WHAT DEPTH OF LOVE (Spurgeon): Book Review

WHAT DEPTH OF LOVE: Devotions on the Cross and Resurrection by Charles H. Spurgeon is the third book in New Growth Press’ Old Made New series, making rich writing from the past more accessible for readers today. I chose to read this book to refresh my spirit and prepare my heart for Easter. Spurgeon does not disappoint.

Are you familiar with Charles Hadden Spurgeon?

About the Author

Charles H. Spurgeon is widely regarded as one of the nineteenth century’s best preachers. He was raised in a Christian home but wasn’t converted until age fifteen. That same year, he was tricked into preaching his first sermon. A man asked him to go to a village “for a young man was to preach there who was not much used to services, and very likely would be glad of company.” When Spurgeon arrived, he discovered he was the young man!

He became a powerful preacher of the gospel, a college president, and a generous benefactor to those in need and to numerous ministries that furthered the kingdom of God.

According to the Spurgeon Library at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, during Spurgeon’s lifetime, he preached the gospel to “over a million people and personally baptized 15,000 new believers converted under his ministry. Furthermore, his sermons were translated into nearly forty languages.”

About the Editor of WHAT DEPTH OF LOVE

Geoffrey Chang, MDiv, PhD, is the adept editor of this book. He certainly is qualified, as he serves as Assistant Professor of Historical Theology and the curator of the Spurgeon Library. His articles are widely published, including by Focus on the Family’s The Focused Pastor. Also, he has several published books, including Spurgeon the Pastor: Recovering a Biblical and Theological Vision for Ministry.

Chang is an elder at Wornall Road Baptist Church in Kansas City, Missouri. He and his wife have three children.

You can learn more about Geoffrey Chang and his work by visiting the website of Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and checking out his posts at Geoff Chang (@geoffchang) / X.

WHAT DEPTH OF LOVE

The book contains forty daily readings that draw us into a journey with Christ from Gethsemane to Golgotha and finally to the empty grave. Spurgeon dives deeper into the details of Jesus’ last days on Earth. He invites readers to meditate on numerous aspects of Christ’s sacrificial love—“Why did he wash the disciples’ feet? Why was he crowned with thorns? Why was he silent before Herod?”

The reading for Day 4: The Agony in Gethsemane addresses Jesus’ grief in the garden. What agonized the Lord so that He sweated drops of blood? Spurgeon says that man fears death because we were originally created for immortality. But he shares how dishonoring it would be to our Lord “to imagine him less brave than his own disciples.”

Spurgeon also mentions how many martyrs were “exultant in the near approach of the most cruel sufferings. The joy of the Lord has given such strength to them, that no coward thought has alarmed them for a single moment, but they have gone to the stake, or to the block, with psalms of victory upon their lips. Our Master must not be thought of as inferior to his boldest servants, it cannot be that he should tremble where they were brave. Oh, no; the noblest spirit among your martyr-band is the Leader himself . . .”

“What is it then, think you, that so peculiarly marks off Gethsemane and the griefs thereof? We believe that now the Father put him to grief for us. It was now that our Lord had to take a certain cup from the Father’s hand . . .”

It was “more dreadful than physical pain, since from that he did not shrink; it was a potion more dreadful than reproach, from that he had not turned aside; more dreadful than Satanic temptation—that he had overcome: it was something inconceivably terrible, amazingly full of dread, which came from the Father’s hand.”

Spurgeon references Isaiah 53:6-10 and 2 Corinthians 5:21. He further explained how Jesus was about to ‘taste death for everyone’ (Hebrews 2:9), “to bear the curse which was due to sinners, because he stood in the sinner’s place and must suffer in the sinner’s stead. Here is the secret of those agonies which it is not possible for me to set forth in order before you, so true is it that—”

‘Tis to God, and God alone,
That his griefs are fully known.’
(“Much We Talk of Jesus’ Blood” by Joseph Hart, 1712 – 1768.)

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 Spurgeon, C. (2026). Day 4: The Agony of Gethsemane. In What Depth of Love (pp. 18–20). essay, New Growth Press.

Recommendation

I’ve only read a few snippets of Charles Spurgeon’s writings before now. But this book inspires me to read more. Spurgeon incorporates a personal, heartfelt tone with the reader. His writing style is engaging, and he makes theological concepts easily approachable by ordinary people. You can see for yourself by reading a sample of the first sixteen pages here.

The majority of the scriptures presented are from the ESV, with a few from the NKJV and the KJV. This hardcover book is only 5 x 8 inches, so it is easy to carry with you wherever you go.

The forty devotions offer details about the crucifixion and resurrection in ways I’ve not pondered before. They prompt my heart and mind to think afresh upon the magnitude of Jesus’ loving sacrifice. I highly recommend this book.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

Motivated by the power of story, history, and His Story, Sally Matheny’s passion is telling the next generation wondrous things.

Her nonfiction writing appears in worldwide, national, and regional publications including Appleseeds, Clubhouse Jr., Homeschooling Today, and The Old Schoolhouse.

She and her husband live in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains and are blessed with three children, two sons-in-law, and armfuls of grandbabies. Connect with Sally on several social media sites, but her favorite hangouts are at SallyMatheny.com and Pinterest.