Christian Book Notes

Brooks, Thomas.  Smooth Stones Taken from Ancient Brooks: Selections from the Writings of Thomas Brooks by C.H. Spurgeon.  Edinburgh: The Banner of Truth Trust, 2011.  204 pp.  $11.00.  Purchase at Westminster for $8.25.

Introduction/Summary

This book is difficult to summarize as you will see in a few moments.  Thus, I have decided to introduce it and summarize it at the same time.  I first encountered this book while reading the two volume Charles Spurgeon autobiography.  I remembered thinking how having Spurgeon’s selections of Thomas Brooks’ sayings would be enlightening to read.  I was correct.  If I recall properly, Spurgeon started compiling these for his wife, Susannah.  What is now published in this edition is what Spurgeon published in the 19th century.

In essence, this book is 192 pages of little quotes, sayings, illustrations, and phrases of Thomas Brooks selected from his 6-volume set.

Review

Do not read this book with a pen in hand.  You will basically be underling everything!  Each little quip, phrase, or illustration will draw you into meditation upon the Lord.  You can quite literally open the book to any page and begin reading and you will find your heart moved to praise and worship or repentance or, well, you get the idea.  I could not put the book down, except when I wanted to stop and pray, which made for some late nights.  Reading Smooth Stones also gave some insight into how Spurgeon himself thought.

Recommendation

I thoroughly enjoyed Smooth Stones and I believe you will, too.  If you know someone who has never read the Puritans, this book would make an excellent introduction.  Even more, it can be used as a sort of mini-devotional throughout your day.  The book is small enough to fit into a briefcase or purse and, unlike the Bible where context is king, would offer great meditative thoughts to chew on during your day.  (I am not saying this should supplant your Bible reading!)

Introducing

THE NEWEST PURITAN PAPERBACK

Smooth Stones Taken From Ancient Brooks Selections from the Writings of Thomas Brooks by C.H. Spurgeon   “As a writer, Brooks scatters stars with both his hands: he hath dust of gold; in his storehouse are all manner of precious stones.”  So wrote C.H. Spurgeon in his Preface to this book.  He counted Thomas Brooks among his favourite Puritan authors, and it is not hard to see why.  Brooks’ popularity lies both in his subjects – practical truths, central to the Christian life – and in the manner of his presentation.  He is ever direct, urgent, fervent, full of Scripture, and able to choose words which make his sentences stick in one’s mind. This book is a collection of sentences, illustrations, and quaint sayings from this renowned Puritan.  Gathered by Spurgeon out of the 6 volume set of Brooks’ Works, it remains an excellent introduction to both the man and his writings. Smooth Stones Taken From Ancient Brooks Selections from the Writings of Thomas Brooks by C.H. Spurgeon 978-1-84871-1136 … 204 pages … $11.00 (U.S.); £5.75 (U.K.)

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Spurgeon, Charles Haddon. Commentary on Matthew: The Gospel of the Kingdom. Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 2010. 448 pp. $29.00. Purchase at Westminster Books for $20.30.

Introduction

Seriously, Spurgeon does not need an introduction! But, for those who have never met this saint of old, He lived from 1834 until his untimely, and early, death in 1892. He pastored at New Park Street Chapel in London until the church had to move to a new location due to the large size of the congregation. This church is now the famous Metropolitan Tabernacle. On many Sunday’s he would preach to roughly 10,000 people.

From the dust jacket of the book: This is a newly typeset edition of the only commentary on a complete New Testament book ever written by C.H. Spurgeon. Originally published as The Gospel of the Kingdom, it was largely written during the last days of the great preacher’s life. ‘Such words acquire a solemnity and pathos with which nothing else could invest them’, wrote Mrs. Susannah Spurgeon when first introducing the volume in 1893 shortly after the death of her husband.

Summary

While his Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit Sermon series is perhaps his most famous work (it is 63 volumes!), this book is not like any of those. The commentary is separated into pericopes (a theological term describing sections of Scripture) with a paragraph or two of Spurgeon’s notes.

The book is rather large at 448 pages but it reads rather quickly. He deals with each verse individually after first offering a sentence or two on the passage being studied at length. What you will not get is a discussion of the Greek text or the historical criticism of a passage. You won’t even be allowed to peer into the conversation regarding the use of heaven and earth in the gospel of Matthew. What you will get is a man’s heart that has been warmed by the gospel fire for a lifetime.

His thoughts are pastoral and much needed today. I rather like the quote by Martyn Lloyd-Jones on the back of the jacket: “Spurgeon always provides a solid meal and sustenance on which one can live…Never was the truth he preached and proclaimed, in such a winsome and powerful manner, more needed than today.” All I can say is Amen!

Review

What I enjoyed most about this commentary is that it was not written by a theologian who writes commentaries during his life. Rather, this commentary was written at the end of Spurgeon’s life and draws from a lifetime of study and preaching. It is almost as though Spurgeon sat down at the end of his life and began reading in Matthew about what eternity was going to look like as he was assuredly anticipating the end of his own pilgrimage to the celestial city.

Recommendation

Do not purchase this book to set with your commentaries on Matthew. If you purchase this book, you need to read it. Not because it is Charles Spurgeon, but because it is written by a saintly pastor who spent most of his entire life preaching the gospel (he became a pastor at the age of 17). What you have in Spurgeon’s commentary on Matthew is an elder seeking to impart the wisdom learned from the Lord over a lifetime to anyone willing to listen. We all should listen.

Spurgeon, Charles H. Majesty in Misery: 3 Volumes.  Edinburgh:  Banner of Truth, 2005.  983 pp.  Each book sells for $24.00.  Each book can be purchased for $16.80 at Westminster Books.

Introduction

Does C.H. Spurgeon really need an introduction?  If so, he lived from 1834-1892 in England.  He has been called the Prince of Preachers and has the largest volume of writings extant today by any one author due to the publication of his Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit which is a publication featuring all of his sermons.  There are numerous quality websites not the least of which is the Spurgeon Archive run by Phillip R. Johnson.

Summary

The Majesty in Misery series is a collection of Spurgeon’s sermons brought together to speak to one topic–the Passion of our Lord, Jesus Christ.  The first volume looks at the Garden of Gethsemane and consists of 19 sermons.  Judgment Hall, the second volume, looks at the time from Jesus’ arrest to his taking up his cross on the road to Calvary.  Over the course of another 19 sermons, the reader will be brought to tears reading how the Christ submitted himself to the authority of man for a time so that we may have Life.

The final volume of the three part series is entitled Calvary’s Mournful Mountain. This time there are 25 sermons included making this the largest though perhaps most important volume of the three.  As you read these messages, you will see why Spurgeon loved Christ so much and why Spurgeon’s congregation (and listeners) grew to love Christ in like manner.

Review

Though the language is a bit different from what we regularly use in the United States, the messages in each will prove edifying to the soul.  The joy of reading (and “sitting under” the teaching) one of the greatest pastors to ever grace a pulpit is both a challenge and payoff.  There is no arguing that the Lord used Spurgeon mightily.  After reading these 3 volumes, you will understand why.

I greatly appreciated having the sermons from throughout Spurgeon’s service as a minister brought together in one location on one specific topic–the Passion of Jesus Christ.  Each sermon is also cross-referenced with the numbering system that has come to define most of Spurgeon’s sermons.

Recommendation

While picking up a 3 volume set of books is not feasible for many, I would highly recommend picking up a book at a time and make reading Spurgeon one of your goals in 2011.  If I could choose one volume to recommend, I would offer volume 3 as that is the most profound of the three and will certainly cause much rejoicing at what it cost God to save for Himself a people…those who call on the name of Jesus.

Reformation Heritage Books is offering C.H. Spurgeon’s New Park Street Pulpit at an 80% discount for their deal of the week.  What is listed as $175.00 can now be purchased for a limited time for $35.00.  I am not sure when this deal will end so hurry.

From RHB’s blog, Reformation Heritage Book Talk:

A dynamic collection of classic sermons from the Prince of Preachers! Written in 1854 just five years after his conversion, these memorable messages reflect Spurgeon’s considerable gifts: word pictures, pointed applications, concern for people, and a heart for God. Preachers will value these early messages as excellent models, and laypeople will enjoy them as devotional reading. Three hardcovers.

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