C.H. Spurgeon 
Praise for Jesus 

‘Judah, you are he whom your brothers shall praise.’

Genesis 49:8.

These words were spoken by the Patriarch Jacob when he blessed his sons as he lay a-dying.

But before he finished Judah’s blessing, the good old man seemed to forget his son and to turn his thoughts to Jesus, our Lord, of whom Judah was a very significant type.

Jacob compared Judah to a lion and a lion’s whelp and in the Revelation we read that one of the elders said to John, ‘The Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the book, and to loosen the seven seals thereof.’ In the 10th verse of this Chapter we have Jacob’s notable prophecy concerning the coming of Christ, ‘The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh comes and unto Him shall the gathering of the people be.’

I intend only to speak about Judah so far as he is a type of Christ, and I trust that I shall, by the Holy Spirit’s gracious guidance, move all the brethren of the Lord Jesus Christ to praise Him, so that I shall be able to reverently say to Him, ‘Jesus, You are He whom Your brothers shall praise.’

So I shall speak, first, concerning the praise of Judah and the praise of Jesus. And then, secondly, concerning the glories of Judah as setting forth the glories of Jesus.

About the author

Charles Haddon Spurgeon (19 June 1834 – 31 January 1892) was an English Particular Baptist preacher. Spurgeon remains highly influential among Christians of various denominations, among whom he is known as the ‘Prince of Preachers’. He was a strong figure in the Reformed Baptist tradition, defending the Church in agreement with the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith understanding, and opposing the liberal and pragmatic theological tendencies in the Church of his day. He also famously denied being a Protestant, and held to the view of Baptist Successionism.

Spurgeon was the pastor of the congregation of the New Park Street Chapel (later the Metropolitan Tabernacle) in London for 38 years. He was part of several controversies with the Baptist Union of Great Britain and later he left the denomination over doctrinal convictions. In 1867, he started a charity organisation which is now called Spurgeon’s and works globally. He also founded Spurgeon’s College, which was named after him posthumously.

Spurgeon was a prolific author of many types of works including sermons, an autobiography, commentaries, books on prayer, devotionals, magazines, poetry, hymns, and more. Many sermons were transcribed as he spoke and were translated into many languages during his lifetime. Spurgeon produced powerful sermons of penetrating thought and precise exposition. His oratory skills held his listeners spellbound in the Metropolitan Tabernacle and many Christians hold his writings in exceptionally high regard among devotional literature.