Anything associated with C. H. Spurgeon merits serious attention. The publishers of this little gem deserve much praise. It is a collection of testimonies drawn from the archives of the Metropolitan Tabernacle. They display a fascinating variety of testimonies from converts of Spurgeon’s ministry.
The book is attractively presented in a clear format and lavishly illustrated. There are helpful notes and portraits of the interviewing deacons, engaging pictures of Victorian London and helpful images of incidents associated with the various testimonies.
The content is arranged in the chronological order of the conversions. The testimony transcripts are principally the work of the trusted deacons, with occasional notes from the pastor.
The range of testimonies is considerable, though the overwhelming majority stem from the city’s poorer inhabitants. Here we have road sweepers rubbing shoulders with petty criminals, parlour maids entering into membership alongside factory workers.
It is refreshing to have the majority of testimonies from humble, ordinary people rather than highly publicised celebrities. Each story is meticulously recorded by faithful men. We gain insights into men and women struggling with grinding poverty and their own rebellious souls before coming to glorious liberty in Christ. We also gain insight into the kind of preaching that reached such folk.
This book should not be seen merely as an historical curiosity for Spurgeon aficionados; it is much more. We see the workings of a successful inner-city church reaching out to the helpless and the hopeless, seeing lives saved and completely changed.
We see the inner thoughts of godly men trying to determine the genuine from the spurious, as they spent time with new converts. Above all, we are reminded of a most remarkable ministry of one of God’s greatest saints.
Brief and readable, this is one of those books you can pick up at odd moments. A great little book.
Stuart Fisher
Bournemouth
