C.H. Spurgeon, with introduction and annotations by Hannah Wyncoll
Recommendation: 5/5
Description of author: Charles Spurgeon (1834-1892) was Pastor of the Metropolitan Tabernacle in London.
Comments: Few men in God’s army have been as faithful and productive as Charles Spurgeon. His work output, as it is recounted, seems almost superhuman: The church had many institutions which needed constant input from Spurgeon, such as the Pastor’s College, the Almshouses, the Orphanage, the Colportage Association and many evangelistic and compassionate societies, the latter usually being chaired by the elders. There were 66 of these by the time Spurgeon had been pastor for 25 years. The Pastor’s College generated a great deal of work, not only in the regular interviewing, lecturing and oversight, but also in the endeavors and cares of the churches founded by former students . . . Spurgeon’s literary work was immense. He compiled more than 140 books, maintained the monthly The Sword and the Trowel magazine (from 1865), and edited the weekly sermon (The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit) . . . [and] he responded to an average of 500 letters each week (p. 11). What is even more amazing is that he accomplished all this while having regular bouts with serious illness throughout the last 24 years of his life. These letters, many of which were written from France while on leaves of absence due to illness, are addressed to his congregation. Many of them speak of his pain and his trials, many of them speak of his great passion for the salvation of the lost, but all of them reflect the love and concern of a true pastor. The letters are divided into three time periods, Part 1: 1876-83; Part 2: 1884-90; Part 3: 1891-92. At the end of the book appear several short articles and sermons written by Spurgeon. This attractive volume includes pictures, illustrations, annotations regarding the circumstances referred to in the letters, and pictures of some of the original letters.