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 2,848 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 2,848.
- 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 2,848 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 2,848 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.
1,038 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.
2,848 quotations across 60 books
Where this voice is quoted
Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.
“Blessed. Like the sermon on the mount on the mount, this Psalm begins with beatitudes. This is the second Psalm of benediction. The first Psalm describes the result of holy blessedness, the thirty-second details the cause of it.”
Blessed is the man whose iniquity the LORD does not count against him, in whose spirit there is no deceit.
“THE only blessing the Law can give, it bestows on those who do no iniquity and walk perfectly in God's ways—the Gospel, alone, has a blessing for the guilty.”
Blessed is the man whose iniquity the LORD does not count against him, in whose spirit there is no deceit.
“Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity. The word blessed is in the plural, oh, the blessednesses! the double joys, the bundles of happiness, the mountains of delight!”
When I kept silent, my bones became brittle from my groaning all day long.
“When I kept silence. When through neglect I failed to confess, or through despair dared not do so, my bones, those solid pillars of my frame, the stronger portions of my bodily constitution, waxed old, began to decay with weakness, for my grief was so…”
For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was drained as in the summer heat. Selah
“For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me. God's finger can crush us—what must his hand be, and that pressing heavily and continuously!”
Then I acknowledged my sin to You and did not hide my iniquity.
“I acknowledged my sin unto thee. After long lingering, the broken heart bethought itself of what it ought to have done at the first, and laid bare its bosom before the Lord.”
Therefore let all the godly pray to You while You may be found. Surely when great waters rise, they will not come near.
“For this shall every one that is godly pray unto thee in a time when thou mayest be found. If the psalmist means that on account of God's mercy others would become hopeful, his witness is true.”
You are my hiding place. You protect me from trouble; You surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah
“Thou art my hiding place. Terse, short sentences make up this verse, but they contain a world of meaning. Personal claims upon our God are the joy of spiritual life.”
I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go; I will give you counsel and watch over you.
“I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go. Here the Lord is the speaker, and gives the psalmist an answer to his prayer. Our Saviour is our instructor.”
Do not be like the horse or mule, which have no understanding; they must be controlled with bit and bridle to make them come to you.
“Be ye not as the horse, or as the mule, which have no understanding. Understanding separates man from a brute—let us not act as if we were devoid of it.”
Many are the sorrows of the wicked, but loving devotion surrounds him who trusts in the LORD.
“Many sorrows shall be to the wicked. Like refractory horses and mules, they have many cuts and bruises. Here and hereafter the portion of the wicked is undesirable. Their joys are evanescent, their sorrows are multiplying and ripening.”
Be glad in the LORD and rejoice, O righteous ones; shout for joy, all you upright in heart.
“Be glad. Happiness is not only our privilege, but our duty. Truly we serve a generous God, since he makes it a part of our obedience to be joyful. How sinful are our rebellious murmurings!”
Rejoice in the LORD, O righteous ones; it is fitting for the upright to praise Him.
“Rejoice in the Lord. Joy is the soul of praise. To delight ourselves in God is most truly to extol him, even if we let no notes of song proceed from our lips.”
Praise the LORD with the harp; make music to Him with ten strings.
“Praise the Lord with harp. Men need all the help they can get to stir them up to praise. This is the lesson to be gathered from the use of musical instruments under the old dispensation.”
Sing to Him a new song; play skillfully with a shout of joy.
“Sing unto him a new song. All songs of praise should be unto him. Singing for singing's sake is nothing worth; we must carry our tribute to the King, and not cast it to the winds. Do most worshippers mind this?”
For the word of the LORD is upright, and all His work is trustworthy.
“For the word of the Lord is right. His ordinances both natural, moral, and spiritual, are right, and especially his incarnate Word, who is the Lord our righteousness. Whatever God has ordained must be good, and just, and excellent.”
The LORD loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of His loving devotion.
“He loveth righteousness and judgment. The theory and practice of right he intensely loves. He doth not only approve the true and the just, but his inmost soul delights therein.”
By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, and all the stars by the breath of His mouth.
“By the word of the Lord were the heavens made. The angelic heavens, the sidereal heavens, and the firmament or terrestrial heavens, were all made to start into existence by a word; what if we say by the Word, "For without him was not anything…”
He piles up the waters of the sea; He puts the depths into storehouses.
“He gathereth the waters of the sea together as an heap. The waters were once scattered like corn strewn upon a threshing floor: they are now collected in one spot as an heap.”
Let all the earth fear the LORD; let all the people of the world revere Him.
“Let all the earth fear the Lord. Not only Jews, but Gentiles. The psalmist was not a man blinded by national prejudice, he did not desire to restrict the worship of Jehovah to the seed of Abraham.”
For He spoke, and it came to be; He commanded, and it stood firm.
“For he spake, and it was done. Creation was the fruit of a word. Jehovah said, "Light be, "and light was. The Lord's acts are sublime in their ease and instantaneousness. "What a word is this?"”
The LORD frustrates the plans of the nations; He thwarts the devices of the peoples.
“The Lord bringeth the counsel of the heathen to nought. While his own will is done, he takes care to anticipate the wilfulness of his enemies.”
The counsel of the LORD stands forever, the purposes of His heart to all generations.
“The counsel of the Lord standeth for ever. He changes not his purpose, his decree is not frustrated, his designs are accomplished.”
Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people He has chosen as His inheritance!
“Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord. Israel was happy in the worship of the only true God. It was the blessedness of the chosen nation to have received a revelation from Jehovah.”
The LORD looks down from heaven; He sees all the sons of men.
“The Lord looketh from heaven. The Lord is represented as dwelling above and looking down below; seeing all things, but peculiarly observing and caring for those who trust in him.”
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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