The Evening Star SATURDAY, JUNE 16, 1934. A GREAT PREACHER.

Evening Star, Issue 21748, 16 June 1934, Page 14

The Evening Star SATURDAY, JUNE 16, 1934. A GREAT PREACHER.

The celebration of the centenary of 0. H. Spurgeon’s birth inevitably suggests a comparison between his ministry and that of other eminent preachers of his time. It was an age of pulpit giants. Canon Liddon commanded vast congregations in St. Paul’s Cathedral,. Dr Joseph Parker held huge audiences at the City Temple, Dr Alexander MacLaren enjoyed great popularity at Manchester, and Dr R. W.. Dale at Birmingham. Across the Atlantic T. de Witt Talmage, H. W. Beecher, and Bishop Phillips Brooks wielded immense influence. But it is not too much to say that among all these Spurgeon held a position of undisputed supremacy... He bad no peer. It is doubtful ‘ indeed whether any preacher in the long history of tho Christian church has had a. career equally famous and far-reach-ing Cardinal Newman wielded vast influence in his day,-and his public utterances have been highly valued for their finished style and their classical lucidity. Yet it would be hard, to find two preachers tfho were farther apart in their views and methods than C. H. Spurgeon and the eminent cardinal. The one.was pronouncedly evangelical, the other sacerdotal and ian. ’ Tho one was democratic, the other aristocratic. Tho one was fervent and enthusiastic, , the other measured and restrained. The one spoke in simple terms that won their way to the heart, the other in words woven together with the - utmost skill and care. The crowds that hung on Spurgeon’s lips differed widely from the cultured congregations that filled St. Mary’s Church, Oxford, whenever Newman preached. Both mightily influenced tho religious life of their time, but it is not too much to say that the untitled Baptist wielded a mightier influence than tho scholastic don. Spurgeon faced his audience fearlessly and talked to it with homely simplicity ; Newman read his sermons shyly and with a wistful aloofness. Dr Robertson Nicoil, who spent six months in reading through a complete set of Spurgeon’s sermons, said: “ Read Spurgeon when ho enters the spiritual region and you feel that you are with one of'.tho great mystics of the world. . . - We cannot overlook

the fact that Spurgeon’s type of preaching is the only kind that moves democracy.”

Wherein lay the secret of Spurgeon’s powqr ? Many sought to find it when he first burst like a meteor across the calm sky of London’s religious life. They were surprised that a youth of twenty, with no college training or degrees, with a countrified air and an utter disregard of pulpit conventionalities, should immediately attract such large assemblies and afford them such deep delight. Did the secret , lie in the richness and sweetness of his voice? It was indeed a marvellous instrument, flute-like, resonant, and restful, of great compass and under perfect control, probably as fine a voice as was ever heard in the .pulpit- Or. did-it lie in his natural and graceful actipn? Sheridan Knowles said soon, after the Cambridge lad began to ruffle the placid life of the city: “He is only a boy, but he is the mostwonderful preacher in the world. . He is absolutely perfect in oratory and a master ■ iu the art of acting. He has nothing to learn from me or anyone else. He is simply perfect.” Spurgeon could never understand anyone needing to be taught elocution, for to him it came naturally. He could thrill and charm with effortless ease the enormous crowds, that thronged everywhere to hear him. His oratorical triumphs were achieved wherever ho went through the United Kingdom. The largest buildings available were readily filled and vast crowds were addressed in the open air. The only one to equal him in the ability to allure and enchain in fascinated attention large audiences, beneath the blue sky was George Whitefield, whom he early made his model and ideal.

Some found a chief element of Spurgeon’s popularity in his effervescent humour. He was never averse to flashes of wit in the pulpit. He had a keen eye for the amusing aspect of any theme he handled. Erratic and eccentric preachers greatly interested him. Pomposity he abhorred. Religion was to him such a reality that it included all human emotions, and smiles and laughter were as natural as grief and tears. Many blamed him for his bubbling humour and reckoned him too free and flippant in dealing with the sanctities and solemnities of religion. But he could not be bound within any strait jacket of pulpit seriousness. It was his consuming desire to reach the people, and he used every faculty of mind and heart to achieve his purpose; Results justified his methods. It was true of Spurgeon, as of the Master he served so devotedly, that'the common people heard him gladly. Ho used terms which they could readily understand. He lit up his •’’■scourses with illustrations and enlivened them with anecdotes which sustained . their interest. He never puzzled them with intricate problems and abstruse arguments. His mind was steeped in the lucid English of the Bible and Runyan, and if in the heat of public speech he used any ornate Latin terms he would change them for simple Saxon when be came to revise the sermon for the Press. All his sympathies lay with the ordinary folk who clustered around him, because they felt he had a message which met their need. He did not cater for the cultured and the'aristocratic, although many of these delighted in his eloquence, but for the poor, the illiterate, the degraded, the neglected. It was his joy to welcome into the great church of over five thousand members, which grew up under his ministry, many who had been reclaimed from vicious lives. To such he ever reached out a helping hand. With all his rare pulpit aptitudes Spurgeon was intensely human and practical. Ho moveij freely among , his

fellow men and never assumed an attitude of aloofness. His industry was amazing. His literary output through the forty years of his ministry reached colossal proportions. More than a hundred and fifty - volumes boro his name either as author or editor. His philanthropic activities were wonderful. He founded an orphanage which cares continuously for five hundred children, a college for the training of men for the ministry from which fourteen hundred men have gone to the ends of the earth, a Colportage Association, and many Sunday schools, mission halls, and churches. His generosity was profuse. When testimonials of £6,500 and £4,500 were presented to him, he at once distributed the amounts among agencies he desired to help. And through all his public career he carried an unsullied reputation. He said his life might be written across the sky, for he had nothing to hide. It was said of him that he was 'born with the key to the heart of humanity in his hand, and his many-sided usefulness would appear to verify the statement. His name is well worthy of grateful remembrance.