A Letter to Her Friends

From The Sword and the Trowel, August 1876

BY “Few Words” in the February number of The Sword and the Trowel were received with so much tender sympathy and consideration, that I feel encouraged to present you with another slight sketch of the work which the Lord’s love and your kindness have made so prosperous. I then told you from how small a matter the fund rose, and how pitifully and graciously the Lord dealt with me in giving me so blessed a work to do for him when all other service was impossible. Now I have the same song to sing, but the notes are higher and more assured, and the accompanying chords deeper and fuller; for the “little one has become a thousand,” and the mercy which was so great before has grown exceedingly, until my heart echoes the poet’s words: —

“For if thy work on earth be sweet,

What must thy glory be?”

I have very much to tell you, and I shall do it in the best way I can; but as all my friends know that my pen is “unaccustomed to public speaking,” I think I may crave special indulgence for all failures and shortcomings.

We will discuss money matters first, because I want you to sing “Laus Deo” with me. John Ploughman says that “Spend, and God will send, is the motto of a spendthrift.” Now, I must not dispute this, for dear John is always right, and, moreover, knows all about everything, but I may say I consider it singularly inappropriate to the spendthrift, and should like it handed over to me at once and for ever for my Book Fund; for again and again has it been proved most blessedly true in my experience. I have “spent” ungrudgingly, feeling sure that the Lord would “send” after the same fashion, and indeed he has done so, even “exceeding abundantly above what I could ask or even think.” I have received now upwards of ^500, and the glory of this is that it is all spent, and more keeps coming! I never tell you, dear friends, when my store is slender, but I am sure the Lord does, and opens your hearts to give just when it is most needed; for never since I first began the work have I had to refuse an application for want of funds. I must tell you, too, that this ^500 represents quite ^700 or ^800 in books; for Mr. Spurgeon’s good publishers let me purchase on such liberal terms that by their delightful magic my sovereigns turn into thirty and sometimes forty shillings each! This, also, is of the Lord, and I bless Him for it. I often look with intense pleasure on the long list of subscribers’ names spread out before the Lord, and before Him only; for your kind deeds, my dear friends, are unpublished to the world, but are, perhaps, for this reason all the more precious in his sight, who “seeth not as man seeth.” It is,

indeed, pleasant to look down the long columns and note how many strangers have become dear friends, and former friends have grown dearer through this loving link of sympathy for Christ’s servants between us.

But it is time I gave you some details of the work accomplished. The number of books given up to this moment is 3,058, and the persons receiving them have been pastors of all denominations. But ah! dear friends, when I look at the list of names, I see the only shadow of sadness that ever rests upon my Book Fund. It is the grief of knowing that there exists a terrible necessity for this service of love; that without this help (little enough, indeed, compared with their wants) the poor Pastors to whom it has been sent must have gone on famishing for lack of mental food, their incomes being so wretchedly small that they scarcely know how to “provide things honest” for themselves and their families, while money for the purchase of books is -absolutely unattainable. Hear what one says, who like Paul, can thank God he is “chargeable to none”: —

Dear Mrs. Spurgeon, — In this month’s Sword and Trowel ministers are kindly invited to apply for a grant of books from your Book Fund. I should be glad of a grant if ever so smalL .... I have a wife delicate in health, necessitating the keeping of a servant; we have had twelve children, six the Lord has taken home, and six are with us here. Not a year has passed since our marriage (twenty-five years ago) without the doctor being in the house; I am but now slowly recovering from illness, the effect of an overwrought mind and frame; the eldest of our children living is the only one earning anything, and he but a trifle more than sufficient to clothe him; we hardly make the two ends meet, and were it not for the extras the Lord is ever and anon sending us, we could

not do so at all I take in The Sword and the Trowel ’, Baptist

Messenger, and Mr. Spurgeon’s “Sermons”; am extravagant enough sometimes to buy a two shilling or two shilling and sixpenny book: but the whole of my library would scarcely fetch thirty shillings.... The Lord is good to us; though often lacking, there is help at last, and I trust, if it is his will, the lack which I feel for books he will kindly supply, to some extent, through your Book Fund.

After having received a nice box of books this tried brother writes: —

I know not how to express my gratitude for the choice and valuable books you have sent me. I do not think I could ever have dreamed of having the four volumes of “The Treasury of David.” May the Lord grant, indeed, that it may be a “treasure” to myself and others. Bless His name, He has indeed done all things well, and has again and again showed us “He is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble, and He knoweth them that trust in Him,” In that He has through you sent me such valuable aid, He has shown again how mindful He is of the least of His children.

Their very gratitude for the boon conferred often makes my heart ache in the midst of its gladness; for the sense of need must have been sorely felt, since relief is received with such rapture. Here are one or two more selections from scores of similar epistles.

I have a family of eight children, four of whom are now grown up. My stipend at first was £6o t it is now £70; my wife for seventeen years has managed the house without the assistance of a servant, and our expenditure, with the utmost thrift and economy, always exceeds my stipend; but through a kind Providence we are enabled to do, and pay ready cash for everything.

My salary is £80 per annum; with a wife and three children into the bargain. I have a few books, and among them the first five volumes of Mr. Spurgeon’s “Sermons,” which I purchased before I was married; and a short time since I invested £2 17s. in the purchase of Brown and Fausset’s “Commentary,” and my wife thinks it will be a very long time before we recover the shock which this outlay has given to our finances.

It is most touching to hear some tell with eloquence the effect the gift produced upon them. One is “not ashamed to say” he received his parcel with “tears of joy,” wife and children standing around and rejoicing with him. Another, as soon as the wrappings fall from the precious volumes, praises God aloud and sings the Doxology with all his might; while a third, when his eyes light on the long-coveted “Treasury of David,” “rushes from the room” that he may go alone and “pour out his full heart before his God.”

Now this is very beautiful and admirable, but is there not also something most sorrowfully suggestive to the church of God? Surely these “servants of Christ,” these “ambassadors for God,” ought to have received better treatment at our hands than to have been left pining so long without the aids which are vitally necessary to them in their sacred calling. Books are as truly a minister’s needful tools as the plane, and the hammer, and the saw, are the necessary

adjuncts of a carpenter’s bench. We pity a poor mechanic whom accident has deprived of his working gear, we straightway get up a subscription to restore it, and certainly never expect a stroke of work from him while it is lacking; why, I wonder, do we not bring the same common-sense help to our poor ministers, and furnish them liberally with the means of procuring the essentially important books? Is it not pitiful to think of their struggling on from year to year on ^ioo, ;£8o, £ 6 op and some (I am ashamed to write it) on less than ^50 per annum? Many have large families, many more sick wives, some, alas! have both; they have heavy doctors’ bills to pay, their children’s education to provide for, are obliged to keep up a respectable appearance, or their hearers would be scandalized; and how they manage to do all this and yet keep out of debt (as, to their honour and credit be it said, the majority of them do) only they and their ever-faithful God can know! I never hear a word of complaint from them, only sometimes a pathetic line or two like this: “After upwards of sixteen years’ service in the Master’s vineyard, I am sorry to say that, with a small salary, and a wife and five daughters to provide for, my library is exceedingly small, and I am not in a position to increase its size by purchasing books.” Or again like this: “My salary is small G£6o), and if I did not get some little help from some benevolent societies, I should have very great difficulty in keeping the wolf from the door.” Are these men to be kept in poverty so deep that they positively cannot afford the price of a new book without letting their little ones go barefoot? “The labourer is worthy of his.

hire;” but these poor labourers in the gospel field get a pittance which is unworthy both of the workmen and the work, and if their people (who ought to help them morey either cannot or will not do so, we at least, dear friends, will do all in our power to encourage their weary hearts and refresh their drooping spirits. This is a digression, I dare say, from my authorized subject; but I was obliged to say what I have said, because my heart was hot within me, and I so earnestly want to do these poor brethren good service. Now I return to the details of my work.

I have been doing a brave business in Wales through the magnificent generosity of a stranger, whom now we count a friend. This gentleman first introduced himself to us by sending to Mr. Spurgeon, £$0 of which was for my Book Fund. I was greatly, gratified at receiving so large a sum all at one time, and set about “spending” it as quickly as possible, and here you will see how grandly true my “motto” proved; for, about six months after the first gift* the same kind friend called at our house one evening, and to our sincere admiration and astonishment, announced his intention of giving a copy of “Lectures to my Students” to every Calvinistic Methodist minister, preacher, and student in North Wales (of whom there are five hundred) if I would undertake the “trouble” of sending them. Trouble!! The word was inadmissible! With intense joy and deep gratitude to God I received the charge, and another ^50 to meet expenses I This was on the 18th of March, 1876. Since then, to this day, the work there has flourished; for as soon as 400 copies had been given in the northern part, I received authority from the same noble donor to continue, at his expense, the distribution throughout South Wales also. The books are very eagerly accepted by our Welsh brethren, and on May 16th, the Quarterly Association sent copies in Welsh and English of a resolution passed at their meeting at Ruthin, of “Cordial thanks to the kind brother, whoever he may be, to whose liberality we are indebted, etc, etc., and grateful acknowledgments to Mrs. Spurgeon, for her kindness in forwarding the books.” Nor does the matter rest here; other ministers besides Calvinistic Methodists coveted the precious volume, and wrote to me asking why they should be left out? I have supplied all who have written, and at this present moment I have promised copies to all the Wesleyan ministers of South Wales, and when they are satisfied, I doubt not their northern brethren will request the same favour. These copies, of course, are provided by my Book Fund, our friend’s gift being confined to his own denomination; but you see, dear friends, I never can be the least troubled at a large expenditure, because I, have the firmest possible faith in my motto, “Spend, and God will send”

Some weeks since, a gentleman sent me a splendid lot of second-hand books, so well selected and suitable, that they have proved most valuable in making up parcels; but usually I would prefer that help did not come to me in that shape; for I find, as a rule, that Mr. Spurgeon’s works are more eagerly sought after, and more joyfully welcomed than any others. “His words are like the dew-drops of heaven to my soul,” writes one pastor; and to most “The Treasury of David” seems to have been a possession long coveted and ardently desired.

Am I not happy to have been able to send forth seven hundred volumes of this veritable “Treasure”? I have given also a goodly number of Mr. Spurgeon’s lesser works. This arises from the fact that many evangelists, colporteurs, and lay preachers apply to me for books; and, although my fund is chiefly for the aid and comfort of poor Pastors, I find this other class so sorely needing encouragement and help, that I cannot pass them by. Denied the blessing of a solid education in their youthful days, they find it difficult to pick up knowledge in middle life, and when called upon to conduct cottage-meetings or open-air services, they painfully feel the strain on their mental powers. To such the “Morning and Evening Readings” are an inestimable boon; for, open the book where they will, they may find sermons in embryo in every page, and nuggets of thought only waiting to be picked up and appropriated. The following letter from one who left the Colportage for the ministry will confirm my statement: —

Dear Madam, — Pardon the liberty I am taking, but I think I may say if anyone needed a little help in the book line I do. I am labouring in three country villages, preaching to and visiting the people. I am receiving £(& a-year, and have five children to provide for. I cannot find money to purchase books, and my stock is limited to a few works — old sermons, etc. I can assure you Mr. Spurgeon’s “Lectures to my Students” would be thankfully received. I dare not ask any further, having no claims whatever on your generosity. Your kind letter in The Sword and the Trowel has encouraged me to make this application. I don’t know what I should do sometimes but for Mr. Spurgeon’s “Evening by Evening,” which not only helps us in our family dev<#^,TJftrpn?^ides me with many a subject for my congregations; % Some books were sent, and this, grateful answer received: —

I beg to acknowledge your kind present, which reached me on Saturday evening. My children could not have been more delighted if they had received a parcel containing toys than I was when I saw the contents of the package. I cannot find words to express my heartfelt thanks to you; I could only exclaim, “How good is my Father in heaven!” Like the poor negro, I might say, “Bless the Lord; me hab all kind o’ commodations, like Joseph in Egypt. May the Lord reward you by sending in abundantly the help you need to carry on, your work of love.

Next to “The Treasury of David,” the “Sermons” of our very dear Editor are the objects of desire on the part of those who know their worth, and happy is he who has the set complete! I have helped very many to attain their wishes in this matter when they have already possessed many volumes; others have to be content for the present with three, four, six, or eight volumes, as the case may be. I cannot speak of the blessing these Sermons carry with them wherever they go; God owns and blesses them so mightily that eternity alone will reveal their power and value.

And now, dear friends, though I have by no means exhausted my information,.! think I have told you all I can remember of special interest. What do you think of your work? It is yours as much as mine; for without your kind and loving aid I could not carry it on to so large an extent. Does it satisfy and please you? To me, as you know, it brings unalloyed joy and comfort, and to the Lord’s poor servants it carries new life, and light, and vigour; but I want most of all that it should promote Gods glory, and have for its chief aim and object the uplifting of His holy name. Do, dear fellow-workers, pray very earnestly that a rich blessing may rest upon every book sent out, so that first the minister, then his church, and next of all the unsaved in the congregation, may be the better, and the Lord may receive “the thanksgiving of many.”

I cannot close my letter without reference to my little lemon plant; for its history interested many, and it will ever be tenderly associated in my mind with my God-given work. It has thriven in its way as gracefully and grandly as the

Book Fund, and is now an ambitious, healthy young tree,

preparing itself, I hope, for future fruit-bearing. One of

John Ploughman’s “boys” (such a dear, good boy according to

his mother) can use his pencil deftly, and handle the graving

tool with some skill (though John’s wife says she knows

his father’s heart is set upon his following the old plough

some day); so I asked him to make me v £

a little sketch of my pretty tree, and

here it is, dear friends, for you to see,

though I can assure you the grace of its mil*

form and the glossy beauty of its leaves jgggp

cannot be depicted. I have always

cherished the fanciful idea that each

leaf must represent ^ioo; so now you

can count them, and smile at the magnificent future I anticipate for my Book

Fund. Twenty-one, are there not?

That must mean ^2,100, and plenty of
strength to grow more l Well, it seems
a great deal of money, certainly; but

what a trifle it must be to the God who r

made all the silver and the gold! Ah! y

I believe that some day, r

u When grace has made me meet
His lovely face to see,*’

the subscription list of the Book Fund i %

will record its thousands of pounds; the

once tiny plant will be a tree bearing

fruit to perfection, and the dear old

motto, “Spend, and God will send,”

will be found true and unfailing to the

With the utmost loving gratitude, dear friendsTlam, on the behalf of Christ’s poor servants, your happy almoner*