Chapter 101: Mr. Gladstone At The Tabernacle
Chapter 101.
Mr. Gladstone At The Tabernacle
India—Silver Wedding—Dr. Punshon—Conference Address—The Baptist Union—At Portsmouth—Mr. Gladstone and his Son at the Tabernacle—Illness—An Open-Air Sermon—Prayer Meetings—Dr. Parker and Spurgeon—Illness—His Parents' Golden Wedding—Sermons Telegraphed to the States—At Enfield—The Luther Tercentenary—A Letter from Menton.
At the opening of the year 1881 Mr. Spurgeon was showing some interest in the evangelisation of the English-speaking races of India. Mr. H. Rylands Brown had already gone out as a representative of the College, and it was hoped that others would follow as soon as funds were forthcoming. As regards the church at the Tabernacle, now that it was growing older, the net increase for the year was not so great as might have been imagined from the number of additions. Thus against the total increase for 1880 of four hundred and fifty-three there was a decrease of three hundred and ninety-nine, leaving the clear increase only fifty-four. Some had gone off to form a new congregation at Tooting, and the pastor was always more pleased at such enterprise than if they had remained with him. Another thing which yielded him satisfaction was the erection of the new home at Hoxton for the Golden Lane Mission. Some will remember that the winter was severe, especially in January, when, on account of snow and frost, coals of indifferent quality rose to between four and five shillings a sack at the small dealers' in London. During the opening weeks of the year Mr. Spurgeon was suffering at home; and when the weather was still at its worst on Sunday, January 23, he wrote this letter to his people:—
"Westwood, Upper Norwood, "January 23, 1881.
"Dear Friends,—I should gladly have been among you to-day, for I am much better; but I am not strong enough to face this terrible weather. Risk of more weeks of suffering warns me to wait till another Sabbath. May my dear son be helped to fill my place; he steps in like a loving son when at the last his father finds himself unable. Pray much for him in the great work of to-day. I am distressed for the poor. Our church funds are exhausted; but I will personally see that they are replenished, so that our poor brethren shall nob lack. But there will be need that every Christian man who can help the poor should do so at once—wisely, but largely. If ever we were generous it should be now. Everyone must look after those immediately around him. Every well-to-do member of the church must personally see to the case of some brother or sister in need. Many hands will make good work, and the blessed burden will be a benefit to all who bear it. God will be glorified if His people now show their tenderness to the suffering. I hardly think that you need this admonition, but I tremble for the hungering and freezing poor. On Monday I would suggest special prayer for the removal of this bitter weather. I pray that before you call the Lord may answer you. May the blessing of our Father in heaven rest on you in Christ Jesus!—Your loving minister, "C. H. Spurgeon." As it was now twenty-five years since Mr. and Mrs. Spurgeon were married, the Silver Wedding would doubtless have been celebrated in a worthy manner had the pastor been in better health. He was ailing more or less throughout March, so that the necessary work for the printers was only got through with difficulty, and he could not regularly take his place at the Tabernacle. Then one after another such friends as Lady Lush, a daughter of a Baptist minister, as well as a friend of the poor, and Sir Charles Reed passed away. Spurgeon's little book, issued at this time, "Be of Good Cheer," was probably a stimulant to his own spirits. His regard for Dr. Morley Punshon was very sincere; and, as showing the sincerity of their friendship, the following letter is given. It is of the more interest because the writer passed away a few weeks later:—
"Tranby, Brixton Rise, S.W., "January, 1881.
"My Dear Sir and Brother,—The papers tell us that the 10th will be a memorable day to you, and amid hosts of greeting friends my wife and I (than whom you have none truer, though our love can rarely exhibit itself but in wishful thought and prayer) would fain express our good wishes in a line.
"We trust there is good foundation for the rumour which has lately reached us of great and permanent improvement in Mrs. Spurgeon's health; and we pray that, if it be the Lord's will, you may be continued to each other in happy fellowship until the silvern' shall have become 'golden' by the lapse of years.
"Like most of God's anointed, it seems as if you are to be made 'meet by consecrated pain.' May the Refiner sit always by the furnace! You know that the fire will never be kindled a whit too fiercely, nor burn a moment too long.
"There are many, whom you know not, who thank God, in these times of rebuke, for your fidelity to the old Gospel, and who watch you with solicitude and prayer.
"Wishing for Mrs. Spurgeon and yourself happiness, and the blessedness which is better, the Lord's unutterable peace, long and useful lives, and the 'abundant entrance' at last,—I am, in my wife's name and my own, yours very affectionately, "W. Morley Punshon."
Mr. Spurgeon so far improved in health during April that he was able to preach the annual sermon on behalf of the Baptist Missionary Society at Exeter Hall on the 27th of the month, the text of which was Isa 51:2-3 : "Look unto Abraham, your father," etc. As he warmed with his subject the preacher seemed to be, as it were, all on fire, and some who listened must have been reminded of the palmy days of youth at the Surrey Gardens. Take this passage in reference to the future of the Church:—
"Looking to the rock whence we were hewn, and to the pit whence we were digged, we have not to count probabilities and possibilities. We have to deal with God, who can do what He says; and if He says, 'The knowledge of the Lord shall cover the earth as the waters cover the sea,' who is to stop Him? Who is he that shall stand against the army of God when He wills to achieve a thing? What did He make the world of? and who was there to help Him? With whom took He counsel, and who instructed Him? And if all the things that are have been spoken into existence by a word, cannot God yet build up His Church, even if to our sight there shall seem to be nothing to build her with? See how our race has sprung from one common stock, and yet how many we are! And if ever you want to revive your faith, think of this country. If ever you want to be strong as to the conversion of the heathen, remember what your forefathers were when their bloody rites were performed under the oak of the woods, and whether ever more degraded and debased heathen exist than those who were living in this land. Yet where are the gods of the Druids now; and who cares for the golden sickle and the sacred oak? The thing is gone as if it had never been. Look again at Protestantism in this country. What was it at first? A thing utterly despised and hunted down. The stakes of Smithfield should never be forgotten at such meetings as this. Yet the Gospel of God did triumph. Let the days of the Puritans, the palmy days when God was known in England, speak." The annual Conference opened on May 2 at Salters' Hall Chapel, Islington, when it appeared that three hundred and sixteen churches had sent in returns for 1880, and two hundred and thirty-three congregations showed an average increase of fourteen members each church, although forty-five London churches showed an average of twenty-one for each church. Salters' Hall Chapel had been an ancient institution in the City, and had been removed to the suburbs, Mr. Alfred Bax, of the College, being pastor. The President rejoiced in the prosperity of the people, and wished them "Good luck in the name of the Lord." On the following morning at the College several deaths of pastors were mentioned. Reference was also made to Mr. Thomas Spurgeon's evangelistic services in Australia, and to the fact that two chapels had been erected in Tasmania. The presidential address was as full of wit and wisdom as ever. The preacher was again all aglow, as always seemed to be the case when he was speaking to some hundreds of his own men. Though he might compliment them on doing well, he would still urge them to strive to do better, e.g.:—
"We might all have greater honour if we were fit to bear it. When Nelson was serving under a great commander, and a certain number of the enemy's ships had been captured, he was written to by the officer in charge that they had had a splendid victory. Nelson did not think so; he said that if there was an enemy having eleven ships, and he had only captured ten, he would not write home and call that a victory. But for glorying in our work peradventure God would use us more extensively. Some brethren may say, 'In my sphere I have done all I can,' and probably that was their honest opinion. Possibly they had had quite enough meetings, and the people had heard them quite enough, but you might do it in better style. A Bristol Quaker—and Bristol Quakers are very shrewd—stepped into a bar for a pot of beer, and when the pot was brought it was not very well filled. He said to the landlord, 'How much trade are you doing?' 'Oh,' said the landlord, 'I draw ten barrels of beer a month.' 'Do you know how you might draw eleven?' 'No, sir; I wish I did.' 'Well, always fill up your measures.' If anybody says, 'I do not know how I can preach more of the Gospel than I do; I preach so many times,' I say, 'Do not preach any more, but fill the pots full.' 'Fill the water-pots with water; and they filled them up to the brim.' Some brethren have an awful flux of words; you can scarcely see the poor little straw of idea carried down on the awful Ganges, the torrent of words. Put in plenty of thought, of real solid truth, and deliver it in a better way, in every way better, for the glory of God." The Lord Mayor (Sir William McArthur) presided at the supper party on May 4, when the collection amounted to two thousand one hundred and seventy-five pounds. The chairman was a Wesleyan and a philanthropist, and Mr. Spurgeon paid him a well-deserved compliment. "There is no mayor who has better done his duty," he said. "In regard to the frequent invitations to civic and other banquets which I receive," he added, "I have never gone but once, and three days after I was seized with small-pox."
There were seventy-three colporteurs now at work, and Mr. Spurgeon showed his continued interest in their operations not only by addressing the men on May 16, but by announcing at the tea-table that he should give five pounds to the man who did best in the coming year, three pounds to the second, and two pounds to the third. He also promised three similar prizes to three others who should be recommended by the committee.
After the Conference this year a denominational paper gave an article on the Baptist Union and its critics. "The grumbling which appears to be periodical is once more raising its voice. It waxed rather loud at the Tabernacle during one or two of the meetings of the Conference held a few weeks ago. The Union is too cold for some perfervid spirits of that body." It was then significantly added, "By union they can help each other; by severance they would both suffer; and it is a moot question which of them would suffer most." In reply the following letter was written:—
"To the Editor of 'The Baptist'
"Dear Sir,—If your leading article of this date had not been calculated to breed discord I should not have replied to it on my own account. From a remark as to the spiritual chill of the Union meetings, you infer a looseness of attachment to the Baptist Union, if not an intention to break away from it. This is, indeed, a monstrous leap of logic. No one more heartily desires the prosperity of the Union than I do; no one is more satisfied with its designs and plans. If there be any mutterings of tempest they certainly do not arise from me or from any of those who gathered with me at the Conference.
"It is a great pity that you so frequently abuse your columns for the suggesting of discords. We are all, as far as I know, happily agreed, and if we venture to desire more fervency, or even leave the politics of the denomination to be managed by those who have a greater aptitude for such things, it is from no want of goodwill to the Union or to any part of it. You would do far more service if you imputed good motives whenever it was possible to do so.
"Personally, I have shown my goodwill to the Union gatherings by very frequently speaking and preaching at them; and as I have declined to do this at the next autumn gathering, I should like it to be known that my sole and only motive is that I wish others to have their turn, and I would either absent myself or present myself, or do anything else to promote Christian love; but sometimes I am perplexed to know how to avoid giving offence in one way or another. Your paper has so much energy about it, and so much zeal for the growth of the denomination, that I feel sorry to see in it a sharpness which is not worthy of it. What can be the good of falling foul of your friends? At the same time, you are welcome to insinuate anything you please against me, if you will only believe that I am the hearty friend of the Baptist Union and all its works. How could I be otherwise? Everyone is much kinder to me than I deserve, and I dare say that even your disagreeable remarks are meant for my good.—Yours very truly, "C. H. Spurgeon.
"Upper Norwood, May 27, 1881." The article was, of course, mainly directed towards Mr. Spurgeon himself. He was represented to have said that, while in full sympathy with the London pastors, he should not go to the Union meetings. "He always got a chill when he did so. The meetings were to him like an iceberg." Thus coming events were casting their shadows before. At the fête of the Orphanage in June, in celebration of the President's forty-seventh birthday, the chief interest centred in the new houses for girls. The students' holiday, on the reassembling for the session on August 9, was spent at Mr. J. Tritton's mansion, Bloomfield, Lower Norwood. Having spent so much time in his sick-room, Mr. Spurgeon decided that he would not himself go away for the usual summer holiday. This was the year in which the Revised Version of the New Testament appeared, and Spurgeon's opinion of it was not very favourable. He thought that the Revisers were stronger in Greek than in English, and that consequently their work would need much revision before it would be fully accepted. Among the afflictions of the summer was the death, early in September, of Mrs. J. A. Spurgeon. Then such good friends as Mr. John Edwards, of Camden Town, and Dr. Samuel Manning also passed away.
There was a meeting of the members of the London Baptist Association for fraternal intercourse at the Tabernacle on September 27, when there was a discussion on a paper by the present Professor T. V. Tymms on "Lukewarmness in the Church: the Cause and Cure." Mr. Spurgeon spoke well of the paper, and in course of his address referred to his afternoon's work. "I have sat from two till seven seeing inquirers desirous of entering the church, and I saw thirty-three of them without resting. I never had a more joyous time; and the hardest of such work is for our good. I at last did not seem to know which was John or which was Mary when they came on so quickly one after another. I tried to form an honest judgment in every case, and picked out twenty-eight of them." A short address on the subject of the evening followed.
He attended the Baptist Union meetings at Portsmouth and Southampton. On Wednesday afternoon, October 26, he preached in the music-hall at Portsmouth from the words, "Without me ye can do nothing." The eagerness of the public to obtain tickets of admission was as remarkable as it had ever been on any former occasion, and a vast crowd made up an overflow meeting of those who were unable to gain admission. Prince Edward of Saxe-Weimar, the Mayor of Portsmouth, and several chiefs of Government departments who resided in the borough, were to be seen on the platform. On the following day Mr. Spurgeon preached at the skating-rink, Southampton, the text being John 21:22.
Early in November he took leave of his congregation at the annual meeting of the College, and delivered the "John Ploughman" lecture, with dissolving views, which had been advertised to be given ten months previously. He then set out for Menton, leaving friends at home to complete the arrangements for the great bazaar to be held on account of the Girls' Orphanage. On Sunday, November 20, Mr. Moody conducted the services at the Tabernacle. Mr. Spurgeon again occupied his pulpit on Christmas Day. He returned to England in time to be present at the Christmas festivities at the Orphanage on Monday, December 26. The last time he had been present was five years previously, or in 1876. The special "Welcome Home" meeting at the Tabernacle on December 28 was attended by about four thousand persons, who were gladdened to hear their pastor report himself in good health. He said that he was thoroughly rested, and added:—
"In coming back among you I feel myself in the outset glad to get back; and yet before I went away I felt as if I were a man who had twenty times more to do than he could do, and I have begun to feel that again already within the last two or three days. Since I have been at home I have been cheered by the large number of letters I have had with contributions for the Orphanage. One is from Boston, another from Russia, another from Bordeaux, and many from other places, all sent in gratitude for the good the donors had received from the sermons."
He was also able to say at this time that he had daily to solve things as difficult as any which came before the Queen's judges. His chief desire as a preacher was to see the Tabernacle as well filled on Thursday evenings as on Sundays. One source of satisfaction was the settlement of his son at Auckland. The great bazaar at the Tabernacle in the following week, at which there were thirty stalls, was in all respects a success, the amount realised being £7,333. The visit of Mr. Gladstone, accompanied by his eldest son, Mr. W. H. Gladstone, to the Tabernacle on Sunday evening, January 8, was an interesting event. "Mr. Gladstone's visit was an unexpected one, and therefore no opportunity was afforded Mr. Spurgeon of preparing a special sermon," said The Freeman; but the pastor had had too many visitors of similar quality to allow of his making any difference on their account. During the afternoon a messenger had called to inquire whether Mr. Spurgeon would preach, and on their learning that the Premier was coming, the deacons arranged to receive him in a fitting manner. Mr. Gladstone and his son arrived at 6.15, and, being conducted into the minister's vestry, they sat with Mr. Spurgeon until service-time. A contemporary account says:—
"The rumour that the Prime Minister had arrived rapidly spread throughout the congregation, and as half-past six approached, every eye was turned towards the small door at the rear of the platform, "from which the pastor and his officers emerge. With customary punctuality, Mr. Spurgeon opened the door and descended the stairs, followed by his deacons; behind them was seen the calm and pallid countenance of the Premier, accompanied by his son. The elders of the church brought up the rear." The sermon was founded on the healing of the woman who had an issue of blood—Mark 5:30. Of course, the sermon was precisely what it would have been if the eminent statesman had not been present; and the exercise of faith was illustrated in a humorous but characteristic manner, e.g.:—
"If we could call up one of our great-grandfathers, he would have to exercise a good deal of trust. On awaking in the morning the old gentleman would probably ask for his flint, steel, and tinder-box. Instead of these antiquated implements he would receive a small box containing a number of small sticks, and we should tell him to strike one of them. Then he would call for a lamp, and imagine his surprise at being told that the reeking vapour from the gas-bracket could be lighted and answer his purpose. He would see nothing to light, and yet be told to light it. Though he might be incredulous, the light would come when the match was applied. Similar astonishment would follow his being told that he could be carried fifty miles an hour without horses, and yet it would all be true. So with spiritual matters; God's purposes will be unfailingly carried out, whether we can understand them or not." The preacher and his distinguished visitors retired to the vestry after service, when the deacons and elders shook hands with Mr. Gladstone, who congratulated the pastor on having so large a body of co-workers. The event naturally attracted the notice of the newspapers generally. The anecdote was re-told of the American Sunday-school scholar who, in reply to the question, "Who is Prime Minister of England?" replied, "Mr. Spurgeon." When Lord Palmers ton was Premier, in the days of the Surrey Gardens services, portraits of Palmerston and Spurgeon had been exhibited together at a bazaar as those of "The Two Prime Ministers." It was hoped that the pastor of the Tabernacle might have a successor as worthy of himself as Mr. Gladstone was of Lord Palmerston. The Standard said:—
"The announcement that the Prime Minister was among Mr. Spurgeon's audience at the Tabernacle on Sunday night is in many ways a suggestive item of news. Fifty years ago the 'stern and unbending hope' of the Conservatives might have been inclined to scoff at the seer who would have risked the prophecy which has now come true. But in the course of half a century Mr. Gladstone has changed, and the Church, if in its main features the same as that in whose defence the young Member for Newark wrote his maiden work, has so widened its sympathies and moderated its asperities as to leave room for an honest appreciation of even the energetic Baptist preacher who, for thirty years, has exercised so marked an influence on a certain section of the community. When Mr. Spurgeon first began his ministrations in New Park Street Chapel, London did not know well what to make of 'the new light.' He was young, fiery—unfriendly critics said illiterate—and, it was agreed by most men, a little vulgar. The canons of pulpit oratory seem not to have been framed for him. His similes were drawn from sources hitherto untapped, and his endless anecdotes, apt though they were to the point to be illustrated, not unfrequently savoured of irreverence. Yet the preacher drew; and the more he offended the smooth commonplaces of the polite world the fuller his chapel became and the wider grew his fame. Park Street became too small for him, and the Tabernacle in Newington Butts had not been well finished before it was clear that a hall even double its size would prove too limited for the crowds which gathered from far and near to listen to the popular pastor. Mr. Spurgeon has so long been a recognised institution of the metropolis that it is hard to believe that at a period still easily remembered he was the subject of harsh criticism and what almost amounted to vituperation.... Mr. Spurgeon is to-day as eagerly run after as ever. Any ill-feeling which he once provoked has entirely disappeared, and few strangers now pass through London without visiting his Tabernacle. Accordingly, when the Premier and his son, and at an earlier date Mr. Bright, paid him a visit, they were only following a custom which has grown very general amongst all classes in this country—Churchmen as well as Dissenters.... The world is wide, and requites many men to make it what it is. There may be differences of opinion regarding the advantages to be derived from sermons such as those which have so long been a speciality of the Tabernacle. But it requires no great stretch of liberality even in the most devout of Churchmen to allow that, take him all in all, the world would be the poorer by the loss of the Baptist minister who has been honoured by preaching before so eminent a theologian as the present Premier." At the annual gathering of the London Association at the Tabernacle on January 24, much sympathy was felt for Dr. Stanford, who had become almost blind. Mr. Spurgeon gave an address on "How to Get at the People." Preaching needed to have good practical results, and the preacher had to get close up to the people. "I do not mean how to get at them inside the church, whether by blowing trumpets or sounding fiddles, or Salvation Army extremes, or anything of that kind." Nor was there any gain in being too important. Then: "As style is the man, in the formation of style the principal thing is the formation of the man." The preachers were advised to be natural and to feel at home in the pulpit, and not to be, as it were, different persons in their own houses from what they were in the chapel. This was a busy time, but working at high pressure brought on another illness. He preached on the first Sunday of March and was then laid aside, though the evening of March 12 was the time for the Tabernacle to be open to "strangers." The pastor wrote: "I am more disappointed than any of you when I find that I cannot address you to-night." He was obliged to add, "Alas! I cannot leave my couch or even stand." A week later there was no improvement, but more pain. On the first Sunday in April the message to the people showed how severe had been the attack. When he did preach again on April 9 his strength had not returned. This attack came at an inopportune time, as the annual Conference opened on April 17, the first meeting being held at Mr. Charles Spurgeon's chapel at Greenwich. It was at this meeting that mention was made of the Bishop of Rochester having called at Westwood in order to pray with Mr. Spurgeon in his sickness. The expenditure of the College for the year (£6,883) somewhat exceeded the income; but otherwise all things seemed to be in a high state of prosperity. On the following morning the subject of the President's address was, "When I am weak then am I strong." Mr. George Williams presided at the supper on April 19, when the collection amounted to £2,150.
Spurgeon was not well enough to take any leading part in the May meetings; but on Sunday, the 14th of the month, he made special reference in prayer to the murder of Lord Frederick Cavendish and Mr. Burke, asking that while justice might be executed on the criminals, peace might be given to the distracted country. Mr. Spurgeon's forty-eighth birthday was made a day of prayer by the members of the College, and on June 21 the annual fête came off at the Orphanage. On this occasion he was able to tell his troops of friends that he bad received as much as £450 since the previous Monday in birthday gifts, and he was glad the children were there to receive it, for he would feel humiliated by keeping it himself. The friends were also reminded that twice as much money would be needed as formerly. "I have no doubt you all feel that there has been connected with this institution a great deal of thought and a great deal of care," he added. "Well, there has been thought, but not anxious thought, because the means have been sent in; but I often wish that you would pray earnestly for us, that we might have grace to do the work perfectly." The buildings for the girls were in all respects a contrast to those erected for the boys, when less money was in hand. As the President remarked, "They look substantial enough to stand till the last tremendous day." In rather threatening weather, on July 18, he visited Hornchurch and preached from a waggon in Grey Towers Park. The service was held "in the shade of a line of fine elm trees, which formed a very pretty background to the congregation." A large number of chairs were placed on the grass, and then there was a fringe of carriages and vehicles in which people were seated. The sermon was founded on John 12:32. The putting up of the little chapel at Hornchurch was a small affair; but in London and the suburbs the aggressive war was still being actively waged. In August we find the ministers of the Middlesex and Surrey Association dining at Westwood, and holding a conference. Then there was the ten days' Gospel Temperance Mission of Booth, the Blue-ribbon lecturer at the Tabernacle. On the opening night of this crusade Spurgeon himself made a speech such as he would not have made a few years previously, when he showed little sympathy with teetotal principles. I give one brief extract from his address:—
"There is an awful amount of money spent every year over the drink business. Now if, instead of that, the men had another coat or two, and the women another dress or two, and the children had some little shoes to their poor feet—suppose the money went in some articles of furniture—why, all this falling-off in trade would soon be altered. There would be plenty of work to do, and work that would be worth the doing. Now, for the production of drink very little goes to the working-man who makes it. The materials cost the money—I really do not know what they may be. There is no man on earth knows what beer is made of now—so I am told. We can see what the effect of it is; but there used to be a drink made of malt and hops. Has anybody tasted any of that? It seems to have gone out of use—the industry spent on the manufacture is a very small matter."
Probably no pastor ever took more pains to make the prayer meeting a success than Mr. Spurgeon, for he showed his interest in its prosperity by continually studying how to make the Monday-night service more attractive. He was accordingly quite in his element when a large company were entertained at tea in the lecture-room, whose object was specially to hear a paper by Dr. Stanford, and to discuss the subject. Spurgeon's address was quite characteristic, and full of wit and good points. During the same week he found himself surrounded by the members of the Evangelists' Association, in which he showed deep interest; for the agents of this body did far-reaching service in the suburbs and Home Counties. His mind appears to have been exercised on the subject of prayer even more than usual at this time. Thus his memorable sermon in Hengler's Circus, on October 6, during the meetings of the Baptist Union at Liverpool, was on "Helps and Hindrances to Prayer."
Late in October he was looking forward to his annual visit to Menton. Speaking at the annual meeting of the College on the last day of the month, he said, "I am going away next Monday. I should drive you all away if I did not sometimes go away. I must go away and mend my nets, or the fish will get through all the meshes. I shall come back a better and an older man; but recruited, I hope, and with a few fresh ideas." It was at this time that volume vi. of "The Treasury of David" appeared. In acknowledging the receipt of a MS. which I sent him on December 12, he said, "Get me this year more of those accounts of poor London," and added:—
"I am to preach at home the day before Christmas, and should like this to be well and widely known. Weather here is not so good as usual; still, I am much out of doors, and this is of great benefit to me; so that I am well beyond all my expectation.
"I suggest as a topic a visit on Sunday to one or two of the most mouldy of the City churches. Would there be any interest about Sion College, seeing it has just escaped the fire? At any rate, an article on Dr. Williams's library might cause ministers to use it more."
He was greeted by an immense audience at the Tabernacle on Christmas Eve, but his pale face and painful limp as he advanced on to the platform were ominous signs. In considerable pain he gave a magnificent Christmas discourse on the Saviour's herald-star; but though he preached again in the evening, a friend was present who would have continued the service had the pastor broken down. On the following morning, being Christmas Day, when fog and frost had given place to a downpour of rain, he was confined to his bed.
One of Spurgeon's characteristics was that he regarded any season of more than usual quiet spiritual felicity as the herald of trouble and worry. The time at Menton had been so peaceful and happy that he expressed fear that something was coming; and it is remarkable that his own illness followed, as well as the death of two deacons at the Tabernacle—Messrs. Higgs and Mills. In January a funeral sermon was given at the Tabernacle in memory of these worthies. On January 23, when the members of the London Baptist Association met at the Tabernacle, there was a discussion on Christian fellowship. As one of the original founders of the fund, Mr. Spurgeon was pleased to be able to intimate that the membership had increased from under twenty thousand to over forty thousand, while fifty thousand pounds had been expended in chapel building during the year.
What was called "the long-looked-for exchange of pulpits between Mr. Spurgeon and Dr. Parker" took place about this time, and the former preached at the City Temple on February 15, the sermon being founded on Heb 10:35. The collection was in aid of a new Colportage Society for London which Dr. Parker was founding. In expressing the wish that God would bless the effort, Mr. Spurgeon said, "My own Colportage Association includes some seventy or eighty of these most valuable labourers, and I hope that Dr. Parker's association will soon include seven or eight hundred. There is not a glen in Scotland that is not regularly visited by the colporteur, perhaps once a month, and it would be something if a similar state of things could be established in the lanes of London."
Other work went on apace, though from time to time there may have been threatenings of a return of Mr. Spurgeon's rheumatism. At one time we find him opening a Swiss-village bazaar at Clapham. Another great bazaar was on behalf of the new Haddon Hall to be erected in Bermondsey as a mission station. About the same time he issued his book, "A Puritan Garden."
Though in great pain, he was able to open the Conference of 1883, on April 16, at Lower Norwood; but there was disappointment on the following morning, when, instead of the President being in the chair, the following letter was read:—
"Dear Brethren,—After a night of extreme pain, I find myself unable to leave my bed to-day—at least I fear so. I am bitterly disappointed; but as I have had no hand in it, I must yield myself to our Great Father's will. May the presence and power of the Holy Spirit be with yon all day long! If I find at any time that I am recovering, I shall set out for your Conference at once, and may appear at any time. Meanwhile I shall be glad if the vice-president will kindly go on with any part of the programme which may be ready. When such a sad Providence intervenes we must make the best of it. I am somewhat in hopes that the attack is so sharp that it cannot last very long, and it is very furiously upon me at this moment.—Your suffering President, "C. H. Spurgeon."
Some solace was found in a collection of over two thousand pounds at the annual supper, at which Mr. J. Houghton, of Liverpool, presided; but the President remained a prisoner at Westwood. He was down in the programme to preach on the last day of the Conference; but the following letter was read on Friday, April 20:—
"Dear Brethren,—I send my hearty love to one and all of you. I am very grateful to all who have done so much to make the Conference a success. I feel as if I had had double reason for praising and blessing God. If I had one reason for complaining that I was not allowed to come, I seem to hare two reasons for rejoicing that, although I did not come, the blessing came all the same, and it does not matter what becomes of me so long as you get blessed. I shall meet the whole of you in a hundred years' time.
"You'll not be in glory and leave me behind. God bless you all for ever; so prays your President and friend, "C. H. Spurgeon." On Saturday, May 12, Mr. and Mrs. John Spurgeon completed fifty years of married life; and on the Monday following the happy pair were entertained at Westwood with their children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren—over thirty persons in all—seven being preachers of the Gospel. It was not the first celebration of the kind which had taken place in the family:—
"As is well known, the Rev. John Spurgeon is still engaged in preaching as an Independent minister, and we understand that he has six brothers all living. The family generally are such long livers that with them life insurance is said never to pay. It appears, also, that there have been other golden wedding celebrations in past days. At all events, Mrs. Spurgeon, senior, well remembers a celebration which came off in her childhood in honour of her grandfather and grandmother, and on that occasion a hogshead of ale was placed in the street for the refreshment of all comers, who were also regaled with unlimited supplies of cake." A few days later, or on Monday, May 21, in genial weather, the memorial-stone of Haddon Hall, Bermondsey, was laid by Mr. Samuel Barrow, that being the name of the mission hall of Mr. William Olney, junior. To Mr. Spurgeon the day was a happy one, for the work carried on was quite after his own heart. References were made to the past and to the old Baptist sites and scenes with which the neighbourhood was associated. It was on this occasion that I heard for the first time from the preacher himself that his Sunday-morning sermon was being telegraphed to the United States for publication in certain daily papers of the next day. Nothing of the kind had ever been attempted before, and experience soon proved that the thing could not be done in a satisfactory manner. The sermons only reached the American breakfast tables in what the preacher himself called a battered condition, and the enterprise was soon abandoned as a failure. At the Orphanage festival in June memorial-stones of the master's house, board room, etc., were laid by Mr. Samuel Morley and Mr. James Duncan, of Benmore. The splendid collection of Reformation pictures which Mr. Spurgeon had got together on the Continent and elsewhere was on view on this occasion. Dr. Parker was among the speakers; and he made an offer, which was afterwards carried out, of preaching on behalf of the Orphanage at the City Temple. Because he would not accept a trowel, Mr. Morley was presented with an American "Life" of Spurgeon, with a suitable inscription. In course of time this book got among the second-hand dealers; and I was afterwards surprised to meet with it in a friend's house at Willesden. It was at the close of this memorable day that Mr. Spurgeon seriously referred to his own death. "I should like to be buried in the square enclosed by the Orphanage," he said; "in death I should like to be helping the Orphanage, and I think that if people came to see my grave they would be induced to help that, which was so dear to my heart." A friend gave the orphans a strawberry feast on July 4, when Mr. Spurgeon mentioned that personally he had the greatest dislike of strawberries, but none the less he rejoiced to see the children enjoy them.
Signs were now showing themselves that the bonds of union which held Spurgeon to the Baptist denomination were not so strong as of old. It was only through extra pressure being brought to bear upon him that he had consented to preach at Liverpool during the Baptist Union meetings in the year preceding; and at the midsummer meeting of the London Baptist Association he intimated that he had "firmly determined not to go to Leicester to attend the autumnal Conference." It was at this meeting that he said, "Every morning when I get up I expect to hear some new doctrine." On August 14, in company with the tutors and students of the Pastors' College, he passed a charming day at Enfield. Mr. G. W. White, one of the most successful of the College men, who is still stationed there, was the host of the day, and a number of willing friends supplied the cost of the day's liberal entertainment. A field was hired for the occasion, and during a great part of the day the great preacher sat in the open air entertaining his friends. He preached to a large congregation in the evening from Acts 20:2. As regards the College, it was a new departure, and it was hoped that other churches might annually imitate the example.
There were several enthusiastic anniversary meetings in the Tabernacle during 1883, chief among which was that of the Liberation Society, when John Bright made one of his great speeches. During August Mr. Spurgeon was far from well—he suffered a good deal of pain; but on the four Sundays of the Tabernacle being closed for repairs—August 12 to September 2 inclusive—he preached at Exeter Hall. Still, neither at home nor even in the more bracing air of Scotland did it seem to be possible to shake off the rheumatism which apparently sapped the preacher's strength while it took away his enjoyment of life. In acknowledging the produce of "the Orphanage acre" at Winfold Farm, Waterbeach, this year, he wrote:—
"Westwood, Beulah Hill, Upper Norwood, "September 27, 1883.
"Dear Mr. Toller,—I heartily congratulate you upon the excellence of your crops and upon the generosity of your heart. For this last I thank you most sincerely, and I pray that the blessing of God may rest upon you and your family. The Orphanage portion is a very liberal one, and so may the Lord deal liberally with you. Receive my kindest regards and heartiest thanks.—Yours truly, "C. H. Spurgeon." But though the flesh was weak, the spirit was still willing; and the pastor's chief thought was how best to promote the work he had at heart. At the end of September we find him speaking on church work at a Conference of pastors and delegates at the Tabernacle. On that occasion he mentioned a circumstance which had happened to himself:—
"The other Sunday morning, after trying to do my best to preach the Gospel of my blessed Master, I had a taste of what our missionaries must feel in a remark made to me by a Mahometan gentleman, in the most bland and affable terms, concerning the utter impossibility of God's ever having a son, couched in language which I will not repeat. I stammered out some words; and I had been so unused to hear such talk that I hardly knew what to say; but I felt all day the single sentence or two that he had said. What it must be to go and live where Christ is derided, where the very idea of His existence is scoffed at, I can hardly tell. And yet the crescent of Mahomet shall wane into eternal darkness before the everlasting Sun of Righteousness." When he met the members of the Evangelists' Association a few days later he endeavoured to arouse enthusiasm for the old Gospel. As the year drew to its close it became more and more evident that Spurgeon was beginning to view the Baptist Union with distrust. A certain well-known Unitarian had been admitted to one meeting; but as he came as a guest of the mayor rather than of the Union itself, that objection was thought to be pointless. Two leading ministers wrote:—
"The article in The Sword and the Trowel (referring to the Leicester meetings) has filled us with surprise and grief. We have, acting on our own responsibility, sought an interview with Mr. Spurgeon in order to put before him certain facts which might have led him to modify his harsh judgment. He has thought it well, however, to decline to receive us, on the ground that he had 'said his say, and had no wish to discuss the matter further.'...The distressing paragraph in Mr. Spurgeon's article which refers to 'loose thinkers' and their 'loudness' is to us quite incomprehensible. The epithet itself is a shameful one, and when combined with the insinuation that the persons so contemptuously referred to have no 'fixed principles' is simply cruel.... We think that if Mr. Spurgeon had spent as much time in acquainting himself with these simple facts as he has in 'careful thought and earnest prayer,' both the tone and substance of his article would have been different, and that he would not have used his great name and influence to wound the feelings of those who are as faithful to the Master, and as anxious to know and teach the truth, as himself." On the other hand, "A Country Pastor" maintained a week later that the denomination was "attacked and affected by the dry-rot of false Liberalism," and he protested against the broadening tendency.
Mr. Spurgeon entered very heartily into the celebration of the Luther Commemoration. On Sunday morning, November 11, he preached a Luther sermon at the Tabernacle, and in the evening he addressed a crowded, congregation at Exeter Hall, for the most part made up of young men. Speaking of Luther, he said, "The Bible was his battle-axe and weapon of war. A text of Scripture fired his soul. To God's Word alone would he yield, while his belief led him to intense activity and not to fatalism. His books and pamphlets issued in a year might be counted by hundreds. His life abounded in prayer, and the harder his work, the more time he gave to devotion." He also gave a lecture on Luther, with lantern views, at the annual meeting of the College on November 28.
Thus when the preacher, in the darkening days of November, left London for Menton he was supposed by some to be "narrowing his sympathies," and "forcing back the clock;" and even a leading evangelical paper thought some of his utterances not to be "well-timed or in harmony with catholicity, which it is more than ever desirable and essential to promote." Meanwhile a remark by Professor Huxley in The Agnostic Annual was approvingly quoted by Mr. Spurgeon as affecting the controversy which was broadening and deepening: "On the whole the 'book' of heterodoxy is more offensive to me than that of orthodoxy, because heterodoxy professes to be guided by reason and science, and orthodoxy does not." The weather in the South was not quite so genial as usual during the winter; but Mr. Spurgeon was well enough to prepare his miniature volume, "The Clue of the Maze." Among those removed by death was his genial friend, Mr. T. B. Smithies, editor of The British Workman.
He commonly wrote a letter to be read at the Orphanage on Christmas Day. The one for 1883 was as follows:—
"Grand Hotel, Menton, "December 23, 1883.
"Dear Children,—It pleases me to think of you all as full of glee and gladness to-day. Let us thank God for providing the Orphanage, and then for giving us kind friends who think of our daily wants, and then, again, for finding another set of friends to make us merry on Christmas Day. You see the Lord not only sends us our daily bread, but something over. Let us together bless the Great Father's name. I do not know how you can thank Him better than by becoming His own dear children, through believing in His Son Jesus. I hope every boy and girl will be found believing in Jesus, loving Jesus, and serving Jesus.
"I am just a thousand miles away from you, but my love gets to you by one great leap. It is a little after seven on Sabbath morning, and the sun is just up, and the sea is like melted silver. There are such sweet roses in my room, and just outside the window there are oranges and lemons. Don't envy me, for I know the oranges are sour, and those which you will have to-day will be much better. Do not forget three cheers for Mr. Duncan. I shall listen between one and two on Tuesday, and if I hear your voices I shall just ride on the moon to you and drop down from the ceiling. That is a great big IF.
"Be very happy and very kind to one another. Do not give the dear matrons and masters any trouble at any time. Obey immediately all Mr. Charlesworth's rules and make him happy, and then perhaps he will get quite stout.
"God bless you, my dear girls and boys. Three cheers for the trustees! No more, except my best love, from "C. H. Spurgeon."
Spurgeon's letters or addresses to the children of the Orphanage at Christmastide were not only characteristic, they always showed how thoroughly his heart was in tune with his philanthropic service.