Rev. Louis Meyer., D.D.

An Appreciation,<ref>%3aTX+meyer%3aTX+--01-3-1-00-0-0-11-1-0utfZz-8index.htm-00&a=d&c=jewishmi&srp=0&srn=0&cl=search&d=HASHd311c44cdbdc27856c2da1" class="external-link" rel="nofollow">http://www.lcje.net/cgi-bin/gsdl/library?e=q-01000-00---off-0jewishmi--00-1--0-10-0---0---0prompt-10-TX%2cDC%2cDT%2cDS--4--louis+meyer%2c%2c%2c-----0-1l--11-en-50---20-about-louis+%3aTX+meyer%3aTX+--01-3-1-00-0-0-11-1-0utfZz-8index.htm-00&amp;a=d&amp;c=jewishmi&amp;srp=0&amp;srn=0&amp;cl=search&amp;d=HASHd311c44cdbdc27856c2da1</ref> by Delavan L. Pierson, upon the occasion of Meyer's death

Louis Meyer was a remarkable man. He had the German's love of accurate scholarship, the Hebrew's keenness of perception and dogged perseverance and, the Christian's humility and love for his Master. He understood not only Hebrew and Yiddish, but knew French and German and could read many of the other European languages. For years he subscribed for most of the missionary papers of the continent as well as those of Great Britain and America. He read them merely because of his love of information and translated and wrote articles freely for the religious press. He knew the reputation of his race in financial dealings, and when he became a Christian he determined that none should say that he made capital out of his Christian faith. Consequently he used his pen and tongue for the cause of Christ, without money and without price. This was one of the main reasons why he would not become a salaried missionary to the Jews. He did not wish to commercialize his conversion. He also believed that he could do better work in arousing Christians into a sense of their duty towards God's “Chosen People” and he was wonderfully used in this way. Probably no man—certainly none in America had a more thorough knowledge of missions to Jews and of the life stories of Jewish Christians.

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Dr. Meyer had a remarkable memory and this enabled him to quote endless facts dates and figures that astonished his audiences and that made him an authority on religious and missionary history. He prepared the Jewish Statistics for the World Missionary Conference of Edinburgh and for the World Christian Missionary Atlas, edited by Dr. Harlan P. Beach. His Missionary Statistics for the Missionary Review of the World were the most complete and accurate ever published and have been quoted and commended all over the world.

But Dr. Meyer was not only a great authority on Jewish History and Work and on Missions in general, he was also a great Bible student and theologian. He was sound in the faith and could hold audiences spellbound for hours while he spoke on Hebrew History and on the teachings of the Bible. In pulpits where he once preached he ever after found an open door.

His industry, sound judgment, tact and wide knowledge were put to fine use in his editorship of Fundamentals, the books published by the generous gift of “Two Christian Laymen.” Dr. Meyer read hundreds of manuscripts, wrote thousands of letters, read proofs and planned out five of these important and useful volumes. In fact, he overworked early and late, and these editorial duties in addition to his preaching and long lecture tours were too great a strain on his small wiry body. He broke down physically, but his mind and spirit would not die. Louis Meyer's place cannot be filled by any man. The work that he did, with God's help, for Jewish Missions, for the world Kingdom of Christ and for the advancement of Biblical Knowledge will abide forever.

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