Category: Charles Spurgeon

Charles Spurgeon on Psalm 107: How Pain and Problems Lead to Prayer

Psalm 107 encourages God’s people to give him thanks for his steadfast love and wonderful works. Though we get ourselves into an array of difficult circumstances, some caused by our sin and others brought on by the trials of life, God is faithful to come to our help.

The psalm centers on four vignettes of groups in exile facing a struggle.

  • Weak and Weary Travelers Lost in the Desert (4-9)
  • Prisoners in Darkness and Bondage (10-16)
  • Sick Sufferers on the Brink of Death (17-22)
  • Overwhelmed, Storm-Tossed Sailors (23-32)
Continue reading Charles Spurgeon on Psalm 107: How Pain and Problems Lead to Prayer

Study Creation to Learn About God

“[Creation] is a speech from God to humanity… The creation, in its entirety, is eloquent; sin is the only dissonance in its song.”  Herman Bavinck

“The universe … is before our eyes like a beautiful book in which all creatures, great and small, are as letters to make us ponder the invisible things of God” Belgic Confession

“Outdoors we are confronted everywhere with wonders; we see that the miraculous is not extraordinary but the common mode of existence.” Wendell Berry

The Psalms are full of references to lessons about God and life in His world that we learn from creation (nature). To be a student of creation makes us learners of the God of creation. To neglect creation is to ignore God’s revelation of Himself.

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Spurgeon on Benefits of God’s Discipline

For Charles Spurgeon, God’s discipline isn’t separate from his love and care for us. To discipline is to teach and to train, just like parents discipline their children through both instruction and correction. His sermon, “The Discipline of the Lord,” is one of the most helpful summaries of the benefits and blessings associated with God’s discipline. I encourage you to read it in its entirety, but here’s a list of some of those benefits.

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John Piper on Not Neglecting Spiritual Refreshment through Nature

God’s Creation is a gift, not merely a resource but a means of our refreshment. In John Piper’s sermon-biography of David Brainerd he briefly compares Brainerd and Jonathan Edwards. He does so in the context of discussing the sufferings Brainerd endured, including regular bouts with depression. While not suggesting a walk removes depression, Piper draws on Edwards and Charles Spurgeon to suggest Brainerd’s neglect of nature likely restricted him from one means of God’s grace to us in our weakness and darkness. Below is an extended quote. With Spring knocking on our doors and with today’s temptation to always reach for our smartphone or the remote, I hope this encourages us to take advantage of God’s Creation for our good and His glory.

Continue reading John Piper on Not Neglecting Spiritual Refreshment through Nature

See It!

One word in the Bible can be a game changer. When John says “SEE what kind of the Father has given to us, that we should be called the children of God, and so we are” (1 John 3:1), it’s like he brings us to a halt with hands waving and fingers pointing to a jaw-dropping sight. You’ve got to see this! Look! Come and see something you won’t believe! While we are quick to speak of God-especially his love-with generalizations and glance over Scripture in our readings, John invites us to slow down, take a look at something, and be amazed.

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Steal Away Home

The superhero film genre shows no signs of slowing down. Every month a new DC or Marvel film tries to quench our thirst for heroes. We were made for heroes. We need them. The problem is we lack authentic, relatable, real-life heroes who show us what a life of passion, love, virtue, courage looks like in a flesh-and-blood human being. Superman and Wonder Woman might leave us looking for someone to save us, but they are so fundamentally unlike us that they fail to provide fallen human heroes we can emulate.  Continue reading Steal Away Home