By Pastor Rich Bitterman
March 1, 2025
Categories: Christian Books, Devotions on the Psalms
I was 43, sitting alone at my kitchen table, nursing cold coffee and a worn-out Bible.
Ministry was dry. My soul, even drier. I had preached sermons that felt like echoes in an empty cave. Read Scripture like I was staring through a fogged window. I still loved the Lord, but everything felt flat—until I opened a book I had bought on a whim years before, too intimidated to dive into its seven volumes.
That night, I opened Volume 1 of Spurgeon’s The Treasury of David and read his comments on Psalm 1. And just like that—with one paragraph—Spurgeon reached through 120 years of dust and brought the Psalms roaring back to life.
“The Psalmist speaks like a man who had tried and proved the truth of what he wrote.”
—Spurgeon, Psalm 1:1
It was like hearing thunder on dry ground.
Spurgeon wasn’t offering commentary. He was offering company. He wasn’t explaining a psalm. He was preaching his way through it, praying through it, worshiping through it. And suddenly, I was doing the same.
What Is The Treasury of David?
To call The Treasury of David a commentary is like calling the Grand Canyon a ditch. Yes, it walks through every verse of every Psalm. Yes, it includes theological interpretation. But what it really does is resurrect the Psalms for the weary soul.
Charles Haddon Spurgeon, the “Prince of Preachers,” worked on this masterpiece for over twenty years. The result is not a scholarly tomb but a devotional tabernacle. It’s a book you don’t just read. It’s a book you pray with. Cry over. Preach from. Carry like a trusted friend.
Each entry is a rich exposition of the Psalm’s meaning, followed by a flood of wisdom from theologians and saints across the centuries. It’s the communion of saints, bound in ink.
A Commentary That Sings and Weeps
Most Bible commentaries fall into one of two ditches: dry academic analysis or shallow feel-good fluff. Spurgeon gives us something rare—theology with tears in its eyes.
He moves verse by verse, drawing out the doctrine, but never losing the soul. When David laments, Spurgeon lets the lament bleed. When Asaph questions God’s justice, Spurgeon doesn’t flinch. When the psalmist erupts in praise, Spurgeon hands you a tambourine.
And every so often, his words stop you cold:
“A broken heart is a costly thing. Let it not be broken for nothing.”
“When you cannot trace His hand, you must learn to trust His heart.”
You start highlighting sentences and end up underlining paragraphs. Not because you’re collecting quotes—but because your heart is being realigned.
Why Spurgeon Still Matters
There are good writers. There are great theologians. And then there are rare prophets like Spurgeon—men who, though dead, still preach.
What makes this work timeless is not just Spurgeon’s genius, but his brokenness. He battled depression, suffered chronic illness, and carried the weight of thousands. And he found solace—not in fame, but in the Psalms.
That’s why he writes like a man drowning who found a rock. And now, through The Treasury, he throws that rock to you.
More Than Spurgeon: The Voices of the Ages
The Treasury of David is a gathering of voices.
In between Spurgeon’s insights, you’ll find over 4,000 quotations from giants of the faith:
- Augustine
- Calvin
- Luther
- Matthew Henry
- Bunyan
- Chrysostom
- Baxter
It’s like walking through a candle-lit cathedral where the walls are lined with whispering saints, all commenting on the same Psalm. They don’t always agree—but that’s the beauty of it. The Psalm remains the same; the angles of glory just keep multiplying.
The Abridged Version: Should You Buy It?
Yes.
The seven-volume original is a feast. But the one-volume abridged edition by David O. Fuller is the banquet table brought to your kitchen.
It preserves Spurgeon’s voice, preserves the Spirit’s weight, and trims just enough fat to make it accessible. If you’re a busy pastor, teacher, or hungry Christian—this is your door in.
What This Book Will Do to You
Forget bullet points. Here are stories:
You’re a pastor struggling to write a sermon on Psalm 42. Your soul feels dry. Spurgeon takes you by the collar and shows you how David’s tears became a theology of hope. You preach that Sunday, not from notes—but from the overflow.
You’re a believer battling depression. You open to Psalm 88, the darkest Psalm in Scripture. Spurgeon doesn’t skip it. He stares it down. And suddenly, your darkness has company.
You’re a mom, up before the sun, reading Psalm 121 over your children. Spurgeon reminds you that the Lord who keeps Israel never slumbers.
You’re a man who just lost a friend. Psalm 116. “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints.” Spurgeon reminds you: God not only sees, He weeps.
This book doesn’t just teach you the Psalms. It anchors you to them.
My Own Copy: Worn Edges, Tear-Stained Pages
Mine is bent, battered, and bruised. There are coffee stains near Psalm 51. Underlines that have turned the page nearly black near Psalm 23. Scribbled sermon notes, tear-streaked prayers, and corners folded down like altars.
I have 100+ books on my shelves. This one stays on my desk.
Don’t Just Read It. Live In It.
This isn’t a book for the casual reader. It’s for the hungry. The broken. The worshiper. The questioner. The preacher. The wanderer. The psalmist still learning how to sing.
Spurgeon has been gone for over a century. But in these pages, he still whispers,
“Come, let us walk through the Psalms together. And there, find Christ.”
And you will. You absolutely will.
Click here to get your copy today.
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