Letters

The object of the gospel is not to make men anxious, but to calm their anxieties; not to fill them with endless controversy, but to lead them into all truth. The gospel gives rest of conscience by the complete forgiveness of sin through the atoning blood of Christ; rest of heart by supplying an object for the affections worthy of their love; and rest of intellect by teaching it certainties which can be accepted without question. Our message does not consist of things guessed a: by wit, nor evolved out of man’s inner consciousness by study, nor developed by argument through human reason; but it treats of revealed certainties, absolutely and infallibly true, upon which the understanding may rest itself as thoroughly as a building rests upon a foundation of rock. — C. H. Spurgeon.

MR. SPURGEON’S correspondence is simply voluminous. We were present on one occasion when his mail-bag arrived, and soon hundreds of letters lay piled on his table. Naturally, while human nature is what it is, he is questioned on every subject in heaven, and earth, and under the earth. Thousands of letters in the year must reach the waste-basket, but no letter of importance escapes his notice, and he is occupied for hours each Saturday answering correspondents. Many letters reach him, extracts of which find their way to the pages of his magazine. The preacher who receives them must feel deeply thankful that he is so highly honored of God in the ministry of the gospel. Many of them possess peculiar interest, and to gratify our readers we subjoin specimen copies. Their publication is not designed to glorify the preacher, but to magnify the grace of God in him and benefit each reader by their perusal.

A friend in Sydney writes as follows: —

•’ Dear Mr. Sturgeon, — It seems natural when help is given to acknowledge it, and I hope, therefore, you will not think that I am taking a liberty in writing to thank you for the great assistance you have been to me personally through the medium of two of your published sermons.

“The two sermons I refer to were entitled ‘Prayer Perfumed with Praise’ (No. 1469), and ‘Mistrust of God Deplored and Denounced’ (No. 1498). By reading these I have been led to exercise faith in a way never thought of before, and as a result have experienced a confidence sufficient to secure a long-desired blessing of a very practical kind; and though the responsibility attaching to such new circumstances is great, the assurance given that I shall be upheld according to His Word, and not be ashamed of my hope, is far greater.

‘* Allow me then, to thank you on my own behalf, and also on the part of another, for the blessing your sermons have been.

From Victoria: —

“My dear Sir, — I have often felt inclined to write you these last twelve years. At that time I lost a darling boy; everything seemed dark, and nothing brought me any comfort. The Word of God, that had been my stay through many similar trials, was all darkness to me. A friend brought me one of your sermons, and asked me to allow her to read it. At first I refused, but at last consented. I forget the title, but it was that everything was ordered by God — no chance. I felt all the time my friend was reading afraid to breathe. I could only say, ‘Go on, go on.’ When she had finished it I leaped from my couch and said, * All is right, thank God, my dark mind is all light again.’ I have had similar trials since, and many other trials, but I could say from my heart, ‘Thy will be done, it is all right.’ At this time my husband ordered your sermons monthly, and we still continue to do so. Every Sunday evening we read one of them aloud for all to hear, and afterwards I send them into * the bush.’ My dear sir, go on and preach what you feel. It has often been a great comfort to us that you seemed to feel just as we felt.”

“The son of red Kaffirs or raw Kaffirs” sends the following note from Port Elizabeth, South Africa: —

“Dear Sir, — I don’t know how to describe my joy and my feelings in this present moment. We never did see each other face to face, but still there is something between you and me which guided me to make these few lines for you. One day as I was going to my daily work I met a friend of mine in the street. We spoke about the Word of God, and he asked me whether I had ever seen one of Mr. Spurgeon’s books. I said, ‘What Mr. Spurgeon is that? One of the Independent ministers in London?’ and I said, ‘No, I never saw such a book in my life.” He said he bought 11 prom the bookseller. I asked the name of the book, and he said it was the ‘Metropohtan Tabernacle Pulpit,’ and I went straight to the shop and bought one. I have read a good bit of it. On my reading it I arrived on a place where Job said: ‘Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him.’ I am sure I can’t tell how to describe the goodness you have done to us, we black people of South Africa. We are not black only outside, even inside; I wouldn’t mind to be a black man only in color. It is a terrible thing to be a black man from the soul to the skin; but still I am very glad to say your sermons have done something good to me. May the Lord bless your efforts and prosper your work! May it please Him to gain many sons into His glory through you as His instrument, not only in London, but also in Africa!”

From Denmark: “Through twelve of your sermons, which are translated into Danish, I and my household have this winter been acquainted with your Christian announcement, and we thank you for every clearing and edifying word. We seceded from the Established Church a year ago, because we have so evidently seen the tragical consequences of the connection between the Church and the State, and we could not possibly act contrary to the conviction forced upon us by the reading of the New Testament, viz., the incorrectness of the infant baptism.”

Two missionaries in one of the isles of Greece write: “We read every Sunday a sermon; many times it is one of your sermons. Last Sunday the one we read was * The Good Samaritan’ (No. 1360). It made a deep impression on our minds. Your sermons are to us like rain upon a dry land. We have no church to attend, and no friends to associate with.”

A Baptist minister in North America writes: “Mr. Spurgeon’s writings have done more for me than the writings of any other uninspired man. Indeed, his influence is felt the wide world over. In the backwoods of this island a dying man the other week confessed that his soul had been impressed and enlightened by a sermon published in the ‘Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit; ’ while Baptists out here speak of ’ praying for Mr. Spurgeon ’ as a special duty. I have also discovered that preachers of other denommations are us in these sermons, from introduction to conclusion, and after the service it is somewhat amusing to find the volume under the seat of the sieigh.”

The following touching epistle comes from Florida: —

“My dear Brother in Christ, — Once upon a time a wealthy man, who owned many gardens, sent one of his gardeners to water the plants. The gardener went and adjusted the hose, turned the tap, and watered them far and near. Many of them were near him, but far away in a corner of the garden, farthest from the gardener, was a frail flower that had long been pining for the refreshing showers. The gardener, not knowing its need, nevertheless turned the hose in that direction, and the drooping plant revived and bloomed afresh, to delight all who chanced to come near it, and it loved the master and the mstniment, though the latter was unknown.

“Several weeks ago I lay ill, far away from London, in the wilds of Florida. Weak and faint-hearted, I lay pondering on the strange providence of the Master, when one of your sermons was placed in my hands. The refreshing shower revived me and gave me fresh hope and courage, and I rose from my sick couch to strive still more earnestly to gain access to the hearts of those by whom I am surrounded, and to-day, in a small class that I have formed out here in the wilderness, the Lord made His presence felt, and blessed us with an awakening that I have never seen here before, and tears of repentance were shed by many. I was so full of joy and gratitude to God that I felt, indeed I longed, to let you know that your influence as an instrument had even reached this place.”

From Michigan: “I have read your sermons many years, they are marrow and fatness to my soul. Toil on, O servant of Jesus! You gave me a pretty good lesson in your sermon entitled ‘The Dromedaries’ (No. 1504). I enclose you twenty-five dollars to buy ‘straw’ for your dromedaries; I leave the word ’ barley ’ for such persons as the lady who gave ;^20,ooo. I have just been reading ‘John Ploughman’s Talk.’ I think you are pretty tough on us slow folks; but if we all could keep up with you, don’t you think the world would run off her track in less than twenty-four hours?”

From Quebec: —

“My dear Sir, — Since reading a sermon delivered by you a long time ago on the text, ‘Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved’ (No. 293), and in which you set forth the great sin of unbelief, I have felt a strong desire to write to you and strengthen your hands by letting you know that your labor is not in vain, as I, for one, can testify to the great good derived from that and other sermons of yours. My father, before we left Scotland, seven years ago, always got your sermons, as well as your ‘Sword and Trowel,’ and having derived great benefit from them, he carefully put them away. About a year ago my brother sent me a few of those old sermons, which I read, and, glory be to God! opened my eyes while reading that sermon, and since then I have found peace in believing.”

One of ]Ir. Spurgeon’s elders sent him the following letter: —

“My dear Sir, — At a meeting last night I heard the following statement, which I think you will be pleased with: A member of one of our London churches said that, being an engineer, he had to reside for some little time in a foreign town, the name of which I did not catch, where he was entirely surrounded by Portuguese. He said it was very sweet to meet an Englishman anywhere under such circumstances to converse in his native tongue. He heard that there was an Englishman confined for life in the prison, and he determined to call on him and speak to him respecting the love of God to sinners. He got permission to see him, and having entered the prison, commenced at once speaking to him through the iron grating. The poor convict then told him that, a few years before that, a young Englishman called upon him in a similar manner and left behind some English novels, but between the leaves of one of the novels there was a sermon which had been preached in Exeter Hall, in 1856, by C. H. Spurgeon. The convict read it. It was upon ‘Salvation to the Uttermost’ (No. 84), and it referred to the murderer Palmer, then under sentence of death. The words entered into his heart, and he immediately knelt down in his cell and cried for pardon, and he received a sense of forgiveness on the spot, and he was still rejoicing in the assurance that God for Christ’s sake had forgiven him. He told

Mr. B. that he had no hope of liberty in this life, but he was nevertheless rejoicing in the glorious hope set before him in the gospel.”

The following letter refers to the fifteen-hundredth published sermon, “Number 1500; or, Lifting up the Brazen Serpent,”, preached in October, 1881: —

‘’Dear Sir, — Yesterday morning my brother passed from us at daybreak. Though unknown to you, I think you will like to hear something he said. On Tuesday evening I asked him, •What can I do to be as happy as you? ‘He answered with difficulty, ‘It’s all in “Instant Salvation” and Number 1500.’ Many times he has talked of Number 1500, and has directed me to send one to his brother. A member of your congregation sent me Number 1500 in a letter to him, a sort of sly way, perhaps, of giving it to him. A passer-by on St. Leonard’s Parade gave him ‘Instant Salvation.’ Sir, my brother’s words were, ‘Only Jesus, nothing but Jesus; Jesus! Jesus! ’ and he passed away without suffering, perfectly easy, pleasant, contented, joyous, and triumphant, and fully conscious up to five minutes from his death, so gently that I, a medical man, cannot say when he died — not the slightest struggle, only a gradually increasing stillness. Sir, if this letter be like a ‘well done’ from the Lord through the voice of my brother to you, I am glad, as it will give you pleasure. Don’t trouble to answer, I am not a Baptist, but a Church of England man.”

The following cheering note comes from the United States: “It will refresh your heart to learn that a beloved pastor in this country (whose teaching and preaching are a striking contrast to the vapid utterances of the humanitarians and sentimentalists who abound in all our cities) received through your ministry some years ago a very great blessing. He visited England, and planned to hear all the men of note in London. On his arrival he hap-, pened to learn that you were to speak one afternoon in the neighborhood of his hotel. That sermon did him so much good that he followed you around, and during his six weeks in London heard no other preacher. Your vindication of God’s grace and advocacy of His sovereignty in salvation, and your clear presentation of faith and assurance so filled him and confirmed his own views of divine truth, that he returned to his own country strong in the Lord and in the power of His might= He often speaks of that visit, and I have heard him frequently thank God for your ministry. He is truly a witness to the sufficiency of the Atonement, and a noble opposer of that science, falsely so called, which belittles the word of revelation.”

A minister in St. Petersburg, Russia, sends the following: “By your sermons, etc., you are having a part in the great work of spreading Christ’s kingdom both in St. Petersburg and in the interior. You are well known among the priests, who seem glad to get hold of your translated sermons, and, strange to say, I know cases in which the censor has readily given consent for your works to be translated when he has been reluctant respecting many.”

INIr. Spurgeon adds: “Another friend in the same city, who distributes our sermons, says that he gave one recently to an old Russian pope, or priest, who called upon him one Sunday while engaged at family prayer, and tried to sell him some pork. He says that he will get all the other sermons that are translated, and give them to as many popes as he can find access to.”

A Christian sister in India writes:” I enclose you a note which I received from a Mussulman to whom I had lent a book of yOur serrfions, and I request your prayers on his behalf, that he may have grace given him to profess Christ openly, and to come out

from ^lahometanism.” Here is the note:” ‘My dear Miss.

Your sermon-book has, indeed, converted me to Christianity. I do believe in Christ our Lord, and so long as my belief in Him is firmly rooted, I do not care what I may be called in the outer world. Mr. Spurgeon appears to be an extraordinary man.”

From Germany comes the following unsolicited testimony to the value of “The Treasury of David:” “I mailed one volume of * The Treasury ’ to Dr. Zoekler, and requested him to give me his opinion of it. Dr. Zoekler is considered (even among German pastors) a great bookworm, and I was a little curious to see what he would say. He declared the Commentary to be ’ a museum of spiritual treasures,’ and thought the publication of it would be to most German theologians like the discovery of ancient Troy by Schliemann. My Lutheran neighbors beg me to have the work done, if not for money, still for the good it would do, and they beg for the whole work.... There is nothing which might benefit Germany more than the publication of this work.”

Pastor Spurgeon adds: “A friend informs us that in Toulon, the great seaport and naval arsenal in the southeast of France, where there are many artisans and multitudes of sailors, a work similar to that of Mr. McAll in Paris has been commenced by M. Mass is, a Protestant pastor, assisted by his wife and a missionary. Several rooms have been opened for preaching, and converts gathered for worship and work. Recently, when both M. Mass is and his helper were compulsorily absent from the service, one of the converts undertook to lead the singing and prayer, but, being unable to preach, he read the French translation of our sermon, ‘Remember Lot’s Wife’ (No. 1491), and this was the means of the conversion of a whole family.”

“Another friend, who conducts services in a Hampshire village where a new chapel is being built, tells us that every Sunday evening for the last four years he has preached there, but being engaged in business all the week he cannot give much time to study. He says that he has, therefore, taken our sermons regularly, got all the marrow he could out of them, copied out the leading thoughts, lived in the subject all the week, and then given out to the people the honey he has gathered. He adds that God has blessed this system of working to the salvation of souls and the edification of believers, and that this way of proclaiming the truth has also interested the congregation.”

A fisherman in Scotland sends the following pleasing account of his conversion: ‘* I remember a colporteur coming to my mother’s house, and he asked me if I would buy a book. ‘Yes,’ says I, ’ if you have got any ballads,’ that is, Scotch songs. So he says to me: * If you give me a piece of fish I will give you something that will do you more good than ballads.’ I saw he desired my good, so I gave him half a codfish, and he gave me one of your sermons. The text was: * Look unto Me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else ’ (‘Sovereignty and Salvation,’ No. 60). While reading that sermon the blessed Spirit of God enlightened my understanding, and I saw Jesus set before me as my Saviour. Blessed hour! Happy day! Jesus washed my sins away.”

The secretary of the China Inland Mission writes: “This morning I received from one of our missionaries in China a letter, from which the following is an extract: *I just want to tell you one thing, which is the principal object I had in writing you this time. In “China’s jMillions,” of December, I think it is, you mentioned at one of the farewell meetings held on behalf of Messrs. Cooper, Protheroe, and Thompson, that besides Cooper there was another in China (Hunnex, I presume) who had been led to offer himself for the work through Mr. Spurgeon’s sermon, “The Divine Call for Missionaries” (No. 135 1). It was that ‘’call” that led me to offer myself to the C. I. M.; previous to that I had thought (D.V.) of applying to the London Missionary Society; but that call gave me no rest nor peace of mind till I had applied to the C. I. M., till I had read the “IMillions” sent down for my perusal, till I had again applied, filled up the form, and gone to London. So there are three working in connection with the C. I. M. who were led to give themselves for work in China through Mr. Spurgeon’s sermon.’”

A minister from Tennessee recently bore the following personal testimony: ‘’Nine years ago I was a wild young man, but I was converted through reading one of Mr. Spurgeon’s sermons, and I am now the minister of a large and influential church. The Lord’s name be magnified!”

One of the students recently received an application for baptism from a young Swiss lady, who gave this testimony: “My parents were members of the Protestant Established Church in Switzerland; but though I attended the ordinances and observed the ceremonies, I always felt that I was a hypocrite, for I never believed in them, but desired something which I could not get in the church. When I came to England I read a sermon by IIr. Spurgeon, which did me good. ‘John Ploughman’s Talk,’ though funny, was made a great blessing to me. I then bought his sermons, and read them, and I am now happy to say that I am trusting in Jesus. When I return home I shall distribute these sermons which have been so blessed to me.”

Mr. F. H. Newton, of the German Baptist Mission, writes: “I have just returned from a visit to several of our German churches, and especially of those in Russia. I feel sure you will be interested to learn that your printed words (in German) have always free admission into Russia, which is saying a great deal, the only exception being in the case of your sermon on ‘Baptismal Regeneration’ (No. 573), which one of our brethren translated into Russian and submitted to the censor of the press, who, however, refused to sanction it, as he considered it an attack upon the Greek Church. The brother still hopes to be permitted to print it.”

From the State of Virginia comes the following pleasing testimony: “Some years ago, when in the gall of bitterness and the bonds of iniquity, without God and without hope in the world, I was persuaded by a friend to read a volume of your- sermons, and now, my dear sir, let me tell you that if ever I felt the love of God shed abroad in my heart, or knew the truth as it is in Jesus, I owe it to the perusal of your sermons, and I am sure you were the means and instrument in the hands of God of my conversion.”

‘’ In recent numbers of ‘The Sword and the Trowel ’ several instances have been given of the good effects of Spurgeon’s sermons; will you allow the writer to add one more? In one of our resorts for invalids in the Midland Counties is a man of almost world-wide distinction, but who was better known thirty or forty years ago than he is to-day. His history is brimful of interesting incidents, and, when written, will be one of the most remarkable in modern times. He has seen eighty-eight summers, and though his natural force is abated and his eyes somewhat dimmed, he can, with the aid of a lens, see to read the daily papers, and is conversant with all the current events in national and social life. He is as sensitive as a barometer to any change in the diplomacy of the courts of Europe, and especially is this the case with anything connected with the tribes of Israel and their restoration to their own land. He has crossed the desert to visit Palestine, and on his first visit was accompanied by Dr. Black (who spoke nineteen languages), IMcCheyne, and Bonar. He has been the contemporary of some of the most distinguished divines, physicians, and writers that Scotland has ever known. He is now confined to his bed, from which he knows he will never be lifted until he is carried to the place of sepulchre. Not a murmur, however, escapes his lips. He has the piety of a saint and the simplicity of a child; but you can see the old fire burn when the foundation truths are assailed by men of modern thought. His chief joy on the Sabbath, dear Mr. Editor, is to hear one of your sermons. The reader is a little maid; and he avows that he has the best prcacJicr and hears the best sermon in the town. Need I say that our aged friend is Dr. Alexander Keith, the author of ‘The Evidence of Prophecy* and other valuable works. I am not commissioned by the seer to send you the above, but I am commissioned to give you his grateful thanks for the rich feast you give him. He, moreover, wished me to say that, while spending the winter at the Bridge of Allan, two or three years ago, your sermons were read by invalids in five separate rooms of the same establishment every Sunday. Many prayers go up daily to heaven for the continuance of your health and life, but not the least fervent come from the lips of this dear old man.”

A brother minister, who signs himself “A Daily Petitioner at the Throne of Grace on your behalf,” sends the following note: “About September, 1869, I attended the Tabernacle in company with my wife on a Thursday evening. Your text was: ‘And Lot... pitched his tent toward Sodom.’ As I listened to your earnest appeals, especially to Christians, my soul was stirred to its depths, and I could not but bedew the seat in the gallery with my tears. I felt a new baptism of love for souls, and returning home we both dedicated ourselves afresh to God, to spend and to be spent for those who know not the Saviour. I can truthfully say I have a measure of that power with me up to the present time, and since that memorable occasion I trust I have been enabled, both in the open air and in chapels, to win many souls for my Master, some of whom are gone home, and others are on the journey. To Him be all the praise!”

A friend in Jersey, in sending a donation for the Girls’ Orphanage, writes: “I have been a reader of your sermons these seventeen years or more, having had sent to me monthly the AustraHan papers in which they appear weekly. God has been graciously pleased to bless them to the salvation of my soul. I had almost begun to think my Saviour had forgotten me. I knew I had long ignored Him. I have lately found out the way to procure them in any number, and have gladly availed myself of it. I think I have now near six hundred of them. I lend them out in books of fifty. I prize them above every other means of grace save tJie Book. As you so frequently want money for the good works in which you are always engaged, I thought you would not despise my trifle. I wish it were fifty times as much.... Receive my sincere and heartfelt thanks for the unspeakable good your sermons have aff“orded and still afford me.”

A friend in Glasgow, who signs himself ‘’Your Loving Son in Jesus,” gives the following particulars of blessing received from one of the sermons: “About two years ago a sermon of yours entitled *The Search Warrant’ appeared in the ‘Christian Herald.* I had been anxious long before, but the Wednesday evening that this sermon came I went away into the country to read it. Oh, I was in earnest that night! When I was sure I was alone I stood and cried to God in prayer. In this prayer I was led to ask but one thing, — namely, that Spurgeon’s sermon might be the means of saving my soul that night. I opened the paper and read it with great attention. The Spirit was with me, and when I got half-way through brought home to me the words, ’ the very simplicity of faith makes the difficulty.’ I had always been searching for some dark, mvstcrious, hidden thinLj. Back I went to the beginning, with a firm resolve to read it simply. Then I saw how one thing after another was cast down, and Faith herself was made a standing-ground on which to place the only thing that I could see left in the whole sermon, — the beautiful, glorious, ’ altogether lovely ’ form of our wounded Emmanuel. Christ was everywhere, and even myself had vanished, for I was a new creature.... Thank God for a Spurgcon to preach ‘The Search Warrant!”

A friend writes from Manchester to tell us that her father, who has been a great drunkard for many years, has become a believer in the Lord Jesus, and has recently joined a Christian church. She says: “It is all through reading your * Seven Wonders of Grace.’”

The following is an extract from a letter of one of the missionaries of the China Inland Mission: “We stayed over the Sabbath at Ts6ng-k6-bu. ... In the evening, after reading Mr. Spurgeon’s sermon on ‘The Hiding of Moses by Faith’ (No. 142 1), I gave the substance of it in Chinese to our native pastor and the preacher at the above place, and then with deep-felt earnestness I prayed God to spare dear Mr. Spurgeon to the Church of Christ and to the world for many years to come. The Chinese cannot pronounce * Spurgeon ’ correctly, so we call Mr. Spurgeon in this quarter ‘Sze Pah-jing,’ — that is, ‘The Successor or Continuator of a Hundred Virtues.’ The word ’ hundred,’ in Chinese, stands for an indefinite number.”

From Natal comes a cheering letter, which contains the following references to Mr. Spurgeon’s sermons: “In 1860 I emigrated to South Africa, and on board the ship ‘John Masterman’ I received the first of your sermons I ever saw, and during our voyage they were read every Sabbath for divine service for the Presbyterian part of the passengers. I so loved your sermons that if I only got a spare leaf of one I treasured it and put it away.... I have a wife and eight children. I live on a small farm twelve miles away from my place of worship, and I have established a school on the farm, and with my own family, the schoolmaster, and some of the children, we muster a small band of from fifteen to twenty-two on the Lord’s-day evening to read one of your loved and highly appreciated sermons; and we seem to be as familiar with your name as if we met every Sabbath at the Tabernacle. I write this to let you know that even in this far-away place you have hearers that you knew not of. At the same time I take the opportunity of sending you the small sum of five pounds, which you can appropriate wherever it is most needed.”

The following pleasing note comes from Russia: “I came to this country about twenty-four years ago, and have been about in various parts of the interior ever since. Beyond having one volume of your sermons, I have not been much acquainted with the extent of your progress until the past year, during which I have taken In * The Sword and Trowel.’ Through it I have watched you with great interest and earnest prayer, and the first thing I fly to now on receiving a new number is your Personal Notes. ... I have a wife and eight children. A few weeks ago I explained to them the meaning of the Orphanage, and appealed to their feelings; the result was that I was authorized to go to their savings* bank and take out three roubles forty kopecks as the children’s contribution. We have now made up the sum to fifty-five roubles, which will be forwarded to you from St. Petersburg by a cheque. The amount should not be less than five pounds: please accept it. I am so deeply interested in all your noble institutions that I scarcely know how to divide it, but I think if you will give one pound to Mrs. Spurgeon for the Poor Ministers’ Clothing Fund, one pound to the Colportage Fund, and the balance to the Orphanage, we cannot do better.”

A Methodist minister in Ireland writes: “Many a time these few years I have wondered whether jou know that you are preaching in unnumbered pulpits every Lord’s day, in many cases word for word as reported in your volumes. Vou arc aware, I suppose, that the weekly sermon is read b- two thirds of the Protestants in Ulster. In some cases ten families join in taking it, and lend it from one to another.”

The deacons of a church in South Australia, in sending a donation for the Girls’ Orphanage, say: “We have for years past received substantial help from your printed sermons. Christians have been helped on their way, and others have through their instrumentality been introduced into the light and liberty of the gospel.”

A sailor friend, who distributes Mr. Spurgeon’s sermons and other works wherever his ship goes, writes from Jamaica: “We have given away nearly all the books and sermons that we had. Wc are saving a few for the poor negroes at the other ports to which we are going. They were so thankful for them at the P’alkland Islands, and enjoyed reading them so much. In one house I went in, I saw ‘Morning by Morning’ and ‘Evening by Evening’; they looked quite homely to me, as we use them every morning and evening on board ship.”

Another writes: ‘* Though it may be known to you already, I venture to mention one incident which was brought to my notice. The little island of Bryher (one of the Scilly Isles), though it only has one hundred and twenty inhabitants, contains a church and a chapel. Service is held at the church occasionally, and then the chapel is closed. On other Sundays the service is held at the chapel, and the sexton, who is also clerk at the church, reads one of your sermons, and they sing Wesley’s hymns.”

We subjoin the following letter, written to Mr. Spurgeon in his editorial capacity, as another illustration of the marvellous influence he is wielding over all classes of men. He is always happy in preaching to sailors, and his prayers often ascend on behalf of the sons of the sea: —

Dear Mr. Editor, — You have often been called a many-sided man: I shall therefore address your editorial personality, and consider for the moment that you are not the preacher I heard on Thursday evening last. I venture to think the Metropolitan Tabernacle had more sailors and sailor workers to this service than ever before. The good manager of the Sailors’ Home sent up two wagon-loads, while Miss Macpherson’s lady friends marched at the head of a splendid column of hardy, well-dressed sailors. Very few ports of the world were unrepresented, while captains, officers, and missionaries helped to fill the first gallery. Much prayer had been offered and enthusiasm awakened by Mr. Spurgeon having promised to preach a sailors’ sermon. At seven he came down to his quarter-deck looking careworn and overworked, as though he had been watching a week in the Channel. But as he looked at his crew on the starboard and port sides inspiration came, and the buoyancy of his spirit returned.

The intercessory prayer for those at sea and those on shore waiting for missing ships, led many hearts to the throne of grace. As to the sermon, having graduated in God’s university, the sea, with wind and wave, rock and sand, sun and star for my professors, I would, as a qualified judge, pronounce it A i at Lloyds’. It was simply first-rate, and worthy of the great preacher and his glorious theme, ‘’The sea is His, and He made it.” I want, believing; that it is calculated to bless the sailor and his cause and to glorify the God of the sea, to send it out as a tidal wave of blessing to the ends of the earth. Give me fifty thousand, and I can supply every lighthouse and lightship on our coast, every lifeboat and coastguard station, every British consulate and sailors’ mission in the world, and the great British mercantile marine. Give me a hundred thousand, and her Majesty’s ships and the American navy shall be supplied as well. But fifty tJiousand copies I must have, and I solemnly ask: Who is going to do this for Jesus, the Lord High Admiral of the seas? Some $i,ooo would cover the entire cost, and I would undertake with our staff of the British and Foreign Sailors’ Society, and associate societies, a proper distribution. Your readers are not aware that in January of this year the effective tonnage of the mercantile navies of the British Empire was 16,000,000, while the rest of the world only had some 11,500,000. This means that under one flag, and that flag the British, there is now fifty-eight per cent of the shipping of the whole world. Storms that hurled the Tay Bridge into the sea have played havoc with our shipping, both sail and steam. In the past year (1879), not counting the exceptionally disastrous months of this year, no less than 1,688 vessels were I’eported to have been wrecked, with an estimated value, including cargoes, of $127,500,000!

But what became of those on board? About five thousand perished! People have no conception of our ocean empire. Why, there are fifty thousand fishing-boats around the coasts of Britain alone!

Is it, then, too much to ask for a hundred thousand copies of this special sermon? The sailors are absent, they cannot plead for themselves. This is why they are too often forgotten. It will cheer Mr. Spurgeon if we could thus serve the sailor. Who dare estimate the outcome of this effort for the extension of the Redeemer’s kingdom? Who will thus help to make the sailors the unpaid evangelists of Christ to all the nations? All hands lay hold of this rope and give us a pull; but you, Mr. Editor, must give the command, or few will obey. Yours faithfully,

Edward W. Matthews,

Secretary, British and Foreign Sailors’ Society, Shadwell, London.