Charles H. Spurgeon at an orphanage. From "The Sword and The Trowel" 1890, edited by Charles H. Spurgeon. "The Sword and The Trowel" was aptly named because it contained sermons, hymn texts, meditations, poetry related to or inspired by scripture alongside reports from various Christian missionary groups and book reviews. In other words, the "sword" of the Word and the work of the church in the world in building up Christian ministry (the "trowel").