Chapter 49: A Visit to Holland

Chapter 49.
A Visit to Holland A Night at Sea—Landing at Rotterdam—At the Hague—Interview with the Queen—Preaching Services—At Amsterdam—Utrecht—The Manchester Examiner —Spurgeon at Exeter Hall—Pure Literature—Paxton Hood's Lectures at the Pastors' College.

On Tuesday, April 21, Mr. Spurgeon left England for a tour in Holland, "not with a view to rusticate, after a year of Herculean labours, among the locks, docks, and smiling gardens of that moist and rheumatic region," as one journal remarked, "but to preach twice or thrice a day throughout the great towns and cities, and to address the students in the university." This visit to the land of his ancestors afforded some satisfaction to the pastor's friends; for the Low Countries were understood to have come down in a religious sense until the people were enveloped in the darkness of Egypt. "Out of its 1,500 parish pulpits, in little more than 100 is the Gospel trumpet sounded," we find it stated. Hence, it was thought to be "a matter of great moment that the truth should be proclaimed, as Mr. Spurgeon is wont to proclaim it, throughout the length and breadth of the country."

Thirty years ago the communication between England and Holland was far from being so perfect as is the case at present, and those who sailed from the Thames for the Continent frequently suffered from the discomforts of the voyage. Mr. Spurgeon and his friends set sail at midday on Tuesday, the 21st; and after "a very rough and boisterous voyage, though an unusually rapid one," they arrived at Rotterdam in a sickly condition at six a.m. on the following day. In that old town they were cordially welcomed by friends who were looking out for them, of this number being Mr. Davis, the English pastor, and some of his church officers. After breakfast they went to the church in which a service was to be held when some other towns had been visited; and after a short prayer-meeting a start was made for The Hague, which was reached early in the afternoon. In that historical place the distinguished London preacher was met by Baron van Wasnaer, who entertained him at his mansion during the visit. This official, who held a high place at the Court, was a genuinely pious man, and his wife was in full sympathy with him; and to have his acquaintance was a great advantage. On their arrival at the house, the visitors found themselves in one of the most stately residences of the city: the rooms were magnificent, and in one of the saloons, on that same evening, Mr. Spurgeon gave an address to 120 persons from the words, "We have seen the Lord." It was said that religion was fashionable in Holland at that day, and that as it was a reproach rather than otherwise not to make a profession, hypocrisy was common. In a plain but forcible manner the necessity of personal and genuine godliness was set forth; and one who was present said he believed that the Word was with power to many hearts. After the service the people lingered about the saloon, now offering words of welcome to the young English pastor, and then offering congratulations on what he had been able to do. Spurgeon was already quite popular among the Dutch; for through a translation his sermons, as we have seen, were already read in all directions. On Thursday, April 23, there was service in the King's Church at two o'clock; and the Queen would have been present but for the illness of her son. The Princesses were in their places, however, as well as others from the Court, and as these appear to have understood English, they all, as one present remarked, "for once in their lives heard the Gospel fully and faithfully preached." One who was present describes the service:—

"Mr. Spurgeon was mightily helped. His text was from 1Pe 5:12, 'This is the true grace of God wherein ye stand.' It was like a great swivel gun, made to turn every way, and aim at all deceivableness of unrighteousness. He spared no powder, no shot, but went on demolishing all their refuges of lies till they were left desolate and unsheltered before God. Then he preached Christ, showed them their only refuge, pleaded with them for their souls' salvation as if it were for his own life, and finished by urging them to self-examination by picturing the awful result of deception in so momentous a matter. There were many tears from many eyes. May the Lord grant that there may have been many a broken heart." In the evening, Baron van Wasnaer had another assembly at his mansion; and before a brilliant assembly of many of the chief personages of Holland, Mr. Spurgeon spoke for an hour and a half on the opening words of Psalm xxiii. Of this address the correspondent already quoted, says:—

"It was very sweet: he spoke as he sometimes does, calmly, gently, with a persuasiveness which melts the heart. Said one lady to me, 'This is like dew after a thunderstorm; that was a terrible sermon this morning.' He gave us pictures of Eastern life among the shepherds and their sheep, showed us the fond ones who kept close to the shepherd and fed from his hand, and said that if we were sheep, we had the privileges of guidance, provision, and protection; and our duties were obedience, trust, and love." The Dutch audience were thoroughly charmed with their English visitor; and the gratitude of the pious among them was very manifest. While blessings on the preacher were generally invoked, there came from every direction requests that he would come again to The Hague. On Friday morning, April 24, Mr. Spurgeon's attendance at the royal palace was commanded, and he had an interview with the Queen of over an hour's duration. At noon the party left for Leyden, celebrated for its university, which was founded in honour of the manner in which the citizens held out while besieged by the Spaniards in 1574, when 6,000 persons died of famine and pestilence. Spurgeon here held a service in the spacious Church of St. Peter, and the professors and students were present in great force; the discourse was founded on the words of Christ, "I am the way." When he left the church at two o'clock, the great English preacher appeared to be more than satisfied with his adventure, for the smiles which lit up his face told of joy in the heart. "The Lord gave me great power in preaching," he said to his friends, who. were equally gratified. The preacher thoroughly realised the characteristics of those who made up so large a proportion of the congregation, He said, "I preached very boldly, ridiculing their new philosophy, and exposing their errors, but very simply setting before them the Cross, and warning them against knowing anything among men save Jesus Christ and Him crucified."

Amsterdam, famous for its wonderful harbour and magnificent royal palace, was reached on Friday night. On Saturday morning a sermon was given to a densely crowded congregation at the Mennonite Church, and in the evening another service was held at the Dutch Reformed Church. On Sunday there were two more services, in the morning at the Scotch Presbyterian Church of Mr. M'Braith, and in the evening at the Dutch Church of Pastor Schwartz. A correspondent who accompanied Mr. Spurgeon said:—

"These four sermons in Amsterdam have caused quite a commotion there. Rich and poor, old and young, Dutch and English, are there alike enthusiastic in their joy. Such a reception as Mr. Spurgeon has met with in Holland is, I should think, rarely enjoyed. Everywhere his presence has been hailed with rapture, and the people seem to feel that the Lord has indeed sent him among them to do a great and special work. Many a fervent blessing has he received from the poor. They read his translated sermons, and get good from them, and then, though they cannot understand his language, they come just to gladden their hearts by a look at the man whose printed words have comforted, refreshed, or edified them. One peasant-woman, at the door of the Dom-Kirk at Utrecht, caught his hand, and with intense emotion said (in Dutch, of course)—'Oh, Mr. Spurgeon, God bless you! If you had only lived for my soul's sake, you would not have lived in vain. God bless you!' So from the Queen upon the throne to the humble peasant, God has given him favour in the sight of all the people." The party left Amsterdam on Monday, April 27, and reached Utrecht in the afternoon, the University, the Cathedral, and the pleasant gardens of the environs having an attraction on the one hand, while the manufactures had an interest of their own on the other. Spurgeon had come with his message of peace to a town which was remarkable for its foundry for cannon-balls. An hour after his arrival the preacher was in the pulpit of the Cathedral, and here also professors and students from the University attended in force to hear what he had to say. The audience was immense, and representative of the people of all classes. In Utrecht, Mr. Spurgeon was the guest of Baron van Boetyclace, who in the evening gave a reception, at which between one and two hundred persons were present, all of whom were supposed to understand English. All of these had come for an address, and they were privileged to listen to one of two hours' duration on the words, "I have given thee all them which sail with thee." At the close the expressions of approval were many, and they came from every direction. "I am more and more astonished at the spirit of hearing which seems poured out on the people of Holland," remarked one friend who was present. "They seem to thirst, to pant after the living water; their souls long for the pure simple Gospel, but their preachers give them instead Rationalism, and well-nigh starve them to death." The next stage was to Rotterdam, of which Erasmus was a native, and which next to Amsterdam is the greatest centre of commerce in Holland. The round of visits arranged for was now completed: the preacher had arrived at the port where he had landed a week before. Several services were arranged to be held in this city, as well as some gatherings in private houses, ministers and others being invited to attend. This was in all respects a striking journey, and no one was more surprised than Mr. Spurgeon himself at the size of the congregations and the enthusiasm of the people. Although the May meetings were in progress when the preacher returned, the tour excited considerable interest in England. In the course of a leading article a provincial daily paper said:—

"Mr. Spurgeon has recently made a short tour in Holland. Merely as a tourist in search of the picturesque he would probably not have selected a country without mountains, trees, or springs, but he went there in the exercise of his calling as an eloquent preacher of the Gospel, and had reason to be abundantly satisfied with his reception. The event is singular in its way, but withal unimportant, and we should not raise it above the dignity of small type were it not that the incidents of this preaching tour are rather startling to English prejudices. Everybody knows that Mr. Spurgeon belongs to almost 'the straitest sect of our religion.' He himself, of course, would trace his ecclesiastical lineage to the days of the Apostles, but his pretentions lack the visible seal of sacerdotal rank and Act of Parliament orthodoxy. In short, he belongs to a class of tolerated personages usually known as 'Dissenting ministers.' Measured by success he is the first preacher of the day, and those who include character and motive in their estimate of a Christian minister will find all possible suspicion as regards Mr. Spurgeon dispelled when they learn his incessant labours, his unwearied zeal, and his pecuniary disinterestedness. Yet, who can doubt that if it was announced to-morrow that he had been permitted to preach within the walls of any consecrated edifice in England, the most tremendous consequences would follow? The preacher's voice would do for our venerable Establishment what the celebrated rams' horns did for Jericho. Its hoary walls would fall down flat, crushing to death a host of beadles and bell-ringers, and disclosing to view a helpless host of mitred bishops and portly deans, rending their lawn robes, and howling over the day of conquest and profanation. We cannot for a moment suppose that Archdeacon Denison would survive such a catastrophe; but if he did, it would only be to end his days in pious solitude or to grasp his pilgrim staff and march off to Rome. We need not add that a fatal blow would be struck at the religious sensibilities of the nation, and that ten thousand pulpits would re-echo to terror-stricken audiences the voice of weeping lamentation and woe."

After giving a brief account of the tour itself, the writer goes on to take a more optimistic view of religion in Holland than the English preacher himself held, and a contrast is drawn between the Low Countries and England in regard to Protestantism:—

"Mr. Spurgeon gives, as well as might have been expected, a rather cheerless view of Dutch orthodoxy. 'Holland,' he says, 'is fifty years ahead of England in infidelity.' We are sorry to hear this statement, and we are tempted to fancy that his oratorical labours left him insufficient leisure for forming an accurate opinion, since it must be admitted that if the Dutch are fifty years ahead of us in infidelity, they are a couple of centuries ahead of us in Christian charity. It is not given to any man to be at once a fervid preacher and a calm and accurate critic of the tendencies of other minds. Certainly the immense crowds which followed him in the principal towns of Holland proved anything but a state of religious apathy, and if the tree is to be known by its fruits, Mr. Spurgeon must admit that the Dutch stand the test uncommonly well. But we do not care to dwell upon this point. Our purpose in referring to the subject at all is to hold up before the eyes of the Protestant public in England the singular contrast which Dutch Protestantism presents to ours. We sometimes fancy that we enjoy a monopoly of 'civil and religious liberty.' We never tire of felicitating ourselves upon the triumphs of freedom, as if nowhere else in Europe was the same unfettered scope permitted to the manifestation of religious conviction. We pass no judgment upon this complacency. Perhaps we are better Christians than the Dutch, and our way is more excellent than theirs, but it is also worth while to ask whether or no this is really the case, and at all events the contrast is instructive. Amid the fierce sectarianism of this country, religious people absolutely make fools of themselves if they chance to light upon some little humble flower of Christian charity. If the Archbishop of Canterbury shook hands with a Dissenting minister, the great event would forthwith have the run of all the papers, and provoke the fiercest denunciations in some section of the Press; and if a Dean just popped into a Methodist prayer-meeting, there are thousands who would set him down as worse than Colenso. The excellent Bishop of Melbourne once visited the dying bed of a distinguished Independent minister, and offered prayer with his family. It was a glorious prodigy of Christian sentiment; a sure sign of the millennium. A Dissenting minister in London preached a sermon on the marriage of the Prince of Wales, and having been induced to print it, he sent copies to Her Majesty and the Prince, who graciously accepted them. A denominational journal thought it worth while to chronicle this pleasing fact, and to moralise upon it as showing the immense advance we have made in late years in something, it is hard to say what, unless it be a sense of common politeness at the British Court. Yes, it is added, this sermon actually bore on its title page proof of its 'Nonconformist origin,' and yet it was not flung back in the face of the sender, as happened to an eminent Nonconformist divine under similar circumstances twenty years ago! It must, no doubt, be very grateful to a minister to have a copy of his sermon accepted by the Queen. He is justified in telling it to his wife, or explaining to his children the honour conferred upon him, or even perhaps in making a note of it in the family Bible, just to let his descendants know that they had a distinguished ancestor; but to inform the world that the loyal offering was not disdainfully rejected, and to parade it as a proof of wonderful liberality, makes us painfully aware how deeply the iron of State Churchism has pierced the soul of English manliness and self-respect. The process is quite natural. Preference leads to patronage and servility; assumption on one side provokes flunkeyism in the weaker natures on the other. We don't envy for Dissenting ministers the honour of being invited to Court, and it is not a matter of transcendent importance that they should be allowed the run of the Cathedrals. But it is a matter of some moment that Englishmen should become wiser, less prejudiced, more appreciative of mutual differences, more proficient in the graces of Christian charity. It is a matter of some moment that some of the many walls of partition which fence class from class, and make us strangers and aliens to one another in our own land, should be broken down, and the great elements of Christian character, wherever found, be recognised as superior to clashing doctrines. All this pertains to the growth of the nation in solid virtue and the development of the Church in honesty, manliness, vigour, and breadth." The effect of this tour was so exhilarating that the pastor felt stronger and more refreshed when he returned than when he set out. Some references were made to the subject at the Metropolitan Tabernacle on Sunday morning, May 3. At the annual meeting of the Religious Tract Society at Exeter Hall on the following Friday, Mr. Spurgeon was among the speakers. Some allusions were made to Christian union, as it had been understood, and as it was understood and practised at that time. The duty of putting good doctrine into all publications intended to diffuse the Gospel was then insisted upon by Mr. Spurgeon. The day, he said, had happily gone by already when it was thought necessary to talk much about Christian union, because it had been realised. It used to be thought something like the "Happy Family" on Waterloo Bridge to see ministers of different denominations met together on the same platform. They had now learned to see this to be their duty, and to feel that when they had done all in this matter they were unprofitable servants, that they ought to have loved each other long ago, and even now far better than they did. There was still "one holy Catholic and Apostolic Church"—and that Church was not loose in its creed. It had a creed as firm as if it were of cast-iron, and could no more be removed than the granite foundations of the globe; God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost, seen most plainly by us around the cross where the bleeding Saviour offers himself a sacrifice for sin. These truths constituted the warp and the woof of the Christian's creed; they felt that they could not disbelieve them, could not be Christians if they did not hold them fast, especially those truths about Jesus, of whom they could always say, "We cannot be right in the rest unless we think rightly of Him." But there were some rising up who objected to doctrinal preaching. It was not necessary, they said, in these days: practice, and perhaps a little experience, but no doctrine. But really, if you take away the doctrine, you have taken away the backbone of the manhood of Christianity—its sinew, muscle, strength, and glory. These men reminded him of Philip when he wished to enslave the men of Athens, and would have them give up their orators. Demosthenes replied, "So said the wolves; they desired to have peace with the shepherds, but the dogs must be first given up—those pugnacious dogs that provoked quarrels. The wolves would lie down peaceably with the lambs, and delight themselves with the sheep, if only those bad-tempered dogs were hanged." So perfect peace was promised among the sects if doctrines were given up; but, depend upon it, these were after all the preservation of the Church, which without them would soon cease to be. These men said they loved the house; they would not touch the furniture in it, not they; they loved the doors thereof, and the floor thereof, and especially the table thereof, and the cupboard thereof. They would by no means touch those things—they only wished to remove certain stones that projected a little above the floor; they would be quite content to get rid of the foundations, to have them torn up and sold for old bricks. His reply was, "We don't see it, gentlemen; we cannot agree to the terms." The men and their communications were known, and the school in which they had studied; and they were not ignorant of his devices who is the master and head of the school. "Burn the charts; what's the use of the charts? What we want is a powerful engine, a good copper-bottomed ship, an experienced captain, and strong, able-bodied mariners. Charts! Ridiculous nonsense—antiquated things; we want no charts; destroy every one of them. Our fathers used to navigate the sea by them; but we are wiser than they were. We have pilots who know every sand and sunken rock, who can smell them beneath the water—or by some means find them out. Men know what's o'clock nowadays; we don't want chronometers." So they put out to sea without the charts; and looking across the waters, they might expect to witness the shipwreck of those who thought themselves so wise, and fear sometimes lest they should hear their last gasp as they sank and perished. Supposing themselves to be wise, they became fools. The cry of those who were opposed to sound teaching was "Liberty;" but that did not mean liberty of conscience in the proper sense; it was the liberty to insist that black was white—a kind of freedom which was once illustrated by a diverting occurrence which took place in Ratcliff Highway. A man had a menagerie of wild beasts; and the elephant, fumbling about with his trunk one night, got hold of the peg which fastened his den. So he got out, and, being a member of the Liberation Society, he proceeded to let out the lions, and the wolves, and the jackals. There was soon a terrible noise in the back yard; and the master, waking up, rushed in among the animals with his whip, and soon had them back in their respective quarters. But for his promptness there might have been great mischief done to the people of London. The teachers of false doctrine were playing the part of the elephant, and the lies which they were letting loose upon society must be hunted back to their dens. There must be no liberty to pull up the buoys and to destroy the lighthouses of the Christian Church. It was an entire mistake to suppose that the people did not want doctrine; for the unlettered folks were just those who would receive it best and love it most. An illustration of this had lately happened to himself. Staying at the house of a lady in Holland, he was requested to speak to the three female servants, who had been interested in the reading of his sermons. He asked them in the course of the conversation which sermons they had liked best. One mentioned a discourse on the doctrine of election, the second one justification, and the third one on imputed righteousness—all devotional sermons. Depend upon it, if rich people did not want doctrine, the poor did. And observe, the Reformation had never succeeded in any country where its principles had only taken root in the minds of the higher classes. There were several nobles among the martyrs during the Reformation in Spain, but it was short-lived, because the people were not with it. When the sun shone only upon the mountain-tops the day had not fully dawned; but when the lowest valleys were flooded with its light, then the day had fully risen.

It was pointed out that if the Gospel was to be generally diffused throughout England, it would be necessary to begin low down; but if the people were to be instructed by reading, the reading needed to be made interesting. There were tracts so dry that they resembled chips in porridge, and their stupefying effect insured the reader a sound sleep. Mr. Spurgeon always held that the most effective way of opposing error was to proclaim the truth. Thus, he said on the present occasion, "You may shoot at the man of straw in the cherry tree if you will; but assuredly the best controversy in the world is the preaching of truth." He was also of opinion that Sunday reading was often duller than need be the case; and by way of proving this, he pointed out that the readings for Sundays in Kitto's "Daily Bible Illustrations" were less interesting than those for weekdays. "I see no reason why the highest truth should always be done up dry," he added. "A stroke of humour even in a sermon is not always out of place; but, like a flash of lightning on a dark night, it adds to the general impressiveness and the effect upon the mind." From this it will be seen how well the pastor of the Metropolitan Tabernacle understood the fact that no man could really gain and hold the attention of the multitude unless he succeeded in making his addresses interesting. This was always Spurgeon's aim as a preacher and a platform speaker, and how well he succeeded can be testified by those who listened to him. He also tried hard to get his students to imitate him in this respect, insisting that devotion and hard work would commonly carry a man through; and that genius, even if possessed, would never become a substitute for labour.

Some little time before the breaking up of the College for the summer vacation this year, Mr. Paxton Hood concluded a series of lectures which he had been requested to give to the students. Mr. Spurgeon and the other tutors attended most of these lectures, and expressed themselves as being greatly pleased. The session ended on Friday, July 31, with a meeting at the Tabernacle. "This is my one life's work, to which I believe God called me, and therefore I must do it," said the president on that occasion. "To preach the Gospel myself, and to train others to do it, is my life's object and aim." Only a short time before, one who was converted through reading one of Spurgeon's sermons had come all the way from Ceylon to be admitted into the College, and was not disappointed. Fourteen students also found settlements during the year. At this time, Mr. Spurgeon often preached in the open air, and seemed to delight in the practice. A London friend supplied the late Gawin Kirkham with the following reminiscences:—"In the year 18G3 I was living at St. Ives, Hunts. Hearing that Spurgeon, the young preacher, whose fame was everywhere, was to speak in the open air, my sister desired me to be ready for the driver who was to take me at the appointed time for 7 o'clock service in the summer evening.

"I sat somewhat behind, but where I could plainly see the dark figure and earnest countenance, and the clear voice was well heard all round.

"The portions read were from Numbers 21 and St. John 3; the text, Num 21:8-9. I hear him now, as he said, 'How those mothers would lift their children up and bid them look, and turn their faces toward the serpent. We cannot make our children look to Christ, but we can lift them up and turn their faces hitherward.' The service ended, but it was not forgotten. For many years afterwards I had charge of a mothers' meeting, and the one sentence quoted, if no other, was often repeated.

"I never saw Mr. Spurgeon again until the Sunday morning of October 19, 1879, when being within walking distance of the Tabernacle—or, at least, distance which I did walk—I went with a friend to hear him. After a time I had a seat in front of the platform, and not very far from it. The preacher entered, facing a mass of living souls—a mighty throng, above and below, every corner full, his students around him, near a small table a chair, on the back of which he laid his hand. Oh! what a different Spurgeon in physique those years had made him, in evident pain all the time he stood: the service proceeded. The hymn—

'So did the Hebrew prophet raise, The brazen serpent high,'

seemed to savour of a past day, but when the portions were read, and the text was given out as Num 21:9, I felt the coincidence to be remarkable. Waiting for the well-remembered sentence to mothers, I was not disappointed, and was able to recognise the whole sermon as the same. At the end of the service, a lady next me hastened to express to me her admiration; when I told her I had heard the same sermon twice, I fear she considered it a poor 'tribute,' for she remarked, 'He does not often preach the same sermon twice.' I replied I thought it was a good feature that he preached the same sermon in the little Huntingdonshire village that he did fifteen years afterwards to the great London congregation in the Tabernacle.

"At the close of the service Mr. Spurgeon told us that that sermon would be the 1,500th in the published series."