04.27. Appendix 3 - Dr. Sawtell's Letter

APPENDIX 3 DR. SAWTELL’S LETTER The following letter from Rev. Dr. Sawtell, chaplain to British and American seamen at Havre, France, a gentleman well known in this country, was received too late for insertion at the beginning of the work. Coming directly from the scenes to which it refers, and abundantly confining the statements already given by Mr. Müller himself, while it bears the impress of a warm and hearty appreciation of his work of faith and labor of love, this outside view is the fitting complement and completion of the volume. TO REV. FRANCIS WAYLAND, D.D. MY DEAR SIR: Your repeated inquest that I should furnish a brief statement of what I know personally of that extraordinary work of faith connected with the Orphan Houses at Ashley Down, near Bristol, England, is so in accordance with the expressed wish of thousands throughout the land, that, however sorely pressed with other duties, I do not feel at liberty to disregard it; and more especially as it is to introduce to American Christians “THE LORD’S DEALING WITH GEORGE MÜLLER,”—a book the intrinsic merits of which, in so far as it exemplifies the power of a living, active faith, and its peculiar adaptation to meet the wants of God’s people in the present age, has, to my mind, no parallel out of the Bible. I rejoice in my heart that a new edition is so soon to be issued from the American press, in an abridged form.

I shall confine myself to a few simple facts, connected with my own personal knowledge, which serve only to confirm all that is stated in the Narrative. The facts themselves need no coloring, the more simply they are stated, the more eloquently do they speak to the head and the heart; the less they are varnished, the brighter they shine. And, as to Mr. Müller himself, anything in the shape of eulogy would be as foreign to good taste, as it would be offensive and painful to one whom the Lord delighteth to honor. Indeed, so sensitive is he on this point, that, if he hears any one speaking of the Orphan House as “Mr. Müller’s Asylum,” he repudiates the thought, and exclaims, “No, they are God’s Orphan Houses.” THE FACTS For the last five years my duties have called me frequently to England, Scotland, and Ireland, but I do not remember making one of these preaching tours without hearing more or less of what many called “A standing miracle at Bristol;”—A man sheltering, feeding, clothing, educating, and making comfortable and happy, hundreds of poor orphan children with no funds of his own, and no possible means of sustenance, save that which God send him in answer to prayer. Of course, such facts, coming from undoubted authority, and oft-repeated, could not fail to arrest my attention, and cause me to ponder deeply these things in my own heart, and every new fact that came to my ears served only to increase an irrepressible desire to “turn aside and see this great sight,”

I confess, on my first visit, in March, 1860, I had reserved to myself a wide margin for deductions and disappointment; but, after a few days of careful investigation, I left Bristol exclaiming, with the Queen of Sheba, “The half had not been told me.” Here I saw, indeed, seven hundred orphan children fed and provided for, by the hand of God, in answer to prayer, as literally and truly as Elijah was fed by ravens with meat which the Lord provided. And now, after an absence of nine months, I am here again, moving about among these seven hundred children, examining their writing, and the progress they have made in the various branches of study, and their different kinds of work,—listening to their sweet voices in songs of praise to the God of the orphans,—passing through all parts of these vast buildings, that have been erected for their accommodation,—conducting their family worship, and addressing four hundred of them at one time, and three hundred at another, assembled in their respective dining-halls, the most silent, attentive, and earnest listeners I ever addressed; then enjoying hours of sweet converse and prayer with Mr. Müller himself,—a privilege for which I shall ever thank God. O, it is good to be here! But to the Orphan Houses themselves. These are all built of stone, in the most complete and thorough manner. No pains have been spared in rendering them convenient, comfortable, and safe for children, and with special reference to warmth, light, ventilation, and cleanliness; and while all is in good taste, and exceedingly chaste and neat, it is all plain,—nothing for show or ornament. House No. 1 is fitted up for the accommodation of three hundred orphans, No. 2 for four hundred; both completely furnished and completely filled. No. 3, now in the course of erection, with its walls up, and partly under roof, is planned for the accommodation of four hundred and fifty orphans; and so rapidly are applications coming in that nearly four hundred are already registered on their books, so that no sooner will it be completed than, with God’s blessing, it will be filled with helpless orphans. The entire cost of these buildings, and the manner of obtaining the funds, I will state in Mr. Müller’s own words: “Without any one having been personally applied to for anything by me, the sum of £133,528, 14s. has been given to me for the orphans, as the result of prayer to God, since the commencement of the work, which sum includes the amount received for the building fund, for the houses already built, and the one now in progress.” But if we would have correct views of the entire work, and understand what God is willing to do in answer to the prayer of faith, we must not confine our eyes or thoughts to the seven hundred orphans. There are here in Bristol four day schools for poor children, with three hundred and thirty-nine pupils, instructed by believers upon scriptural principles, and one Sunday school, such as we call, in the United States, “a Mission School,” with one hundred and sixty children, besides an adult school in which Christian teachers are employed, two evenings in the week, to teach reading and writing; all these schools have been entirely supported out of the funds sent in in answer to prayer. In reference to this adult school, Mr. Müller says: “Those who teach them take the opportunity of speaking to the scholars about the way of salvation, and make remarks on portions of the word of God which may be read; and thus many have been led to care about their souls, and to go regularly to hear the gospel preached.” In summing up the results in connection with all these various schools, Mr. Müller thus remarks: “Since March, 1834, there have been 6,945 children in the day schools, 2,952 in the adult schools, and 3,227 in the Sunday schools, making a total of 13,124 souls that have been brought under habitual instruction in the things of God, besides the many thousands in the schools in the various parts of England, Ireland, Scotland, British Guiana, the West Indies, and East Indies, which have been, to a greater or less degree, assisted;” and all too, let the reader remember, from funds sent to Mr. Müller in answer to prayer. Nor is this all. During the past year, and out of the same funds, sent in answer to prayer, there have been expended for the circulation of the Holy Scriptures the sum of £5,681, 13s. 3½d.; also, more than five thousand pounds, or twenty-five thousand dollars, to aid missionary efforts in various parts of the world; and the total amount received since 1834 to aid the blessed work of missions in home and foreign fields, is £34,495, 3s. 4d. Added to all this is the sum of £8,064, 12s. 6½d. expended since 1840 for the circulation of religious books and tracts, by which sum 11,493,174 books and tracts have been circulated. Thus we see that for these various objects, disconnected with the orphans, there have been sent in to Mr. Müller, since March, 1834, the sum of £51,777, 14s. 11d., which, added to the sum for the orphans, makes a total of £185,306, 8s. 11d.,—nearly one million dollars, sent to Mr. Müller from various parts of the Christian world, and from thousands who never saw him, all in answer to prayer, to aid him in carrying forward his benevolent work in saving souls and to honor and glorify God. Is it any wonder that men of little faith, and slow of heart to believe what God says, should look upon all this as a “standing miracle?” But quite otherwise does Mr. Müller regard it. “Think not,” says he, in his Narrative, “that I have the gift of faith, that is, that gift of which we read in 1Co_12:9, mentioned in connection with the ‘gifts of healing, the working of miracles,’ etc.” “It is true,” he adds, “that the faith I am enabled to exercise is altogether God’s own gift, but it is the self-same faith found in every believer, the growth of which I am most sensible of; for by little and little it has been increasing for the last thirty years.”

Now, if it be true that Mr. Müller has received from God no extraordinary gift, beyond that which is common to every believer, it becomes a solemn and momentous question, and one to be pondered deeply and prayerfully, By what means has this ordinary faith in him attained to such marvellous strength? Whence came he in possession of that mysterious key by which he is able to unlock the store-houses of God’s treasures, and, as it were, help himself to whatever he needs? Day by day, year after year, does this man of God receive the most extraordinary answers to prayer, and by which he is able to carry forward the most stupendous and complicated works of benevolence, while the like precious faith in others is so small and feeble as to be utterly powerless in moving God’s loving heart in the bestowment of blessings. “Is there not a cause?” And ought not such facts and such questions to startle every believer into the most thorough searchings of heart to discover the cause of his little faith? Let us not attempt, as the manner of some is to evade the issue, by resolving it all into the sovereignty of God. True it is, God’s sovereignty is all-pervading, and as manifest in the Chinese as it is in the British Empire; but were an inquisitive child to inquire into the cause of the difference between the well-developed, elastic foot of an Englishman, and the little dwarfish stump of a Chinese, no Christian parent would consider it a logical or scriptural answer to charge it all upon God’s sovereignty. God acts as sovereign in to the infant a foot, and certain laws of physical development, in common with its other members; but when the mother, in the pride of her heart, bandages that foot so tight that the laws of development become nugatory and powerless, in that case the sovereignty of God ceased where the bandaging commenced. Just so it is with faith. Being seated with Mr. Müller at his own table, a few evenings since, the subject of faith naturally became the topic of conversion, when he beautifully remarked, “The first germ of faith in the soul is very much like a new-born infant in the cradle, a very small and very weak, and its future growth and increase of strength as much depend on its daily, constant exercise as do the physical developments of the child; yes,” continued he, “I can now as easily trust God for thirty-five thousand pounds as I could at first for five thousand.”