Spurgeon: A Testimonial

‘If Spurgeon has been a blessing to your soul, would you consider writing a brief testimonial,’ they said. Not an easy task, because Spurgeon has been such a blessing to me, but to begin with, there are the Sermons, in which Spurgeon takes a small phrase of Scripture and uses it as the key to open up a vista of the rich tapestry of Scripture deftly applied to his hearers for their salvation and edification.

Then there are the devotionals, Morning And Evening, encouraging individuals and families to pause at the beginning and end of each day to have a quiet time with the Lord in contemplation of his Word and prayer. (‘Let prayer be the lock of the night and the key of the morning’, he said.)

The ‘how-to’ books apply biblical principles to various aspects of the Lord’s work. Lectures To My Students and An All-Round Ministry join Scriptural methods to Scriptural teaching, while Come, Ye Children is a delightful book to place in the hands of youth workers, displaying Spurgeon’s own Christ-like love for children and his ability to speak to them simply but not condescendingly. The Greatest Fight In The World calls for a Godly approach in discerning the battle lines of conflict and how to defend the true faith. (‘We cannot fight the Lord’s battles with the Devil’s weapons.’)
Smaller books like Around The Wicket Gate and Advice For Seekers were designed to help in one-to-one or door-to-door evangelism; the Sword And Trowel magazine brought the work of the Metropolitan Tabernacle and the pastor’s labours before the wider world.

Smaller still is Spurgeon’s Mission Statement at the opening of the Metropolitan Tabernacle: ‘I would propose that the subject of Ministry in this house, as long as this platform shall stand, and as long as this house shall be frequented by worshipers, shall be the person of Jesus Christ. . .’ Surely this should inform all of us who are engaged in the Lord’s work.

However, I have found the greatest blessing of Spurgeon’s legacy to us to be his mighty commentary on the Psalms, The Treasury Of David. I dare not preach on the Psalms without consulting it. Here the storehouse of Spurgeon’s own treasury of wisdom and knowledge meets the Psalmist’s to present us with immeasurable spiritual treasure. David’s life experience is matched with many of the Psalms and joined with the experiences faced by the Lord’s people throughout their earthly pilgrimage. It is full of quotable quotes which can still enrich preaching in our own day; it is profoundly simple, yet simply profound. I must confess, though that I pay scant attention to all the additional material Spurgeon has added, and I think if it were published in a modern format with all of the extraneous material excised and Spurgeon’s own words lightly edited it would become even more valuable.

Remembering Spurgeon brings to mind Hebrews 13:7-8: ‘Remember your leaders, who spoke the Word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.’