Chapter 76: President of the London Baptist Association

Chapter 76.
President Of The London Baptist Association

New Chapels—Sustentation Fund—Sunday Opening of Museums and Picture Galleries—At Liverpool—Religious Tracts—Infant Salvation—At Aylesbury—Victoria Park—The College.

In 1869, Mr. Spurgeon was President for the year of the London Baptist Association. This honourable position involved the responsibility of ensuring the erection of a chapel for the use of the Baptist denomination in some needy district. At this juncture, however, a friend offered £500 on condition that the Association gave £1,500, so that Mr. Spurgeon thought that he would be able to commemorate his year of office by building two chapels instead of one. At the Spring meeting in Walworth Road Chapel, on April 13, he intimated that an eligible plot of ground had been purchased of the Government for the erection of a chapel at Battersea. In addressing the ministers and delegates present, Mr. Spurgeon, as President, made some references to the general outlook of the Baptist body. He said that their position as a denomination in London was not altogether ill, nor was it altogether well. There were some two hundred and seventy Baptist churches in the metropolis, about sixty or seventy of which were much higher in doctrine and lower in usefulness than they would like to accept as a representation of their position. Some of the churches were extremely weak, and struggling for existence. Their united membership could not exceed thirty thousand, and probably it would fall somewhat under that number. The number of baptised believers in the London churches was about proportionate to the number of those in the country, and it was a cause for regret that it should be so small, inasmuch as there was greater scope for the denomination in the metropolis than in the provinces. They were free from the influences of the country priests and the tyranny of squires and country landlords; so that success was easier of attainment in the metropolis than in many parts of the country. He thought, therefore, their increase should be much larger than it was. He was inclined to think that their Wesleyan brethren could labour more successfully amongst a population with but slender education; and that the middle classes seemed the best to appreciate the views which distinguished the Baptist denomination. He considered that they had, on the whole, a fine opportunity before them. Their fathers did not cultivate the field as they should have done, and it was for them to do more than they for the spread of their principles. He believed they occupied a great vantage ground at the present time. People had a strong desire to hear the Gospel preached, and the times were peculiarly favourable to religious thinking.

Some references were made to individual piety; and the pastor was sanguine enough to think that the great truth which distinguished the Baptist denomination was destined to become a leading question of the day. He thought that eventually people would inquire more into that truth, and believe in it more fully; and then, of course, other bodies would become absorbed into their own, and there would be only two sections left—the Baptists and the Romanists. As it was, their opportunity lay in zeal and union. There should be perfect unity in each church, and churches should be united with each other; the church officers should be in earnest about the spiritual health and prosperity of each member, and should attend the weekly services of the church. Ministers and deacons should do their best to increase and foster the spirit of prayer in their churches. Each minister should find work for his people to do, and should not think of attempting to do it all himself. Work was the secret of the church's increase. They should also urge upon their people greater generosity in the support of the cause of Christ; and he himself considered that the system of weekly offerings should be adopted almost universally. They, as ministers, must do their best to extend and to fill the churches. In cases where the chapel was not full, could they not fill it by preaching sometimes in the open air instead of to empty pews? Could they not sometimes have theatre services, and vacate their chapels for short periods to preach in music halls? All that was possible should be done to bring people within hearing of the Gospel; and it also seemed as though the time were coming when more stir might well be made in regard to Baptist principles. It was thought that there would certainly be a gain if opponents were only provoked to defend their cause. The need of enlisting the young, especially, in Christian work, was dwelt upon; and in passing, Mr. Spurgeon mentioned that in the aggregate a debt of £40,000 burdened the Baptist churches of London.

Some difficulty was found in selecting a master for the Stockwell Orphanage; and at last, when one was chosen, he disappointed the President and the managers by declining to serve. Just at that time, Mr. Charlesworth, who had for some time assisted Mr. Newman Hall at Surrey Chapel, happened to call upon Mr. Spurgeon, and expressed his willingness to undertake the office. Mr. Charlesworth appeared to be naturally drawn towards the work, and he has held the head-mastership from that day till the present.

Some effort continued to be made at this time to improve the condition of the Baptist denomination by the formation of a sustentation fund. At one of the Baptist Union meetings, Mr. Charles "Williams, of Southampton, moved that "the whole matter relating to such fund should be undertaken by an independent Board." The scheme did not make headway, and the question arose whether, in the event of such a fund being founded, the Union should have any control over it, or whether the managers should be an independent body. In the conversation which followed, many doctors of divinity took part; and Mr. Spurgeon said that he had always held a theory—which would no doubt find acceptance with all present—that all doctors were inspired with wisdom and could not err. At the same time, he did not see any difference between a Board and a committee, excepting that a committee had no heart and a Board had still less. Why appoint a committee at all? If they gave up the whole subject, confessing their inability to deal with it as a Union, why not say so, and leave the matter to such a body? It would be better to appoint themselves, unless they, as a Union, could appoint men who were infallible. As it seemed evident that the Union would not be able unanimously to arrive at any practical plan, Mr. Spurgeon moved an amendment, which was seconded and carried, to the effect that the matter should be undertaken by an independent Board. At the Union conference on April 29, Mr. Bailhache, of Islington, read a paper on "Church Membership," and an interesting discussion followed. The author of the paper clearly expressed his views, and to him there appeared to be a broad distinction between the Church and the world. Mr. Bigwood, however, held that modern churches were probably very unlike those of the New Testament, and he thought it inexpedient to adopt tests which had the effect of keeping people back from entering the Church. Such views hardly commended themselves to Mr. Spurgeon. He insisted that there was the same authority for requiring baptism as there was for expecting repentance and faith. Where, in the New Testament, was there a solitary instance of a person entering the Church who declined to be baptised? With regard to the proposition that persons were admitted into the Church with a view to salvation, it was negatived by the fact that the Church was to be a building of living stones. There was no rubric for the building-up of dead stones in order that they might be quickened. The Church was compared to a vine, and all the branches appeared to be the outgrowth of the inner life of the vine, or else they were liable to be removed by the pruning-knife. There was no instance of engrafting a dead branch with the view of its receiving life. He did not wish to lessen the distance between the Church and the world, but to increase it, and therefore he would plead for a different means of entrance into the Church from that which Mr. Bigwood adopted. He had refused many persons admission, and he must say that if he had never found a particle of chaff flying off from his wheat, he should think his fan was not of particularly great use. He did not think ministers were themselves exempt from Church discipline. There were some cases of unworthy men being elected who would never have been chosen if there had been a reference to the churches under whose authority they ought to have been. There ought to be a constant revision of the Church roll. He did not like to make any rule as to the time to be allowed to non-attendant members; every case ought to be taken upon its own. merits. Some members might be away for twelve months, but the absence of others from communion ought not to be tolerated for three months. He did not hold that our present tests were at all too stringent. Mr. Spurgeon took care to explain, however, that he objected to persons being brought before a Church meeting to be questioned by all who were present. He also mentioned that, since coming to London, he had received eight thousand persons into Church fellowship; but he had never met with such delicate cases as some which had been mentioned during the discussion.

Among the questions which also came up before the members of the Union was that of the proposed opening of museums and picture galleries on Sundays. It was moved that a petition be presented to Parliament against the proposed innovation; but this was met by an amendment, because the subject was "a very complex one, and required to be treated with considerable care, and fully discussed before the Union could see its way to any formal deliverance of opinion." When Mr. Spurgeon showed that by passing an amendment the members would virtually repudiate the petition and give a decision on the subject, there were cries of "No, no;" but, nevertheless, it was insisted that such would be the interpretation which people would put upon their action. He added, that he went very far, and to the extreme length of believing that a Government was instituted for governmental purposes only, and not for the maintenance of religion of any sort; but there was another truth which stood as a correlative. He held that a Government and every man, he he who he might, was responsible to the law of God, and he objected to the Government involving him in an act of Sabbath breaking, which it would do by opening his museum.

Though unable to be present at the presentation, Mr. Spurgeon at this time acted as treasurer of a fund which was presented to Mr. Samuel Green on his retirement from active ministerial service. The presentation took place at the Baptist Mission House on May 17, the amount raised being £420. On Wednesday, May 19, Mr. Spurgeon was at Liverpool as the guest of the Lancashire and Cheshire Baptist Association; and his sermon in Myrtle Street Chapel on Christian Enthusiasm produced a profound impression. The collection at the close on behalf of the County Mission amounted to over £80, and then followed a dinner at which three hundred persons sat down. At the evening meeting of the County Mission he was the principal speaker; and in reference to a remark made by one present on the excellence of Lancashire, he said he should have thought more of the county if it had returned Mr. Gladstone to Parliament. The loud applause which greeted this remark showed the extreme popularity of the great statesman among Baptists. Then the speaker conveyed the brotherly love of his Association in London; and went on to say that if the Association of the North were to prosper it would have to be, as far as possible, a real and practical thing. They might rest assured that almost all societies that were shams would go to pieces, and if they could show no actual work done by them as a fraternity they would be called to the bar of the public opinion of the Church, weighed in the balance, found wanting, and come to an inglorious end. This was true more and more in the present age, for this age was something like a bull in a crockery shop, turning itself and smashing everything, no matter how beautiful in style, that was breakable. Only that which was eternal and true would remain, on which account the work of winning souls would stand the test, if nothing else would. The work of the London Baptist Association was referred to, and that body was said to be strong for usefulness because the members were united. Friends in Lancashire were then assured that if they left off their useful work they would go to pieces, and deserve to do so:—

"One of our objects should be to promote thorough and hearty Christian union among the churches. There is plenty of nominal union, but I fear there is as yet nothing to spare in respect of real heart-union among Christians. Our London Association has been of the greatest imaginable benefit in promoting acquaintance and confidence amongst the brethren, in place of petty jealousies or disputes, which so often prove on calm examination to be bottomless, simply sufficing to make one wonder how there can be people with minds so little as to make so much of nothing at all. There is no time in these days for pettifogging quarrels. If our friends do not think so much or so highly of us individually as we think is proper and justifiable, let us begin to think less of ourselves than, judging by the existence of such an envious feeling, we have done previously. Our growth depends on our adopting to the fullest possible degree an aggressive policy, and in this connection I remind you that the average of Baptists to the total population is less here than in London. The great mass of the artisans here are not to be led by the nose by squire or priest. Let those be taught the equality, liberty, and fraternity of the Holy Scriptures, for that, depend upon it, is the weapon with which to win. There is such a chance for Baptists in this county that one might be inclined to run away from any other district to share in the conflict and, I trust, in the subsequent victory."

Village stations were advocated, so also was the work of the evangelist, which in those days was not so common as in our own. Then service by young men, children's services, the revival of colportage, were referred to in turn. The speaker also advocated the practice of his own favourite service of open-air preaching. "If the preachers cannot get the people together by wearing black coats, then let them wear red coats," he said, "or do whatever else within the bounds of honesty and morality by which they can win listeners and reach hearts. If the people will not come to the chapels, let earnest preachers make their sonorous clamour fill the streets," it was added. "Let them be, in this respect, humble but zealous imitators of their blessed Master, and preach more in the highways." The wide diffusion of Gospel and denominational tracts was strongly insisted upon. Of what kind were the tracts to be, however?—

"Not common ones; for really the most of them nowadays might almost be prescribed by physicians as soporifics. They have too much of the sedative character. In illustration of this I may repeat the story I have heard of a man who was said to have been found in a state of coma through reading a modern tract. The man had to be rubbed and have brandy and water administered to him. Furthermore, the tract had, it is said, to be carefully removed about half a mile distant before the man recovered; but I will not vouch for the accuracy of all this. What I recommend is, that we ought to issue tracts upon our own distinctive principles, pointedly "written, and they would be certain to be read. It may not be a strange thing for me to say that I became a Baptist, not through anybody explaining to me the doctrine of baptism, but through reading that old standard Baptist work commonly called the New Testament. But to the present moment, it remains a mystery to me how it was that during the fifteen years before I became a Baptist never did a Baptist tract or book cross my track. I do not know how it was that so numerous a body of people, conscientiously convinced of the truth that was in them, could consent to let their printed testimony be on the whole as if it were not at all—for one faith it was plain enough, but for one baptism it was exceedingly dim. We ought to have plenty of little handbooks and plenty of tracts—if we are wrong, then let us give up the wrong; bub if we are right, let us not be ashamed to teach what we hold. We are first of all Christians with our distinctive views—we rejoice whenever Christ is preached; we are glad when the Gospel sounds with a silver trumpet to every ear; but let us keep up our testimony of the Gospel by all means, and let us become more and more clearly evangelical. The world needs us as Baptists and Christians, and there are some things we can do that no other denomination will do. I am a sectarian; I am not a believer in the modern Diana of unity, which some people cry up so loudly. I believe denominationalism, instead of being a blot, is one of the beauties of our Christianity, just as I believe the separate existence of the twelve tribes was by no means any dishonour to Israel, but that they altogether helped to swell the patriarchal pomp. If Christians could be fused and moulded into one denomination this night I would not lift up my finger to do it. Never was the world so dark as when there was only one form of ecclesiastical organisation, and I am afraid that the temptation to be unjust would be quite as great again if some ecclesiastical union could be forced upon us. Besides, I am afraid there are truths that would then get into the background, if there was not some body of men to maintain them. I believe that the Church of God and the world at large need the Baptists just now, and have always needed them. When did they begin as a denomination? When Christ went down to the Jordan, and John baptised Him in its waters. Protestants, Wesleyans, Independents, Catholics—all modern sects—have sprung up in their day, and the Baptists are glad to see them prosper; but we ourselves are the old patriarchal church derived from the Apostles." A compliment was then paid to John Bright; it was such a great thing to he a man who saw the world gradually coming to his opinions; and it was pretty much the same with those Anabaptists who were formerly scoffed at and hunted down. The truths they held were becoming recognised. Above all, they were to take heed that they never grew respectable; for a denomination which became respectable was very near its funeral sermon. The poor were a boon, a source of strength to the Church, so that the strength of a congregation was not to be calculated by the number of Aldermen and Common-Councilmen who attended in their carriages. The poor had to have the Gospel preached to them; and it was with the weapons of the Gospel and the devotion of holy living that they would win fresh ground for Christ. By this time the influence of the Pastors' College had extended even to the Australasian Colonies. Mr. Ness, who had acted as assistant at the Metropolitan Tabernacle, having through ill-health resigned, proceeded to Melbourne and there founded a college, which Mr. Spurgeon regarded as a branch of his own, so that he made a grant of £100 to its funds.

It was now proposed to erect three chapels during Mr. Spurgeon's year of office as President of the London Baptist Association, and the first of these, at West Green, Tottenham, was opened on May 25, the President himself conducting the service. The building was situated in an improving neighbourhood, and was designed to accommodate four hundred persons. It had been put up some years previously, but having undergone some improvements and alterations, the chapel was well adapted for its purpose. After Mr. Spurgeon's sermon, there was dinner in a marquee, the great preacher presiding, and some will remember how genially he proposed the health of the Queen. Mr. Jesse Hobson had been the chief agent in procuring this building, and he was now suitably complimented; but, as the chairman pointed out, the enterprise could not have become successful apart from the aid of the Association. He believed that the Association was doing an important work in the metropolis, where the need for places of worship was so pressing. He was glad the present movement was in no way organised in opposition to other churches in the neighbourhood, for he had no sympathy with any efforts that were made to obtain congregations out of the churches of other denominations. At the same time, in so thickly populated a place as London, he thought they were none of them the worse for having plenty of other chapels in their neighbourhood. He believed it produced a healthy and mutual rivalry among the denominations. They were each so absorbed in their own views and principles that it did them good sometimes to be brought into contact with those who differed from them. Publishers in Paternoster Row did not find it mutually destructive to have their businesses in one street, and he did not think there would be any harm if they saw a street occupied on each side of the way with chapels belonging to the different denominations, and extending for a mile or so in length.

About this time Mr. Spurgeon embraced an opportunity which offered itself of expressing his views on the subject of infant salvation. Mr. Linscott, a member of the Bible Defence Association, was engaged in a discussion with a Mr. Antill, when the latter made a statement to the effect that the pastor of the Metropolitan Tabernacle had said, "There are infants in hell a span long." Mr. Linscott disbelieved the assertion, and on asking for the truth, he received the following answer:—

"Newington, S.E., June 12, 1869.

"Dear Sir,—I have never at any time in my life said, believed, or imagined that any infant, under any circumstances, would be cast into hell. I have always believed in the salvation of all infants, and I intensely detest the opinions which your opponent dared to attribute to me. I do not believe that on this earth there is a professing Christian holding the damnation of infants, or if there be, he must be insane, or utterly ignorant of Christianity. I am obliged by this opportunity of denying the calumny, although the author of it will probably find no difficulty in inventing some other fiction, to be affirmed as unblushingly as the present one. He who doubts God's Word is naturally much at home in slandering the Lord's servants.—Yours truly, "C. H. Spurgeon." On June 19 Mr. Spurgeon completed the thirty-fifth year of his age, and the day preceding was observed at the Stockwell Orphanage as a birthday celebration. The weather, which had been cold and wet, favoured the festival, and people were attracted in large numbers. There were crowded meetings in the afternoon, and some inconvenience was experienced on account of the company being so much larger than was expected. A wet day had been predicted, and it turned out a fine one; and this provoked Mr. Spurgeon to express his wonder that "the twopenny prophets" who were continually predicting wonders in heaven and earth did not give attention to the weather. An attempt was made at holding an open-air meeting, but after the President had given his speech, the large assembly gladly divided into two companies, each finding shelter in a separate building. The proceeds of the day amounted to £680. A few days later the services he undertook at Aylesbury were illustrative of what Spurgeon was continually doing as his ordinary week-day work, so long as health and strength allowed. The sermons were on behalf of the new Baptist church, and were given in the Corn Exchange. The pleasant little town presented a crowded appearance such as might have been characteristic of a fair-day, ministers, as well as the principal inhabitants of the surrounding district, being attracted in large numbers. A company of eight hundred persons sat down to tea in the butchers' market adjoining the Corn Exchange; and what struck some as a novel feature was the large number of poor persons who were drawn together.

Mr. Spurgeon appears to have been quite busy in attending the opening or the founding of new chapels during the early part of this year. On June 22 he laid the foundation-stone of the present chapel at Grove Road, Victoria Park, in the presence of a thousand persons. It was a peculiarly happy day; for the preacher not only looked upon his own aggressive work as President of the London Baptist Association, he was also witness to the success of one of the Pastors' College men in a sphere in which others had successively failed. The congregation had been in existence for some years, but it had dwindled and had shown no signs of prosperity until Mr. G. D. Evans had undertaken the pastorate. The new chapel, in the Italian style, was for eight hundred persons, and the cost was under £5,000. After laying the stone of the building, Mr. Spurgeon made some remarks on "Holy Places":—

"I wish we did not need any places for worship, but that we could preach as the disciples did in Palestine or at the seaside, for then would those who never go to places of worship have the Word of God sounding in their ears like a silver bell. The more the Church in England keeps to open-air preaching the better; and the more it confines itself to what are superstitiously called 'holy places,' the more will it weaken itself amongst the masses of society. I do not know what may be the views of some of my brethren in the ministry around me: I do not attach any holiness to a place because it is given up to worship; I conceive all places to be holy where men meet for a holy purpose, and any places unholy where men may be found teaching conspiracy against God. I do not believe we are building a sanctuary. Under the old law, the temple was holy in a typical sense, but from the day the Lord ascended up to Heaven He made all places free to worship in; and now

'Where'er we seek Him, He is found, And every place is hallowed ground.'

I confess to looking with considerable suspicion upon those who oppose the delivery of secular lectures—provided they are for the good of the people—in a place of worship."

It was explained that one reason why churches were formed was for their testimony, to which sufficient importance did not seem to be attached. The Gospel was needed by all classes; and out of the population of London few had the Gospel preached to them. There were thousands in the metropolis who knew no more about the Gospel than they did about the Great Cham of Tartary. All classes seemed to be about equally badly off; it was not the poor alone who, through being degraded, needed to be lifted up. "I regret to say it, but it is a fact that the rich prove as immoral as the poor; and if the poor man sometimes becomes a blackleg, I have my example in the upper classes. The revelations of the bankruptcy and other courts have lately taught people that many of the right honourables were right abominables; and the manner in which some of the members of the legislative assembly have broken their pledges proves that the high places are as much addicted to sin as the lowest dens and kens of London." How to get at so vast a population did not plainly appear, but all were urged to use such weapons as they were able to wield in the war against sin. The young men educated in the College who were undertaking such aggressive Christian work as the church at Victoria Park represented attracted considerable notice on both sides of the Atlantic, and they, as well as their methods and characteristics, were freely criticised from various standpoints. About this time an article on the subject appeared in The New York Examiner, and as the production of one who had made special inquiries in England, the estimate was apparently that of an impartial American. After showing who the students were, how they were supported and taught, etc., the American said in conclusion:—

"No mere array of facts, however, enables one to form an ample and satisfactory judgment in respect to an institution like that here described. Failing to see the men, I instituted inquiries. It is, in the first place, a good deal to say that the scheme has Mr. Spurgeon's own full confidence. He is not the man to spend his strength on unavailing labours. But I sought equally the views of brethren not connected in any wise with the Tabernacle. The opinions expressed to me were somewhat various, according to the points of view from which they were taken; but, except in one or two instances, they were not widely apart. The sum of the testimony was in favour of the College, and the objections urged were such as we should urge on this side of the Atlantic with even greater emphasis. The evangelical spirit, the godly earnestness of the young men, and the usefulness of their labours of winning souls to Christ and gathering churches, were fully recognised and applauded. On these points I recall no exceptions to the common verdict. I think the esprit de corps by which they are distinguished sometimes takes forms which are not agreeable to outside brethren, and that while their intense zeal is recognised as the instrument of large immediate results, they are, in instances more or less frequent, regarded as open to the criticism of lacking the intellectual discipline and culture necessary for sustained and permanent usefulness on the same fields. In other words, such of them as these are better evangelists than pastors, better fitted for itinerant than for fixed service. Instances of this kind were named to me as bringing local discredit upon the whole system—a result equally natural and illogical.

"Sufficient time has not yet elapsed for judgments to be regarded as final. Most of the men are still young—few or none have reached the full maturity of their powers. It is the belief, however, of Mr. Rogers, though I doubt whether it is greatly his ambition, that preachers and theologians destined to eminence and permanent fame will ultimately rise out of this mass of young men, as they have always arisen out of the mass of the Dissenting ministry of England."

It was never Mr. Spurgeon's ambition to train theologians; he merely wanted effective popular preachers