MR. PERRY writes:
At one meeting at Huntly, by special request Mr. Müller gave illustrations of God's faithfulness in answer to prayer, connected with the orphan work, of which the following are examples:
a. He stated that at various times, not only at the beginning of the work, but also in later years, God had seen fit to try his faith to the utmost, but only to prove to him the more definitely that He would never be other than his faithful covenant-keeping God. In illustration he referred to a time when, the children having had their last meal for the day, there was nothing left in money or kind for their breakfast the following morning. Mr. Müller went home, but nothing came in, and he retired for the night, committing the need to God to provide. Early the next morning he went for a walk, and while praying for the needed help he took a turn into a road which he was quite unconscious of, and after walking a short distance a friend met him, and said how glad he was to meet him, and asked him to accept £5 for the orphans. He thanked him, and without saying a word to the donor about the time of need, he went at once to the orphan houses, praising God for this direct answer to prayer.
b. On another occasion, when there were no funds in hand to provide breakfast for the orphans, a gentleman called before the time for breakfast and left a donation that supplied all their present needs. When that year's report was issued, this proof of God's faithfulness in sending help just when needed was recorded, and a short time after the donor called and made himself known, saying that as his donation had been given at such a special time of need he felt he must state the circumstances under which he had given the money, which were as follows:
He had occasion to go to his office in Bristol early that morning before breakfast, and on the way the thought occurred to him:
"I will go to Mr. Müller's orphan house and give them a donation,"
and accordingly turned and walked about a quarter of a mile toward the orphanage, when he stopped, saying to himself,
"How foolish of me to be neglecting the business I came out to attend to! I can give money to the orphans another time,"
and he turned round and walked back towards his office, but soon felt that he must return. He said to himself:
"The orphans may be needing the money now. I'm leaving them in want when God had sent me to help them;"
and so strong was this impression that he again turned round and walked back till he reached the orphanages, and thus handed in the money which provided them with breakfast. Mr. Müller's comment on this was:
"Just like my gracious heavenly Father!"
and then urged his hearers to trust and prove what a faithful covenant-keeping God He is to those who put their trust in Him.
Be the first to react on this!
Arthur Tappan Pierson was an American Presbyterian pastor, early fundamentalist leader, and writer who preached over 13,000 sermons, wrote over fifty books, and gave Bible lectures as part of a transatlantic preaching ministry that made him famous in Scotland and England.
He was a consulting editor for the original "Scofield Reference Bible" (1909) for his friend, C. I. Scofield and was also a friend of D. L. Moody, George Mueller (whose biography 'George Muller of Bristol' he wrote), Adoniram Judson Gordon, and C. H. Spurgeon, whom he succeeded in the pulpit of the Metropolitan Tabernacle, London, from 1891 to 1893. Throughout his career, Pierson filled several pulpit positions around the world as an urban pastor who cared passionately for the poor.
Pierson was also a pioneer advocate of faith missions who was determined to see the world evangelized in his generation. Prior to 1870, there had been only about 2000 missionaries from the United States in full-time service, roughly ten percent of whom had engaged in work among Native Americans.
A great movement of foreign missions began in the 1880s and accelerated into the twentieth century, in some measure due to the work of Pierson. He acted as the elder statesman of the student missionary movement and was the leading evangelical advocate of foreign missions in the late 1800s.
Arthur T. Pierson preached over 13,000 sermons, wrote over fifty books, and his Bible lectures made him widely known in America. He was a consulting editor for his friend, C. I. Scofield, with the original Scofield Reference Bible (1909), and was the author of the classic biography, 'George Muller of Bristol'... A. T. Pierson's association with D. L. Moody and his Northfield Conferences were the breeding ground for Pierson's determination to see the world evangelized in his generation.
This deepening of the Christian life in Pierson saw him author one of his most spiritually significant books, 'In Christ Jesus' 1898.
Pierson attended Hamilton College and Union Theological Seminary. In 1860, he married Sarah Frances Benedict; they had seven children, all of whom were converted before the age of 15 and grew up to serve as missionaries, pastors, or lay leaders. He pastored in Binghamton and Waterford, New York; Detroit, Michigan; Indianapolis, Indiana; and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
After retiring, he continued to preach at churches and conferences at home and abroad. He was a contemporary and friend of many Christian leaders, including Dwight Moody, Adoniram Gordon, George Mueller, and Charles Spurgeon. During Spurgeon's last illness, Pierson filled the pulpit of Metropolitan Tabernacle for several months.