What I am Reading: Talks to Farmers, by Charles H. Spurgeon

Charles Haddon Spurgeon was the most famous British pastor at the end of the 19th century. At its peak Spurgeon’s church exceeded 5,000 regular attenders, and hundreds of thousands read his sermons weekly. Yet, the distinction of his preaching was that he spoke the language of the common man. Spurgeon was averse to pomposity, embellishment, and flowery language. His straightforward simplicity allowed him to communicate the truths of Scripture to anyone, regardless of their education or social status.

Spurgeon was also a master of illustration, and his understanding of agricultural life provided a rich treasure trove of ways to shed light on the biblical text. This volume delights with brilliant insights into the way the natural world pictures the Christian life and the human heart.

Thomas Nelson Publishers has published a volume of Spurgeon’s Talks to Farmers: Inspiring, Uplifting, Faith-Building Meditations. Here is an example of the wisdom and salt-of-the-earth brilliance in the book:

“Why is the sluggard void of understanding? Is it not because he has opportunities which he does not use? His day has come, his day is going, and he lets the hours glide by to no purpose. Let me not press too hard on anyone, but let me ask you all to press as hard as you can on yourselves, asking, Am I making good use of my time as it flies by? The sluggard had a vineyard, but he did not cultivate it; he had a field, but he did not till it. Do you, friends, use all your opportunities? I know we each have some power to serve God, but do we use it? If we are his children, he has not put one of us where we will be useless. Somewhere we may shine by the light he has given us, though that light be only a tiny candle. Are we still shining? Do we sow beside all waters? Do we in the morning sow our seed, and in the evening still stretch out our hand? If not, we are rebuked by the sweeping censure of Solomon, who said that the slothful is a “man void of understanding.”