Chapter 92: Opening of the College Building

Chapter 92.
Opening Of The College Building

First Meeting at the College—The Orphanage—Dr. Pentecost—Baptism of the Pastor's Sons—"Smoking to the Glory of God"—Spurgeon and Pentecost—Conference on Preaching—"Sermons in Candles"—Illness—Letter to the Congregation—The Supplies—Spurgeon's Return to the Tabernacle—The Americans—Mr. W. E. Forster—Baptism.

Early in September the College building was opened in presence of some denominational leaders and a party of four hundred invited friends. Mr. Spurgeon, who presided, said he had made the arrangements himself. He had not divided the responsibility with a committee of six; for his opinion was that if one man made a mistake, half-a-dozen would make six times as many, and on comparing his own work with that of others, he found that he was not more than one-sixth as stupid as others. It was then shown how necessary those rooms had become; for it was intolerable to study beneath the Tabernacle in dark winter days, and some of the students had been laid aside. The President went on to say that he had not mentioned the project to anybody until he had received some nine thousand pounds, except to those who asked him for advice respecting an investment for their money. For instance, one lady said to him she wanted to give a memorial to her late husband, and he suggested this cause to her, which she said was the very thing to meet her wishes, and handed to him three thousand pounds. He wanted to put a bust of the husband upon the walls, but she said her husband would have been vexed at that, and accordingly it was not done, nor was his name mentioned.

It was explained that though the work had been done with little trouble to anybody, two thousand pounds would still be required to complete the furnishing. It was intended to have a good library, and to make the College second to no Nonconformist institution of the kind in the universe. Someone, in looking over the building, had said to Spurgeon, "You must be rich." "Oh yes, I am richer than any Jew," was the reply; "I have more than Rothschilds' bank to fall back upon, for I can have all that it will be good for me to have, and no more." He added that he intended to make the trust-deed of such a character that in case his death should occur—of which he was always being reminded by his anxious friends—any other College might be enabled to come and occupy the building, so that it might be used for any purpose promotive of the honour and glory of God. Should any similar college in London want a building, there it would be. Some would, no doubt, say, "Poor stupid old Spurgeon is dead and gone, though, after all, he was a vigorous sort of fellow, and had things his own way." He would not trouble about the future, although so long as he lived he intended to carry on the work in his own way, and he was sanguine that when he was gone what had been done would be almost forgotten when compared with what God would then do in raising up somebody else to continue the undertaking. To that date it appeared that some twenty thousand persons had been baptised by pastors educated in the College. In a subsequent short address he explained how providentially money came in for the carrying on of his work. Three weeks before, at the Orphanage, there were the bills to pay, and they had no money. He said they could not ask God for it until they had given themselves, and he put down twenty-five pounds, and several others did the same. He then prayed to God and said: "These are Thy children, and this is Thy work; send us this day a considerable sum of money, if that be Thy will." He went home and wrote a letter and sent it to be lithographed; but within twenty-four hours the eight hundred pounds that they wanted came, and he had to send to stop the printing of that letter, and it never was printed. God had sent it all. There was not a man among the trustees but who would bear witness that no one knew about that till the money came. They did not tell anybody. One gentleman sent him a post-card requesting him to see him at the post-office. He went, and the gentleman said he thought he ought to give something to the cause of God, and he handed him three hundred pounds. And yet there were those who told them that God never answered prayer; but these were persons who never prayed themselves. The chairman's address was followed by speeches by Dr. Burns, Messrs. Tucker, Kirtland, and Orsman; and all, save the last named, have now passed away.

Perhaps the far-reaching influence of Spurgeon's preaching was-most singularly seen in the diversified character of those who came forward to join the church at the Tabernacle. Thus we find it announced: "Among the recent converts have been several Roman Catholics and Ritualists, who have become weary of the emptiness of sacramentarianism, and are glad to find rest in the full and finished salvation of Jesus Christ. On the 24th ult. there was held a noble meeting of the Bermondsey Mission, conducted by Mr. W. Olney, jun. By this effort one hundred and two persons have been added to the church." The Stockwell Orphanage then cost a little over five thousand pounds a year. There were two hundred and sixteen boys in the Orphanage; and of these only fifty-one were of Baptist parentage, sixty-nine being Church of England. A gentleman who had only attended the Tabernacle for a short time died and left a sum of ten thousand pounds to be divided between the College and the Orphanage.

Among the American visitors to England during the summer was Dr. Pentecost, who, besides being a welcome guest at Helensburgh House, was also welcomed as a brother preacher at the Metropolitan Tabernacle. In a private letter the American visitor wrote:—

"Yesterday I spent with Mr. Spurgeon at his home, and had a most delightful time. He certainly is a wonderful man. He had his College boys or men—some eighty in all—at his house, entertaining them before they began their fall term of study. He was bubbling over with humour and wisdom all the time. I never saw such a combination of genius in one man. He is a perfect master in the midst of his stupendous work. Everybody respects and loves him who has anything to do with him. He has that rare tact of being perfectly familiar with everybody while allowing no one to be familiar with him. He lives inside a charmed circle that no one enters, out of which he steps to touch and bless others. He received me most cordially, and invited me to open his service on Sunday evening with prayer. He had six thousand people in his congregation, and half as many more turned away unable to gain admission. At the close of the sermon he gave the hand of fellowship to forty persons, converted and baptised during the month. Then the Lord's Supper was administered to more than three thousand communicants. I had the pleasure and honour of assisting him at the service. Thirty elders served with sixty cups and sixty plates. Oh, it was a grand sight, and good to be there!" On Monday, September 21, the baptism of the pastor's twin sons, who were then eighteen years of age, took place at the Metropolitan Tabernacle. After several prayers had been offered, Mr. Spurgeon gave an address on Baptism, in the course of which he expressed the hope that, as ministers of the Gospel, or as men of business, his two sons might be useful in the church. The chapel was densely crowded, and Dr. Brock gave an address to the young.

It was just about this time that a passage-at-arms on the subject of smoking occurred between Spurgeon and Dr. Pentecost. As already shown, the latter had been received as a brother preacher at the chapel and as a guest at Clapham. After visiting the Continent, the Tabernacle was revisited. "On this occasion Mr. Spurgeon invited him to divide the sermon, proposing that one should lay down the doctrine, and that the other should close by enforcing and illustrating the subject. With no thought beyond the illustration of the subject, Dr. Pentecost related his own struggle with the cigar. Mr. Spurgeon, as a smoker, made the application personal, and, when the brother sat down, immediately arose and combated what had been said." Perhaps the most graphic description of what took place within the Tabernacle, however, was given by a morning newspaper:—

"Last Sunday evening, at the Metropolitan Tabernacle, the deservedly popular, unquestionably benevolent, and eminently shrewd Mr. Spurgeon was preaching a sermon on the sinfulness of little sins—a somewhat favourite topic among Nonconformist clergymen, and on which, under the title of 'The Little Foxes,' some curious lay-sermons have been written by Mrs. Harriet Beecher-Stowe. The gist of Mr. Spurgeon's discourse was that habitual indulgence in little sins leads to the commission of great ones—a position enforced by one of the most famous English divines in the illustration of the 'boy who plays with the devil's rattles.' At the close of his useful sermon the minister introduced an American clergyman who, he said, was anxious to address a few words to the congregation. This reverend gentleman 'improved the opportunity' by inveighing fiercely against the sin of smoking tobacco, especially in the form of cigars, and told his hearers how he had struggled and fought against the pernicious habit, and how at last, by the blessing and with the assistance of Providence, he had conquered his addiction to the weed. Then uprose Mr. Spurgeon and, with quiet humour, remarked that he would not allow the congregation to separate without telling them that he did not consider smoking to be a sin, and that, by the grace of God, he hoped to enjoy a good cigar before going to bed that night. Hyper-criticism should discern no irreverence in the conclusion of those remarks. We should be thankful for all things; and in observing that he hoped to enjoy a cigar through the Divine grace, he was but echoing the natural piety of Charles Lamb, who asked why we should not say grace before going out for a walk in the fields as well as before and after meat. Dr. Johnson said grace before he began the 'Rambler'; and if Mr. Spurgeon be a smoker, he only adds another and most excellent name to the long catalogue of distinguished English divines of the Established and the Dissenting Churches who have solaced themselves with that Indian weed." The matter was widely discussed both in the newspapers and in private circles; and as the phrase "smoking to the glory of God" became associated with his name, Spurgeon addressed a letter to The Daily Telegraph with a view of scattering any misapprehension which might arise. The pastor of the Tabernacle wrote:—

"I demur altogether and most positively to the statement that to smoke tobacco is in itself a sin. It may become so, as any other indifferent action may, but as an action it is no sin. Together with hundreds of thousands of my fellow-Christians I have smoked, and, with them, I am under the condemnation of living in habitual sin, if certain accusers are to be believed. As I would not knowingly live even in the smallest violation of the law of God, and sin in the transgression of the law, I will not own to sin when I am not conscious of it. There is growing up in society a Pharisaic system which adds to the commands of God the precepts of men; to that system I will not yield for an hour. The preservation of my liberty may bring upon me the upbraidings of many good men, and the sneers of the self-righteous; but I shall endure both with serenity so long as I feel clear in my conscience before God. The expression 'smoking to the glory of God' standing alone has an ill sound, and I do not justify it; but in the sense in which I employed it I still stand to it. No Christian should do anything in which he cannot glorify God; and this may be done, according to Scripture, in eating and drinking and the common actions of life. When I have found intense pain relieved, a weary brain soothed, and calm, refreshing sleep obtained by a cigar, I have felt grateful to God, and have blessed His name; this is what I meant, and by no means did I use sacred words triflingly. If through smoking I had wasted an hour of my time—if I had stinted my gifts to the poor—if I had rendered my mind less vigorous—I trust I should see my fault and turn from it; but he who charges me with these things shall have no answer but my forgiveness. I am told that my open avowal will lessen my influence, and my reply is that if I have gained any influence through being thought different from what I am, I have no wish to retain it. I will do nothing upon the sly, and nothing about which I have a doubt."

Among the non-smokers who had no sympathy with Spurgeon in this smoking controversy was the preacher's old friend, James Clarke, who remarked in The Christian World: "To ourselves this tobacco pest is a daily martyrdom, and we could earnestly wish that every Christian teacher, at all events, felt no desire to indulge in a habit... which is unquestionably most fearfully destructive both to the bodies and souls of tens of thousands of our young men." On November 27 there was a conference of Christian workers at the Tabernacle, at which a number of distinguished persons were present. Spurgeon's address was on "What to Preach, and How." The first part of the question chiefly concerned the more elderly men, the last those who were older. Perhaps, however, older preachers thought too little of how to preach, and it was possible to become too careless. There should be not merely the right food; it needed to be properly cooked. Truth was the main thing, but preparation and delivery had much more to do with it than was commonly supposed. Better not preach at all than be uncertain what to preach. Preach Christ and Him crucified—Christ as a substitutionary sacrifice. In the course of this address the pastor succinctly gave his views on the important subject in hand:—

"They were bound to preach Christ risen and Christ yet to come—to let all men know that He lived to make intercession for them. They must also preach the Gospel; and justification by faith they must preach in almost every sermon. If they had to preach as evangelists, they must preach the simple Word; if as pastors, then their range was as wide as the Word of God. They must preach repentance, repentance being to many believers almost as sweet as faith. How to preach? If anyone would tell him how, he would go to school to him. He did not think that any man who preached with success had any notion that he had begun to preach yet. He would tell them when he thought he could preach well—it was on a Sunday night, after he had gone to bed, because then he thought of what he did not say, but ought to have said, and of what he might have said better. "When a man could preach no better than he had done, then he had finished, for there was nothing more beyond. If they wished to do any good they must preach naturally. Some men had been heard to say that when they got into the pulpit they felt quite other men. He hoped they were, for when there they seemed all arms and legs. Many congregations, he believed, thought their ministers were not sincere because they talked in such a whining way." In the fall of this year there were some threatenings of another severe attack of gout; hut the symptoms seemed to pass away with so much less suffering than formerly that some hopes were entertained that the disease might even pass away from the system. The church at the Tabernacle was said to have one hundred and twenty-five lay preachers among its members. The itinerant evangelist of the College was Mr. William Higgins, who is now settled at Haddenham, Isle of Ely. In time the number of evangelists was increased, Messrs. A. J. Clarke (now of Australia and settled in a pastorate), J. Manton Smith, W. Y. Fullerton, and others, being of the number. The number of persons added to the church continued to be large. About one hundred and fifty were added in a few weeks, and fifty of these were received into fellowship on the first Sabbath of December. The whole of the two hundred and fifty men of various trades who had assisted in building the College were entertained at supper, and were suitably addressed by Mr. Spurgeon and others. On December 30 the friends of the College mustered in strong force, when the President expressed gratitude for the new building. He stated that forty-seven men had left the College during the year, and again answered those who gave out that too many preachers were being sent forth. Twenty-three were already settled in the United States. Too many ministers? In London alone there were nearly four million people for whom scarcely any spiritual provision was made compared with the terrible need; and when he saw fresh churches being built everywhere around, and congregations found for them, he felt ashamed of Dissenters in allowing a State Church to outstrip them. It was on this occasion that the bust of Spurgeon, now in the Conference Hall of the College, and executed by Mr.

Adams-Acton, was uncovered. A few gentlemen subscribed the cost, and the work was considered to be an excellent likeness. The lecture, "Sermons in Candles," which had now been frequently given, appears to have been suggested in the lecture-room of the College. When urged to use illustrations in preaching, one of the students asked where these were to be found, and the answer was, "I would not give twopence for a man who could not preach for six months from a tallow candle." That incident set in motion a train of ideas about candles. The lecture probably differed on all occasions of its being given. The form it took on this occasion may be judged from the following:—

"Here a round lantern was exhibited, about a foot high and with coloured divisions, and the lecturer observed that similar lanterns to that were used in the East. He had been recently looking up the history of candles, to see if he could find something fresh, but he confessed that he could not. Seven candles having been placed on the table, which ran down gradually from full length to almost nothing, the lecturer remarked that that was the emblem by which old Quarles illustrated the seven stages of life. He then held up before the audience a black japanned candle-box, observing that, though it might contain excellent wax candles, there could be no light unless they were illuminated, and that it might represent the case of a very respectable congregation, either of the Established Church or of some Dissenting denomination—a very respectable Independent, or Baptist, or Wesleyan congregation. They had got a very respectable minister, but nobody could understand him. The deacons were very respectable, but nothing else. If asked whether they had a ragged-school, such men would reply that it would shock their wives to think of such a thing. Many persons were prevented from being useful by the notion of dignity or respectability. People must be got at somehow, and if it could not be done in the genteelest manner, it must be done in some other manner. What was wanted was light to lead the ignorant to Christ. Some persons were born on the wrong day or in the wrong age to be of any use. One gentleman fancied that he might have been an Oliver Cromwell, and as an Oliver Cromwell was not wanted in his time, he became a loafer on his father and mother. If such a person were set up in business he soon came down again. He was like a candle which had too fine a candlestick, the truth being that it was not the candlestick, but the candle that was wrong. He had had a member of his church who had previously left the Church of England, as he told him, because he disliked the Prayer-book; who then joined the Wesleyans, and left them because they ranted; who next went to the Presbyterians, and left because they were high and dry; and who then came there. If a man who joined the Baptists could not be satisfied, nothing more could be done with him. That man, however, said they were the most bigoted and quarrelsome set he ever met with. From them he went to the Independents, and the last time that he heard of him he was a Plymouth Brother. According to himself he might have been a useful man but for his bad surroundings."

Spurgeon was now again laid low by illness, and he was confined to his bed on Tuesday, January 5, when, according to arrangement, he was to have presided at the New Year's prayer-meeting at the London Tavern. He had been able to preach at, the Tabernacle on the first Sunday morning of the year, the text being "Keep silence before me, O islands," etc. (Isa 41:1), but after that he had to be content for some time to be a prisoner at home. Many plans could not be carried out, and some depression and disappointment came as a result. Even the journey to a warmer climate had to be postponed; and while readers of newspapers were led to believe that Spurgeon was on the way to the sunny south, he was suffering at Clapham. He was necessarily absent from the annual Church meeting on January 8, but there was no lack of enthusiasm. Well-meaning but mistaken persons sent prescriptions for the gout; but the sufferer assured his friends that the readiest means of ensuring, his restoration was to relieve him of all anxiety about the institutions. Meanwhile certain journals were so ill-informed in respect to Spurgeon's movements that he was spoken of as though he were in Italy, while the date of his probable return was mentioned. In point of fact the sufferer was not able to go to Menton, as he had anticipated; but he visited Brighton and Folkestone, Boulogne and Paris. The letter read to the congregation on the last Sunday of January gave painful evidence of suffering endured:—

"My Dear Friends,—Having weathered a second furious storm, I trust I am now fairly on the way to recovery. For this I desire to render thanks unto our healing Lord.

"My worst pain has been that of feeling useless, and shut out from the service of God. My instincts suggest that I begin work at once, and my heart prompts me thereto; but all the wise ones around me say that it would be madness to plunge myself into another illness by return to labour, and they urge me to increase rather than diminish the rest which I had allotted to myself in a warmer region. I feel that in this I am very much in your hands. Together with the past four Sabbaths it will make a long time of absence, very trying to a congregation. Can you bear it for my sake? If so, you will not leave unoccupied seats, but will maintain the number of the assembly, while the prayer-meetings, the week-night services, and the various departments of holy labour will be maintained in full force. I have this confidence in you that so it will be, and that if, in my presence, you have watched over the interests of the church, you will do so much more in my absence.

"Possibly in a week's time I may be able to remove, and I should wish to leave behind me the earnest assurance of my love to you in Christ Jesus, and also to ask this token of you, that you will seek to promote the work of the Lord more than ever while I am away. A week of special services has been planned; may the Holy Spirit make them seasons of great power. But the success of the meetings must in a large measure depend upon you. Your hearty sympathy, your prayers, your presence—all will help. Your bringing unconverted persons with you to the meetings, and personally pressing home the truths heard, will be a main instrument in the hands of God for conversion. Last year the blessing came in a large measure—shall it be withheld this year? O Lord, send, send even now prosperity.

"May you have the full ears of corn to-day and the fat kine, and may you be filled with all the fulness of God!—Yours in truest unity of heart, "C.H. Spurgeon."

It was during this long and trying illness that an article, which I wrote for The Christian World on "Hearing the Supplies" at the Tabernacle, created far more commotion than was pleasant; for an impression got abroad that the state of things was made to appear worse than it really was. A reference to what a certain American preacher said about coming "for the purpose of worshipping Mr. Spurgeon" was especially resented, and nothing would have made the pastor believe that such a thing ever occurred, although there was convincing proof that the fact was correctly stated. The matter was mentioned in The Sword and the Trowel, but the editor sent me a very kind and characteristic private letter, and thus the matter ended.

Mr. Spurgeon's absence from the Tabernacle extended through twelve Sundays, the longest break in his labours that had ever occurred. At length on Easter Sunday, March 28, the familiar voice was once more heard. During the long interval all things had gone on well. Henry Vincent gave a lecture on behalf of the Liberation Society on January 26; in February special evangelistic services were held, aided by the College evangelist, Mr. William Higgins; and then the chapel was closed for cleaning and repairs. The occasion was really a reopening of the building, and the news that Spurgeon would be in his place again had the effect of attracting an eager throng from all directions. On the following Tuesday evening there was a festive kind of gathering to welcome Mr. Spurgeon back. An illuminated address was presented to him; and after this had been read by his secretary, Mr. Blackshaw, the pastor said that he occupied a most unusual position in being himself the audience and the people being the preacher. "You preach with great sweetness and power, and affect the heart," he added. "Of the Tabernacle I can say, 'There my best friends, my kindred dwell.'" Some had expressed a desire to supplement the address with a large sum of money; but while so much was needed for the Orphanage and the College that would not have been received. When he first came to London a certain good old deacon prayed that he might be kept from "the bleating of the sheep"—i.e., from the crotchets of cantankerous persons; and the prayer was said to have been answered in the unity and peace which had characterised the church for twenty years.

Meanwhile Spurgeon and Pentecost appear to have been talked of more on the other side of the Atlantic than in the British Isles. Attention was specially drawn to an article in The Watchman and Reflector of Boston, in which one writer seems to have overstepped the bounds of allowable sensationalism:—

"He reports a conversation between a certain personage who 'goes to and fro in the earth,' and who on receiving 'over the wires' from his agent the following message, 'Spurgeon is winged; no time to be lost,' hastened over from Brooklyn, where he was very busy, and interviewed Mr. Spurgeon in his study, who, 'never taken by surprise, eyed him through his jug of ale, and begged him to be seated.' We shall not follow the writer through a paper conceived in such a spirit, and showing such a want of acquaintance with the habits of the man whom it affects to criticise. The feature which has struck us most in it is the writer's familiarity with Satan's mode of thought—a familiarity which suggests that this is not the first time he has had the honour of acting as amanuensis to the 'Prince of darkness.'... We are sorry that the cause, 'Pentecost v. Spurgeon,' should ever have arisen. We pointed out at the time what we felt to be its danger; but if we are called upon to give judgment in the matter, it must be in favour of the defendant. Much as it may surprise our American friends- whose sense of right seems strangely different from our own—we would much rather in this matter be Spurgeon than Pentecost." The fourth volume of "The Treasury of David" now appeared, embracing Psalms 79-103, or those which had been least commented upon. "It is strange how many of the Psalms have been overlooked or left without full exposition," remarked The Freeman in noticing this volume, "and this fact makes Mr. Spurgeon's work the more valuable, as it makes it also the more difficult to write." A lecture syndicate at Boston (U.S.) made another attempt to induce Spurgeon to visit the New World; and his reply was still a refusal:—

"It is not possible for me to leave my work except for a short interval to rest. I have no one to occupy my pulpit, preside over my church, look after the College, govern the Orphanage, superintend the colporteurs, edit the magazine, etc. I must keep my hand on the oar till I die. I see no hope of my visiting America, much as I would like to greet the brethren there. Compensation is not an item of consideration. Nothing, indeed, could compensate my conscience if I left my work and any harm came of it. I know, within a little, what I can do, and I feel that I cannot conscientiously attempt a work in America to which I am not called to the injury of that which now engrosses all my time and every faculty I possess." As a statesman the late Mr. W. E. Forster occupied only a low place in the estimation of advanced Nonconformists; but Spurgeon had a good word for him, thinking that he was harshly used. In this opinion the great preacher had few followers among his own people, however. The Freeman declared that Forster had set Dissenters and their principles at defiance; that through the Education fight he had sought Tory support; that he was regarded as a Liberal statesman who could be relied upon for the support of the Anglican Establishment; that, though the son of a Quaker, he supported a Ritualistic church; and, finally, that the electors of Bradford had shown that they no longer believed in him. From time to time American visitors went away to put exaggerated reports in circulation; but the assertion of one would be counteracted by the contradiction of another. The controversy on smoking had hardly died away when Spurgeon was accused of being a coward. It was given out that the Established Church in England was "so cowing that even Spurgeon is afraid to baptise on the Sabbath; and skulks into the clandestineness of a week-day service!" That was what one writer said; but another replied: "Mr. Spurgeon may do many things which we condemn, but he does not 'skulk' in anything."