Introductory

Behold, at this hour our moral history is being preserved for eternity. Processes are at work which will perpetuate our every act and word and thought. Not alone the last page, but every line and letter of our actual history, is being stereotyped for the world’s perusal in the day which shall reveal the secrets of men. We are not writing upon the water, but carving upon imperishable material. The chapters of our history are “graven with an iron pen and lead in the rock for ever.” — C. H. Spurgeon.

IT JE first introduce the preacher as he was when, in early ’ manhood, both his manner and matter startled England out r/f her reverie, and awoke many sleepers on distant shores. A Bristol college man gives us four pen pictures of Mr. Spurgeon, taken a quarter of a century ago, and kept ever since in the album of memory. To those who did not see the Evangelist-pastor in his younger days, these photographs will be full of interest; to those who have neither heard nor seen him, they present the man in early life in all the vigor and power of fresh manhood. After seeing a picture, we become interested in the subject and present our inquiries. The antecedents of Mr. Spurgeon, and his subsequent history, will be given later on. Remember, the pictures are those of a very young man, whose career had already been watched for some time with absorbing interest by millions of people. Thus the college man writes: —

It was from the lips of my tutor, who was an earnest Christian man as well as an able scholar, that I first heard the name of the popular minister who had even then made New Park Street Church famous. It was my last year at school, and I enjoyed rather more liberty than the other boys. Need I add that, after receiving the permission, it was not long before I was trying to make my way into the pretty, and then newly built, chapel where Mr. Hebditch preached? The place was quite full, and it was with difficulty that I managed to ensconce myself behind the pulpit. A few minutes afterwards, Mr. Spurgeon ascended the latter, and I saw for the first time the preacher who was to be the Wliitfield of the nine* teenth century. My recollection of the appearance of the youthful divine is very vivid. Already inclined to be stout, with a face somewhat pale, and innocent of beard or mustaches, but often played over by a genial smile which won your confidence at once, with fearless, kindly eyes that told of the bold spirit and warm heart within, with black hair lightly tossed off the open brow, with gestures rather more frequent and rhetorical than those with which the great preacher now indulges, the hand being often uplifted, and with that rich, round, full voice which has never failed to charm with its music those who have had the privilege of listening to it, I still see and hear Mr. Spurgeon as he preached that morning at the chapel. The point in the sermon which remained clear in my mind was the very pronounced teaching of the doctrine of Election, and the preacher’s assertion of his being at one with Calvin and Augustine, of whom, as well as of the doctrine, my knowledge at that time was by no means extensive. At the close of the sermon, as Mr. Spurgeon stepped down from the pulpit, everybody made a rush at his unfortunate hand; and I, by poking mine through the rails, managed to get a friendly shake from it. I have often thought since, when seeing Mr. Spurgeon coming down from other pulpits, or among his own people at the Tabernacle, or surrounded by friends on successive birthdays, how much he must have suffered in that way during all these years.

My second photograph was taken one morning in dim, dark surroundings at the back of the gloomy gallery at Counterslip Chapel, when I looked down upon a vast congregation below and around me, and upon the pulpit at the other end of the chapel. Mr. Spurgeon entered the pulpit accompanied by the venerable Mr. Winter, who was at that time minister of the Counterslip, and whose knee-breeches and patriarchal form will be remembered by many. The sermon left on my mind a sense of the joy with which he preached and of the fulness oi faith in which he uttered his message; the striking originality and the wealth of the imagination of the preacher were features which could not escape even such a juvenile critic as I was at that time. But I was not a critic, 1 was a rapt and enthusiastic hearer. Never shall I forget the passage in the sermon in which Mr. Spurgeon made us Jicar the angels harping with their harps, and with a touch of simphcity but great power told us how he always stopped in the streets to listen where a harp was being played in the neighborhood. I still see the rapturous look upon the upturned face of the youthful preacher as the light from one of the windows fell upon it. I am inclined to think that Mr. Spurgeon gave a little more play to his imagination then than now.

Now for my third photograph. This time I am standing on tiptoe at the back of the Broad Mead Rooms, trying to look abo-e a great sea of heads at the crowded platform and the young preacher, whom all are so eager to hear that there is no little confusion and hustling around the doors. But soon Mr. Spurgcon’s voice rolls through the spacious room and hushes all into silence. The Ikoad Mead Rooms form a large building, with a somewhat low roof, and with side galleries rising from the floor and capable of holding between two and three thousand people. On the night of which I speak, many must hale failed to obtain admission. One instance in connection with this sermon is perhaps worth mentioning. Some seats had been reserved and a small charge made for them, in order to defray the expense incurred by hiring the rooms. This had been made a matter of complaint; and Mr. Spurgeon, alluding to it, remarked that he had heard of a lady at Exeter who had given a guinea in order to hear the gospel preached. The perfect simplicity and honesty with which this was said, and the very unconsciousness of its being capable of being twisted into anything like self-glorification, impressed everybody with that utter losing sight of himself in his work which has ever since been so grand a characteristic of Mr. Spurgeon’s ministry. I may add that at this time the Bristol papers were full of letters and articles respecting ‘lx. Spurgeon’s preaching, not a few containing a good deal of hostile criticism. One article, and that in a Tory journal, however, stands out in my memory as containing a very vivid, and, I am disposed to think, fairly impartial account of an open-air service conducted by Mr. Spurgeon on the quay. A storm came on during the service, and Mr. Spurgeon spoke of one of the flashes of lightning as” God’s

Spear in the sky.” This struck the writer as being a singularly happy expression — a flash of genius.

My last photograph was also taken in a public building, in the beautiful Victoria Rooms at Clifton, which are said to be capable of containing some six thousand people. However that may be, they could not have held more than they did on the summer evening when I heard Mr. Spurgeon preach in them. I do not think I have mentioned that at that period Mr. Spurgeon was in the habit of wearing a white necktie of the most correct parsonic character, which, being of fair dimensions and surmounted by a stand-up collar, served with its virgin whiteness to at least set the beardless face in strong relief. I mention it now, as it forms a prominent feature in my recollection of Mr. Spurgeon’s appearance upon that evening, sitting, as I did, at some distance from, but directly in front of the platform. The scene presented by the densely crowded Victoria Rooms upon this occasion, with the platform filled by ministers, in front of whom stood the earnest and youthful preacher, was one which still shows clearly through all the years that have passed since then. The golden glow of the setting sun coming through the window lent to it, too, a singular impressiveness: for the text was, “Thou God seest me;” and as we listened to the heart-searching eloquence of the speaker, the warm light which flooded the room seemed almost to place us more fully within the vision of the all-seeing eye.

In his fifteenth year Mr. Spurgeon wrote the following letter to his uncle, in which the vigor of his mind, the boldness of his faith, and the strength of his will are clearly manifest. His theological opinions at that early age were decided and outspoken. The indefinite doctrinal teaching of the pulpit to-day may well receive a rebuke from the positive assertions of a child. In no period of his life has Mr. Spurgeon declared himself an Ag7iostic, — a “know-nothing.” For many reasons this letter is worthy of our perusal: —

My dear Uncle, — Dumb men make no mischief. Your silence, and my neglect, make one think of the days when letters were costly, and not of penny postage. You have doubtless heard of me as a top-tree Antinomian. I trust )’ou know enough of me to disbelieve it. It is an object of my life to disprove the slander. I groan daily under a bod)- of sin and corruption. Oh for the time when I shall drop this flesh, and be free from sin! I become more and more con’inced that to attempt to be saved by a mixed covenant of works and faith is, in the words of Berridge, ‘* to yoke a snail with an elephant.” I desire to press forward for direction to my Master in all things; but as to trusting to my own obedience and righteousness, I should be worse than a fool and ten times worse than a madman. Poor dependent creatures! prayer had need be our constant employment: the foot of the throne our continued dwelling-place; for the Rock of Ages is our only safe Hiding-place. I rejoice in an assured knowledge by faith of my interest in Christ, and of the certainty of my eternal salvation. Yet what strivings, what conflicts, what dangers, what enemies stand in niy u a’! The foes in my heart are so strong, that they would have killed me and sent me to hell long ere this, had the Lord left me; but, blessed be his name! his electing, redeeming, and saving love has got fast hold of me; and who is able to pluck me out of my Father’s hand? On my bended knees I have often to cry for succor; and, bless his name! he has hitherto heard my cry. Oh, if I did not know that all the Lord’s people had soulcontention, I should give up all for lost! I rejoice that the promises left on record are meant for me as well as for every saint of his, and as such I desire to grasp them. Let the whole earth, and even God’s professing people, cast out my name as evil; my Lord and Master, he will not. I glory in the distinguishing grace of God, and will not, by the grace of God, step one inch from my principles, or think of adhering to the present fashionable sort of religion.

Oh, could I become like holy men of past ages, — fearless of men, — holding sweet communion with God, — weaned more from the world, and enabled to fix my thoughts on spiritual things entirely! But when I would serve God, I find my old deceitful heart, full of the very essence of hell, rising up into my mouth, polluting all I say and all I do. What should I do if, like you, I were called to be engaged about things of time and sense? I fear I should be neither diligent in business nor fervent in spirit, “But” (say you) “he keeps talking all about himself.” True, he does; he cannot help it. Self is too much his master. I am proud of my own ignorance: and, like a toad, bloated with my own venomous pride, — proud of what I have not got, and boasting when I should be bemoaning. I trust you have greater freedom from your own corruptions than I have; and in secret, socia). and family prayer enjoy more blessed, sanctified liberty at the footstool of mercy.

Rejoice! for heaven awaits us, and all the Lord’s family! The mansion is ready; the crown is made; the harp is strung; there are no willows there. May we be enabled to go on, like lions, valiant for the truth and cause of King Jesus, and, by the help of the Spirit, vow eternal warfare with every sin, and rest not until the sword of the Spirit has destroyed all the enemies in our hearts.

May we be enabled to trust the Lord, for he will help us; we must conquer; we cannot be lost. Lost! Impossible! For who is able to snatch us out of our Father’s hand?

May the Lord bless you exceedingly.

Your affectionate nephew,

C. H. SrURGEON.

The remark of the poet, “The boy is father to the man,” is strikingly illustrated in Mr. Spurgeon’s case.

In the opening of this year of grace, 1882, in his forty-eighth year, Mr. Spurgeon wrote a brief article for his magazine, in which we discover the same characteristics, the same dependence on God, the same distrust of self, the same doctrinal position and assured certainty through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. We subjoin an extract: —

A great statesman, the other day, celebrated his seventieth birthday by a retrospect of his life: it is meet that old age should look back. To us, however, in the middle of the stream, it seems more natural to look around on present circumstances. Years ago, at a younger age. our tendency was to look ahead, and long for a great future; nor would we forego the habit, but still the pressure of long years, and growing burdens, and a sense of diminishing strength unite to keep the eyes occupied with the things of to-day, and the connection of the present with the infinite and eternal. It appeared to us when looking forward that the Christian life-work would require a power far beyond our own; but now we more intensely feel the certainty of that fact, and were it not for divine help we should give up in despair. If still sustained, after all these )’ears of conflict, grace must indeed have the glory of it, and here upon the altar of the present we would offer the calves of our lips, giving glory to the Lord, the God of our salvation. Doubtless divine love will be glorified in the closing hours of the mature Christian, but it is emphatically- magnified in the stern period when the burden and heat of the day are on the laborer, when the novelty and romance of youth are over, and the nearness of the reward is not yet vividly certified by old age. Of all parts of the stream, the hardest to ford is the middle: there the water is deepest, the current swiftest, and the footing least secure. Lord, hold thou mc up, and I shall be safe. This is the prayer which oftenest leaps from our lips.

“Thus saith the preacher, vanity of ‘anities, all is vanity.” We have lived long enough to experience the hollowness of earth, and the rottenness of all carnal promises. Our work, though it be holy, presses heavily upon the shoulder, and we see not all the fruit of it which we expected in earlier days. Many strong helpers have been taken away by death, and the enthusiasm which made our earlier friends leap forward with their aid is not repeated to the full at a second sound of the clarion. The decline is only apparent to fear; but apprehension has the eyes of a hawk, and spies out the smallest discouragement. The world grows better very slowly: we sometimes fear that it grows worse. The church relapses to her former sloth; the good are weary, and the wicked wax impudent; the times are out of joint, and evil days ar threatening. What can happen better to a man than to go home? Happy is he who is taken from the evil to come, or hears the sound of his descending IMaster’s coming ere yet the shadows of the day are lengthened to the utmost.

lO LIFE AND LABORS OF C. H. STURGEON.

Thus does middle age prose when it is under the influence of its most sombre hour. The ink grows thick, and the pen is clogged, and makes black strokes and heavy. The subject should be treated in a more believing manner, and written of not according to the flesh, but after the spirit. Doubtless length of days tries our graces, but what length of days have we to speak of, — we who are sighting fifty, or passing beyond it? Half a century is a trifle in the life of God. True, there is a flagging of human energy, and the warm blood of youth cools down; but our Christian life never stood in the strength of the creature, and hence it cannot flag, since the Creator grows not old, nor is his arm waxed short. The same power which begat will preserve. Omnipotence first made the believer rise into newness of life, and until it fails his life will continue ever fresh and young. Well said the Psalmist, “All my springs are in thee.” What if others sufl”er shipwreck, yet none that sail with Jesus have ever been stranded yet. Purposes, plans, and achievements of men may all disappear like yon cloud upon the mountain’s summit; but, like the mountain itself, the things which are of God shall stand fast for ever and ever. Now is the time, in the lull of natural energy, to prove the power of the Holy Ghost. The trees of earth as they pass their prime decrease the quantity and quality of their fruit: it is a mark of the trees of grace that they still bring forth fruit in old age to show that the Lord is upright. The faithfulness of God may be relied upon to work a growing faithfulness in his people. Never so conscious of dependence as in this middle passage, never so certain of the all-sufliciency of God as in this noontide of the day, we joy in the Lord, and look for even richer mercies than ever.

Young men, trust God, and make the future bright with blessing. Old men, trust God, and magnify him for all the mercies of the past. As for us, we mingle gratitude and expectation in equal portions, and pray to stand in this present hour faithful to the Master in whose grace we trust.

Our valued friend, Pastor James H. Brookes, of St. Louis, author of ‘’ Maranatha,” ‘’ Is the Bible True?” ‘’The Way made Plain,” &c., and editor of “The Truth,” sent us the following communlcation, which we deem of importance, coming, as it does, from the pen of an experienced minister of the gospel whose loyahy to Christ and the Scriptures cannot be questioned. ]Mr. Spurgeon was in his twenty-eighth year at the time of Dr. Brookes’s visit to London, — the time of life when men usually manifest the vagaries and impetuosity of youth, and lack those marks of maturity which are seen in later life. But even in youth ]Ir. Spurgeon spoke with the experience of age, though with the fervor and strength of young manhood.

One of my strongest desires upon arrival in London, some years ago, was to hear the man of whom I had read so much. This desire was speedily gratified, and under circumstances which I knew would show the weak points of his character if these were prominent. In looking over a morning newspaper, I noticed that he was advertised to preach on a week-day in some obscure chapel. No one of whom I inquired could tell me anything about the place; but with the aid of a cabman it was found, and proved to be a small, dingy house, that would be crowded with an audience of four hundred. It was not more than half filled, and the few who were present were evidently plain people.

Mr. Spurgeon was fifteen minutes late, and I felt annoyed, supposing that he took advantage of his notoriety and popularity to consult his own convenience about his appointments. At length he appeared, walking briskly down the aisle, and ascended the pulpit. After spending a moment in prayer, he arose, and in a perfectly simple and natural manner, as if he were speaking to a friend by his fireside, apologized for his tardiness. He said that for the first time in his life he had failed to be prompt; but it was not his fault, for he had preached the night before in some country town, had taken the first train for the city, and had hurried fro40i the station immediately to the meeting-house, without even going home to kiss his wife and little boys. Of course this put every one in good humor.

He then began the ser’ices by singing “Come, Holy Spirit, Heavenly Dove,” and I am not sure that he did not start the tune. However this may have been, his prayer struck upon my ear and heart as wonderful for its humility, earnestness, directness, and confidence. His reading of the Scriptures, with his brief common-sense remarks and expositions, added greatly to the interest of the hearer in the chapter selected; and the sermon that followed was certainly one of the best, in every respect, ever preached by uninspired man. If he had been preaching before the Queen and the nobility of England, if he had been speaking to an audience of ten thousand, he could not have laid out greater strength, nor exhibited greater sincerity, greater intensity of interest in the delivery of his message, greater concern for the honor of his Lord and for the souls of his hearers.

“Leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps,” was his text, and the teachings and life of Jesus Christ our Saviour were held up with singular clearness and fidelity to the truth. The first part of his discourse was doctrinal, and the second hortatory, or, as some call it, practical, — although it was all most thoroughly practical, because so thoroughly doctrinal. I remember that one man arose, obviously in anger, and slowly left the house, but turned now and then to look at the preacher. As he withdrew, Mr. Spurgeon reminded him of the sovereignty of God, and the sacrificial death of our Divine Redeemer as the only hope of the lost sinner, and then went on to urge us to walk like Him, and to walk worthy of Him, as His friends and representatives on the earth. The sermon was very searching to my own soul, and I determined to hear no one else during my stay in London.

Nor did I hear any one else, except one afternoon and one evening when Mr. Spurgeon was not preaching, or when he was preaching where I could not reach him. I heard him in Exeter Hall; I heard him, on my return from the Continent, in his own meeting-house, then just completed; and I never heard him without a little thank-offering of my own. While he was leading the vast congregation in prayer, pouring out his gratitude to God for all his manifold mercies, spiritual and temporal, I Invariably sent up the incense of praise from my own heart In the words, *’ Thank God for Spurgeon! “Oh, how it comforted and strengthened me to see that brave witness standing there, often amid reproach and ridicule and slander, telling “the old, old story,” and bearing faithful witness to the truth, whether men would hear or forbear.

It was a cause of regret to me, on leaving London after a few weeks’ sojourn, that I could not, at least for some months, listen again to his courageous defence of God’s Word, and to his stirring appeals. But an incident occurred during my absence on the Continent that illustrates the wide sweep of the man’s influence for good. For some weeks I was detained by ill health in Clarens, at the upper end of Lake Geneva. One day I climbed the mountain, and came to a solitary cottage at a considerable distance from the village, and also from any other visible habitation. Two poor women were sitting upon the grass before the door, one reading, while the other was sewing. My curiosity was excited to know what book had found its way to that lonely and desolate spot, and I asked the woman what she was reading. She at once held up the book, and I discovered it to be a volume of Spurgeon’s sermons, translated into French.

The last sermon I heard him preach was in London, on my return to my own country. The text was, “At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes” (]Iatt. xi. 25). It was exceedingly faithful, as was all I heard fall from his lips; and I recall a flash of genius, as the world terms it, which shows what he could do in the way of eloquence and oratory, if he cared for such things. Speaking of those who are so well satisfied with themselves and with their surroundings that they refuse to bow to the authority of God, he shouted, “You will not glorify him? You will not glorify him?” Then dropping his voice to a low and thrilling tone, he said, ‘’Yes, you will, and you shall. I tell you the groans of the damned in hell are the deep bass of the universal anthem of praise that shall ascend to the throne oi my God for ever and ever.”

I doubt w’hether there Is a minister of the gospel in Christendom, who tries to be true to the Lord and to his Word, that has not been helped by JIr. Spurgeon’s example, faithfulness, and courage. In my judgment, he is the best preacher, in the best sense of the word, this century has produced; and he is so far above the sensational preachers of our own land, who have attained notoriety as much by their unfaithfulness to Christ as by their genius, that they are not worthy to untie his shoe-latchet. They have their reward now in the admiration of the crowd, pleased with that which exalts human nature and dishonors the Bible; but at the coming of the Lord, which is fast hastening on, many of them at least will be wandering stars, to whom the mist of darkness is reserved, while Spurgeon will shine in the glory of the Master’s approval and near his glorious Person for ever and ever.

No apology is needed for bringing before our American public, in the present form, the life and labors of this well-known, beloved, and faithful minister of Jesus Christ. Mr. Spurgeon has universal fame without seeking it. Free from selfishness and ambition, and without aiming at popularity, he has enshrined himself in the hearts of thousands, and commanded the homage and respect of millions. Like the late honored and revered President of the United States, Mr. Spurgeon is a manly man; childlike but not childish, great but not grand, he has taken rank as a prominent leader and teacher without ofhciousness or presumption on his part. His name and labors are closely interwoven with the religious history of England in the present century; and any who would acquaint themselves with the philanthropists of the age will seek acquaintance with this esteemed pastor. The man who has preached for twenty- eight years to a congregation of more than six thousand persons; the man who is pastor of a church now numbering over five thousand in its membership, having grown from comparatively few; the man who has given the right hand of fellowship during his pastorate to nearly ten thousand persons in all; the man whose sermons have been published weekly for twenty-seven years, and besides their immense sale in England have been translated into many foreign languages; the man who has founded and presides over a College which is unique in itself, preparing one hundred students for the ministry of the Word; the man who is the originator and director of an Orphanage giving a home to five hundred needy children; the man who generously devoted the testimonial given to him on the twenty-fifth anniversary of his marriage, of over thirty thousand dollars, to provide an Asylum for a score of poor widows; the man who is the author of over forty different volumes, including sermons, commentaries, lectures, and essays, the sale of one book alone, “John Plouf,4iman’s Talk,” having reached the number of three hundred thousand copies, besides being republished in America and translated into many European languages; the man who for seventeen -ears has edited “The Sword and the Trowel,” a monthly magazine, and who has started and still watches over various other works too numerous to mention, — is surely worthy of our study as well as of our veneration. Dr. Chalmers once wrote: “Everyman is a missionary, now and forever, for good or for evil, whether he intends or designs it or not. He may be a blot, radiating his dark influence outward to the very circumference of society, or he may be a blessing, spreading benediction over the length and breadth of the world; but a blank he cannot be. There are no moral blanks, there are no neutral characters. We are either the sower that sows and corrupts, or the light that splendidly illuminates, or the salt that silently operates; but, being dead or alive, every man speaks.”

When reading the above, Ir. Spurgeon instantly came to mind as fulfilling Dr. Chalmers’s ideal for good. Fie is a missionary in the truest and noblest sense; a blessing spreading benediction through the length and breadth of the land; a light that splendidly illuminates, warning against the rocks and reefs of heresy, and directing the tempest-tossed soul into the haven of rest; the salt which operates, preser-ing from decay the church under his special care, with the tens of thousands to whom he ministers through his printed sermons, whose faces he has never seen. He is indeed a living man, enabled through grace to reanimate everything he touches; and as a living man he speaks out his full mind on every subject dear to him. Jealous for the divine message, he cares only for the truth. Without plausibility, without policy, without compromise, he ever seeks to expound the truth, the whole truth, and nothinsr but the truth. From his ofhce as ambassador he has never been known to turn away, neither assuming

the role of ecclesiastic, nor degrading the ministry as a charlatan. Such a man, we repeat, is worthy of our study. The curious, the sedate, the inquirer, and the philosopher present their several queries. What is Mr. Spurgeon’s history? what arc his antecedents? what is the secret of his unwaning popularity — what the source of his increasing power? These are questions which we trust the reader wU find fully answered in these pages. That Mr. Spurgeon’s ministry has been appreciated by leaders in every department of theology is well known, whilst “babes and sucklings” have grown to maturity under his fostering care.

Our beloved friend and brother, Bishop Nicholson, of Philadelphia, writing to us recently, remarked: “With regard to Mr. Spurgeon as a minister of the gospel, I look upon him with the greatest admiration. The doctrines of Christ I think have never been more fully and faithfully taught. He is a bold utterer of God’s will in the midst of abounding latitudinarianism, and yet he has seemed to me to be full of the sweetness and wisdom of Christ. His capacity for work is something marvellous. I look at what he has done, and I am simply amazed and confounded. He has been Christendom’s foremost worker for Christ.”

Many ministers in our own and other lands have been refreshed and stimulated through Mr. Spurgeon’s example and preaching. The following testimony from a well-known pastor is only one of many which have reached us from time to time: —

“Though years have gone by since I listened to his graphic presentation of gospel truths, the whole scene, as well as the subjects discussed and much of the precise language used, is fresh and vivid in my memory at this very moment, and the influence of these services has remained with me like the perfume of precious ointment. His evident honesty, his robust Saxon speech, and his charming simplicity impressed me as the prime elements of his success as a winner of souls. I resolved while listening to him that, God being my helper, I would make my preaching so plain that no man, possessing ordinary intelligence, could fail to apprehend my meaning. I cannot claim to have followed the copy perfectly, for Mr. Spurgeon is unapproachable; but I have endeavored to follow after to the best of my ability.”

Mr. Spurgeon, being a many-sided man, does not impress all who hear him in the same way. Some are benefited in one direction, some in another. His joyousness, as a ray of light, enters the gloomy hearts of not a few; his constant faith lifts up many discouraged ones; his sincerity and honesty, his ingenuousness and piety, and the combination of all these qualities affect different persons in different ways. We have met with those who have been most benefited by iIr. Spurgeon’s interpretation and exposition of Scripture. Pastors who for years entertained their people with essays on moral themes, and sometimes on frivolous subjects, have come away from hearing Mr. Spurgeon with a profound determination that their preaching henceforth should be based on the opening and expounding of Scripture. An esteemed minister testified recently: —

“I regard Mr. Spurgeon as a wonderful expositor of the Word, — sound, spiritual, inspiring. I am not a great reader of sermons, but I never read one of his discourses without a sense of solid satisfaction. It is a cause of devout thanksgiving that in these days, when the trumpet so often gives an uncertain sound, a false or quavering note has never been heard from Mr. Spurgeon’s watch-tower.”

In presenting to the public Mr. Spurgeon’s personal history and labors, we have undertaken a work which has been upon our heart for many years. We are well persuaded that numberless caricatures and garbled histories have misled many persons, and prejudiced them against his teaching. We hope in some measure to correct this mischief, not for his sake, but theirs, who are the losers. Some American writers have done injustice to this noble man by representing him in a false light. Hobbyists on teetotalism and anti-tobacconists have made him the butt of their ridicule, and denounced him as an example of intemperance and fleshly indulgence. But no right-minded man who has ever heard or read Mr, Spurgeon would for a moment believe these slanderous reports. Yet there are thousands of persons who have been antagonized against this Defender of the Faith, having heard of him only through raving platform orators, flippant story-tellers, or vicious writers.

The motives which impel us in the prosecution of this work are various.

The Editor is well persuaded that Mr. Spurgeon’s example will be an incentive to Christian workers, quickening their faith, inflaming their zeal, and encouraging their hearts in labor for the Lord. Many faint-hearted preachers have listened to his thrilling words with encouragement; despondency and unbelief have given place to hopefulness and faith. As we trace the history and development of Mr. Spurgeon from childhood, and observe how God makes choice of vessels sanctified and meet for His use, though we may not possess the rare talents of this minister of Christ, we may emulate his example in diligence, in faithfulness, and in loyalty to the gospel of our Lord. Many Christian workers would have given way to despair had not a timely word or a persevering example stimulated them to fresh hope. We trust, therefore, that in this direction our book will be eminently successful, and that weary toilers for God, missionaries, pastors, evangelists, students, and all who in the battle have had more than ordinary trials, will thank God for what He can do, and take courage.

We have also strong assurance that the bold, clear, faithful teaching of the great preacher will in some measure counteract the ill-balanced, weakly, and sentimental theories afloat, as well as deliver from unscriptural, hurtful, and sceptical preaching, — now, alas! so general, — many disciples of Jesus. When men depart from the simplicity that is in Christ Jesus, and with carnal minds seek to analyze the Divine Word, compelling it to fit into the mould of their perverted thought, they become impatient to regale their flocks with their negative knowledge. Such men, seeking fame, discover that fellow-fools are found who will applaud them for their folly. Some preachers have acquired notoriety in this direction, whose scholarship and independent thinking is accepted as undisputed fct. But when their foolish philosophizing is blown aside, and their castles in the clouds melt away before the sunlight of God’s Word, what about their bewildered hearers? And herein is one source of Mr. Spurgeon’s strength: he never trifles with the “book of books.” He is a devout student and an humble reader of the Bible. He accepts its facts, its doctrines, its histor)^ its revelation, without question. And with all the vigor of mind which he possesses and the eloquence which he commands, he declares his own deep conviction of its divine origin, and thereby, through him, many have been delivered from the snare of scepticism into which they had fallen. Therefore we do believe that the extracts from his writings furnished in these pages v jl help thoughtful unbelievers out of the quagmires of every false philosophy, and lead them to the Rock of Truth, the Everlasting Word, God manifest in the flesh.

In addition, we have in our mind the thousands of families throughout the country who are isolated from churches, or who may be surrounded by heretical teachers, and prefer to spend the Lord’s day at home, than allow themselves or their children to receive spiritual damage through corrupt doctrine. To supply interesting, moral, and healthful reading to such persons is a work worthy of our best efforts. The story of Mr. Spurgeon’s life, the peculiarities of his ministry, the history of his Orphanage and College, besides the reports given of the various features of his labors, cannot fail to command interest. We therefore believe that herein are furnished both pleasure and profit for our readers. In the rural districts, where books are few and libraries not easily obtained, to supply a book which would be a library in itself, is a hope which we trust will be fully realized.

Besides, there are merchants and business men who need a book which will not fail to beguile the tedious hours of relaxation, — a book which must not be dull or mischievous in its tendencies. And who has found Mr. Spurgeon dull? There are chapters from his pen which out-rival for pure wit and homely wisdom any work extant. Never vulgar, sensational, or trifling, the humor of Mr. Spurgeon brings diversion and help and hope with it. The great object of his life is manifest in all his writings, — namely, the elevation and salvation of his race. His “John Ploughman’s Talk” and “John Ploughman’s Pictures” are full of sound advice, keen satire, kindly suggestion, and friendly warnings. No weary man can spend an hour reading these pithy sayings without feeling rested and benefited. But the mirthiulness within these pages is not the mental food provided, any more than the spices on our table constitute the edibles. There will be met pages of solid reading, which the condiments will prepare the reader to enjoy and digest, the meal being a source of pleasure as well as a supply for present demand.

The book is prepared as a ‘’ labor of love,” — love for the man who so nobly gives his life to the gospel ministry; love for the truth which he so unswervingly advocates; love for the Master whose religion he preaches; love for those who read these lines, which prompts the prayer that it may be sanctified to their highest good, and that Mr. Spurgeon’s words through this medium may result in the conversion of many souls, leading them from darkness to light and from the power of Satan unto God.