The Next Best Thing to Grace

In reading through Spurgeon's "Lectures to My Students" I came across the following quote. The context of this quote is related to making sure people are able to pay attention to a sermon. In this section of the lecture Spurgeon is talking about the physical room in which people meet. He says:

"The next best thing to the grace of God for a preacher is oxygen. Pray that the windows of heaven may be opened, but begin by opening the windows of your meeting-house."

Later in the same paragraph he lamented that many church buildings were not well designed for ventilation. How do you like his proposed solution to that problem?

"Provided all such chapels were properly insured, I could not pray for their
preservation from fire."

I don't know if churches in England in the 1800 made a lot of insurance claims after that. I trust Spurgeon never had a class action suit filed against him by the insurance companies.

Spurgeon then went on to explain how he had solved the ventilation problem in his congregation.

"In my former chapel in Park Street I mentioned to my deacons several times my
opinion that the upper panes of the iron-framed windows had better be taken
out, as the windows were not made to open. I mentioned this several
times, and nothing came of it; but it providentially happened one Monday that
somebody removed most of those panes in a masterly manner, almost as well as if
they had been taken out by a glazier. There was considerable consternation, and much conjecture as to who had committed the crime, and I proposed that a reward of five pounds should be offered for the discovery of the offender, who when found should receive the amount as a present. The reward was not forthcoming, and therefore I have not felt it to be my duty to inform against the individual. I trust none of you will suspect me, for if you do I shall have to confess that I have walked with the stick which let the oxygen into that stifling structure."