Author: Charles Spurgeon

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DAILY PRAYER (BY SPURGEON)

If any of us have not yet been forgiven, Father, please forgive them. May great love convict them of their sins and lead them to the sin-atoning blood. This very day, may many sinners be released from the burden of their sins at the tomb of Christ. Oh, may pardons be freely distributed! You are the Father of pardons. “who is like you, passing by iniquity, transgression, and sin, and not remembering the iniquity of the remnant of your people?” Glory be to your name!

Amen.

VERSE OF THE DAY (COMMENTARY BY SPURGEON)

“He broke their spirits with hard labor; they stumbled, and there was no one to help.” (Psalm 107:12)

When a soul finds all its efforts at self-salvation prove useless, and feels that it is now utterly without strength, then the Lord is at work hiding pride from man and preparing the afflicted one to receive his mercy. The spiritual case which is here figuratively described is desperate, and therefore affords the finer field for the divine interposition; some of us remember well how brightly mercy shone in our prison, and what music the fetters made when they fell off from our hands. Nothing but the Lord’s love could have delivered us; without it we must have utterly perished.

RECOMMENDED RESOURCE

What does it mean to take up your cross and follow Jesus?

Christ calls his people to an amazing, grace-fueled life of self-denial. It’s an exciting life, but what does it actually look like to lay down your life and take up your cross?

A great and short book on this topic is A Little Book on the Christian Life by John Calvin. It describes, in a beautifully biblical way, Christ’s call to deny yourself. This book is a stunning invitation to lay down your life in order to start really living.

A warning: If you grab a copy of this book today, get ready. This book is not for the faint of heart. It will expose sin and challenge you to live righteously. It is a challenging read (in the best way), but it is full of treasure!

Buy A Little Book on the Christian Life:

• Amazon (Paperback, Imitation Leather, audiobook* or Kindle editions)
• ChristianBook.com (Paperback with Two Cover Options, or Imitation Leather editions)

*Get the audiobook for free with a free trial of Audible.

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DAILY PRAYER (BY SPURGEON)

Our dear Redeemer, we have read of your weeping at the grave of Lazarus. We have been made to feel how near you are to us. You are no stranger; you are no great noble set high above us, ashamed of us; you are not ashamed to call us brothers. And we have said in our hearts, “Have I ever been ashamed to own him in any company?” We are ashamed to think that ever the bare idea of being ashamed of Christ should have crossed our spirits. We are nothing, you are everything.

Amen.

VERSE OF THE DAY (COMMENTARY BY SPURGEON)

“Others sat in darkness and gloom— prisoners in cruel chains— because they rebelled against God’s commands and despised the counsel of the Most High.” (Psalm 107:10–11)

They thought that they knew better than the judge of all the earth, and therefore they left his ways and walked in their own. When men do not follow the divine counsel they give the most practical proof of their contempt for it. Those who will not be bound by God’s law will, before long, be bound by the fetters of judgment. There is too much condemning of the divine counsel, even among Christians, and hence so few of them know the liberty with which Christ makes us free.

RECOMMENDED RESOURCE

A great, short book to fill you with joy this Easter (and help you share)

As we celebrate the story of Jesus’ resurrection this Easter, it can be easy to forget how absolutely incredible this story really is. We need to constantly read the truth of God’s Word with fresh eyes so that we can see how wonderful Jesus’ resurrection really is.

A great resource to help you refresh your joy this Easter is Is Easter Unbelievable? by Rebecca McLaughlin. The super-short book asks four questions about Jesus’ resurrection and offers answers that are strongly biblical, greatly convincing, and joy-inducing.

Reading this book will be well worth your time. It will make your Easter celebrations so much sweeter and it will enable you to defend your faith with clarity.

I hope you’ll buy a few copies of Is Easter Unbelievable? — both for you and one or two non-Christian friends you know.

Buy Is Easter Unbelievable?:

• Amazon (Paperback or Kindle editions)
• ChristianBook.com (Paperback edition)

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DAILY PRAYER (BY SPURGEON)

Lord, we would come with our confessions, for as often as we adore you, we feel that we ought to cover our faces. The angels have six wings, but we have none. We cannot cover our faces with wings, but we bless your name we have something better than angelic wings; we have the blood and righteousness of Jesus Christ, and with this we cover our faces; with this we cover our feet; and with this we fly out to you now in rapture and adoring love.

You have brought us very near to you, despite our sin; and as for our sin, you have cast it as far from us as from yourself, as far as the east is from the west.

Amen.

VERSE OF THE DAY (COMMENTARY BY SPURGEON)

“Others sat in darkness and gloom— prisoners in cruel chains—” (Psalm 107:10)

In a spiritual sense affliction frequently attends conviction of sin, and then the double grief causes a double bondage. In such cases the iron enters into the soul, the poor captives cannot stir because of their bonds, cannot rise to hope because of their grief, and have no power because of their despair. Misery is the companion of all those who are shut up and cannot come forth. O you who are made free by Christ Jesus, remember those who are in bonds.

RECOMMENDED RESOURCE

Study (the entire Bible) with Spurgeon*

Good study Bibles have been an incredible blessing to me throughout my Christian life. They are incredible tools for understanding and applying the Bible.

One of my favorite study Bibles is The Spurgeon Study Bible. This is a great tool for deepening your understanding of Scripture.

Two great features: there are hundreds of study notes taken from Spurgeon’s sermons throughout the Bible, and there are short introductions by Spurgeon on every book of the Bible. This is a great way to get a board overview or detailed reflection, right from Spurgeon, on any section of Scripture.

The Spurgeon Study Bible is a great resource for Scripture study. And for a limited time, they are 50% off when you use promo code SPURGEON23. I hope you’ll grab one today.

Buy the Spurgeon Study Bible on Lifeway.com (Use promo code SPURGEON23 to save 50%)

Get a prayer from Spurgeon in your inbox every day. Subscribe to the Pray with Spurgeon newsletter for free.

DAILY PRAYER (BY SPURGEON)

O Lord, we thank you for the atonement, for the great expiatory Sacrifice. So would we surround your altar, O God. We come sprinkled with the blood to a blood-sprinkled mercy Seat, and we are not afraid to come when we can make mention of the righteousness of Christ and his atonement. We feel that we are reconciled unto God by the death of his Son. Lord, let a sweet sense of pardon and perfect cleansing rest upon the hearts of your people. May those who have never yet come to you for mercy, look to Jesus and be saved; and may those of us who long ago were washed in the fountain filled with blood, now receive the foot washing which Jesus daily gives, and, being cleansed everywhere, may we be able to come with our adoration into the presence of the Eternal God

Amen.

VERSE OF THE DAY (COMMENTARY BY SPURGEON)

“For he has satisfied the thirsty and filled the hungry with good things.” (Psalm 107:9)

This is the summary of the lost traveller’s experience. He who in a natural sense has been rescued from perishing in a howling wilderness ought to bless the Lord who brings him again to eat bread among men. The spiritual sense is, however, the more rich in instruction. The Lord sets us longing and then completely satisfies us. That longing leads us into solitude, separation, thirst, faintness, and self-despair, and all these conduct us to prayer, faith, divine guidance, satisfying of the soul’s thirst, and rest: the good hand of the Lord is to be seen in the whole process and in the divine result.

RECOMMENDED RESOURCE

Don’t just celebrate Easter — live the resurrection life with Jesus

In just a few weeks, we will joyfully celebrate Jesus’ victory over Satan, sin, and death. And the reason that this is such good news is because WE are raised up with him (Ephesians 2:6)!

How will the good news of Easter change your life on Monday? Can you really, confidently say why?

That’s the point of Risen by Steven Mathewson — this book offers 50 short, practical devotionals, each explaining a specific thing that was accomplished by Jesus’ resurrection. They’re quick to read, packed with insight, and really, really, encouraging.

Jesus’ resurrection must change our lives. I know that if you spend time reading Risen, you’ll be amazed at the incredible things that Christ has accomplished by conquering death. I hope you’ll buy a copy today!

Buy Risen:

• Amazon (Paperback or Kindle edition)
• ChristianBook.com (Paperback or ebook edition)

Get a prayer from Spurgeon in your inbox every day. Subscribe to the Pray with Spurgeon newsletter for free.

PRAYER FOR THE CHURCH (BY SPURGEON)

Father, save any who will gather with our church this weekend who remain unreconciled to their God. Touch now, with your sacred finger, some careless heart that may be using even the house of God as a place for the gratification of curiosity, desiring no spiritual gift whatsoever; yet will you be pleased to lay your hand upon that heart, and make it feel that God is near; and may conscience say, “Be ye sure of this, that the kingdom of God has come near to you.” And, oh, that there might not be the power to put aside that kingdom; but may the conscience now be so touched, and girded with strength, that the will may submit, and the judgment yield, and the affections bow, that God may reign over many a heart which before now has been a rebellious province of his domain.

Amen.

GET A FREE BOOK

Thanks to Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and Spurgeon College for sponsoring the Weekend Edition.

Midwestern is giving away five sets of The Lost Sermons of C.H. Spurgeon to Pray with Spurgeon subscribers (a collection of Spurgeon’s earliest sermons, now released in a series of seven beautiful books). Click here to enter to win.

They’ve also curated some great resources, including FREE seminary-level video classes. Get all of these resources right here.

WEEKEND LONG READ (SERMON BY SPURGEON)

Forgetting God

“Therefore have they forgotten me.” — Hosea 13:6

Remember, O Christian, that ancient declaration, “The Lord your God is a jealous God.” Because he loves us so much, he is in that very proportion jealous; for the greatest jealousy grows out of limitless love; and the Lord our God, who bought us with the heart’s blood of his dear Son, counts us so dear to him that a wandering thought in our mind becomes a crime against him, and the giving up of any part of our heart to love of the world, or of self, or sin, or Satan, or any other of his rivals, becomes to him a cause of grief and sadness.

If there are any children of God here, — and I fear there may be many, — who have grown cold in heart, and who have wandered from the Lord, I hope the text will come like a lament from him who hung upon the cross of Calvary, “Therefore have they forgotten me. Therefore have they forgotten me.”

Read the full sermon from the Spurgeon Center for Biblical Preaching at Midwestern Seminary.

A FREE RESOURCE FROM MIDWESTERN

There is Something Better than Never Suffering

When you must go through the furnace, you will not be alone.

In the weakness of suffering, Christ will be your strength.

PREPARE FOR MINISTRY AT MIDWESTERN

What Jesus purchased is precious. We’ve made it our purpose. Midwestern Seminary exists for the Church, and we serve the church by biblically educating God-called men and women to be and make disciples of Jesus Christ. If you’re called to serve the church, train with us, for the Church.

Get a prayer from Spurgeon in your inbox every day. Subscribe to the Pray with Spurgeon newsletter for free.

Thanks for reading this week (Don’t miss the weekend edition tomorrow!)
Thanks to the Spurgeon Study Bible for sponsoring the newsletter this month. This ministry would not be possible without their support.

Reading the Spurgeon Study Bible is like sitting down for Bible study with Spurgeon himself. You can get one for 50% off for a limited time when you use code SPURGEON23. Click here to learn more.

DAILY PRAYER (BY SPURGEON)

O Lord God, the hosts unnumbered, washed in the blood, are bowing before you now, proclaiming eternal honors to him who sits upon the throne and to the Lamb. Behold all the angels in heaven join in the same adoration, ascribing all honor and praise to the Lord our God. And we, in the outward rank, further off from the central throne, bow also, and here upon this darkened planet we worship him who made heaven and earth.

We worship the blessed one who has redeemed us with his precious blood and we worship that glorious Spirit by whom we have been quickened and called unto the knowledge of God. Unto the one God of Abraham, of Isaac and of Jacob, the God and Father of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, unto him be glory forever and ever, and from the very bottom of our hearts we utter this our doxology.

Amen.

VERSE OF THE DAY (COMMENTARY BY SPURGEON)

“Let them give thanks to the LORD for his faithful love and his wondrous works for all humanity.” (Psalm 107:8)

The human race is so insignificant, feeble, and undeserving that it’s a great wonder the Lord does anything for them. Yet, he’s not content with doing little works; he puts forth his wisdom, power, and love to perform wonders on behalf of those who seek him. In the life of each redeemed person, there is a world of wonders. Therefore, from each person, there should resound a world of praises.

Regarding the wonders of grace that the Lord has accomplished for his church as a whole, there is no way to estimate them. They are as high above our thoughts as the heavens are above the earth. When will the day dawn when the favored race of humans will be as devoted to the praise of God as they are distinguished by his favor?

RECOMMENDED RESOURCE

An inspiring biography for kids

I’ve written about the Do Great Things for God series several times, but every time I read another book in this series, I love it even more. The latest addition to the series, Helen Roseveare: The Doctor Who Kept Going No Matter What by Laura Caputo-Wickham definitely doesn’t disappoint.

This book tells the incredible story of Roseveare’s life as a missionary doctor. It handles some really heavy themes (like illness, death, war, and imprisonment) in an age-appropriate way that will encourage your kids to trust in Christ, no matter what they face. These heavy themes are handled carefully, not giving details that would scare younger kids, while providing opportunity for further conversations with older kids.

The illustrations are really engaging and fun, the story is so clear and encouraging. This book really is incredible!

Roseveare’s life is an inspiration to me, and I’m so thankful for this great resource to tell the story of her life to my kids.

Buy Helen Roseveare:

• Amazon (Hardback edition)
• ChristianBook.com (Hardback edition)

Get a prayer from Spurgeon in your inbox every day. Subscribe to the Pray with Spurgeon newsletter for free.

DAILY PRAYER (BY SPURGEON)

O God Most High, the one God of Israel, we are longing to adore you. Adoration will be the employment of heaven; it is certainly our greatest enjoyment on earth. But we are not worthy to come unto your presence, or to present our praises to you. We would therefore, first, in lowly reverence, make confession of our state and of our guilt.

We are fallen creatures, even by nature, and as our nature, such has our life been. We have come short of the glory of God and have offended in many things. We dare not look up apart from the way which you have provided, through the Mediator, Jesus Christ. O God, if you had driven us long ago from your presence, and had forbidden us to think of worship, what could we have said? How could we dare to tread your courts on the ground of merit; for surely if you should lay your justice to the line, and your righteousness to the plummet, there is not one of us that could stand?

O Lord, we thank you for the atonement.

Amen.

VERSE OF THE DAY (COMMENTARY BY SPURGEON)

“He led them by the right path to go to a city where they could live.” (Psalm 107:7)

There are many wrong ways, but only one right one, and into this none can lead us but God himself. When the Lord is leader the way is sure to be right; we never need question that. Forth from the pathless mazes of the desert he conducted the lost ones; he found the way, made the way, and enabled them to walk along it, faint and hungry as they were.

RECOMMENDED RESOURCE

Study the Bible with Spurgeon himself*

Spurgeon had an incredible clarity to read, understand, and apply Scripture. Even today, hundreds of years after his death, Spurgeon’s preaching and writing still has tremendous power — because it’s rooted in Scripture.

The Spurgeon Study Bible is an incredible resource to benefit from Spurgeon’s insight during your daily Bible reading. It really does feel like sitting down one-on-one to study the Bible with Spurgeon himself.

The study Bible contains hundreds of notes taken right from Spurgeon’s sermons, as well as a short biography of Spurgeon, 20 outlines of his earliest sermons (in his own handwriting), an introduction from Spurgeon for each book of the Bible, and more. The Bible is available in the CSB, KJV, and Spanish RVR 1960 translations.

For a limited time, the Spurgeon Study Bible is 50% off for “Pray with Spurgeon” subscribers. Just use promo code SPURGEON23 when you check out.

Buy the Spurgeon Study Bible on Lifeway.com (Use promo code SPURGEON23 to save 50%)

Get a prayer from Spurgeon in your inbox every day. Subscribe to the Pray with Spurgeon newsletter for free.

DAILY PRAYER (BY SPURGEON)

The one washing in the precious blood has made us clean; as before the Judge of all the earth we are whiter than snow. But now, as children, we offend our Father, we grieve the Spirit of God, we vex our elder brother, tender as he is, and so we say that we who have been delivered from sin in its condemning power—we say, “Lord forgive your children’s transgressions, and let us be washed as to our feet in the water which Christ pours forth, with which he washed of old his disciples’ feet, and washes them still.” Then may we this day, all of us, be clean everywhere, and so be fit to sit with Christ in the heavenly places, and to have fellowship with the Holy Father, and with His Holy Son, and with the Holy Spirit. O Lord, grant us this perfect cleansing.

Amen.

VERSE OF THE DAY (COMMENTARY BY SPURGEON)

“Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble; he rescued them from their distress.” (Ps 107:6)

Deliverance follows prayer most surely. The cry must have been very feeble, for they were faint, and their faith was as weak as their cry; but yet they were heard, and heard at once. A little delay would have been their death; but there was none, for the Lord was ready to save them. The Lord delights to come in when no one else can be of the slightest avail. The case was hopeless until the Lord interposed, and then all was changed immediately; the people were shut up, straitened, and almost pressed to death, but enlargement came to them at once when they began to remember their God, and look to him in prayer.

Those deserve to die of hunger who will not so much as ask for bread, and he who being lost in a desert will not beg the aid of a guide cannot be pitied even if he perish in the wilds and feed the vultures with his flesh.

RECOMMENDED RESOURCE

A devotional to reflect on our great salvation.

As we approach Good Friday and Easter, we need to devote ourselves to reflecting on Christ and his cross. It is important for Christians to think like this about why Christ died and why he rose again. Fifty Reasons Jesus Came to Die by John Piper is an excellent devotional for considering the cost and the reward of the cross.

The book offers fifty short devotionals, each explaining a different reason Jesus came to die. Fifty Reasons Jesus Came to Die is a great devotional to focus your heart on Christ and his cross.

This book will definitely “reveal Jesus Christ to the troubled heart,” showing you the depth of your sin and the wonder of God’s love. I know it will encourage you — I hope you’ll grab a copy today.

Buy Fifty Reasons Jesus Came to Die:

• Amazon (Paperback, Kindle, or Audiobook* Editions)
• ChristianBook.com (Paperback, Ebook, or Audiobook editions)

*Get the audiobook for free with a free trial of Audible.

Get a prayer from Spurgeon in your inbox every day. Subscribe to the Pray with Spurgeon newsletter for free.

DAILY PRAYER (BY SPURGEON)

Oh, forgive your servants in everything in which we have offended you. There are some here that must stand before you today as prisoners at the bar. Help them to plead guilty, to confess their sins, and to plead the precious blood, and the glorious righteousness of Jesus Christ, your Son, that they may be absolved, and hear you say: “your sins be forgiven you.”

But there are others of us who have heard that word many years ago, and the music of it has never departed out of our minds. We ask that we may hear you say it now in another sense, for we are no longer prisoners at the bar; we are not under the law, but we are under grace.

Amen.

VERSE OF THE DAY (COMMENTARY BY SPURGEON)

“Some wandered… They were hungry and thirsty; their spirits failed within them.” (Psalm 107:5)

The spirits sink when the bodily frame becomes exhausted by long privations. Who can keep his courage up when he is ready to fall to the ground at every step through utter exhaustion? The supply of food is all eaten, the water is spent in the bottles, and there are neither fields nor streams in the desert, the heart therefore sinks in dire despair. Such is the condition of an awakened conscience before it knows the Lord Jesus; it is full of unsatisfied cravings, painful needs, and heavy fears. It is utterly spent and without strength, and there is nothing in the whole creation which can minister to its refreshment.

RECOMMENDED RESOURCE

LIMITED TIME: Save 50% on the Spurgeon Study Bible*

This month, the Spurgeon Study Bible is 50% off. That means today is the final day for this offer.

The Spurgeon Study Bible is an incredible resource for Bible study — I know that you will benefit from using it in your daily reading.

The study Bible contains hundreds of notes taken right from Spurgeon’s sermons, as well as a short biography of Spurgeon, 20 outlines of his earliest sermons (in his own handwriting), an introduction from Spurgeon for each book of the Bible, and more. The Bible is available in the CSB, KJV, and Spanish RVR 1960 translations.

The Spurgeon Study Bible is available for 50% off now, so grab yours now!

Buy the Spurgeon Study Bible on Lifeway.com (Use promo code SPURGEON23 to save 50%)