C. H. Spurgeon, The New Park Street Pulpit, 6 vols. (London: Passmore and Alabaster, 1855-1860; reprinted edition, Pasadena, TX: Pilgrim Publications, 1990).

C. H. Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, 56 vols. (London: Passmore and Alabaster, 1861-1917; reprinted edition, Pasadena, TX: Pilgrim Publications, 1969-1990).

"Sell all you have ... and buy Spurgeon." Thus instructed Helmut Thielicke, himself one of the most influential preachers of the twentieth century. "Let him be a Socrates who helps you to find your own way."

The instruction to "buy Spurgeon" has been heeded by generations of preachers around the globe since the first installment of The New Park Street Pulpit in 1855. Millions of his sermons have sold as individual "Penny Pulpit" editions and as the multi-volume sets which comprise the Spurgeon library.

Many preachers are introduced to Spurgeon through Morning and Evening, his popular devotional guide and A Treasury of David, his monumental seven-volume commentary on the Psalms.

But the heart of Spurgeon's ministry and contribution is to be found in The New Park Street Pulpit and The Metropolitan Pulpit sets. Together, these 63 volumes represent the largest collection of books by a single author in the history of the Christian church. The number of words included in the sets is roughly equivalent to the Encyclopedia Britannica.

The set offers an unprecedented opportunity to review the ministry of one of the church's most famous preachers -- and to do so by tracing sermons covering over forty years.

By the time Spurgeon began his preaching ministry, the "Penny Pulpit" was already an established part of the British church scene. The sermons of well-known preachers would be quickly transcribed and printed in inexpensive tract editions, usually published weekly, which made their sermons available in print at a very low cost.

Spurgeon had observed the effectiveness of these printed editions as released by Joseph Irons. "Before I ever entered the pulpit," Spurgeon was later to relate, "the thought had occurred to me that I should one day preach sermons which would be printed."

Spurgeon had published a small essay as Waterbeach Tracts, No. 1 in 1853, but his first installment in the "Penny Pulpit" series came after his arrival at New Park Street Church. His 1854 debut was an instant success, and the public demand for a more regular series grew. After establishing a relationship with the London firm of Passmore and Alabaster, Spurgeon inaugurated the series as The New Park Street Pulpit in 1855.

Some shops and regular "Penny Pulpit" outlets had refused to carry the sermons released by the young upstart. But, as Spurgeon's biographer and contemporary Charles Ray noted: "Of course, when it was seen that the sale of the sermons would be a financial success, the booksellers rapidly overcame their scruples and lost their prejudices."

Overcame, indeed. Within just a few months, The New Park Street Pulpit was a remarkable success. Soon, Spurgeon's sermons were translated into languages ranging from Gaelic to Urdu.