168. SOME OF MY FAVORITE CHARLES SPURGEON SAYINGS
(The Information & Edification Series – Batch 3)
The content below was written by the late Charles Spurgeon, a man of strong faith and devotion to almighty God and Jesus Christ His Son. It would be remiss of me to not list some of my all-time favorite sayings of his (which I collected), on this platform. As an instrument of God, he was used mightily and as he declared that which is true, his words often pierced and still does pierce the soul.
Without further ado, these are my top eight (8) Charles Spurgeon sayings:
REFLECTION 1 – I AM A PILGRIM IN THE WORLD
“The Israelites in the wilderness were continually exposed to change. Whenever the pillar stayed its motion, the tents were pitched; but tomorrow, ere the morning sun had risen, the trumpet sounded, the ark was in motion and the fiery, cloudy pillar was leading the way through the narrow defiles of the mountain, up the hill side or along the arid waste of the wilderness. They had scarcely time to rest a little before they heard the sound of “Away! This is not your rest; you must still be onward journeying towards Canaan!”
They were never long in one place. EVEN WELLS AND PALM TREES COULD NOT DETAIN THEM. YET THEY HAD AN ABIDING HOME IN THEIR GOD, HIS CLOUDY PILLAR WAS THEIR ROOF-TREE AND ITS FLAME BY NIGHT THEIR HOUSEHOLD FIRE. They must go onward from place to place, continually changing, never having time to settle and to say, “Now we are secure; in this place we shall dwell.” “Yet,” says Moses, “though we are always changing, Lord, thou hast been our dwelling-place throughout all generations.”
The Christian knows no change with regard to God. He may be rich today and poor tomorrow; he may be sickly today and well tomorrow; he may be in happiness today, tomorrow he may be distressed – but there is no change with regard to his relationship to God. If he loved me yesterday, he loves me today. My unmoving mansion of rest is my blessed Lord. Let job be withered; Let mildews destroy everything; I have lost nothing of what I have in God.
He is “my strong habitation whereunto I can continually resort.” I am a pilgrim in the world but at home in my God. In the earth I wander but in God I dwell in quiet habitation.”- (Charles H. Spurgeon)
REFLECTION 2 – BE STILL AND KNOW THAT HE IS GOD
“He sitteth alone and keepeth silence, because he hath borne it upon him. He putteth his mouth in the dust; if so be there may be hope.” — Lamentations 3:28, 29.
Thus the prophet describes the conduct of a person in deep anguish of heart. When he does not know what to do, his soul, as if by instinct, humbles itself. He gets into some secret place, he utters no speech, he gives himself over to moaning and to tears, and then he bows himself lower and yet lower before the Divine Majesty, as if he felt that the only hope for him in the extremity of his sorrow was to make complete submission to God, and to lie in the very dust before him…
…Dear friends, it often happens that men do not obtain peace with God because they have not come low enough. The gate of heaven, though it is so wide that the greatest sinner may enter, is nevertheless so low that pride can never pass through it. Thou must stoop if thou wouldst enter heaven. “Let him put his mouth in the dust.”
I do believe that this precept is needed by very many; and that, when they obey it, they will get peace, but never till then. “Let him put his mouth in the dust.”
Oriental monarchs require very lowly reverence from their subjects; it is out of keeping with our manners and customs, but the similitude holds good in our relation to the Lord God. When we come before him, we must prostrate ourselves till we bow our mouths in the dust. What can this expression mean? “Let him put his mouth in the dust; if so be there may be hope.”
It means, first, that there must be true, humble, lowly, confession of sin. You say that you have been praying, yet you have not found peace; have you confessed your sins? This is absolutely necessary…Some men have never really made a confession of their sin to God at all; they have done it in such general and insincere terms that it did not amount to a confession.
Go you, enter your chamber, shut the door, and get alone; and there… as you find it best, acknowledge before God your omissions and commissions, what you have done and what you have not done. Pour out the whole story before God, and cry with the publican, “God be merciful to me a sinner.” Do not cloak or dissemble before the Almighty. Let all your sins appear. Take a lowly place; not simply be a sinner in name, but confess that thou art a sinner in fact and deed.
I do believe that some of you are in darkness much longer than you need to be, because you do not stoop to a humble confession of your sin…Let your confession flow like water before God; pour out your heart before him. Own to your sins, take the place of a sinner, for this is a great way towards finding salvation: “If so be there may be hope.
Further than that, dear friends, when it is said that we are to put our mouths in the dust, it means that we are to give up the habit of putting ourselves above other people, and finding fault with others. How often is the value of our penitence destroyed because we have looked at Mistress Somebody, and said, “Well, I am guilty, but still, — well, I am not such a hypocrite as Mrs. So-and-so.” What have you to do with her? “Oh!” says another, “I know I have been a bad man, but then I — I — I have never been as bad as old So-and-so.” What have you to do with him? Here are you pretending to be humble, yet you are as proud as Lucifer. I know you; you are like that man who went up to the temple, and pretended that he was going to pray, and then he said, “God, I thank thee that I am not as other men are,” and so forth;” nor even as this publican;” turning his eye in disdain towards the true penitent.
There is many a man who says, “I am a sinner, but then I am a total abstainer and wear the blue ribbon; that is a good thing, is it not?” Yes, it is, but not if you trust in it for salvation. “Oh, but!” says another, “I know that I have not lived as I ought, but I have always paid 20s in the pound.” So ought every honest man, but what is there to be proud about in that? Are you going to get to heaven by paying 20s in the pound to a man, and not a penny in the pound to God?
Yet that is often the way of men. Or else perhaps we are accusing others while we pretend that we are ourselves humble. We must get rid of all such bad habits if we want the Lord to have mercy upon us. I believe a sincere penitent thinks himself to be the worst man there is, and never judges other people, for he says in his heart, “That man may be more openly guilty than I am, but very likely he does not know as much as I do, or the circumstances of his case are an excuse for him.” A woman, convinced of sin, says, “It is true, that woman has fallen, and her life is full of foulness; but perhaps if I had been tempted as she was, and had been deceived as she was, I should have been even worse than she is.” Oh, that we might all give up that habit of cavilling at other people, and put our mouths in the dust in self-abasement before God!
I think that putting our mouths into the dust also means that we realize our own nothingness in the presence of God. We have nothing to say, nothing to claim, nothing to boast of; if the Lord should never look upon us in mercy, yet we could not complain of him. If he were to banish us from his presence for ever, yet could we not open our mouths to accuse him, but must say, “Thou art just when thou judges; thou art clear when thou condemnest.” That, dear friends, is putting your mouth in the dust; feeling that, in God’s sight, you are only like the dust. If you have sought the Lord, and have not found him, I do exhort you to sink yourself lower. Believe that you have no strength, that you have no righteousness, that you are truly lost and ruined and undone, that you are nothing but a mass loathsomeness before the thrice-holy God; and bow before him with this conviction in your heart, “if so be there may be hope.”…
Well now, if any of you who are guilty, — whether old or young, — come before the Lord, and confess your sin, and trust in Christ for mercy, you shall have mercy. I do not know who you are, and I do not care who you are; but whosoever shall come, and confess his sin in all lowliness of heart, and in faith believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, he shall have mercy.
Christ sits on his throne of grace, and stretches out the silver scepter. Bow before him, and he will forgive your sin. The fountain is opened for sin and for uncleanness; if thou art sinful and unclean, come to the fountain that Christ has opened, and which the devil cannot close, and wash and be clean this very hour. God in infinite mercy is ready to forgive, his heart yearns over the wanderers. He stretches out his hands, and entreats thee to come back, and he is grieved until thou dost return. If there be in thy heart any sorrow for having sinned against thy God, if there be any anxiety to come back to him, come back. If thou dost but turn thy face towards him, whilst thou art yet a great way off, he sees, he has compassion upon thee, he runs to thee, he embraces thee. Fall into his arms now. Believe thou in his Son; trust thyself with Jesus, for he never yet failed any who trusted him. Make him the Trustee of thy soul, for he is a Trustee who can be trusted. Deposit in his hands thy spirit, for he is able to keep that which thou committest unto him against that day – (Charles H. Spurgeon)
REFLECTION 3 – COME AS THOU ART TO JESUS
“When a man sees himself to be altogether lost and ruined, covered all over with the defilement of sin and in no part free from pollution; when he disclaims all righteousness of his own and pleads guilty before the Lord, then he is clean through the blood of Jesus and the grace of God. Hidden, unfelt, unconfessed iniquity is the true leprosy: but when sin is felt, it has received its deathblow and the Lord looks with eyes of mercy upon the soul afflicted with it.
Nothing is more deadly than self-righteousness or more hopeful than contrition. We must confess that we are nothing else but sin, for no confession short of this will be the whole truth; and if the Holy Spirit be at work with us, convincing us of sin, there will be no difficulty about making such an acknowledgement – it will spring spontaneously from our lips.
What comfort does the text afford to truly awakened sinners: the very circumstance which so grievously discouraged them is here turned into a sign and symptom of a hopeful state. Stripping comes before clothing; digging out of the foundation is the first thing in building – And a thorough sense of sin is one of the earliest works of grace in the heart. O thou leprous sinner, utterly destitute of a sound spot, take heart from the text and come as thou art to Jesus. For let our debts be what they may, however great or small, as soon as we have nought to pay, our Lord forgives us all. Tis perfect poverty alone that sets the soul at large: While we can call one mite our own, we have no full discharge.” – (Charles H. Spurgeon)
REFLECTION 4 – I SHALL NOT DIE BUT LIVE
“I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the Lord.” – Psalm 118:17. A fair assurance this! It was no doubt based upon a promise, inwardly whispered in the psalmist’s heart, which he seized upon and enjoyed.
Is my case like that of David? Am I depressed because the enemy affronts me? Are there multitudes against me and few on my side? Does unbelief bid me lie down and die in despair, a defeated, dishonored man? Do my enemies begin to dig my grave? What then? Shall I yield to the whisper of fear and give up the battle and with it give up all hope?
Far from it. There is life in me yet: “I shall not die.” Vigor will return and remove my weakness: “I shall live.” The Lord lives and I shall live also. My mouth shall again be opened: “I shall declare the works of the Lord.” Yes, and I shall speak of the present trouble as another instance of the wonder-working faithfulness and love of the Lord my God.
Those who would gladly measure me for my coffin had better wait a bit, “for the Lord hath chastened me sore, but he hath not given me over unto death.” Glory be to His name forever! I am immortal till my work is done. Till the Lord wills it, no vault can close upon me.” – (Charles H. Spurgeon)
REFLECTION 5 – WHOM GOD BLESSETH SHALL BE BLESSED
“Oh that thou wouldest bless me indeed!” I wot whom God blesseth shall be blessed. The thing good in itself is bestowed with the good-will of the giver and shall be productive of so much good fortune to the recipient that it may well be esteemed as a blessing “indeed,” for there is nothing comparable to it.
Let the grace of God prompt it, let the choice of God appoint it, let the bounty of God confer it, and then the endowment shall be something godlike indeed; something worthy of the lips that pronounce the benediction, and verily to be craved by every one who seeks honor that is substantial and enduring.” – (Charles H. Spurgeon)
REFLECTION 6 – KEPT BY THE LORD
“God is the sole keeper of the soul. Our soul is kept from the dominion of sin, the infection of error, the crush of despondency, the puffing up of pride; kept from the world, the flesh, and the devil; kept for holier and greater things; kept in the love of God; kept unto the eternal kingdom and glory. What can harm a soul that is kept of the Lord?” – (Charles H. Spurgeon)
REFLECTION 7 – LIFT THEM UP FOREVER
“God’s people need lifting up. They are very heavy by nature. They have no wings, or, if they have, they are like the dove of old which lay among the pots; and they need divine grace to make them mount on wings covered with silver, and with feathers of yellow gold. By nature sparks fly upward, but the sinful souls of men fall downward. O Lord, “lift them up forever!”
David himself said, “Unto thee, O God, do I lift up my soul,” and he here feels the necessity that other men’s souls should be lifted up as well as his own. When you ask this blessing for yourself, forget not to seek it for others also.
There are three ways in which God’s people require to be lifted up. They require to be elevated in character. Lift them up, O Lord; do not suffer thy people to be like the world’s people! The world lieth in the wicked one; lift them out of it! The world’s people are looking after silver and gold, seeking their own pleasures, and the gratification of their lusts; but, Lord, lift thy people up above all this; keep them from being “muck-rakers,” as John Bunyan calls the man who was always scraping after gold! Set thou their hearts upon their risen Lord and the heavenly heritage!
Moreover, believers need to be prospered in conflict. In the battle, if they seem to fall, O Lord, be pleased to give them the victory. If the foot of the foe be upon their necks for a moment, help them to grasp the sword of the Spirit, and eventually to win the battle. Lord, lift up thy children’s spirits in the day of conflict; let them not sit in the dust, mourning forever. Suffer not the adversary to vex them sore, and make them fret; but if they have been, like Hannah, persecuted, let them sing of the mercy of a delivering God.
We may also ask our Lord to lift them up at the last! Lift them up by taking them home, lift their bodies from the tomb, and raise their souls to thine eternal kingdom in glory.” (Charles H. Spurgeon)
REFLECTION 8 – UPHELD WITH THE RIGHT HAND OF HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS
“It is a curious fact, that there is such a thing as being proud of grace. A man says, ‘I have great faith, I shall not fall; poor little faith may, but I never shall.’ ‘I have fervent love,’ says another, ‘I can stand, there is no danger of my going astray.’
He who boasts of grace has little grace to boast of. Some who do this imagine that their graces can keep them, knowing not that the stream must flow constantly from the fountain head, or else the brook will soon be dry. If a continuous stream of oil comes not to the lamp, though it burn brightly today, it will smoke to-morrow, and noxious will be its scent. Take heed that thou gloriest not in thy graces, but let all thy glorying and confidence be in Christ and HIS strength, for only so canst thou be kept from falling.
Be much more in prayer. Spend longer time in holy adoration. Read the Scriptures more earnestly and constantly. Watch your lives more carefully. Live nearer to God. Take the best examples for your pattern. Let your conversation be redolent of heaven. Let your hearts be perfumed with affection for men’s souls. So live that men may take knowledge of you that you have been with Jesus, and have learned of him;
And when that happy day shall come, when he whom you love shall say, ‘Come up higher,’ may it be your happiness to hear him say, ‘Thou hast fought a good fight, thou hast finished thy course, and henceforth there is laid up for thee a crown of righteousness which fadeth not away.’
On, Christian, with care and caution! On, with holy fear and trembling! On, with faith and confidence in Jesus alone, and let your constant petition be, ‘Uphold me according to thy word.’ He is able, and he alone, ‘To keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy.’” (Charles H. Spurgeon)
REFLECTION 9 – IN THAT DAY I WILL PRAISE THEE
This prophesy is said by some to relate to the invasion by Sennacherib. That calamity threatened to be a very terrible display of divine anger. It seemed inevitable that the Assyrian power would make an utter desolation of all Judea; but God promised that he would interpose for the deliverance of his people, and punish the stout heart of the king of Assyria, and in that day his people should say, “We will praise thee: though thou wast angry with us…” and therefore sent the Assyrian monarch to chastise us, “…thine anger is turned away, and thou comfortedst us.”
If this be the meaning of it, it is an instance of SANCTIFIED AFFLICTION, and it is a lesson to us that whenever we smart under the rod, we may look forward to the time when the rod shall be withdrawn; and it is also an admonition to us that when we escape from trial, we should take care to CELEBRATE THE EVENT WITH GRATEFUL PRAISE. Let us SET UP THE PILLAR OF MEMORIAL, let us POUR THE OIL OF GRATITUDE UPON IT, and GARLAND IT WITH SONG, blessing the Lord whose anger endureth but for a moment, but whose mercy is from everlasting to everlasting…
“In that day” The term, “that day,” is sometimes used for a day of terror, and often for a period of blessing. The common term to both is this, they were both days of the manifestation of divine power. “That day,” a day of terrible confusion to God’s enemies; “that day” — a day of great comfort to God’s friends; the day being in either case the time of the making bare of God’s arm, and the manifestation of his strength.
Now, the day in which a man rejoices in Christ, is the day in which God’s power is revealed on his behalf in his heart and conscience, and the Holy Spirit subdues him to the reign of Christ. It is not always that God works with such effectual power as this in the human heart, he has his set times. Oftentimes the word of human ministry proves ineffectual: the preacher exhorts, the hearer listens, but the exhortation is not obeyed. It sometimes happens that even desires may be excited, and yet nothing is accomplished, for these better feelings prove to be as those spring blossoms on the trees which do not knit, and fall fruitless to the ground.
There is, however, an appointed time for the calling of God’s elect, a set time in which the Lord visits his chosen with a power of grace, which they cannot effectually resist. He makes them willing in the day of his power. It is a day in which not only is the gospel heard, but our report is believed, because the arm of the Lord is revealed.
To everything, according to Solomon, there is a season: a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time of war, and a time of peace; a time to kill, and a time to heal; and even so there is a time for conviction, and a time for consolation.
With some who are in great distress of spirit, it may be God’s time to wound and to kill. Their self-confidence is yet too vigorous, their carnal righteousness is yet too lively; their confidences must be wounded, their righteousness must be killed; for otherwise they will not yield to grace. God does not clothe us till he has stripped us, he does not heal till first he has wounded. How should he make alive those who are not dead?
There is a work of grace in the heart of digging out the foundations, before grace begins to build up our hopes: woe to that man who builds without having the foundation dug out, for his house will fall. Woe to that man who leaps into a sudden peace without ever having felt his need of pardon, without repentance, without brokenness of spirit; he shall see his hasty fruit wither before his eyes.
The time when God effectually blesses is sometimes called “a time of love.” It is a time of deep distress to us, but it is a time of love with God, a time wisely determined in the decree and counsel of the Most High, so that healing mercy arrives at the best time to each one who is interested in the covenant of grace.
Some one may enquire, “When do you think will be the time when God will enable me to say, ‘Thine anger is turned away’?” My dear brother, you can easily discern it. I believe God’s time to give us comfort is usually when we are brought low, so as to confess the justice of the wrath which he is pouring upon us. Humbleness of heart is one sure indication of coming peace.
…our great Liberator, the Lord Jesus Christ, when he meets with a soul that confesses its demerit, owns the justice of divine wrath, and has not a word to say for itself, then he saith, “Thy sins which are many are forgiven thee.” The time when his anger is turned away is the time when you confess the justice of his anger, and bow down and humbly entreat for mercy.
Above all, the hour of grace has struck when you look alone to Christ. While you are looking to any good thing in yourself, and hoping to grow better, or to do better, you are making no advances towards comfort; but when you give up in despair every hope that can be grounded in yourself, and look away to those dear wounds of his, to that suffering humanity of the Son of God who stooped from heaven for you, then has the day dawned wherein you shall say, “O Lord, I will praise thee.”
I pray earnestly that this set time to favour you may be now come— the time when the rain is over and gone, and the voice of the turtle is heard in your land.” – (Charles H. Spurgeon)