Your Weekly Dose of Susannah Spurgeon

If you are a regular visitor to our blog you would be hard pressed not to see how much we enjoy and appreciate books! On this score, Mrs Susannah Spurgeon is one of our heroines as she also saw the tremendous value in reading, but moreover set up a ministry sharing her value of books among others.

As Charles Ray writes, Mrs Spurgeon is not only remembered as "the wife of the great preacher to whom she rendered such valuable help and encouragement", her name also deserves "to live for ever in the annals of the Christian church in connection with her fund for supplying theological books to clergymen and ministers too poor to buy them".

Charles Spurgeon himself recognised the importance and necessity of this ministry: 'How can many of our ministers buy books? How can those in the villages get them at all? What must their ministries become if their minds are starved? Is it not a duty to relieve the famine which is raging in many a manse? Is it not a prudential measure, worthy of the attention of all who wish to see the masses influenced by religion, that the preachers who occupy our pulpits should be kept well furnished with material for thought? Does anybody wonder if preachers are sometimes dull?'

The book fund started off simply. In 1875, Charles Spurgeon completed Lectures to My Students of which his wife stated: 'I wish I could place it in the hands of every minister in England.' Spurgeon's reply: 'Then why not do do: how much will you give?' With the challenge laid down, Susannah sold some 'carefully hoarded crown pieces' which sufficed the finance for 100 copies of Mr Spurgeon's work. At this point the Book Fund was inaugurated.

Much of the work has been recorded in one of her own publications, Ten Years of My Life in the Service of the Book Fund, but you can read more of the growth and success of the Book Fund here and here. Mrs Spurgeon therefore remains, for me, not only an example of a godly wife and mother, but also one who single handedly sought to spiritually nourish many, who through no fault of their own could not afford the luxury of reading good theological books.

Your Weekly Dose of Susannah Spurgeon

While Nicki is away on holiday, it falls to me to supply your weekly dose of Mrs Spurgeon. This week I want to leave you with another quote from her book of daily devotions which has recently been republished along with her biography, and is well worth investing in. In a meditation entitled The Loveliness of God's Will, she dwells on Matthew 6:10,

"Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven"

Susannah Spurgeon writes:

"When my soul is tossed on the rough waves of the troubled sea of this life, if I can but cast out the anchor of hope into the depths of God's blessed will, it holds fast at once and the winds and the waves are rebuked...

God's plans and purposes for me, and for you, dear reader, were all made and determined on from the beginning; and as they are worked out day by day in our lives, how wise should we be if, with joyful certainty, we accepted each unfolding of his will as a proof of his faithfulness and love! When once I, as a believer, can say from my heart, 'This is the will of God concerning me', it matters not what the 'this' is - whether it be a small domestic worry, or the severance of the dearest earthly ties - the fact that it is his most blessed will, takes all the fierce sting out of the trouble, and leaves it powerless to hurt or hinder the peace of my soul. There is all the difference between the murderous blows of an enemy, and the needful chastisement of a loving father's hand! The Lord may make us sore, but he will bind us up. He may wound but his hands make whole. "

I'm not sure what lies before you week, but we can be sure that whatever comes, it is God's will. What a difference it would make to my life if everyday I "accepted each unfolding of his will as a proof of his faithfulness and love". This week, let's allow that truth to transform the way we think about our difficult job, the discipline and routine of home-making or the particular struggles we are facing.

Your Weekly Dose of Susannah Spurgeon

Today's weekly dose of Susannah is perhaps the most challenging words I've read about her life and marriage to Charles. As a pastor's wife I can relate to much of her experiences and at many times I am challenged, in fact, rebuked, by her response to particular circumstances.

There are not many times when any of us get too personal on this blog. However, on the back of a particularly difficult weekend in terms of how I am called to help my husband in ministry, these words are a fresh reminder of my need to keep the glory of God as my focus when tempted to react to situations that He has called me otherwise to be obedient and faithful. Therefore, I want to share, some of Susannah and Charles' story, and in particular, Susannah's response to her call to be a helper to her husband in ministry. Charles Ray writes in his biography:

The constant absence from home of Charles Haddon Spurgeon in fulfilment of his preaching engagements were sources of sore trial to the young wife. Often tired of waiting in the sitting-room late at night for his return, she would pace up and down the passage, praying that he might be brought back in safety to his home, and with what a thrill of joy and thankfulness did she open the door and welcome him, when his step was heard outside.

Once and only once she broke down, when her dear one was about to leave in the early morning for a distant mission, and the tears could not be kept back. 'Wifey,' said her husband, 'do yout think that when any of the children of Israel brought a lamb to the Lord's altar as an offering to him they stood and wept over it when they had seen it laid there?' and when she replied in the negative, he added, tenderly, 'Well don't you see, you are giving me to God in letting me go to preach the gospel to poor sinners, and do you think he likes to see you cry over your sacrifice?'

'Could ever a rebuke have been more sweetly and graciously given?' says Mrs Spurgeon. 'It sank deep into my heart, carrying comfort with it and thenceforward when I parted with him, the tears were scarcely ever allowed to show themselves, or if a stray one or two dared to run over the boundaries he would say, "What! crying over your lamb, wifey?" and this reminder would quickly dry them up, and bring a smile in their place.'

Like Susannah, I have shed my bucket load of tears, not least this weekend! There are so many times that I doubt whether I can really cope being married to a pastor and his ministry! Yet, I know that God has called each person to live sacrificially in order that he can fulfil his purposes through us. Perhaps God is asking you to sacrifice some kind of comfort, finance, relationship or even your spouse, so that his Kingdom can be advanced.

For me, this weekend did not demand much from my life, except a willing and obedient spirit to support my husband and free him to to do his job. The irony of the whole weekend is that it was a quiet one in terms of preaching, or leading the church service, and yet, the small things he needed to do did not have my full support. My prayer once again is that God would forgive me and guard me from resentment and selfishness, and instead, grant me a willing spirit to lay daily on the altar the sacrifices he demands.

Your Weekly Dose of Susannah Spurgeon

For today's dose of Susannah Spurgeon I want to break from the usual pattern. Rather than look at some aspect of her life from which we can learn, I'd like to commend some of her writings. Many of you will be familiar with Charles Spurgeon's Morning and Evening Devotions, but how many of you are aware that Susannah has also penned for us some Morning Devotions?

Psalm 139 is for many of us an awe inspiring piece of Scripture. In it we find David inviting the Lord to search his life. Knowing that God is ultimately sovereign over all aspects of life, from it's inception to the nitty gritty of everyday circumstances, David asks God to inspect his life so that he can reveal any grievous way in his life so that he can lead him anew in the everlasting way.

Today I'd like to commend to you some of Susannah's thoughts on this psalm for your meditation.

'Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off.' (Psalm 139:2).

Thou Knowest. Come my soul, here is a test as to your spiritual condition! Will you apply it? Will you be weighed in the balance of the sanctuary, and see whether or not you are found wanting? Does your Lord's intimate knowledge of your every thought, and desire, and action, oppress and disconcert you, or are you willing and glad to live under such close inspection, and even to covet the glances of that eye which searches you through and through?

'My Downsitting and mine uprising.' Lord, do you love me so much as to watch tenderly over me in such small matters? How the thought comforts me! We do not care about the everyday life of strangers: but when we love anyone dearly, we take great interest in all that concerns them; and even so, my God, this searching, knowing, understanding, compassing, besetting, laying of your hand upon me, are all most precious tokens to me of your indescribable love.

How watchful and careful should this knowledge make me! 'My downsitting and mine uprising.' My home life! My daily duties, both of work and of leisure! My going out and my coming in, my conduct and bearing under all circumstances! How these are all gathered into the compass of those five words! Lord, help me to walk worthy of you, unto all pleasing!

'Thou understandest my thought afar off.' What infinite knowledge! Well may the psalmist say, 'It is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it'!

Before I think, God knows my thought! O my soul, are not your thoughts the source of most of your grievous perplexities and sorrows? They are often so unruly and rebellious, sometimes unholy and profane, that all your efforts to bring them into captivity to the law of Christ are unavailing! Then, see where your help lies.

The God who can understand your thoughts 'afar off' has the power to restrain them; no, more than that; before they reach you , while they are yet distant and unexpressed, he will purify and cleanse them, so that they shall enter your heart as angel whispers, and pass your lips only as words of love and blessing.

Dear Master, I make your servant David's prayer my very own and say, 'Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me and know my thoughts; and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.'

Your Weekly Dose of Susannah Spurgeon

Last week we looked at the way in which Susannah Spurgeon selflessly used her house for the glory of God and good of others. This week we are going to further consider Susannah's selfless way of life as she and Charles lived a frugal life in order that others may benefit.

Not long married, we read in Charles Ray's biography that: "housekeeping was commenced on a very modest scale, for C.H. Spurgeon was keenly anxious to provide a training for young preachers who needed a course of education to fit them for the ministry." This was something that Susannah herself became committed to and she "threw herself into the work with a zeal not less than his own."

Charles Ray goes on to describe her as a "splendid manageress, and by means of rigid economies quite a substantial amount was saved towards the support and education of the first student, the success of this effort leading to the foundation of the Pastor's college....There were times when the devoted couple abstained from almost necessary things in order to have money to help on the work, and to the young wife it must have been truly a period of anxiety when 'means were sorely strained and the coffers of both College and household were well-nigh empty'. But there were joys which more than compensated for any cares of this kind."

Upon reading this I found myself asking the question: do I take time to sit down and plan how I can use my money to glorify God and bless others? Perhaps this is something you might want to do over the next few weeks. If you are married and have a family, this might be a good opportunity to sit together and consider how you might sacrifice some household comfort in order that you can give more to God's work. It might not lead to the founding of a Pastor's College, but it may well bless a brother or sister in need. May we be able to can echo these words of Susannah Spurgeon:

"I rejoice to remember how I shared my beloved's joy when he founded the Institution, and that together we planned and pinched in order to carry out the purpose of his loving heart."

Your Weekly Dose of Susannah Spurgeon

For this week's dose of Susannah Spurgeon we consider the beginnings of home life for Susannah following her marriage to Charles. While reading Charles Ray's biography, one thing struck me in particular: the use of their home in service to God and others.

Charles and Susannah's first home was in New Kent Road, London: a "modest" house, where the "best room became the library." Mrs Spurgeon explains:

'We never encumbered ourselves with...a drawing room, perhaps for the good reason that we had no need of so useless a place - but more especially I think, because the best room was always felt to belong by right to the one who "laboured much in the Lord." Never have I regretted this early decision; it is a wise arrangement for a minister's house, if not for any other.'

In thinking about this, I found myself asking this question: Do I organise and utilise my house in such a way that my devotion to God and service to others is enhanced? How willing are we (even with limited space) to sacrifice our comfort for the service of others? Ultimately, Spurgeon's library was to benefit others in the preaching of God's Word. But are our homes designed to benefit others, or are they nests for our own comfort? Even more, are they designed to enhance our devotion to God?

For example, John Piper in his book, When I Don't Desire God finds it incredulous that more Christians do not partition off some space in their house for personal prayer and devotions. Piper writes:

There needs to be a measure of privacy so that you are not distracted and are able to read and sing and cry. If complete seclusion is not possible, create the best situation you can, explaining to spouse or children or roommates that when you are in that chair at that hour you would like to be undisturbed. I would suggest that you think creatively about the place of prayer.

I have often wondered why Christians build houses with a room designated for play (called a den) and for food (called a kitchen) and for sleep (called a bedroom) and for cleaning (called a bathroom) and for clothes (called a closet), but do not build a room for the solitude of prayer and meditation. But if we gave thought to this, could we not find or create such a space? The reason we don’t do it is mainly that nobody thinks of it. But now I have caused you to think of it. Where could you create such a space? Is there a space under the stairs that could have a kneeling mat
and a prayer bench and a light?

In 1975, when we bought our first home, I built a prayer bench with a place for my elbows in a kneeling posture, and a place for my Bible to lie, and a shelf underneath for the Bible or other books and a notepad. It has been with me ever since in three different houses. For the last twenty-one years we have lived in the same house, and there has a been a nook in my study, created by positioning filing cabinets to block it off from the rest of the space. There the prayer bench welcomes me every morning and several times during the day. God alone knows the tears and songs that have mingled there. I urge you to think creatively. Seriously consider building a place of prayer, even if it is just the rearrangement of furniture or the cleaning out of an unused storage space.

Your Weekly Dose of Susannah Spurgeon: Marriage

Today we come to the wedding of Susannah Thompson and Charles Haddon Spurgeon. For many, the prospect of getting married brings much anticipation and nervousness, tinged with a sense of the awesomeness of the commitment about to be taken. This was no less true for Susannah and Charles, as we shall see.

The marriage between Susannah was no ordinary wedding, far from the quiet 'just for family and friends' ceremony. Instead, we find two young people pledging their lives to one another, not only before God, but before many. Charles Ray in his biography writes:

The wedding of Susannah Thompson and Charles Haddon Spurgeon took place at New Park Street Chapel on January 8th, 1856, Dr Alexander Fletcher of Finsbury Chapel officiating. As may be imagined in the case of a man whose name was in everybody's mouth, and whose remarkable work was the topic of discussion up and down the country, it was quite impossible for the wedding to be a quiet one.

At a very early hour in the morning, people began to gather outside the Chapel, ladies being among the first arrivals, and soon after eight o'clock the crowd had swelled to such proportions, that New Park Street and some adjoining thoroughfares were blocked with people, and traffic was practically at a standstill. A special body of police had to be summoned to prevent accidents.

When the Chapel doors were at last opened, there was a rush for seats, and less than half an hour the building was filled to its utmost extent. Large numbers who had tickets of admission but arrived late were unable to gain entrance. Many went home when they found that there was no chance of their being able to get inside the chapel, but some thousands remained in the streets to see the bridegroom enter and leave.

It must have been a trying ordeal for the modest and retiring girl. She had risen early and spent much time in her bedroom in private prayer. Although awed with a sense of responsibilities which she was about to assume, she was 'happy beyond expression' that the Lord had so favoured her, and on her knees, with no one else near, she earnestly sought strength and blessing and guidance in the new life opening before her.

Driving through the city to the chapel with her Father, Susannah's chief thought was whether the crowds 'knew what a wonderful bridegroom she was going to meet.' Bewildered by the many spectators, Susannah remembered little more until she was inside the Chapel.

Charles Ray continues:

The service was commenced by the congregation singing the hymn, 'Salvation, O, the Joyful Sound!' after which Dr Fletcher read the hundredth Psalm and prayed for the divine blessing upon the young couple. The venerable minister then gave a short address and the wedding ceremony was performed in the usual manner. The reading of another lesson, a hymn sung by the congregation and a closing prayer, completed the proceedings, and Mr and Mrs Spurgeon, after receiving the congratulations of their friends in the chapel, drove away amid the crowds gathered outside the building.

Charles and Susannah later spent ten days of honeymoon in Paris. Some years later during one of C.H. Spurgeon's numerous visits to the city he wrote to Susannah: 'My heart flies to you as I remember my first visit to this city under your dear guidance. I love you now as then, only multiplied by many times.'

Your Weekly Dose of Susannah Spurgeon

Last week we considered some of the more difficult moments Susannah worked through in her courtship with Charles Spurgeon. Today for your weekly dose, we're going to further consider their impending marriage and what I would call "demands and absence: the demands of ministry, yet not at the expense of love's absence, and the absence of togetherness, while failing to succumb to selfish demands."

While re-reading about Susannah and Charles' courtship, a few things struck me about the commitment they had not only to one another, but moreover to God himself, and the paths he had marked out for them. I cannot help but be reminded at how dependent Susannah was upon her God as she took on the role as the wife of such a popular preacher. Not only that, at times the demands upon Charles' life left him separated from his earthly love, which would leave him with a burden of absence. Such absence is expressed in some of Charles' letters just before he married Susannah.

As I share some words from Charles Ray's biography concerning the demands of marrying such a preacher, and the burden of absence felt by Charles, it is somewhat striking, when in our courting and marriages today, we demand the right to spend so much time with our partners at the risk of pushing God and ministry to the side. Don't get me wrong, it is vitally important to have 'quality time' with those God gives us. But the example of Charles and Susannah does not fail to reflect the deep, deep love they had for one another and how they cherished every moment together while God's work was faithfully carried out. Charles Ray writes:

When the young minister was in London he had little time for courtship, and when he did visit his fiancee at her Brixton home he usually took proofs of a sermon with him to revise for the press. 'I learned to be quiet and to mind my own business while this important was going on', says Mrs Spurgeon. 'It was a good discipline for the Pastor's intended wife.'

...His wonderful popularity and success as a preacher naturally delighted and awed the timid maiden, but with the pleasure was mingled something of anxiety and distress, for the strain on the preacher's physical power when addressing the large congregations that gathered at Exeter Hall was tremendous, and his fiancee, sitting watching him from the body of the Hall, often felt she must rush to his succour....'Oh, how my heart ached for him! What self control I had to exercise to appear calm and collected and keep quietly in my eat up in that little side gallery! How I longed to have the right to go over and comfort and cheer him when the service was over! But I had to walk away, as other people did - I who belonged to him and was closer to his heart than anyone there! It was sever discipline, for a young and loving spirit.'

In a letter to Susannah from a preaching trip to Scotland, Charles writes:

'Oh! what it is to be popular, to be successful, to have abundance, even to have love so sweet as yours - if I should be left of God to fall and to depart from his ways? I tremble at the giddy height on which I stand, and could wish myself unknown, for indeed, I am unworthy of all my honours and my fame.'

And yet, amid such struggling thoughts of God, ministry and fame, Charles' affection for Susannah never wained, yet grew deeper, if that were possible in her absence. He writes:

'I have had daydreams of you while driving along...I thought you were very near me. It is not long, dearest, before I shall again enjoy your sweet society, if the providence of God permits. I knew I loved you very much before, but now I feel how necessary you are to me, on my return, more attentive to your feelings, as well as equally affectionate. I can now thoroughly sympathize with your tears, because I feel in no little degree that pang of absence...How then must you, with so much leisure, have felt my absence from you even though you well knew that it was unavoidable on my part! My darling, accept love of the deepest and purest kind from one who is not prone to exaggerate, but who feels that here there is no room for hyperbole.'

As Charles Ray concludes: "It must have been no ordinary woman who could draw such letters from Charles Haddon Spurgeon."

Stay posted next week for Susannah and Charles' marriage, and what an occasion that was!

Your Weekly Dose of Susannah Spurgeon

Last week's Weekly Dose of Susannah Spurgeon hit the spot with all you romantics out there! As one reader made note: how often do we let TV and movies spoil our idea of romance! (But that's another post!) What a great love story Susannah and Charles exampled! However, this doesn't mean to say things were always rosy in the garden. Here is another excerpt from Charles Ray's biography of Susannah Spurgeon. It tells of how they both had to grow in certain areas: "that Charles may have space for mending, and that 'Susie' may exhibit her growth in knowledge of his character, by patiently enduring his failings."

At times the preacher would be so absorbed in his great mission, when about to preach, that on his fiancée entering the vestry, he would fail to recognize her and merely greet her with a handshake as if she were some casual acquaintance or visitor. Once there was a more trying experience still. C. H. Spurgeon was to preach in a large hall at Kennington on a certain afternoon and Miss Thompson accompanied him thither in a cab. The pavement outside the building was thronged with people as were also the entrance hall and staircase leading to the auditorium, and the maiden had hard work in struggling through the mass of people and trying to keep near her lover. Suddenly he turned in at a side door on the landing, leaving Miss Thompson to manage as best she could in the throng eagerly pressing forward to get into the hall. The burden of souls was resting heavily upon the preacher, and occupied with the momentousness of the message he was to deliver, he had forgotten all about his poor fiancée.

Miss Thompson's feelings at what she considered an unpardonable slight, may easily be imagined. "At first," she says, "I was utterly bewildered, and then, I am sorry to have to confess, I was angry." She at once returned home, without making any further effort to get to a seat, her indignation and grief increasing momentarily. But the young girl possessed that best of gifts a wise and loving mother, who with the greatest tact sought to soothe her daughter's ruffled spirits. "She wisely reasoned," says Mrs. Spurgeon, "that my chosen husband was no ordinary man, that his whole life was absolutely dedicated to God and His service, and that I must never, never hinder him by trying to put myself first in his heart.

Presently, after much good and loving counsel, my heart grew soft, and I saw I had been very foolish and wilful; and then a cab drew up at the door and dear Mr. Spurgeon came running into the house in great excitement, calling, 'Where's Susie? I have been searching for her everywhere and cannot find her; has she come back by herself?' My dear mother went to him, took him aside and told him all the truth; and, I think, when he realized the state of things, she had to soothe him also; for he was so innocent at heart of having offended me in any way, that he must have felt I had done him an injustice in thus doubting him. At last, mother came to fetch me to him, and I went downstairs. Quietly he let me tell him how indignant I had felt, and then he repeated mother's little lesson, assuring me of his deep affection for me, but pointing out that, before all things, he was God's servant, and I must be prepared to yield my claims to His. I never forgot the teaching of that day; I had learned my hard lesson by heart, for I do not recollect ever again seeking to assert my right to his time and attention when any service for God demanded them."

The incident closed happily with a cozy tea at her mother's house, and Mrs. Spurgeon speaks of the sweet calm which reigned in the hearts of all after the storm of the afternoon. When a few weeks later the preacher was to fulfill an engagement at Windsor he wrote and asked his fiancée to accompany him, adding, "Possibly, I may be again inattentive to you if you do go, but this will be nice for us both, - that Charles may have space for mending, and that 'Susie' may exhibit her growth in knowledge of his character, by patiently enduring his failings."

Your Weekly Dose of Susannah Spurgeon

The "dawning of love" in the courtship of Charles and Susannah is the theme of today's weekly dose of Susannah Spurgeon. The excerpts below raises some interesting questions about the way we initiate relationships today.

On the 10th June 1854, a large party of friends including the young preacher and Susannah gathered at the opening of the Crystal Palace in Sydenham. Here is Susannah's recalling of that time:

As we sat there talking, laughing and amusing ourselves as best we could, while waiting for the procession to pass by, Mr Spurgeon handed me a book into which he had been occasionally dipping, and, pointing to some particular lines said, "What do you think of the poet's suggestion in those verses?" The volume was Martin Tupper's Proverbial Philosophy...The pointing finger guided my eyes to the chapter 'On Marriage', of which the opening sentences ran thus:

Seek a good wife of thy God, for she is the best gift of His providence;
Yet ask not in bold confidence that which he hath not promised:
Thou knowest not his good will; be thy prayer then submissive there unto;
And leave thy petition to Hismercy assured that He will deal well with thee.
If thou art to have a wife of thy youth, she is now living on the earth;
Therefore think of her and pray for her weal!

"Do you pray for him who is to be your husband?" said a soft, low voice in my ear- so soft that no one else heard the whisper. I do not remember that the question received any vocal answer; but my fast-beating heart, which sent a tell-tale flush to my cheeks, and my downcast eyes, which feared to reveal the light which at once dawned in them, may have spoken a language which love understood.

From that moment a very quiet and subdued little maiden sat by the young pastor's side, and while the brilliant procession passed round the Palace, I do not think she took so much note of the glittering pageant defiling before her, as of the crowd of newly-awakened emotions which were palpitating within her heart. Neither the book nor its theories were again alluded to, but when the formalities of the opening were over, and the visitors were allowed to leave their seats, the same low voice whispered again, "Will you come and walk round the palace with me?"

During that walk...God himself united our hearts and in indissoluble bonds of true affection, and, thou we knew it not, gave us to each other for ever. From that time our friendship grew apace and quickly ripened into deepest love.

Less than two months after the incident at the Crystal Palace, C.H. Spurgeon formally proposed for the hand of Susannah Spurgeon. There is no record of the words Charles spoke in his declaration of love to Susannah, only that his confession was "wonderful" and "was there ever quite such a bliss on earth before?"

Charles Ray in his biography writes: "They were one in heart, in soul, in inclination, and even at this stage the great preacher had communicated to his fiancee much of his own spirituality and earnestness. There was more than mere earthly affection in their love for one another, and both felt that indeed the finger of God had marked out a united course for them. Susannah writes:

To me, it was a time as solemn as it was sweet; and with a great awe in my heart, I left my beloved and, hastening to the house and to an upper room, I knelt before God and praised and thanked him with happy tears for his great mercy in giving me the love of so good a man. If I had known then how good he was and how great he would become, I should have been overwhelmed, not so much with the happiness of being his, as with the responsibility which such a position would entail.

In a letter to Susannah, Charles wrote not long after his proposal remarkable words which speak volumes as to the character of both the writer and the recipient:

Dear purchase of a Saviour's blood, you are to me a saviour's gift, and my heart is full to overflowing with the thought of such continued goodness. I do not wonder at his goodness, for it is just like him, but I cannot but lift my voice at his manifold mercies...Whatever befall us, trouble and adversity, sickness or death, we need not fear a final separation, either from each other or our God. I am glad you are not here just at this moment, for I feel so deeply that I could only throw my arms around you and weep.

In light of what we have read today, a few questions come to mind:

1. What role does prayer have in our pursuit of a lifetime partner?

2. How important might it be to marry someone who is "one in heart, in soul, in inclination?"

3. What place do solemnity and sweetness respectively play in the coming together of a husband and wife?

4. In view of C.H. Spurgeon's letter to Susannah, how important is it that we can say of a prospective spouse: "Whatever befall us, trouble and adversity, sickness or death, we need not fear a final separation, either from each other or our God"?

Your Weekly Dose of Susannah Spurgeon

Last Monday we looked back to the first steps of Susannah Thompson's faith which were to lead to a sacrificial life of marriage and ministry with Charles Haddon Spurgeon. Today we are going to tell you about Susannah's first contact with Charles which was to develop into a deep and intimate friendship.
Sunday 18th December 1853 marked the day in which the young Spurgeon (19) preached for the first time at New Park Street Chapel. Susannah did not venture out to church that morning, but after the praise in which Mr and Mrs Olney (close friends of Susannah) had for the preacher, she found herself at the evening service.

Her initial thoughts of young Spurgeon were less than admirable. Charles Ray records for us: "Miss Thompson was shocked. This was quite contrary to her ideas of what a preacher should be. Young Charles Haddon Spurgeon was evidently from the country; she could have told that in a moment even if she had not known....What business had such a youth in the pulpit of Dr Gill and Dr Rippon? And with that thought in her prejudiced mind Susannah Thompson settled down to hear what he had to say."

Some years later Susannah wrote:

Ah! How little I then thought that my eyes looked on him who was to be my life's beloved; how little I dreamed of the honour God was preparing for me in the near future! It is a mercy that our lives are not left for us to plan, but that our Father chooses for us; else might we sometimes turn away from our best blessings, and put from us the choicest and loveliest gifts of his providence. For, if all truth be told, I was not fascinated by the young orator's eloquence, while his countrified manner and speech excited more regret than reverence. Alas, for my vain and foolish heart! I was not spiritually minded enough to understand his earnest presentation of the gospel and his powerful pleading with sinners - but the huge black satin stock, the long baldy-trimmed hair, and the blue pocket handkerchief with white spots...these attracted most of my attention and I fear awakened some feelings of amusement.

After accepting the pastorate at New Park Street Chapel, Susannah and Charles would often meet at the home of Mr and Mrs Olney and as such, Susannah soon got over her earlier prejudices. His "earnest pleadings soon aroused her" and Susannah "realized that her life of indifference and non-service was far front being what it should be." She writes:

Gradually I became alarmed at my back-sliding state and then, by a great effort, I sought spiritual help and guidance...One day I was greatly surprised to receive from Mr Spurgeon an illustrated copy of 'Pilgrim's Progress', in which he had written the inscription "Miss Thompson, with desires for her progress in the blessed pilgrimage, from C.H. Spurgeon, April 20th 1854."

She continues:

I do not think that my beloved had at that time any other thought concerning me than to help a struggling soul heavenward; but I was greatly impressed by his concern for me...By degrees, though with much trembling, I told him of my state before God; and he gently led me, by his preaching, and by his conversations, through the power of the Holy Spirit to the cross of Christ for the peace and pardon my weary soul was longing for.

Two things struck me today about the beginnings of the relationship between Mr and Mrs Spurgeon. Firstly, whether we are married or not, God puts before us his best. Sometimes we look upon that which will become dear to us with prejudice and disdain because, like Susannah, we are not spiritually minded enough. It's only when our minds and hearts have that Godward orientation that our Father in heaven reveals to us his choicest and loveliest gifts in which he has mercifully prepared for us.

Secondly, I was also reminded of what truly is foundational in any relationship, particularly a marriage: Charles had Susannah's desire for progress in the blessed pilgrimage. As one who is blessed being married to a committed Christian and preacher, I can only concur that to have one's spouse committed to your spiritual welfare is by far the most important part to married life. This is something that husbands and wives must surely work harder at, and singles must put at the top of their list in seeking a prospective spouse.

Next week we'll look at the "Dawning of Love" and the courtship of Susannah Thompson and Charles Haddon Spurgeon.

All references are taken from Charles Ray's The Life of Susannah Spurgeon

Your Weekly Dose of Susannah Spurgeon

Last week, we introduced a new series called "Your weekly dose of Susannah Spurgeon." We were introduced to a woman who has been described as a wife who exercised tremendous "unselfishness and self-effacement", a "true 'helpmeet", and one who sank "her own individuality and claims" and became "absorbed in those of her husband." Today I want us to go deeper into her life, considering the outset of such a remarkable life and ministry.

As a frequent attender of New Park Street Chapel with her parents, Susannah Thompson grew up familiar with the preaching of the gospel of which she recalls the ministry of Pastor James Smith: 'A quaint and rugged preacher, but one well versed in the blessed art of bringing souls to Christ...Often I had seen him administer the ordinance of baptism to the candidates, wondering with a tearful longing whether I should ever be able thus to confess my faith in the Lord Jesus.'

That longing became a reality when, by means of a sermon from Romans 10:8, 'The Word is near you, in your mouth and in you heart' Susannah "was first aroused to a sense of her own personal need of a saviour." She writes: 'From that service..I date the dawning of the true light in my soul...constrained by his love, that night witnessed my solemn resolution of entire surrender to himself.'

Sadly, "few attempts at encouraging young converts to engage in service for their Lord" and "the lack of communion with kindred youthful spirits...were no doubt, more or less responsible for a state of coldness and indifference which in a short time took the place of joy and gladness of soul that had followed conversion." Susannah records: 'Seasons of darkness, despondency and doubt passed over me...but I had kept all my religious experiences carefully concealed in my own breast.'

It was through this period of her Christian life that the influence of a young man would indeed change her life forever and he himself would become more dear to her than any other. Next Monday we'll look at Susannah's first contact with Charles Haddon Spurgeon.

All references are taken from Charles Ray's The Life of Susannah Spurgeon.

Your weekly Dose of Susannah Spurgeon

At the outset of each week, Phil Johnson (over at Pyromaniacs) blogs under the title: "Your Weekly Dose of Spurgeon." Of course, the Spurgeon he has in mind is C.H. Spurgeon, one of the greatest preachers of the 19th Century. However, at the risk of going head to head with Pyromaniacs (foolish, I know!) over the next month or so I'd like to offer a weekly dose from Susannah Spurgeon, the wife of the esteemed preacher.

The reason for this thought is that I'm currently reading Susannah Spurgeon's Morning Devotions: Free Grace & Dying Love, which is also helpfully combined with Charles Ray's biography: The Life of Susannah Spurgeon.

Like many of you, I've heard much of Susannah Spurgeon's husband, but comparatively little about the woman who supported such a great minister. Today, I leave you with a few words from the introduction to Charles Ray's record of Mrs Spurgeon's life. It aptly describes her life and ministry:

The position of the wife of a great man, and particularly of a great minister, is not only one of rare difficulty but calls for an exercise of unselfishness and self-effacement which is quite contrary to the natural instincts of the human nature. The lady who would be a true 'helpmeet' to the popular preacher and God-ordained pastor must to a very large extent sink her own individuality and claims and become absorbed in those of her husband.

She must be prepared to part often with the one she loves best on earth, in order that he may go to fulfil his solemn engagements untrammelled by domestic repinings; she must render every assistance in her power and yet not expect to reap the praise of men, which is rightly her due; she must initiate and carry through new plans of Christian effort and be satisfied that they shall be regarded as nothing more than a legitimate part of her husband's ministry; and she must take upon her shoulders a load of responsibility, which the ordinary wife knows nothing of and which amid such a multitude of duties might overwhelm a strong and vigorous man...

No grander an example of the possibilities which the position of a preacher's wife affords,could be offered to her sisters of the manse or to the world at large than Mrs C.H. Spurgeon.