There is a splash of sentiment in this selection, because this is another sermon of Spurgeon’s which I remember reading in preparation for preaching. I recall being struck with the preacher’s delight in the Scriptures, with his happy depth of insight, with the experiential substance of the address, with its theological depth and doctrinal precision, and with the practical vigour of the whole. The title of the sermon gives us its two divisions, and—as he often does—Spurgeon walks through the text, drawing out its particular elements, hitting the key notes with brevity and pungency. Instruction, challenge, and encouragement are all readily blended, with the prominent presence of God in Christ the thread which bind things together, the whole evidently preached with a ready dependence on the Holy Spirit. Re-reading this sermon, I found myself wishing that I could come to it with the same freshness as I did the first time I surveyed it, but I trust that I now have a deeper and warmer appreciation for the truths which it contains, and hope that increasing love for the triune God will make that always and increasingly the case.

Read the sermon here: https://www.mediagratiae.org/resources/a-summary-of-experience-and-a-body-of-divinity

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There is a particular trick which our Adversary loves to use both to hinder sinners and to disturb saints, and that is to paint the character of God in the darkest possible shades, to twist and pervert the Almighty and All-Merciful God’s revelation of himself. In this sermon, preached from three texts, Spurgeon sets out, in the best sense, to vindicate the character of God. While still insisting upon the utter holiness of the Most High, Spurgeon nevertheless makes most clear the compassion of the Lord, and his willingness to save, and his pleadings with those who are lost in the misery of sin, and his provision for them in Christ Jesus to find life and joy and peace, through forgiveness. He emphasises God’s delight in salvation, not as a mere idea, but as a sweet reality. As you can imagine, the sermon is peppered with strong reasoning and urgent pleading for sinners who may have the wrong idea of God to understand his gracious heart, as he makes himself known in the Word of God, and to come to him that they might not die, but live.

Read the sermon here: https://www.mediagratiae.org/resources/pleading-and-encouragement

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Preached at Exeter Hall to a congregation which seems to have consisted largely if not exclusively of young men, an extended introduction about the importance of profitable reading gives way to a punchy series of questions. The first, “What is most essential to be understood in this Book?” gives Spurgeon the opportunity to review the gospel in its essence as contained in Isaiah 53. The second, “What is the test of a man’s understanding the Book?” gives the preacher scope to speak of the receptive reader’s delight in Christ and his truth. Thirdly, the question, “What can be done to obtain such a desirable understanding?” allows our preacher to stir up a spiritual appetite in his hearers, and to urge them to use every proper means to grasp the truth as it is in Jesus. Again, the crafting of the sermon is natural and effective, the three questions providing a platform for the preacher not just to proclaim the gospel but to press it home upon his congregation. The final sentences open a precious window into the preacher’s hopeful heart: “When we meet in heaven we shall praise the Lord for making us understand what we read. God bless you all, for Christ’s sake.” What a sweet and happy prospect for us still!

Read the sermon here: https://www.mediagratiae.org/resources/understandest-thou-what-thou-readest

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