shalt believe in thy heart that God hath raised Him from the dead,
thou shalt be saved." Rom. x. 9. The point is simply this: Do I
confess with my mouth the Lord Jesus? Do I own Him by the confession
of my mouth before men, and do I believe in my heart that Jesus of
Nazareth who was crucified was not left in the grave, but was raised
again by God on the third day? If so, I shall be saved. For while
there may be the confession of the Lord Jesus with the month, without
the person being finally saved, there does not go along with this the
believing in the heart that God has raised Him from the dead, without
the person, in whom both are found, being finally saved; for in none
but the children of God are these two points found united together.
We have here particularly to observe, that it is not written: If thou
shalt say that God has raised Him from the dead; but if thou shalt
believe in thine heart that God has raised Him from the dead, thou
shalt be saved. I have, then, to take God at His word. If I do
confess the Lord Jesus with my mouth, and do believe in my heart that
God has raised Him from the dead, I shall be saved, though I do not
feel it, though I am utterly unworthy of salvation, yea, though I am
altogether deserving condemnation. I must not wait till I feel that I
shall be saved before I take comfort; but I must believe what God
says in this verse, and, out of that, peace and comfort will flow
into my soul. Should, however, one or the other of the children of
God, believe in his heart the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, if at
the same time he has never made confession of the Lord Jesus with his
mouth, he cannot be surprised that the assurance about his salvation
is wanting to him; yet if both be found in you, my dear reader, God
has been gracious to you, you are His child, you shall be saved.
Further, in John iii. 16, it is written: "God so loved the world
that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him
should not perish, but have everlasting life." Notice here in
particular: 1. It matters not how great a sinner I am. 2. The promise
is positive concerning my salvation, if I believe in the Lord Jesus.
3. I have only to believe in the Lord Jesus. No matter how it may
have been with me hitherto; if only now I trust in and depend upon
the Lord Jesus for salvation, I shall have everlasting life.
Further, in Acts xvi. 30, 31, it is written: "Sirs, what must I do to
be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou
shalt be saved."
Further, in John iii. 36, it is written: "He that believeth on the
Son hath everlasting life; and He that believeth not the Son shall
not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him." As assuredly as I
depend upon and trust in the Lord Jesus for the salvation of my soul,
I shall be saved, I have already everlasting life; for He died, to
deliver those who believe on Him from the wrath of God, under which
all men are in their natural state; but if I do not believe in the
Lord Jesus, the wrath of God, which rests upon all men in their
natural state, will finally destroy me, if I remain without faith in
the Lord Jesus; for then I reject the one only remedy, in refusing to
take Jesus as my substitute, who bore the punishment that He might
deliver the sinner from it, and who fulfilled the law of God that He
might make the sinner who believes on Him a just one before God.
V. Question. How may I know that I am one of the elect? I often read
in the Scriptures about election, and I often hear about election,
how may I know that I am a chosen one, that I am predestinated to be
conformed to the image of the Son of God?
Answer. It is written: "As many as were ordained, (i.e. appointed) to
eternal life believed." Acts xiii. 48. The question therefore simply
is this: Do I believe in the Lord Jesus? Do I take Him to be the one
whom God declares Him to be, i. e. His beloved Son in whom He is well
pleased? If so, I am a believer, and I should never have believed,
except I had been appointed by God to eternal life--except I had been
made by God to be a vessel of mercy. Therefore the matter is a very
simple one: if I believe in the Lord Jesus, I am a chosen one,--I have
been appointed to eternal life.
Again, in Rom. viii. 29, 30, it is written: "For whom He did
foreknow, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of
His Son, that He might be the first-born among many brethren.
Moreover, whom He did predestinate, them He also called: and whom he
called, them He also justified; and whom He justified, them He also
glorified." How are we justified, or constituted just ones, before
God? By faith in the Lord Jesus. Rom. iii. 2026. Therefore if I
believe in the Lord Jesus, it follows (on account of the inseparable
connection of all the precious things spoken of in these two verses),
that I have been foreknown by God, that I have been predestinated by
Him to be conformed to the image of His Son, that I have been called,
that I have been justified, and that, in the sight of God, I am
already as good as glorified, though I am not as yet in the actual
possession and enjoyment of the glory.
The reason why persons who renounce confidence in their own goodness
for salvation, and who only trust in the merits and sufferings of the
Lord Jesus, do not know that they are the children of God, that their
sins are forgiven, and that they shall be saved, generally arises
from one of these things: 1. They do not know the simplicity of the
Gospel; or, 2. They seek to settle it by their feeling; or, 3. They
wait for some powerful impulse, or a dream, or something like a voice
from Heaven to assure them of it, or for some passage being in a
powerful way applied to their mind to assure them of it; or, 4.
Because they are living in sin. Should the last be the case, then,
however correctly we may understand the Gospel; however much we may
desire by the Holy Scriptures alone to settle these questions; yea,
however much in former times we may have enjoyed the assurance of the
forgiveness of our sins, or of our being the children of God, or that
we shall be saved: in such a state of heart all peace would be gone,
and would not return as long as we live in sin. There may be found
much weakness and many infirmities even in the believer who has
assurance about these points; but the Holy Ghost does not comfort us,
and will not comfort us, if we habitually indulge in those things
which we know to be contrary to the mind of God. An upright, honest
heart, is of the utmost importance in all divine things; and
especially with reference to the assurance about our standing before
God.
April 15. From March 12th up to this day we had always a little money
in hand for the Orphans, so that there was comparatively no trial of
faith. Of the many donations which came in during this period I only
mention two, as rather deserving to be noticed, to show what various
ways the Lord uses to send us supplies. On March 16th I received from
the neighbourhood of London 5l., respecting which the brother who
sent it writes, that he was in the habit of giving this sum to his
wife, a sister, on her birth days, to lay it out in buying any little
thing she liked, and that she this time preferred giving it to the
Orphans. On April 3rd a sister gave 5l., which came in most
seasonably. She had lost a sum of money, which was afterwards found
again, and she felt constrained to give 5l. of it to the Orphans. Now
today, April 15, when all was again spent, 3l. came in from Wales.
On Friday, April 30, while I was at Nailsworth, in Gloucestershire, I
received the following letter from brother R. B., Master at the
Boys-Orphan-House:
"My dear Brother,
"When I wrote last, on Tuesday evening, there was not one penny in
hand. But since then the Lord has most graciously dealt with us. Only
1s. 6d. came in on Wednesday morning; but as there were enough
provisions in the house for the day, the sisters experienced no
difficulty: it was only necessary to refuse to take in what there was
not money to pay for. About six I went out for a walk with the boys,
and returned after eight, when I found a letter in which was enclosed
5l., with these words; "From the Lord, for the present necessities of
the Orphans." It was indeed for the present necessities. Etc.
"Your Brother,
R. B."
This letter came after a previous one, in which brother R. B.
informed me about the need in the Orphan-Houses, which led me to
prayer. When this letter came from brother B., I received at the same
time another from Birmingham, in which was enclosed 10l., from a
brother, who had sold some of his books. It was from a most
unexpected quarter, as that brother is himself, as a servant of the
Lord, depending upon Him for temporal supplies. The same post brought
me also information of 1l. 4s, 6d., having been sent from Dublin. The
sister in Ireland writes that she sends the money now, as we may be
in want of even so small a sum. With regard to the above-mentioned
5l., I mention still further that I know from the handwriting who the
donor is; and it is remarkable that he had not given or sent the
money to me, as he not only knew I was not in Bristol at the time,
but that I was in the neighbourhood where he lives. But this was not
only of the Lords ordering, but it was a direct answer to prayer;
for knowing the need at the Orphan-Houses, I had been especially led
to ask the Lord not to allow the money to be first sent to me in
letters or parcels, but to cause it to be directly sent to brother B.
How truly precious it is that every one, who rests alone upon the
Lord Jesus for salvation, has in the living God a father, to whom he
may fully unbosom himself concerning the most minute affairs of his
life, and concerning every thing that lies upon his heart! Dear
reader, do you know the living God? Is He, in Jesus, your Father? Be
assured that Christianity is something more than forms and creeds,
and ceremonies: there is life, and power, and reality, in our holy
faith. If you never yet have known this, then come and taste for
yourself. I beseech you affectionately to meditate and pray over the
following verses: John iii. 16, Rom. x. 9, 10, Acts x. 43, I John v.
1.
May 2. A sister who lives near Lutterworth sent me yesterday 5l.,
which was given for the Orphans by a friend of hers. This 5l.
supplies our need today, it being Saturday, for there was only 1l. in
hand when this money came.
From March 20th, to May 7th, I spent at Nailsworth, where I prepared
the second part of my Narrative for the press, and laboured in the
Word. These seven weeks were on the whole, by the help of God,
profitably spent in the service of the Lord, and to the benefit of my
own soul. There was much love shown to me and my family by the dear
saints among whom I was labouring, and I know that my service among
them has not been in vain.
Today, May 7, I returned with my family to Bristol.
While I was staying at Nailsworth, it pleased the Lord to teach me a
truth, irrespective of human instrumentality, as far as I know, the
benefit of which I have not lost, though now, while preparing the
eighth edition for the press, more than forty years have since passed
away. The point is this; I saw more clearly than ever, that the first
great and primary business to which I ought to attend every day was,
to have my soul happy in the Lord. The first thing to be concerned
about was not, how much I might serve the Lord, how I might glorify
the Lord; but how I might get my soul into a happy state, and how my
inner man might be nourished. For I might seek to set the truth
before the unconverted, I might seek to benefit believers, I might
seek to relieve the distressed, I might in other ways seek to behave
myself as it becomes a child of God in this world; and yet, not being
happy in the Lord, and not being nourished and strengthened in my
inner man day by day, all this might not be attended to in a right
spirit. Before this time my practice had been, at least for ten years
previously, as an habitual thing, to give myself to prayer, after
having dressed myself in the morning. Now I saw, that the most
important thing I had to do was, to give myself to the reading of the
word of God and to meditation on it, that thus my heart might be
comforted, encouraged, warned, reproved, instructed; and that thus,
by means of the word of God, whilst meditating on it, my heart might
be brought into experimental communion with the Lord. I began
therefore to meditate on the New Testament from the beginning early
in the morning. The first thing I did, after having asked in a few
words the Lords blessing upon His precious word, was, to begin to
meditate on the word of God, searching, as it were, into every verse,
to get blessing out of it; not for the sake of the public ministry of
the Word; not for the sake of preaching on what I had meditated upon;
but for the sake of obtaining food for my own soul. The result I have
found to be almost invariably this, that after a very few minutes my
soul has been led to confession, or to thanksgiving, or to
intercession, or to supplication; so that, though I did not, as it
were, give myself to prayer, but to meditation, yet it turned almost
immediately more or less into prayer. When thus I have been for
awhile making confession, or intercession, or supplication, or have
given thanks, I go on to the next words or verse, turning all, as I
go on, into prayer for myself or others, as the Word may lead to it;
but still continually keeping before me, that food for my own soul is
the object of my meditation. The result of this is, that there is
always a good deal of confession, thanksgiving, supplication, or
intercession mingled with my meditation, and that my inner man almost
invariably is even sensibly nourished and strengthened, and that by
breakfast time, with rare exceptions, I am in a peaceful if not happy
state of heart. Thus also the Lord is pleased to communicate unto me
that, which either very soon after, or at a later time, I have found
to become food for other believers, though it was not for the sake of
the public ministry of the Word that I gave myself to meditation, but
for the profit of my own inner man. With this mode I have likewise
combined the being out in the open air for an hour, an hour and a
half, or two hours before breakfast, walking about in the fields, and
in the summer sitting for a little on the stiles, if I find it too
much to walk all the time.7 I find it very beneficial to my health to
walk thus for meditation before breakfast, and am now so in the habit
of using the time for that purpose, that when I get into the open
air, I generally take out a new Testament of good sized type, which I
carry with me for that purpose, besides my Bible: and I find that I
can profitably spend my time in the open air; which formerly was not
the case, for want of habit I used to consider the time spent in
walking a loss, but now I find it very profitable, not only to my
body, but also to my soul. The walking out before breakfast is of
course not necessarily connected with this matter, and every one has
to judge according to his strength and other circumstances.--The
difference then between my former practice and my present one is
this. Formerly, when I rose, I began to pray as soon as possible, and
generally spent all my time till breakfast in prayer, or almost all
the time. At all events I almost invariably began with prayer, except
when I felt my soul to be more than usually barren, in which case I
read the word of God for food, or for refreshment, or for a revival
and renewal of my inner man, before I gave myself to prayer. But what
was the result? I often spent a quarter of an hour, or half an hour,
or even an hour on my knees, before being conscious to myself of
having derived comfort, encouragement, humbling of soul, &c.; and
often, after having suffered much from wandering of mind for the
first ten minutes, or a quarter of an hour, or even half an hour, I
only then began realty to pray. I scarcely ever suffer now in this
way. For my heart being nourished by the truth, being brought into
experimental fellowship with God, I speak to my Father, and to my
Friend (vile though I am, and unworthy of it!) about the things that
He has brought before me in His precious word. It often now
astonishes me that I did not sooner see this point. In no book did I
ever read about it. No public ministry ever brought the matter before
me. No private intercourse with a brother stirred me up to this
matter. And yet now, since God has taught me this point, it is as
plain to me as any thing, that the first thing the child of God has
to do morning by morning is, to obtain food for his inner man. As the
outward man is not fit for work for any length of time, except we
take food; and as this is one of the first things we do in the
morning; so it should be with the inner man. We should take food for
that, as every one must allow. Now what is the food for the inner
man? Not prayer, but the word of God; and here again not the simple
reading of the word of God, so that it only passes through our minds,
just as water runs through a pipe, but considering what we read,
pondering over it, and applying it to our hearts. When we pray, we
speak to God. Now, prayer, in order to be continued for any length of
time in any other than a formal manner, requires, generally speaking,
a measure of strength or godly desire, and the season, therefore,
when this exercise of the soul can be most effectually performed, is,
after the inner man has been nourished by meditation on the word of
God, where we find our Father speaking to us, to encourage us, to
comfort us, to instruct us, to humble us, to reprove us. We may
therefore profitably meditate, with Gods blessing, though we are
ever so weak spiritually; nay, the weaker we are, the more we need
meditation for the strengthening of our inner man. There is thus far
less to be feared from wandering of mind, than if we give ourselves
to prayer without having had previously time for meditation.--I dwell
so particularly on this point because of the immense spiritual profit
and refreshment I am conscious of having derived from it myself, and
I affectionately and solemnly beseech all my fellow-believers to
ponder this matter. By the blessing of God I ascribe to this mode the
help and strength which I have had from God to pass in peace through
deeper trials in various ways, than I had ever had before; and after
having now above forty years tried this way, I can most fully, in the
fear of God, commend it. In addition to this, I generally read after
family prayer larger portions of the word of God, when I still pursue
my practice of reading regularly onward in the Holy Scriptures,
sometimes in the New Testament and sometimes in the Old, and for more
than fifty-two years I have proved the blessedness of it. I take also
either then or at other parts of the day, time more especially for
prayer.
How different, when the soul is refreshed and made happy early in the
morning, from what it is when, without spiritual preparation, the
service, the trials, arid the temptations of the day come upon one!
May 29. Today I received from the East Indies 100l.--Notice here, that
without any solicitation, simply in answer to prayer, the Lord is
pleased to send us from time to time even large sums, and that from
such a distance as the East Indies.
June 4. Two or three weeks since, a brother at a distance requested
me to let him know the names of my bankers, and the names of their
agents in London, in order that he might by means of his bankers send
me some money. One day after another passed away, and I heard no more
about it. Today I received the following letter
"My dear Brother,
"I have delayed writing to you under the expectation of seeing you at
Bristol; but I am not yet suffered to leave ****. I have, by this
post, written to ***** of London, desiring them to pay over to
Messrs. Robarts, Curtis & Co., in favour of Messrs. Stuckey & Co. of
Bristol, to the credit of George Müller, the sum of fifty pounds.
This apply, dear brother, as the Lord gives you wisdom. I am not
concerned at my having been prevented for so many days from sending
this money: I am confident it has not been needed."
This last sentence is remarkable. It is now nearly three years since
our funds were for the first time exhausted, and only at this period,
since then, could it have been said in truth, as far as I remember,
that a donation of 50l. was not needed. From the beginning of July,
1838, till now, there never had been a period when we so abounded as
when this donation of 50l. came; for there was then in the
Orphan-Fund and the other funds between two and three hundred pounds.
The words of this brother are so much the more remarkable, as, on
four former occasions, when he likewise gave considerable donations,
we were always in need, yea, great need, which he afterwards knew
from the printed accounts.
On the same day came in still further from Hackney 10l., besides
several small donations.
July 7, 1841. For some time past brother Craik and I have questioned
whether, under our present circumstances, the mode of receiving the
free-will offerings of the saints among whom we labour, by means of
boxes over which our names were fixed, together with the explanation
of the object of the boxes, was any longer the more excellent way. We
have at last been quite decided about it, and put today the following
short statement into the press.
To the Saints in Christ Jesus assembling at Bethesda Chapel, Bristol.
"Dear Brethren,
"It has seemed well to us to remove, from the chapel, the boxes
appropriated for the reception of the free-will offerings towards our
temporal support. In order to prevent misapprehension or
misrepresentation, we desire affectionately to lay before you the
following statement of our reasons for taking this step.
Upon our first coming to Bristol we declined accepting anything in
the shape of regular salary, or by means of seat-rents, from the
brethren among whom we were labouring. We did not act thus because we
thought it wrong that those who were ministered unto in spiritual
things should minister unto us in temporal things; but 1. because we
would not have the liberality of the brethren to be a matter of
constraint, but willingly; 2. because on the ground of James ii. 1-6,
we objected to seat-rents. Boxes were put up for the sake of those
into whose hearts God might put it to desire to act according to that
word, "Let him that is taught in the Word communicate unto him that
teacheth in all good things." Gal. vi. 6.
When the boxes were first put up, we were the only brethren that
seemed called to labour in the Word and doctrine. Since then,
however, circumstances have considerably altered; and, partly from
the change in circumstances, and, partly from increased light in
reference to the position of those who minister the Word, we have for
some time past felt that it might be well, for certain reasons, that
the present mode of receiving the offerings of the saints should be
discontinued. At the same time we are very desirous of having it
clearly understood, that, in the great principles which led to the
adoption of the boxes, in the first instance, we are unchanged: or
rather we are more strengthened, by the experience of more than ten
years, in the propriety of rejecting seat-rents and fixed salaries.
1. As long as the boxes are there, it ought to be understood for what
purpose the money, which is put into them, is applied. This necessity
requires that our names should be given, as those who labour in the
Word and doctrine. This again has the appearance of elevating
ourselves above all the other brethren, and of assuming office to
ourselves, instead of just seeking to fill the place which the Holy
Ghost may have given us in the body.
2. It may please the Lord increasingly to call and qualify other
brethren for the work of ruling and teaching in the church; but
still, as long as we are looked upon as we have been hitherto, in
consequence of our names being affixed to the boxes, unnecessary
difficulties may probably be put in the way of any others being fully
recognised by the saints generally as occupying, equally with
ourselves, the place in which the Lord may set them.
3. The question may be asked even now, "Are these the only
labourers?" and the reply would be that there are others who also
labour, but who are not supported in the same way. This fact is
fitted to give the impression to those who do not know us, that we
were seeking to keep our place in the church by some outward title,
rather than just filling it up in obedience to the Lord, and quietly
leaving it with His Spirit to produce subjection unto us on the part
of the saints.
4. Lastly, from the manner in which our names appear in public, we
have reason to believe that some of the saints look upon us as
exclusively the "ministers," and thus that some may have felt
themselves neglected because not visited personally by us. The notion
that two individuals should be able to exercise pastoral inspection
over about five hundred and fifty believers, we consider to be very
unsound; but for ourselves we feel that it is a responsibility which
we dare not take. According to our gift and strength we desire to
rule, teach, and feed the sheep of Christ; but we dare not undertake
the personal inspection of all who are already gathered, or may be
gathered, simply as believers in the Lord Jesus, in this city.