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Free Grace and Dying Love / The Life of Susannah Spurgeon
Susannah Spurgeon was the wife of the nineteenth-century Baptist preacher C.H. Spurgeon. While much is known of her famous husband, comparatively little is known about the woman whom he adored and affectionately called, ?Wifey.? Brought together in a single volume for the first time are two titles that will help to address that imbalance. Mrs. Spurgeon's A Carillon of Bells consists of twenty-four daily meditations on selected texts of Scripture. The warm spiritual devotion to her Savior that burned in the heart of this godly woman shines through on every page. The Life of Mrs. C.H. Spurgeon by Charles Ray is an affectionate love story but one that also records the fascinating work of Mrs. Spurgeon's Book Fund. Through this agency thousands of pastors and preachers received gifts of good books that proved useful to them in their ministries. It is also a story of the all-sufficient grace of God ? in the midst of debilitating chronic illness Susannah Spurgeon was enabled to do a truly great work for the Lord, and her inspiring example continues to bear fruit to this day in the work of the Banner of Truth Book Fund.
Free Grace and Dying Love was previously published as A Carillon of Bells
Free Grace and Dying Love was previously published as A Carillon of Bells
256 pages, Paperback
First published June 30, 2006
22 people are currently reading
277 people want to read
About the author
Susannah Spurgeon
38 books13 followersSusannah Spurgeon was the wife of the famous Baptist preacher of the second half of the nineteenth-century, Charles Haddon Spurgeon.
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
July 12, 2017
It's difficult to believe that so much beauty can fit into such a little book.
July 15, 2014
Excellent devotional and biography! But I would have liked both to be longer, and that the latter would tell more of her shortcomings and failures. I love the correspondence between Charles and Susannah especially, it really lets you in on the depth of their love and affection for each other. You can feel it even more as they corresponded when each was having a terrible ailment; their afflictions extracted the purest essence of love in their love letters. One of the sweetest (and godliest? purest?) love stories I have heard so far. Will reread next year! :)
October 22, 2013
I really enjoyed this biography of Susannah Spurgeon. Her simple godliness in a different era really convicted me of ungodliness in my lifestyle that I take for granted. She was a devoted helper to her husband and didn't let her personal needs or desires get in the way of his calling. She worked diligently for the kingdom through chronic sickness. And she raised two believing children. There is much to be admired about this selfless, lovely woman with a gentle and quiet spirit.
June 13, 2014
Really enjoyed the devotional part of this book. Susannah Spurgeon was close to God and she shared her thoughts and conversations with Him in this devotional. Encouraging and uplifting. The second part of the book is a biography of Mrs. Spurgeon's life. It was an interesting read, but a bit too heavy on her praises. I love biographies. I enjoy learning more about people's lives, but I like it to be a real assessment of their lives. While there is no doubt Mrs. Spurgeon was a wonderful woman, she was a woman. Her devotional hinted that she had her moments like so many of us, which is why it is such an encouraging read. It would be nice to read some of that in her biography. But still overall a good read.
December 5, 2022
It’s hard to believe so much beauty can fit in such a little book! 5/5 ⭐️
This book is so beautiful and so christianly in a unexpected way. I found myself crying in some parts of the book especially when Susannah shares the kind of sickness she had. The title of the book (free grace and dying love) already shows the order of what there talking about.
The first half of the book was talking about there christianity. Then the second half of the book was talking about their love. It’s very hard to describe unless I am saying only a few words which would be: Beautiful, Christianly, unexpected, etc.
I definitely recommend it!
#Happyreading!
This book is so beautiful and so christianly in a unexpected way. I found myself crying in some parts of the book especially when Susannah shares the kind of sickness she had. The title of the book (free grace and dying love) already shows the order of what there talking about.
The first half of the book was talking about there christianity. Then the second half of the book was talking about their love. It’s very hard to describe unless I am saying only a few words which would be: Beautiful, Christianly, unexpected, etc.
I definitely recommend it!
#Happyreading!
December 3, 2012
This week, I am doing my goodreads on my favorite author. One of my favorite authors are the Spurgeons. Charles Spurgeon and Susannah Spurgeon. They were christians back in the day and many people do not know about them. This book is about Susannah Spurgeons life growing up and becoming a wife. She talks about all of her trials and difficulties through being a ministers wife and just the difficulties of life in general.
I would recommend this book to older readers because it may be a bit difficult to understand. I just recently read this, and I think I will be reading it again soon. I would not recommend this type of reading for children because they may not understand it or be interested in it.
I would recommend this book to older readers because it may be a bit difficult to understand. I just recently read this, and I think I will be reading it again soon. I would not recommend this type of reading for children because they may not understand it or be interested in it.
March 2, 2008
One of the greatest books I've ever read!!!
September 24, 2010
A must read for every young believer!
October 19, 2010
The first part is devotional written by the the wife of Charles Spurgeon, they will bless you. The second part is a short biography, also very good, but I wish it had been longer.
August 10, 2014
CH Spurgeon is my FAVORITE theologian, & after reading this, Susannah is my favorite theologian's wife. Excellent book, especially for women whose husbands are in ministry.
February 12, 2018
I absolutely loved this book. I was already quite a fan of her husband Charles Spurgeon and was wanting to know what his wife, Susannah was like and more about their story. It is quite sweet how they met and how their relationship grew. I wish the devotional part of the book would never end...Susannah was quite the writer and her love and desire for the Lord was refreshing to read. One thing that really struck me in her devotional was the fact that Jesus Himself is the best gift of all...there's nothing else more than Himself that could possibly bless us or sustain us...it's Him in His fullness. I desire to treasure this gift more and more. I am so unworthy of this gift yet He freely gave Himself for me and I'm so blessed by that. I highly recommend this book to everyone.
July 27, 2017
One of the best books I have ever read! I am amazed, her life was so full of troubles and tribulations, and yet she lived in such a way that she honored God and served the best she could, des[ite her physical disability. The daily devotions are very encouraging, you can see how she loved God and how humble she was. Susannah Spurgeon is a role model for a godly woman.
September 16, 2024
Susannah Spurgeon is a gifted devotional writer. She pours out her soul and sufferings onto paper with her eyes fixed on Christ. I am convicted of my little faith and my petty complaints of my temporal ailments whenever I read her devotions. "Susie" truly understands the suffering saint and points them to the One who suffered on the cross for us. READ THIS.
May 2, 2024
A very lovely devotional + biography of Susannah Spurgeon. The devotionals themselves spanned a range of being just good to being exactly what I needed to hear, and I will definitely read it again in future!
June 15, 2025
Reading about Susannah Spurgeon’s life both inspired and touched me, and her devotionals at the beginning of the book helped me to view and love bible verses in a different way. Praise God for her dedication to sharing God’s word!
May 11, 2019
For those that attended the Spring Tea and want to learn more about Susie’s life, this is one of the books I read. Love this because it contains both her devotional and biography.
September 29, 2022
A beautiful little devotional by Susannah Spurgeon followed by a biography of her life. My only wish is that it would’ve been longer and a more detailed biography. :)
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June 30, 2024Taking the lessons of Susannah Spurgeon to heart
January 4, 2025
So good!
May 10, 2025
Deeply refreshing to the soul - the first half of the book has devotional meditations by Susannah, and the latter half is a succinct, encouraging biography.
April 15, 2017
This was an excellent peek into the life of Susannah Spurgeon and her husband C.H. Spurgeon. While it focused mainly on Mrs. Spurgeon, I enjoyed "getting acquainted" with both of them through this book, as I don't believe I've read any other book by or about the Spurgeon's except for the morning & evening devotions Mr. Spurgeon wrote.
What I Liked: The short, yet very sweet and convicting devotionals that were written by Susannah took up the first half of this book and they were a delight to read. There were a few of them that REALLY made me think and cause me to wonder once again at God's marvelous love for me and makes me question why I don't trust God fully in ALL areas of my life. I am sure I will read those devotionals again sometime in the future.
The biography that took up the other half of the book was very informative and was also very personal as it included some of Mrs. Spurgeon's own writings. Susannah was truly a remarkable woman of the faith. A couple things I really learned from her life was (1), she listened to sound counsel and recognized her mistakes and confessed them. (2) She never was a hindrance to her husband's work. While it was mentioned and shared that she struggled with complaining that her husband was away a whole lot, she always made a point to keep surrendering him to the Lord and supporting him, even if that meant long periods of separation. I can't imagine how hard that must of have been, but Mrs. Spurgeon immersed herself in the care of her sons and later in the book fund she and some others started for poor pastors who needed theological books.
Another thing I liked was how this biography was written by someone from Susannah's time period. I can't remember if this author said he knew Mrs. Spurgeon or not, but at the time of the writing of the book after her death, the book fund was still going. I want to do some more research in the future to see how long the fund kept going.
What I Didn't Like: I don't think there was anything I didn't like about this book.
I give this book 4 stars for a very good look into the life of a woman who honored the Lord in her life and from who's example I learned a whole lot from.
What I Liked: The short, yet very sweet and convicting devotionals that were written by Susannah took up the first half of this book and they were a delight to read. There were a few of them that REALLY made me think and cause me to wonder once again at God's marvelous love for me and makes me question why I don't trust God fully in ALL areas of my life. I am sure I will read those devotionals again sometime in the future.
The biography that took up the other half of the book was very informative and was also very personal as it included some of Mrs. Spurgeon's own writings. Susannah was truly a remarkable woman of the faith. A couple things I really learned from her life was (1), she listened to sound counsel and recognized her mistakes and confessed them. (2) She never was a hindrance to her husband's work. While it was mentioned and shared that she struggled with complaining that her husband was away a whole lot, she always made a point to keep surrendering him to the Lord and supporting him, even if that meant long periods of separation. I can't imagine how hard that must of have been, but Mrs. Spurgeon immersed herself in the care of her sons and later in the book fund she and some others started for poor pastors who needed theological books.
Another thing I liked was how this biography was written by someone from Susannah's time period. I can't remember if this author said he knew Mrs. Spurgeon or not, but at the time of the writing of the book after her death, the book fund was still going. I want to do some more research in the future to see how long the fund kept going.
What I Didn't Like: I don't think there was anything I didn't like about this book.
I give this book 4 stars for a very good look into the life of a woman who honored the Lord in her life and from who's example I learned a whole lot from.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews