Voices and influences
Charles Spurgeon
Preached in London for thirty-eight years and spent twenty-one years writing The Treasury of David, which is why this site reads him on the Psalms first.
His schooling is not in this site's record.
Summary
This site quotes Charles Spurgeon 2,849 times across 60 books, and lists 7 works. The place to start is The Treasury of David.
- Lived 1834 to 1892, British.
- Quoted here most in Psalms: 1,910 of 2,849.
- The Treasury of David: Psalm by psalm: his own exposition, notes gathered from older commentators, and short hints for a preacher.
- Spurgeon preached the five points of Calvinism as the structure of the gospel.
Charles Spurgeon
- Lived
- 1834 to 1892
- Nation
- British
- Tradition
- Reformed Baptist
5 of 2,849 quotations
Own words
Quoted in full, because Charles Spurgeon died in 1892 and these works are out of copyright. Each citation below names its edition and its year. A citation naming a modernised text means that edition makes its own editorial changes, and that edition's terms are not in this site's record.
“THIS is, no doubt, a literal and accurate account of God's first day's work in the creation of the world, but the first creation is not the subject of this morning's discourse—we would rather direct your minds to the second creation of God.”
The rest of the quotation
Every man who is saved by Divine Grace is a new creation. The great work which Jesus Christ is accomplishing in the world, by the Holy Spirit through the Word, is the making all things new. We believe the old creation to have been typical of the new and we shall so use it.
Genesis 1:1–5 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. And God saw that the light was good, and He separated the light from the darkness. God called the light “day,” and the darkness He called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day. BSB
“They are corrupt. They rot above ground; their heart and life are depraved. And speak wickedly concerning oppression. The reek of the sepulchre rises through their mouths; the nature of the soul is revealed in the speech.”
The rest of the quotation
They choose oppression as their subject, and they not only defend it, but advocate it, glory in it, and would fain make it the general rule among all nations. "Who are the poor? What are they made for? What, indeed, but to toil and slave that men of education and good family may enjoy themselves?
Psalms 73:8 They mock and speak with malice; with arrogance they threaten oppression. BSB
“Blessed— see how this Book of Psalms opens with a benediction, even as did the famous Sermon of our Lord upon the Mount! The word translated ‘blessed’ is a very expressive one.”
The rest of the quotation
The original word is plural, and it is a controverted matter whether it is an adjective or a substantive. Hence we may learn the multiplicity of the blessings which shall rest upon the man whom God hath justified, and the perfection and greatness of the blessedness he shall enjoy. We might read it, "Oh, the blessednesses!"
Psalms 1:1–2 Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, or set foot on the path of sinners, or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the Law of the LORD, and on His law he meditates day and night. BSB
“And he shall be like a tree planted—not a wild tree, but ‘a tree planted, ‘ chosen, considered as property, cultivated and secured from the last terrible uprooting, for ‘every plant which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up:’ Matthew 15:13.”
The rest of the quotation
"By the rivers of water;" so that even if one river should fail, he hath another. The rivers of pardon and the rivers of grace, the rivers of the promise and the rivers of communion with Christ, are never-failing sources of supply.
Psalms 1:3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water, yielding its fruit in season, whose leaf does not wither, and who prospers in all he does. BSB
“They shall stand there to be judged, but not to be acquitted. Fear shall lay hold upon them there; they shall not stand their ground; they shall flee away; they shall not stand in their own defense; for they shall blush and be covered with…”
The rest of the quotation
eternal contempt. Well may the saints long for heaven, for no evil men shall dwell there, "nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous." All our congregations upon earth are mixed. Every Church hath one devil in it. The tares grow in the same furrows as the wheat.
Psalms 1:5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. BSB
Influence, on the record
This site quotes Charles Spurgeon 2,849 times across 60 books.
This site’s own count of what it does with the voice
His weekly sermons were printed from 1855 and run to sixty-three volumes. The last volumes were printed after his death.
The New Park Street Pulpit and The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, 1855 to 1917.
The Treasury of David took twenty-one years and runs to seven volumes.
The Treasury of David, 1869 to 1885.
John Piper wrote his study of Spurgeon's life as one of three biographies in The Hidden Smile of God.
John Piper, The Hidden Smile of God, 2001.
The life, in order
- 1834Born at Kelvedon in Essex, and raised in part by his grandfather James Spurgeon, an Independent minister.
- 1850Converted at fifteen in a snow-bound Primitive Methodist chapel, under the text of Isaiah 45:22.
- 1851Preached his first sermon, at sixteen.
- 1851Took his first pastorate, at seventeen.
- 1853Called to New Park Street Chapel in London at nineteen.
- 1855His weekly sermons began to be printed as the New Park Street Pulpit.
- 1856Founded the Pastors' College.
- 1861The congregation moved into the Metropolitan Tabernacle and the printed sermons took its name.
- 1866Founded the Colportage Association.
- 1867Founded the Stockwell Orphanage.
- 1869 to 1885Wrote The Treasury of David, his commentary on the Psalms.
- 1887Resigned from the Baptist Union in October over its drift on inspiration, the atonement and eternal judgment.
- 1892Died on 31 January.
The life told as one accountfrom this site's record
Charles Haddon Spurgeon (June 19, 1834 – January 31, 1892) was an English Particular (Reformed) Baptist preacher whose 38-year pastorate ran at New Park Street Chapel, expanded as the Metropolitan Tabernacle (London, 1861). Born in Kelvedon, Essex, raised by his Independent grandfather Rev. James Spurgeon, he was converted at age 15 in a snow-bound Primitive Methodist chapel under the text "Look unto Me, and be ye saved" (Isaiah 45:22). He preached his first sermon at 16, took his first pastorate at 17, and was called to London at 19. His weekly sermons, published from 1855 as the New Park Street Pulpit and after 1861 as the Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, ran to 63 volumes. He founded the Pastors' College (1856), the Stockwell Orphanage (1867), and the Colportage Association (1866). His final years were marked by the Down-Grade Controversy (1887–1892), in which he resigned from the Baptist Union over its drift on biblical authority and the gospel.
7 works
How to read this voice
Spurgeon is quoted here for the Psalms first and for the gospel second. He preached to a room and then corrected the printer's copy, so the sentences are built to be heard, and a paragraph often turns one idea over three or four ways. Read him for the sentence that lands. For a technical note on the Hebrew he defers to the older commentators he prints beside his own work.
Start here
The Treasury of David
Psalms commentary, 1869–1885
Psalm by psalm: his own exposition, notes gathered from older commentators, and short hints for a preacher. This site quotes it more than any other work of his.
1,810 quotations on this site
Search archive.orgSearch the Christian Classics Ethereal Library
The New Park Street / Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit
sermon series, 1855–1917; final volumes posthumous
The weekly sermons as they were printed. Search it by text when you want him on one verse.
1,039 quotations on this site
Search archive.orgSearch the Christian Classics Ethereal Library
Lectures to My Students
1875, 1877, 1894 vols
What he taught the men at his own college about preaching, prayer and pastoral work.
Not quoted on this site yet
Search archive.orgSearch the Christian Classics Ethereal Library
A Defense of Calvinism
essay, 1860s; widely reprinted
His own account of the doctrine he preached, in his own words.
Not quoted on this site yet
Search archive.orgSearch the Christian Classics Ethereal Library
All of Grace
first edition, 1886
A short book written for a reader who is not yet a Christian.
Not quoted on this site yet
Search archive.orgSearch the Christian Classics Ethereal Library
Morning and Evening
daily devotional, 1865; revised 1869
A page for each morning and each evening of the year.
1 quotation on this site
Search archive.orgSearch the Christian Classics Ethereal Library
The Down Grade Controversy correspondence and articles
Sword and Trowel, 1887–1892
What he wrote in his own magazine during the dispute that ended his years in the Baptist Union.
Not quoted on this site yet
Search archive.orgSearch the Christian Classics Ethereal Library
Their whole shelf sits at The Spurgeon Archive (CCEL) and Spurgeon Center.
2,849 quotations across 60 books
Where this voice is quoted
“No, my lord,” Hannah replied. “I am a woman oppressed in spirit.
“The special cause of Hannah's sorrow arose from the institution of polygamy, which, although it was tolerated under the old Law, is always exhibited to us in practical action as a most fruitful source of sorrow and sin.”
Then the LORD called to Samuel, and he answered, “Here I am.”
“SAMUEL was a model child. He was the son of a prayerful mother. Hannah is one of the most notable pietists mentioned in the Scriptures.”
“Go and lie down,” he said to Samuel, “and if He calls you, say, ‘Speak, LORD, for Your servant is listening.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.
“IN the days of Eli the Word of the Lord was precious and there was no open vision. It was well, when the Word did come, that one chosen individual had the hearing ear to receive it and the obedient heart to perform it.”
Then the LORD came and stood there, calling as before, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel answered, “Speak, for Your servant is listening.”
“The child Samuel was favored above all the family in which he dwelt. The Lord did not speak by night to Eli, or to any of Eli's sons.”
“What was the message He gave you?” Eli asked. “Do not hide it from me.
“THE Lord would not speak directly to Eli, although he was the High Priest. In ordinary circumstances it would have been so, but Eli had grieved the Lord, and thus had lost his honorable standing.”
When the troops returned to the camp, the elders of Israel asked, “Why has the LORD brought defeat on us before the Philistines today?
“THESE MEN made a great mistake: what they wanted was the Lord in their midst; whereas they imagined that the symbol of God’s presence, the ark of the covenant, would be amply sufficient to bestow upon them the assistance which they required in the day…”
carried it into the temple of Dagon, and set it beside his statue.
“The Ark of the Lord was captured by the Philistines though it was guarded by all the men of arms that Israel could muster for the battle.”
As they were going down to the edge of the city, Samuel said to Saul, “Tell the servant to go on ahead of us, but you stay for a while…
“THIS was Samuel's third interview with this goodly young man. He had spoken with him and entertained him in his parlor, giving him the place of honor.”
So again they inquired of the LORD, “Has the man come here yet?” And the LORD replied, “Behold, he has hidden himself among the baggage.”
“SAUL seems to have known that he was the elect person, having already been secretly anointed by Samuel and, therefore, while the voting was going on and while the lots were being cast, he hid himself.”
As for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD by ceasing to pray for you.
“It is a very great privilege to be permitted to pray for our fellow men. Prayer in each man's case must necessarily begin with personal petition, for until the man is, himself, accepted with God, he cannot act as an intercessor for others.”
This is what the LORD of Hosts says: ‘I witnessed what the Amalekites did to the Israelites when they ambushed them on their way up from Egypt.
“SAUL had been commanded to utterly slay all the Amalekites and their cattle. Instead of doing so he preserved the king and suffered his people to take the best of the oxen and of the sheep.”
Your servant has killed lions and bears; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, for he has defied the armies of the living God.”
“DAVID had lived with God. Throughout many a solitary day he had kept his father's flock among the lone hills of Judah and had worshipped the Unseen but Ever-Present Lord.”
Your servant has killed lions and bears; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, for he has defied the armies of the living God.”
“WE have all thought a great deal of the courage of David in meeting giant Goliath, but probably we have not given him credit for his conduct in a previous contest.”
But David again vowed, “Your father knows very well that I have found favor in your eyes, and he has said, ‘Jonathan must not know of this, or he will…
“THIS was David's description of his own condition. King Saul was seeking to destroy him. The bitter malice of that king would not be satisfied with anything short of the blood of his rival. Jonathan did not know this.”
So David left Gath and took refuge in the cave of Adullam. When his brothers and the rest of his father’s household heard about it, they went down to him…
“DAVID in the caverns of Adullam is a type of our Lord Jesus Christ despised and rejected among the sons of men. Christ is the Lord's Anointed, but men perceive not the anointing.”
When David came to the two hundred men who had been too exhausted to follow him from the Brook of Besor, they came out to meet him and the troops…
“THOSE who associate themselves with a leader must share his fortunes. Six hundred men had left their abodes in Judea. Unable to endure the tyranny of Saul, they had linked themselves with David and made him to be a captain over them.”
Where this site parts from this voice
Spurgeon preached the five points of Calvinism as the structure of the gospel. He set out his reasons himself in A Defense of Calvinism in the 1860s. This site's tradition is Wesleyan and Pentecostal, and it does not teach unconditional election as he taught it. He preached in 1864 that Christ returns before the millennium and that Israel will be restored, and this site's tradition holds both of those with him. It parts from him on the timing of the rapture. This site's record names no sermon of his that teaches the removal of the church before the tribulation.
Charles Spurgeon, A Defense of Calvinism (1860s), and his sermon of 1864 on Israel's restoration.
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