Here is a powerful exhortation for the church to give itself to prayer, not just regularly but also particularly and occasionally, for special purposes. Spurgeon considers the circumstances in which the early church found itself when it gave itself to prayer, and uses that to exhort and encourage churches to do the same. He emphasises the place which the early Christians gave to prayer in their corporate gatherings and how that is reflected in the way in which they gave themselves to seeking God as a congregation, as well as noticing the place and time of the meeting. He urges us to take account of God’s blessing given in response to the pleading of the saints, reminding us that “all through the church of God the true progress is in proportion to the prayer.” I have heard corporate prayer meetings being denigrated as if they are no proper or valuable institution in the life of the church. I have seen churches in which corporate prayer is shamefully minimised or neglected, often reflected in the number and spirit of those who gather. Here is a helpful and robust corrective to all such attitudes, pointing us toward the profitable necessity of prayer by the church, and urging us to avail ourselves of the opportunity of such dealing with our merciful and mighty God.

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This is a lovely, lively sermon, full of sweet practicality. Spurgeon considers the way in which a particular household can become a radiating centre of gospel light in a particular neighbourhood, as grace enters it, grips it, and then gushes from it. It is one of those brilliantly inventive sermons, anchored to the text without being wooden, imaginative without being fanciful, challenging without being crushing. It ought to leave us asking whether or not a home that is genuinely Christian—that is, one in which the household is genuinely governed by God’s grace in Christ, characterised by true and lively faith—is operating as it should in spreading gospel influence in the place in which God has placed us. May it stir each one of us to ask, first, whether or not our homes are gripped as they ought to be by the gospel, and, second, whether or not the gospel is shining out from our homes and bringing blessings to our neighbours! If Christ visits our homes and our hearts, surely this should be the happy effect?

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Spurgeon’s outlines are rarely elaborate, and some are very plain. That is the case here. The fairly developed introduction clears the ground and establishes the scene. Then Spurgeon takes the simple idea of a final separation from his text in Matthew 25, and offers three straightforward thoughts: the division, the divider, and the rule of the division. His language and imagery are lively but not lurid; he does not pull his punches concerning the final judgment, but neither does he ever give the impression that he is revelling in the detail. He speaks of eternal reality with present affection, pressing home the need for his congregation to reckon with the great day. He handles more complicated matters with wisdom and sensitivity. He closes, as we might well imagine, with a potent appeal to come to the God of grace, not at all on the basis of what we have done, are doing, or will do, but in dependence on the Christ of God who can give us a new heart and a new work to do in service to him.

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This sermon is brief enough to make the reader ask about the occasion of its preaching. No explanation is given in the text, though there may be a shade of a hint. Was it some notable occasion? Did the preacher feel particularly weak and afflicted himself? (Spurgeon often tells his congregation if this is the case.) Is he adapting his material for a particular class of hearers who might struggle with more? Whatever the explanation, the result is a little jewel of a sermon, concentrating on the excellencies of Christ in a way adapted to soothe Christians of a fearful cast of mind, terrified by the notion of condemnation. Of course, the security of the Christian in Christ gives way to a plea toward those who are still outside, that they would come to Christ to enjoy the so-great salvation which he alone provides.

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purgeon is happy to preach on preaching, so that the saints under the sound of his voice might know what to expect, and to what they are entitled. He does that in this sermon. Taking the phrase, “Rightly dividing the word of truth” he studies it by way of a series of figures taken from a variety of expositors, each of which sheds its own light on the duty of expounding and explaining and applying the Scriptures. Integrity, honesty, simplicity, clarity, urgency, all come to the fore as Spurgeon explains why it is so important that ministers handle the Word of God as those answerable to God for the souls of those to whom they preach, all considered in the light of eternity. Reading the sermon today is a help to preachers as we consider our duty, and how to discharge it; it is of value to hearers, perhaps to value a faithful ministry—not just despite its probing and pressing nature, but because of it—or to seek out a man who will not play fast and loose with God’s revelation, but handle it faithfully, for their soul’s sake.

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The Sword and the Trowel was Spurgeon’s magazine. The January number for 1875 began with an article acknowledging God’s goodness in providing for the publication of sermons for twenty years, and giving some history of the endeavour (this article is included in this week’s printed sermon). This sermon, preached at the end of 1874, is the pulpit testimony to the same. It is marked by humility and gratitude, and by a delight in the gospel which Spurgeon was privileged to preach. There is here both confidence and conviction: this is the preached gospel which the Lord has blessed, and this is the gospel which the preacher is determined to go on preaching, glorious in its object and inexhaustible in its fullness. So, then, there is no surprise that a celebration of gospel preaching becomes an opportunity, once again, to set forth the unsearchable riches of Christ. The sermon ends with this challenge: “Bestir yourselves, feed upon Jesus, and then take of the good cheer to those who do not know the riches of Christ, and as God gives you grace, go you and fulfil this ministry, and you will then say, as I do, and as the apostle said of old, ‘Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ.’ The Lord bless you. Amen.”

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There is joy in salvation. There is joy in God because of salvation, joy for the repenting sinner because of salvation, and joy for the servants of God who are instruments of blessing because of salvation. Spurgeon sees this figured out for us in the story of the prodigal son returning home. Using careful language, he shows us the joy that is in the father’s heart; he rejoices with the son who is welcomed home by his father; he considers the delight of the servants who are given work to do in welcoming and adorning the once-rebellious child. While he is writing long before some modern debates about the affections of God, and should be read as such, Spurgeon shows us that such questions are not new. Even if some will struggle with his language about God’s joy, we need to ensure that we are able to communicate the divine delight over returning sinners, and to appreciate the delight in the hearts of sinners who return, so that we can enter into that delight insofar as we are given the privilege of serving a saving God.

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God is God. Simple as that might sound, it is the profound truth which Spurgeon works out, in measure, in this sermon. Because God is God, and—for believers—especially because he is our God, we are to glorify him in all things. The claims of God are grounded in his being and doing, and then Spurgeon assesses our response to them. So often our attitude is one of disdain or neglect. Where is the honour to which God is entitled from his creatures, his people? And so Spurgeon pleads with us to embrace the claims of God, as not only proper but delightful, ennobling, purifying. It begins with faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and works out in cheerful and willing service to the God of our salvation, seeking to honour his claims in thought, word, and deed.

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