Chapter 16

The late Dr. Whitehead was accustomed to repeat with pleasure' the following fact: In the year 1764, he was stationed as an itinerant preacher in Cornwall. He had to preach one evening in a little village where there was a small Methodist Society. "The friend," said he, "at whose house we preached, had at that time a daughter, who lived with one of our people about ten miles off. His wife was gone to attend her daughter, who was dangerously ill of a fever; and her husband had that day received a message from her, informing him that his child's life was despaired of. He earnestly and with tears desired Mr. Whitehead to recommend his daughter to God in prayer, both before and after preaching. He did so in the most warm and affectionate manner. Late that evening, or very early next morning, while the young woman's mother was sitting by her daughter's bedside (who had been in a strong delirium for several days), she opened her eyes and hastily addressed her mother thus: 'O mother! I have been dreaming that I saw a man lifting up his eyes and hands to heaven, and fervently praying to God for my recovery! The Lord has heard his prayers, and my fever is gone; and what is far better, the Lord has spoken peace to my soul, and sealed His pardoning love on my heart. I know it, I feel it, my dear mother; and His Spirit bears witness with my spirit, that I am a child of God, and an heir of glory.' Her mother, thinking that she was still in delirium, desired her to compose herself, and remain quiet. The daughter replied, 'My dear mother, I am in no delirium now; I am perfectly in my senses; do help me to rise, that upon my bended knees I may praise God.' Her mother did so, and they both praised God with joyful hearts, and from that hour the young woman recovered so fast, that she was soon able to attend to the affairs of the family where she lived. She had never seen Mr. Whitehead, previous to this remarkable time; but some weeks after, she saw him, and the moment she beheld his face, she fainted away. As soon as she came to herself, she said, 'Sir, you are the person I saw in my dream, when I was ill in a violent fever; and I beheld you lift up your hands and eyes to heaven, and most fervently pray for my recovery and conversion to God. The Lord, in mercy, heard your prayers, and answered them to the healing of my wounded spirit, and to the restoration of my body. I have walked in the light of His countenance from that time to the present, and I trust I shall do so as long as I live.' How remarkably does this circumstance illustrate the words of St. James, 'The prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up, and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him!'"

"YOU MUST NOT GO."

A remarkable instance of deep impression occasionally made by the Holy Spirit on the mind of the Rev. William Bramwell during prayer, occurred in Liverpool. A pious young woman, a member of Society, wished to go to her friends, then living in Jamaica. She took her passage, had her luggage taken on board, and expected to sail on the following day. Having the greatest respect for Mr. Bramwell, she waited upon him, to take leave and request an interest in his prayers. Before parting, they knelt down, and he recommended her to the care of God. After he had been engaged in prayer some time, he suddenly paused, and thus addressed her, "My dear sister, you must not go to-morrow. God has just told me you must not go." She was surprised, but he was positive, and prevailed upon her to postpone her voyage, and assisted her to remove her luggage out of the vessel. The ship sailed, and in about six weeks intelligence arrived that the vessel was lost, and all on board had perished.

EVIL AVERTED.

A correspondent of the _Guide to Holiness_ says: "We remember a poor woman who had had a life of sore vicissitude which she bore with remarkable Christian cheerfulness; and after a time of the suspension of trial, a bad prospect came in sight. She resorted to a friend to whom she confidingly related the threatening evil, and at parting said, 'Oh pray for us.' The case as it was known was taken immediately that early morning to the throne of grace and laid out in all its circumstances with a deeply sympathizing heart, and a consciousness of the past sufferings of that woman--and as the friend rose from prayer, the answer was given that the evil was averted, and a new change would come to that afflicted one.

"That very day a strange deliverance and opening appeared which set that family at rest from their peculiar trials for the rest of life."

HOW A POOR LITTLE CRIPPLE CONVERTED A VILLAGE.

Mr. D.L. Moody relates the instance of a poor little cripple, whose prayers were answered to the conversion of _fifty-six people._

"I once knew a little cripple who lay upon her death bed. She had given herself to God, and was distressed only because she could not labor for Him actively among the lost. Her clergyman visited her, and hearing her complaint, told her from her sick bed she could pray; to pray for those she wished to see turning to God. He told her to write the names down, and then to pray earnestly; he went away and thought of the subject no more.

"Soon a feeling of religious interest sprang up in the village, and the churches were crowded nightly. The little cripple heard of the progress of the revival, and inquired anxiously for the names of the saved. A few weeks later she died, and among a roll of papers that was found under her little pillow, was one bearing the names of fifty-six persons, every one of whom had in the revival been converted. By each name was a little cross by which the poor crippled saint had checked off the names of the converts as they had been reported to her."

PLEASE GOD, GIVE US A HOME.

Mr. Moody tells of a beautiful answer to the faith of a little child.

"I remember a child that lived with her parents in a small village. One day the news came that her father had joined the army (it was the beginning of our war), and a few days after, the landlord came to demand the rent. The mother told him she hadn't got it, and that her husband had gone into the army. He was a hard-hearted wretch, and he stormed, and said that they must leave the house; he wasn't going to have people who couldn't pay the rent.

"After he was gone, the mother threw herself into the armchair, and began to weep bitterly. Her little girl, whom she taught to pray in faith, (but it is more difficult to practice than to preach,) came up to her, and said, '_What makes you cry, mamma, I will pray to God to give us a little home, and won't He_?' What could the mother say? So the little child went into the next room and began to pray. The door was open, and the mother could hear every word.

_"'O, God, you have come and taken away father, and mamma has got no money, and the landlord will turn us out because we can't pay, and we will have to sit on the door-step, and mamma will catch cold. Give us a little home_.' Then she waited as if for an answer, and then added, '_Won't you, please, God_?'

"She came out of that room quite happy, expecting a home to be given them. The mother felt reproved. God heard the prayer of that little one, for he touched the heart of the cruel landlord, and she has never paid any rent since."

God give us the faith of that little child, that we may likewise expect an answer, "_nothing wavering_."

"OF COURSE HE WILL."

Mr. Moody also gives the story of a little child whose father and mother had died, and she was taken into another family. The first night she asked if she could pray, as she used to do.

They said, Oh, yes! So she knelt down, and prayed as her mother taught her, and when that was ended she added a little prayer of her own: "_Oh, God, make these people as kind to me as father and mother were_." Then she paused, and looked up, as if expecting an answer, and added, "_Of course he will_."

How sweetly simple was that little one's faith; she expected God to "do," and she got her request.

STRIKING ANSWER.

The following incidents are specially contributed to these pages by Rev. J.S. Bass, a Home Missionary of Brooklyn, N.Y.:

"While living in Canada, my eldest daughter, then a girl of ten years of age, rather delicate and of feeble health, had a severe attack of chorea, "St. Vitus's dance." To those who have had any experience in this distressing complaint, nothing need be said of the deep affliction of the household at the sight of our loved one, as all her muscles appeared to be affected, the face distorted with protrusion of the tongue, and the continuous involuntary motions by jerks of her limbs. The ablest medical advice and assistance were employed, and all that the sympathy of friends and the skill of physicians could do were of no avail. She grew worse rather than better, and death was looked to as a happy release to the sufferings of the child, and the anguish of the parents; as the medical men had given as their opinion that the mind of the child would become diseased, and if her life were lengthened, it would be an enfeebled body united to an idiotic mind.

"But God was better to us than our most sanguine hopes far better to us than our fears.

"In our trouble we thought on God, and asked his help. We knew we had the prayers of some of God's chosen ones. On a certain Sunday morning I left my home to fill an appointment in the Wesleyan chapel in the village of Cooksville, two miles distant. I left with a heavy heart. My child was distressing to look upon, my wife and her sister were worn out with watching and fatigue. It was only from a sense of duty that I left my home that morning. During the sermon God refreshed and encouraged my heart still to trust in him. After the service, many of the congregation tarried to inquire of my daughter's condition, among them an aged saint, Sister Wilson, widow of a Wesleyan preacher, and Sister Galbraith, wife of the class-leader. Mother Wilson encouraged me to 'hope in God,' saying 'the sisters of the church have decided to spend to-morrow morning together in supplication and prayer for you and your family, and that God would cure Ruth.'

"Monday morning came. Ruth had passed a restless night. Weak and emaciated, her head was held that a tea-spoonful of water should be given her. My duties called me away (immediately after breakfast) to a neighbor's; about noon, a messenger came, in great haste, to call me home. On entering the sick-chamber, I noticed the trundle-bed empty, and my little girl, with smiling face, sitting in a chair at the window, (say eight feet from the bed.) I learned from the child that, while on the bed, the thought came to her that, if she could only get her feet on the floor, the Lord would help her to sit up. By an effort, she succeeded, moving herself to the edge of the bed, put her legs over the side until her feet touched the floor, and sat up. She then thought, if she tried, the Lord would help her to stand up, and then to walk; all of which she accomplished, without any human aid, she being left in the room alone. The same afternoon she was in the yard playing with her brothers, quickly gained flesh, recovered strength, with intellect clear and bright; she lived to the age of twenty-two, never again afflicted with this disease, or anything like it. At the age of twenty-two, ripe for heaven, it pleased God to take her to himself.

"The sisters, led by Mother Wilson, waited on God in prayer, and God fulfilled that day the promise--Isaiah 65:24: 'And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.'"

A REMARKABLE CASE.

On the afternoon of Monday, August 20, 1869, I was sent for to visit Mrs. M., who was reported to be very sick. Arriving at the house, I was told that "Mrs. M., after a hard day's work, had retired to rest Saturday night in her usual state of health, that immediately after getting in bed she had fallen asleep and had not awoke up to this time, (6 o'clock Monday evening,) that three physicians had been in attendance for 30 hours, that all their efforts to arouse her were without avail."

In the chamber, Mrs. M. lay in the bed apparently in a troubled sleep, she was a woman of medium size, about 50 years of age, the mother of a large family; around her bed stood her husband, four sons and a daughter, and relatives, about twelve persons in all. The husband and sons were irreligious, but awed in the presence of this affliction.

I felt, as perhaps I never felt before, my ignorance, my helplessness, and the necessity of entire dependence on God for guidance and inspiration, that prayer should be made in accordance with his will.

I knelt at the bedside and held the woman's hand in mine, lifted up my heart to God and prayed, "If it be thy will and for thy glory, and for the good of this family, grant that this woman may once more open her eyes to look upon her children, once more open her lips in counsel and holy admonition." While thus praying, as I believe, inspired by the Spirit of God, and with faith in Jesus Christ, I was conscious of a movement around me, and opening my eyes, I saw Mrs. M. sitting up in bed. Some of the persons in the room were weeping, others laughing; the sons came nearer the bed, and asked, "Mother, do you know me? do you know me?" She called each by name, and beckoned to her daughter, held her by the hand. I, poor faithless one, was wondering what does this mean? One of the sons took me by the hand saying, "Oh! Mr. Bass, God heard and answered that prayer." I sung the hymn, "There is a fountain filled with blood," Mrs. M. singing to the close, and then, apparently exhausted, sank back on the pillow, speechless and unconscious. The physicians were sent for, came, wondered, speculated, administered medicine, blistered the calves of the legs, and cupped the back of the neck, but to no purpose. She remained in speechless unconsciousness till the next afternoon, when, while prayer was being made, she again opened her eyes, sat up and conversed with her children and friends. In a few days she resumed her household duties, enjoying a good degree of health and strength, and faithfully serving God and her generation until it pleased God to call her home to the rest prepared for the people of God, three years after the incident, the subject of this paper.

A LITTLE GIRL'S BEAUTIFUL FAITH.

A little German girl, who had never hitherto known the name of the Lord Jesus, was led to attend a Mission school. It was the custom at the school, before the little ones received their dinner, to lift their hands and thank God for their food.

When in course of time she spent her days at home, and her father's family were gathered around their own table, this little girl said:

"_Pa, we must hold up our hand's and thank God before we eat._ That's the way we do at the Mission."

So winning was the little one in her ways, the parents yielded at once.

At another time her father was sick and unable to work, and the little girl said, "_Pa, I'm going to pray that you may get well and go to work to-morrow morning_."

At four o'clock in the morning she awoke and called out, "_Pa, don't you feel better_." The father said, "Yes, I am better," and he went to his work in the morning, although weak and obliged to rest by the way.

There came a time once when he could not get work, and there was no food in the house for dinner.

This little girl knelt down and asked God to send them their dinner, and when she rose from her knees, she said, "Now we must wait till the whistle blows, till 12 o'clock."

At twelve o'clock the whistle blew, and the little girl said, "Get the table ready, it is coming," and just then in came a neighbor with soup for their dinner.

THE LORD HELPS TO PAY DEBTS.

The author of this incident is known to the editor of "Remarkable Providences," and speaking of it says: "_God never gave me exactly what I wanted. He always gave me more."_

"When I married I was a working man; I had not much money to spare. In about three months after my marriage, I fell ill, and my illness continued for more than nine months. At that period I was in great distress. I owed a sum of money and had no means to pay it. It must be paid on a certain day, or I must go to jail. I had no food for myself or wife; and in this distress I went up to my room, and took my Bible. I got down on my knees and opened it, laid my fingers on several of the promises, and claimed them as mine. I said, 'Lord, this is thine own word of promise; I claim thy promises.' I endeavored to lay hold of them by faith. I wrestled with God for sometime in this way. I got up off my knees, and walked about some time. I then went to bed, and took my Bible, and opened it on these words: '_Call upon me in the day of trouble, and I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me_.'

"I said, 'it is enough, Lord.' I knew deliverance would come, and I praised God with my whole heart. Whilst in this frame of mind I heard a knock at the door. I went and opened it and a man handed me a letter. I turned to look at the letter, and when I looked up again, the man was gone.

"The letter contained the sum I wanted, and five shillings over. It is now eighteen years ago. I never knew who sent it. God only knows. Thus God delivered me out of all my distress. To Him be all the praise."

PRAYING FOR A LOST POCKET-BOOK.

A contributor to _The Christian_ writes as follows:

"A few months since I lost my pocket-book, containing money and papers of a large amount--more than I felt able to lose--and which I should feel the loss of, as I was owing at that time about the same amount.

"On the day of my loss, I had been from home about a mile and a half, and it was about 9 o'clock _in the evening_, when I returned. And it was not till then that I ascertained my loss.

"My health was very poor, and the prospect of regaining the lost pocket-book was quite uncertain; it was so dark that I thought it would be impossible for me to find it. Consequently I determined to remain awake during the night, and at 3 o'clock in the morning search for it, and if possible, find it before any one should pass over the road.

"The seeming impossibility of finding it, and the reflections consequent upon the loss of the money were so unpleasant to me that I was led to make it a subject of prayer, fully trusting that in some way God would so direct that I should come in possession of it. If so, I determined to give him $25 of it.

"As soon as I had formed this purpose, all that unpleasant feeling left me, and I did not admit a single doubt but I should get it.

"Accordingly, _at 3 o'clock in the morning_ I made a thorough search, but could not find it. Yet my faith in God's guiding hand did not fail me, and I believed that my trust would be realized.

"While I was thus thinking of the certainty of the fulfillment of the promises of the Gospel to the believer, I was called on by a gentleman, a leading business man of the place, who came to know if _I had lost anything_.

"I told him I had lost my pocket-book. He wanted to know how much it contained. I told him. He said his son had occasion to pass early on that morning, and had found it in the road, and that in all probability I should otherwise have lost it, as two men passed by immediately after it was found.

"Thus God found it and returned it to me."

* * * * *

LIVES OF FAITH AND TRUST

AN EXTRAORDINARY LIFE OF FAITH AND TRUST.

For many centimes there has not been a more remarkable testimony of unfaltering trust in the faithfulness of God in supplying human wants, than is found in the life and labor of George Muller and his Orphan Home, in Bristol, England. His record is one of humility, yet one of daily dependence upon the providence and the knowledge of God to supply his daily wants. It has been one of extraordinary trial; yet never, for a single hour, has God forsaken him. Beginning, in 1834, with absolutely nothing; giving himself, his earthly all and his family to the Lord, and asking the Lord's pleasure and blessing upon his work of philanthropy, he has never, for once, appealed to any individual for aid, for assistance, for loans; but has relied wholly in prayer to the Lord--coming with each day's cares and necessities--and the Lord has ever supplied. He has never borrowed, never been in debt; living only upon what the Lord has sent--yet in the forty-third year of his life of faith and trust--he has been able, through the voluntary contributions which the Lord has prompted the hearts of the people to give, to accomplish these wonderful results: _Over half a million dollars_ have been spent in the construction of buildings--_over fifteen thousand orphans have been cared for and supported--and over one million dollars_ have been received for their support. _Every dollar of which has been asked for in believing prayer from the Lord_. The record is the most astounding in the faith of the Christian religion, and the power and providence of God to answer prayer, that modern times can show.

The orphans' homes have been visited again and again by Christian clergymen of all denominations, to feel the positive satisfaction and certainty that all this were indeed the work of prayer, and they have been abundantly convinced.

The spectacle is indeed a _standing miracle. "A man sheltering, feeding, clothing, educating, and mailing comfortable and happy, hundreds of poor orphan children, with no funds of his own, and no possible means of sustenance, save that which God sent him in answer to prayer_."

An eminent clergyman who for five years had been constantly hearing of this work of faith, and could hardly believe in its possibility, at last visited Mr. Muller's home for the purpose of thorough investigation, exposing it, if it were under false pretenses or mistaken ways of securing public sympathy, or else with utmost critical search, desired to become convinced it was indeed supported only by true prayer. He had reserved for himself, as he says, a wide margin for deductions and disappointment, but after his search, as "_I left Bristol, I exclaimed 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_."

Mr. Muller himself has said in regard to their manner of living: "_Greater and more manifest nearness of the Lord's presence I have never had, than when after breakfast, there were no means for dinner, and then the Lord provided the dinner for more than one hundred persons; and when after dinner, there were no means for the tea; and yet the Lord provided the tea; and all this without one single human being having been informed about our need_."

Thus it will be seen his life is one of daily trial and trust, and he says, "Our desire therefore, is, not that we may be without trials of faith, but that the Lord graciously would be pleased to support us in the trial, that we may not dishonor him by distrust."

The question having been asked of him, "Such a way of living must lead the mind continually to think whence food, clothes, etc., are to come, with no benefit for spiritual exercise," he replies: "Our minds are very little tried about the necessaries of life; just because the care respecting them is laid upon our Father, who, because we are his children, not _only allows_ us to do so, _but will have us to do so_.

"It must also be remembered that even if our minds _were_ much tried about our supplies, yet because we look to the _Lord alone_ for all these things, we should be brought by our sense of need, into the presence of our Father for the supply of it, _and that is a blessing_, and satisfying to the soul."