The Bed and Its Covering

Charles Spurgeon uses Isaiah’s image—“the bed is shorter than that a man can stretch himself on it, and the covering narrower than that he can wrap himself in it”—to show that every attempt people make to find rest or spiritual covering apart from Christ ultimately fails. He describes how men try to rest their souls on beds of wealth, fame, and pleasure, yet each proves too short: the rich man never has enough, the ambitious man finds “uneasy lies the head that wears the crown,” and the pleasure‑seeker, like Byron, confesses he is still restless despite indulging every desire. Spurgeon then exposes the coverings people sew for themselves—doctrinal pride, good works, religious ceremonies, and sectarian scruples—but says these are only “nightcaps” or “slippers,” not garments that can cover the naked soul, noting how some “tried sacraments, fasting, private prayer—never good enough… never felt that the garment was broad enough.” In contrast, he proclaims that Christ alone provides a bed long enough for the soul’s deepest desires and a robe wide enough to cover even the greatest sinner, the seamless righteousness “woven from the top throughout” and dyed in His blood. Spurgeon concludes that only the believer can truly rest—stretching himself fully on the promises of God—and only the believer is fully clothed, wrapped safely in the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ.Sermon delivered on January 9th, 1859.