Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834-1892), "the Prince of Preachers," has "kept back nothing that is profitable" in this book, which is composed of three series of lectures on the Gospel ministry. His first concern is the inner life of the man of God. He begins by dealing with the preacher's self-examination, his call to the ministry, and his private prayer. Spurgeon's timeless, practical insights concerning the preparation and delivery of sermons naturally flow out of the fountainhead of his understanding of what a truly spiritual man is to be. He manifests extraordinary wisdom regarding the close relationship between a pastor's personal life and his work by skillfully handling two subjects that demonstrate the humanity and frailty of ministers: the lecture entitled "The Minister's Fainting Fits" deals with causes and cures of spiritual depression; the one entitled "The Minister's Ordinary Conversation" gives valuable guidelines for one's conduct outside the pulpit as a man among men.