Preface

Preface This volume, which was at first intended merely to be a report of the Memorial Services held in the Metropolitan Tabernacle, while the mortal body of its late beloved Pastor lay asleep in the Olive Wood, under the Palm Branches, has, during its preparation, been enlarged to make a place for a brief history of the last chapter in Mr. Spurgeon's faithful and fruitful earthly life. Beginning with his last appearances in his pulpit, the course of the final months, so fraught with interest, is traced through their varying events. A short account is given of the terrible illness which caused such widespread anxiety, and evoked such worldwide sympathy; of the gracious recovery granted in answer to the continued prayers of God's people; of the journey to the sunny South, and the happy months at Menton; of the entrance of the Pastor into the presence of the King; and of the memorable days thereafter.

Since this good gift, which the Giver of all good bestowed upon the Church, and upon the world, was to be taken from us, we are constrained to say that he could have gone from our midst in no better way. This is not only a matter of faith, but, having tried to imagine other methods of departure, we are compelled to fall back on God's way as the wisest and the best. Had Mr. Spurgeon been called suddenly, we should have been so stunned by the blow as to have been scarcely able to stand upright beneath it: a waiting time was, therefore, in mercy, granted to us, during which the forces at command were organized in such a way that, with the exactness of a machine, all worked smoothly when the terrible tidings at last came. Had Mr. Spurgeon been taken before such marvellous solicitude was shown around his sick bed, the enemies of the truth would have blasphemed; now they are fain to be silent, seeing that, even in this life, fidelity to the truth, and faithfulness to conviction have been so greatly honoured. Had Mr. Spurgeon passed away amid the fogs of London, we should have imagined that, had he only been permitted to live beneath bluer skies, his life would have been prolonged; now we thank God that those three bright months were added to it, and that he was able, with his beloved wife, to have such uninterrupted joy on earth, ere he passed to his reward in heaven. Had Mr. Spurgeon ended his course in England, for a few days only would people have paused to have asked the secret of his marvellous influence; whereas, under the actual circumstances, for twelve days the attention of the civilized world was centred in the testimony borne, not only to the servant of God, but to the Gospel he preached, in column after column of almost every newspaper. Truly, the Lord hath done all things well!

Many years ago, in one of his sermons, published at the time, he attempted to picture the scene at his own funeral, and expressed his own desire concerning it.

"In a little while," he said, "there will be a concourse of persons in the streets. Methinks I hear some one enquiring:—"

"What are all these people waiting for?"

"Do you not know? He is to be buried today."

"And who is that?"

It is Spurgeon."

"What! the man that preached at the Tabernacle?"

"Yes; he is to be buried today."

"That will happen very soon. And when you see my coffin carried to the silent grave, I should like every one of you, whether converted or not, to be constrained to say, 'He did earnestly urge us, in plain and simple language, not to put off the consideration of eternal things; he did entreat us to look to Christ. Now he is gone, our blood is not at his door if we perish.'"

Far more abundantly than he dared to hope have his wishes been fulfilled, and only in the day when all things shall be revealed, shall it be known how many have been turned to the Lord by the death of the man who was so greatly honoured to lead people to the feet of Jesus during his life.

Now he has left the Tabernacle pulpit for ever, and he stands amongst the great multitude who are before the throne and before the Lamb, "clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands." He is not in strange company there, for the song of those who wave the palm-branch was ever his theme as he stood in the pulpit: "Salvation to our God who sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb." From the Pulpit to the Palm-Branch has been for him a very natural transition. He preached Christ here; he praises Him yonder. Long ago, when the lowly Saviour was going up to Jerusalem, they "took branches of palm-trees, and went forth to meet Him, and cried 'Hosanna.'" When Charles Haddon Spurgeon, the humble servant of his glorious Lord, was going up to the New Jerusalem, did not some of the white-robed worshippers meet him also with palm-branches? If they did, he would be the first to lay them at his Master's feet, bowing low in grateful adoration, and giving Him all the praise.

None on earth can estimate his worth. He was the Evangelical Prophet of his age; our modern Isaiah. Like Isaiah, he early saw "the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up;" he had his lips purged with the live coal; and when he heard the call, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?" he gladly answered, "Here I am, send me." Beholding the Lord in His temple, he laid himself upon the altar, and like Isaiah, he was "very bold" to declare the Word of God. Filled with the thought of the glory of God, he lived for the good of the people; he delighted to speak of Him who "was wounded for our transgressions, and bruised for our iniquites;" and to invite thirsty souls to come and buy the grace of God, "without money and without price." Like Isaiah, too, he has been sawn asunder by some critics who would sever his philanthropy from his faith, not recognizing that the one was the outcome of the other, and that the same clear head and the same warm heart belonged to both. Of this man of God, who passed away after almost fifty-eight years on earth, the fifty-eighth chapter of Isaiah is a full-length portrait. In the midst of the surface religion of his day, he obeyed the word, "Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew My people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins." Who more than he dealt his bread to the hungry, and brought the poor that are cast out to his house? Let the Orphanage and Almshouses answer. Did not he truly realize that the secret of strength lay in not doing his own ways, nor finding his own pleasure, nor speaking his own words? He called the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honourable; and God gave him a sevenfold blessing, even according to His word. His light rose in obscurity, and broke forth as the morning. He deliberately set his heart against seeking great things for himself, yet fair and clear he shone undimmed before the world for forty years; shining more and more until the perfect day.

He had many answers to prayer; his communion with God became intensely real. The promise was fulfilled to him, "Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry, and He shall say, Here I am." The record of his answered prayers would, of itself, fill a volume. The Lord guided him continually; like a little child he was willing to be led. His whole life was a series of steps, taken at the bidding of his Master, and never was this more so than towards the end. It seemed as if God said to him, "Thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the Lord shall be thy rereward."

Fruitfulness was the result. In every good word or work he abounded, and this other promise of the Lord was realized abundantly,—"Thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not." The twelfth verse of the chapter is startling in the correctness of its application to him. In vain men speak of Spurgeon as "the last of the Puritans." The leader of them he may have been, and the greatest of them, but not the last of them; as long as the age continues, God will raise up for himself a godly seed. "They that shall be of thee" we read, and we can apply the words to both Mr. Spurgeon's sons and to his students,—"They that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations." Multiplication follows on fruitfulness.

Joy is the sixth blessing promised. "Then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord,"—a word which surely was fulfilled in his experience. To him living for God was luxury, not drudgery. He could say, with a wonderful emphasis of heart,—

"How glorious is my King!

'Tis joy, not duty, To speak His beauty! My soul mounts on the wing, At the mere thought, How Christ my life has bought."

Last of all comes honour. "I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth." No stronger comment on this is necessary than the record of the following pages. "The mouth of the Lord hath spoken it," and the hand of the Lord hath performed it. Honour came to him who sought it not, who even counted it a light thing. Truly it is no vain thing to serve the Lord!

Added to this sevenfold promise of blessing, a name is given in the twelfth verse to him who lives such a life. No more suitable title could be selected for the sainted man, of whom this volume is a very inadequate memorial.

"Thou shalt be called, 'The Restorer of Paths to dwell in.'"