Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit · Sermon No. 371
The REV. C. H. SPURGEON said they were all aware that there was a happy contest between himself and his congregation. It was a very bad thing certainly for a newly married couple to fall out, especially in the scarcely furnished home, but it so happened that the contest in their case was as to which should bring the better dowry to stock the house with. The minister should in every case do his share of the work, or how could he with any conscience appeal to his flock? Now, he had undertaken that he would bring in £1,000 between the month of January and the opening of the building. He had fulfilled his pledge; in fact, he had gone somewhat beyond it. They might remember, that on the last occasion they left off with a drawn battle. Having two or three bankers behind him, who generously came to his aid, he had outstripped the congregation by some 30 shillings. However, he considered it an undecided battle, and if they could beat him tonight, he would be very glad. He then read over a list of the various contributions he had received, amounting to £1,170 14s. There was still, he said, a shot or two in the locker to win the victory with, even should their industry and zeal excel in their results what he had accomplished. They might say the amount was £1,200 and it was matter of wonder and thankfulness that the bazaar had realized a clear £1,200. He ought to state, and he should not be saying more than should be said, that there were many ladies in the congregation who had been working very, very hard, and had always been at the side of his beloved wife whenever there had been a meeting for work; still, the main anxiety and arrangement had rested upon her, and had it not been for those ladies, who, like the women of Israel, brought the labor of their hands, the work could never have been so singular a success. Of old it was written (Exo 35:25, 26)—“And all the women who were wise-hearted did spin with their hands, and brought that which they had spun, both of blue and of purple, and of scarlet, and of fine linen. And all the women whose heart stirred them up in wisdom spun goats’ hair.” So now they did the same. Thus had the willing-hearted people of God, each in their own way, brought an offering unto the Lord of gold, and silver, and copper, and blue, and purple, and scarlet so that the house of the Lord might be completed. So large a sum as had been realized spoke well, both with respect to individual co-operation, and to the sympathy of the Christian public. The result which they had attained was exceedingly satisfactory, because almost every farthing which they required had been raised. He would not say the whole of it; but they would, no doubt, have the amount in a few minutes. The top-stone would soon be brought forth with shouts of praise! How had such a result been attained? The reply was, that there had been three main elements in it. The first was faith in God. At the beginning of the year, they needed £4,000 and an entry to this effect would be found in the Church book, signed by himself and the deacons—“This Church needs rather more than £4,000 to enable it to open the New Tabernacle, free of all debt; it humbly asks this temporal mercy of God, and believes that for Jesus’ sake, the prayer will be heard and the gift bestowed, as witness our hands.” As for himself, he never had a doubt about the opening of that place free from debt since he attached his name to that entry. The work in which they had been engaged had been a work of faith from the beginning to the end; the Lord has fulfilled His promise to the letter—for according to our faith has it been done to us. Why not have faith in God for temporals? Will He ever allow His own cause to lag for lack of means? In this case, as the need grew, the supply increased; as the proportions of the project were enlarged, the liberality of the Christian public increased; and even during the last three or four weeks, he had been amazed at the contributions which he had received. Contributions had come by post varying in amount from pounds to a few shillings; they had come from America, from Australia, and from almost every country in the world, from men of all ranks, and persons of every denomination! Universal sympathy had been shown, and most of the donations from readers of the weekly sermons were accompanied by letters so affectionate and encouraging, that it was a happy thing that such an opportunity had been given for the utterance of up to now unknown Christian love! Faith in God had done much of that which had been accomplished, and unto a faithful God be Glory. But “faith without works is dead”—very dead indeed in chapel building! One must work there, and he could say he had toiled as hard as any man could to accomplish his purpose.
The house had been built for God, and his sole objective with regard to its future income was that it might be applied to the tuition and training of young men as ministers, that thus the Church in the Tabernacle might be a helper to many of the Churches of Christ. But besides individual energy there had been a third thing, combination of numberslaboring with one aim. Many poor persons had brought offerings which they could ill afford to spare, and no one could ever know how many of them had received back, indirectly from himself, the amount they had given, but which they would have been grieved if he had refused. He publicly thanked all his generous friends throughout the world for their cooperation, and he would thank them all, individually, if it were possible to do so. Before the Chairman sat down, Mr. Spurgeon paid a warm tribute to the memory of General Havelock, the Chairman’s father. They might not, he said, be aware that there were only two dissenting lords, and those two were Baptists; there were only two dissenting baronets, and those two were Baptists also. Both of them had earned their titles fairly—those were Sir Samuel Morton Peto, and Sir Henry Havelock; the one the king of spades, and the other the savior of our empire in India. He was sure the country would for many years remember the name of Havelock. As a Christian minister, he was no apologist for war, but it was a righteous cause in which Havelock was engaged; it was rather to save than to subdue; to rescue women and children than to slaughter men; but he was sure that when his fame as a warrior should cease to be heard, his name as a Christian would live. He was glad to see Sir Henry Havelock with his father’s people in a Baptist Tabernacle; he hoped they would see him for years to come, and that the blessing of the God of his father might richly rest upon him.