God's People as Speckled Birds

Chas. Spurgeon.

Jeremiah 12:9

My heritage is to me as a speckled bird, the birds round about are against her; come you, assemble all the beasts of the field…

"Mine heritage (the godly man's) is unto me as a speckled bird." When living at Cambridge Mr. Spurgeon was appointed to preach at a village just outside the city, and during the day, after much reading and meditation, he was unable to light upon a suitable text, and was, as Bunyan would say, "much tumbled up and down" in his thoughts. Rising from prayer and the reading of the Scriptures he walked to the window, and, looking out, espied on the other side of the narrow street a solitary canary upon the roof ridge, surrounded by a crowd of sparrows that were all pecking at it. At that moment the verse quoted flashed into his mind, and he started off upon his country walk, restful in heart and mind, and composed his sermon as he journeyed, the main points of his discourse being the peculiarity of God's people and the persecutions they suffer in consequence. He thus speaks of the episode himself: "I preached with freedom and ease to myself, and, I believe, with comfort to my rustic audience. The text was sent to me, and if the ravens did not bring it, certainly the sparrows did."

(Chas. Spurgeon.).