Charles Spurgeon (1834–1892) was a British Christian preacher and influential figure in the Reformed Baptist tradition. Born in Kelvedon, Essex, England, Spurgeon became known as the “Prince of Preachers” for his powerful and eloquent sermons. He started preaching at a very young age and quickly gained recognition for his oratory skills.
Spurgeon served as the pastor of the New Park Street Chapel in London (later known as the Metropolitan Tabernacle) for 38 years, from 1854 until his death in 1892. Under his leadership, the congregation grew significantly, and the Metropolitan Tabernacle became one of the largest churches in London.
Spurgeon’s sermons were characterized by a strong emphasis on the Bible and a clear presentation of the Gospel. He was a staunch believer in the doctrines of grace, commonly associated with Calvinism, and his preaching often reflected these theological convictions.
In addition to his preaching, Spurgeon was a prolific author, writing numerous books, pamphlets, and articles. His most famous work, “The Treasury of David,” is a commentary on the Psalms. Other notable publications include “Lectures to My Students,” in which he shared insights on preaching, and “Morning and Evening,” a devotional that remains popular today.
Charles Spurgeon’s influence extends beyond his lifetime, and his sermons and writings continue to be widely read and appreciated in Christian circles. His commitment to biblical truth and his passion for evangelism left a lasting legacy in the Christian community.
Charles Spurgeon Quotes
1. “To trust God in the light is nothing, but trust him in the dark – that is faith.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
2. “God is too good to be unkind, too wise to be mistaken; and when you cannot trace His hand, you can trust His heart.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
3. “Whenever God means to make a man great, he always breaks him in pieces first.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
4. “Growth can be painful, change can be painful but nothing is as painful as staying stuck somewhere you don’t belong Anxiety does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow it only empties today of it strengths.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
5. “I have learned to kiss the waves that throw me up against the Rock of Ages.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
6. “If any man thinks ill of you, do not be angry with him, for you are worse than he thinks you to be.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
7. “A little faith will bring your soul to heaven; a great faith will bring heaven to your soul.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
8. “Every Christian is either a missionary or an imposter.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
9. “Whenever GOD determines to do a great work, HE first sets HIS people to pray.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
10. “Faith goes up the stairs that love has built and looks out the windows which hope has opened.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
11. “A Bible that’s falling apart usually belongs to someone who isn’t.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
12. “Visit many good books, but live in the Bible.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
13. “Nearness to God brings likeness to God. The more you see God the more of God will be seen in you.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
14. “The greatest enemy to human souls is the self-righteous spirit which makes men look to themselves for salvation.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
15. “Without Christ there is no hope.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
16. “A time will come when instead of shepherds feeding the sheep, the church will have clowns entertaining the goats.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
17. “Nothing teaches us about the preciousness of the Creator as much as when we learn the emptiness of everything else.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
18. “By perseverance the snail reached the ark.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
19. “Discernment is not a matter of telling the difference between right and wrong; rather it is telling the difference between right and almost right.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
20. “The Bible is not the light of the world, it is the light of the Church. But the world does not read the Bible, the world reads Christians! “You are the light of the world.””
— Charles H. Spurgeon
21. “If Christ has died for me, I cannot trifle with the evil that killed my best Friend.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
22. “If Christ be anything, He must be everything.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
23. “When you go through a trial, the sovereignty of God is the pillow upon which you lay your head.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
24. “You will never know the fullness of Christ until you know the emptiness of everything but Christ.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
25. “If sinners be damned, at least let them leap to Hell over our bodies. If they will perish, let them perish with our arms about their knees. Let no one go there unwarned and unprayed for.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
26. “A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
27. “God helps those who cannot help themselves.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
28. “God is our portion, Christ our companion, the Spirit our Comforter, Earth our lodge, and Heaven is our home.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
29. “Prayer can never be in excess.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
30. “There are no crown-wearers in heaven who were not cross-bearers here below.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
31. “You will never glory in God till first of all God has killed your glorying in yourself.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
32. “Great faith must have great trials.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
33. “It is not how much we have, but how much we enjoy, that makes happiness.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
34. “Hold everything earthly with a loose hand, but grasp eternal things with a death-like grip.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
35. “Have you no wish for others to be saved? Then you’re not saved yourself, be sure of that!”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
36. “Beware of no man more than of yourself; we carry our worst enemies within us.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
37. “He who does not long to know more of Christ, knows nothing of him yet.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
38. “We are too prone to engrave our trials in marble and write our blessings in sand.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
39. “The grace that does not change my life will not save my soul.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
40. “You say, ‘If I had a little more, I should be very satisfied.’ You make a mistake. If you are not content with what you have, you would not be satisfied if it were doubled.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
41. “Without the Spirit of God, we can do nothing. We are as ships without wind. We are useless.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
42. “Scripture is like a lion. Who ever heard of defending a lion? Just turn it loose; it will defend itself.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
43. “When God places a burden upon you, He places His arms underneath you.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
44. “Idle men tempt the devil to tempt them.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
45. “The first link between my soul and Christ is not my goodness but my badness, not my merit but my misery, not my riches but my need.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
46. “Sin and Hell are married unless repentance proclaims the divorce.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
47. “Prayer bends omnipotence of heaven to your desire. Prayer moves the hand that moves the world.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
48. “Though you have changed a thousand times, He has not changed once.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
49. “It is the whole business of the whole church to preach the whole gospel to the whole world.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
50. “Sometimes we think we are too busy to pray. That is a great mistake, for praying is a saving of time.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
51. “God is with us, and His power is around us.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
52. “When we preach Christ crucified, we have no reason to stammer, or stutter, or hesitate, or apologize; there is nothing in the gospel of which we have any cause to be ashamed.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
53. “If you profess to be a Christian, yet find full satisfaction in worldly pleasures and pursuits, your profession is false.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
54. “Trust in God alone, and lean not on the needs of human help. Be not surprised when friends fail you; it is a failing world. Never reckon upon immutability in man: inconstancy you may reckon upon without fear of disappointment.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
55. “Prayer is the breath, the watchword, the comfort, the strength, the honor of a Christian.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
56. “Calvinism is the gospel, and nothing else.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
57. “If Christ is not all to you He is nothing to you. He will never go into partnership as a part Saviour of men. If He be something He must be everything, and if He be not everything He is nothing to you.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
58. “The waiting itself is beneficial to us: it tries faith, exercises patience, trains submission, and endears the blessing when it comes.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
59. “Fiery trials make golden Christians.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
60. “True prayer is neither a mere mental exercise nor a vocal performance. It is a spiritual commerce with the Creator of heaven and earth.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
61. “No man can do me a truer kindness in this world than to pray for me.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
62. “Have your heart right with Christ, and he will visit you often, and so turn weekdays into Sundays, meals into sacraments, homes into temples, and earth into heaven.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
63. “Jesus was a great worker, and His disciples must not be afraid of hard work.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
64. “The child of God knows his good works do not make him acceptable to God, for he was acceptable to God by Jesus Christ long before he had any good works.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
65. “Wisdom is the right use of knowledge. To know is not to be wise. Many men know a great deal, and are all the greater fools for it. There is no fool so great a fool as a knowing fool. But to know how to use knowledge is to have wisdom.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
66. “The furnace of affliction is a good place for you, Christian; it benefits you; it helps you to become more like Christ, and it is fitting you for heaven.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
67. “The worst forms of depression are cured when Holy Scripture is believed.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
68. “Of two evils, choose neither.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
69. “I believe that one reason why the church of God at this present moment has so little influence over the world is because the world has so much influence over the church.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
70. “If you rest on the finished work of Jesus you have already the best evidence of your salvation in the world; you have God’s word for it; what more is needed?”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
71. “I always say to young fellows who consult me about the ministry, “Don’t be a minister if you can help it,” because if the man can help it, God never called him. But if he cannot help it, and he must preach or die, then he is the man.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
72. “Jesus wept, but He never complained.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
73. “Anything is a blessing which makes us pray.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
74. “We cannot always trace God’s hand but we can always trust God’s heart.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
75. “A good character is the best tombstone. Those who loved you and were helped by you will remember you when forget-me-nots have withered. Carve your name on hearts, not on marble.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
76. “Nobody ever outgrows Scripture; the book widens and deepens with our years.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
77. “A day hemmed in prayer is less likely to unravel.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
78. “Trials teach us what we are; they dig up the soil, and let us see what we are made of.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
79. “Remember this, had any other condition been better for you than the one in which you are, divine love would have put you there.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
80. “Hope itself is like a star- not to be seen in the sunshine of prosperity, and only to be discovered in the night of adversity.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
81. “The best way to live above all fear of death is to die every morning before you leave your bedroom.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
82. “Suffering saints are living seed.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
83. “The Gospel is like a caged lion. It does not need to be defended, it just needs to be let out of its cage.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
84. “It is folly to think the Lord provides grace for every trouble but the one you are in today.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
85. “I do believe we slander Christ when we think we are to draw the people by something else but the preaching of Christ crucified.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
86. “I have a great need for Christ: I have a great Christ for my need.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
87. “I believe that every particle of dust that dances in the sunbeam does not move an atom more or less than God wishes.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
88. “I would rather teach one man to pray than ten men to preach.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
89. “Never lose heart in the power of the gospel. Do not believe that there exists any man, much less any race of men, for whom the gospel is not fitted.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
90. “Stale godliness is ungodliness. Let our religion be as warm, and constant, and natural as the flow of the blood in our veins. A living God must be served in a living way.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
91. “The best style of prayer is that which cannot be called anything else but a cry.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
92. “To pray is to mount on eagle’s wings above the clouds and get into the clear heaven where God dwelleth.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
93. “I would not give much for your religion unless it can be seen. Lamps do not talk, but they do shine.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
94. “If God calls you to be a minister, don’t stoop to becoming a king.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
95. “The glory of the salvation of souls belongs to God, and to Him alone.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
96. “A true prayer is an inventory of needs, a catalog of necessities, an exposure of secret wounds, a revelation of hidden poverty.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
97. “It’s a good thing God chose me before I was born, because he surely would not have afterwards.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
98. “A prayer less soul is a Christ less soul…”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
99. “When your will is God’s will, you will have your will.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
100. “Praise is the beauty of a Christian. What wings are to a bird, what fruit is to the tree, what the rose is to the thorn, that is praise to a child of God.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
101. “Prayer is not a hard requirement – it is the natural duty of a creature to its creator, the simplest homage that human need can pay to divine liberality.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
102. “Time is short. Eternity is long. It is only reasonable that this short life be lived in the light of eternity.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
103. “You may speak but a word to a child, and in that child there may be slumbering a noble heart which shall stir the Christian Church in years to come.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
104. “Nothing is so sweet as to lie passive in God’s hands, and know no will but His.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
105. “The glory of God’s faithfulness is that no sin of ours has ever made Him unfaithful.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
106. “Child of God, you cost Christ too much for him to forget you.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
107. “Backsliders begin with dusty Bibles and end with filthy garments.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
108. “Let gratitude be awakened; let humility be deepened; let love be quickened.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
109. “The Lord gets his best soldiers out of the highlands of affliction.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
110. “The Bible, the whole Bible, and nothing but the Bible is the religion of Christ’s church.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
111. “Without the Spirit of God we can do nothing. We are as ships without wind or chariots without steeds. Like branches without sap, we are withered. Like coals without fire, we are useless. As an offering without the sacrificial flame, we are unaccepted.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
112. “Prayer is the slender nerve that moves the muscle of omnipotence.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
113. “My faith rests not in what I am, or shall be, or feel, or know, but in what Christ is, in what he has done, and in what he is doing for me.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
114. “There is hardship in everything except eating pancakes.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
115. “Sincerity makes the very least person to be of more value than the most talented hypocrite.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
116. “The fear of God is the death of every other fear; like a mighty lion, it chases all other fears before it.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
117. “When joy and prayer are married, their first born child is gratitude.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
118. “If you wish to know God, you must know his Word. If you wish to perceive His power, you must see how He works by his Word. If you wish to know His purpose before it comes to pass, you can only discover it by His Word.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
119. “Wisdom is the right use of knowledge.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
120. “We shall not grow weary of waiting upon God if we remember how long and how graciously He once waited for us.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
121. “This is now a covenant of pure grace; let no man attempt to mix works with it.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
122. “Defend the Bible? I’d sooner defend a lion. You don’t defend the Bible; you open its cage and let it roar.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
123. “If Christ be anything he must be everything. O rest not till love and faith in Jesus be the master passions of your soul!”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
124. “Morality may keep you out of jail, but it takes the blood of Jesus Christ to keep you out of hell.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
125. “Love for God is obedience; love for God is holiness. To love God and to love man is to be conformed to the image of Christ, and this is salvation.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
126. “Groanings which cannot be uttered are often prayers which cannot be refused.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
127. “I am a pilgrim in the world, but at home in my God. In the earth I wander, but in God I dwell in a quiet habitation.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
128. “When we come to the end of self we come to the beginning of Christ.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
129. “Thus there will be three effects of nearness to Jesus humility, happiness, and holiness.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
130. “Periodical godliness is perpetual hypocrisy.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
131. “Remember the goodness of God in the frost of adversity.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
132. “We are not responsible to God for the soul that are saved, but we are responsible for the Gospel that is preached, and for the way in which we preach it.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
133. “If you have to give a carnival to get people to come to church, then you will have to keep giving carnivals to keep them coming back.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
134. “Suffering is better than sinning. There is more evil in a drop of sin than in an ocean of affliction. Better, burn for Christ, than turn from Christ.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
135. “Sanctification grows out of faith in Jesus Christ. Reemember holiness is a flower, not a root; it is not sanctification that saves, but salvation that sanctifies.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
136. “The day we find the perfect church, it becomes imperfect the moment we join it.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
137. “No man can put on the robes of Christ’s righteousness till he has taken off his own.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
138. “Look to the cross, and hate your sin, for sin nailed your Well Beloved to the tree.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
139. “Bible study is the metal that forges a Christian.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
140. “Live in such a way that men may recognize that you have been with Jesus.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
141. “Before you can teach children, you must get the silver key of kindness to unlock their hearts, and so secure their attention.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
142. “I know of no better thermometer to your spiritual temperature than this, the measure of the intensity of your prayer.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
143. “Carve your name on hearts, not on marble.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
144. “Suffering times are a Christian’s harvest time.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
145. “What, for some, is sin, others do to the glory of God. And the good Dr. Pentecost’s remarks notwithstanding, I intend to go home tonight and smoke a cigar to the glory of God. It is a kind of incense drifting to Heaven.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
146. “You cannot be Christ’s servant if you are not willing to follow him, cross and all. What do you crave? A crown? Then it must be a crown of thorns if you are to be like him. Do you want to be lifted up? So you shall, but it will be upon a cross.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
147. “When you have no helpers, see your helpers in God. When you have many helpers, see God in all your helpers. When you have nothing but God, see all in God. When you have everything, see God in everything. Under all conditions, stay thy heart only on the Lord.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
148. “To be a soul winner is the happiest thing in the world. And with every soul you bring to Jesus Christ, you seem to get a new heaven here upon earth.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
149. “Do not despair, dear heart, but come to the Lord with all your jagged wounds, black bruises, and running sores. He alone can heal, and He delights to do it. It is our Lord’s office to bind up the brokenhearted, and He is gloriously at home at it.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
150. “I have now concentrated all my prayers into one, and that one prayer is this, that I may die to self, and live wholly to Him.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon
