Charles H. Spurgeon, also known as the Prince of preachers, is famous for his sensational preaching and powerful sermons. But many do not know that Spurgeon was also a man of sorrow. For the vast majority of his life, Spurgeon struggled with depression, health troubles, obstacles in ministry, and personal tragedies.
Through all his trials and sufferings, Spurgeon always found comfort and encouragement in the God of all comforts. He said, “I find myself frequently depressed—perhaps more so than any other person here. And I find no better cure for that depression than to trust in the Lord with all my heart, and seek to realize afresh the power of the peace-speaking blood of Jesus, and His infinite love in dying upon the cross to put away my transgressions.”
And in this third volume of the Spurgeon Speaks Series, Jason K. Allen Allen curated seven of Spurgeon’s best sermons on persevering through trials. These include The Trial of Your Faith, The Joy in All Trials, The Present Crisis, For the Troubled, The Barley Field of Trial, The Greatest Trial on Record, and a Bottle in a Smoke. Each sermon also features a summary and a few notable quotes.
When I saw the announcement for the next volume of the Spurgeon Speak Series, I could not hold my excitement. Among the writings of mere uninspired men, I have found Spurgeon’s words to be the most encouraging and comforting. So I looked forward to reading some of his best sermons on suffering.
Like the other volumes in the series, Spurgeon on Persevering Through Trials is delightful! It is full of biblical encouragement that points to the Lord of hope and the Father of mercies. Through these sermons, Spurgeon explains the purpose and benefits of our pain, its brevity, Christ’s presence through it all, and the eternal glory and joy that awaits us. One sermon I especially found fascinating was the Greatest Trial on Record, which vividly tells of the passion of Christ for sinners.
I love Spurgeon on Persevering Through Trials and highly recommend it! Read these sermons, feast on their everlasting truths, and rejoice in the living hope they indicate. See also my reviews for Spurgeon on the Priority of Prayer and Spurgeon on the Power of Scripture.
Moody Publishers graciously gave me a copy, and this is my honest review.
Favorite quotes
“If you have faith, you have infinitely more than he who has all the world and yet is destitute of faith.”
“The more a gracious man suffers, the more he becomes capable of entering into fellowship with Christ in His sufferings, and so into fellowship with Christ in His glory by-and-by.”
“Wherever faith is found, it is the sure mark of eternal election, the sign of a blessed condition, the forecast of a heavenly destiny.”
“Grace breeds no sorrow, except the healthier sorrow which comes with saving repentance and leads to the joy of pardon. It comes not to make men miserable but to wipe all tears from their eyes.”
“A Christian cannot live without the manna nor without the rod. The two must go together. I mean that it is as great a mercy to have your salvation proved to you under trial as it is to have it sustained in you by the consolations of the Spirit of God. Sanctified tribulation works the proof of our faith, and this is more precious than that of gold.”
“Affliction is the stone which our Lord Jesus throws at the brow of our giant pride, and patience is the sword which cuts off its head.”
“When chastisements are of no avail, withdrawment follows. The Lord has promised that He will not forsake His people, nor will He utterly do so, but there are withdrawments which are not included in that promise…When these withdrawments of God are painfully felt, then we should begin most eagerly to search out the sin which has caused them, for sin is at the bottom of it all.”
“Now, child of God, if you are suffering today in any way whatever, whether from the ills of poverty or bodily sickness or depression of spirits, recollect there is not a drop of the judicial anger of God in it all.”
“Prayer is the soul’s breath, and if it breathes, it lives, and living, it will gather strength again. A man must have true and eternal life within him while he can continue still to pray, and while there is such life there is assured hope.”
“In the presence of Christ’s cross, our own crosses are less colossal. Our thorns in the flesh are as nothing when laid side by side with the nails and spear.”
“He who weighs the mountains in scales and the hills in a balance takes care to measure your troubles, and you shall not have a grain more than His infinite wisdom sees fit. The devil may seem to be turned loose upon you, but remember he is always a chained enemy.”
“The fire of our comforts will always have the smoke of trials with it.”
“Trust Him; throw yourself on Him. As a man commits himself to the waters, so do you; sink or swim! You will never sink, you will never sink; for “he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment.”
