1857-1860 (3)

Such was the beginning of that mighty work of the Holy Spirit, which has led to the conversion of many tens of thousands, and which is still going on even in Ireland, and the blessed results of which are still felt in Scotland, England, and other countries. It is almost needless to add, that in no degree the honor is due to the instruments, but to the Holy Spirit alone; yet these facts are stated in order that it may be seen what delight God has in answering abundantly the believing prayers of his children.

Seeing, then, how greatly he has condescended to own these records regarding his willingness to listen to prayer, made to him in the name of the Lord Jesus, I am delighted, at the close of another year, in connection with this Institution, to recount a few of the very many instances in which God has been pleased to answer our prayers, and to grant blessing to rest upon the various objects of this Institution; yea, blessing greater far than during any part of the past twenty-six years, while it has been in operation.

Up to May 26, 1860, Mr. M. received for the building fund the sum of £45,113, 14s. 4½d.

In May, 1859, I had in hand for the Bible, school, tract, and missionary funds, £2,009, 11s. 2½d., a balance far greater than I ever had had before. This arose not from the fact of unwillingness to spend the means which the Lord had been pleased to intrust me with, but chiefly from the fact that some large donations had come in during the last part of the previous year; and I had not, as a steward who desires to act in the fear of God, had opportunities brought before me to spend all. But much as the balance was, all the various schools, directly or indirectly connected with the Institution, required means; the circulation of the Holy Scriptures and tracts, which objects increase more and more, needed much, in order to enter every suitable open door; and lastly, and especially, the ninety-one preachers of the gospel in various parts of the world, on my list on May 26, 1859, required a large sum to aid them. All these various objects, therefore, needed so much, that the balance, large as it was, would have lasted but a short time, had not the living God, who has been my helper from the beginning, and to whom I have looked, and looked alone, opened, in answer to our prayers, his bountiful hands, and sent in more before the balance was expended; so that, though without any human probability of meeting even one half of the probable expenses in connection with these objects, not only have I been able to meet the whole, but also, so bountifully has God helped, that though the expenses were £1,584, 7s. 3¾d. more than during the preceding year, I had not only enough, but even a larger balance was left than at the end of the previous year.

Jan. 31, 1860. On this day I received a donation of three thousand pounds, of which I took for these objects two thousand pounds. Day by day, during this period also, I had been asking the Lord for means for these objects; and day by day I had been entreating him that he would be pleased to enable me to accomplish during this period as much as during the former one in the way of circulating the Holy Scriptures and tracts, and in aiding missionary operations, though I had no natural prospect whatever of being able to do so. My eyes were alone directed to the living God, who year after year for many years past had allowed me to increase the operations of these three objects, notwithstanding the continual increase of expense in connection with the orphan work; and thus I expected, fully expected, though all appearance was against it, that during this period also I should be again helped by God, the living God. Think, then, Christian reader, how great my spiritual refreshment, when, by this one donation in a great measure, I saw these my daily prayers being again answered. In like manner may you, in your sphere of service, in your family affairs, in your business, in your profession, in your various temporal or spiritual necessities, have your prayers answered.

Dec. 9, 1859. To-day it is twenty-four years since the orphan work commenced. What has God wrought! There have been received since then altogether 1,129 orphans, and during the last two years and two months alone 469, so greatly has the work increased of late. We have now 700 orphans under our care.

Dec. 10. The following letter was received to-day from an apprentice:—

Most beloved Sir:

With feelings of gratitude and great thankfulness to you for all the kindness I experienced whilst under your care, and for now apprenticing me to a suitable trade whereby I can earn my own living, I write you these few lines. I arrived at my destined abode in safety, and was kindly received by my master and mistress. Dear sir, I thank you for the education, food, clothing, and for every comfort; but, above all, for the instruction from God’s word which I received when in that happy Orphan House; for it was there I was brought to know Jesus as my Saviour; and I hope to have him as my guide through all my difficulties, temptations, and trials in this world; and, having him for my guide, I hope to prosper in my trade, and thereby show my gratitude to you for all the kindness I have received. Please to accept my gratitude and thanks; and I hope you will be spared many, many more years, to care for poor destitute children like me. I am sure I shall often look back with pleasure and regret to the time I was in that happy home;—with pleasure that I lived there, and regret that I left it. Begging you to accept my grateful thanks, and with my kind love to Mr. L——, Mr. B——, Mr. W——, and Mr. S——,

I am, dear sir,
Yours gratefully,
*   *   *   *

The Christian reader, I doubt not, in perusing such letters, will with us thank God for condescending to give such blessing, such abundant blessing, to our labors.

Feb. 14, 1860. Two pounds ten shillings sixpence, with the following letter:—

My dear Brother in the Lord Jesus Christ:

Will you please to accept an order for two pounds ten shillings sixpence by the same post, for the dear orphans under your care? The history of this small sum is as follows. About seven and a half years ago your Narrative was put into my hands, which the Lord very greatly blessed to my soul. Six years and eleven months ago I was enabled to cast myself, my wife and family, upon the Lord, and look to Him alone for the supply of our temporal necessities while laboring in his glorious cause. From that time to the present we have had no claims upon any person for a single penny; nor have we made known our wants to any, or applied to any person for help, but to our heavenly Father alone; and he has supplied our need and not suffered us to be confounded, blessed be his name! My dear wife, as well as myself, from the very first had a strong desire to help you a little in your blessed work of love and labor of faith; but, for a long time, owing to the continued ill-health of my wife, and the growing expenses of our family, we never seemed to have any money to spare; so all we did was to wish, desire, and talk about it, and say how happy we should be if the Lord would enable us to do so. At length, we both felt we were acting wrong, and on the eighth of August last we solemnly decided we would give the Lord back a tenth of the money he was pleased to send us, though at that time we were very poor, I may add in deeper poverty than we had ever been before; yet, under those circumstances, we were enabled in the strength of the Lord to come to the above decision and act up to it that very morning; and the peace and joy we both felt it is in vain for me to attempt to describe. The Lord has kept us firm ever since, and instead of having less for our own use, we have had even more; so, dear sir, this sum is the fruit of six months’ prayers. Pardon me for troubling you with so long an account of so trifling a sum; but I want you to bless our heavenly Father for his goodness to us his unworthy servants, and to remember us in your petitions at a throne of grace.

I am, my dear brother,
Yours very affectionately and respectfully,
*   *   *   *

During the year 1859-60 there have been received for the orphans 3,542 separate sums. Of these there were 1,494 under 5s., 560 above 5s. and not exceeding 10s., 614 above 10s. and not exceeding £1, 288 above £1 and not exceeding £2, 411 above £2 and not exceeding £5, 93 above £5 and not exceeding £10, 49 above £10 and not exceeding £20, 10 above £20 and under £50, 11 of £50, 1 of £59, 19s. 9d., 1 of £62, 17s., 1 of £89, 4s., 1 of £96, 12s. 3d., 5 of £100, 2 of £500, and 1 of £1,500. Among these donations were some from East India, Australia, Cape of Good Hope, Saxony, Holland, South America, United States, from vessels on the ocean, and from missionaries among the heathen.

During the year under consideration twenty-three schools in England were supported or aided by the funds of the Institution. In all of these the teachers are persons of piety, and instruction is given not only in secular knowledge, but in the way of salvation. Without reckoning the orphans, 13,124 souls have been brought under habitual instruction in the things of God in these various schools; besides the many thousands in the schools in the various parts of England, Ireland, Scotland, British Guiana, the West Indies, the East Indies, etc., which have been to a greater or less degree assisted.

The total amount of means which has been expended during the last twenty-six years in connection with the schools, which have been either entirely or in part supported by the funds of this Institution, amounts to £9,275, 0s. 8½d.

The number of Bibles, Testaments, and portions of the Holy Scriptures, which have been circulated since May 26, 1859, is as follows: Bibles sold, 579. Bibles given away, 1,120. Testaments sold, 409. Testaments given away, 725. Copies of the Psalms sold, 63. Other small portions of the Holy Scriptures sold, 248.

There have been circulated since March 5, 1834, through the medium of this Institution, 24,768 Bibles, 15,100 Testaments, 719 copies of the Psalms, and 1,876 other small portions of the Holy Scriptures.

The amount of the funds of the Institution spent during the past year on the circulation of the Holy Scriptures is £398, 3s. 7d. The total amount spent since March 5, 1834, is £5,681, 13s. 3½d.

During the past year has been spent of the funds of the Institution, in aid of missionary efforts at home and abroad, the sum of £5,019, 6s. 1d. By this sum one hundred and one laborers in the word and doctrine, in various parts of the world, have been to a greater or less degree assisted. It is an interesting fact that these laborers are located in England, Scotland, Ireland, Belgium, France, Switzerland, Sardinia, Canada, Nova Scotia, East India, China, and British Guiana.

The laborers aided by the Institution were peculiarly blessed during the year 1859-60. While the preaching of those laboring in foreign lands was very useful, the brethren preaching in Ireland and Scotland were signally favored with success, and were permitted to see in a wonderful measure the fruit of their prayers and toils. A single extract only can be given from the letter of a laborer in Scotland.

A devoted servant of Christ has been laboring in a manufacturing town in Scotland, where, by means of schools, Bible classes, visiting from house to house, and preaching the gospel among thousands of the most wretched, most debased, and most ignorant, he seeks to win souls for the Lord. In this service he has been going on year after year. In a measure his labors had been blessed up to the period of the last Report, but far more abundantly since, as the following account, given by himself to me in a letter dated Oct. 28, 1859, will show:—

“This month, through which we have passed, has brought me to a point in my history which for years I have contemplated and looked forward to with deeper and more intense desire than to any anticipated event in my whole life. More than thirty years ago there sprang up in my soul a longing and craving for the effusion of the Holy Ghost on the church and on the world, such as would extend throughout the whole of Scotland. For this I have labored, and spoken, and prayed increasingly. As I grew older, the craving for this blessing grew stronger. To see it became the ruling passion of my soul, and, as years rolled away, my hope of seeing it realized strengthened apace. On this season of expected blessing we seem at length to have entered. The religious movement is creeping steadily along the whole of the west of Scotland. It has not acquired a sudden or very powerful momentum. We are, so far as I can judge, in the initiatory stage in all the points where the work has found a settlement. A sound has gone out as from the Lord; the rumor travels on, and in its course awakens the careless, opens the ear, quickens the attention, and everywhere is making preparation for something coming. This note of preparation is calling the people together. Their ear is open to listen. In every place this hearing is bringing faith in its train; men are turning to God; intensity is given to those silent cases of conviction where for months or years there has been concern ebbing and flowing with circumstances. Not a few of these have come to light through their concern all at once ripening into deep distress. Forced out of the old ruts in which they have moved, they are forced to venture their all into the hands of Jesus, and are set at liberty. Such has been the process at work here. I am continually falling in with solitary cases, and a number of these have found peace. It would take far more time than I can spare to record their history, and how they obtained deliverance.”