Christ Our All: Poems for the Christian Pilgrim

By Geoffrey Chang

Steadfast upon the Rock I stand,
Upheld by God’s almighty hand.
In him I move, I live, or die, 
In him I’ll dwell beyond the sky.

Charles Haddon Spurgeon was a beloved and celebrated preacher and pastor of the 19th century. But unbeknownst to many, in the quiet habitation of his private life, his prayers poured forth in poetry.

Edited by Spurgeon scholar Geoffrey Chang, Christ Our All: Poems for the Christian Pilgrim allows readers to discover the poetic soul of Charles Spurgeon. The collection includes 186 never-before-published poems penned by the “Prince of Preachers” and 43 poems and hymns published during his lifetime. Written as private prayers or devotional exercises, these poems express Spurgeon’s sorrows, hopes, and love for God with striking imagery and bold conviction.

Christ Our All serves as more than a mere anthology—it is a remarkable treasure awaiting discovery. This volume is meant to be read devotionally, and each poem includes a reference to a passage of Scripture for reflection and prayer. Delve into the hidden depths of a beloved preacher's heart and embark on a poetic pilgrimage with Christ Our All, a remarkable treasure that will ignite your soul and leave you yearning for a deeper connection with God. 

• Language: English
• Publisher: BH Publishing Group
• Release date: May 15, 2024
• ISBN: 9781087772752

Geoffrey Chang

Geoffrey Chang (PhD, Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary) is assistant professor of church history and historical theology and the curator of the Spurgeon Library at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.  

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Table of Contents

Abbreviations

Foreword

Introduction

The Private Poems of C. H. Spurgeon

Prayer: Captain of Our Salvation, Prove

Prayer: Awake! This Morn My Heart Would Rise

Thou Art My All

I Am Thine

Come Day of Judgment

Thou Art My Delight

Depart Vain World

God’s Greatness

To Thee I Come

Eternity

Conscience (I)

God’s Faithfulness

Be Faithful Even unto Death

Day of Rejoicing

Prayer: Kindle This Heart into a Flame

Creation

Obedience

Humility

King of Kings

Rejoice in Tribulation

Ashamed for Jesus

Grace

Sovereign Love

Prayer: Lord, Lift the Cloud from off Our Sight

Adoration

Christ the Rock (I)

I Am the Way

Prayer: Come, Sweetener of Our Earthly Cares

Watch

Heavenly Joy

Holy Joy

Burdened

Sabbath (I)

Teach Me Thy Statutes (Psalm 119)

Thou Shalt Not Take the Name of God in Vain

Jesus’ Voice

Reconciliation

Ascend

Ask Me Not to Stay

Prayer: Jesus, My Soul Desires to See

Judgment (I)

Address to the World

Heaven Our Home (I)

Heaven Our Home (II)

Peace

Salvation

My Way, My Truth, My Life

We Go Astray

Religion

Sacrament (I)

Rest

Christ the Rock (II)

The World’s Emptiness

The Spring of Life

Christ Our All

Help

Yon Bright World

Ingratitude

Come Ye out from among Them

Draw Us and We Will Run after Thee

Thy Will Be Done

Heaven (I)

Unsearchable Love

Sacrament (II)

Nothing Shall Part Us

Above the World

Go into All the World

Fountain for Sin

Bethesda’s Pool

He Is Faithful

Wondrous Love

Angels Rejoice over One Sinner

I Count All Loss That I May Win Christ

To Die Is Gain

O Lord, How Long?

Prayer: O Love, on Which My Hopes I Rest

Prayer: Arise, and Let Fresh Sights of Thee

Prayer: O Lord, Let All the Nations Say

Rejoice

Heavenly Joys

Grace Gave Me to God

Behold, I Am with You Always

Our Shepherd

The Greatness of God’s Love

Fearful of Sinning

Inasmuch as Ye Did Not Do It unto These My Brethren

Childish Confidence

Thou Knowest Us Altogether

Metropolitan Tabernacle Dedicated

Before the Mountains Were Brought Forth, Even Then Thou Art God

Dying Saviour

He Sees Everything

Emptiness

He Is Our Helper

Reflection

Reasoning with the Sinner

They That Run in a Race, Run All

Conqueror

Might

Lovest Thou Me?

Missing God’s Presence

Thou Art the King of Glory

Thou Art Our Strength

The Firmament Sheweth His Handywork

Hear Infants’ Praise

Come unto Me

God’s Mercies

Lines on the Death of Andrew Kead

Longing to Be Away

And They Cried, Thou Art Worthy

Sorrow for Sinners

In Thee Will I Trust

Full of Sin

So Are My Ways Higher Than Your Ways

Doubts (I)

The Joys Above

Praise: In Lofty Strains Exalt Your King

Snares

Snares (facsimile of handwritten poem)

After Judgment

Doubts (II)

Heaven (II)

Prayer: Jesus, O Let Thy People Hear

Judgment Day

Prayer: To Those of All the World Bereft

Prayer: Awaken in My Soul a Pure Desire

The Sinner’s Resolve

Prayer: Jesus, My Lord and King

Deception Impossible

Prayer: Spirit of Life, of Love and Pow’r

God’s Love

Invitation

God’s Command

Fear Not I Am with You

Call to the Sinner

Christian’s Thorny Road

Deliverance

On Hearing of an Infidel’s Funeral

The Lord Our Shield

Guidance

And I Will Remember Thee for Good

Awake, O Source of Holy Joy

I Am Thy Salvation

Hindrances

Arise, O God

Conscience (II)

Judgment (II)

Heaven (III)

Christ the Refuge

Prayer: By Nature Left without a Ray

On Prayer

Fear Not, for I Am Thy God

Prayer: O Lord, How Long a Week Appears

Sins Forgiven (I)

Sins Forgiven (II)

Conquering Love

Sabbath (II)

Jesus All

Jesus Christ the Same Yesterday, Today, and Forever

It Pleased God

Fear Not, It Is I

Volcano (Secular)

Sickness

Blooming Flower

Early Morn

Reaping

Love (I)

Pray, Murray

Light

Contentment

The Heart Speaking

Summer

Death

Song: Tell Me Sweet Songster

Song: Peep Again, O Sun

Love (II)

Burial Ground

Friendship

Riches

The Rose

Vanity

Love (III)

O Aeolus Lyre

Reason

Sun

Music

Bliss

The Published Poems & Hymns of C. H. Spurgeon

Fall of Jericho

The One Request

Immanuel

The Noble Army of Martyrs

Married Love

Popery

The Dropping Well of Knaresborough

The Refiner’s Fire

All Glory

A War-Song or a Battle Hymn

I Will Make the Dry Land Springs of Water: The Drop Which Grew into a Torrent. A Personal Experience.

Joseph Harrald

Dear Mrs. Bennet

Lord, I Would Dwell with Thee (Psalm 15)

Thy Strength, O Lord, Makes Glad Our King (Psalm 21)

I Will Exalt Thee, Lord of Hosts (Psalm 30)

Behold, O Lord, My Days Are Made (Psalm 39)

Jesus, Poorest of the Poor (Psalm 41)

Our Ears Have Heard, O Glorious God (Psalm 44)

The Foes of Zion Quake for Fright (Psalm 53)

Lord, Make My Conversation Chaste (Psalm 58)

O God, Thou Hast Cast Off Thy Saints (Psalm 60)

The Kings of Earth Are in the Hands (Psalm 82)

O God, Be Thou No Longer Still (Psalm 83)

Praise the Lord with Exultation (Psalm 111)

Blessed Is the Man That Feareth (Psalm 112)

Woe’s Me That I in Mesech Am (Psalm 120)

The Holy Ghost Is Here

Why Should I Sorrow More?

Lord, Thy Church, without a Pastor

Risen Lord, Thou Hast Received

Come, Ye Who Bow to Sovereign Grace

Here, O Ye Faithful, See

Amidst Us Our Beloved Stands

Sweetly the Holy Hymn

Great King of Zion Now

Our Father, Bless the Bounteous Store

Heavenly Father, Grant Thy Blessing

Join to Bless the Bounteous Giver

We Thank Thee, Father, for the Love

At Midnight Praise the Lord

Crown Him Lord of All

Fly to Jesus

When Broken, Tuneless, Still, O Lord

Acknowledgments

Index

Rev. Chas. H. SpurgeonChrist Our AllChrist Our All

Christ Our All: Poems for the Christian Pilgrim

Copyright © 2024 by Geoffrey Chang

Published by B&H Academic

Brentwood, Tennessee

All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-1-0877-7275-2

Dewey Decimal Classification: 821

Subject Heading: SPURGEON, CHARLES--POETRY \ RELIGIOUS POETRY \ ENGLISH POETRY

Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible® and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.

Cover design by Ligia Teodosiu. Cover image thvideo/DespositPhotos.

Printed in the United States of America

To my dear wife,

A companion in married love,

Fellow pilgrim to the world above.

Abbreviations

Foreword

I am a pilgrim in the world, but at home in my God. In Earth I wander, but in God I dwell in a quiet habitation.

—Charles Spurgeon, Morning by Morning, Or, Daily Readings for the Family or the Closet (1858)

Books of poetry fail to fill the shelves of Christian households today. Perhaps there may be a beloved hymnal, an edition of the Psalter, or a volume of Herbert or Cowper, but rarely does a home library brave further beyond. Yet, church history’s treasure chest of devotional poetry contains many riches that would profit believers today. The book you hold in your hand is such a treasure.

With this collection of poems and hymns, Dr. Geoff Chang has retrieved an entire trove of poems ablaze with truth and teeming with bright affection for God, all flowing from the pen of Charles Haddon Spurgeon. His public ministry aptly earned him the title Prince of Preachers. Yet his way with words was not limited to the pulpit. In the quiet habitation of his private life, his prayers poured forth in poetry. For years I have sat in the back of the class in the School of Spurgeon and have been indelibly influenced by his love for the truth and how to communicate it. The sermons of Spurgeon were delivered in powerful prose that also moved with the pulse of poetry and hymnody. The poems of Spurgeon are prayers set to rhythm, piety fixed to rhyme. Working through them is like hearing the heartbeat of devotion behind the pastor with such a prominent preaching ministry.

It is right that this volume has been titled Christ Our All: Poems for the Christian Pilgrim. There is a sense of journey to them and dependently walking with God to the Celestial City. There is present in these words a thick sense of the way Spurgeon knew communion with Christ—communion experienced through hearing his Savior speak through his Word and then responding in prayer. My prayer for you, dear fellow pilgrim, is that these poems might also lift your eyes to behold the beauty and glory of Christ.

—Matthew Boswell

hymn writer, past­­or, The Trails Church, Celina, Texas,

November 2022

Introduction

Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834–92) was, perhaps, the greatest preacher of the nineteenth century. Throughout his forty-year preaching ministry, he regularly preached four times a week (and sometimes as many as thirteen) to packed audiences of thousands. Millions of copies of these sermons were published and sold throughout the world, being translated into nearly forty languages, and they continue to be read today. But Spurgeon did not merely occupy a preaching station; he was a pastor. Beginning in London at age nineteen, Spurgeon pastored what would become the Metropolitan Tabernacle. Though there were only a few dozen in attendance when he first arrived, its membership would grow to over 5,000 members by the end of his ministry, becoming the world’s largest evangelical church in his day. Spurgeon was also a philanthropist. With such a large church, Spurgeon was concerned that it engage the poor in London with the gospel. Out of the Tabernacle came dozens of evangelistic and charitable institutions, including two orphanages that Spurgeon founded and oversaw. On top of all that, Spurgeon was also a college president. Through the Pastors’ College, he trained and sent out more than 900 men into church pastorates and the mission field.

Spurgeon, the preacher, pastor, philanthropist, college president. But according to his friends, there is, perhaps, another p that should be added to his accomplishments: Spurgeon, the poet. In compiling her husband’s Autobiography, Susannah Spurgeon wrote, If there had been sufficient space available, an interesting chapter might have been compiled concerning ‘Mr. Spurgeon as a Poet and Hymn-writer.’¹ Eric Hayden, one of Spurgeon’s successors at the Tabernacle, considered Spurgeon’s hymn-writing a much-neglected aspect of Spurgeon’s genius.² Now, to be fair, given how influential his preaching and other ministries were, it would be a stretch to say that his poetry had a similar impact. At the same time, there is no question that Spurgeon loved poetry, that poetry permeated his ministry, and that he, in fact, contributed to Christian hymnody.

Spurgeon’s Love of Poetry

Spurgeon’s love of poetry can be seen today in the Spurgeon Library in Kansas City, Missouri. In his collection, we find over 200 books of poetry and hymnody, occupying several cabinets. So much of Spurgeon’s life and ministry can be traced through these books.

Nearly one-third of these volumes are hymnbooks for Christian worship, including Horatius Bonar’s Hymns of Faith and Hope; Anne Steele’s Hymns, Psalms, and Poems; Isaac Watts’s Hymns and Spiritual Songs, and many others. Spurgeon’s love of hymns began at a young age. Once, during a summer holiday, his grandmother offered him a penny for each Watts hymn he memorized. With his gifted mind, young Spurgeon memorized so many that his grandmother soon had to change her offer or risk financial ruin! The money earned was eventually spent, but his love of hymns remained with him for the rest of his life, becoming a part of his theological vocabulary. No matter on what topic I am preaching, he wrote, I can even now, in the middle of any sermon, quote some verse of a hymn in harmony with the subject.³ As Spurgeon grew in his knowledge of hymns, his sermons would come to include not only Watts, but Toplady, Cowper, Wesley, and many other great hymn-writers of the Christian faith.

As the pastor of a church, Spurgeon sought to pass on his love of hymns to his congregants. In addition to preaching, he planned the liturgy for the gatherings of the church, including the selection of hymns. When he first arrived, there were two hymnbooks in the pews, one by Watts and the other by John Rippon. But watching people fumble with multiple books convinced Spurgeon that something had to change. So, in 1866, he compiled and published Our Own Hymn-Book, containing 1,130 psalms and hymns. As reflected in the title, Spurgeon’s concern was the church. This was not Spurgeon’s hymnbook; this was the church’s hymnbook. One of his top priorities was to pull together psalms and hymns that reflected the church’s doctrinal convictions. After all, Spurgeon understood that a church’s hymnbook was often the only book of theology most church members would ever read.

But even while Our Own Hymn-Book reflected Spurgeon’s Reformed and Baptist traditions, he also sought to introduce a wide variety of traditions, pulling together hymns from all of church history. He wrote:

The area of our researches has been as wide as the bounds of existing religious literature, American and British, Protestant and Romish; ancient and modern. Whatever may be thought of our taste we have used it without prejudice; and a good hymn has not been rejected because of the character