Preface For more than a century, Charles Haddon Spurgeon's writings have been consistently recognized, and their usefulness and impact have continued to the present day, even in the outdated English of the author's own day. Why then should expositions already so successful and of such stature and proven usefulness require adaptation, revision, rewrite or even editing? The answer is obvious. To increase its usefulness to today's reader, the language in which it was originally written needs updating. Though his writings have served other generations well, just as they came from the pen of the author in the nineteenth century, they still could be lost to present and future generations, simply because, to them, the language is neither readily nor fully understandable. My goal, however, has not been to reduce the original writing to the vernacular of our day. It is designed primarily for you who desire to read and study comfortably and at ease in the language of our time. Only obviously archaic terminology and passages obscured by expressions not totally familiar in our day have been revised. However, neither Spurgeon's meaning nor intent have been tampered with. Tony Capoccia All Scripture references are taken from the HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION (C) 1978 by the New York Bible Society, used by permission of Zondervan Bible Publishers. Sword & Trowel Tracts by C. H. SPURGEON 1834-1892 **************************** By Grace Are You Saved (Sword and Trowel Tract #3) "Grace comes to us through faith in Jesus. Whoever believes in Him is not condemned." It is by the grace of God that ungodly men are preserved from instant death. The sharp axe of justice would soon chop down the unfruitful tree if the interceding voice of Jesus did not cry, "Give him a little more time." Many sinners, when converted to God, have gratefully acknowledged that it was of the Lord's mercy that they were not consumed. John Bunyan had three memorable escapes before his conversion, and mentions them in his "Grace Abounding" as illustrious instances of patient mercy. Occasionally such deliverances are the means of affecting the heart with tender emotions of love to God, and grief for having offended him. Shouldn't it be so? Ought we not to consider that the patience of God is salvation? (2 Peter 3:15). An officer during a battle was struck by a bullet near his coat pocket, but he remained uninjured, for a silver coin stopped the progress of the deadly missile. The coin was marked at the words DEI GRATIA (by the grace of God). This providential circumstance deeply impressed his mind, and led him to read a tract which a godly sister had given him when leaving home. God blessed the reading of the tract, and he became, through the rich grace of God, a believer in the Lord Jesus. Reader, are you unsaved? Have you experienced any noteworthy deliverances? Then adore and admire the free grace of God, and pray that it may lead you to repentance! Are you inquiring for the way of life? Remember the words DEI GRATIA, and never forget that by grace we are saved. Grace always presupposes unworthiness in its object. The province of grace ceases where merit begins: what a cheering word this is to those of you who have no worth, no merit, no goodness whatever! Crimes are forgiven, and follies are cured by our Redeemer out of mere free favor. The word grace has the same meaning as our common term gratis: Wickliffe's prayer was, "Lord save me gratis" No works can purchase or procure salvation, but the heavenly Father gives generously to all without finding fault. Grace comes to us through faith in Jesus. Whoever believes in Him is not condemned. O, sinner, may God give you grace to look to Jesus and live. Look now, for today is the time of God's favor! *************************** Eat, Don't Argue! (Sword and Trowel Tract #4) "To treat revelation as if it were a football to be kicked from man to man is irreverence." Two educated doctors are angrily discussing the nature of food, and allowing their meal to lie untasted, while a simple countryman is eating as heartily as he can of that which is set before him. The religious world is full of faultfinders, critics, and skeptics, who, like the doctors, fight over Christianity without profit either to themselves or others; and those are far happier who imitate the farmer and feed upon the Word of God, which is the true food of the soul. Luther's prayer was, "From nice questions the Lord deliver us." Questioning with honesty and candor is not to be condemned, when the object is to "Test everything. Hold on to the good;" but to treat revelation as if it were a football to be kicked from man to man is irreverence, if not worse. Seek the true faith, by all manner of means, but do not spend a whole life in finding it, lest you be like a workman who wastes the whole day in looking for his tools. Hear the true Word of God; lay hold of it, and spend your days not in raising hard questions, but in feasting upon precious truth. It is, no doubt, very important to settle the point of "General or Particular Redemption;" but for unconverted men, the chief matter is to look to the Redeemer on the cross with the eye of faith. Election is a doctrine about which there is much discussion, but he who has made his election sure, finds it a very sweet morsel. Final perseverance has been fought about in all time; but he who by grace continues to rest in Jesus to the end, knows the true enjoyment of it. Reader, argue, if you please, but remember that believing in the Lord Jesus gives infinitely more enjoyment than disputing can ever afford you. If you are unsaved, your only business is with the great command, "Believe!" and even if you have passed from death to life, it is better to commune with Jesus than to discuss doubtful questions. When Melancthon's mother asked him what she must believe amidst so many disputes, he, knowing her to be trusting to Jesus in a simple-hearted manner, replied, "Go on, mother, to believe and pray as you have done, and do not trouble yourself about controversy." So say we to all troubled souls, "Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him." ************************* Out on a Limb (Sword & Trowel Tract #5) "All reliance on self in any form or shape is gross folly. Feelings, works, prayers, giving to the poor, religious observances, are all too feeble to support a sinful soul." Many a man may see his portrait here! The spendthrift hacks away his estate and falls into destitution and disgrace. The drunkard cuts at his health and strength, his family comfort and household peace, and when he has finished his mad work, he drops into ruin, through his own folly. The man of low, debauched habits, is chopping, with fearful effect, at his own body and soul, and will, in the long run, deplore the lusts which hurl him into disease, agony, and death. There are other fools next to the man out on the limb, who are lopping off the branch which holds them up. It is base ingratitude when men are malicious and cruel to those who are their best friends. Wives and parents often have to feel sharp cuts from those whom they lovingly support and are anxious to preserve from ruin. Shame that it should be so! Self-righteous reader, you are ready to join with us in any censure which we may pass upon the madness of the sins we have just hinted at; but permit us to ask you, whether you yourself are not part of the picture? You are resting upon the branch of good works, and yet, every day, your faults, imperfections, and sins are rendering it less and less able to bear your weight. It never was a firm support, and if you know yourself, and are candid enough to confess your shortcomings, you will at once perceive that it has become, in the judgment of conscience, a very frail dependence, quite unworthy of your confidence. Had you never sinned, and, consequently, never made one gash in the branch, we might tolerate your trusting to it; but since you have cut at it again and again, and it is ready even now to snap beneath you, we pray you, leave it for a better resting-place. All reliance on self in any form or shape is gross folly. Feelings, works, prayers, giving to the poor, religious observances, are all too feeble to support a sinful soul. "No one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ." "Whoever believes in him is not condemned." "He is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them." Trust Jesus and He will never fail you. ************************* Hogs to the Slaughter (Sword & Trowel Tract #6) "Alas, that there should be such likeness between men and swine." Rowland Hill illustrated the folly of sinners by the story of a butcher who was followed by the swine right into the slaughterhouse. As pigs do not usually go where they are wanted, it seemed a mystery how these animals were so eager to follow their executioner; but when it was seen that he wisely carried a bag of peas and beans with which he enticed the creatures onward, the riddle was solved at once. Unsuspicious of impending death the hogs cared only for the passing gratification of their appetites, and hurried to the slaughter--and in the same manner ungodly men follow the great enemy of souls down through the jaws of hell, merely because their depraved passions are pleased with the lusts of the flesh and the pleasures of sin which the devil gives them by handfuls on the road. Alas, that there should be such likeness between men and swine! The joys of sin are so short and so unsatisfactory, that they can never be thought of for a moment as a fitting inducement for a rational being to lose his immortal soul. Will a few hours of foolishness, gambling, drinking, or immorality, compensate for eternal fire? Is the momentary indulgence of a base passion worth the endurance of flames which never can be quenched? To moan in vain for a drop of water! to be tormented by the never dying worm! to be shut out from hope for ever! to be eternally cursed of God! Is any sin worth all this? Can any gain make up for this? Oh, you who delight in the poisonous sweets of sin, remember that though pleasant in the mouth for the moment, sin will be bitter in your stomach for ever. Why will you swallow the bait when you know that the hook is there? Why will you be lured by the Satan? Surely in vain is the net spread in the sight of any bird; but you are more foolish than the birds and fly into the snare when you know it is there. Oh, that you were wise, and would consider your end. Let that one word "Eternity" ring in your ears and drive out the silly laughter of the worldly who prefer the present joys of sense. "The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." Jesus receives sinners. Go to Him and He will never drive you away. ************************* The Sword of Damocles (Sword & Trowel Tract #7) "Turn your eyes upward and see your danger....The curse of God hangs over you, and in a moment you may be in hell. Dionysius the tyrant king of Syracuse, was pronounced by Damocles the flatterer, the happiest man on earth. The king, in order to convince him of his mistake, invited Damocles to a banquet, and caused him to be robed and treated as a sovereign. During the entertainment, a sword hung suspended by a single horsehair from the ceiling, over the head of Damocles; and thus was typified the happiness of a tyrant. Unconverted sinner, behold yourself in the above picture. You believe that you are happy. Ah! you are woefully deceiving yourself. Your pleasures are short in duration! You are clothed in borrowed garments of vanity, and are seated at the banquet table of your pleasures, with the sword of Divine judgment suspended over your head by a slender thread. (See Ecclesiastes 9:9, and Luke 12:16, 21). Any moment you may be cut down by the hand of death, and be hurried completely unprepared before the judgment seat of Christ. Oh! do not be blinded any longer; but turn your eyes upward and see your danger. Know that you are a sinner: "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). As a sinner you are already condemned. The curse of God hangs over you, and in a moment you may be in hell. Turn your eyes away from sin and self, and look to Jesus, who is now both able and willing to save even you if you believe on Him. When the sinner believes in the Lord Jesus Christ, he is made by sovereign grace a king and a priest to God. He is arrayed in "the best robe," the imputed righteousness of Christ. He is enabled by faith to sit down at the King's "banquet" table, whereon are spread the choicest dishes, and a feast of wine. Instead of the flaming sword of justice, the "banner" of Jesus' "love" hangs "over" his head. (Song of Solomon 2:4; Isaiah 25:6; Luke 15:22, 23; Revelation 1:6). Such is the royal provision made by the Jehovah of hosts for every poor and needy sinner, who by simple clinging faith, trusts in His dear Son, whose "precious blood" cleanses the vilest from all sin. May infinite love glorify itself by admitting you to the marriage-feast of glory. ************************* Such is Life (Sword & Trowel Tract #8) "Are you so silly as to dream that your earthly life will last forever?" Such is LIFE. A bubble, brilliant with rainbow hues, delighting the eye of youth for a moment and then gone forever, leaving not a trace behind. Man will you risk your all on that bubble? Be wise and seek substantial good, and since this can never be found beneath the skies, cry to the God of Heaven for His gracious aid. Such is LIFE. A gourd, like that of Jonah, which comes up in a night and dies in a night. Will you make its leaves your only shelter? Then what will you do when the gourd is withered and the hot sun of divine wrath scorches you? Oh, that you would fly to Jesus who is the shadow of a great rock in a weary land! Such is LIFE. A meteor blazing its moment and then lost in darkness! If you are sane you will desire another and more lasting light than this can give you! The Sun of Righteousness Shines on forever. Such is LIFE. Like the swift ship which skims the ocean surface and soon disappears beneath the horizon's line! Shall your happiness be as fleeting as this? Don't you long for a more enduring joy? Such is LIFE. As the eagle which speeds to its prey, so passes away your earthly existence! Where are you flying? Immortal Spirit, to what destination are you traveling to? You can't stop, but you may think, and it may be that the Lord may turn you towards heaven! Such is LIFE. An arrow speeding from a bow, a deer bounding over the plain. Speed is found in its highest degree in our life; none can outrun it. O friend, are you ready for the grave and the judgment? for in a few days you must know more of them than now. Such is LIFE. A flower which blooms for a little season and then withers away. You young, you happy, you proud, are you so silly as to dream that your earthly life will last forever? Think of your end, and seek that friend, who will be with you in life and in death, even Jesus, the sinner's Savior. ******************************************************** Anglican Ministers in Roman Catholic Priest's Clothing (Sword and Trowel Tract #9) "Has it come to this, that Catholic monkery is to be revived in a professedly Protestant Church?" A Church of England Monk in the costume worn by Father Ignatius, and his crew! Has it come to this, that monkery is to be revived in a professedly Protestant Church? Who would have believed it if had it been foretold ten years ago? Can it be true that altars are consecrated by these monks to the Virgin Mary and to the saints, and that they are still tolerated in the Establishment? Yes, it is even so. Ignatius was introduced to a congress of clergy as a minister of the Church, and all his doings are strictly within her walls. Monkery is therefore reestablished in the Anglican body. We are not at all surprised at this, nor should we be much astonished if high-mass were publicly celebrated in our parish Churches, and shrines set up to the Virgin, and the saints, within the communion-rails. These would be only legitimate displays of the festering corruption of that part of Antichrist which dominates over this country. But what we are astounded at is, the way in which believers in the Lord Jesus and evangelical Christians continue to sanction all this Roman Catholic influence by remaining in communion with it! The Roman Catholics sneer at them, the Dissenters denounce their dishonesty, and many of them feel uneasy in the organs which once were their consciences, but still they "abide by the stuff" without complaining of it! Verily some persons can eat a large amount of dirt! We wish we could say a word kindly but forcibly in the ear of our brethren, who are still in fellowship with the works of darkness practiced in the Anglican denomination of Roman Catholics. When will you come out? How far is the corrupt element to prevail before you will separate from it? You are mainly responsible for the growth of all this Roman Catholicism, for your piety is the mainstay and salt of what would otherwise soon become too foul to be endured, and would then most readily be swept from the earth. You hinder reformation! You protect these growing poison trees which drip with death to the souls of men! You foster these vipers beneath your religious garments! You will be used as a shield to protect the agents of the devil, until they don't need you any longer, and then they will cast you away! For the love you bear to your Redeemer, be duped no longer, and by your own hatred of monkery and priestcraft, "come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you." ******************************************* How a Loving Shepherd draws a Wayward Sheep (Sword & Trowel Tract #10) "Many a woman has been deaf to the Lord's gracious Word until the angel of mercy has been sent to take away her darling baby, that it might tempt her to the skies." Many a time the shepherd called the sheep, but it would not obey his voice; at last taking up the lamb he carried it away, and the mother followed him at once. Many a woman has been deaf to the Lord's gracious Word until the angel of mercy has been sent to take away her darling baby, that it might tempt her to the skies. Then, under the divine leading of the Holy Spirit, the sorrowful parent has looked up to the God of heaven, and desired that through Jesus Christ she might be taken up to see her child again in the better land. Perhaps this little tract may fall into the hand of a bereaved mother. "The shadow is on the cradle--the little chair is vacant--the child's dress is no more to be worked on. Alas, alas! the cooing, chirping voices, and the pattering feet, and the eyes of wondering, and the finger-clasping 'wee' hands--gone, all gone. Home is very empty, very, very lonely, very still." Dear friend, will you not learn God's lesson? Will you not learn it now? Is He not evidently calling you to the skies by the tiny finger of your own sweet baby? Why should you be stricken with grief any more? Isn't this enough? Doesn't this touch you in a tender place and move you to hear your God? Can't you hear your child as it whispers, "Mother follow me to glory!" Can you bear to be divided from your baby forever? Have you no desires after heaven and the dear ones who are gathering there? Will you make your bed in hell far off from those who are now in the Savior's bosom? Jesus crucified must be your hope; turn now your weeping eyes to Him. He is able now to save you, and if now you trust Him, you are saved, and shall meet in glory with those who have gone before. HIS LITTLE LAMBS TAKEN FROM EARTH ARE ALL SAFE--ARE YOU SAVED? ************************** Against Romish Anglicanism (Sword & Trowel Tract #15) This tract against Roman Catholic influence in the Anglican Church of England appeared in the August 1865 issue of The Sword and the Trowel. The Tractarian Movement [a move away from Evangelical Protestantism and a move towards Catholic doctrines], begun in the 1820s and led by John Henry Newman, had started a drift toward Catholicism within the Church of England. Newman himself converted to Catholicism in 1845, and in the intervening 20 years, more than 250 Anglican clergy followed him. This tract was part of Spurgeon's response to that trend. "How can you . . . move to a Church which is assuming the rags of the old harlot more and more openly every day?" Who is this gentleman? You guess him to be a Roman Catholic priest; and so indeed he is, but he is not honest enough to admit it. This, with the exception of the face, is a correct representation of a clerical gentleman, well known in the South of England, as a notorious clergyman of that religious association, which is commonly, but erroneously, called "The Church of England." We can assure the reader that the new clergy of the Anglican Church is wearing the robes and other paraphernalia familiar to Roman catholic priests. We beg to ask, what difference there is between this style and the genuine Roman Catholic priest? We might surely just as well have a bona fide priest at once, with all the certificates of the Vatican! There seems to be an unlimited license for Roman Catholics to do as they please in the Anglican Establishment. How long are these abominations to be borne with, and how far are they yet to be carried? Protestants, how can you so often go to a Church which is assuming the rags of the old harlot more and more openly every day? Alliance with true believers is one thing, but union with the Roman Catholic Church is quite another. Don't be partakers with them. Protestantism owed much to you in past ages, will you not now raise your voice and show the ignorant and the priest-ridden the tendencies of all these fake followers of Christ, and the detestable errors of the Roman Catholic Church and of its Anglican sister. Evangelical Churchmen, lovers of the Lord Jesus, how long will you remain in alliance with the defilements of these liberal and false Christians? You are mainly responsible for all the Roman Catholic influence of your Church, for you are its salt and its stay. Your brethren in Christ cannot but wonder how it is that you can remain where you are. You know better. You are children of light, and yet you aid and abet a system by which darkness is scattered all over the land. Beware, lest you be found in union with Antichrist, when the Lord comes in his glory. What a future would be yours if you would shake yourselves from your alliance with Roman Catholics and semi-Roman Catholics. Come out for Christ's sake. "Therefore come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you." **************************************************************************** Transcribed by Bible Bulletin Board internet: www.biblebb.com modem: 609-324-9187 Box 318 Columbus, NJ 08022 ....online since 1986 Sysop/Webmaster: Tony Capoccia