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Robert Murray M’Cheyne (pronounced, and occasionally spelled as “McCheyne”; 21 May 1813 – 25 March 1843) was a minister in the Church of Scotland from 1835 to 1843. He was born at Edinburgh, was educated at the University of Edinburgh and at the Divinity Hall of his native city, where he was taught by Thomas Chalmers. He first served as an assistant to John Bonar in the parish of Larbert and Dunipace, near Falkirk, from 1835 to 1838. Thereafter he became forever associated with St. Peter’s Church (in Dundee, where he served as minister until his early death at the age of 29 during an epidemic of typhus.
Not long after his death, his friend Andrew Alexander Bonar edited his biography which was published with some of his manuscripts as The Memoir and Remains of the Rev. Robert Murray M’Cheyne. The book went into many editions. It has had a lasting influence on Evangelical Christianity worldwide.
In 1839, M’Cheyne and Bonar, together with two older ministers, Dr. Alexander Black and Dr. Alexander Keith, were sent to Palestine on a mission of inquiry to the condition of the Jews. Upon their return, their official report for the Board of Mission of the Church of Scotland was published as Narrative of a Visit to the Holy Land and Mission of Inquiry to the Jews. This led subsequently to the establishment of missions to the Jews by the Church of Scotland and by the Free Church of Scotland. During M’Cheyne’s absence, his place was filled by the appointment of William Chalmers Burns to preach at St. Peter’s as his assistant.
M’Cheyne was a preacher, a pastor, a poet, and wrote many letters. He was also a man of deep piety and a man of prayer. He never married.
M’Cheyne died exactly two months before the Disruption of 1843. This being so, his name was subsequently held in high honour by all the various branches of Scottish Presbyterianism, though he himself held a strong opinion against the Erastianism which led to the Disruption. Bonar records, “And when, on the 7th March of the following year (i.e. 1843), the cause of the Church was finally to be pleaded at the bar of the House of Commons, I find him writing: ‘Eventful night this in the British Parliament! Once more King Jesus stands at an earthly tribunal, and they know Him not!'” (Memoir {1892 ed.}, p. 147).
M’Cheyne designed a widely used system for reading through the Bible in one year. The plan entails reading the New Testament and the Psalms through twice a year, and the Old Testament through once. [see the Bible Reading Plan]
Read more…[About R. M. M’Cheyne]
10月 罗伯特·默里·麦克谦 October – Robert Murray M’Cheyne
罗伯特·默里·麦克谦（Robert Murray M’Cheyne）(1813-1843), (又译作:麦琴,麦切恩,马钦芮,麦克齐尼等) 在教会的历史上是一个闻名的受人尊敬的人。他在苏格兰邓迪（Dundee）的圣彼得大教堂当了7年的牧师，直到英年早逝，死时离他三十岁的生日还差两个月。麦克谦的一生说明了一件事：生命的长短不是最重要的；最重要的，是你的一生是否完全为主燃烧、为主所用。。他在那里的事奉深深地印上了他个人的圣洁、对失丧者得救的祷告和同情，有力的传福音活动和孜孜不倦的劝勉。 十九世纪三十年代末期至四十年代早期，M’Cheyne生活圣洁，是神大大使用的仆人，有许多次记录表明，他刚到讲坛上，还没有开口讲道，就有人开始哭泣知罪。这位神仆来自上帝的同在和圣灵的浇灌。每个人在外部就能见到。1839年在他的会众中爆发的复兴运动很快传遍了整个苏格兰，使成千上万的人归向了基督。他真正地爱孩子们，并坚持向孩子们传福音。据记载“在麦克谦的教会里，尤其在复兴时期，许多孩子归向了基督。”他自己就他的教会写道: “在这里投身主工的主仆们相信孩子们是失丧的，可通过恩典而得救，因此开始对他们就象对成人一样自由传讲。且神对他们的劳苦大加尊荣，许多10岁以上的孩子们已有了重生的充分明证。”
有一次他说:“那些大多数得救的，都是在年轻时就扑向基督的……那些上了年纪的人太聪明、太谨慎而不接受神儿子的宝血的救赎，且祂向比较年轻、不太聪明的人显现……如果你问一问那些上了年纪的基督徒，他们大多数会告诉你，当他们年轻时是多么担忧自己灵魂。多好的一个寻求早年被带向基督的原因啊！如果你不是年轻时得救，那么你有可能永不会得救。年轻时是归主的好时期。”他在一个关于家庭的布道中说: “撒但在父母中撒播了一种错误的谨慎，使其不愿询问他们的孩子：‘你是否找到了主？’在永恒里看，这是多么有罪的事情啊……今晚就开始问吧。把他们带到一边问一问: ‘神为你的灵魂做了些什么？’”
这位传讲复兴信息的苏格兰牧者M’Cheyne早在一个半世纪以前已纠正我们说：「我的会众最大的需要是……」好了，你会期望这一位牧者怎样说下去呢？是某项活动或某些特别的技巧？是对事物的一种新观点？抑或是什么呢？ 罗伯特·默里·麦切恩这样说下去：「……我个人的圣洁」
他说:”信心的一瞥也许可以带来救赎，但定睛注目的信心却能使人成圣。在夜深就寝后，对基督匆促的一瞥，永远不能使人的性格有基本的转变。”
1842年发表的[麦琴读经法]，影响了很多人，后来也深深影响了近代的清教徒钟马田牧师和改革宗福音派的斯托德博士。
蒙你拣选，因不在我，
罪中醒来，急避怒火，
求主作我，避难处所，
求主圣灵，洗我罪过。
主恩浩大，铭感心窝，
求主教我，爱你更多。
– Robert Murray M’Cheyne
（When this Passing World is Done）
阅读更多…[麦克谦的作品]
Arthur Walkington Pink (1 April 1886 – 15 July 1952) was an English Christian evangelist and Biblical scholar known for his staunchly Calvinist and Puritan-like teachings.
Pink was born in Nottingham, England on April 1, 1886 and became a Christian in 1908, at the age of 22. Though born to Christian parents, prior to conversion he migrated into a Theosophical society (an occult Gnostic group popular in England during that time), and quickly rose in prominence within their ranks. His conversion came from his father’s patient admonitions from Scripture. It was the verse, Proverbs 14:12, ‘there is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death,’ which particularly struck his heart and compelled him to renounce Theosophy and follow Jesus.
Desiring to grow in knowledge of the Bible, Pink immigrated to the United States to study at Moody Bible Institute. In 1916 he married Vera E. Russell (January 8, 1893 – July 17, 1962), who was from Kentucky. However, he left after just two months for Colorado, then California, then Britain. From 1925 to 1928 he served in Australia, including as pastor of two congregations from 1926 to 1928, when he returned to England, and to the United States the following year. He eventually pastored churches in Colorado, California, Kentucky, and South Carolina.
In January 1922 he started a monthly magazine entitled Studies in the Scriptures which circulated among English-speaking Christians worldwide, though only to a relatively small circulation list of around 1,000.
In 1934 Pink returned to England, and within a few years turned his Christian service to writing books and pamphlets. Pink died in Stornoway, Scotland on July 15, 1952. The cause of death was anemia.
After Pink’s death, his works were republished by a number of publishing houses, among them, Banner of Truth Trust, Baker Book House, Christian Focus Publications, Moody Press, Truth for Today, and reached a much wider audience as a result. Biographer Iain Murray observes of Pink, “the widespread circulation of his writings after his death made him one of the most influential evangelical authors in the second half of the twentieth century.” His writing sparked a revival of expository preaching and focused readers’ hearts on biblical living. Yet, even today, Pink is left out of most biographical dictionaries and overlooked in many religious histories.
His well known books published are: [The Sovereignty of God], [The Attributes Of God] and more.
Read more…[About A. W. Pink]
9月 亚瑟·沃金顿·宾克 September – Arthur Walkington Pink
亚瑟·宾克（Arthur Pink）的事工――一项他活着的时候很没有被人注意的事工。在由这位基督的仆人所写的一本书信集的序言中有下面的描述：
1952年7月15日，当亚瑟·沃金顿·宾克（Arthur Walkington Pink）在外赫布理群岛的斯多诺威去世的时候，除了一小个朋友圈子和他的月刊杂志《圣经学习》的读者以外，几乎没有人注意到他的逝去。他曾经在四个国家住过，并且讲道，然而他死的时候，他的名字在英语世界的基督徒中间是不为人知的。《圣经学习》杂志艰难地维持了四十年，读者人数很少有超过1000人的时候。
然而，从那时起，已经有宾克著述的成百上千本书――比如像《神的主权》以及《神的属性》等就一直被销售，并且被热切的读者阅读。许多人最终第一次明白并且接受了合乎圣经的恩典教义以及更为广泛的改革宗信仰或是在他们的认识中受到了极大的帮助。亚瑟·宾克通过他的著作成了改革宗浸信会和其它加尔文主义浸信会兴起的一股主要影响力。所以我们将停下来进一步了解他的生活。
A. W.宾克于1886年生于英格兰。1908，当他在卧室中单独一个人独处的时候接受了耶稣。20岁出头的时候他就成了一名委身的基督徒。归正之后，A.W.宾克差不多马上就感到有一种呼召要他从事事奉,所以，他决定上圣经学校或是神学院，但又不能认同当时许多基督教神学机构在教义上的偏差。1910年,22岁的时候他还是报名进了慕迪圣经学院。可是在六周以后离开了这所学院，尽管没有学位，他还是很快在科罗拉多州的一个矿业城镇一家教会获得了牧师职位。在这里他也没有久留，他继续在美国从一个地方搬到另一个地方，试图为主作工。他从科罗拉多到加利弗尼亚到肯塔基又到南卡罗来纳。他是一个勤奋好学的人，开始阅读一些好书，包括约翰·加尔文和约拿单·爱德华滋的著作。在他阅读这些书的时候，他开始深信他们所教导的教义是来自于神的话语。
1916年他娶了维拉罗素为妻，此人成了一生与他相濡以沫的朋友，在他整个的事奉生涯当中成了他主要的依靠和忠诚的伴侣。1925年，宾克离开美国到澳大利亚住了三年，1928年回到英格兰，1929年回到美国，然后1936年又回到英格兰，在英格兰的南部海岸定居下来。然而，当第二次世界大战使这个地区变得很危险，成为面临可能被侵略的地区时，宾克协同妻子搬离了那里，搬到英伦三岛中尽量远离南海岸的地方，到了苏格兰北赫布理斯群岛的路易斯岛，在这里他们度过了余生。
他曾做过美国和奥州几家教会的牧师，这期间很少有人知道他。最后他于1934年回到故乡，生命最后的12年是在苏格兰西岸的赫布里底群岛度过的，在那里他出版了他的《圣经学习》，订阅的人也很少,这份出版物的流通很少有超过1000份的时候。然而宾克感到神在祝福他著作的事工，这与他公开的传道事工形成了鲜明对照，因为主似乎没有祝福后者，这从他不断的搬家换地方就可以看到。宾克的部分挑战是，他看来性格有点古怪，不善于与人相处，然而他可以看到，神在祝福他勤奋努力的写作事工。主当时的确在使用宾克恢复新约圣经的基督教，最终远远超出了宾克有生之年所能看到的景象。他的《圣经学习》的出版只发行到1953年底就停止了，最后几期含有宾克生前预备的材料，在他1952年去世后，由他忠心而又坚忍的妻子发行的。这份出版物起初按月印刷的系列文章最终被收集起来，成了我们今天所拥有的宾克书籍的绝大部分内容，这些书曾经对那么多人起了帮助作用。
直到宾克于1952年去世之后人们才领受到他事工的广度和深度。他的去世几乎没有引起任何注意。然而，到那时为止，他的杂志已经在喂养好几个倡导和率领归回圣经教义基督教的重要人物了，其中包括钟马田和大学校际团契的建立者道格拉斯约翰逊，并且在他死后他的著述在全世界被人广泛阅读。他是一位刚强而又复杂的人物，一个真理的勇士，同时又是一个谦卑的基督徒。如今宾克被认为是一位重要的著作者，教师和圣经学者，宾克的著作在回归圣经式的讲道和合乎圣经的生活方面起了主要作用。
另外他也相信神呼召他从事书信的事工，因而写了大量的书信，代之以常规牧师职责的是他的读者们成了他的会众，他毫不怜惜提供属灵上的指导和咨询，给人指点迷津。他的出版物《神的属性》是对启示在圣经中的神完美品性的研究。《基督徒的安慰》这本书集中于神的应许，还有《圣灵》是一部系统阐述和详细察看有关圣灵每一处经文的书。《神的主权》,《A.W.宾克书信集》收录了他从1924年到1951年之间的个人信函，他让我们进一步认识亚 瑟.宾克这位圣经学者和他的为人。
阅读更多…[宾克的作品]
David Martyn Lloyd-Jones (20 December 1899 – 1 March 1981) was a Welsh Protestant minister and preacher who was influential in the Reformed wing of the British evangelical movement in the 20th century. For almost 30 years, he was the minister of Westminster Chapel in London. Lloyd-Jones was strongly opposed to the liberal theology that had become a part of many Christian denominations, regarding it as aberrant. He disagreed with the broad church approach and encouraged evangelical Christians (particularly Anglicans) to leave their existing denominations, taking the view that true Christian fellowship was only possible amongst those who shared common convictions regarding the nature of the faith.
Early life and ministry
Lloyd-Jones was born in Cardiff and raised in Llangeitho, Ceredigion. Llangeitho is associated with the Welsh Methodist revival, as it was the location of Daniel Rowland’s ministry. Attending a London grammar school between 1914 and 1917 and then St Bartholomew’s Hospital as a medical student, in 1921 he started work as assistant to the Royal Physician, Sir Thomas Horder. After struggling for two years over what he sensed was a calling to preach, in 1927 Lloyd-Jones returned to Wales, having married Bethan Phillips (with whom he later had two children, Elizabeth and Ann), accepting an invitation to minister at a church in Aberavon (Port Talbot).
Westminster Chapel
After a decade ministering in Aberavon, in 1939 he went back to London, where he had been appointed as associate pastor of Westminster Chapel, London, working alongside G. Campbell Morgan. The day before he was officially to be accepted into his new position, World War II broke out in Europe. During the same year, he became the president of the Inter-Varsity Fellowship of Students (known today as the Universities and Colleges Christian Fellowship (UK)). During the war he and his family moved to Haslemere, Surrey. In 1943 Morgan retired, leaving Jones as the sole Pastor of Westminster Chapel.
Lloyd-Jones was well-known for his expository style of preaching, and the Sunday morning and evening meetings at which he officiated drew crowds of several thousand, as did the Friday evening Bible studies – which were, in effect, sermons in the same style. He would take many months – even years – to expound a chapter of the Bible verse by verse. His sermons would often be around fifty minutes to an hour in length, attracting many students from universities and colleges in London. His sermons were also transcribed and printed (virtually verbatim) in the weekly Westminster Record, which was read avidly by those who enjoyed his preaching.
Later life
Lloyd-Jones retired from his ministry at Westminster Chapel in 1968, following a major operation. He spoke of a belief that God had stopped him from continuing to preach through the New Testament book of the Letter to the Romans in his Friday evening Bible study exposition because he did not personally know enough about “joy in the Holy Spirit” which was to be his next sermon (based on Romans 14:17). For the rest of his life he concentrated on editing his sermons to be published, counselling other ministers, answering letters and attending conferences. Perhaps his most famous publication is a 14 volume series of commentaries on the Epistle to the Romans, the first volume of which was published in 1970.
Despite spending most of his life living and ministering in England, Lloyd-Jones was proud of his roots in Wales. He best expressed his concern for his home country through his support of the Evangelical Movement of Wales: he was a regular speaker at their conferences,[4] preaching in both English and Welsh. Since his death, the movement has published various books, in English and Welsh, bringing together selections of his sermons and articles.
Lloyd-Jones preached for the last time on 8 June 1980 at Barcombe Baptist Chapel. After a lifetime of work, he died peacefully in his sleep at Ealing on 1 March 1981, St David’s Day. He was buried at Newcastle Emlyn, near Cardigan, west Wales. A well-attended thanksgiving service was held at Westminster Chapel on 6 April.
Read more…[About Martyn Lloyd-Jones]
8月 钟马田 August – Martyn Lloyd-Jones
一代解经大师钟马田
”钟马田医生是廿世纪英语世界中最杰出的传道人之一，这是毋庸置疑的。像我们这些有幸得以亲自聆听他讲道的人，至今都很难忘记当他沉浸在福音的光中，靠着神的大能说话时，我们的心灵所感受到的震撼。然而事实上并不是他这个人萦绕在我们心中不去，也不是属人的恩赐或知识上的才能，或他个人的吸引力给我们留下深刻的印象。是真理的能力、神的伟大、人的贫乏和圣经的荣耀启示及权柄，在所有听众的心版上留下了难以磨灭的记忆”
— Eric J Alexander
钟马田牧师于一八九九年十二月廿日生于英国南威尔斯，他在小学读书时已表现得相当优异，并立志将来要当医生。廿二岁那年，钟氏于圣巴德医学院毕业，得到内科与外科医学的双重荣誉奖。不久之后，旋即考入皇家医师协会为会员，担任皇室的御医之一。
正当他在医学界的声誉如日中天之际，他却开始考虑出来传道的可能性。有几个因素影响他做此决定。他说：”传道是人类所有呼召中最崇高、最伟大、最荣耀的呼召虽然我做基督徒已有多年，但事实上，我从前充其量只能算是一个经常参加教会礼拜的会友罢了。”他开始认真严肃地面对自己的基督徒生命，并且深刻体会到若离了神，人生实在是虚幻无用。特别是他从那些上流社会的权贵病患者身上看到，这些人的生命难题往往是道德上的，而不是医学上的。此外，他也在心中深深觉知自己是罪人，没有价值，并且确信神在基督里已经赦免了他。一九二七年，他毅然决然辞去了高薪的医职，投入全时间的传道工作，在长老会担任牧师达十年之久。
一九三九年，他正式接受伦敦西敏寺教会的邀请，担任坎伯摩根(G. Campbell Morgan)的副牧。五年之后摩根退休，他成为该堂的唯一牧师。他一共在该教会牧养了卅多年之久，每主日早晚讲道一次。另外每周五晚上的查经，也吸引了无数渴慕真道的人。
钟氏具有超卓独特的领悟力和属灵洞见，他的讲道揉合了生动的口才和逻辑的论理，其深奥使一个最成熟的听众也必须伫足沉思，其简明使一个孩童也能领悟明白。他最大的特长是根据一卷圣经，详细加以阐释解说，往往一章经文就可以讲上数月或数年之久。史庄(Robert Strong)曾评论道：”钟马田是这方面解经的佼佼者，不但立论平实可行，而且不失其学术的严谨性。”然而反观今天教会界，这类系统解经式的讲道却已逐渐式微。我们实在需要重新回到神话语的真理上去解释它、传扬它，并让它来改变我们的生命与生活。诚如钟马田医生所说：”如果对基督的工作只有肤浅的认识，那么所产生出来的基督徒生命也必然是肤浅的。”
钟马田的许多讲章后来被整理成书，译成多国文字，从此世界各地的信徒均得蒙造就。他的著作包括《登山宝训》、《罗马书》、《以弗所书》(已由美国活泉陆续出版)、《再思历史的主》 、《人的处境与神的能力》、《只夸基督十架》、《救恩的确据–约翰福音十七章信息》(美国活泉)、《灵性低潮》(证主)、《从恐惧到信靠–哈巴谷书研究》(校园)、《当代复兴真义》(校园)、 《旧约福音讲章》、《不可言喻的喜乐–认识圣灵的洗》(校园)等，其中一套八册的《以弗所书》，更是他毕生解经讲道中最完整、最详尽也最广为人知的一系列讲章。另外一套《罗马书》的信息也极为精彩，只可惜还未完结，钟马田牧师已离开人世，安息主怀，实在是后世信徒的一大损失。
在此我们追述钟马田牧师其人其事，但愿神丰丰富富地使用这些篇章，激励我们以认识神、敬畏神为乐，重新渴慕解经式的讲道，并更新我们对基督的爱。
阅读更多…[钟马田传记和作品]
George Campbell Morgan was born on December 9, 1863, in Tetbury, Gloucestershire, England. He was very sickly as a child, could not attend school, and so was tutored.
His father was a strict Plymouth Brethren pastor who resigned, become a Baptist, and in faith rented a mission hall to begin a new ministry.
George grew up preaching to his sister’s dolls. When he was ten, his family took him to hear D. L. Moody. When 13, George began preaching publicly, and was preaching regularly at the age of 15.
He became a school teacher in Birmingham to earn a living. In 1883 he worked with the evangelistic team of Moody and Sankey. In 1888, he was surprisingly turned down from a job at the Wesleyan Methodist Church when he failed his trial sermon. He read Darwin, Huxley, and other wicked writers when he was 19, and so wasted three years of his life. Finally he locked up his books in a cupboard and was found by the Bible. This became a major decision change in his life. From then on, he studied the Scriptures after prayer, and only after learning from it, would commentaries and other writings be consulted. This resulted in a fresh inspired message to preach.
He was tall, emaciated, and imposing, with a clear understanding, and an innate ability to cause the Scriptures to be comprehended, appreciated and used. He had a pleasing and strong voice that was perfect for speaking to large crowds. His writings and lectures were in high demand. All his life, he continued to be known for his long times of Bible Study, before speaking, keeping him from becoming stale and passé.
In 1896, D. L. Moody asked him to give a lecture at Moody Bible Institute, and he became frequent speaker there. In 1899, when Moody died, he was chosen to be the director of Moody’s Northfield Bible Conference. Morgan met the need of the many thousands of young converts who were hungry to learn from the pages of God’s Word.
He was a most valued speaker the Keswick meetings in England, but more of a Bible teacher than preacher. At his first visit to Keswick, the crowds flocked to hear him, leaving the smaller tent half empty. F. B. Meyer, one of the most popular speakers, said of the event, “He must increase, and I must decrease.” He had a mop of auburn hair, that became snow white in later years. He dressed immaculately, and left an indelible impression upon Keswick attendees.
He was ordained by the Congregationalists in London, and given a doctor of divinity degree by the Chicago Theological Seminary in 1902. During this time, Westminster Chapel of London, a church building built to seat 2500 people, was facing destruction. Even though Morgan had no formal training, he was hired to try to salvage the building and work. Charles Spurgeon and F. B. Meyer both had huge churches in the area, so this pulpit had been rejected by several big names of the day. Morgan ministered there from 1904 to 1917, and again from 1933 to 1943, completely reviving the church, area and people. While there he began the Friday Night Bible School, where he taught the Bible analytically and systematically, and drawing large crowds. He was pastor of the Tabernacle Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia from 1929 to 1932.
He was a travelling evangelist who attracted great crowds, and had many conversions, crossing the Atlantic 54 times. He was a friend of F. B. Meyer, Charles Spurgeon, and many other great preachers of his day.
He died in May 16, 1945, at the age of 81.
Read more…[About George Campbell Morgan ]
7月 摩根 July – George Campbell Morgan
坎培·摩根(George Campbell Morgan)是二十世纪初叶最卓越的解经家，誉为”解经王子”(Prince of Expositors)。他因没有受过良好的学校教育，在他事业的起始时，就为循理会所拒：因此，他转入公理宗，借着他的讲道及他的著作，他使每个教派都蒙福了。 从摩根得益的，包括大布道家慕迪(D. L. Moody)、钟马田，还有史百克(Theodore Austin Sparks)，以及数不清的布道家和教牧同工。
从某一方面说，他的伟大，已使他无法属于任何教派。一九零四年，他成为伦敦西敏寺教堂的牧师，那时西敏寺年久失修，成了公理会的大包袱，他上任不久，这座有二千五百座位的大教堂，以及两个楼座都坐满了人。据说，从清洁工人在地上捡到的钮扣数目，就可看出人涌入教堂要抢先入座的热烈情况。虽然，这种说法可能过分，但有的时候，教堂已经坐满，他就在预定一小时以前开讲了…。
冬天，每隔一周的星期二，他代邻区的一位牧师讲道，平均听众数目是一千七百人至二千人。星期三下午也与主日学教员一起研究星期日要讲授的圣经课。西敏寺教堂的讲台也经过改建，装上了大黑板，以备他教授圣经课时用。黑板上有听众看不到的暗线，使他在黑板上画线时能画得直。摩根曾说：[我不是单为自己做的，而是要作一个教师；去帮助那些因为他们日常工作不能像传道人用那样多时间去研读圣经的人。他用图解、大纲、追求简单、清楚与简短，他说，传道人是〝解释者〞，要使听的人可以明白。
摩根从未以单一教会为足。他在一周之中在英格兰各地旅行讲道，他用早晚的时间读书，他的传记中说：〝这游行讲道并未叫他站在讲台上，面对听众时缺乏准备。这项准备常用其它方式做成，因为他早起晚睡。那些挤到教堂，为圣经的奇妙所感动，第一次，或以新方式，看见圣经信息之力量的人，对于摩根在半夜灯下的准备工作，则毫无所知。这位在讲台上如此充满活力的人，他们没有看见他在清晨五时就在灯下在打开的圣经前作笔记了。他们也没有看见他坐在驰过原野的火车车厢?，他的心思默想着许多经文，探索、分析其中的真理，并寻求解释。
在那个神学正进行大争论的时代，他在西敏寺教堂的工作，对那些维护圣经基本信仰的人，正是一个坚强的堡垒。从一九一九至一九三二年，他旅行美国，在慕迪北野夏季圣经大会中扮演了一个主要的角色。在那几年中，他只在家中停留过八个月。从一九二九至一九三二年，他担任费城长老教会大教堂的牧师，但他仍然每周旅行到纽约及波士顿去讲解圣经；一九三二年，他接受了急迫的召请。再次回到英国伦敦西敏寺教堂，会堂与会众又再次需要重建，他看来是唯一能作成这大工的人。
对他而言，讲道，或说教导人圣经，讲解阐释圣经，永远是一项快乐。是甚么使他成为一个属灵的伟人的呢?
他的日记一再记载：〝读经整个上午〞，并且，他总是很晚才上床。年轻的传道人问他成功的秘诀时，摩根博士回答说：〝努力工作，殷勤努力工作、工作。〞早晨六点钟一过，他就到书房，好安静地研读圣经。人不可在上午打扰他，他是在研读圣经。神对人讲的话需要人专心去领受，而摩根博士就有这 份专心。
为他写传记的作家描写他关心他听众的情形时说：〝这强有力的信息；这些专心的听众，讲者与听者之间完全合一的气氛，乃是热切专心，献于〝我只有一件事〞传道的结果。对摩根说，他无比的责任，以及他心上经常的担子，乃是喂养主的羊群，他主日学中最小的羔羊，在他看来，与最成熟的学生同样重要。
他在为圣经每卷书预备大纲时，在他提笔之前，他计画先读五十遍。他讲到他一次坐下来读完出埃及记全卷，这样有四十遍之后，他才开始写下一些释经的注解。这些纲要及注释，就构成了今天英文版的〝The Analyzed Bible〞。
据说，他可随时用圣经任何一章讲一篇道，但是，他每次讲道，却总要用一小时作特别准备。他对圣经的一般准备是不断的，浓厚的。〝我可以说，〞他说：〝我经常在火车上读圣经。〞但是， 他并非隐士，他十分喜爱与人接触。他在慕迪的圣经大会中；下午的时间全用在社交及康乐活动；他总是成为人群中的核心，这时他并不与人讨论深奥的道理，只是讲一些有趣的故事，与人共度欢乐的时间。
西敏寺教堂的讲台既专献为解释圣经，摩根为儿童所设立的主日学也是以圣经为中心就不足为怪了。这可让我们看出，对摩根博土说，对所有年龄阶段的人，研究圣经都是同样的重要。
在他的计画中，有四年的圣经初级课程，学生在这项课程中熟读圣经中的故事，摩根博土发现，圣经中有一百五十个故事，适合五至八岁的孩子。九至十二岁少年阶段，他说，特别对连环的故事有兴趣。因此，他以圣经的传记材料，为少年人编了一百五十三课圣经课。在那最艰难的十三至十六岁的年月阶段，青春期的青少年正培植出人际关系的感觉。因此，研究圣经历史可以引起他们的兴趣。十六岁之后，青年人就可接受圣经中一些必须迟延的重要的教训–以色列的律法、诗歌、大小先知的信息、耶稣的教训，及使徒们的著作。
摩根如何使研读圣经成为他一生专长的呢？在十六岁之前，他从未怀疑过圣经的权威。他身为浸礼会传道人的儿子，他从未想过，任何诚实、受人尊敬的人，会怀疑圣经是神的话。
以后，他接受师资教育时，他听到达尔文．赫胥黎、施宾塞等人，这些人的哲学在宗教界投下了阴影。〝到了一个时侯，我对甚么都没有确信，〞他说，他三年之久失去了信心，他在〝世俗的殿堂?〞辩论新书中所讲的题目，他的媳妇 吉尔描写他如何解决困难的情形说：
〝最后，危机临到，他向自己承认，对圣经是否赋有神对人说话的权威，他完全失去了确信。他立即取消了一切讲道约会。那时，他将他所有的书籍，攻击圣经及为圣经辩护的书，全都放在屋角的柜子?。现在我听到锁的声响，他说，他出去，到街上书店，买了一本新圣经，带着圣经回到家中，他对自己说：〝我已不再确信，这本圣经像父亲所说那样具有权威，是神的话，但是，有一件事我却有把握，它若是神的话，我若是有开明的心思，不带偏见的去读它，它必会使我心灵获得保证。圣经找到了我，〞他说：〝那时，一八八三年，我开始研读圣经，自此，他人生的后五十年，没有一年他不出版一两本着作。他著作了七十本书，其中一些书是所有传道人为了充实自己所必读的书。读它们就会得益处。其中的许多内容，进入到其它传道人的讲词中。施韦．伯称〝基督的危机〞一书，是摩根最伟大的著作。他的两卷〝圣经中的活信息〞是释经者的另一颗珠宝。〝路加福音〞、 〝使徒行传〞、〝伟大的医生〞 都是神学中宝贵的著作。
阅读更多…[摩根传记和作品]
Born April 21, 1897, in the mountainous region of western Pennsylvania, Aiden Wilson Tozer influenced his generation like no other individual.
During his lifetime, Tozer, as he preferred, earned the reputation of a twentieth-century prophet. His spiritual gifts afforded him a degree of insight regarding biblical truth and the nature and state of the evangelical church in his day. Able to express his perceptions in a beautiful, simple, forceful manner, Tozer was often the voice of God when the words of others were but echoes. He saw through the fog of modern Christianity, pointing out the rocks on which it might flounder if it continued its course.
Just before his 17th birthday, Tozer heard a street preacher on a corner in Akron, Ohio, as he walked home from his job at a rubber factory. He could not shake off the simple message. “If you don’t know how to be saved,” the preacher said, “just call on God, saying, ‘Lord, be merciful to me a sinner.'” Wrestling with God for some time at home, Tozer emerged from his attic sanctuary a new creature in Christ.
Under the tutelage of his future mother-in-law, Tozer progressed rapidly in the things of God. She encouraged him to read good books, study the Bible, and pray. She also urged him to preach, often gathering people in her home to hear him.
In 1919, without formal education, they called Tozer to pastor a small storefront church in Nutter Fort, West Virginia. In these humble beginnings Tozer and his new bride, Ada Cecilia Pfaust, launched a ministry that was to span some forty-four years in The Christian and Missionary Alliance. Other churches in Indiana and Ohio would follow.
In 1928 Tozer received a call from The Southside Alliance Church in Chicago. That first Sunday in Chicago was notable. Francis Chase, a commercial illustrator, and close friend of Tozer’s, remembered that first service. “He said very little and I didn’t expect much. He was slight with plenty of black hair, and certainly not a fashion plate as we say. He wore a black tie about 1 1/4 inches in width. His shoes were even then outmoded; high tops with hooks part way up. I introduced him and left the platform. He said nothing about being pleased to be there or any other pat phrases usually given on such occasions, but simply introduced his sermon topic, which was, “God’s Westminster Abbey,” based on the eleventh chapter of Hebrews.”
Writing to a friend after accepting the call to Chicago, Tozer confided, “As soon as I passed the city limits of Indianapolis I had a favorable earnest of my decision. There swept over my soul a sweet peace and I knew that I was in the will of God.”
From the first, his approach to preaching captivated the congregation – with superior language and phrases – and his splendid voice and diction. Numbering around eighty people when Tozer began, the congregation had to build larger facilities in 1941 to accommodate about 800. Many felt there were only two great churches in Chicago: Moody Memorial Church with Harry Ironside and Southside Alliance Church where Tozer pastored. Hundreds of people, especially nearby college students, flocked to his services.
From 1951 to 1959 Tozer’s ministry enlarged when WMBI, the Moody radio station, broadcast a weekly program originating from his church study. His ministry to the nearby Bible colleges was his special delight. Tozer pastored the Southside Alliance Church from 1928 until 1959, when he accepted the call from the Avenue Road Alliance Church in Toronto, Canada.
Tozer was fond of saying, “I refuse to allow any man to put his glasses on me and force me to see everything in his light.” He literally burned the midnight oil in his quest for truth. Giving himself to the study of the great classics in religion, philosophy, literature, poetry, the church fathers and Christian mystics. His special love for poetry and the hymns of the church gave wings to his preaching and writing. A voracious reader, he would read a bit, then think and meditated on what he had read. He often said, “You should think ten times more than you read.” He never read a book merely to say he had read it. Always a book was to lead him on in his quest for God. In an editorial on the subject Tozer said that the best book was the one that starts the reader on a train of thought and then bows out, its work finished.
In 1950 Tozer was elected editor of the Alliance Weekly, now the Alliance Life, official magazine of The Christian and Missionary Alliance. The committee that presented Tozer’s name said of him, “His clear and forceful style and Bible-loving Christians will approve his unique presentation of a Christ-centered gospel . . . everywhere.” That proved prophetic, as under Tozer’s leadership the magazine doubled in circulation. The Alliance Weekly, more than anything else, helped establish Tozer as a spokesman to the evangelical church at large. Someone observed that the Alliance Weekly was the only magazine subscribed to solely for its editorials. Many subscribed to the Alliance Weekly simply for Tozer’s pungent editorials and insightful articles.
Tozer’s forte was his prayer life. He often said, “As a man prayed so is he.” To him the worship of God was paramount in his life and ministry. He believed that true service would flow out of pure worship. His preaching and his writings were but extensions of his prayer life. What he discovered in prayer soon found its way into his sermons, then articles and editorials and finally into his many books.
Tozer greatly appreciated craftsmanship and excellence. His writings reveal that he demanded the utmost from himself. Wide reading and a disciplined mind provided him tremendous resources for the apt expressions that flowed from his tongue and pen. Often he would say, “There’s a right word; use it.” Invariably he had the right word at his fingertips.
The great care with which he produced his books established him as a devotional writer of a classic nature who will long be read when we forget his spoken ministry. He labored diligently to develop a style and strength of expression that continually attracted attentions.
Tozer’s lively imagination and descriptive powers gave force and vividness to his presentations. He spent hours meticulously producing sermons that we could describe as majestic and profound. Instead of shouting, he used crisp, precise, climatic sentences. His voice and delivery were rather quiet, but the sermon penetrated the soul.
Through his preaching and writing Tozer issued a clarion call for evangelicals to return to authentic, biblical, personal and inward positions that characterized the Christian church when she was most faithful to Christ and His Word. As he expounded the Scriptures, analyzing, or explaining a biblical truth, listeners were brought face to face with decisions they would never forget or regret.
As an intellectual beast of prey, Tozer could tear the faulty arguments of an author to pieces. He seemed to have a spiritual intuition enabling him to scent error, name it for what it was and reject it in one decisive act.
Tozer’s method of preaching was the strong declaration of biblical principles, never merely an involvement in word studies, clever outlines or statistics. Listening to his recorded sermons or reading any of his books, the observer will notice the absence of alliteration. He thought alliteration was artificial. His style was the simple unfolding of truth as naturally as a flower unfolding in the sunlight.
Much like that of Will Rogers, we can describe Tozer’s humor as good, honest, homespun wit. He was not a storyteller or joke-teller, but in the turn of a phrase, a sharp observation through satire or a homely illustration, he got his point across.
In the true and best sense of the word, Tozer was a mystic. He placed great emphasis on the contemplation of divine things resulting in the God conscious life.
The last literary project of Tozer’s, completed just before his death and published several months after, was THE CHRISTIAN BOOK OF MYSTICAL VERSE. This was a compilation of a wealth of mystic poetry that had warmed and blessed Tozer’s heart throughout the years.
In his daily walk and ministry Tozer had a sense of God that enveloped him in reverence and adoration. His one daily exercise was the practice of the presence of God, pursuing Him with all his strength and energy. To him, Jesus Christ was a daily wonder, a recurring astonishment, a continual amazement of love and grace.
Toward the end of his life Tozer remarked, “I have found God to be cordial and generous and in every way easy to live with.” For almost fifty years Tozer lived in God. He was not a perfect man; He had his faults and “warts,” possessed a disposition that caused him grief and heartache. Although never nasty or venomous, at times he had to apologize to those he inadvertently hurt when he spontaneously popped their balloons of pretense, pomposity and posturing.
Toward the end of his ministry he requested of his congregation: “Pray for me in the light of the pressures of our times. Pray that I will not just come to a wearied end ?- an exhausted, tired old preacher, interested only in hunting a place to roost. Pray that I will be willing to let my Christian experience and Christian standards cost me something right down to the last gasp!”
On May 12, 1963, A.W. Tozer’s earthly labors ended. His faith in God’s majesty became sight as he entered His presence. At the funeral his daughter Becky said something typical of what Tozer himself would have said. “I can’t feel sad; I know Dad’s happy; he’s lived for this all his life.” And so he had. Although his physical presence is far removed from us, Tozer will continue to minister to those thirsty for the things of God.
Read more…[About Aiden Wilson Tozer]
6月 陶恕 June – Aiden Wilson Tozer
如施浸约翰成为主耶稣的先锋，为他预备道路。陶恕也是在历史中荒凉期间，是所神兴起来的一位先知。他因着有一颗单纯渴慕神的心，得以听见神那隐秘的声音，并看见他的荣面。这个深刻的属灵经历，使他有权柄和勇气，在这邪恶堕落的世代，单独地为神作见证，一生忠心地事奉神。他弃绝一切的理学、传统知识，只谨慎地以圣经中神纯正完全的话为根基。他不倚靠任何力量，只倚靠圣灵的能力。
在他一生中，他热切地与神相交，在圣灵的引导下来解释神的话语和旨意。由于他清心的追求，他发现了不少隐藏的真理。在他的信息中，为了维护纯正的真理，往往直接地指出许多这世代的不义与掺杂，而成为二十世纪的“愤怒的先知”。
但在这荒凉的世代，他那充满了对神渴慕的信息，正供应了不少属灵饥渴的圣徒，使他们得以饮于活水的泉源。
1915年，他十八岁生日快到时，陶恕得救了。那经历就像当日保罗往大马色的途中遇见主一样。当时他身在闹市的街角，与一位年长的露天传道人一起。那人所说的话中肯有力。他说：“你若不知道怎样可以得救，只要呼喊神，说：‘主阿，怜悯我这个罪人!’”于是陶恕回到家里，躲在楼上，内心开始挣扎，与神接触、摔跤。
结果，他从房间出来时，已是个新造的人了。跟着他在亚克朗的恩典循道会聚会，然后在弟兄会里受浸。他重生得救的过程似乎是一瞬间，其实在这之前，神已作了相当长久的预备；譬如借着他的祖母玛嘉烈，经常向孙儿们讲述神，也借各样的环境翻松土壤，把生命的种子撒到他里头。
得救后，圣灵的工作改变了他的生命。他的心窍开启了，并且主所给的恩赐，也逐渐在他身上显露，家人和朋友都能看见他的改变。不过这只是他属灵旅程的开端，要走的路还长远呢!他的性格需要经过主的磨练，恩典与知识，还需要不断增长。圣灵的果子成熟，必须待以时日。渐渐，他年轻时愤世嫉俗的态度除掉了，对主信心日坚。以前专好争吵辩论，现在也变得比较仁慈体贴了。
陶恕一得救马上为主作见证，跟弟兄姊妹一同在街上传福音，又召开祷告众会。起初他只凭一股火热，不等候圣灵感动，就跑去挨家挨户按门钤，邀请人到他家里聚会。
陶恕自己动笔写的书共有九本，目前美国基督徒出版社 (Christian Publications)出版的陶恕书目约有四十本，其中的三十本，是出自他的讲道记录，也有的是将他在刊物上发表过的文章，编集成书。
陶恕出版的第一本书，是一本传记，即一九四三年出版的《展翅》(Wingspread)。《展翅》亦即宣道会创办人宣信 (Albert Benjamin Simpson)的传记。
陶恕于一九四七年，推出他创作的第二本书——《容我的百姓去》(Let My People Go)，这本书是翟辅民 (Robert Alexander Jaffray)的传记。
陶恕在《容我的百姓去》的序言里，曾谈及基督教传记著作的重要性。陶恕说：“在圣经之外对基督徒信心生活贡献最大的可能是传记。令人注意的是圣经本身有相当大的部分是交代先知们族长们和君王们的生平和事工。写到他们的所是、所为和所说。写到他们如何祷告、如何劳苦，和如何受害最后如何得胜。”
一九四八年，陶恕整个晚上没有睡，他的话语从里面源源不绝地涌出来，他几乎来不及把这些灵感记在稿纸上。第二天早晨火车到达麦亚伦时，整本书《渴慕神》(The Pursuit of God)也就写毕。
《渴慕神》出版之后，陶恕登时成为美国卓越的基督教作家。读者们争先恐后地抢购这本书。这本书成为二十世纪的先知书。
《渴慕神》虽然是在二十四小时之内在火车上写成草稿的，但是这本书的腹稿是陶恕长期跪在神面前祷告之后，从神直接领受的。难怪这本书带有先知锐利的洞察力，同时蕴藏了无比的力量和祝福。
在《渴慕神》一书中，陶恕这样写着：
“我们渴慕神，唯一的原因是他先把那种寻求他的心愿，放在我们心的深处。我们的主说，如果不是差我来的父吸引人，就没有人能到我这里来。由于是他先吸引我们，因此我们不能夸口自己的功劳。 渴慕神的心是出乎神，但是我们这方面的回应就是紧紧地追随他。当我们寻求他的时候，我们实际上是在他的手中，因他说过，他的手扶持着我。”
陶恕写这本书时，内心经过挣扎和争战，几乎每一行字都是在祷告中和默想中渴慕神的结晶品，当年这本书风靡全球，时至今日该书仍读之有益。《渴慕神》这本书已被译为阿拉伯文、阿美尼亚文、中文、荷兰文、德文、希腊文、印度的古吉拉特邦文 (Gujarati)、印地语 (Hindu)、日文、坦桑尼亚的奇素古马文 (Kisukuma)、朝鲜文、印度的马拉奇文 (Marathi)、葡萄牙文、罗马尼亚文，和西班牙文等。所有这些译本的总销数无法准确估计；能够掌握到精确数字的只有英文版本，销数早已超过一百万册。
陶恕一生的忠心事奉神，正如他在受职成为牧师时的祷告一般，他只拣选神的旨意，并忠心的为神说话。由于他的信息简洁、有力，且切中时弊，故被公认为二十世纪的先知。虽然在他中年时，称许、荣誉从各方而都临到他，但这些，一点未影响他向神所存单纯的心，也没有叫他的能力受到损伤，他仍然只要神的自己；因此，到了晚年，他属灵的生命便越显丰富。
多年经历神、与神交通相默想神的话语，使他成为一个更深认识神的人。就像雅各临终时，扶着杖头敬拜神一样，陶恕晚年的信息，也充满了对神的敬拜；他认为一切的聚会、祷告、赞美、唱诗、见证或写作的中心都是神自己，而这一切的高峰，乃在于对神的敬拜与赞颂。这是永世时圣徒惟一所要作的，如同启示录中的二十四位长老，在神面前不住的敬拜一样。
他的祷告影响他的讲道颇深。他不仅单对人讲祷告，其实，他每一篇信息实际，就是他祷告所产生的结果。他经常平卧在地上祷告；先用一张纸铺在地面，使地毡的尘埃不至沾到脸上，然后，郑重地谦卑俯伏，仰望三一神的荣美。在这样的敬拜、仰望中，神自己就向他显现启示。
陶恕深觉基督徒的生命，就是祷告的生命。我们的祷告与生活必须平衡，整体来看，我们有多高的生活，就应当产生多高的祷告。在急难中的呼求，就像太平门，只是供给人临时脱难，并不能代替正常的祷告生活；反之，这类祷告是不正常的，只是一时的属灵行为。水不能高过本来的水平，照样，一个基督徒也不能以突然、间歇性的努力，来提高本身属灵生命的水准。果子的产生，完全根据树的生命的情形。
看见了祷告的要紧后，陶恕每作一件事，都谦卑的带到神面前，作长久的祷告与寻求。他的许多著作，都是在长时间祷告和默想中成全的。他的著作绝不是头脑的神学，而是内在深处生发对神的渴慕。《渴慕神》(The Pursuit of God)这本书，乃是他长期跪在神面前祷告中成全的。所以，这书充满了无比的力量和祝福。
在这方面属灵的经历，可从他晚年所著——《认识至圣者》(The Knowledge of The Holy)的书中看见。全书充满了他对神各面品格的认识和经历，以真诚敬拜者的生命表现出来，完全没有神学八股的言论，也非以优美委婉之词吸引人。
他说：“神是一位有位格的神，当我们准备我们的心寻求他时，我们对祂的认识，必因越亲密就越增多。当神的荣耀借着圣经的话，向我们里面照亮时，我们可能改变以前对神的信心，也许我们需要安静且温和地与当前教会中，盛行的拘泥原文或译本的研经风气断开。”(认识至圣者第二十三章)
这是他对当今教会荒凉的光景，和一些信徒对神低浅的认识，所提出之惟一的救法。他心中充满了神自己，他的负担不再是作一个愤怒的先知，斥责这邪恶的世代；而是实用、直接地高举神，把人领到神面前，让神的儿女借着圣灵的引导，对神有更深的认识和经历，从而对神产生正确的敬拜，并学习在凡事上认识他、经历他。
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Charles Haddon (C.H.) Spurgeon (June 19, 1834 – January 31, 1892) was a British Particular Baptist preacher who remains highly influential among Christians of different denominations, among whom he is still known as the “Prince of Preachers.”
In his lifetime, Spurgeon preached to around 10,000,000 people, often up to 10 times each week at different places. His sermons have been translated into many languages. Spurgeon was the pastor of the congregation of the New Park Street Chapel (later the Metropolitan Tabernacle) in London for 38 years. He was part of several controversies with the Baptist Union of Great Britain and later had to leave that denomination. In 1857, he started a charity organization called Spurgeon’s which now works globally. He also founded Spurgeon’s College, which was named after him posthumously.
Spurgeon was a prolific author of many types of works including sermons, an autobiography, a commentary, books on prayer, a devotional, a magazine, poetry, hymnist, and more. Many sermons were transcribed as he spoke and were translated into many languages during his lifetime. Arguably, no other author, Christian or otherwise, has more material in print than C.H. Spurgeon.
Early beginnings
Born in Kelvedon, Essex, Spurgeon’s conversion to Christianity came on January 6, 1850, at age fifteen. On his way to a scheduled appointment, a snow storm forced him to cut short his intended journey and to turn into a Primitive Methodist chapel in Colchester where “God opened his heart to the salvation message.” The text that moved him was Isaiah 45:22 – “Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth, for I am God, and there is none else.”
Later that year, on April 4, 1850, he was admitted to the church at Newmarket. His baptism followed on May 3 in the river Lark, at Isleham. Later that same year he moved to Cambridge. He preached his first sermon in the winter of 1850-51 in a cottage at Teversham, Cambridge; from the beginning of his ministry his style and ability were considered to be far above average. In the same year, he was installed as pastor of the small Baptist church at Waterbeach, Cambridgeshire, where he published his first literary work: a Gospel tract written in 1853.
New Park Street Chapel
In April 1854, after preaching three months on probation and just four years after his conversion, Spurgeon, then only 19, was called to the pastorate of London’s famed New Park Street Chapel, Southwark (formerly pastored by the Particular Baptists Benjamin Keach, theologian John Gill, and John Rippon). This was the largest Baptist congregation in London at the time, although it had dwindled in numbers for several years. Spurgeon found friends in London among his fellow pastors, such as William Garrett Lewis of Westbourne Grove Church, an older man who along with Spurgeon went on to found the London Baptist Association. Within a few months of Spurgeon’s arrival at Park Street, his ability as a preacher made him famous. The following year the first of his sermons in the “New Park Street Pulpit” was published. Spurgeon’s sermons were published in printed form every week and had a high circulation. By the time of his death in 1892, he had preached nearly 3,600 sermons and published forty-nine volumes of commentaries, sayings, anecdotes, illustrations, and devotions.
Immediately following his fame was controversy. The first attack in the Press appeared in the Earthen Vessel in January 1855. His preaching, although not revolutionary in substance, was a plain-spoken and direct appeal to the people, using the Bible to provoke them to consider the claims of Jesus Christ. Critical attacks from the media persisted throughout his life.
The congregation quickly outgrew their building; it moved to Exeter Hall, then to Surrey Music Hall. In these venues Spurgeon frequently preached to audiences numbering more than 10,000. At twenty-two, Spurgeon was the most popular preacher of the day.
On January 8, 1856, Spurgeon married Susannah, daughter of Robert Thompson of Falcon Square, London, by whom he had twin sons, Charles and Thomas born on September 20, 1856. At the end of that year, tragedy struck on October 19, 1856, as Spurgeon was preaching at the Surrey Gardens Music Hall for the first time. Someone in the crowd yelled, “Fire!” The ensuing panic and stampede left several dead. Spurgeon was emotionally devastated by the event and it had a sobering influence on his life. He struggled against depression for many years and spoke of being moved to tears for no reason known to himself.
Metropolitan Tabernacle
On March 18, 1861, the congregation moved permanently to the newly constructed purpose-built Metropolitan Tabernacle at Elephant and Castle, Southwark, seating five thousand people with standing room for another one thousand. The Metropolitan Tabernacle was the largest church edifice of its day and can be considered a precursor to the modern “megachurch.” Spurgeon continued to preach there several times per week until his death 31 years later. He never gave altar calls at the conclusion of his sermons, but he always extended the invitation that if anyone was moved to seek an interest in Christ by his preaching on a Sunday, they could meet with him at his vestry on Monday morning. Without fail, there was always someone at his door the next day. He wrote his sermons out fully before he preached, but what he carried up to the pulpit was a note card with an outline sketch. Stenographers would take down the sermon as it was delivered; Spurgeon would then have opportunity to make revisions to the transcripts the following day for immediate publication. His weekly sermons, which sold for a penny each, were widely circulated and still remain one of the all-time best selling series of writings published in history.
Missionary preaching in China using The Wordless Book Besides sermons, Spurgeon also wrote several hymns and published a new collection of worship songs in 1866 called “Our Own Hymn Book”. It was mostly a compilation of Isaac Watts’ Psalms and Hymns that had been originally selected by John Rippon, a Baptist predecessor to Spurgeon. Singing in the congregation was exclusively a cappella under his pastorate. Thousands heard the preaching and were led in the singing without any amplification of sound that exists today. Hymns were a subject that he took seriously. While Spurgeon was still preaching at New Park Street, a hymn book called “The Rivulet” was published. Spurgeon’s first controversy arose because of his critique of its theology, which was largely deistic. At the end of his review, Spurgeon warned:
“We shall soon have to handle truth, not with kid gloves, but with gauntlets, – the gauntlets of holy courage and integrity. Go on, ye warriors of the cross, for the King is at the head of you. ”
On June 5, 1862, Spurgeon also challenged the Church of England when he preached against baptismal regeneration in a famous sermon. However, Spurgeon taught across denominational lines as well. It was during this period at the new Tabernacle that Spurgeon found a friend in James Hudson Taylor, the founder of the inter-denominational China Inland Mission. Spurgeon supported the work of the mission financially and directed many missionary candidates to apply for service with Taylor. He also aided in the work of cross-cultural evangelism by promoting “The Wordless Book”, a teaching tool that he described in a message given on January 11, 1866, regarding Psalm 51:7: “Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.” This “book” has been and is still used to teach uncounted thousands of illiterate people – young and old – around the globe about the Gospel message.
Following the example of George Muller, Spurgeon founded the Stockwell Orphanage, which opened for boys in 1867 and for girls in 1879, and which continued in London until it was bombed in the Second World War. This orphanage became Spurgeon’s Child Care which still exists today.
On the death of missionary David Livingstone in 1873, a discolored and much-used copy of one of Spurgeon’s printed sermons, “Accidents, Not Punishments,” was found among his few possessions much later, along with the handwritten comment at the top of the first page: “Very good, D.L.” He had carried it with him throughout his travels in Africa. It was returned to Spurgeon and treasured by him.
Final years and death
Often Spurgeon’s wife was too ill for her to leave home to hear him preach. C.H. Spurgeon too suffered ill health toward the end of his life, afflicted by a combination of rheumatism, gout, and Bright’s disease. He often recuperated at Menton, near Nice, France, where he eventually died on 1892 January 31. Spurgeon’s wife and sons outlived him. His remains were buried at West Norwood Cemetery in London, where the tomb is still visited by admirers.
Read more…[About Charles H. Spurgeon]
5月 司布真 May – Charles Haddon Spurgeon
1834年6月19日，司布真出生于英国艾赛克斯郡的凯维敦（Kelvedon）。他的祖先是荷兰清教徒，1568年避难来到英国。祖父是英国独立教会(Nonconformist）的牧师，司布真7岁以前与祖父同住，并喜欢上了本仁约翰（John Bunyan）的《天路历程》（The Pilgrim’s Progress）。据说，他一生读了《天路历程》一百遍。
经历重生
C.H.司布真生于一八三四年六月十九日，有荷兰清教徒血统的他自幼就大受清教传统的影响。他的父亲终日奔忙在福音工场上，他早年是与敬虔的祖父和祖母一起生活。这一对老人毕生时间都用在事奉上帝的工作上。司布真六岁时就在祖父家中的阁楼里发现了《天路历程》一书，从那时起一直到他离世归主他一生中读的次数最多的除了《圣经》以外就是这本《天路历程》。可以说他自小就浸淫在清教徒的精神之中。他七岁才回到自已的家中，父亲常常外出而他的母亲（Eliza）对他的帮助实在无法用言语来表达。他的母亲每天召聚她的儿女一同祷告敬拜上帝。
这些早年的经历虽然没有给他永生的确据，却为他的悔改归正以及日后的事奉打下了非常重要的基础。十五岁时他经历了真正内心的挣扎和黑暗，有半年的时间他活在一个心灵痛苦的光景中。这种挣扎在每一个清教徒的见证中差不多都可以看见，当然其中较著名的见证要数本仁·约翰所写的自传《丰盛的恩典》（Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners）一书了。
一八五零年一月六日，一个大雪纷飞的主日早晨，他无意中来到一个小小的教会（Primitive Methodist Church）。因交通受阻，那天传道人迟迟没有到来。牧师未能赶到，大家等了很久，乡村的一座小教会里的公众聚会推选一位平信徒讲道，他既没有受过训练，又没有准备，临时推举上台，心里求神赐他信息，这位看来是个鞋匠或裁缝样的人走到讲台前打开圣经向大家宣读了以赛亚书四十五章22节的话“地极的人都当仰望我，就必得救”。他的讲解非常简单：除非你仰望基督，没有其他的方法……只要仰望他！望他！望啊！望他！
当日司布真立时感觉天光照进黑暗挣扎的心灵。只要仰望上帝！好像以色列人在旷野仰望铜蛇一样，在上帝面前人无法做什么事来换得上帝的恩典，而上帝的恩借着赐给人的信必大大临到上帝的儿女身上。那是他真正清楚得救的时刻，也是他走上事奉上帝的道路的开始。
初期的侍奉
十六岁时他有了第一次讲道的经历，那是一次在他自己意料之外的机会。当时他并不知道与他同去聚会的弟兄不是讲员，他是在一个充满了内心的战栗和事奉上帝的兴奋中开始了他第一次毫无准备的讲道。那是在一个并不知名的小镇Taversham。
但当上帝预备好了他的器皿之后，必将宝贝放在这器皿中供应那个时代的需要。司布真虽然年幼，却满了上帝的大能。他不知道别的，只知道宣讲耶稣并他钉十字架的信息，因为这十字架的信息，使他出黑暗入光明，他也要让更多的人与他一样享受在光明中的自由。
他的事奉很快得到大家的注意和认可。三年以后，就是他十九岁时，他收到了来自伦敦的牧会邀请。不过当他收到邀请信之时，他向一位同工说：“这封信一定是寄错了，不会是我的，定是同名同姓的另一人。”然后他回了一封信请他们查一下一定是写错了地址。结果他得到了New Park St. Baptist Chapel的再次邀请和解释。就这样，一个年轻而生长在乡下的圣徒走进了当时繁华而历史悠久的大都市——伦敦，从而把上帝的真道与复兴之火再次带回了伦敦。
那个有一千二百人的会所因为这个年青人的到来几次改建，虽然扩大到四千五百个座位，但最后还是不敷使用，只好租用伦敦可容一万到一万二千人的音乐厅来聚会。人们从各处来听道，他们实在从司布真的信息中看见了上帝的恩典，很多人悔改，在基督里找到了生命的平安。
这个年青人的事奉有个特点：就是真理的严谨、准确与火热的祷告。这是传道人实实在在要效法的，特别是我们现在的传道人，今日教会中反智的倾向越来越明显，特别在有些人公开发表了一些新神学派的言论之后。很多的圣徒不是为真道极力争辩，反而是采用了逃避的路线，一心放在灵性的火热实为神秘主义的狂热上面，而放弃了上帝托付的捍卫真理的责任。结果更是因宗教的狂热而授人以柄，令教会受到圣徒本身带来的更大的伤损。
司布真每次准备讲章，都是经过祷告确定信息的题目之后，请他的助手到他的书房中把所有相关这个题目的资料找出来，放在他的案头。他则进行系统有条理的查考，并总结出他要宣讲的信息的精华。这是他准备的过程。他不像那些自信有灵恩的传道人毫无准备地走上讲台，而是经过多方的查证、长期的深思而精炼出来的上帝的信息，但是还不止这些。
有一次一位朋友从远方慕名而来，当他听见司布真的讲道之后大受感动，于是想方设法见到他，并向他请教他属灵的能力是从什么地方来的。而司布真则把他带到他讲道的礼拜堂的地下室，那里有几百人正跪着向上帝祷告，求主加力量给司布真，并求主释放被撒但所捆绑的罪人。司布真告诉那位朋友说：“这就是我属灵能力的来源，是因为有很多人为我祷告，托住我。而且不是我一个人独自面对属灵的争战，而是全教会一同争战，所以我们自然在上帝面前大得能力。”
司布真的妻子
一八五六年一月八日，司布真与苏珊娜（Susannah Thompson）结为夫妻。这对爱侣成为极好的同工。司布真生活在乡间，朴实无华但举止难免粗俗，而且他所受的教育有限（他为了事奉了放弃了在大学里面深造的机会，所以十九岁时事奉已有果效）。但上帝为他所预备的妻子却是一位生长在城市，谈吐文雅而学问渊博的女子。她给与司布真的帮助，使他日后的事奉更严谨、更有影响。
他们结婚十二年后，苏珊娜的健康因病而大受影响，几乎成为废人。她天天盼望康复可以起来分担丈夫的工作，但是却一直没有起色。她于是祈求上帝让她能够用其他的方式来支持司布真的工作。于是她发动了赠书基金（Book Fund）的工作。从一八七五年开始，将司布真的讲章印成册子免费寄给各地的传道人，使司布真的信息广传于全国。二十年内，她寄出二十万本以上的书籍，供应了很多人属灵的需求。
而因着妻子苏珊娜的帮助，也使司布真成为一名多产的作家，他一生前后出版了一百三十五本书。这一对主忠心的仆人使女，使那一代人恢复了真实火热的信仰。但是不仅如此，因为司布真的作品的出版，直到今天仍然使人得到供应。目前翻成中文的作品也不少，很有司布真神学架构代表性的要算《都是恩典》(All of Grace)一书了。这本小书中清楚地把改革宗的信仰表达出来，使人知道在上帝面前所依靠的只有上帝的恩典。
不久前在国内基督教协会出版的《清晨甘露》和《静夜亮光》（译自司布真的Morning and Evening）是两本不可多得的具有严谨神学思想的每日灵修作品。相信上帝一定会使用这本书造就帮助千千万万的中华儿女。
司布真的烟
说到司布真,这是一位曾经吸烟的传道人。
在国内一个传道人若是吸烟，那他几乎可以失去他传道人的资格。但是在司布真的时代烟草好像今日的茶或咖啡一样是一种时兴的消费品。因为在当时还没有发现烟草内有对人身体有害的尼古丁。所以可以想见，在那个时候吸烟并不是什么生活的问题，没有人会注意这些事，就像今天没有人注意你是喝红茶或花茶一样。不过司布真后来却戒了烟，但不是因为健康的问题。
有一天当他在店铺里买烟时发现烟商的广告牌上这样写着“这是大布道家司布真最喜爱的香烟品牌”。这则广告深深刺痛了司布真的心，他知道他是上帝的仆人，怎么可以成为商场上的招牌呢？这实在有损上帝的荣耀。因为这则广告的原因，他戒掉了吸烟的习惯。
从这件事上我们会发现在他的生活中一切都是以上帝的荣耀为中心。这一点上是今日很多注重名气、影响力的传道人所不能相比的。这也是那些以教会社交场所、洽谈买卖之地的基督徒甚至传道人好好反思的问题。我们是像司布真一样忠心为主呢？还是以敬虔为得利的门路、既要天国的福份又要世上的好处呢？
司布真于一八九二年一月三十一日归主，五十九岁。他虽然在基督里息了一切的劳苦，但他仍然向我们说话，他的话语仍然满了力量，使人回归上帝的怀抱。让我们效法他的脚踪，成为主恩典福音的见证人。
阅读更多…[司布真传记和作品]
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