Faith Illustrated

Woman’s Memorial

In this sermon, Spurgeon tells the story of a woman who showed great love for Jesus by breaking a very expensive jar of perfume and pouring it on His head. Other people complained that she wasted money, but Jesus said her act would be remembered forever. Spurgeon explains that what made her action special was that she did it from her heart, without worrying about what others thought, and she did it only for Jesus, not for attention or praise. He encourages people to serve Jesus with the same kind of love — doing good things not because they “have to,” but because they truly want to, even if others don’t understand. The woman’s gift shows that real love for Jesus is willing to give its best, even when it seems unusual or costly. Sermon delivered by Charles Spurgeon on November 27th, 1859.

Man’s Ruin and God’s Remedy

Spurgeon presents the sinner's ruin under four heads — the sheer number and aggravation of sins, including the special guilt of those who have sinned against light and a praying mother's example; the legal sentence of condemnation already passed, so that the sinner stands not as someone awaiting trial but as someone already convicted with the rope around their neck; utter helplessness to do anything toward their own rescue; and the final, most devastating charge, that even if they could save themselves they would not, because their nature is so corrupted that they love darkness, hate their own mercy, and would remain unwilling unless grace overcame them. He then turns to the remedy through the brazen serpent principle — like cures like — showing how Christ as Substitute answers each point of the indictment precisely: he bore sin as the sin-offering and suffered in enough abundance to cover every form and degree of wickedness anyone might urge as a reason to despair; he was himself condemned and executed so that condemned sinners need never face execution; he laid aside his omnipotence on the cross so that helpless sinners find strength in his very weakness; and he comes down to the unwilling sinner rather than waiting for the sinner to come, since it is Christ's own presence and the sight of his wounds that overcomes depravity and creates the very faith and willingness he requires. He closes by putting words in the mouth of the crucified Christ himself — who asks what wrong he has ever done, and points to a face marred by suffering for those who hated him — and invites every hearer to simply come and try him, since he has never yet rejected a trusting soul and never will. Sermon delivered by Charles Spurgeon on November 20th, 1859.

One Antidote for Many Ills

Spurgeon takes the repeated refrain of Psalm 80 — "Turn us again, O Lord, cause your face to shine, and we shall be saved" — as the church's one all-sufficient prayer for every ill, arguing that because all problems trace to one source (the withdrawal of God's favor) they can all be cured by one remedy (his return), and he identifies the genuine benefits of revival as the salvation of sinners, the healing of church quarrels and divisions that flourish in idleness, the silencing of enemies by holy living, and above all the glory of God which only a spiritually alive church can render. He then turns the two-part prayer into a searching personal application — "turn us again" is addressed in turn to the minister (who must preach with fearless fidelity), to workers (who must serve with deeper dependence on the Spirit), to intercessors (who must pray with greater agonizing earnestness), and to every member (whose daily business, family life, speech, and habits must be brought into full honesty and godliness) — and "cause your face to shine" is identified as the indispensable divine element without which all human effort and increased numbers amount to nothing. He closes by urging every believer to turn present resolutions immediately into prayers rather than letting them dissolve, and with a tender appeal to unconverted hearers to recognize how much God's people groan over their souls and how precious those souls are in heaven's reckoning, before turning with a final corporate prayer that God would do what no human effort can — pour out revival upon his church and bring many reluctant hearts to himself. Sermon delivered by Charles Spurgeon on November 9th, 1859.

The Sweet Uses Of Adversity

When people go through hard times, they often ask God, “Why are You letting this happen to me?” Spurgeon explains that when God allows struggles, it isn’t because He hates us — it’s because He loves us and is doing something important in our lives. Sometimes God uses difficulties to show His strength by helping us stand firm even when life is painful. Other times, He uses problems to help us grow stronger in our faith, the same way exercise strengthens muscles. Hard times can also reveal hidden sins or bad habits we need to let go of. God may even use suffering to protect us from future mistakes we don’t see coming. Most of all, Spurgeon says that suffering makes us more like Jesus, who also suffered. Even though adversity hurts, it can bring us closer to God, teach us humility, and help our faith become deeper and more real. Sermon delivered by Charles Spurgeon on November 13th, 1859.

Christ's Estimate of His People

Spurgeon takes Christ's words to his bride in Song of Solomon 4:10-11 as a genuine expression of how Jesus actually estimates his people — their love is to him better than wine (a luxury and a refreshment), their graces smell sweeter than all spices, their words drop like honeycomb, the thoughts they never quite manage to speak lie under their tongue like honey and milk, and their daily actions smell to him like the cedars of Lebanon — and he argues this is not flattery but Christ's sincere valuation, which he set so high that even during his agony on the cross it was the thought of his people's love that cheered him. He is at pains to show that Christ does not estimate these things by their strength but by their sincerity, so the believer's feeble prayers, cold faith, stumbling words, and humble daily work are all precious to him — and he delights especially in the thought that even unspoken groans, unformed meditations, and the things too good to quite come out in words, are all observed and treasured. He closes with a practical application: since Christ so values the common actions of servants, tradespeople, and shopkeepers done honestly and conscientiously as much as sermons preached from pulpits, every believer can serve him all day long in any calling — and rather than producing pride, this knowledge of Christ's approval should overwhelm the soul with humility and drive it to love him more, pray more richly, and live more holily in grateful response. Sermon delivered by Charles Spurgeon on January 23rd, 1859.