I Tremble Yet Rejoice

A portion of a letter by Charles Haddon Spurgeon, written to his parents after getting settled in school at Newmarket. He hadn’t been long converted and was joyous of knowing Christ but struggled spiritually because he didn’t want to bring disgrace on his Saviour. He was not yet 16 years old when he wrote this letter, January 30, 1850.

How sweet is prayer! I would be always engaged in it. How beautiful is the Bible! I never loved it so before; it seems to me as necessary food. I feel that I have not one particle of spiritual life in me but what the Spirit placed there. I feel that I cannot live if He depart; I tremble and fear lest I should grieve Him. I dread lest sloth or pride should overcome me, and I should dishonour the gospel by neglect of prayer, or the Scriptures, or by sinning against God. Truly, that will be a happy place where we shall get rid of sin and this depraved corrupt nature. When I look at the horrible pit and the hole from which I have been digged, I tremble lest I should fall into it, and yet rejoice that I am on the King’s highway.

The Letters of Charles Haddon Spurgeon, collected and collated by his son, Charles Spurgeon, first published in 1923, p. 13, now available electronically by Logos Research Systems, Inc.

The Infidel's Error is in the Heart

A selection from a letter by James A. Haldane to Captain Patrick Gardner, a friend in his days as a sailor. Prior to his conversion, Haldane himself was in command of the ship, Melville Castle. In those days he undertook a careful study of the Bible and was convinced that it was God’s Word. He later became a preacher of the gospel and a successful author to the surprise of all who had known him. In this portion of the letter, he speaks of the strength of the evidences which confirm the Christian faith. The letter was written June 29, 1801.

The more I read [the Bible] the more worthy it appeared of God; and after examining the evidences with which Christianity is supported, I became fully persuaded of its truth. There is no man who considers the evidences with the smallest impartiality but must come to the same conviction. Even Rousseau admits the strength of the evidence, but he says he remains in suspense, because there are many doctrines which he thinks unworthy of God. In other words, he will not submit his pride of understanding to a book which himself allows is supported by the strongest evidence as coming from God. This suspense is now over [Rousseau died in 1778], and neither he nor any other man shall be able to complain they have been hardly dealt with. The Infidel, whether by profession or practice, shall be convinced they meet with no more than they deserve. The error lies in their heart, not in their understanding; they choose the darkness; they determine to live in sin, and they persuade themselves while here, being blinded by passion, they shall escape punishment.

The Lives of Robert and James Haldane, by Alexander Haldane, first published in 1852, reprinted by The Banner of Truth, 1990, pp. 71-72.