C.H. Spurgeon: Pastor-Theologian (Part 2)
Education
Spurgeon’s experience in formal education was meager, but profoundly influential. He was taught in a cottage school until he began his studies at the Stockwell School in 1844. He excelled there and transferred to Maidstone where he and his brother attended St. Augustine’s College. Spurgeon spent only one year in Maidstone before beginning work at Newmarket in Cambridgeshire. Here, he served as an usher, the modern equivalent of a teacher’s aide or assistant. During his stay at Newmarket he encountered a cook named Mary King. She proved to be an instrumental force in his life, affirming the Puritan theology of his grandfather’s dark den.
She liked something very sweet indeed, good strong Calvinistic doctrine, but she lived strongly as well as fed strongly. Many a time we have gone over the covenant of grace together, and talked of the personal election of the saints, their union to Christ, their final perseverance, and what vital godliness mean; and I do believe that I learnt more from her than I should have learned from six doctors of divinity of the sort we have nowadays.[1]
In the fall of 1850, Spurgeon left Newmarket in order to study and assist at Cambridge. He went to work with Mr. Leeding, who had previously instructed him in Colchester. Leeding’s influence cannot be exaggerated. G. Holden Pike believed that Leeding “probably understood his young friend’s bent of mind and developing genius better than anybody else.”[2] His work with Spurgeon in Colchester prior to his conversion and in Cambridge after his conversion profoundly equipped the young pastor-theologian. He never finished his education however, for ministry engagements began to overwhelm his schedule.[3]
Early Ministry
1850 was a spiritual launching year for Spurgeon. He wrote early spiritual reflections in his journal from April to June, which he later entrusted to his wife, who transcribed them for his autobiography. He marked his conversion January 6, 1850, followed by his admittance to fellowship at the Congregational Church of Newmarket. He was then baptized on May third and took his first communion on May fifth. On the same Sunday as his first communion he began work as a Sunday School teacher, a work he deeply valued.[4]
Spurgeon’s First Sermon
Spurgeon had a profound desire to preach but was fearful and hesitant to do so.[5] The responsibility was thrust upon him while attending church in Cambridge where he became connected to the Preacher’s Association of St. Andrew’s Street Chapel. James Vinter, called “Bishop” by his students, organized volunteers to preach wherever needed. He approached Spurgeon and asked him to accompany a preacher to Taversham the next evening. He agreed. On the way, Spurgeon kindly commented that he hoped the young man would feel the presence of God while preaching. Shocked, the young man explained that he had no intention of preaching. He wasn’t even a member of the Preacher’s Association. He too had been asked to walk with a preacher! He assured Spurgeon that there would be no sermon unless he delivered one.
I walked along quietly, lifting up my soul to God, and it seemed to me that I could surely tell a few poor cottagers of the sweetness and love of Jesus, for I felt them in my own soul. Praying for divine help, I resolved to make my attempt.[6]
His text was 1 Peter 2:7, “Unto you therefore which believe He is precious.” The sixteen-year-old Spurgeon delivered his message and the poor cottagers were richly blessed. One matriarchal figure called out, “Bless your dear heart! How hold are you?” Spurgeon replied, “You must wait until the service is over before making any such inquiries.” After the closing hymn, the woman inquired his age again. Quick came the reply, “Never mind my age, think of the Lord Jesus and his preciousness.”[7] This experience began a Spurgeon’s regular ministry with the Preacher’s Association. The course had been marked. Charles Haddon Spurgeon was a preacher.
House Where Spurgeon Preached His First Sermon
The Young Preacher of Waterbeach
On October 12, 1851 Spurgeon was assigned to a Baptist chapel in Waterbeach, just North of Cambridge. His text was Matthew 1:21, “Thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins.” His robustly theological outline tackled justification by faith, the imputation of Christ’s righteousness, and progressive sanctification. This brand of doctrinal preaching fit well with congregational expectations, for they were already deeply grounded in Puritan theology.[8] His ministry at Waterbeach continued for two years and his popularity grew steadily. Soon the modest chapel was unable to contain the crowds coming to hear his message, and the townspeople would congregate around the exterior of the building to listen through the open windows.
The Maid’s Mistake
In the midst of a thriving new ministry, Spurgeon was often encouraged to gain formal training. His father even sought to arrange theological education for his son in some manner, whether with Leeding or elsewhere. A meeting was arranged with Dr. Joseph Angus, principal of Stepney College, an institution Spurgeon was profoundly interested in attending. When the time came, Spurgeon arrived at the appointed meeting place promptly and was shown into a drawing room. He waited for Angus for nearly two hours before inquiring as to his whereabouts. To his surprise, Angus had arrived on time as well, but was shown to a separate room. He had assumed Spurgeon would not come and departed on a train back to London. The maid had ushered the men into separate rooms and they had waited for one another separated by mere feet. Spurgeon, disappointed in the failed engagement, headed to his afternoon preaching appointment. On the way, Jeremiah 45:5 came to his mind, “Seekest thou great things for thyself? Seek them not!” He considered that moment a sign from God that he should not pursue further education.[9] He wrote to his father later with settling convictions.
I am not uneducated. I have many opportunities of improvement now; all I want is more time; but even that, Mr. Leeding would give me if it were so arranged. I have plenty of practice, and do we not learn to preach by preaching? You know what my style is. I fancy it is not very College-like. Let it be never so bad, God has blessed it, and I believe he will yet more. All I do right, he does in me, and the might is of him. I am now well off; I think as well off as anyone of my age, and I am sure quite as happy.[10]
He continued to assist Mr. Leeding at Cambridge to the delight of all who studied under him.[11] In addition, he kept multiple weekly preaching appointments with the Preacher’s Association which provided him ample opportunity to learn.[12] His primary attention was on the flock of Waterbeach and with them he would stay until 1853, when he was called to London to pastor The New Park Street Chapel, the center of his public ministry until his death.
The Call to Shake England
In November of 1853, the Waterbeach pastor was asked to address the annual meeting of the Cambridge Sunday School Union in the Guildhall. Spurgeon was first to speak, followed by two other ministers. Each derided his age, one with particular vehemence, calling it a pity that “boys did not adopt the Scriptural practice of tarrying at Jericho until their beards were grown before they tried to instruct their seniors.” Spurgeon asked the chairman for permission to make a reply.
Having obtained the chairman’s permission, I reminded the audience that those who were bidden to tarry at Jericho were not boys, but full-grown men, whose beards had been shaved off by their enemies as the greatest indignity they could be made to suffer, and who were, therefore, ashamed to return home until their beards had grown again. I added that the true parallel to their case could be found in a minister who, through falling into open sin, had disgraced his sacred calling, and so needed to go into seclusion for a while until his character had been to some extent restored.[13]
Spurgeon had no way of knowing how significant this event would be. In the first place, the man whom he rebuked had himself engaged in open sin which was known by the congregation. Secondly, a man attending this event, George Gould, was particularly taken with Spurgeon and his response to his critics. Soon Gould spoke in London with a deacon from New Park Street Chapel, Thomas Olney, and pressed him to bring Spurgeon in to fill their vacant pulpit.
The pulpit into which Spurgeon would step had enjoyed over 200 years of gospel ministry in London. Benjamin Keach was pastor from 1668 to 1704. On his deathbed he transferred the pastoral responsibility to his son-in-law, Benjamin Stinton. Stinton served until his death in 1718. In 1719 John Gill became pastor and served until 1771.[14] John Rippon followed him in 1773 and stayed for over six decades. He died in 1836, having produced a hymnbook, periodicals, various agencies and societies, along with a church building allowing for 1200 seats. Following his death, two other pastors served the church with minor tenures before Spurgeon came as pastor.
A Calling Commenced
When Spurgeon arrived at the chapel in Waterbeach on the last Sunday in November 1853 an envelope was passed to him with a London postmark. Inside was an invitation to preach at the New Park Street Chapel in London. Spurgeon was surprised and humbled by the invitation. He was preparing for the morning service using Rippon’s hymnbook, named for New Park Street’s venerable former pastor, and this church had asked him to come and preach! He thought it a mistake and wrote to them the next day, enquiring as to how they could have heard of him, reminding them of his age saying, “…if you think my years would unqualify me for your pulpit, then, by all means, I entreat you, do not let me come.”[15] A reassuring reply came, saying no mistake had been made. He was the one they were seeking. Arrangements were made, and Spurgeon prepared to preach on December 18, 1853.
When he began his journey to London, Spurgeon had a heavy heart. He viewed this opportunity as a sort of trial and focused his mind on the task by meditating on John 4:4, “He must needs go through Samaria.”[16] He dearly loved the quaint congregation of Waterbeach and the 19th Century bustling London seemed overwhelming. No one from New Park Street offered him any lodging, but “supply” was provided for him to stay at a boarding house. When he arrived at the massive New Park Street Chapel the next morning he was greeted warmly and confronted with the rich history of the people to whom he was about to speak. Pike notes, “The temptation to sit down in what had been Dr. Gill’s chair was irresistible, and there were pictures, etc.”[17] When he rose to preach, the 1200 seat sanctuary was sparsely dotted with few attenders, a reality that calmed Spurgeon’s anxiety. “I was not yet out of my depth and was not likely to be with so small an attendance.”[18] His text was James 1:17, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” His message was markedly different from the standard homiletic practice of the day.
The accepted preaching style of the mid-nineteenth century English minister centered in the preparation of a full, literary manuscript, and to read each chosen word most meticulously and pedantically. The whole design seemed to be to deliver weighty, eloquent discourses that tended to draw attention to the writing skill and learning of the preacher rather than to the message itself. Charles Spurgeon became a breath of fresh air in this heavy, almost oppressive preaching atmosphere. Because he was extemporaneous, free, and communicative, he thrilled the people with his message.[19]
As the service ended, people lauded the young preacher and invited others to attend the evening service to hear “this young man from Waterbeach.” The evening crowd was sizeable, and they pressed the deacons to secure Spurgeon’s return to the pulpit. He did return for three weeks in January at the end of which time the deacons presented him with an invitation to supply for six months. It was meant to be a sort of probationary period with the permanent position of pastor in view. Spurgeon thought the timing was too long for someone his age.
My objection is not to the length of the time of probation, but it ill becomes a youth to promise to preach to a London congregation so long, until he knows them and they know him. I would engage to supply for three months of that time, and then, should the congregation fail, or the church disagree, I would reserve to myself liberty, without breach of engagement, to retire; and you could, on your part, have the right to dismiss me without seeming to treat me ill.[20]
A decision was eventually reached, and he went to London to begin his probationary period of ministry. The flock left behind in Waterbeach knew their pastor had been called to greater things. One parishioner prophetically remarked, “That young man will shake England like a second Luther.”[21]
Notes
[1] Spurgeon, Autobiography, Vol. 1, 38-9.
[2] G. Holden Pike, The Life and Work of Charles Haddon Spurgeon, vol. 1, 2 vols. (Edinburgh; Carlisle, Pa.: Banner of Truth Trust, 1991), 44. Of Spurgeon’s education, Pike remarked, “When Mr. Spurgeon settled in London in the year 1854 there were those who industriously circulated the report that the young preacher was quite uneducated. This was not the opinion of those where were better acquainted with the facts of the case, however. The truth was, that he was not only as well prepared as circumstances would allow for the distinguished position he was destined to occupy in the world, but was evidently prepared for his future eminent service in the best manner possible. That is the view the late Pastor would himself have taken of the matter, while the tutor to whom he was chiefly indebted—the late Mr. Charles Leeding—would have born similar testimony” (29). Pike believed Spurgeon was uniquely gifted and educated for the task at hand, an education he balanced between a Puritan upbringing and Leeding’s instruction. In a note following Leeding’s death in 1890 Spurgeon wrote, “He was a teacher who really taught his pupils, and by his diligent skill I gained the foundation upon which I built in after the years.” W.Y. Fullerton, C.H. Spurgeon: A Biography (London: Williams and Norgate, 1920), 13-14.
[3] “He [Leeding] has left it on record that he did not think that there was need for me to go to any of the Dissenting colleges, since I had mastered most of the subject studies therein; and his impression that I might, while with him, have readily passed through the University, if the pulpit had not come in the way.” Fullerton, C.H. Spurgeon: A Biography, 13-14.
[4] “He who teaches a class in a Sabbath-school has earned a good degree. I had rather receive the title of S.S.T. than M.A., B.A., or any other honor that was ever conferred by men.” Spurgeon. C. H. Spurgeon Autobiography, 157.
[5] In letter dated April 6, 1850, Spurgeon wrote to his father, “How I long for the time when it may please God to make me, like you, my Father, a successful preacher of the gospel! I almost envy you your exalted privilege.” Ibid., 116.
[6] Spurgeon, Autobiography Vol. 1., 182. Spurgeon committed his apprehension to the Lord. “It seemed a great risk and a serious trial, but depending on the power of the Holy Ghost, I would at least tell out the story of the cross, and not allow the people to go home without a word” Ibid., 183.
[7] Ibid., 184. Spurgeon’s theologically focused homiletic begun here is indeed a direction-setter and his preaching held this shape throughout his ministry.
[8] “The doctrines he preached were such as they themselves loved and built their hopes upon; and these doctrines were identical with the teaching which had been given forth from the Baptist pulpit in the village for long generations. In point of fact, Waterbeach was as much a little stronghold of Puritan ideas as Stambourne itself; and that is the reason why the grandson of the aged Essex pastor at once felt himself at home with the congregation.” Pike, The Life and Work of Charles Haddon Spurgeon, Vol. 1, 62.
[9] Pike, The Life and Work of Charles Haddon Spurgeon, Vol. 1, 73.
[10] Spurgeon, Autobiography, 210. After his first sermon at New Park Street, Spurgeon wrote again to his father, confirming his decision not to attend. “I told the deacons that I was not a College man, and they said, ‘This is to us a special recommendation, for you would not have much savor or unction if you came from College.’” Ibid., 250. At the laying of the foundation stone of the Metropolitan tabernacle, Spurgeon’s father referenced his schooling decision specifically. “I always thought he was wrong in not going to College; I tried three or four hours with him, one night, with a dear friend who loved him, but it was no use. Several persons said to me – ‘Your son will never last in London six months; he has no education.’ I said, ‘You are terribly mistaken; he has the best education that can possibly be had; God has been his Teacher, and he has had earthly teachers, too.’ I knew, as far as education went, he could manage London very well.” Ibid., 252.
[11] Pike notes, “As my friend at Willingham is able to testify, the boys who made up Mr. Spurgeon’s class needed no urging to be attentive when the time for going through a Scripture lesson came round. Though the Bible is often regarded as a dry book by boys, the Scripture lessons were given with a freshness which made them of extraordinary interest. ‘There was no long, somber face with Spurgeon, no starchiness,’ remarks his former pupil; ‘he was very homely and happy in these lessons.’ While giving them, the young teacher would not only become animated, but seemed to speak about the old-time characters who stood out on the page of inspiration as though they were his own personal acquaintances. One occasion is still memorable—that on which the lesson embraced the passage wherein the prophet Elijah challenges the people to determine by fire whether the Lord of Hosts or Baal was the true God. The great scene on Mount Carmel was depicted before the boys with wonderful vividness. to everyone present it almost seemed that the youth had actually been an eye-witness of the spectacle” (Pike, 80-81).
[12] Spurgeon would write to his father again, explaining the value of his preaching ministry. He noted that he was, “as much a minister as any man in England; and probably very much more so, since in that time I have preached more than 600 times.” Iain H. Murray and C. H. Spurgeon, Letters of Charles Haddon Spurgeon (Carlisle: Banner of Truth Trust, 1992), 49.
[13] Spurgeon, Autobiography, Vol. 1, 245.
[14] “Gill, above all, must be remembered for his theological writings. The books, like the preacher, are ultra-Calvinistic to the last syllable. Spurgeon deeply admired the man, and his pulpit rested in a room at the Metropolitan Tabernacle for years. Students at the Pastors’ College used it to preach their trial sermons. John Gill’s works and theology became known as “‘Gillism,” reflective of the high-Calvinism that characterized most Baptists at that particular time.” Lewis A. Drummond, Spurgeon: Prince of Preachers (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 1992), 183.
[15] Spurgeon, Autobiography, Vol. 1, 247.
[16] Pike, The Life and Work of Charles Haddon Spurgeon, Vol. 1, 94.
[17] Ibid., 97.
[18] Spurgeon, Autobiography, Vol. 1, 248.
[19] Drummond, Spurgeon, 194.
[20] Spurgeon, Autobiography, Vol. 1, 255.
[21] In the church records, the following entry is found regarding Spurgeon’s change of ministry venue: “Mr. Spurgeon continued to labor amongst us with very great success till the beginning of 1854, when he was called to the more important pastorate of New Park Street, where his popularity and usefulness continue beyond all parallel in modern times, being often called upon to preach on public occasions in all parts of the country.” Pike, The Life and Work of Charles Haddon Spurgeon, 103.