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autobiography, books, charles, Charles Spurgeon, devotionals, jay, John Angell James, Metropolitan Tabernacle, of, publications, Rev, sprinkle, Spurgeon, Waterbeach, william, William Jay, William Wilberforce
At the young age of seventeen, Charles Haddon Spurgeon took the pastorate of a small congregation of believers at Waterbeach, in Cambridgeshire, meeting in a building that once was a birdhouse for pigeons. On May 28, 1855, he preached a sermon based on the text of Isaiah 46:6. He was just 20 years old.
In that sermon, Spurgeon mentions that he had the opportunity to hear a pastor preach by the name of William Jay.
Jay died on December 27, 1853 at the age of 84, when Spurgeon was 19 and in the midst of his Waterbeach pastorate (1851-1854). The ministry of William Jay was coming to a close while the ministry of young Charles Spurgeon was just dawning. Only a few years later, Spurgeon would take the pulpit of the well-known Metropolitan Tabernacle.
I find this providential crossing between Jay and Spurgeon an interesting bit of history, not so much regarding the influence of one to the other, but because of a few commonalities between the two.
Both men wrote a daily devotional: Jay wrote the famous “Morning Exercises for Every Day in the Year” and “Evening Exercises for Every Day of the Year” while Spurgeon wrote the much loved “Morning & Evening”. Interestingly, it was Jay’s devotional that Spurgeon highly recommended. The difference between the two is that Jay’s daily devotion is up to two pages compared to Spurgeon’s consistent single page. Both obviously worthy of use and spiritual benefit, although Jay’s can be a formidable workout for the mind and soul, and that is a good thing!
For those unfamiliar with either the work or the life of William Jay, you are in for a real treat, a spiritual banquet if you will, with the reprinting of the The Autobiography of The Rev. William Jay by Sprinkle Publications.
William Jay was one of the most outstanding preachers of the nineteenth century, second, perhaps, only to Spurgeon himself. As pastor of the Presbyterian Church at Bath, England for 62 years, Jay’s devotionals are still highly in use and are much loved for his profound insights into the Word of God and their practical applications to the individual believer.
The Sprinkle edition is a reprint from the Reed and Pardon 1855 edition. Edited by George Redford and John Angell James.
Publisher’s Description:
In the reminiscences of distinguished contemporaries you will find selections from such individuals as Rev. John Newton, Rev. John Ryland, Rev. William Wilberforce, Mrs. Hannah More and many more.
Purple cloth with bright coppery lettering and decoration on front cover and spine. 590 pages.
As a side note, both the Morning Exercises as well as the Evening Exercises by Jay are also available from Sprinkle. I highly recommend the entire set. The quality of these rare reprints are outstanding.
