Saints CVs – C.H. Spurgeon 1834–1892

Charles Haddon Spurgeon was known as the ‘prince of preachers’ in Victorian England.¹ Thousands of people flocked to hear his messages each week. His sermons were transcribed in shorthand while he preached on Sunday, then edited by himself on Monday and sent to the printers for widespread distribution a couple of days later.² Although there are no recordings of Spurgeon’s voice, it was described at the time as a ‘silver bell’³ We might well imagine his booming tones as we read his powerful sermons today. Warren Wiersbe was an admirer of his preaching style, selecting many of Spurgeon’s sermons in the Kregel series of ‘Classic Sermons’ books.⁴

Although we might not agree with Spurgeon’s stance on local church order or his views on future events, we can benefit from reading his work. Wiersbe advises us to ‘plunge right into his sermons . . . and revel in the grace of God that was so real to this mighty preacher’.⁵

Born in Essex in 1834, Spurgeon was saved at the age of fifteen on a snowy Sunday as he took refuge from the winter weather in a Methodist chapel. The text that day was ‘Look unto me, and be ye saved’, Isa. 45. 22. In later life, Spurgeon recalled how the preacher ‘pointed to where I was sitting under the gallery, and he said, “That young man there looks very miserable” . . . and he shouted, as I think only a Primitive Methodist can, “Look! Look, young man! Look now!” . . . Then I had this vision — not a vision to my eyes, but to my heart. I saw what a Saviour Christ was . . . and I did believe in one moment. And as the snow fell on my road home from the little house of prayer, I thought every snowflake talked with me and told of the pardon I had found, for I was white as the driven snow through the grace of God’⁶

Spurgeon was a gifted and prolific preacher. At the age of twenty, he was appointed as pastor of New Park Street Chapel in London (which later became the Metropolitan Tabernacle). Notable celebrities of the time came to listen to Spurgeon, including politician William Gladstone and social reformer Florence Nightingale.

Spurgeon had a way with words; so many of his striking quotations are often repeated all these years later.

• ‘I know of no better thermometer to your spiritual temperature than this, the measure of the intensity of your prayer’.⁷
• ‘tis a good rule never to look into the face of a man in the morning till you have looked into the face of God’.⁸
• ‘Remember, Christ's scholars must study upon their knees’.⁹
• ‘Nobody ever outgrows Scripture; the book widens and deepens with our years’.¹⁰

Of all his writings, my top picks are the Treasury of David and Cheque Book of the Bank of Faith. The Treasury of David records his comments on the Psalms; this monumental multi-volume work took him two decades to complete. The Cheque Book is a daily devotional which uses the banking metaphor that we can draw upon God’s promises by faith, being sure that the divine credit account will never be exhausted.

Spurgeon also composed some beautiful poetry. We often sing one of his hymns when we break bread on a Lord’s day morning:

Amidst us our Beloved stands,
And bids us view His pierced hands,
Points to His wounded feet and side,
Blest emblems of the Crucified.

Another of his poems which I enjoy describes a saint's anticipation of heaven:

When tears are banished from mine eye,
When fairer worlds than these are nigh,
When Heaven shall fill my ravished sight,
When I shall bathe in sweet delight,
One joy all joys shall far excel,
To see Thy face, Immanuel!

As well as preaching and writing, Spurgeon had a heart for people in need. He was a friend of George Muller, who cared for orphans in Bristol. Spurgeon set up a similar orphanage ministry in Stockwell, London, in 1867.¹¹ He suffered from poor health in later life, frequently travelling to mainland Europe where the climate was better. He died in France in 1892 at the age of fifty-seven.