1880 Charles Spurgeon John
Ploughman’s Pictures Baptist Puritan Bible Sermons
Charles Haddon (C.H.) Spurgeon (1834 – 1892)
was a British Particular Baptist preacher. Spurgeon remains highly influential
among Christians of various denominations, among whom he is known as the
"Prince of Preachers". He was a strong figure in the Reformed Baptist
tradition, defending the Church in agreement with the 1689 London Baptist
Confession of Faith understanding, and opposing the liberal and pragmatic theological
tendencies in the Church of his day.
Main
author: Charles H Spurgeon
Title: John
Ploughman's pictures, or, more of his plain talk for plain people.
Published: London : Passmore,
1880.
Language: English
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Pages:
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Illustrations: many
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Publisher:
London : Passmore, 1880.
Size: ~7in
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Charles
Haddon (C.H.) Spurgeon (/ˈhædən ˈspɜrdʒən/; 19 June 1834 – 31 January 1892) was
a British Particular Baptist preacher. Spurgeon remains highly influential
among Christians of various denominations, among whom he is known as the
"Prince of Preachers". He was a strong figure in the Reformed Baptist
tradition, defending the Church in agreement with the 1689 London Baptist
Confession of Faith understanding, and opposing the liberal and pragmatic
theological tendencies in the Church of his day.
It
is estimated that in his lifetime, Spurgeon preached to around 10,000,000
people,[1][2] Spurgeon was the pastor of the congregation of the New Park
Street Chapel (later the Metropolitan Tabernacle) in London for 38 years.[3] He
was part of several controversies with the Baptist Union of Great Britain and
later had to leave the denomination.[4] In 1857, he started a charity
organisation which is now called Spurgeon's and works globally. He also founded
Spurgeon's College, which was named after him posthumously.
Spurgeon
was a prolific author of many types of works including sermons, an
autobiography, commentaries, books on prayer, devotionals, magazines, poetry,
hymns and more.[5][6] Many sermons were transcribed as he spoke and were
translated into many languages during his lifetime. Spurgeon produced powerful
sermons of penetrating thought and precise exposition. His oratory skills held
his listeners spellbound in the Metropolitan Tabernacle and many Christians
have discovered Spurgeon's messages to be among the best in Christian
literature.[7]
Contents [hide]
1
Biography
1.1
Early life
1.2
New Park Street Chapel
1.3
Metropolitan Tabernacle
1.4
Downgrade Controversy
1.5
Final years and death
2
Library
3
Works
4
References
5
Further reading
6
External links
Biography[edit]
Early
life[edit]
Part
of a series on
Baptists
From
"Baptizing in the Jordan" by Silas X. Floyd (1869-1923)
Background[show]
Doctrine[show]
Key
figures[show]
Organizations[show]
Baptist
portal
v t
e
Born
in Kelvedon, Essex, Spurgeon's conversion to Christianity came on 6 January
1850, at age 15. On his way to a scheduled appointment, a snow storm forced him
to cut short his intended journey and to turn into a Primitive Methodist chapel
in Colchester where God opened his heart to the salvation message. The text
that moved him was Isaiah 45:22 – "Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the
ends of the earth, for I am God, and there is none else." Later that year
on 4 April 1850, he was admitted to the church at Newmarket.
His
baptism followed on 3 May in the river Lark, at Isleham. Later that same year
he moved to Cambridge, where he later became a Sunday school teacher. He
preached his first sermon in the winter of 1850–51 in a cottage at Teversham
while filling in for a friend. From the beginning of his ministry his style and
ability were considered to be far above average. In the same year, he was
installed as pastor of the small Baptist church at Waterbeach, Cambridgeshire,
where he published his first literary work, a Gospel tract written in 1853.
New
Park Street Chapel[edit]
Spurgeon
at age 23.
In
April 1854, after preaching three months on probation and just four years after
his conversion, Spurgeon, then only 19, was called to the pastorate of London's
famed New Park Street Chapel, Southwark (formerly pastored by the Particular
Baptists Benjamin Keach, theologian John Gill and John Rippon). This was the
largest Baptist congregation in London at the time, although it had dwindled in
numbers for several years. Spurgeon found friends in London among his fellow
pastors, such as William Garrett Lewis of Westbourne Grove Church, an older man
who along with Spurgeon went on to found the London Baptist Association.
Within
a few months of Spurgeon's arrival at Park Street, his ability as a preacher
made him famous. The following year the first of his sermons in the "New
Park Street Pulpit" was published. Spurgeon's sermons were published in
printed form every week and had a high circulation. By the time of his death in
1892, he had preached nearly 3,600 sermons and published 49 volumes of
commentaries, sayings, anecdotes, illustrations and devotions.
Immediately
following his fame was criticism. The first attack in the press appeared in the
Earthen Vessel in January 1855. His preaching, although not revolutionary in
substance, was a plain-spoken and direct appeal to the people, using the Bible
to provoke them to consider the teachings of Jesus Christ. Critical attacks
from the media persisted throughout his life. The congregation quickly outgrew
their building, and moved to Exeter Hall, then to Surrey Music Hall. In these
venues Spurgeon frequently preached to audiences numbering more than 10,000. At
22, Spurgeon was the most popular preacher of the day.[8]
On 8
January 1856, Spurgeon married Susannah, daughter of Robert Thompson of Falcon
Square, London, by whom he had twin sons, Charles and Thomas born on 20
September 1856. At the end of that year, tragedy struck on 19 October 1856, as
Spurgeon was preaching at the Surrey Gardens Music Hall for the first time.
Someone in the crowd yelled, "Fire!" The ensuing panic and stampede
left several dead. Spurgeon was emotionally devastated by the event and it had
a sobering influence on his life. He struggled against depression for many
years and spoke of being moved to tears for no reason known to himself.
Spurgeon.png
Walter
Thornbury later wrote in "Old and New London" (1897) describing a
subsequent meeting at Surrey:
“ a congregation consisting of 10,000
souls, streaming into the hall, mounting the galleries, humming, buzzing, and
swarming – a mighty hive of bees – eager to secure at first the best places, and,
at last, any place at all. After waiting more than half an hour – for if you
wish to have a seat you must be there at least that space of time in advance...
Mr. Spurgeon ascended his tribune. To the hum, and rush, and trampling of men,
succeeded a low, concentrated thrill and murmur of devotion, which seemed to
run at once, like an electric current, through the breast of everyone present,
and by this magnetic chain the preacher held us fast bound for about two hours.
It is not my purpose to give a summary of his discourse. It is enough to say of
his voice, that its power and volume are sufficient to reach every one in that
vast assembly; of his language that it is neither high-flown nor homely; of his
style, that it is at times familiar, at times declamatory, but always happy,
and often eloquent; of his doctrine, that neither the 'Calvinist' nor the
'Baptist' appears in the forefront of the battle which is waged by Mr. Spurgeon
with relentless animosity, and with Gospel weapons, against irreligion, cant,
hypocrisy, pride, and those secret bosom-sins which so easily beset a man in
daily life; and to sum up all in a word, it is enough to say, of the man
himself, that he impresses you with a perfect conviction of his sincerity. ”
Spurgeon's
work went on. A Pastors' College was founded in 1857 by Spurgeon and was
renamed Spurgeon's College in 1923, when it moved to its present building in
South Norwood Hill, London;[1]. At the Fast Day, 7 October 1857, he preached to
the largest crowd ever – 23,654 people – at The Crystal Palace in London.
Spurgeon noted:
“ In 1857, a day or two before preaching
at the Crystal Palace, I went to decide where the platform should be fixed;
and, in order to test the acoustic properties of the building, cried in a loud
voice, "Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the
world." In one of the galleries, a workman, who knew nothing of what was
being done, heard the words, and they came like a message from heaven to his
soul. He was smitten with conviction on account of sin, put down his tools,
went home, and there, after a season of spiritual struggling, found peace and
life by beholding the Lamb of God. Years after, he told this story to one who
visited him on his death-bed. ”
Metropolitan
Tabernacle[edit]
Spurgeon
preaching at the Surrey Music Hall circa 1858.
On
18 March 1861, the congregation moved permanently to the newly constructed
purpose-built Metropolitan Tabernacle at Elephant and Castle, Southwark,
seating 5000 people with standing room for another 1000. The Metropolitan
Tabernacle was the largest church edifice of its day. Spurgeon continued to
preach there several times per week until his death 31 years later. He never
gave altar calls at the conclusion of his sermons, but he always extended the
invitation that if anyone was moved to seek an interest in Christ by his
preaching on a Sunday, they could meet with him at his vestry on Monday
morning. Without fail, there was always someone at his door the next day.
He
wrote his sermons out fully before he preached, but what he carried up to the
pulpit was a note card with an outline sketch. Stenographers would take down
the sermon as it was delivered and Spurgeon would then have opportunity to make
revisions to the transcripts the following day for immediate publication. His
weekly sermons, which sold for a penny each, were widely circulated and still
remain one of the all-time best selling series of writings published in
history.
Missionary
preaching in China using The Wordless Book
Besides
sermons, Spurgeon also wrote several hymns and published a new collection of
worship songs in 1866 called "Our Own Hymn Book". It was mostly a
compilation of Isaac Watts's Psalms and Hymns that had been originally selected
by John Rippon, a Baptist predecessor to Spurgeon. Singing in the congregation
was exclusively a cappella under his pastorate. Thousands heard the preaching
and were led in the singing without any amplification of sound that exists
today. Hymns were a subject that he took seriously. While Spurgeon was still preaching
at New Park Street, a hymn book called "The Rivulet" was published.
Spurgeon aroused controversy because of his critique of its theology, which was
largely deistic. At the end of his review, Spurgeon warned:
“ We shall soon have to handle truth, not with
kid gloves, but with gauntlets, – the gauntlets of holy courage and integrity.
Go on, ye warriors of the cross, for the King is at the head of you. ”
On 5
June 1862, Spurgeon challenged the Church of England when he preached against
baptismal regeneration.[9] However, Spurgeon taught across denominational lines
as well: for example, in 1877 he was the preacher at the opening of a new
"Wee Free" church building in Dingwall. It was during this period at
the new Tabernacle that Spurgeon found a friend in James Hudson Taylor, the
founder of the inter-denominational China Inland Mission. Spurgeon supported
the work of the mission financially and directed many missionary candidates to
apply for service with Taylor. He also aided in the work of cross-cultural evangelism
by promoting "The Wordless Book", a teaching tool that he described
in a message given on 11 January 1866, regarding Psalm 51:7: "Wash me, and
I shall be whiter than snow." The book has been and is still used to teach
illiterate people and people of other cultures and languages – young and old –
around the globe about the Gospel message.[10][11]
Following
the example of George Müller, Spurgeon founded the Stockwell Orphanage, which
opened for boys in 1867 and for girls in 1879, and which continued in London
until it was bombed in the Second World War.[2] [3] [4] The orphanage became
Spurgeon's Child Care which still exists today. On the death of missionary
David Livingstone in 1873, a discolored and much-used copy of one of Spurgeon's
printed sermons, "Accidents, Not Punishments,"[12] was found among
his few possessions much later, along with the handwritten comment at the top
of the first page: "Very good, D.L." He had carried it with him
throughout his travels in Africa. It was returned to Spurgeon and treasured by
him.