From the Heart of Spurgeon

I Was Before (S1574)

This is the last sermon in Volume 26 of the Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit. After a fairly extended introduction in which the preacher sets out to demonstrate that “true penitents do not seek to extenuate or diminish the sin which has been forgiven them, but they own how great it is, and set it forth in all its enormity as it appears before their enlightened eyes,” Spurgeon launches into his main substance. Although it has no publication date, it may be selected for the last sermon of the year because of its retrospective emphasis. Look back, says Spurgeon, to excite adoring gratitude; look back to sustain deep humility; look back to renew genuine repentance; look back to kindle fervent love; look back to arouse ardent zeal; look back to make you hopeful for the salvation of others; look back to confirm your confidence for yourselves. Of course, you need not wait until year’s end for such a retrospective. Every child of God can consider what they were before, and be stirred up to such deep affections.

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The Lamentations of Jesus (S1570)

In this sermon Spurgeon seeks to plumb something of the depths of Christ’s grief over sin. (Interestingly, the following week, and the following printed sermon, is an effort properly to record the joy of our Lord.) The preacher begins with a brief survey of the three occasions on which our Lord wept, revealing his grief over domestic sorrow, national troubles, and human guilt. It is the second of these to which he turns his attention. Spurgeon first of all assesses the Lord’s inward grief, looking at the heart from which poured forth such tears. While this might horrify some (and please others), Spurgeon also offers a fairly bold rejection of divine impassibility (which he does a few times over the course of the next few sermons, so it is no passing thought). He is not at his clearest at this point in the sermon, both with regard to Christ’s two natures and the nature of God himself, perhaps seeking to communicate something of the depths of the Mediator’s sorrow. But the heart which produced these tears of distress also produced words of sorrow, and these allow the preacher to trace something more of the cause of our Saviour’s anguish of heart. All this leads to a pointed conclusion, in which the Spurgeon holds out not only the horror of condemnation, but also the opportunity to enter into the new Jerusalem through faith in this same Jesus who wept over the earthly city.

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Walking Humbly with God (S1557)

This is one of those sermons which seems to bubble over in a torrent from the preacher’s soul. Rather than broadening out, it narrows down, perhaps a reflection of pressure of time in the preaching, coming to an ever more narrow focus. The sermon begins with the excellence of a humble walk, considering what that means. It moves on to the humble walk as an evidence of salvation, with Christ in his proper place in your heart. This humble walk is also a symptom of spiritual health, calling us to self-examination, including in our response to providences which we may not appreciate. It is also a cause for very great anxiety, by which Spurgeon means that we must take it seriously, because it is too easy to presume upon. Finally, a humble walk is the source of the deepest conceivable pleasure, for “the man that leaves everything to God finds joy in everything.” The sermon is a great example of unpacking a very brief phrase in a thoroughly Christian fashion, pressing it into the conscience in a way that both brings us low and lifts us up.

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The Glories of Forgiving Grace (S1555)

This very sweet sermon takes a seminal declaration of gracious forgiveness as the starting point of a very simple treatment of this central theme. After an introduction in which he presses home the need to believe what God says concerning forgiveness, Spurgeon launches into a warm treatment of the measure, manner, and manifestations of forgiving grace. In the first he emphasises the divine largesse, the greatness of God’s heart in putting away sin, the riches of divine grace. In the second, which is much like the first in tone, he calls us to reckon with God acting in accordance with those divine riches. In the third, his emphasis turns to the fact that it is through the redemption in Christ’s blood that these riches of grace are revealed and bestowed. As he concludes, he returns to the thrust of his introduction, asking us whether or not it is right for believers to speak of themselves using the same language as unbelievers, to pray or praise as if we had not received the forgiveness of sins. The preacher calls us to feel the love that arises from forgiven sin, the only proper response to such wonders of grace.

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John and Herod (S1548)

A typically probing sermon from Spurgeon, who is as tenacious in calling for self-examination as he is earnest in pleading the cause of Jesus Christ. Though he gives a little time to John, it is really only to set up the Baptist as the foil for Herod. At first, Spurgeon speaks charitably of all that Herod did which was “so far, so good.” Then, he speaks honestly of all that Herod lacked, and how—despite some fair appearances—he ultimately had no faith in or attachment to the Jesus whom John preached. Finally, he speaks sadly of Herod’s end, pleading with his hearers not to fall into Herod’s trap. With characteristic precision, Spurgeon probes our souls, forcing us to ask whether or not we are dallying with faithful preachers or truly embracing the Jesus whom they preach. We cannot afford to be merely impressed; we must be converted indeed.

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The Mediator—Judge and Saviour (S1540)

Here Spurgeon considers two offices of Christ, those of Judge and Saviour, as they are found in him as Mediator. Both, he suggests, have reference to mankind as sinners, and then he unpacks what that means, and the relationship which they have to each other, and how the one leads us to the other. It is, on some levels, a very simple sermon, and yet the tracing out of the two offices—without being overly clever and showy—enables the preacher to press home the realities of both sin and grace, concluding with an earnest plea to come to the Saviour who forgives in order that you might not be judged as you deserve. It is a good example of a sermon which seems quite straightforward on the surface (albeit Spurgeon’s headings require a little more careful thought than is sometimes the case) while having and drawing out depths of understanding beneath it and behind it.

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On Whose Side Are You? (S1531)

This rallying-cry is drawn from Moses’ question to Israel when sin was rampant among the people, and the sermon is preached shortly after a general election when men had been choosing a side. Spurgeon uses the political and social climate to impress upon our souls spiritual truth. After drawing attention to the character of Moses, Spurgeon looks at the question and command which issues from him, in terms of decision, avowal, and consecration. He elevates it to the very question of salvation and extends it to every consequent decision which a believer makes in the service of Christ. With characteristic intensity, the preacher calls for an entire commitment to the Lord based on our relationship to him as our Creator, Redeemer, and Preserver, and applies it closely to his own society, and—by extension—to ours, asking about our modes of worship, our casual superstitions, our sinful amusements, and our general tampering with principle. As so often, we are called to repentance and to correction, stirred and drawn by the King whom we serve and the matters which are at stake.

 

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The Fair Portrait of a Saint (S1526)

This sermon digs deep into our attitude to the Word of God. Sometimes Spurgeon draws lines from a text, at other times—as this one—he draws lines through the text, working phrase by phrase through the verses he is handling, explaining and applying as he goes. It is, in one sense, the very demonstration of the principles he is setting forth. Job stated, “My foot has held fast to his steps; I have kept his way and not turned aside. I have not departed from the commandment of his lips; I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my necessary food.” From this, Spurgeon asks us to consider Job’s holy life, his tenacity in knowing and doing God’s will, and then Job’s holy sustenance, how his delight in the words of God’s mouth have been food to his soul. As so often, Spurgeon combines rebuke with comfort, exhortation with consolation, both to challenge us with regard to holy living, and to encourage us with regard to the strength God supplies for such a life.

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At School (S1519)

“Teach me to do your will.” That may seem like a very simple and straightforward prayer, but what does it mean to pray it, and what kind of answer might we expect? Spurgeon anticipates a child of God who seeks to know what is the path of obedience, but is perplexed and distressed. He therefore unpacks this brief petition to show us the character, the substance, and the intent of a prayer that has no taint of a legal spirit. Then he explores the ways in which God might answer this prayer, leading us in the right way by all the means which he has at his disposal to show us what is true and good and right. It is a sweetly pastoral sermon on a number of levels, for it anticipates particular difficulties, offers distinct encouragements, corrects specific misunderstandings, and urges manifest obedience. There is nothing here that is complicated, mysterious, or bewildering. It is sanctified and spiritual sense for holy living in a world in which the right way is not always easy to discern.

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Cheer up, My Comrades (S1513)

This sermon might be read as a follow-up to that on “The Dromedaries.” If the former sermon is intended to help us find our proper place, the purpose of this “is for every man to have a good spirit in his present place, so as to occupy it worthily.” The preacher says he is less interested here to arrange the people where they might be and more to encourage the people where they are. Thus in broad strokes he addresses six classes of Christian workers: those who think they can do nothing; those who think they are laid aside; those who have only small talent; those who are under great difficulties; those who are not appreciated; and, those who are discouraged because they have so little success. Given that most Christian workers fall into one or more of those categories at any given time, and often over a period of time, there should be something here for every labouring saint.

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