If thou wert pure and upright, surely now
he would awake for thee. Job viii. 6.
SO Bildad spoke, suggesting that Job was not pure and upright, since God did not appear to deliver him. The premises from which he argued were that God always delivers and prospers pure and upright men, and that therefore, if a man were not delivered and prospered, he was proved to be neither pure nor upright. The fallacy lay in the premiss. It is not universally true that God delivers his saints from adverse circumstances, or prospers them with outward good. There have been in all ages thousands of devoted servants of God who have been destitute, afflicted, and tormented; and there are thousands of such to‑day in prisons, in hospital wards, in every condition of privation and trial; but in none of these cases can there be the least imputation on the love and righteousness of God, nor necessarily on their fidelity and goodness.
God's arrangements for us are not governed by the superficial philosophy which would make material prosperity a sign of his favour, and adversity of his displeasure. There are many considerations beside. Our privations in the outward strengthen and ripen the inward. As the outward man decays, the inward is renewed day by day. We have to learn and manifest those passive virtues which can only mature in silence and sorrow. We must be taught to be largely independent of circumstances, and to find in God Himself the springs of unfailing supply. We must learn to carry the sentence of death in ourselves, that we may not trust in ourselves, but in the living God. We have to stiffer with and for others. All these things worketh God with us to make us partakers of his holiness. But amid all our sorrows, He is always awake for us.
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F.B. Meyer (1847 - 1929)
A contemporary and friend of D. L. Moody and A. C. Dixon, was a Baptist pastor and evangelist in England involved in ministry and inner city mission work on both sides of the Atlantic. Author of numerous religious books and articles, many of which remain in print today, he was described in an obituary as The Archbishop of the Free Churches.Meyer was part of the Higher Life Movement and was known as a crusader against immorality. He preached against drunkenness and prostitution. He is said to have brought about the closing of hundreds of saloons and brothels. Meyer wrote over 40 books, including Christian biographies and devotional commentaries on the Bible. He, along with seven other clergymen, was also a signatory to the London Manifesto asserting that the Second Coming was imminent in 1918. His works include The Way Into the Holiest:, Expositions on the Epistle to the Hebrews (1893) ,The Secret of Guidance, Our Daily Homily and Christian Living.
Frederick Brotherton Meyer, a contemporary and friend of D. L. Moody was a Baptist pastor and evangelist in England involved in ministry and inner city mission work on both sides of the Atlantic. Author of numerous religious books and articles, many of which remain in print today, he has been described as The Archbishop of the Free Churches.
Meyer was part of the Higher Life movement and preached often at the Keswick Convention. He was known as a crusader against immorality. He preached against drunkenness and prostitution. He is said to have brought about the closing of hundreds of saloons and brothels.
F. B. Meyer wrote over 40 books, including Christian biographies and devotional commentaries on the Bible. He, along with seven other clergymen, was also a signatory to the London Manifesto asserting that the Second Coming was imminent in 1918.
Frederick Meyer spent the last few years of his life working as a pastor in England's churches, but still made trips to North America, including one he made at age 80 (his earlier evangelistic tours had included South Africa and Asia, as well as the United States and Canada ). A few days before his death, Meyer wrote the following words to a friend:
Meyer was a Baptist pastor and evangelist in England, born in London. He attended Brighton College and graduated from London University in 1869. He studied theology at Regents Park Baptist College.
Meyer began pastoring churches in 1870. His first pastorate was at Pembroke Baptist Chapel in Liverpool. In 1872 he pastored Priory Street Baptist Church in York. While he was there he met the American evangelist Dwight L. Moody, whom he introduced to other churches in England. The two preachers became lifelong friends.
In 1895 Meyer went to Christ Church in Lambeth. At the time only 100 people attended the church, but within two years over 2,000 were regularly attending. He stayed there for fifteen years, and then began a traveling to preach at conferences and evangelistic services.
His evangelistic tours included South Africa and Asia. He also visited the United States and Canada several times.
He spent the last few years of his life working as a pastor in England's churches, but still made trips to North America, including one he made at age 80.
Meyer was part of the Higher Life movement and preached often at the Keswick Convention. He was known as a crusader against immorality. He preached against drunkenness and prostitution. He is said to have brought about the closing of hundreds of saloons and brothels.
Meyer wrote over 40 books, including Christian biographies and devotional commentaries on the Bible.