are
gathered together in it, as long as He shall be pleased to enable me to
trust in Him for supplies. And here I look back upon the way in which
the Lord has led me and dealt with me. When, about seventeen years ago,
I took up, in dependence upon the living God for means, two Charity
Schools, with which the Scriptural Knowledge Institution commenced (and
this involved an expense of less than one hundred pounds a-year), I had
no certain prospect of being able to meet even that small sum; but God
so helped me, that I had shortly six Charity Schools. He helped me then
also, and enabled me to meet all their expenses. When, fifteen years
ago, I began the Orphan Work, which was connected with far heavier
expenses, I had still less prospect, according to natural reason, of
being able to meet them; but I trusted in God, and He helped me, and He
not only enabled me to meet the current expenses for thirty Orphans in
the first house rented for them, but also soon to open another for
thirty-six more, and to meet all those expenses; for as I had begun in
faith in the living God, and not by putting my trust in my brethren in
Christ, so I was not confounded. After I had gone on some time with
these Orphans in the two rented houses, about thirteen years ago the
Lord was pleased greatly to encourage me and to increase my faith by a
donation of 500l. for the Orphans; for up to that period I had never
received more than One Hundred Pounds at once. But this kind donor, a
stranger to me up to that time, suggested to me the propriety of
investing this sum and using only the interest of it, as I could not
expect to have the Orphans supported for a continuance in the way they
had been till then; for that such Institutions must depend upon regular
subscriptions or funded property, otherwise they could not go on. As,
however, this was only a friendly hint, and no condition under which the
money was given, I took this 500l. towards fitting up a third house for
the reception of thirty more Orphans. From that time the work has been
increasing more and more, till it came to what it is at present. Now,
suppose I had said, seventeen years ago, looking at matters according to
natural reason, "the two Charity Schools are enough, I must not go any
further;" then the work would have stopped there. Or, if I had had a
little more trust in my exertions or my friends, I might have taken at
the utmost one or two steps further. Instead of this, however, I looked