Mankind's Thirsty Soul

Carnal man does not understand the solution to a thirsty soul. Man is blind in his sin and groping for the truth, but he cannot see it. The author of Proverbs tells us that "There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death" (14:12). Man seeks deliverance, identity, and satisfaction in the things of the world, and he pursues them with all his vain glory. Charles Spurgeon clearly understood this truth, and he applied it to his own life. I have recently read about him in which an American lecture company attempted to engage Spurgeon to come on a preaching tour of the United States. They wanted to book him to speak in the fifty largest cities in America, and they would pay all his expenses, those of his wife, and those of a traveling secretary. In addition, they offered him $1000 per sermon; a total of $50,000, which in those days was a king's ransom. Spurgeon, however, immediately declined the offer, saying, "I can do better. I will stay in London and try to save fifty souls."