The Sun.
London, England, 1861-10-02 00:00:00

'll-12 SUN.

LONDON, WEDNESDAY, OCT. 2, 1881.

The most popular minister in England has lately
,been showing that he has something more than
popular talent—he has strong native sense to guide
it. His sermon on the railway accidents, entitled,
"Accidents not Punishments," would put to shame
those of thousands of older men. And we must
frankly confess that, remembering the school of
theology in which he has been educated, we were
almost as much surprised as pleased with the evi-
dently scriptural as well as rational view he took
of such subjects. It is unquestionably amongst
Mr. SPURGEON'S merits that his thoughts, if
not remarkable for profundity, are his own, He
is perfectly independent. He adopts frem others
only what his own judgment approves, and so long
as it approves. Hence, he is perfectly free to learn
from observation and experience, and having heard
him only at very long intervals, we can testify
that he has wonderfully improved in pulpit pro-
prieties since he first came to London ; and that
with an increase rather than otherwise of the really
popular element in his style. From the sermon
alluded to itself, we see this readiness to be in-
structed by what passes before him. One of the
most vivid illustrations of the folly of treating
accidents to Sunday pleasure-takers as judgments
on them is derived from the dreadful
calamity which occurred in the Surrey Music Hall
to his own congregation assembled for worship.
The Christian and humane reasoning of the dis-
course is, however, as interesting to us as the
illustrations. It will, we hope, shame out of Court
so many of Mr. SPURGEON'S general school as
are but too prone to wield, as they think, the
thunderbolts of the ALMIGHTY with their own
puny hands. There are some passages in that
sermon, on the wickedness of making what is
termed a good use of popular superstition, which
thousands of clergymen would do well to study.
Last night Mr. SPURGEON showed his good sense
doubly— by—
asserting the necessity of amusement
as well as religion, and by furnishing an amusement
himself, Which evidently highly delighted some
'5,000 or 6,000 people. Indeed numbers could not
gain admittance. We might say he trebly showed
his good sense, for he did not scruple to use his
immense place of worship, for a sober amusement
worthy of a rational people. Think of the autho-
rities of -Westminster Abbey or St. Paul's doing the
same ! Mr. SPURGEON seems disposed to repay the
civility to religion of the proprietors
of places of
amusement. The Crystal Palace, and the theatres,
have of late been freely proffered for
religious 'Wor-
ship. Lord SHAFTESBURY and his friends have drawn '
crowded audiences in our metropolitan theatres for
worship on Sunday evenings ; so Mr. SPURGEON
draws on a Tuesday evening an immense audience
for saMusement. All this is as it should be. The
divorce of religion and rational entertainment can

nc•ver be with advantage to the former. Human

nature will assert its rights. It is but trite to
say that extreme abstinence will be followed by
extreme indulgence ; that compulsory abstinence
will be followed by wanton indulgence ; that
the Age of CROMWELL and t!--:c Puritans will
be followed by the Age of. CHARLES the SECOND
and the debauchees. We hope there are
signs of a m 4,311 sounder wisdom amongst religious
Pple, and we are thankful to notice that, with so
epopular a teacher, religion is not a synonym for
unnatural abstinence. The society for whose funds
he Was
delivering his total abstinence • s lecture was, to be sure, a
amity ; but it was a society for