6. Anecdotes 51-60

Spurgeion's Anecdotes #51-60 51. Mr. Knill's Prophecy (See Number 67.)

Before Mr. Knill left Stambourne to fulfil other appointments, he called the family together, and taking the boy Spurgeon on his knee, said:—"I do not know how it is, but I feel a solemn presentiment that this child will preach the Gospel to thousands, and God will bless him to many souls. So sure am I of this, that when my little man preaches in Rowland Hill's chapel" (then the largest in the South of London), "I should like him to promise me that he will give out the hymn commencing:—

"'God moves in a mysterious way His wonders to perform.'"

The promise was made, and so was another, namely, that at his express desire the boy would learn the hymn in question, and think of what he had said. This prophetic declaration was fulfilled. When Mr. Spurgeon preached in Surrey Chapel, and also when he preached in the chapel at Wotton-under-Edge, Gloucestershire—Mr. Hill's summer residence—the hymn was sung on both occasions.

Mr. Spurgeon always believed that the words of Mr. Knill helped to bring about their own fulfilment. He believed them, and looked forward to the time when he should preach the Word. He felt very powerfully that no unconverted person might dare to enter the ministry. This made him more intent on seeking salvation, and more hopeful of it; and when by grace he was enabled to cast himself on the Saviour's love, it was not long before he spoke of his redemption. The prediction was coined in the loving heart of Mr. Knill, God the Holy Spirit influencing him.

52. No Laughing Matter

Mr. Spurgeon had many strange experiences, and some of these incidents he related to his students in his Friday afternoon talks with them.

While living at Nightingale Lane, a visitor called, who was certainly not at all welcome, and his admittance might have had very serious consequences if the beloved master of the house had not been graciously guided in his mode of dealing with the madman.

Mr. Spurgeon happened to be passing the entrance-hall just as someone rapped rather loudly at the door; and, without considering who might be seeking admission in that unceremonious fashion, he opened it. In an instant, a wild-looking man, armed with a huge stick, sprang in, slammed the door, stood with his back against it, and, in a most menacing manner, announced that he had come to kill Mr. Spurgeon! The situation was extremely critical, for there was no way either to escape from the maniac or to summon assistance to get rid of him; so Mr. Spurgeon said, "You must mean my brother, his name is Spurgeon;"—knowing, of course, that he could give him timely warning if there was any fear of the man going to Croydon.

"Ah!" said the crazy fellow, "it is the man that makes jokes that I mean to kill."

"Oh, then, you must go to my brother, for he makes jokes!"

"No," he said, "I believe you are the man," and then suddenly he exclaimed, "Do you know the asylum at—? That's where I live, and it takes ten men to hold me."

Then Mr. Spurgeon saw his opportunity, and drawing himself up to his full height, he said, in his most impressive tones, "Ten men! that is nothing; you don't know how strong I am. Give me that stick." The poor creature, thoroughly cowed, handed over the formidable weapon.

Seizing it, and opening the door, Mr. Spurgeon almost shouted, "If you are not out of the house this very moment, I'll break every bone in your body." The man quickly fled, someone was at once sent to give information to the police, and it was a great relief to hear that, before long, the escaped madman was again under restraint.

53. Not a Great Success

"Somehow," says Mr. Spurgeon, "I don't think our (Stambourne) Sunday-school came to so very, very much. Having been on one occasion pressed into the service when I was still a boy, but was in Stambourne on a visit, I felt myself a failure, and I fancied that some around me were not brilliant successes. Still, in those early times, teaching children to read and to repeat verses of hymns, and to say the (Watts's) catechism by heart was a good beginning."

54. Not a Sham, but a Delusion

One has known persons, mostly females, who have fancied themselves ill and unable to leave their bed, when in reality there was not much the matter with them. Mr. Spurgeon was called to such a case by the mother of a girl who was the victim of a desponding frame of mind. The mother could not believe that her daughter was really ill, though it was no case of sham.

Mr. Spurgeon went to see the young woman, and coincided with the opinion of the mother.

"Come," said he, "you must get up; your mother believes, and I believe, that there is nothing really the matter with you; but, if you persist in thinking you are ill, you may lie here and die. But, remember, God has His own place to which He sends suicides." The girl seemed startled, and said, "I will come to the Tabernacle on Sunday." She did so, and gave her mother no further trouble.

55. Number, The, of the Beast A man who is great on prophecy wrote to Mr. Spurgeon, saying he could make the name of Gladstone and of Napoleon, and of others, tally with the numbers of the beast in the Revelation, but could not make his do so, and wanted him to tell him why. "I suppose it's because I am not a beast," was his reply.

56. One Song, One Heart An affecting passage in a memorable service at the Tabernacle thrilled every heart, when Mr. Spurgeon proposed that the whole assembly should join hands, and form an unbroken chain extending from the floor to the platform, and from the platform to the galleries, and that then the congregation should sing,—

"E'er since by faith I saw the stream Thy flowing wounds supply, Redeeming love has been my theme, And shall be till I die."

At first the people were slow to understand and respond, and there was some difficulty about the joining hands of those above and those below; some had to stand on the stairs, and it was scarcely in accordance with English usage for strangers to take each other's hands; but Mr. Spurgeon uttered a cheery word, and the thing was done without any mishap. There were few dry eyes when the singing had reached the last verse:—

"Then in a nobler, sweeter song, I'll sing Thy power to save, When this poor lisping, stammering tongue Lies silent in the grave."

No one present could ever forget the scene and the circumstances, or the deeply moving words and tones of the speaker. In the twenty years that have followed what numbers of that throng have met where they still sing the new song:—"Unto Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood," etc.

57. On Going to Church Mr. Spurgeon says:—

"Some go to church to take a walk;

Some go there to laugh and talk;

Some go there to meet a friend;

Some go there their time to spend;

Some go there to meet a lover;

Some go there a fault to cover;

Some go there for speculation;

Some go there for observation;

Some go there to dose and nod; The wise go there to worship God."

58. Picking them Off A great number of persons have been converted in the Tabernacle by the personal conversation of zealous and active members and officers of the church. While Mr. Spurgeon was preaching, they would be all about the place watching for anxious ones.

"A brother was speaking to me, one Monday night," says Mr. S., "and suddenly he vanished before he finished the sentence he was whispering. I never quite knew what he was going to say, but I speedily saw him in the left-hand gallery, sitting in a pew with a lady unknown to me. After the service, I said to him, 'Where did you go?' He said, 'A gleam of sunlight came in at the window, and I saw a face which looked so sad that I hurried upstairs, close to the woman whose countenance was so sorrowful.' 'Did you cheer her?' 'Oh, yes; I spoke to her of the Lord Jesus, and she received Him very readily into her heart. Just at that moment, I noticed another eager face, and I asked her to wait in the pew till after the service, and I went after the other, a young man.' He prayed with both of these, and would not be satisfied until they had yielded themselves to God and accepted Christ as their Saviour.

"That is the way to be on the alert," said Mr. Spurgeon. "We need a body of sharpshooters to pick off their men one by one. When we fire great guns from the pulpit, execution is done, but many are missed. We want loving spirits to go round, and deal with individual cases by pointed personal warnings and encouragements."

59. Pilfering from Spurgeon A certain gentleman produced two volumes of anecdotes and illustrations, in the first of which he took a number of Mr. Spurgeon's thoughts, and appended his name. Here and there through the book was the name, "Spurgeon, Spurgeon." Speaking sarcastically, Mr. Spurgeon said, "It was very kind to use the poor man's illustrations like that; very kind indeed; I ought to take off my hat to the gentleman, and I would, only it is not on my head." But while the second volume was being prepared, Mr. Spurgeon preached very strongly against some of the teaching of the Church of England. Many considered it a grievous sin. For this reason the compiler was unable to put the name of Spurgeon into his second volume, but he was unwilling to refrain from taking his illustrations, so he took them and inserted them without the author's name, and there is the first volume disgraced and degraded, as some thought, with the name of Spurgeon, but the second volume had his thoughts and illustrations without his name.

Mr. Spurgeon says, in reference to this plagiarism: "I am a considerable sufferer by makers of anecdote books, for they never make one now without plucking my feathers pretty freely, and using my illustrations without stint. I do not say much about that matter; but there is one thing which, to me, is a greater cause for complaint—I mean when people take my material without even giving me the credit of it." No doubt that was thought to be a clever way of proceeding, but Mr. Spurgeon could not see the justice of it.

60. Prayer, a Drawing Near to God

There was a time, late in the fifties, when Mr. Spurgeon had the use of the Congregational Church, Tunbridge Wells, secured for him by a friend. He preached there many times, and the present writer did not miss any one of the sermons. He remembers especially two of them. "Things that accompany Salvation" was one; the other was on prayer as drawing near to God: "It is good for me to draw near to God." His remarks went to show that, whether in a form of prayer or in extemporaneous supplication, that alone is true prayer in which the soul seeks to draw near to God. The divisions of the sermon were very remarkable and original. He said: "First, I shall use the text as a Touchstone."Second, I shall use it as a Whetstone, to sharpen the activity of the soul God-ward.

"Third, I shall set it up as a Tombstone over the myriads of dead prayers, both formal and extempore." The discourse throughout was striking, telling, and searching. Three evangelical clergymen who were present evidently thought the sermon calculated to be profitable to others besides those who had listened to it, and they sought Mr. Spurgeon's permission to have it printed as a booklet for distribution in the town and neighbourhood.

Those services in the Congregational Church were the means of much good, and people came in from the country around to listen to the preacher, whose usefulness and popularity were extending on every side.