Spurgeon On Praise

by Charles Haddon Spurgeon

Teaching out of long experience and a rich understanding of Scripture, Charles Spurgeon shows that praise is an important part of a balanced Christian life. He

* Why we should praise the Lord
* Different kinds of praise
* How attitudes affect our ability to praise
* The relationship between praise and prayer
* The strength of a thankful heart

According to Spurgeon, praising God should be a regular habit of every believer. Learn why and how to deepen your relationship with God through Spurgeon on Praise!

224 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2008

About the author

Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834-1892) was England's best-known preacher for most of the second half of the nineteenth century. In 1854, just four years after his conversion, Spurgeon, then only 20, became pastor of London's famed New Park Street Church (formerly pastored by the famous Baptist theologian, John Gill). The congregation quickly outgrew their building, moved to Exeter Hall, then to Surrey Music Hall. In these venues, Spurgeon frequently preached to audiences numbering more than 10,000—all in the days before electronic amplification. In 1861, the congregation moved permanently to the newly constructed Metropolitan Tabernacle.

Reviews

[Mark Linton · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Perhaps your emptiness hinders you. “We shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house.” It is not your goodness that is to satisfy either God or you, but God’s goodness is to satisfy. Come, then, with your iniquity, come with your infirmity, come with your emptiness. Come if you have never come to God before. Come and confess your sin to God, and ask for mercy. You can do no less than that. Come and trust his mercy that endures forever because it has no limit. Do not think of his harshness, but come and lie down at his feet. If you perish, perish there. Come and tell your grief. Pour out your hearts before him. Turn the vessel of your nature upside down, drain out the last dregs, and pray to be filled with the fullness of his grace. Come to Jesus. He invites you. He enables you. He will enable you.
A cry from the back pew will reach the sacred ear. “But I have not prayed before,” you say. Everything must have a beginning. Oh, that your beginning might come now. It is not because you pray well that you are to come, but because the Lord hears prayer graciously; therefore, all flesh will come. You are welcome. None can block your way. Come! This is mercy’s welcome hour. May the Lord’s bands of love be cast about you. May you be drawn now to him. Come by way of the cross. Come resting in the precious atoning sacrifice, believing in Jesus. He has said, “him that comes to me I will by no means cast out” (John 6:37). The grace of our Lord be with you. Amen.”

“The passage [Hebrews 13] brings before you many things that should compel you to praise God. Behold your Saviour in his passion, offered outside the gate! Gaze upon his bleeding wounds, his sacred head so bloodstained, his face so full of anguish, his heart bursting with the agony of sin! Can you see that sight and not worship the Lord God? Behold redemption accomplished, sin pardoned, salvation purchased, hell vanquished, death abolished, and all this achieved by your blessed Lord and Master! Can you see all this and not praise him? His precious blood is falling on you, making you clean, bringing you near to God, making you acceptable before the infinite holiness of the Most High! Can you see yourself thus favoured, and behold the precious blood that did it, and not praise his name?”

“A good reason for praising God more is that we are getting nearer to the place, world without end, where we hope to praise him perfectly. The church walls never ring more joyously then when the congregation unites in singing about the Father’s house on high and having tents pitched, “a day’s march nearer home”
Furthermore, heaven is indeed the only home of our souls, and we will never feel that we have come to our rest until we have reached its mansions. One reason why we will be able to rest in heaven is that there we will be able to perpetually to achieve the object of our creation. Am I nearer heaven? Then I will be doing more of the work that I will do in heaven. I will soon use the harp, so let me be carefully tuning it. Let me rehearse the hymns that I will sing before the throne. Even though the words in heaven will be sweeter and richer than any that poets can assemble together here, the essential song of heaven will be the same as that which we are presenting to Jehovah here below: “they praise the Lord in hymns above, and we in hymns below.”
The essence of their praise is gratitude that he suffered and shed his blood; it is the essence of our praise, too. They bless Immanuel’s name for undeserved favours bestowed upon unworthy ones, and we do the same.
My aged brothers and sisters, I congratulate you, for you are almost home. Be yet more full of praise than ever. Quicken your footsteps as the glorious land shines more brightly. You are close to the Pearly Gates. Sing on, though your infirmities increase. Let the song grow sweeter and louder until it melts into the infinite harmonies….
May we march like pilgrims toward heaven, singing all the way. Our prayer should be, “Nearer, my God, to Thee.” Our motto might well be, “higher, higher, higher!” As we climb, we should sing, and our song should grow louder, clearer, more full of heaven. Upward, sing as you soar. Upward, sing until you are dissolved in glory. Amen.”

[Amy Etzel · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must-read.