Atricles by C H Spurgeon

(Charles Haddon Spurgeon 1834-1892)

Brought Up from the Horrible Pit

"I waited patiently for the LORD, and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry. He brought me up also out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings. And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the Lord." Psalm 40:1-3.

Do You Know Him?

"That I may know him." - Philippians 3:10. The object of the apostle's life - that for which he sacrificed everything: country, kindred, honour, comfort, liberty, and life itself, was, that he might know Christ. Observe that this is not Paul's prayer as an unconverted man, that he may know Christ, and so be saved; for it follows upon the previous supplication that he might win Christ and be found in him. This is the desire of one who has been saved, who enjoys the full conviction that his sins are pardoned and that he is in Christ. It is only the regenerated and saved man who can feel the desire, "That I may know him."

Encouragement for the Depressed

"For who hath despised the day of small things?" Zechariah 4:10. Zechariah was engaged in the building of the temple. When its foundations were laid, it struck everybody as being a very small edifice compared with the former glorious structure of Solomon. The friends of the enterprise lamented that it should be so small; the foes of it rejoiced and uttered strong expressions of contempt. Both friends and foes doubted whether, even on that small scale, the structure would ever be completed. They might lay the foundations, and they might rear the walls a little way, but they were too feeble a folk, possessed of too little riches and too little strength, to carry out the enterprise.

False Professors Solemnly Warned

"For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things." Philippians 3:18-19. Paul was the very model of what a Christian minister should be. He was a watchful shepherd over the flock; he did not simply preach to them, and consider that he had done all his duty when he had delivered his message; but his eyes were always upon the Churches, marking their spiritual welfare, their growth in grace, or their declension in godliness.

Fear Not

"Fear not, thou worm Jacob, and ye men of Israel; I will help thee, saith the Lord and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel." Isaiah 41:14. I shall speak this morning to those that are discouraged, depressed in spirit, and sorely troubled in the Christian life. There are certain nights of exceeding great darkness, through which the spirit has to grope in much pain and misery, and during which much of the comfort of the Word is particularly needed. Those seasons occur in this manner.

For Whom Did Christ Die?

Christ died for the ungodly" Romans 5:6. In this verse the human race is described as a sick man, whose disease is so far advanced that he is altogether without strength: no power remains in his system to throw off his mortal malady, nor does he desire to do so; he could not save himself from his disease if he would, and would not if he could.

Love

"We love him because he first loved us."1 John 4:19. During the last two Sabbath days, I have been preaching the gospel to the unconverted. I have earnestly exhorted the very chief of sinners to look to Jesus Christ, and have assured them that as a preparation for coming to Christ, they need no good works or good dispositions, but that they may come, just as they are, to the foot of the cross, and receive the pardoning blood and all-sufficient merits of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Particular Redemption

"Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give His life a ransom for many."--Matthew 20:28. When first it was my duty to occupy this pulpit and preach in this hall, my congregation assumed the appearance of an irregular mass of persons collected from all the streets of this city to listen to the Word. I was then simply an evangelist, preaching to many who had not heard the Gospel before.

Personal Service

"O Lord, truly I am thy servant; I am thy servant and the son of thine handmaid thou hast loosed my bonds."Psalm 116:16. These sentences suggest a contrast. David's religion was one of perfect liberty;"Thou hast loosed my bonds." It was one of complete service;"Truly l am thy servant. I am thy servant and the son of thine handmaid."

Pride and Humility

"Before destruction the heart of man is haughty, and before honour is humility." Proverbs 18:12. Almost every event has its prophetic prelude. It is an old and common saying, that "coming events cast their shadows before them;" the wise man teaches us the same lesson in the verse before us.

Self-Examination

"Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates." 2 Corinthians 13:5. I had intended to address you this morning from the third title given to our blessed Redeemer, in the verse we have considered twice before"Wonderful, Counsellor, the mighty God;" but owing to excruciating pain and continual sickness, I have been unable to gather my thoughts together, and therefore I feel constrained to address you on a subject which has often been upon my heart and not unfrequently upon my lips, and concerning which, I dare say, I have admonished a very large proportion of this audience before.

Soul Winning

He that winneth souls is wise. Proverbs 11:30. The text does not say he that winneth sovereigns is wise, though no doubt he thinks himself wise, and perhaps in a certain grovelling sense in these days of competition he must be so; but such wisdom is of the earth and ends with the earth; and there is another world where the currencies of Europe will not be accepted, nor their past possession be any sign of wealth or wisdom.

The Loved Ones Chastened

"As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent." Revelation 3:19. The dealings of God towards the sons of men have always puzzled the wise men of the earth who have tried to understand them. Apart from the revelation of God the dealings of Jehovah towards his creatures in this world seem to be utterly inexplicable.

The One Thing Needful

"But one thing is needful." Luke 10:42. We have no difficulty whatever in deciding what the one thing is. We are not allowed to say that it is the Saviour, for he is not a thing; and we are not permitted to say that it is attention to our own salvation, for although that would be true, it is not mentioned in the context.

The Soul Winner

I had very great joy last night many of you know why but some do not. We held our annual meeting of the church, and it was a very pleasant sight to see so many brethren and sisters knit together in the heartiest love, welded together as one mass by common sympathies, and holding firmly to one Lord, one faith, and one baptism.

True Prayer—True Power!

"Whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours". Mark 11:24. This verse has something to do with the faith of miracles, but I think it has far more reference to the miracle of faith. We will, this morning, consider it in that light.