Chapter 8: Cambridge--The First Sermon

Chapter 8.
Cambridge: The First Sermon

Residence at Cambridge—Engages in Christian Work with new Ardour—Mr. Leeding—Robert Hall's Opinion of Cambridge—Troubles in the Church during Mr. Robinson's Pastorate—The Outlook in Mr. Spurgeon's Time—Mr. Spurgeon and the Lay Preachers' Association—Work in the Villages by Local Preachers—Mr. Spurgeon begins his Career as a Cottage Preacher—"Bishop" Vinter's Stratagem—A Walk—Effect on the Congregation—Mr. Spurgeon and the "Gentlemen at Cambridge."

Mr. Spurgeon's residence at Newmarket did not extend to more than about a year, and, as he had a good deal of time which he could call his own, he made some advances in self-improvement, while he was all along assiduous in such Christian work as he had an opportunity of undertaking. In Sunday-school work, in giving addresses to scholars, and in tract distribution, there was no lack of useful service; and whatsoever the hand of this youth found to do he did not fail to do it with all his might. When the young teacher left Newmarket, in 1850, he went to reside at Cambridge; and although his surroundings had been sufficiently comfortable in the great racing town, things were probably still more to his liking now that he was living beneath the shadow of the University. In the Newmarket academy the articled pupil had found a friend in the head of the household, Mr. Swindell; Mr. Everett had there been to him a companion who was nearly as young as Mr. Spurgeon himself; and the devoted Christian housekeeper had given advice which would influence her youthful friend throughout his whole life. At Cambridge, however, Mr. Spurgeon once more came in contact with Mr. Leeding, the accomplished tutor whom he had first met at Colchester, and who, next to Richard Knill, probably understood his young friend's bent of mind and developing genius better than anybody else. It was no small benefit again to enjoy the tuition of such a man, to whom the pastor of the Metropolitan Tabernacle till the last acknowledged his indebtedness.

Mr. Spurgeon took some interest in topography. He must have seen much to gratify curiosity in such a town as Cambridge; and in this respect he would be a contrast to that ardent lover of nature, Robert Hall, who once remarked, "I always say of my Cambridge friends when I witness their contentedness in such a country, 'Herein is the faith and patience of the saints!' My faith and patience could not sustain me under it, with the unvarying kindness of my friends in addition." The distinguished pulpit orator of a century ago had even still more pronounced opinions in reference to the drawbacks of the great University town. "'Tis a dismally flat country, sir, dismally flat," he once remarked. "Ely is twelve miles distant, but the road from Cambridge thither scarcely deviates twelve inches from the same level; and that's not very interesting. Before I came to Cambridge," he added, "I had read in the prize poems, and in some other works of fancy, of 'the banks of the Cam,' and of 'the sweetly-flowing stream,' and so on; but when I arrived here I was sadly disappointed. When I first saw the river as I passed over King's College bridge, I could not help exclaiming, 'Why, the stream is standing still to see people drown themselves'; and that, I am sorry to say, is a permanent feeling with me. Shocking place for the spirits, sir; I wish you may not find it so; it must be the very focus of suicides."

These singular notions about Cambridge are quoted because the great and good man who uttered them had formerly been a pastor of the church and congregation of which Mr. Spurgeon now became a member. That congregation, at the period in question, was carrying on its full share of Christian work in and around Cambridge; but there had been a time when the usefulness of the people was threatened by a wave of Socinianism. The distinguished Robert Robinson, author of the well-known hymn, "Come, Thou fount of every blessing," had been the pastor, and it was his unhappiness to let go the anchor of his faith in the Scriptural verities he had once preached with soul-moving power. "Fascinating as a preacher, delightful as a companion, perseveringly skilful in the insinuation of his sentiments, his influence could not hut he great," says Dr. Olinthus Gregory. "From the profession of orthodox opinions," adds the same writer, "he had passed by a rather rapid transition, not to Socinianism, hut far beyond, to the very borders of infidelity; such, at least, was the substance of his declaration to Dr. Priestley, whom he thanked for preserving him from that awful gulf. Vain speculation was substituted for knowledge, faith, and experience; confession and prayer but seldom made a part of the public worship which he conducted, his effusions before sermon consisting almost altogether of ascriptions of praise; and the congregation became so transformed and deteriorated in consequence that among the more intelligent class, with only two or three exceptions, 'he was esteemed the best Christian who was most skilled in disputation, not he who evinced most of the spirit of Christ.' The majority of the poorer members, however, escaped the contagion, and were ready to co-operate with the late Mr. Foster, who was then the senior deacon, and another of the deacons, who equally deplored the evils which had fallen upon them. Cordially attached to those doctrines which they regarded as fundamental, and therefore as constituting the basis of Church union, they were preparing to call upon the whole body to consider the expediency of requesting Mr. Robinson to resign, when his sudden death at Birmingham, just after he had been preaching in Dr. Priestley's pulpit, rendered such a measure unnecessary." This dark passage in their history was only a distant memory when Mr. Spurgeon became associated with the church. Mr. Roff, the pastor, had just died, and Mr. Robinson, his successor, was not yet in office. In the middle of this century the people represented a prosperous Christian church; they maintained a number of agencies at work, and they did specially good service by means of the Lay Preachers' Association, which sent its agents into the villages around the University town. When the youthful Spurgeon associated himself with the congregation in St. Andrew's Street, how little did he think that a student educated in the Pastors' College he was himself to establish would one day be its minister. Such is the case, however; for Mr. T. Graham Tarn, who has been settled with the people for a lengthened period, completed his theological course in the College in the year 1872.

Mr. George Apthorpe, who is still living at Cambridge, was acquainted with Mr. Spurgeon from the time of his first coming to the University town till the last, and he has obligingly sent me some particulars. In the Sunday-school, Mr. Apthorpe had his class next to Mr. Spurgeon's, and he says, "Many a time I was listening to him while teaching my own boys." There was a select number of friends whose interest in the young man who had just come from Newmarket was very great; and one of the number, named Williamson, then a deacon of St. Andrew's Street church, openly declared of young Mr. Spurgeon, "Whoever lives to see it, he will become one of the greatest men in England." These ardent admirers do not appear to have exceeded eight or nine, however; for as Mr. Apthorpe adds: "The majority of the friends were rather averse to him, thinking what seemed to them his boldness and forwardness was rudeness in one so young." Among those who saw in the new-comer a power that would one day be mightily felt, was Mr. Vinter, who was also a deacon; and as the chief spirit among the members of the Lay Preachers' Association, which had then been established about twenty years, he was naturally ever on the look-out for new talent to press into the service. Mr. Vinter was a robe-maker by trade, and he had some years before been a member of the congregation of the devoted apostle of the Established Church, Charles Simeon, who died in November, 1836. Mr. Vinter was a very genial man, somewhat humorous, and was very highly esteemed. He had two brothers, Charles and Robert, and these also lived earnest Christian lives, the first being described as a tower of strength among the Wesleyans, while the other was equally useful among the Episcopalians. Of course, the attention of the Mr. Vinter of St. Andrew's Street chapel was first attracted towards Mr. Spurgeon in the Sunday-school; for it was obvious that if a youth could speak with such force before an assembly of teachers and children, he could do the work that was required of a lay preacher equally well.

There is also at Cambridge another old friend of the late pastor of the Metropolitan Tabernacle in the person of Mr. Watts. On a certain Sunday, after the Lord's Supper, Mr. Spurgeon followed this latter and showed a desire to become acquainted with him. He asked of Mr. Watts the loan of Scott's Commentary, and this being granted, the two drank tea together, and a friendship of the closest kind was commenced, which lasted until the preacher's death. There is an entry in the Church Book notifying the fact that Mr. Spurgeon had accepted the pastorate of the church at Waterbeach.

While studying under his friend Mr. Leeding, and at the same time teaching younger boys during the week, Mr. Spurgeon thus ardently engaged in Christian work on the Sabbath. For some time his efforts may not have extended beyond the Sunday-school, and tract distribution in the poor districts; but that would not long continue to be the case. He had already become much interested in the successful operations of the Lay Preachers' Association; and, when competent volunteers were always being sought after, it was not likely that a Sunday-school teacher who seemed to be endowed with special genius for giving addresses would escape being pressed into the service.

Since the Revival in the last century, what is called lay preaching has found great favour with Nonconformists; and throughout his life Mr. Spurgeon did all in his power to encourage and extend a practice which has now become common in villages and towns alike throughout the country. The custom is for young men who have gifts for public speaking to undertake cottage services, and these are in sufficient favour with working people and others to ensure their being on the average pretty well attended. The good influence thus exercised is in the aggregate very great; for the general civilising effect can only be adequately estimated when the condition of England is compared with that of other countries. Even the colporteurs who are diffusing Bibles and pure literature throughout the country, are expected to he local preachers as well as booksellers. It is also a fact that some of the most successful ministers of our times have been men who commenced their career as preachers in a peasant's cottage. Young men who had already borne something of the burden and heat of the day in this kind of active service always carried with them a passport to the favour of Mr. Spurgeon. Such candidates alone were eligible for admission to the Pastors' College. That institution was never intended for the training of merely clever young men in whom relatives detected literary gifts, and who thought themselves destined to occupy some commanding position in the world. From the first the College was intended for the encouragement and assistance of men who had already become preachers.

It was as a cottage preacher that Mr. Spurgeon was to commence his great career in the pulpit. When he first became connected with the congregation in St. Andrew's Street, Cambridge, the Lay Preachers' Association represented a numerous as well as an active band of workers—Mr. James Vinter, the directing genius, being familiarly known as "Bishop" Vinter. To the genial nature and Christian zeal of this warm-hearted veteran Mr. Spurgeon in after years bore cordial testimony. He appears to have preached with some acceptance himself; but he was at all times one who encouraged the younger volunteers whom he brought into the service. On a certain Saturday morning in the year 1850, "Bishop" Vinter called at Mr. Leeding's house to ask young Mr. Spurgeon if he would walk over to Teversham on the following day with a young man who was unaccustomed to preach. To such a proposition there could be no possible objection. Though Mr. Spurgeon himself had given divers Sunday-school addresses, he had never yet attempted to deliver anything so pretentious as a genuine sermon; and had his friend the "Bishop" outspokenly asked him to preach, the young tutor would at once have shrunk from the proposal as an impossibility. It would be a pleasure, however, to accompany another who was to conduct the service.

After tea, in the evening of the next day, Mr. Spurgeon set off along the Newmarket road in company with a young man somewhat older than himself—their destination, Teversham, being a village of less than sixty houses, three miles away, in the Chesterton district. The conversation was of a cheerful character until the younger of the two ventured to give expression to the good-natured wish that his companion would have a profitable time while preaching. The misunderstanding now came to an end. The good brother had no intention of giving a sermon; he had never attempted such a feat; he was not even a member of the Lay Preachers' Association; he had come for the simple object of accompanying the appointed preacher to Teversham! Thus it became plainly apparent that "Bishop" Vinter's young man not much used to preaching was no other than Mr. Spurgeon himself. Mr. Leeding's timidly sensitive assistant was somewhat appalled at the prospect of preaching, even in a cottage, but he bravely faced the inevitable, not heeding the well-meant advice offered by his companion, to the effect that the repetition of an old Sunday-school address would be sufficient for the occasion. That was not Mr. Spurgeon's way of doing things even at this early date, when he stood, as it were, on the threshold of his career, and the fact was of good omen for the future. He resolved at once that, if he must preach, he would do his best; and, although that involved the taking of a new subject, he did not shrink from the ordeal. Though still full of the dread which came of misgiving, he began to collect his thoughts, and presently the two came up to the cottage in which the service was to be held. The congregation were there waiting in expectancy, and no doubt many were surprised when the eager-looking boy took the place at the desk instead of his older companion. After singing, reading, and prayer the preacher, about to give his maiden sermon, announced his text—the familiar words of the great apostle—"Unto you, therefore, which believe, He is precious." How long his first sermon was Mr. Spurgeon never remembered, but none of the fears which tormented him while on the Newmarket road were realised. A familiar talk on the work of Christ and on the Saviour's worth to His people was really not strange work to the young disciple even at sixteen years of age. His clear voice and plain language would not fail to captivate the people. They were not only edified by what they had heard, their hearts were warmed, although no one in the humble congregation could have suspected that one destined to become the greatest preacher of the century had broken silence in their midst. At the same time, there were those present who were more or less surprised at the way in which the boy-preacher had acquitted himself. The principal representative of these was an ancient dame, who called out when the sermon was finished, "Bless your dear heart! how old are you?" Not yet being accustomed to the unconventional ways he may have afterwards favoured, Mr. Spurgeon replied in a rebuking tone, "You must wait until the service is over before making any such inquiries," and he then proceeded to announce the concluding hymn. After the benediction had been pronounced and the people were dispersing, the affectionate dame who had asked the preacher's age still showed no disposition to go away without having her curiosity satisfied. How old was he? Well, he was under sixty. "Yes, and under sixteen!" the old lady insisted. She not only wanted to know the lad's age, he was asked to promise to come again, which he was not averse from doing if his superiors at headquarters saw proper to sanction it.

Having broken new ground, the lad may have felt some confidence in his ability to go forward; but he might not be quite so sure about what the gentlemen at Cambridge would say on the point. What, for example, would "Bishop" Vinter say when he heard that the boy of sixteen had been acting as a lay preacher before being formally recognised by the director and the brotherhood? The youth whose awakening voice was so soon to be heard in London and the great towns of England was as yet a timid amateur, whose humble deference to his superiors was characteristic. The "gentlemen at Cambridge" were still personages of whom the stripling stood in wholesome awe; but to have a lowly opinion of himself, while he entertained becoming notions of the importance of his superiors, was a promising sign. But the days of childhood were over, and although only a boy as regarded his years, Charles Haddon Spurgeon would henceforth have to undertake the work of a man--work, moreover, which only one who stood as a giant among his fellows could accomplish.