Chapter 35: The Metropolitan Tabernacle

Chapter 35.
The Metropolitan Tabernacle

Interest in the Great Chapel—Laying the Foundation-stone—Speeches of the Pastor and several Eminent Personages.

Soon after the work of collecting funds for the great Tabernacle was commenced, prizes appear to have been offered for designs, the building committee selecting the one which would be adopted. After a large number had been examined, the design which gave most satisfaction bore the motto, "Quod erat faciendum"—Which was to be done. Mr. Pococke was the architect. A large number of designs were sent in, for three of which, I believe, premiums were given. When it was generally known that a large chapel was really to be built for the young preacher, great popular interest in the enterprise at once showed itself. The novelty of such an enterprise occasioned it to be written of and talked about in a way that the present generation would hardly understand. It was "a mammoth undertaking," "a denominational wonder," and in a sense a new thing under the sun, peculiar to the times.

While things were thus progressing in London as the best friends of Mr. Spurgeon desired, things were also happening elsewhere such as could not fail to gladden his heart. While the foundations of the Metropolitan Tabernacle were being dug, a subscription had been commenced at Southampton towards the fund for the enlarging of Portland Chapel, of which Mr. James Archer Spurgeon was pastor. The chapel was so excessively crowded that numbers were compelled to leave the doors on Sunday evenings. At this time also took place the conversion and baptism of Thomas Cooper, the ex-Chartist, who had travelled up and down the country as a Free-thought lecturer. The Radical politician and Mr. Spurgeon became good friends, and from time to time Mr. Cooper gave lectures at the Pastors' College which tutors and students heartily appreciated. The land on which the Metropolitan Tabernacle is erected was purchased, as has been said, from the Fishmongers' Company; and it had been the site of almshouses which the Company had put up in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The main building was called St. Peter's Hospital, and this, as an asylum of the Fishmongers' Company, has been re-erected at Wandsworth. The forsaken ground was an uninviting spot until the new buildings were erected upon it. The preliminary services in connection with the ceremony of laying the foundation-stone were commenced at New Park Street Chapel on Monday evening, August 15, when the prayers were offered and addresses given by Mr. Spurgeon and his father—the latter being at that time under fifty years of age—and others. There was another prayer meeting on Tuesday morning, the 16th. About three thousand persons attended the ceremony in the afternoon, and most of them were in their places by two o'clock. There was little or no display with flags and decorations. One inscription on white calico—the letters being formed by laurel leaves—was, "Christ is the Cornerstone;" and one other ornamented with evergreen boughs read, "You are Truly Welcome." Mr. Spurgeon called on the audience to "raise a glorious song of praise to the God of heaven by singing to the Old Hundredth tune the hymn, 'Before Jehovah's awful throne.'" The crowd appeared to show more than ordinary interest in the stone-laying ceremony. Sir S. Morton Peto, who occupied the place of honour, was cheered with some enthusiasm. Mr. B. Carr read a history of the church from the beginning, which he had himself prepared; and although "the reading of this admirable document elicited frequent and hearty cheers," it was no doubt a relief when the reader came to the end, and so made way for Mr. Spurgeon to come forward with a bottle to be deposited beneath the stone. As something lighter was needed after the literary elder's solid historical statement, Mr. Spurgeon was equal to the occasion:—

"This bottle contains not the current coins of the realm; for we have none of them to spare. It contains no newspapers, for, however much we may appreciate the newspaper Press, we still think it inappropriate to place papers in such a place. It contains the Bible, the old-fashioned Baptist Confession of Faith, which was signed by Benjamin Keach, your former pastor; the declaration of the deacons which you have heard read, written on parchment; an edition of Dr. Rippon's Hymn Book, as published before he died; and lastly a programme of this day's proceedings. These will be for the perusal of the New Zealander who is to sit on the ruins of London Bridge, when this great nation has gone to decay—if ever it does so; and if such is the case, I have no doubt that they will eventually be stored up in some Australian or American Museum." At that time Sir Morton Peto was a man of commanding influence among the Baptists, and was otherwise generally respected on account of the liberality with which he subscribed to philanthropic enterprises. To the worthy baronet it was like entering on a new era; and after showing that the new building was a necessity, he went on to say that he rejoiced to hear that the church, though strictly denominational, would be in no respect sectarian. While believing that there was no other mode of baptism than that prefigured in the Scriptures—being buried with Christ in baptism—his friend, Mr. Spurgeon, would at the same time proclaim that truth in such a spirit that all who might differ from him would only regret the difference, while they loved him not the less. He wished also to state to his Christian friends that this church would not only be their church, but would be a point from which Christian influence would radiate to the furthest ends of the world. His friend, in preaching the Gospel there, would not forget upon every fitting occasion to urge the claims of the heathen upon the attention of his church; and he rejoiced to know that while the hearts of the congregation would be sufficiently expansive to grasp the whole world, those who were perishing at our own doors would not be forgotten or neglected. There was a great work yet to be done, and many who were connected with other churches had gladly come to their aid and assured them that they would do all in their power to assist them in their undertaking. He could not but rejoice that this would be something of a cathedral to his denomination. It was quite right that they should have a Tabernacle in which not only the largest congregation could assemble, but which should, when schemes of Christian usefulness were to be promoted, be placed at the disposal of persons of any other denomination. This Metropolitan Tabernacle would therefore have claims upon other denominations. Those whom he addressed had a large and heavy burden to bear, and they were delighted to bear it, because it enabled them to evidence their love to Christ; still he could not but feel that Mr. Spurgeon and his deacons had a very strong claim for assistance upon all other Christian churches of the metropolis and of the kingdom at large; and he trusted that when Mr. Spurgeon ascended the pulpit for the first time, he would be able, while preaching a full, free, and finished salvation, to say that he did so in a chapel entirely free from debt.

Mr. Spurgeon complimented the baronet by saying that that was not the first time he had borrowed light from him, as he once received from him a reading-lamp which had often enabled him to read while on long railway journeys. All had reason to be satisfied with the receipts of the afternoon; for one anonymous friend at Bristol had sent a cheque for £3,000 to be laid upon the stone, in addition to which others gave £1,000 each. The speech of the occasion was, of course, that in course of which Mr. Spurgeon himself referred to the enterprise in hand:—

"I never answer slanders against myself, and very seldom answer any questions about them whatever, and I never mean to do so. When I have done wrong, it is always enough for me to have my own condemnation. I am quite satisfied with that, although I have plenty. If I am wrong, I will be accountable to my own Master, and to no other person living or breathing. This place, I said some time ago, when our brethren were half afraid—It is to be built, and God will fill it with His presence. There is no doubt about the money being raised. I have a solid conviction that the money must come. I give my hearty thanks to all that have helped me, and to all that have not helped me—they all mean to do so, and therefore I will thank them beforehand. There is one gentleman who is going to speak after Mr. Dowson, and the best speech will be made with hid hands. He will give a donation of £3,000. He would not like me to mention his name, and therefore I shall not do so. And now, my dear friends, the place that is to be erected—I have a word to say about it. It is a matter of congratulation to me that in this city we should build a Grecian place of worship. It seems to me that there are two sacred languages in the world. There was the Hebrew of old; there is only one other sacred language—the Greek, and that is dear to every Christian's heart. We believe in the five great points commonly known as Calvinistic. We look upon them as being five great lights which radiate from the cross of Christ. I like to preach pure Gospel truth; but still, at the same time, I am no Antinomian, I belong not to that sect that is afraid to exhort the sinner to Christ; and while we are Baptists also—and we cannot swerve from that—we must have one Lord, one faith, and one baptism, and dear to our hearts is that word—the communion of saints. Whosoever loves the Lord Jesus Christ in spirit and in truth has a hearty welcome to communion with the Church of Christ. I see around us our Independent brethren, and I see also before me a Strict Communion brother, and he will address you. I have some of my dearest friends ministers of the Church of England, and I glory in the fact that, however firmly a man may hold the truth, he can give his hand to every man that loves Jesus Christ. And now with regard to our prospects. We are about to build this place, and I hope it will be paid for; and if our friends do but give well now, then when the chapel is built, those of our friends who want seats can buy them. There is not a chapel in London used up as ours is; they always hack it up; they say, We will hear all we can, and they never give me a chance of getting into the seats. Our brother told us last evening that churches should be like a man who milked the cow, and after she was milked she was so fond of it that she wanted to be milked twice a day. God sparing my life, I will not rest till the dark county of Surrey be filled with places of worship. It is only within the last six months we have started two churches, one in Wandsworth and the other in Greenwich, and we will do so to the one hundredth time, God being oar helper."

After the stone-laying ceremony was over, and after the young pastor had himself thanked each contributor who came forward with a gift, between two and three thousand persons adjourned to tea in the adjoining Horse Repository. The great repast was served without hitch or confusion; and the otherwise not very inviting interior was decorated with flags and flowers, mottoes and illuminated lamps, until it presented quite a pleasing appearance. By the time that the Lord Mayor arrived to take the chair at the evening meeting, the popular enthusiasm was shown by the great crowd in the street which was eager to enter the already well-filled building. After the hearty cheers which greeted him had subsided, the Lord Mayor (the late Alderman Wire) referred to the advances made since olden times, and said he looked on Mr. Spurgeon as one who was called to accomplish a great work for God. When the pastor looked round on his friends on that memorable day, he saw a strong muster; but while James Grant, of The Morning Advertiser, was present, Dr. Campbell was unfortunately absent, having made another engagement on the understanding that that meeting was postponed. Mr. Spurgeon thought that, as an editor, his friend had lived long enough not to believe things which he saw in the papers:—

"At any rate, my friend ought not to believe in those paragraphs unless he knows of his own knowledge that they are true. For my own part, I only wish I could compel the papers to make good their statements except when they are abusing me. Some of the papers have discovered that a magnificent fortune has been left to me, of which, however, I have myself no knowledge whatever.... I approve of ministers getting a good salary for preaching; and in this respect I would cordially say I am, for my own part, perfectly satisfied; but if anyone should leave ministers a large sum of money, they generally lose their voice or get an attack of bronchitis, or something of the sort, which puts an end to their preaching."

Mr. Spurgeon added, in regard to the Press, that he cared not how he was attacked, or his doctrines combated; he would come out all the stronger for opposition: it was when the newspapers praised him and friends surrounded him that tears came into his eyes, and he felt the more need of divine support. To notice all the speeches that were made on the occasion would too greatly extend this chapter; but some were too important to be altogether passed by. Thus, the father of the young pastor, who was a comparatively young man himself, confessed that he was there to acknowledge a fault. He had thought that his son had done wrong in not going to college, and again in coming to London; but he now saw that God had opened the way. The speaker continued:—"This is one of the happiest days of my life. I feel beyond myself when I think of the kindness shown to my son when but a youth; and I ask all to go home and pray that God will preserve him from temptation. A meeting like this is enough to carry any man away, but the grace of God is all-sufficient. Several told me that my son would not do in London; he had not sufficient education; but he had, after all, the best education, for God had been his teacher. If anything could have crowned my happiness, it would have been to see my son's grandfather present. He is always speaking about him."

Mr. Spurgeon senior then told the anecdote about the way in which his wife had prayed for her son Charles, and said he attributed much to her prayers. Mr. James A. Spurgeon also spoke, and said he felt he was "taking up no sinking cause;" and if there were "sermons in stones," there was surely a good one in the stone they had laid that day.

One of the most forcible of the addresses given at the evening meeting was by the Rev. George Smith, who was then Secretary of the Congregational Union of England and Wales. A few sentences may be given; for they indicated how completely the tide had turned in Mr. Spurgeon's favour:—"I am here to testify on behalf of myself, my people, and my brethren generally, the very high regard we have for that gifted young man, not thirty years of age, whose name has become of world-wide reputation, and who everywhere has been honoured of God in turning multitudes from darkness to light—from the power of Satan unto God. I think we are all, whatever portion of the Church we belong to, deeply indebted to Mr. Spurgeon. For myself, I never had any doubt about him from the beginning. I never entertained a suspicion of him from the commencement. I never uttered one unkind word about him from the time when he commenced his ministry. I always thought Mr. Spurgeon was raised up of God to a great and good work; and we may well rejoice if men are raised up in a way rather different from what we had anticipated.... Every prediction about unsoundness, about erratic conduct, about failing in power, has utterly fallen to the ground."

Judge Payne was also present, and there were roars of laughter at his witty allusions, all being concluded according to time-honoured custom by the indispensable "tail-piece." Mr. Spurgeon held this friend in high esteem on account of his Christian character and self-denying labours as a chief ally of Lord Shaftesbury in the earlier days of the Ragged School movement; but he was not regarded as a model judge, because he showed a disposition to pass sentences which were at times believed to be too severe. One or two passages from his address at the evening meeting after the stone-laying ceremony may be given:—

"Among all the beautiful decorations there is one I do not see, but I have it before my mind's eye; I mean the three letters C. H. S. What do they mean? Why, first, Charles Haddon Spurgeon; but I do not mean that. C. H. S. means Clear-Headed Speaker who is Clever at Handling Subjects in a Cheerful-Hearted Style. He is a Captain of the Hosts of Surrey; he is a Cold-Hating Spirit; he has Chapel-Heating Skill; and is a Catholic Humbug-Smasher. He is a Care-Hushing Soother; he is a Child-Helping Strengthener; he is a Christ-Honoured Soldier, and a Christ-Honoured Servant. These are all the C. H. S.'s, and a very good lot of C. H. S.'s they are.

"I said he is a preacher that does not mumble; he is also a man that does not grumble. I have heard him say how pleased he is with the salary given him by the people of Park Street. There was once a bass singer at a cathedral, and he sang in such a way that the dean did not like it, so he said to him, 'I recommend you to sing better; you are very careless.' 'Sir,' said the singer, 'I sing at the rate of £10 a year, and if yon want me to sing better, you have only to increase my salary.' Our friend, Mr. Spurgeon, does not say that. He is perfectly satisfied with what he gets, although it is not half that he deserves. He is also a preacher that does not stumble. Did we ever see a man walk more firmly than he does before the world and the Church? He walks firmly, physically, morally, and religiously, and sets a good example to his flock. He is a good shepherd, or, if you like, a bellwether sheep, whom you may follow. It is said that if one lives next door to a lame man, one very soon learns to walk lame also. Mr. Spurgeon is not a lame man at all, but walks well; he walks holily and happily, and those who follow his steps will do the same. Then he is a preacher that will not crumble. The man himself will die—many, many years let it be before that consummation is arrived at—but the reputation and character of a faithful preacher of God's free and glorious Gospel will never die. We may address the character and reputation of such a man in the language of the poet and say:—

'The stars shall fade away, the sun himself Grow dim in age, and nature sink in years. But thou shalt flourish in immortal youth, Unhurt amid the war of elements, The wreck of matter, and the crash of worlds.'"

Thus did this ever-memorable day come to a close. Mr. Spurgeon had just commenced the sixth year of his work in London, and he was beginning to reap the full reward of his labours. The great chapel which had entered into the day-dreams of certain enthusiasts soon after the young preacher had settled in London was becoming a fact; and the promise seemed to be that the work which would there be carried on in the future would be one to attract the attention of the entire Christian world. It was a supreme moment in the experience of a man, especially when that man was only twenty-five years of age. In this case there was no self-elation or ambition, however; the great preacher was even more humble and self-possessed than some of his friends and followers. He had a work to accomplish, and he was determined it should be done; but he was entirely unselfish. He was still true to what may be called the motto of his life—"Seekest thou great things for, thyself? seek them not!"