Spurgeon: Prince of Preachers. By Lewis Drummond. Grand Rapids: Kregel, 1992.

Charles Haddon Spurgeon is my spiritual hero! Hardly a day goes by that I have not read a sermon excerpt or chapter by Spurgeon or something about Spurgeon. I have made it a priority of mine to get to know this historical figure, follow him as a student, learn from him as a pastor, and gain wisdom from his achievements, strengths, and weaknesses. I am not alone in this journey. Many people today, during his day, and since his day have regarded Spurgeon as worthy of appreciation and study. They are not disappointed in their findings! Lewis Drummond held a fond appreciation for Spurgeon and has provided the rest of us who admire him with a great, extensive biography of his life.

The temptation in this book review is to give another biography of Spurgeon, but that would require another book not a review. So I’ll just give a few highlights from his life and about him for the interest of the reader.

Spurgeon was born on June 19, 1834. As a young man, he had a love of books and reading of which the Puritans were his favorite! The Lord blessed him with a keen mind that throughout his life was able to recall the things he had read and experienced. His favorite volume was Pilgrim’s Progress, and he read it over 100 times. At the age of 15, Spurgeon was under conviction and tried to turn away from the Spirit. On a snowy evening, he found himself in a little chapel listening to a layman preach. The text was Isaiah 45:22, “Look unto me and be saved, all the ends of the earth.” Spurgeon was converted that night, January 6, 1850.

Just four years later, at age 19, he was called to pastor the historic New Park Street Baptist Church in London. Room is not sufficient here to tell of his leadership for this congregation that became the Metropolitan Tabernacle, the various ministries he undertook such as writing, lecturing, preaching, pastoring, and teaching, the 66 evangelical organizations that he led his church to form including the Pastor’s College, the Sword and Trowel, and the Stockwell Orphanage, his innumerable sermons (he averaged 13 sermons a week), his enormous writing contributions, and his steadfastness in times of controversy. Spurgeon was an unusually gifted man whose love for Christ and the Gospel resulted in the Lord using him in many glorious, lasting ways! There are more books in print today by Spurgeon, a century after his death, than any living or dead English writing author! He went to be with the Lord in 1892.

Strengths: Drummond organized his material on Spurgeon by utilizing the characters of Pilgrim’s Progress. This was an excellent means of separating such a mass of information and keeping it tied closely to the individual. One can easily tell that Drummond vigorously studied Spurgeon. He has provided a wealth of quotations, resources, and research. Drummond not only relies on Spurgeon, but on the news articles and contemporaries of his day. As a result, this volume is an incredible collection of Spurgeon material. One thing I appreciated was that Drummond handled Spurgeon’s theology in a fair, balanced manner. Spurgeon was an evangelical Calvinist. That means, he believed in the doctrines of grace but also believed that man must believe and repent to be saved and the Gospel must be proclaimed! Spurgeon often spoke about his theology in his sermons and often defended his theology in his writings. Contemporary preachers and authors sometimes deny or ignore this component of Spurgeon, but Drummond presented Spurgeon’s theology just as Spurgeon did!

Weaknesses: At times Drummond gave too many quotes from external sources or overly lengthy quotes. For sure, it is nice to now have those quotes and sources, but reading through them may be a bit taxing when you already know the point being made. Secondly, due to Drummond’s careful analysis throughout his contribution, I was surprised and frustrated to find that every time Drummond critiqued Spurgeon, he never provided a footnote or a quote from Spurgeon to substantiate his criticism. Often, his criticism came in the form of an assumption Drummond was making, and on each instance, another possibility is acceptable but never mentioned. Instances of this weakness are found on pages 168, 177, 248, 533, 548, 636, and 651. For example (to substantiate what I have just said!), on page 168 Drummond questions why Spurgeon did not speak more highly of Charles Finney when the two shared so much in common (evidently referring to their zeal for souls). It would seem quite evident and probably clear from Spurgeon’s references to Finney that his disapproval of Finney would center on Finney’s Arminian theology and his new methods of conversion such as the “anxious bench.” I realize Spurgeon had his faults and character flaws, but if one is going to point them out, they need verification.

However, those weaknesses aside and admittedly small, this is a worthwhile addition to the library of any Spurgeon admirer, and it is also a great resource for anyone interested in studying the lives of the great saints in Christian history. I’ll leave you with a couple of great quotes from a great man!

“When my heart was a little touched, I tried to divert it with sinful pleasures; and would not then have been saved, until God gave me the effectual blow, and I was obliged to submit to that irresistable effort of his grace. When the Lord really brought me to myself, He sent one great shot which shivered me to pieces; and, lo, I found myself utterly defenseless.” (108)