will urge the hearer, saying something like, "Whenever you think of Jesus Christ and think highly of Him, dear heart, say to yourself, 'all this is meant for needy sinners."' 109 Spurgeon also makes direct appeals to his hearers as a friend without pretension. Spurgeon at times expresses this appeal with the phrase "poor soul." "In all thine agony, poor soul, in all thy repentance for thy guilt, look unto Christ, and find pardon."110 Or, "Ah! Poor soul, do not despair."111 Or, "Ah, poor soul, all these suggestions are Satan's lies!"112
This kind of familiar preaching infuriated his critics. As one critic declared: "We do not advocate the coarse jokes and vulgar familiarities, 'How are your poor souls?' and the like; which seem so attractive at the Surrey Music Hall."113 But Spurgeon insisted that such direct familiarity reflected the Scripture's manner. For example, Isaiah 55:1 says,
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Ho! Everyone that thirsteth come ye to the waters. And he that hath no money, come ye buy and eat; yea come buy wine and milk without money and without price.
Spurgeon observed from this passage that God calls for the attention of sinners who, though He is eager for them, are not eager for Him. "Men pass by with their ears full of the world's tumult; and God calleth, again and again, "Ho! Ho!" Be you rich or poor, learned or illiterate, if you are in need, and specially if you feel your need, "Ho, every one that thirsteth."114
Likewise, it was Jesus in John 6:25-26 who said to his hearers, "Verily, verily I say unto you. Ye seek me not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves and were filled."' At this, Spurgeon remarked:
What very plain talk this is! Our Lord does not try to gain popularity by the concealment of truth, but he tells these people to their faces, "You are only following me because of what you get out of me"; "Oh!" some worldly-wise man would have said, "that is a very imprudent speech; it will drive the people away" . . . Our Lord's example should teach us to speak in his name nothing less and nothing more than the truth in all love and kindness. 115
For these reasons, in spite of his critics, Spurgeon continued to preach often with the "familiar" collage of a tender but plain directness. In the following example, Spurgeon appeals to the hearer directly as a sinner, a friend, and a brother. In addition, the lamenting "Oh" found in the Bible is present, as well as the Spurgeon's empathy with the hearers in light of his own personal experience:
Look, sinner, — look unto him, and be saved . . . I know you, my friend; I "know the heart of a stranger;" for such was my heart . . . Oh, the heaviness of a guilty conscience! Oh, the long, dark, dreary winter of the soul, when sin blots out the sun, turns even mercy into misery, and sorrow makes the day into night! Ah! I know you, my brother; your selfrighteousness is all gone . . . The Lord help you . . . ! 116