½d. I am looking for further answers to prayer.—July 29th. The total income to-day has been £27 4s. 11¼d., and the expenses have been £230. But my hope is in God. As yet we have the means to meet our expenses, and I expect we shall not be confounded, though for seven years we have not been so poor.—July 30th. Saturday. To-day £33 15s. has come in.
August 1st. Monday. The total income to-day has been £134 17s. Six, seven, eight times daily I am praying with my dear wife for means; we are looking out for answers, and we do not wait on the Lord in vain.—August 2nd. The total income to-day £130 4s.—August 3rd. £61 18s. 2d.—August 4th. £91 4s. 6¾d.—August 5th. There has come in £204 16s. 5d. for all the Objects to-day. Of late the outgoings have been about £200, sometimes nearly £300 per day; therefore the kindness of the Lord in giving us this day's income is very great. We still pray daily, six, seven, eight times or more for means.—August 6th. Saturday. Total income £33.—August 8th. Monday. Total income £27. Above £300 was expended to-day.—August 9th. £20 has come in.—August 10th. £36 13s. 6½d. was received to-day.—August 11th. In all £260.—August 12th. £46 15s. 7¼d.—August 13th. £22 5s. 8½d. has been received to-day. This is Saturday. The outgoings of this week have been about £1,500.—August 15th. The balance for the Orphans is now reduced to £332 12s. 7d., lower than it has been for more than twenty-five years. This sum we have in hand to meet the daily expenses in connection with 2,100 persons. It is only enough for the average outgoings of 4½ days. But our eyes are upon the Lord. I look to my Heavenly Provider. The total income of to-day has been £28 5s. 2½d.—August 16th. The income to-day, after constant waiting upon God, has been for the Orphans £106 8s. 8d., and for the other Objects £39 13s. 10d.—August 17th. The income for the first four Objects has been £73 2s.; for the support of the Orphans £77 19s. 8d.—August 18th. £129 15s. 7½d.—August 19th. £64 6s. 10d.—August 20th. The total income was about £60. August 22nd. Monday. There has come in £17 for the first four Objects, and for the support of the Orphans £1,036; part of a legacy, left years ago, was paid, as the answer to many prayers.
On August 23rd my dear wife and myself left for the continent of Europe, that, as I had arranged before, I might enter upon my eighth long Preaching Tour*; and I had now to leave the whole responsibility of the Institution in the hands of my son-in-law, Mr. Wright, and his numerous efficient helpers, the value of whose assistance I had long experienced. My dear wife and I could wait upon God in distant lands, and trust in Him for help regarding the work at home, quite as well as we could in Bristol, and this we did habitually. The following record will show how greatly the faith of Mr. Wright and of our fellow-helpers was exercised, but also how our united waiting upon God, they at home, and we thousands of miles off, was recompensed, and how, day by day, the wants of the Institution were supplied, and it remained in existence to enter upon the new period from May 26th, 1882, to May 26th, 1883.
September 7th. To-day the income for these Objects has been £17 8s. 4d., and the expenses have been £167 6s. 4d. The income for the Orphans has been £40 2s. 4d., but the expenses have been £288 7s. 7d. Under these circumstances ALL we do is, to wait upon God; to Him alone we look, and we are helped.—The next day, September 8th, the income for the Orphans was £73 15s. 1½d., and the expenses were £242 16s. 3d.—September 12th. From Edinburgh £10 for Missions, £10 for the Orphans, and £5 for my own personal expenses.
October 1st. From the neighbourhood of Oxford, from a donor who has often helped us, when we were in great need, £153 14s. 3d.—October 11th. The total of the income for the various Objects of the Institution has been to-day £71 18s. 7d., and the total of the expenses £513 0s. 3d. Again and again it is thus, so it is necessary that the eye of faith be steadily fixed upon the Lord and His precious promises, in order that the heart be kept in peace. Read in connection with this last sentence, the following letter, written on October 12th, and sent from a considerable distance:—
My dear Sir,
"Please receive cheque for one hundred pounds, to assist you in your good work in connection with your Orphan Homes, which the Spirit has moved me to send, in answer to your prayers; and may God abundantly bless all your efforts!"
Notice that the donor writes: "which the Spirit has moved me to send in answer to your prayers." This was truly the case. The donation came in answer to our many prayers. October 19th. We have nothing at all in hand for the School, Bible, Missionary, and Tract Fund.—October 20th. Admire the Lord's kindness, dear Christian reader. In this our poverty, having not a single penny in hand for the first four Objects of this Institution, we received £400 for them, £90 for the Orphans and £10 for myself, from the neighbourhood of Manchester.
November 10th. Received £1 10s., with the following letter:—
Dear Mr. Müller,
"Since I began to subscribe a pound each year to the Lord's work under your charge, He has been pleased to bless me in my undertakings, instead of being poor in consequence. I am astonished to find that the more He lays it in my heart to give to His cause, the more I increase in means even here, so that I lose, nothing by giving, even now, and then the joy of knowing that it will all be credited when we are taken to be for ever with Himself, Matt. 25:40."
November 14th. Received from Ireland for Missions £200.—November 26th. From the neighbourhood of Hurstpierpoint £100 for the first four Objects of the Institution, £70 for the support of the Orphans, and £30 for my own personal expenses. This donation was received by afternoon mail, when the balance in hand for the first four Objects was only £8 0s. 8¾d. Admire, dear Christian reader, with us the Lord's kindness and faithfulness, who thus continually, for the sake of our Lord Jesus, in answer to our believing, expecting prayers, is pleased to help us.
December 15th. Received £200, of which £90 was for these Objects, £75 for the support of the Orphans, £25 for my own expenses, and £10 for Tracts in various languages, Gospels, etc. December 21st. For the first four Objects £50, with £50 for the Orphans. The donor of this £100 is 82 years of age, and has been a believer 62 years. He had left £100 as a legacy, by his Will, for this Institution, but decided to pay it in his lifetime, and thus to save the legacy duty.—December 31st. On the last day of the year we received for these Objects from believers near Tretherne £6 for Missions. From Paddington £30 for Missions, £30 for the School, Bible, and Tract Fund. Also £5 from Bristol.
January 2nd. From Scotland £100, with £10 for myself. From the Cape of Good Hope £2, with the following deeply important letter:—
My dear Mr. Müller,
"Herewith I send you a Post Office Order for £2, to be used as you think best. Believe, me, my dear Mr. Müller, yours faithfully, ——. P.S. My last, contribution was made in lieu of insuring my house against fire. Soon after it was burnt with most of its contents. This I believe was permitted to try my faith. It has been tried, and, I trust, strengthened. 1 have been enabled to rebuild my house on a smaller scale, but have no intention to insure it, except as before, by trusting in the Lord. With Christ Jesus He gives us all blessings, and if He sees good to take away some of them, it ill becomes His children to murmur or to doubt His Word, that 'all things work together for good to them that love God.' "
May I beg the Christian reader again and again to ponder this last sentence, and indeed the whole of this postscript. I have now been for 56 years and 9 months a believer in the Lord Jesus; many scores have been my trials, difficulties, and losses; but regarding EVERY ONE OF THEM, without a single exception, I have found already in this life, that they have worked for my good, and I have had to praise God for them all.
January 10th. From Scotland £120, with £30 for myself.
January 18th. A lady sent £250 for Home and Foreign Missions, and £250 for the support of the Orphans, as "A thankoffering to my Heavenly Father, in grateful remembrance of His many mercies, patience, and long-suffering with one so undeserving." The lady had intended to leave this £500 by Will to the Institution, but now prefers to pay the money in her lifetime, whereby £50 is saved for the Institution, as no legacy duty is to be paid. The £250 for Home and Foreign Missions came in very seasonably, as the funds for these Objects were almost entirely exhausted.
February 14th. Received £2, with the following letter:—
Dear Sir,
"Enclosed I beg to send £2 for the Orphan Houses or for other purposes at your discretion. Your work is an incentive to thousands of Christians to complete trust in God."
Regarding the last sentence I can only add, May it be so more and more!
February 26th. The funds for the first four Objects of the Institution are again reduced to nothing. There is not one penny in hand for them.—March 2nd. From a servant of the Lord Jesus, who, constrained by the love of Christ, seeks to lay up treasure in heaven, £150, and £50 for the Orphans.—March 21st. From a servant of the Lord Jesus, who, constrained by the love of Christ, seeks to lay up treasure in heaven £50. With 2 Cor. 9:15, £50.—March 22nd. Received in our poverty, 41 coupons, amounting to £157, and a Dividend Warrant for £21 10s. 10d., from a donor whom the Lord has often used to help us, when in great need. Thus we were, for the moment, again delivered out of our difficulties.
April 1st. From Ireland £200 for labourers in the gospel.—May 1st. With 2 Cor. 9:15, £80. As "a thankoffering for letting a house without a house-agent, £3."—May 17th. From India £37 16s.—May 26th. From a servant of the Lord Jesus, who, constrained by the love of Christ, seeks to lay up treasure in heaven, £217.
After having been many times during the past year without one penny for these Objects, we were brought to the close of this period with the small balance of 13s. 7¼d. in hand.
Decision to close a third of the Day Schools
* The expenditure for the support of the Orphans during the year ending May 26th, 1882, exceeded the income to the amount of £488 0s. 9½d. There were also some bills which were paid a few days after May 26th. These bills, though not strictly overdue, would have been paid prior to the 26th of May had we had a balance in hand. The £488 0s. 9½d. carried to the next year's account was more than covered by the income for the support of the Orphans before a month of the new year had elapsed. This excess of liabilities over the actual income does not represent debt, that is liabilities which we had nothing to meet, because the Institution is possessed of land surrounding the houses to the value of several thousand pounds. Moreover, the five houses, erected at a cost of about £115,000, are entirely unencumbered.
Nevertheless, as our position financially was an entirely new one, we desired to listen to the voice of our Lord in thus dealing with us, and to learn the lesson He would teach us. In thus waiting upon Him, we came to the conclusion that, for some time past, a disproportionately large sum had been spent upon the Day School branch of the Scriptural Knowledge Institution. To meet the heavy claims of this branch, we had to apply to it almost all the donations which were left to our own disposal; and thus we could not place to the Orphan Fund, as well as to the Bible, Missionary, and Tract Fund, as much as we should have done, had not the Day Schools needed so much. This will account for the expenditure of the Orphan work being greater than the income. Acting therefore, upon one of the main principles, on which this Institution at first was founded and always has been carried on, never to enlarge it by contracting debt, we determined to lessen the expenditure on account of the Day Schools; and, within three weeks of the close of the last yearly period, notices were sent, accordingly, to the teachers and managers of twenty-three Day Schools, out of seventy-two, entirely supported by the Scriptural Knowledge Institution, that the said twenty-three schools would be closed in three months from that date. Sorrowing as we do at the necessity for this step, we are satisfied that it is the only way in which we can go on with a good conscience, and so count upon the Lord's continued blessing.
May 26th, 1882, to May 26th, 1883
We began the year with the balance of 13s. 7¼d. in hand, for the first four Objects of the Institution. There was now, looking at things naturally, not only this exceedingly small balance as a cause for discouragement, but also the great trial of faith we had had with reference to means, during the whole of the previous year. Yet, notwithstanding these natural appearances, we were not cast down, but in peace, because we truly sought the honour of God in connection with this Institution, and really continued to trust in Him. The new period therefore was begun with the fullest expectation, that God would help us, though we knew not how; and the following pages will show, in what manner help came.—May 29th. From Manchester £50 for these Objects, with £50 for the Orphans.—June 5th. There came in £70 from Bath, with £20 for the Orphans, and £10 for my own personal expenses.—June 8th. There was sent from Edinburgh £40, with £10 for the Orphans.
Thus, within the first few days of the new period, God was pleased, by giving these and some other smaller donations, to refresh and comfort us.
June 17th. There was received from Scotland £150 for these first four Objects, with £150 for the support of the Orphans, and £50 for my own personal expenses. On the same day £50 arrived from another Scotch donor for these Objects, with £50 for the Orphans.—June 22nd. From Ireland for Missions £200. On June 23rd, we obtained £8 16s. 7d. from Swanton, Ohio; and thus, before one month of the new period had passed, had received about £1,800 for these Objects, as the result of waiting upon God, and of speaking to Him only, in childlike simplicity about our wants.
July 25th. A Bristol donor gave £50 for these Objects, and £50 for the Orphans, instead of leaving this amount in his Will.
September 26th. Received £5 5s., with the following letter from a physician:—
My dear Mr. Müller,
"Yesterday a Christian friend put one of your Reports into my hand. I am simply astounded at the blessed results of prayer and faith. God grant in future I may go to my knees in a very different spirit! I consider your 'Brief Narrative' the most wonderful and complete refutation of scepticism it has ever been my lot to meet with. I enclose a cheque for £5 5s.; use it as you like, you know best.
"Yours in the Lord Jesus, ——."
The money was taken for the first four Objects. To produce such results, I began nearly half a century ago to labour as I did, and, God be praised! I have not laboured in vain. Thousands of such testimonies I have had while yet in the body; but hundreds of thousands I expect to have in the glory.—September 30th. Received 41 coupons and I Dividend Warrant from a donor in Berkshire, amounting altogether to £175 2s. 1d. This kind Christian gentleman has often been the Lord's instrument in helping us, and often when in great need; thus it was also when this donation was received. We had nothing at all in hand for these Objects.
November 11th. Received from Yorkshire £150 for Foreign Missions, with £150 for the Orphans.
December 2nd. From Bristol £80, with £20 for the Orphans. "This Christian donor decided to give this amount in his lifetime, instead of bequeathing it by Will."—December 30th. From S. S. £50 for Foreign Missions. From Hereford £25 for Missions. Thus to the end of the year 1882 we were helped, the Lord enabling us to meet the demands connected with the first four Objects, and about £100 was left in hand on December 30th
January 1st. On the first day of the New Year the Lord sent us further supplies, of which I only mention £100 from Scotland. January 12th. Legacy of the late Miss S. M., £636 0s. 8d. for the Bible, Missionary, and Tract Fund, with £954 1s. 1d. for the Orphans. The lady who kindly left these two sums, I never saw, nor knew anything of her until we were informed about the legacy. The reader, I trust, will see in this the hand of God, to whom we look for help, and who is pleased for the sake of the Lord Jesus to listen to the supplication of His children.—January 15th. From Scotland £120, with £30 for the Orphans, and £20 for myself.—January 18th. From Sussex £50 for Missions, £50 for Missions to the Jews, £70 for the Orphans, and £30 for myself. From "Hants" £100 for the Bible and Mission Fund. —January 24th. Received £100 as "a thanksgiving from Essex."
February 9th. From H. B. £100.—March 26th. From St. Gallen, Switzerland, £7 18s. 8d.—March 27th. From believers at Cork £10 for Missions. From St. Petersburg two gold rings (one set with diamonds and rubies) for Missions.—April 9th. From Paris £100, with £50 for the Orphans.—April 10th. From Wales £100, with £80 for the Orphans and £20 for myself. From Dublin £50.—April 23rd. From a Bristol donor £80, with £20 for the Orphans.—April 24th. From Sussex £80 15s. 8d.—May 3rd. From Berkshire 41 coupons and 2 Dividend Warrants, value £194 14s. 10d.—May 26th. From a servant of the Lord Jesus, who, constrained by the love of Christ, seeks to lay up treasure in heaven, £300.
May 26th, 1883, to May 26th, 1884
We began our new period with £610 18s. 10¾d. in hand for these Objects, a balance larger than we have had for several years.
June 7th. Received from H. C. J. £40, with £10 for the Orphans.—June 18th. From Scotland £200, with £50 for the Orphans, and £25 for myself.—July 7th. From Scotland £100. July 28th. From Essex £50.—July 31st. From Manchester £200.—August 1st. From the neighbourhood of Newcastle-on-Tyne £100, with £100 for the Orphans.—September 18th. From the Isle of Wight £50, with £50 for the Orphans.—September 26th. From two servants of the Lord Jesus, who, constrained by the love of Christ, seek to lay up treasure in heaven, £250, with £250 for the Orphans.—October 12th. From Yorkshire £150 for Foreign Missions, with £150 for the Orphans.—December 7th. Balance of the legacy of the late Miss S. A. W. L. £82 13s. 4d. for Missions, and £82 13s. 4d. for the Orphans.
December 31st. From a Christian widow in Liverpool £3 14s. 10d., being one penny in the pound of all her takings in the year, in memory of her departed mother; and £7 9s. 7d. for the Orphans, being twopence in the pound, together with £2 5s., the total of her receipts on the anniversary day of the opening of her business. This widow has trusted in God from the time she became a widow, and has been helped.
Total received more than a million pounds
January 1st. From Paddington £10 for the School Fund, £50 for Missions, £50 for the Orphans, and £10 for myself.—January 24th. From Hampshire £100 for the Bible and Mission Fund, £200 for the Orphans, and £50 for my own expenses. From Sussex £50 for Missions and £100 for the Orphans.
March 4th. From two servants of the Lord Jesus, who had a legacy left to them, and who, constrained by the love of Christ, lay up treasure in heaven, £500, with £500 for the Orphans.—To-day, March 5th. it is fifty years, since, by the help of God, I founded this Institution. Since that I have received for it, in answer to prayer, a million and ten thousand pounds sterling. March 8th. From Scotland £60, with £50 for the Orphans.—March 11th. From Haverstock Hill, for Missions in China, £50. In 41 coupons, £153 14s. 7d. from a donor who has repeatedly helped us in a similar way, and when we were in need, so that his donations were obtained as marked answers to our prayers.—March 12th. From the neighbourhood of Manchester £150, with £50 for the Orphans. This kind Christian gentleman also the Lord has again and again used, in answer to our prayers, to help us in time of need.—May 20th. From two servants of the Lord Jesus, who seek to lay up treasure in heaven, £750, with £750 for the Orphans. From Worcester £69 6s. 2d. for Missions, with £15 for myself. Thus the Lord brought us to the last day of the financial year of the Institution, and enabled us to do a little in connection with its various departments.
May 26th, 1884, to May 26th, 1885
We commenced the financial year of the Institution with a balance of £523 0s. 6¾d. in hand.—June 26th. From Scotland £130.—July 11th. From Sussex £46 3s. 2d. for Missions in India, with £15 for the support of one Orphan for one year.—July 26th. From Dundee £50. —August 8th. From Radlett, for Indian Missions, £50.—August 11th. From Crawford County, U.S.A., £40 17s. 3d., and 50 dollars.—August 12th. From Yorkshire £150 for Foreign Missions, with £150 for the Orphans, and £10 for myself.—August 30th. From Manchester £100 for the Bible Fund, £100 for Missions, and £100 for the support of the Orphans.
September 6th. Received coupons, amounting to £153 14s. 7d. for these Objects.—September 20th. Received from a Christian gentleman in business the following letter, with £20:—
Dear Sir,
"I enclose cheque, which I hope will arrive safely, £15 for the Orphans and £5 for Foreign Missions. This makes the 34th year since I first read your Narrative, which decided me to give a certain portion of my income every year, and God has prospered me, and returned it to me in many ways, which I never could have expected. Since I read your Narrative, I think I must have given away about £3,000 to various objects, and I know I am only the richer for it. My example has been followed by several of my friends."
October 9th. Received from Vienna, Austria, the following letter, with £1 1s.:—
Dear Mr. Müller,
"Enclosed I send you £1 1s. A few days ago I received your last Report, which is more faith-strengthening and soul-refreshing than many a sermon. It was so particularly to me, after I had just had to wade through the speech of some French infidel, who boldly affirms that of all the millions of prayers uttered every day not one is answered. I wish I could have sent him your plain but wonderful statement of facts. Etc."
October 14th. From Scotland £100. From the neighbourhood of Manchester £160. From Southport £40.
December 11th. Received £80 from an entire stranger in Worcestershire.
January 1st. Twenty-one donations came in this day for these Objects, amounting altogether to £162 4s. 6d.—January 12th. From Scotland £100, with the following letter:—
Dear Sir,
"Enclosed find Bank Order for £100, ten of which please to take for your own use, the remainder to be applied to whichever department of the Lord's work, in which you are engaged, you think best. I owe you many thanks for leading me to see the Christian duty of giving, and that systematically, to the Lord's cause. It is blessed to do so, and I have felt it. I began with giving a tenth, but gradually increased until for some years I have given half of all the profits from my business; and this year, as a thankoffering to the Lord for restored health, I am giving Him all the profits, which accounts for the sum being larger than formerly." Beloved reader, will not you seek to know for yourself the blessedness of thus giving? Begin at once. The writer of this letter began to do so at once after he, through my writings, had been instructed on the subject, and God began to bless him immediately.
January 22nd. From Surrey £50 for Missions.—January 23rd. From Hampshire £50 for the Bible and Mission Fund, £200 for the Orphans, and £50 for myself. From Hurstpierpoint £50 for Missions, and £50 for the Orphans.—February 19th. From Scotland £125, with £15 for myself.—February 25th. From one of the former Orphans £1 5s., with the following letter:—
Dear and beloved Sir,
"I put by a little every week last year for my dear Saviour out of my own earnings, independently of what my husband gave me for housekeeping, as I do a little needlework when I can get it. For every piece of work under a shilling, I put by a halfpenny; and a penny for every piece of work above a shilling. I have sent £1 of what I put by. It is my birthday to-day, and my sister in London has sent me 5s. as a present. It will give me far more pleasure to give the money back to my dear Saviour, as a thankoffering for all He has done for me; please to accept the sum of £1 5s., and use it for whatever you think best. You will be pleased to hear that my dear Saviour is still very precious to me, and I try to keep very close to Him."
March 5th. From a Berkshire donor 41 coupons and a New Zealand warrant, amounting altogether to £173 19s. 3d.—March 10th. From Croydon £50.—March 13th. From H. B. £100.
April 16th. Day after day, for about six weeks (with rare exceptions), the income has been comparatively little. During the past week, from April 8th to April 15th, the total income was £268 10s. 5¾d., instead of about £800 required. What was to be done under these circumstances? More prayer, more patience, and the continuation of the exercise of faith, our universal remedy under all difficulties, was all we did. We encouraged ourselves in God. We continued to look to Him for help. And now, to-day, He has again appeared on our behalf; altogether about £140 has come in.
May 2nd. From London £50 for Foreign Missions, and £45 3s. for the School, Bible, and Tract Fund.—May 18th. Legacy of the late D. B., Esq., £144 5s., with £36 1s. 4d. for the Orphans. May 26th. With 2 Cor. 9:15, £7.