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William Graham Scroggie
William Graham Scroggie (1877 – December 21, 1958) was a Scottish preacher, Baptist pastor, and Bible expositor whose extensive ministry across three continents and leadership at Spurgeon’s Metropolitan Tabernacle in London solidified his reputation as a leading evangelical voice of the 20th century. Born in Great Malvern, Worcestershire, England, to James Johnston Scroggie and Jane Mitchell, he was one of nine children in a modest home with limited educational opportunities. His mother, converted under Plymouth Brethren revivalists in Scotland, instilled a deep faith, though Scroggie’s early years saw him working in business before entering Spurgeon’s College in London at age 19 in 1896 to train for the Baptist ministry. Scroggie’s preaching career began tumultuously; his first two pastorates in Leytonstone, Essex (1900–1902), and Halifax, Yorkshire (1902–1907), ended abruptly due to his staunch opposition to modernism and worldly church practices, leaving him spiritually broken but resolute. During two lean years of self-directed Bible study, he laid the foundation for his later work. His ministry flourished at Bethesda Free Church in Sunderland (1907–1916), followed by a transformative 17-year pastorate at Charlotte Chapel in Edinburgh (1916–1933), where his expository preaching drew over 1,000 weekly attendees and earned him an honorary Doctor of Divinity from Edinburgh University in 1927. After resigning due to ill health, he embarked on a global itinerant ministry, preaching in New Zealand, Australia, Tasmania, Canada, and the U.S., before taking the helm at Spurgeon’s Tabernacle (1938–1944). There, amidst World War II, his home was bombed thrice, and the church destroyed in a 1941 air raid, yet he persisted.
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William Graham Scroggie emphasizes the importance of God's guidance in knowing our duty, highlighting that neglecting the Bible leads to ignorance of the Divine will. He stresses that the Scriptures hold the highest revelation of truth, and it is crucial to seek and obey God's will with a glad and trustful heart. Scroggie reminds the listeners that God promises to guide the meek in judgment and teach His way, but it requires obedience, prayer, dependence, and trust on our part to continuously receive His guidance.
The Guidance of Scripture
"The meek will he guide in judgment: and the meek will he teach his way" (Ps. 25:9). We recognize that it is only as God guides us that we can know what our duty is, which is another way of saying that, God guides His people by His Word, interpreted and applied by His Spirit. If therefore, we neglect the Bible, we cannot but remain in ignorance of the Divine will. The shrewdest calculation and the keenest foresight can never be adequate for our supreme need, nor be a substitute for the knowledge of the Divine mind. Just because life is related to truth, and the highest revelation of truth is preserved in the Scriptures, we must discover from them what is the will of God for us, and having discovered it, we must do it, with a glad and trustful heart. "The meek will He guide in judgment, and the meek will he teach His way." God will not fail on His part, but we may fail on ours. If we listen at all, "our ears shall hear a word behind us saying, 'This is the way, walk ye in it,' when we turn to the right hand, and when we turn to the left," but if we heed not that voice, we shall continue to wander in perilous by-paths. The mere reading of the Scriptures will not give us guidance for the way; we must obediently seek therein, for our personal need, the will of God and this is done by prayer. If we ask, He will answer, but if His guidance of us is to be continuous, our asking must be the reflection of an attitude towards Him, on our part, of dependence and trust.
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William Graham Scroggie (1877 – December 21, 1958) was a Scottish preacher, Baptist pastor, and Bible expositor whose extensive ministry across three continents and leadership at Spurgeon’s Metropolitan Tabernacle in London solidified his reputation as a leading evangelical voice of the 20th century. Born in Great Malvern, Worcestershire, England, to James Johnston Scroggie and Jane Mitchell, he was one of nine children in a modest home with limited educational opportunities. His mother, converted under Plymouth Brethren revivalists in Scotland, instilled a deep faith, though Scroggie’s early years saw him working in business before entering Spurgeon’s College in London at age 19 in 1896 to train for the Baptist ministry. Scroggie’s preaching career began tumultuously; his first two pastorates in Leytonstone, Essex (1900–1902), and Halifax, Yorkshire (1902–1907), ended abruptly due to his staunch opposition to modernism and worldly church practices, leaving him spiritually broken but resolute. During two lean years of self-directed Bible study, he laid the foundation for his later work. His ministry flourished at Bethesda Free Church in Sunderland (1907–1916), followed by a transformative 17-year pastorate at Charlotte Chapel in Edinburgh (1916–1933), where his expository preaching drew over 1,000 weekly attendees and earned him an honorary Doctor of Divinity from Edinburgh University in 1927. After resigning due to ill health, he embarked on a global itinerant ministry, preaching in New Zealand, Australia, Tasmania, Canada, and the U.S., before taking the helm at Spurgeon’s Tabernacle (1938–1944). There, amidst World War II, his home was bombed thrice, and the church destroyed in a 1941 air raid, yet he persisted.