Thomas Nelson NKJV
Charles H. Spurgeon
On January 6, 1850, a fifteen-year-old Spurgeon was making his way to church when a blizzard forced him to seek shelter in a small Primitive Methodist chapel in Colchester. The scheduled preacher didn’t show, and a lay minister stood to deliver a simple message from Isaiah 45:22: “Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth.”
The man looked directly at the young Spurgeon and said, “Young man, you look very miserable… Look to Jesus Christ.” That moment transformed Spurgeon’s life forever. He later wrote, “I did look, and the cloud was gone, the darkness had rolled away, and that moment I saw the sun.”
C.H. Spurgeon, photographed in London
“I did look, and the cloud was gone, the darkness had rolled away, and that moment I saw the sun.”
London’s Pulpit Phenomenon
At just nineteen, Spurgeon became pastor of the New Park Street Chapel in Southwark, London. Within months, the chapel’s 1,200 seats proved insufficient, and the congregation moved to increasingly larger venues—including the Exeter Hall and the Surrey Music Hall—to accommodate the thousands who came to hear him preach.
In 1861, the Metropolitan Tabernacle opened with seating for 5,600. It remained filled Sunday after Sunday for the next thirty-one years. Spurgeon’s sermons were transcribed weekly, selling 25,000 copies each, and were translated into dozens of languages. He became known as the “Prince of Preachers.”
The Spurgeon Library. About Charles Spurgeon | The Spurgeon Library. Accessed October 1, 2026
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My First Impression
My Overall Impression
This Bible is attractive and clearly made with care. It’s the kind of Bible you would enjoy setting out on a table or giving as a sweet gift. Even though it’s lovely, some of the choices inside keep me from giving it a high rating. Below are my positives and negatives.
Positives
• Beautiful layout — The organized design is very pretty, and it feels especially nice to hold.
• Thoughtful touches — You can tell someone took time to make it look nice. The brown flexible cover with gold outer pages is attractive. On the spine, a nice imprint says, “Spurgeon and the Church,” printed in the same matching gold as the fish symbol on the front cover.
Negatives
• Many Bibles include a summary of each book of the Bible. This one does not. It opens with a paragraphed quote from Charles Spurgeon. I feel like Spurgeon is sitting at the head of the table, and Jesus is placed at the end.
Final Thought
No matter how hard I try, I cannot justify a Bible that doesn’t include the Gospels, which makes it hard for me to recommend it as a devotional or Scripture‑study resource. I understand the concept of a Bible about the early church; but this particular book still does not sit well with me. This book is lovely to look at, but it doesn’t offer the full richness of Scripture—especially since it excludes the life and words of Jesus Himself.
- I am rating Spurgeon and the Church as a 3-star, although for the right person at the right time, it would be lovely and honestly appreciated — maybe for a student studying Charles Spurgeon.
