Closing Days, 1894–1898 (part 1 of 2)

CHAPTER XX

CLOSING DAYS

1894 to 1898

Death of the second Mrs. Muller

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. 8:28).

When I lost my first beloved wife, to whom I had been united thirtynine 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 at a 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 the fatigue of these long journeys, for she was taken from me in her seventy-third year; but my second wife, when I 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 "All 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 rue 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.

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 mo 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."

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 6; John 12:37–41.

" '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 6 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 Uzziah 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 high-mindedness: 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. 'Each one had six wings; with twain He covered His face.' This lowly mind of these high angelic beings forbade them to look at Him. Just a 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 after 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! 0 the precious prospect that awaits us! 'Yet a little while, YET 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

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.

and,

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 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 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 a 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.

While there was this natural display of feeling among the 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—rich 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 sov'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 cry;

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 Christ 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 years; but they pass off and are gone from our sight. And the Spirit says to us, 'Remember 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 I 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. In 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, it 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 Himself. We don't know much more, and we don't want to. I 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 I 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 in 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 in it. 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 thou into the joy of thy Lord.'

"This 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, 'If by reason of strength man's days should be four score years, yet is their strength labour 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 can 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 Müller, who needs daily to pray, Hold Thou me 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. S. 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. Müller'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, after the way had been cleared for the coffin and mourners, a matter of no little difficulty, the service was commenced.

At the Grave Side

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

Is new and living wine.

Jesus put all my sins away,

When bruised to make mo 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 1 Cor. 15, 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 ns the mind that he had concerning himself and concerning his God. And in a very preeminent 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.' 80 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 twofold way. He had it daily in the Scriptures. The Word of God was indeed to him not the word of man; not a 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 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.