Bible Dictionaries
Minister: Self-Dissatisfaction of

Spurgeon's Illustration Collection


'Swift of foot was Hiawatha,
He could shoot an arrow from him,
And run forward with such fleetness,

That the arrow fell behind him!'


The fable is even less than truth with the fervent preacher: he darts arrows of fire in flaming speech, but his eagerness to win souls far outruns his words. He projects himself far beyond his language. His heart outstrips his utterance. He embraces souls in his love, while his words as yet are but on the wing. Often and often will he weep when his sermon is over, because his words 'fell behind him;' yet has he cause for joy, that he should have received so divine a spirit from his Master's hand: his very dissatisfaction proves his zeal.

Bibliography Information
Spurgeon, Charles. Entry for 'Minister: Self-Dissatisfaction of'. Spurgeon's Illustration Collection. https://www.studylight.org/​dictionaries/​eng/​fff/​m/minister-self-dissatisfaction-of.html. 1870.