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Voices and influences

Charles Spurgeon

Spurgeon's theology is Particular-Baptist Calvinism unashamedly preached as gospel.

Works on this site: 1855 to 1887.

Portrait of Charles Spurgeon
Alexander Melville · Public domain

6 of 2,848 quotations

In their own words

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. 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.

Charles Spurgeon· The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 660: “Light—Natural And Spiritual” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition), 1865Reformed Baptist

Genesis 1:1–5 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

WE know very little about Jabez, except that he was more honorable than his brethren, and that he was called Jabez because his mother bare him with sorrow. It will sometimes happen that where there is the most sorrow in the antecedents, there will be the most pleasure in the sequel. As the furious storm gives place to the clear sunshine, so the night of weeping precedes the morning of joy. Sorrow the harbinger; gladness the prince it ushers in. Cowper says:— “The path of sorrow, and that path alone, Leads to the place where sorrow is unknown.”

Charles Spurgeon· The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 994: “The Prayer of Jabez” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition), 1871Reformed Baptist

1 Chronicles 4:10 And Jabez called out to the God of Israel, “If only You would bless me and enlarge my territory!

ALL labor is honorable. No man ever needs to be ashamed of an honest calling. Whether a potter or a gardener, or whatever else his occupation may be, the workman need never blush at the craft or toil by which he earns his honest wage. "In the sweat of your face shall you eat bread," belongs to us all. The sluggard may well be ashamed of his sloth, but not the diligent man of his industry. It is quite certain that the Word of God does not disparage the most humble calling.

Charles Spurgeon· The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 1400: “With the King for His Work!” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition), 1877Reformed Baptist

1 Chronicles 4:23 These were the potters who lived at Netaim and Gederah. They lived there in the service of the king.

THE Temple was not to be built according to the designs of David, or Solomon, or any other man. It was to be built according to a pattern which God, Himself, had formed. In the things of God we are not left to follow our own judgments and devices—we are to look to the Law and to the Testimony for our instructions. To God's Word we must always come for our orders. What God has commanded is binding upon us in His Church. What He has not commanded, we may safely leave undone.

Charles Spurgeon· The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 2280: “God's Handwriting Upon David” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition), 1892Reformed Baptist

1 Chronicles 28:19 “All this,” said David, “all the details of this plan, the LORD has made clear to me in writing by His hand upon me.”

IT is not always the most gifted church which is in the most healthy state. A church may have many rich, influential, or learned members—many that have the gift of utterance and understand all sciences—yet that church may be in an unhealthy condition. Such was the case with the church at Corinth.

Charles Spurgeon· The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 2875: “Confirming the Witness of Christ” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition), 1904Reformed Baptist

1 Corinthians 1:6 because our testimony about Christ was confirmed in you.

PAUL is here arguing for the safety, the perseverance and the ultimate perfection of the saints to whom he is writing. He thanks God for what He has done for them and is assured that He will do yet more—that He will certainly confirm them unto the end—that they may be blameless in the day of Jesus Christ. The Apostle bases his argument upon this Truth of God—"God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son Jesus Christ our Lord."

Charles Spurgeon· The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 2580: “Partnership With Christ” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition), 1898Reformed Baptist

1 Corinthians 1:9 God, who has called you into fellowship with His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.

About this voice

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

What this site reads them for

The workYearQuoted here
The Treasury of DavidThe standard PD evangelical Psalms commentary; explicitly named in OPERATING_RULES §3 as a MannaFest ingestion-tier-1 source. 21 years of weekly Psalm-by-Psalm work.18691,810 quotations
The New Park Street / Metropolitan Tabernacle PulpitThe largest single-author sermon corpus in Christian history. The primary source for any Spurgeon position on any topic.1855Not quoted here yet
Lectures to My StudentsSpurgeon's instruction to his Pastors' College — the standard 19th-c. handbook on evangelical preaching, prayer, and pastoral life.1875Not quoted here yet
A Defense of CalvinismSpurgeon's own articulation of his Calvinism — "I have my own opinion that there is no such thing as preaching Christ and Him crucified, unless we preach what nowadays is called Calvinism."1860Not quoted here yet
All of GraceSpurgeon's most-distributed evangelistic work; a presentation of the gospel of grace for the unconverted reader.1886Not quoted here yet
Morning and EveningThe standard Spurgeon daily devotional, in continuous print since publication.1865Not quoted here yet
The Down Grade Controversy correspondence and articlesSpurgeon's defense of biblical authority, penal substitution, and eternal judgment against the Baptist Union's emerging modernism.1887Not quoted here yet

Where to find them

2,848 quotations across 60 books

Where this voice is quoted

Luke 10:33The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 473: “Good News For You” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition) (1862)

But when a Samaritan on a journey came upon him, he looked at him and had compassion.

Oh, no, he came "where he was," and finding that the man could do nothing whatever for his own assistance, the good Samaritan began with him, then and there, upon the spot, putting no impossible conditions to him, proposing no stipulations which the man could…

Luke 10:38–42The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 927: “Martha And Mary” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition) (1870)

As they traveled along, Jesus entered a village where a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home.

IT is not an easy thing to maintain the balance of our spiritual life. No man can be spiritually healthy who does not meditate and commune.

Luke 10:39The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 2927: “Love at Leisure” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition) (1905)

She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to His message.

MARY was full of a love to Christ which could be very active and self-sacrificing. I have read to you of her pouring the precious box of spikenard upon our Lord for His anointing.

Luke 10:42The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 1015: “The One Thing Needful” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition) (1871)

But only one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, and it will not be taken away from her.”

WE HAVE no difficulty whatever in deciding what the one thing is. We are not allowed to say that it is the Saviour, for he is not a thing; and we are not permitted to say that it is attention to our own salvation, for…

Luke 11:9–10The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 1091: “Prayer Certified Of Success” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition) (1873)

So I tell you: Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you.

To seek aid in time of distress from a supernatural being is an instinct of human nature. We say not that human nature unrenewed ever offers truly spiritual prayer, or ever exercises saving faith in the living God.

Luke 11:21–26The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 613: “The Strong One Driven Out By A Stronger One” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition) (1865)

When a strong man, fully armed, guards his house, his possessions are secure.

THE Lord Jesus is ever in direct and open antagonism to Satan. "I will put enmity between you and the woman, between your seed and her seed," has been most emphatically fulfilled.

Luke 11:31The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 1600: “A Greater Than Solomon” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition) (1881)

The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them; for she came from the ends of the earth to hear…

OUR FIRST thought is that no mere man would have said this concerning himself unless he had been altogether eaten up with vanity; for Solomon was among the Jews the very ideal of greatness and wisdom.

Luke 11:33–36The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 2109: “The Eye and the Light” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition) (1889)

No one lights a lamp and puts it in a cellar or under a basket. Instead, he sets it on a stand, so those who enter can see the light.

IN this parable, our Lord Jesus Christ is the Light. Some saw His brightness, and were even dazzled by it, as was that woman who cried, "Blessed is the womb that bore You and the paps which You have sucked."

Luke 12:49The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 854: “Fire—the Need of the Times” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition) (1869)

I have come to ignite a fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!

OUR Lord was here certainly alluding to the opposition and persecution which the Gospel would excite.

Luke 12:54–57The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 1135: “Signs Of The Times” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition) (1873)

Then Jesus said to the crowds, “As soon as you see a cloud rising in the west, you say, ‘A shower is coming,’ and that is what happens.

THESE words were addressed by our Savior to the common people who had gathered around Him. He appealed to their common sense.

Luke 13:10–13The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 1426: “The Lifting Up of the Bowed Down” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition) (1878)

One Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues,

I BELIEVE that the infirmity of this woman was not only physical but spiritual. Her outward appearance was the index of her deep and long-continued depression of mind.

Luke 13:18–19The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 2110: “The Mustard Seed: A Sermon for the Sabbath-School Teacher” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition) (1889)

Then Jesus asked, “What is the kingdom of God like? To what can I compare it?

I SHALL not attempt fully to explain this great little parable. A full exposition may be left for another occasion. The parable may be understood to relate to our Lord Himself, who is the living seed.

Luke 14:22The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 3529: “More Room for More People” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition) (1916)

‘Sir,’ the servant replied, ‘what you ordered has been done, and there is still room.’

How delightful it is to observe that the wrath of man becomes tributary to the Glory of God! See an illustration in the parable of the marriage supper. Those persons who were first bid would not come.

Luke 14:22The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 3221: “'Yet There Is Room'” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition) (1910)

‘Sir,’ the servant replied, ‘what you ordered has been done, and there is still room.’

I REMINDED YOU, this morning, [See Sermon #485, Volume 8—NO ROOM FOR CHRIST IN THE INN.] that there was no room for Christ and His parents in the inn at Bethlehem—and also that there were then other places where, although there was no room for…

Luke 14:28–30The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 1159: “Counting the Cost” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition) (1874)

Which of you, wishing to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost to see if he has the resources to complete it?

THIS passage is peculiar to Luke. He tells us that at the time when our Lord uttered it, great multitudes followed Him.

Luke 15:1–2The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 3410: “Christ and His Hearers” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition) (1914)

Now all the tax collectors and sinners were gathering around to listen to Jesus.

SELF-RIGHTEOUSNESS always seeks to blame others and to whitewash itself. The group that stood nearest to Christ in preaching was composed of two classes of persons—the publicans, or tax-gatherers and the open sinners.

Luke 15:2The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 665: “Open House For All Comers” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition) (1865)

So the Pharisees and scribes began to grumble: “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”

IT is not very unusual that the Pharisees could not understand the Savior's mode of action—not only because self-righteousness and bigotry had blinded their eyes and callousness of heart to the interest of others and had bound them up in the darkness of self-righteousness—but also…

Luke 15:4–6The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 2065: “Our Great Shepherd Finding the Sheep” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition) (1889)

“What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the pasture and go after the one that is…

THE love of Jesus, the Great Shepherd, is very practical and active. There is a sheep lost and the Lord regrets it. But His love does not spend itself in regrets. He arises and goes forth to seek and to save that which was lost.

Luke 15:20The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 1189: “The Turning Point” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition) (1874)

So he got up and went to his father. But while he was still in the distance, his father saw him and was filled with compassion.

THIS SENTENCE EXPRESSES the true turning point in the prodigal’s life story. Many other matters led up to it, and before he came to it there was much in him that was very hopeful; but this was the point itself, and had he never reached…

Luke 16:2The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 2445: “The Last Sermon for the Year” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition) (1895)

So he called him in to ask, ‘What is this I hear about you? Turn in an account of your management, for you cannot be manager any longer.’

THE first part of this text applies to us all. The second part will apply to each one of us before long. "Give an account of your stewardship," is a command that may be addressed to the ungodly.

Luke 17:5The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 3384: “Growth in Faith” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition) (1913)

The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!”

THE Apostles said this. I have sometimes thought that Paul's speech at Lystra, when he forbade the multitude to worship him and told the people that he was a man of like passions with themselves, has need to be repeated in the ears of many…

Luke 17:7–10The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 2334: “Our Service For Christ Never Finished” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition) (1893)

Which of you whose servant comes in from plowing or shepherding in the field will say to him, ‘Come at once and sit down to eat’?

THESE words are not addressed to the general congregation. You notice that the chapter begins, "Then said He unto the disciples."

Luke 17:17The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 2960: “'Where Are the Nine?' Where?” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition) (1905)

“Were not all ten cleansed?” Jesus asked. “Where then are the other nine?

THE whole narrative connected with the text is worthy of your careful reading. There were 10 men, lepers who, according to the old proverb that "birds of a feather flock together," had made a company and seemed to have lived in greater amity through kinship…

Luke 18:10The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 2395: “The Blessings of Public Worship” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition) (1895)

“Two men went up to the temple to pray. One was a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.

THIS is called a parable, yet it is rather an incident, an anecdote, a statement of facts. You will observe that our Lord never used a fable.

Luke 18:13The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 1949: “A Sermon for the Worst Man on Earth” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition) (1887)

But the tax collector stood at a distance, unwilling even to lift up his eyes to heaven.

IT was the fault of the Pharisee that though he went up into the Temple to pray, he did not pray. There is no prayer in all that he said.