Dealing with the Praise of Men

By / Aug 21

Charles Spurgeon’s popularity as a young preacher was unmatched. The congregation at the New Park Street Chapel in London in the winter of 1853 was only a few dozen. But thanks to the young preacher, they outgrew the 1,000-seat chapel in less than a year. And the crowds kept growing. They would eventually outgrow the 3,000-seat Exeter Hall and eventually fill the 10,000-seat Surrey Gardens Music Hall. His weekly sermons would begin to be published in 1855, and they would continue to be sold throughout the English-speaking world for the next 63 years. In 1861, the magnificent Metropolitan Tabernacle would be built, a building that housed the largest congregation in evangelicalism.

To be sure, with so much success, Spurgeon attracted constant criticism. But more dangerous, in his view, was the praise of men. Writing to a friend in 1855, Spurgeon confessed, “My pride is so infernal that there is not a man on earth who can hold it in… Sometimes, I get such a view of my own insignificance that I call myself all the fools in the world for even letting pride pass my door without frowning at him.” The popularity he experienced meant that he had to be on constant guard against pride. This was a battle that he fought throughout his 40 years of pastoral ministry.

As a seasoned pastor, Spurgeon wrote an article in 1880 warning aspiring preachers of the pitfall of becoming dependent on human praise: “The youthful worker is very apt to be exalted should he receive a little praise, and there are many injudicious persons who are ready to lavish eulogiums upon any young beginner who seems to be at all promising.”[1]

Whether a “youthful worker” or a seasoned pastor, we all deal with the fear of man, that is, a wrong desire for human approval, even above God’s approval. So what advice would Spurgeon have for us in dealing with the praise of men? He would have us keep in mind four warnings:

The praise of men is fickle

First, Spurgeon would say, flattery is fickle. Those who use flattery are often using it for some personal advantage, and when that motive is gone, the flattery may soon change to nothing at all. So why build your hopes on something so empty?

When a man with a loud mouth praises me, I have good reason to be wary in my dealings with him. The boa-constrictor first covers its victim with saliva, and then swallows him; and we have known serpents, of both sexes do the same with young preachers. Beware of the net of the flatterer, and the bait of the maker of compliments. Human opinion is so changeable, and even while it lasts it is of so mixed a character, that it is virtually worth nothing at all. We all remember how the men of Lystra first offered to worship Paul, and then within an hour began to stone him. Who cares to run for a crown which melts as soon as it wreathes the winner’s brow? The flash of a wave, or the gleam of a meteor, is not more fleeting than popular applause.

The praise of men weakens our ability to handle criticism

To build your sense of security and confidence on the praise of men is to make yourself more vulnerable to the criticisms of men. If we love the praise of men, we will not be able to withstand the attacks of our critics.

Another consideration is suggested by experience, namely, that praise is exceedingly weakening. If we allow ourselves to feel its soft and pleasant influence, it lays us open to feel the caustic and painful effects of censure. After a judge had passed sentence upon a certain prisoner, the foreman of the jury that had convicted him began to compliment his lordship upon the remarks which he had made, and the term of imprisonment which he had awarded, but the judge at once stopped him, knowing well that if he had allowed himself to be praised by one jury, he would be liable to be blamed by another. If we are pervious to one influence, we shall be subject to its opposite. We are quite sure to be slandered and abused, and it is well, therefore, for us to have a somewhat thick skin, but if we listen to commendation, it makes us tender, and deprives us of that which might have been like armor to the soul. If we allow ourselves to be charmed by the tinklings of flattery, we shall be alarmed by the harsh notes of detraction. We must either be proof against both influences, or against neither.

To counteract this effect, Spurgeon would encourage you to listen to your critics. Just as you have to be discerning when listening to your critics, so you have to be discerning when listening to the praise of men. Hearing both sides will help you avoid becoming imbalanced in your view of yourself.

The victim of unwise compliments has only to walk into another room, and hear how roundly certain persons are abusing him, and he will find it a very useful tonic. It is never summer all over the world at one time, and no public person is being everywhere esteemed. Probably, it is well for the interests of truth that excesses in judgment are relieved by their opposites.

The praise of men enslaves us to human opinion

Ironically, those who live for the praise of men will actually find themselves despised by men. These will be men without conviction or direction but blown about by every wind of human opinion.  Such men will be of no help to others.

A man who becomes dependent upon the opinions of others lays himself open to contempt. It is impossible to think highly of a person who fishes for compliments. To value esteem so much as to go out of our way after it is the surest possible way to lose it.

The only freedom from our bondage to the fear of man is a proper fear of God; in other words, so living for the approval of God that the opinions of men seem small and insignificant in comparison. Especially for ministers, apart from a biblical fear of God, we will not carry out our ministries faithfully.

When we consider how unevenly the human hand holds the balances, we may feel but small concern when we are weighed by our fellow-men. If we consider how infinitely precious is the divine regard, we shall live to gain it, and so shall rise above all slavish consideration of the opinions of our fellows. What said the wise apostle Paul? “But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged of you, or of man’s judgment: yea, I judge not mine own self. For I know nothing by myself; yet am I not hereby justified: but he that judgeth me is the Lord.” (1 Corinthians 4:3, 4.)

The praise of men never satisfies

Finally, Spurgeon would warn you that human praise can never satisfy.

Individuals there are abroad who can suck in any measure of praise, and retain a large receptiveness for more: they take to it, and thrive in it, like fish in water. You may choke a dog with pudding, but you could never satiate, nor even satisfy, these people with praise.

The reason human praise can never satisfy is because our hearts were meant to be filled with something far greater, namely the love of God. So find your satisfaction there, and be freed from your addiction to the praise of men.

[1] All quotes taken from C. H. Spurgeon, “Praise of Men,” The Sword and the Trowel, 1880 (London: Passmore & Alabaster), 217-218.



How Do We Serve God In Our Own Generation?

By / Jul 15

The years after the Downgrade Controversy were difficult for Spurgeon. His mother passed away in May of 1888. Spurgeon gave the funeral address. The controversy took a physical and emotional toll on him, and he found himself seriously ill, and sometimes bedridden, for months. His deacons urged him to restrict his outside speaking engagements so that he might rest. 1890 experienced unusually cold weather, making recovery difficult. In October 1890, another blow came. Deacon William Olney went home to be with the Lord. The Olney family had been instrumental in bringing Spurgeon to the New Park Street Chapel, and William Olney had served alongside him for over three decades. In Spurgeon’s ministry, in trials, in sickness, Olney had been a constant source of support and comfort. Now, amid dark days, Spurgeon found himself without his “right hand man.”

On the Sunday evening after Olney’s death, Spurgeon preached on Acts 13:36, “For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell on sleep.” He asked the question, “What is it to serve our own generation?” As Spurgeon reflected on the death of a faithful servant, he was challenged once again to consider his own service, even amid all his trials:

This is a question which ought to interest us all very deeply. We live in the midst of our own generation, and seeing that we are part of it, we should serve it, that the generation in which our children shall live may be better than our own. Though our citizenship is in heaven, yet as we live on earth, we should seek to serve our generation while we pass as pilgrims to the better country.

How do we serve our own generation? Spurgeon gave seven answers, two negative, five positive:

Don’t be a slave to your generation

I note, first, that it is not to be a slave to it. It is not to drop into the habits, customs, and ideas of the generation in which we live. People talk nowadays about Zeitgeist, a German expression which need frighten nobody; and one of the papers says, “Spurgeon does not know whether there is such a thing.” Well, whether he knows anything about Zeitgeist or not, he is not to serve this generation by yielding to any of its notions or ideas which are contrary to the Word of the Lord. The gospel of Jesus Christ is not only for one generation, it is for all generations. It is the faith which needed to be only “once for all delivered to the saints”; it was given stereotyped as it always is to be. It cannot change because it has been given of God, and is therefore perfect; to change it would be to make it imperfect. It cannot change because it has been given to answer for ever the same purpose, namely, to save sinners from going down to the pit, and to fit them for going to heaven. That man serves his generation best who is not caught by every new current of opinion, but stands firmly by the truth of God, which is a solid, immovable rock. But to serve our own generation in the sense of being a slave to it, its vassal, and its valet—let those who care to do so go into such bondage and slavery if they will. Do you know what such a course involves? If any young man here shall begin to preach the doctrine and the thought of the age, within the next ten years, perhaps within the next ten months, he will have to eat his own words, and begin his work all over again. When he has got into the new style, and is beginning to serve the present world, he will within a short time have to contradict himself again, for this age, like every other, is “ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.” But if you begin with God’s Word, and pray God the Holy Ghost to reveal it to you till you really know it, then, if you are spared to teach for the next fifty years, your testimony at the close will not contradict your testimony at the beginning. You will ripen in experience; you will expand in your apprehension of the truth; you will become more clear in your utterance; but it will be the same truth all along. Is it not a grand thing to build up, from the beginning of life to the end of it, the same gospel? But to set up opinions to knock them down again, as though they were ninepins, is a poor business for any servant of Christ. David did not, in that way serve his own generation; he was the master of his age, and not its slave. I would urge every Christian man to rise to his true dignity, and be a blessing to those amongst whom he lives, as David was. Christ “hath made us kings and priests unto God his Father”; it is not meet that we should cringe before the spirit of the age, or lick the dust whereon “advanced thinkers” have chosen to tread. Beloved, see to this; and learn the distinction between serving your own generation and being a slave to it.

Don’t flee from your generation

In the next place, in seeking to answer the question, “What is it to serve our own generation? I would say, it is not to fly from it. If any man says, “The world is so bad, that I will avoid coming into contact with it altogether; even the teaching of Christianity has become so diluted, and is so thoroughly on the Down-grade, that I will have nothing to do with it,” he is certainly not serving his own generation. If he shall shut himself up, like a hermit, in his cave, and leave the world to go to ruin as it may, he will not be like David, for he served his own generation before he fell asleep. She that goes into a nunnery, and he that enters a monastery are like soldiers who run away, and hide among the baggage. You must not do anything of the sort. Come forward and fight evil, and triumph over it, whether it be evil of doctrine, evil of practice, or evil of any other kind. Be bold for Christ; bear your witness, and be not ashamed. If you do not take your stand in this way, it can never truly be said of you that you served your generation. Instead of that, the truth will be that you allowed your generation to make a coward of you, or, to muzzle you like a dog, and to send you out, into the streets neither to bark nor to bite, nor to do anything by which you might prove that there is a soul within you.

Perform the common duties of life

If we ask again, What is it to serve our generation? I answer, it is to perform the common duties of life, as David did. David was the son of a farmer, a sheep-owner, and he took first of all to the keeping of the sheep. Many young men do not like to do the common work of their own father’s business. You do not want to drudge, you say, you want to be a king. Well, there are not many openings in that line of business; and I shall not recommend anyone to be eager to enter them if there were. “Seekest thou great things for thyself? Seek them not.” Before David swayed the scepter, he grasped the shepherd’s crook. He that at home cannot or will not undertake ordinary duties, will not be likely to serve his age. The girl who dreams about the foreign missionary field, but cannot darn her brother’s stockings, will not be of service either at home or abroad. Do the commonplace things, the ordinary things that come in your way, and you will begin to serve your generation, as David served his.

Be ready for opportunities to serve God

But serving our generation means more than this. It is to be ready for the occasion when it comes. In the midst of the routine of daily life, we should, by diligence in duty, prepare for whatever may be our future opportunity, waiting patiently until it comes. Look at David’s occasion of becoming famous. He never sought it. He did not go up and down among his sheep, sighing and crying, “Oh, that I could get away from this dull business of looking after these flocks! My brothers have gone to the camp; they will get on as soldiers; but here am I, buried among these rocks, too looks after these poor beasts.” He was wiser than that; he quietly waited God’s time. That is always a wise thing to do. If you are to serve God, wait till he calls you to do his work; he knows where to find you when he wants you; you need not advertise yourself to his omniscience. At length the set time came for David. On a certain day, his father bade him go to his brethren, and take them some corn and some loaves, with cheeses for their captain; and he reached the camp just at the time when the giant Goliath was stalking forth, and defying all the armies of Israel to meet him. Now is David’s time, and the young man is ready for it. If he had lost the opportunity he might have remained a shepherd all the rest of his days. He tells Saul how he slew both the lion and the bear, and prophesies that the uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he had defied the armies of the living God. Disdaining Saul’s armor, he takes his sling, and his five smooth stones out of the brook, and soon he comes back with the gory head of the giant in his hand. If you want to serve the church and serve the age, beloved friend, be wide awake when the occasion comes. Jump into the saddle when the horse is at your door; and God will bless you if you are on the look-out for opportunities of serving him.

Maintain true religion

What is it, again to serve our generation? It is to maintain true religion. This David did. He had grave faults in his later life, which we will not extenuate; but he never swerved from his allegiance to Jehovah the true God. No word or action of his ever sanctioned anything like idolatry, or turning aside from the worship of Jehovah, the God of Israel. He bore a noble witness to his Lord. He said, “I will speak of thy testimonies also before kings, and will not be ashamed;” and we may be sure that he was as good as his word, and that when he met with foreign potentates, he vindicated the living God before them. The whole set and current of his life, with the exception of his terrible fall, was to the glory of God in whom he trusted, and to the praise of that God who had delivered him. We, too, shall truly serve those amongst whom we dwell by maintaining true religion. Had ten righteous men been found in Sodom, it would have been spared, and the world today only escapes the righteous judgment of God because of the presence in it of those who fear him, and tremble at his word. The spread of “pure and undefiled religion” is a certain way to serve those around us. To help true religion, David wrote many Psalms, which were sung all over the land of Israel. A wonderful collection of poems they are; there is none like them under heaven. Not even a Milton, with all his mighty soarings, can equal David in the height of his adoration of God, and the depth of his experience. That man does no mean service for his time who gives the people new songs which they can sing unto their God. While none can equal the inspired psalms of the Hebrew king, which must ever form the choicest praise-book of the church, other men may, in lesser degree serve their own generation, by the will of God, in a similar way, and be blessed in the deed.

Continue serving all your life

To serve our own generation is not a single action, done at once, and over for ever; it is to continue to serve all our life. Notice well that David served “his own generation”; not only a part of it, but the whole of it. He began to serve God, and he kept on serving God. How many young men have I seen who were going to do wonders! Ah, me! They were as proud of the intention as though they had already done the deed. They took a front seat, and they seemed to think that everybody ought to admire them because of what they were going to do; but they were so pleased with the project that they never carried it out. They thought that they might meet with some mishap if they really attempted to do the thing, and the project was so beautiful that they preserved it under a glass shade, and there it is now. Nothing has been accomplished; nothing has been done, though much has been thought of. This is folly. Some, too, begin well, and they serve their God earnestly for a time, but on a sudden their service stops. One cannot quite tell how it happens, but we never hear of them afterwards. Men, as far as I know them, are wonderfully like horses. You get a horse, and you think, “This is a first-rate animal,” and so it is. It goes well for a while, but on a sudden it drops lame, and you have to get another. So it is with church-members. I notice that, every now and then, they get a singular lameness. To very many we have to say, even as Paul said to the Galatians, “Ye did run well; who did hinder you, that ye should not obey the truth?” But David continually served God to the end of his life. May we all, by divine grace, thus serve our whole generation, too!

Prepare for those who will come after you

Yet more is included in this faithful serving of our generation. It is to prepare for those who are to come after us. David served his generation to the very end by providing for the next generation. He was not permitted to build the temple; but he stored up a great mass of gold and silver to enable his son Solomon to carry out his noble design, and build a house for God. This is real service; to begin to serve God in early youth; to keep on till old age shall come; and even then to say, “I cannot expect to serve the Lord much longer, but I will prepare the way as far as I can for those who will come after me.” Many years ago, Dr. Rippon, the minister of this church, which then worshipped in New Park Street, was wont to prophesy about his successor. When he was very old, after having been pastor for more than sixty years, it is in the memory of some still living that he was accustomed to pray for the minister who should come after him. The old man was looked forward to one who should come and carry on the work after he was obliged to leave it. So must you and I do. We must be looking ahead as far as ever we can, not with unbelieving anxiety or unholy curiosity; but after the fashion in which David prepared abundantly before his death. If we cannot find a successor to enter upon our service when we have to leave it, yet let us do all we can to make his work the easier when he comes to it.

Conclusion

In less than two years, on January 31, 1892, Spurgeon’s fight would also end, and he would join Olney in the Celestial City. At Susannah’s request, this sermon was published on February 14, 1892, with the title, “His Own Funeral Sermon.” This sermon was a tribute to William Olney, but in many ways, it is a fitting tribute to all faithful servants who serve God in their own generation.

When the trumpet shall sound, this corruptible shall put on incorruption, those who sleep in Christ shall awake in resurrection splendor, and together we shall serve our Lord day and night in his temple for ever. Meanwhile, serve you own generation by the will of God.

Read the rest of the sermon here.



Six Ways to Improve Your Church’s Prayer Meeting

By / Jun 30

During the first seven years of his ministry, Spurgeon saw a remarkable revival spring up under his ministry. Thousands attended his services, and hundreds made professions of faith and joined the church. But amid all the excitement, how did Spurgeon know that this was a genuine work of the Spirit and not just the product of some strange enthusiasm? One encouraging sign was that the weekly church-wide prayer meeting was regularly attended by 1,000 to 1,200 people. It’s one thing to draw people to draw a large crowd on a Sunday morning. It’s an entirely different matter to convince people to come out and pray on a Monday night. These new members were not only interested in Spurgeon’s preaching. They were growing earnest in prayer.

As the pastor, Spurgeon knew that he had a responsibility to make those prayer meetings engaging and edifying. Having led these large prayer meetings for seven years, he shared in 1861 these six ways to improve your church’s prayer meeting. As you consider your own context, how might you apply the wisdom of his experience?

1) Teach and model the importance of prayer

Let the minister himself set a very high value upon this means of grace; let him frequently speak of it as being dear to his own heart; let him prove his words by throwing all his vigour into it, being absent as seldom as possible, and doing all in his power to give an interest to the meeting. If our pastors set the ill example of coming in late, of frequently staying away, or conducting the engagements in a drowsy formal way, we shall soon see our people despising the exercise and forsaking the assembling of themselves together. A warm-hearted address of ten minutes, with a few lively words interposed between the prayers, will do much, with God’s blessing, to foster a love to the prayer-meeting.

2) Promote participation by encouraging shorter prayers

Let the brethren labour after brevity. If each person will offer the petition most laid upon his heart by the Holy Spirit, and then make room for another, the evening will be far more profitable, and the prayers incomparably more fervent than if each brother ran round the whole circle of petition without dwelling upon any one point. Compare the subjects of prayer to so many nails; it will be better for a petitioner to drive one nail home with repeated blows, than to deal one ineffectual tap to them one after another. Let as many as possible take part in the utterance of the Church’s desires; the change of voice will prevent weariness, and the variety of subjects will excite attention. Better to have six pleading earnestly, than two drowsily; far better for the whole meeting that the many wants should be represented experimentally by many intercessors, than formally by two or three. As a general rule, meetings in which no prayer exceeds ten minutes, and the most are under five, will exhibit the most fervour and life; in fact, length is a deathblow to earnestness, and brevity is an assistant to zeal. When we have had ten prayers in the hour, varied with the singing of single verses, we have far oftener been in the Spirit, than when only four persons have engaged. This is an observation confirmed by the opinion of our fellow-worshippers; it might not hold good in all cases, but it is so with us, and therefore we thus witness.

3) Involve younger believers

Persuade all the brethren to engage. If the younger and less instructed members shrink from the privilege, tell them that they are not to speak to man but to God. Assure them that it does us all good to hear their groans and ineffectual attempts at utterance. For our own part, a few breakdowns generally come very sweetly home, and awakening our sympathies, constrain us to aid the brother by our more earnest wrestlings. It gives a reality and life to the whole matter, to hear those trembling lips utter thanks for new life just received, and to hear that choking voice confessing the sin from which it has just escaped. The cries of the lambs must mingle with the bleating of the sheep, or the flock will lack much of its natural music. As Mr. Beecher well says, “humble prayers, timid prayers, half-inaudible prayers, the utterances of uncultured lips, may cut a poor figure as lecture-room literature. But are they to be scornfully disdained? If a child may not talk at all till it can speak fluent English, will it ever learn to speak well? There should be a process of education going on continually, by which all the members of the church shall be able to contribute of their experiences and gifts; and in such a course of development, the first hesitating, stumbling, ungrammatical prayer of a confused Christian may be worth more to the Church than the best prayer of the most eloquent pastor.” Every man feeling that he is to take part in the meeting at some time or other, will become at once interested, and from interest may advance to love. Some of those who have now the best gifts, had few enough when they began.

4) Encourage attendants to share prayer requests

Encourage the attendants to send in special requests for prayer as often as they feel constrained to do so. Those little scraps of paper, in themselves most truly prayers, may be used as kindling to the fire in the whole assembly.

(Note: Spurgeon allowed members to submit prayer requests, but he also filtered these requests according to the theme of the prayer meeting; see point 6.)

5) Prioritize praying

Suffer neither hymn, nor chapter, nor address to supplant prayer. We remember bearing seven verses of a hymn, ending in “he hates to put away,” until we lost all relish for the service, and have hardly been reconciled to the hymn ever since. Remember that we meet for prayer, and let it be prayer; and oh! that it may be that genuine, familiar converse with God which shall drive out the formality and pomposity which mar so much our public supplications.

(Avoid) mistaking preaching for prayer. The friends who were reputed to be “gifted,” indulged themselves in public prayer with a review of their own experience, a recapitulation of their creed, an occasional running commentary upon a chapter or psalm, or even a criticism upon the pastor and his sermons. It was too often quite forgotten that the brother was addressing the Divine majesty, before whose wisdom a display of our knowledge is impertinence, and before whose glory an attempt at swelling words and pompous periods is little short of profanity; the harangue was evidently intended for man rather than God, and on some occasions did not contain a single petition from beginning to end. We hope that in our own time good men are leaving this unhallowed practice, and are beginning to see that sermons and doctrinal disquisitions are miserable substitutes for earnest wrestling prayers, when our place is the mercy-seat and our engagement is intercession.

6) Maintain a unified theme

It is not at all amiss to let two or even three competent brethren succeed each other without a pause, but this must be done judiciously; and if one of the three should become prolix, let the pause come in as soon as he is done. Sing only one verse, or at the most two, between the prayers, and let those be such as shall not distract the mind from the subject by being alien from the spirit of the meeting. Why need to sing about the temptations of Satan just after an earnest prayer for the conversion of sinners? and when a brother has just had joyous fellowship with Christ in intercession, why drag him down by singing, “‘Tis a point I long to know”?



Prayer and Simplicity

By / May 27

A. T. Pierson, the American Presbyterian evangelist, had the responsibility of preaching at the Metropolitan Tabernacle during the fall and winter of 1891-1892, while C. H. Spurgeon recovered from his illness.[1] During those months, Pierson had a front-row seat to the ministry at the largest church in evangelicalism with a membership of over 5,300. As he preached and assisted the elders in day-to-day pastoral work, two things stood out to him about the Tabernacle’s philosophy of ministry: prayer and simplicity.

Writing in his magazine in January 1892, The Missionary Review of the World, Pierson shared these observations:

Prayer

This Metropolitan Tabernacle is a house of prayer most emphatically. Here are numerous rooms, under and around the great audience-room, where for almost forty years, this one servant of God has held forth the Word of Life; and in these rooms prayer is almost ceaselessly going up. When one meeting is not in progress, another is. This is a hive of bees, where there are comparatively few drones. There are prayer-meetings before preaching, and others after preaching; Evangelistic Associations, Zenana Societies, and all sorts of work for God find hero a centre, and all are consecrated by prayer. Before I go upon the platform to address these thousands, the officers of this great church meet me and each other for prayer as to the service; and one feels upborne on these strong arms of prayer while preaching. No marvel that Mr. Spurgeon’s ministry has been so blessed. He himself attributes it mainly to the prevailing prayers of his people. Why may not the whole Church of God learn something from the Metropolitan Tabernacle of London as to the power of simple gospel preaching backed by believing supplication?

Simplicity

Referring to this great church, one cannot forget also its divine mission as a standing protest against the secularizing of the house of God by the attractions of worldly art and aestheticism. Here is nothing to divert the mind from the simplicity of worship and the gospel; no attempt at elaborate architecture, furniture, garniture. A precentor leads congregational song without even the help of a comet; prayer, and praise, and the reading of the Word of God, with plain putting of gospel truth—these have been Mr. Spurgeon’s lifelong ‘means of grace’, and weapons of war. And yet this remains to-day the largest congregation in the world, even when a stranger attempts to fill the place left vacant by the pastor’s withdrawal to a place of rest and recuperation.

Exhortation

This lesson has, in my opinion, a bearing on all work for Christ, at home and abroad. Our reliance is too much on the charms of this world, in drawing souls to the gospel and to the Saviour. The Holy Spirit will not tolerate our idols. If we will have artistic and secular type of music, substituting unsanctified art for simple praise; if we will have elaborate ritual in place of simple, believing prayer; if we will have eloquent lectures in place of simple, earnest, gospel preaching, we must not wonder if no shekinah fires burn in our sanctuaries. If Ahaz is allowed to displace God’s plain altar by the carved, idolatrous altar from Damascus, we need not be surprised if God withdraws his power. Perhaps the reason why the work of God abroad shows more signs of his presence and power than our sanctuary services at home is in part this, that our foreign mission work has never been embarrassed as yet by those elaborate attempts at aesthetic attraction which turn many of our home churches into concert-halls and lecture saloons and costly club-houses. May God grant us to learn, once for all, that nothing in our mission work can make up for Holy Spirit power, and that Holy Spirit power itself makes up for the lack of all else!  If the angel troubles the pool, there is healing in the waters; but if God’s angel comes not down, all the doctors in Jerusalem, with all the drugs in creation, cannot impart healing virtue.

Let us pray! Oh, for a new spirit of prayer to God! Oh, for a whole Church on its face before the throne, with mighty pleading for a blessing as widespread as the race of man, and as deep-reaching as man’s depravity and degradation, guilt and need! Let the year now opening be—whatever else it may not be—a year of prayer; so shall it be a year of praise also, a new year of missions, introducing a new century of mission triumph and glory to God!

[1] The plan was for Spurgeon to return to London by February 1892 but this never happened. He died in Menton, France on January 31, 1892.



Patrick, the First Missionary of the Pastors’ College Missionary Association

By / May 20

The Downgrade Controversy in the latter part of the 19th century was the most significant conflict of C. H. Spurgeon’s ministry, changing the course of British evangelicalism into the following century. But while those events were going on, there was a growing zeal in the Pastors’ College among the students for missions. Sometime in the early 1880’s, they established the Pastors’ College Missionary Association, and their minute books reside here in the Spurgeon Library.

Though the Downgrade Controversy was deeply discouraging, one of its effects was that those who sided with Spurgeon redirected their giving from the Baptist Union to the Pastors’ College. And now, in the fall of 1888, there was an opportunity for the Pastors’ College Missionary Association to begin supporting their own missionaries. Up to this point, the Pastors’ College had sent students to the mission field through other agencies, like the Baptist Missionary Society or Hudson Taylor’s China Inland Mission. However, in December 1888, they would send out their first fully supported missionary, N. H. Patrick, to North Africa.

Here are the notes from his commissioning service on Dec. 10, 1888:

Although a most foggy and unpleasant evening, the Lecture Hall of the Tabernacle was crowded on Monday evening Dec. 10th on the occasion of the departure of Brethren, Clark, Roger, and Patrick for the foreign field, the two former for the Congo, and the latter for North Africa… the chair was occupied by Mr. W. Olney who spoke some suitable and encouraging words to the impending missionaries, who each in turn delivered a most earnest and enthusiastic address. Several prayers were offered by the students and others present and in concluding, the Chairman presented each of the brethren with a copy of the Presidents’ new work, “The Cheque Book of Faith.”

There was no major fanfare. Not much is reported about this in the newspapers. Spurgeon himself was sick and recovering in Mentone, so he couldn’t attend. However, here you have the first supported missionary sent out by a newly established missionary association.

Though Spurgeon could not attend, he wrote a letter to Patrick, dated December 14, 1888.

Dear Mr. Patrick,

I rejoice that the way is cleared for you going to North Africa. As a brother looking to our own funds for support, you are the first representative of the Foreign Mission of the College, and I am the more earnest that you should lead the way gloriously. I am sure from your personal character, and from your course in College that I may place unlimited confidence in you; and far more is my confidence in the Lord whom you and I unitedly serve with our whole hearts. HE will help you to play the man. A blend of zeal, patience, and wisdom will be needed in a mission so new, dealing with such a peculiar people. You believe that the gospel will meet the need of any creature in the form of man, whether Jew or Gentile, Mahometan or heathen. You will keep wholly and only to the cross. There hangs our hope, as well as the hope of those to whom we go. Hammer away with the old gospel; and let those who like it use the miserable wooden mallet of mere reason. The Lord will be with you. Take special care to be much with HIM. Without the means of grace, in a lone land, as you will probably be ere long, “give attention to reading” the one and only Book, and be often carried away to heaven on the wings of prayer and meditation.

Write us often that you may keep up the interest of the brethren, and of my constituency in the glorious work. Be of good courage while you are dumb in the language of the people, and feel the fire burning within, with the power to let its heat warm the people. Carry your daily worries to your Master and they will not be worries. Aspire to be another “Patrick,” – the apostle of North Africa, as he was of Ireland.

On your head may the Holy Spirit pour of the anointing oil, and may you often be constrained to sing as I do,

“O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I’m constrained to be.”

God himself bless you.

Yours in Christ Jesus,

C. H. Spurgeon

We see so much of Spurgeon’s approach to foreign missions in this letter – remain grounded in the “old gospel;” be earnest in preaching and evangelism; be “much with” God in Bible-reading and prayer, especially when you don’t have Christian fellowship around; stay in touch with your supporters; and never forget to marvel at God’s grace.

Patrick left in December 1888 and landed in Tangier to work among the Muslim population. It appears that he was able to have a fruitful ministry, as evidenced by the fact that his converts were willing to be persecuted for their faith. In the October 1889 issue of The Sword and the Trowel, he shared some of the stories of conversions that he had seen just in the few months he had been there.

F. P. F was my servant for some months. He was only twenty, but gave evidence of true conversion. He slept at home, but was so persecuted there that he could find no opportunity for quiet prayer; but every morning he knelt down in the kitchen, where the day’s workwas to be done, seeking strength for that work. He earnestly desired his mother’s conversion, and prayed for it without ceasing. She, however, was extremely bitter with her son, and endeavoured to get him sent into the Spanish army, but failed. The home became almost unbearable to him. About three weeks ago he received orders to join the Spanish navy. He came to say good-bye. Rising from our knees, I begged him to be faithful to Christ. Tears were in his eyes, but he replied firmly,” God helping me, I will, sir. I will tell everybody the truth about Jesus.” May God keep him faithful!

…

Our converts have been much persecuted. For following Christ, men have been turned out of their homes. Others have been reviled, beaten, or excommunicated ; while others, again, have been deserted by their friends, and dismissed by their employers.

Some of our enemies had threatened and warned them to leave our meetings; but finding this of no avail, attacked them from the other side.

…

We look forward with confidence for great blessing here. We have large premises, good health, and over and above all else, the everlasting gospel. This is what Tangier needs, and the people are beginning to feel this to be the case. Pray for us!

The work of the Pastors’ College Missionary Association is a minor footnote in history. Spurgeon would die in a few years, and it would not go on to become a significant missionary sending agency. But in this brief period of time, for these few converts in North Africa, the work of the PCMA made an eternal difference in their lives. Only eternity will reveal the true fruit of that work.

The story of N. H. Patrick reminds us that even amid the fiercest controversies, the gospel continues to go forth. These stories may not grab the headlines. Many of these figures are lost to history. But in all ages, at all times, Christ is building His church. In this, we can rejoice and have hope to persevere in faithfulness, wherever the Lord has placed us.



Sermon Of The Week: “The Great Mystery of Godliness”

By / May 13

What is the great mystery of the Christian religion that Paul speaks of in 1 Timothy? What is that reality which infuses wonder in our everyday lives? It is that God, though the Creator and Sustainer of all things, became man. In short, it is the incarnation of Christ. “My brethren, if you will carefully consider it, this is one of the most extraordinary doctrines that was ever declared inhuman hearing, for were it not well attested, it would be absolutely incredible that the infinite God who filleth all things, who was and is, and is to come, the Almighty, the Omniscient, and the Omnipresent, actually condescended to veil himself in the garments of our inferior clay.”

Spurgeon helps us marvel at the greatness of the incarnation by delving into the reality of Christ’s humanity. Christ is not merely a lofty doctrine of the Christian faith, but He is the foundation of our salvation. Through His incarnation, salvation is made possible for humanity. Spurgeon brings the great mystery of our faith to light as He expounds upon Christ being made incarnate, seen by angels, and “believed on in the world.”

Excerpt:

If this be a great gospel, then how important it is for us to receive it. If the gospel were a laborious system of ethics, there are many in this house who never could be saved, for they could not understand it; but since it is so simple, why do men refuse it? “Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.” O will you not lay hold upon that truth? I do pray the Spirit of God to take off your minds from all philosophies and mysteries, that you may come to Jesus only. Trust in Christ and you are saved.. Receive this simple truth. God calls it great; angels think it great; the Holy Spirit attests it to be great; we who preach it feel it to be great; they who receive it acknowledge it to be great; Christ in glory bears witness that it is great; O accept this great salvation! May the Spirit lead you to believe in the great Saviour of great sinners.

Read the rest of the sermon here.



Sermon Of The Week: “Christ in the Covenant”

By / Apr 24

Are you in need of encouragement today? Are you looking for a truth that provides strength and comfort no matter the difficulties you face? This is what the New Covenant provides for every believer, because the covenant brings us to Christ Himself, and “in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily” (Col. 2:9). Spurgeon explains: “Jesus Christ by the covenant is the property of every believer. By this we must understand Jesus Christ in many different senses; and we will begin, first of all, by declaring that Jesus Christ is ours, in all his attributes.” Christ brings us to Himself into the New Covenant through His mediatorial work on the cross, and as the fullness of divinity dwells within Him, He also dwells with and in us.

In Christ, we come to partake of the glories of the new covenant, but Spurgeon here reminds us that we receive nothing greater than Christ Himself, in all his power and glory. United to Christ, what can ever assail or defeat us? Spurgeon encourages us by saying, “you know that [Christ] is omnipotent, and it will console you if you will but think that all these great and glorious attributes which belong to God are all yours. Has he power? That power is yours—yours to support and strengthen you; yours to overcome your enemies, yours to keep you immutably secure.”

Excerpt:

He has the attributes of very God, and he has the attributes of perfect man; and whatever these may be, they are each one of them the perpetual property of every believing child of God. I need not dwell on his attributes as God; you all know how infinite is his love, how vast his grace, how firm his faithfulness, how unswerving his veracity; you know that he is omniscient; you know that he is omnipresent; you know that he is omnipotent, and it will console you if you will but think that all these great and glorious attributes which belong to God are all yours. Has he power? That power is yours—yours to support and strengthen you; yours to overcome your enemies, yours to keep you immutably secure. Has he love? Well, there is not a particle of his love in his great heart, which is not yours; all his love belongs to you; you may dive into the immense, bottomless ocean of his love, and you may say of it all, “it is mine.” Hath he justice? It may seem a stern attribute; but even that is yours, for he will by his justice see to it, that all which is covenanted to you by the oath and promise of God shall be most certainly secured to you.

Read the rest of the sermon here.



Spurgeon’s Plea for Preachers: Leave Room for the Holy Spirit

By / Apr 14

There are many questions that preachers are perennially debating:

  • Should I preach sequentially through books of the Bible, or can I preach in different portions of Scripture from week to week?
  • What tools should I use in my sermon preparation?
  • Should I preach from a manuscript, or an outline, or without any notes?

Of course, there is no one right answer to these questions. To answer them, a preacher will need to wisely consider a number of things: his giftings, his preaching experience, his congregation, how much time he has to prepare, and many other contextual factors. But amid all those factors, Charles Spurgeon would urge preachers to remember one crucial point: Leave room for the Holy Spirit.

The necessity of the Spirit for the ministry

Spurgeon once said this to his students,

To us, as ministers, the Holy Spirit is absolutely essential. Without him our office is a mere name. We claim no priesthood over and above that which belongs to every child of God; but we are the successors of those who, in olden times, were moved of God to declare his word, to testify against transgression, and to plead his cause. Unless we have the spirit of the prophets resting upon us, the mantle which we wear is nothing but a rough garment to deceive… We believe ourselves to be spokesmen for Jesus Christ, appointed to continue his witness upon earth; but upon him and his testimony the Spirit of God always rested, and if it does not rest upon us, we are evidently not sent forth into the world as he was.[1]

It is so easy for ministers to rest upon their education, ministerial titles, preaching experience, etc… Such things can undoubtedly be helpful. But Spurgeon was clear: apart from the Holy Spirit, the pastor has no intrinsic power to accomplish the work to which he is called. Without the Holy Spirit resting upon our labors, our preaching is a sham and not authorized by Christ.

For Spurgeon, it was the necessity of the Spirit for his preaching that shaped how he prepared his sermons.

Selecting a sermon text

Spurgeon did not preach through books of the Bible for many reasons. Long sermon series in one book could prove to be laborious and difficult for his congregation. This was especially the case for him since he tended to preach on a single verse at a time. Preaching on different parts of the Bible week-to-week allowed him to cover more of the Bible, both Old and New Testament, rather than being in an epistle for a decade.

Most of all, however, his main motivation for moving around Scripture was that this created space for the Spirit to lead him week-to-week as he prayerfully selected a text. He explained this practice to his students like this,

I have often said that my greatest difficulty is to fix my mind upon the particular texts which are to be the subjects of discourse, on the following day; or, to speak more correctly, to know what topics the Holy Spirit would have me bring before the congregation. As soon as any passage of Scripture really grips my heart and soul, I concentrate my whole attention upon it…[2]

Notice, rather than making his sermon preparation process easier, he found this practice of determining his sermon text his “greatest difficulty” in his sermon preparation. In part, this was due to him prayerfully waiting on the Spirit to bring him to a passage of Scripture, one that really gripped his “heart and soul.” That’s not to say that Spurgeon was utterly mystical and passive in this process. His prayerful waiting was combined with diligent and thoughtful study. At the same time, however, this practice forced him to look to the Spirit’s leading in this process.

Studying the Scriptures

Once Spurgeon landed on a sermon text, he would begin to study the passage intently.

[I] look at the precise meaning of the original, closely examine the context so as to see the special aspect of the text in its surroundings, and roughly jot down all the thoughts that occur to me concerning the subject, leaving to a later period the orderly marshalling of them for presentation to my hearers.[3]

The first part of Spurgeon’s sermon prep always involved his own prayerful study of the Scriptures, referring back to the original languages, examining the context, and meditating on the text for himself. Though Spurgeon employed all his training and learning in this study of the Scriptures, he knew that ultimately, he was dependent on the Spirit. Prayer was always mingled with his study.

It is in our study-work, in that blessed labor when we are alone with the Book before us, that we need the help of the Holy Spirit. He holds the key of the heavenly treasury, and can enrich us beyond conception; he has the clue of the most labyrinthine doctrine, and can lead us in the way of truth. He can break in pieces the gates of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron, and give to us the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places. If you study the original, consult the commentaries, and meditate deeply, yet if you neglect to cry mightily unto the Spirit of God your study will not profit you; but; even if you are debarred the use of helps (which I trust you will not be), if you wait upon the Holy Ghost in simple dependence upon his teaching, you will lay hold of very much of the divine meaning.[4]

Only after personal study, would he then consult commentaries and other writings related to the text. Spurgeon once said this to his students about commentaries, “It seems odd, that certain men who talk so much of what the Holy Spirit reveals to themselves, should think so little of what he has revealed to others.”[5] In other words, Spurgeon believed that commentaries and other resources could be useful because the Spirit has been at work throughout church history, illuminating faithful teachers who have gone before us. But even as we use the best of such resources, we must not neglect a “simple dependence upon [the Spirit’s] teaching.” Only the Spirit can bring true insight into His Word.

Delivery

When it came to his sermon notes, earlier in his ministry, Spurgeon tended to write out his sermon in a manuscript. He commended this discipline to younger preachers, that they “may be preserved from a slipshod style.”[6]  But as he grew in experience and practice, he restricted himself to a sermon outline on a double-sided, half-sheet of paper.  This, he found, was the best way for him to bring his sermon preparation into the pulpit but still be extemporaneous in his sermon delivery.

The most arduous and commendable plan is to store your mind with matter upon the subject of discourse, and then to deliver yourself with appropriate words which suggest themselves at the time. This is not extemporaneous preaching; the words are extemporal, as I think they always should be, but the thoughts are the result of research and study.[7]

Spurgeon’s warning against sermon manuscripts is that so often, they tempted the preacher away from a reliance on the Spirit to a mere reading of sermons. Too many preachers in his day thought they could simply buy a sermon and read it. Not only was this not preaching, but such a practice entirely bypassed a dependence on the Spirit.

Their way is this: they prepare their manuscripts very carefully, then read it on the Sunday most sweetly in sotto voce, and so the people go away pleased. But that is not God’s way of preaching. If so, I am sufficient to preach forever, I can buy manuscript sermons for a shilling, that is to say, provided they have been preached fifty times before, but if I use them for the first time the price is a guinea, or more. But that is not the way. Preaching God’s word is not what some seem to think, mere child’s play-a mere business or trade to be taken up by any one. A man ought to feel first that he has a solemn call to it; next, he ought to know that he really possesses the Spirit of God, and that when he speaks there is an influence upon him that enables him to speak as God would have him, otherwise out of the pulpit he should go directly;[8]

The preaching act requires the influence of the Spirit of God upon the preacher. The posture of the preacher in the pulpit should be one of dependence and confidence in God’s help rather than reliance on a piece of paper. For Spurgeon, having a simple outline forced his prayerful dependence on the Spirit each time he entered the pulpit.

In our pulpits we need the spirit of dependence to be mixed with that of devotion, so that all along, from the first word to the last syllable, we may be looking up to the strong for strength. It is well to feel that though you have continued up to the present point, yet if the Holy Spirit were to leave you, you would play the fool ere the sermon closed. Looking to the hills whence cometh your help all the sermon through, with absolute dependence upon God, you will preach in a brave, confident spirit all the while.[9]

Concluding Reflections

The takeaway principle is this: when it comes to your sermon preparation process, leave room for the Holy Spirit.

Perhaps your normal practice is to preach through books of the Bible. That’s great! There are many good reasons for doing so. But with that baseline established, how can you leave room for the Spirit? Certainly, this will mean prayerfully considering which book of the Bible you will preach next. It may also mean depending on the Spirit’s leading as you divide up sermon texts. It may mean not finishing an entire book in every series but leaving off a series in an appropriate spot and moving on to other parts of the Bible. Even as you preach through books of the Bible, don’t forget to leave room for the Spirit’s leading.

What about preachers who have made it a habit to jump around the Bible, like Spurgeon? How can they leave room for the Spirit in their sermon prep process? Well, in addition to following Spurgeon’s example in prayerfully waiting for the Spirit to lead them a text from week to week, they may also want to consider preaching short series through larger portions of the Bible. One of the disadvantages of not working through larger portions of Scripture is that we often neglect unfamiliar, difficult, Spirit-inspired texts, like the Levitical laws, Jesus’ teaching on marriage and divorce, the minor prophets, apocalyptic visions, and much more. Those texts are as much the Word of God as your favorite texts! Could it be that jumping throughout the Bible is actually you preaching on your favorite passages rather than preaching the whole counsel of God? How might rely on the Spirit as you venture to preach all of Scripture?

As far as sermon preparation resources, this principle should guide our study. Most of all, our sermon prep would be characterized by prayerful dependence on the Spirit and careful study and meditation of His Word. Before we turn to any outside resource, we should turn first to the Spirit for help. And when it is time to turn to other resources, they should never be a substitute for the Spirit, but they should be a part of our dependence on the Spirit. This is why modern sermon prep tools like sermon research services and A. I. should be used carefully and sparingly, if at all: they do not foster prayerful dependence on the Spirit. They are often shortcuts to our own sermon preparation and will tempt us to rely on them rather than the Spirit’s help.

When it comes to the outline versus manuscript debate, each preacher will have to figure out what works best for him. But the principle remains: how can you leave room for the Holy Spirit? For one preacher, having a prepared manuscript will be helpful in curbing his own personality and facilitating a humble, Spirit-dependent delivery of the Word. For another preacher, having a simple outline will help cultivate a greater dependence on the Spirit as he delivers his sermon without a manuscript to fall back on. Spurgeon recognized that both forms of preaching can be Spirit-filled. He pointed out that the Spirit can work as much through a Jonathan Edwards, who preached while “holding the manuscript close to his eye,” as a George Whitefield, who preached extemporaneously and “the Spirit came like lightning from the skies.”[10] What made the difference was their prayerful dependence on the Spirit in their preaching.

Brothers, how will you leave room for the Holy Spirit in your preaching?

If we had not believed in the Holy Ghost we should have laid down our ministry long ere this, for” who is sufficient for these things?” Our hope of success, and our strength for continuing the service, lie in our belief that the Spirit of the Lord resteth upon us.[11]

[1] Lectures 2:3.

[2] Autobiography 4:66.

[3] Autobiography 4:66.

[4] Lectures 2:4-5.

[5] Commenting and Commentaries, 1.

[6] Lectures 1:153.

[7] Lectures 1:153.

[8] NPSP Vol. 1, Sermon No. 26 “The Two Effects of the Gospel”

[9] Lectures 2:10.

[10] MTP Vol. 9, Sermon No. 511, “Pentecost.”

[11] Lectures 2:1.



Sermon Of The Week: “Vile Ingratitude”

By / Apr 9

Sometimes as Christians, we are tempted to think that sin is less serious for the Christian than for the non-Christian. Since our sins are forgiven and Christ has paid for them, we think they don’t really matter anymore. But in this sermon, Spurgeon shows from Scripture that the opposite is true: Sin is even more serious for the Christian. After all, remember what you were and the amazing grace that God has shown you “Yet there we were, dying, nay dead, rotten, corrupted, so abominable that it might well be said, ‘Bury this dead one out, of my sight,’ when Jehovah passed by and he said unto us, ‘live.’” By His cleansing, regenerating power, we have been saved. How can we turn back to sin?

In light of God’s grace, for a Christian to turn to sin is a greater offense than for a non-Christian to do the same. “Ah! my brethren, I do think if there be any difference, the sins of disciples of Christ are a thousand times worse than the sins of unbelievers, because they sin against a gospel of love, a covenant of mercy; against sweet experience and against precious promises.” This reality must forever push us away from sin to walk in the goodness, grace, and love of God. We must not live in “vile ingratitude”, but as thankful servants who have been saved from just, eternal punishment.

Excerpt:

Hath the Lord loved us, though there was nothing in our birth or parentage to invite regard or merit esteem? Then surely every sin that we commit now, is aggravated by that sovereign choice, that infinite compassion that doated upon us, though our birth was vile, and our original base. Didst thou take me from the dunghill, O my God, and do I sin against thee? Didst thou take the beggar in his rags and lift him up to make him sit among thy sons and daughters, the very blood-royal of heaven? And has that beggar afterwards become a rebel against thee? Oh sin, thou art an accursed thing indeed! When I think of that grace which has thus honored the dishonorable, exalted the mean things of this world, and saved creatures that were the offscouring of creation, how I blush for the ingratitude that can forget such tender obligations, and do despite to such extraordinary unmerited goodness!

Read the rest of the sermon here.



Sermon Of The Week: “The Peculiar Sleep of the Beloved”

By / Mar 27

Have you ever considered the gift that sleep is? “Sleep, sleep, my child; I give thee sleep.” Spurgeon teaches that such is the blessing which the Lord grants to His beloved. From Psalm 127:2, he conveys that the gift of sleep is a tangibly sweet blessing of God which ought to be enjoyed and appreciated, not disregarded as an unnecessary luxury. He explains that it is fruitless to strain oneself by staying awake late or rising early, for one truly needs God’s blessed sleep for the rejuvenation of their beings. Taking rest is how the Lord has created us to function, and it should be received as a gift for which we remain constantly grateful.

In talking of this blessed sleep, Spurgeon remarks that it is made so as the beloved of God has a clear conscience, is content in the Lord, and does not worry about the future. These are gifts which God grants in order to supply rest to His people. He further says that the unbeliever does not fully experience this sleep, since it is rather a sleep which is given to the saved, God’s beloved. “But a quiet conscience is the sweetest music that can lull the soul to sleep. The demon of restlessness does not come to that man’s bed who has a quiet conscience — a conscience right with God […] ‘So he giveth his beloved sleep.’” Such true rest can only be found in Christ.

Excerpt:

It is God alone, who alike seals up the sea boy’s eyes upon the giddy mast, and gives the monarch rest: for with all appliances and means to boot, he could not rest without the aid of God. It is God who steeps the mind in lethe, and bids us slumber, that our bodies may be refreshed, so that for to-morrow’s toil we may rise recruited and strengthened. O my friends, how thankful should we be for sleep. Sleep is the best physician that I know of. Sleep hath healed more pains of wearied bones than the most eminent physicians upon earth. It is the best medicine; the choicest thing of all the names which are written in all the lists of pharmacy. There is nothing like to sleep! What a mercy it is that it belongs alike to all! God does not make sleep the boon of the rich man, he does not give it merely to the noble, or the rich, so that they can keep it as a peculiar luxury for themselves; but he bestows it upon all. Yea, if there be a difference, the sleep of the labouring man is sweet, whether he eat little or much. He who toils, sleeps all the sounder for his toil. While luxurious effeminacy cannot rest, tossing itself from side to side upon a bed of eider down, the hard-working labourer, with his strong and powerful limbs, worn out and tired, throws himself upon his hard couch and sleeps: and waking, thanks God that he has been refreshed. Ye know not, my friends, how much ye owe to God, that he gives you rest at night. If ye had sleepless nights, ye would then value the blessing.

Read the rest of the sermon here.