The Works of John Bunyan, vol 1 by John Bunyan (books to read to improve english .TXT) 📕

[8] In Bunyan’s days, persecution for conscience sake was more extensive under the Protestant Church of England than it was even in the fiery days of Mary. Tens of thousands fled to seek an asylum among savages in America, who were not permitted to live among men worse than savages in England. Thousands were immured in prisons, where many hundreds perished, and with those who suffered a violent death received the crown of martyrdom. Even now they that will live godly in Christ Jesus, must submit to taunts, jeers, and reproaches.

May we forget not the Saviour’s comforting declaration, ‘Blessed are you when persecuted, reviled, and spoken against falsely for my sake.’—Ed.

[9] This is the language of an eye-witness, and not a theory. Our author had associated with every man in jail, whose bitter suffering, and that of their families, tried the faith and patience of the saints, and winnowed the church of formal professors.—Ed.

[10] Often have God’s saints rejoiced in tribulation, and, like Stephen, when put to death with excruciating torments, have prayed for their enemies. Bunyan’s fear was, when threatened to be hung for preaching Christ, that he should make but ‘a scrabbling shift to clamber up the ladder.’ He was, however, comforted with the hope that his dying speech might be blessed to some of the spectators.—Grace Abounding, Nos. 334, 335.—Ed.

[11] How forcibly does this remind us of the escape of the poor doubting pilgrims from the castle of Giant Despair. The outer gate, like that of the prison in which Peter was confined, was of iron (Acts 12:10). But Peter had a heavenly messenger as his guide, and faith was in lively exercise, so that ‘the gate opened to them of his own accord.’ ‘God cut the gates of iron in sunder’ (Psa 107:16).

The pilgrims lay for four days under dreadful sufferings, bordering on black despair. He had overlooked or laid by the ‘key that doth go too hard’; prayer brought it to his recollection, and he cried out, ‘What a fool am I thus to be in a stinking dungeon, when I may as well walk at liberty.’ He recollected the ‘key called promise,’

which will open ALL the gates in Doubting Castle; and although the lock of that iron gate went damnable hard, yet the key did open it, and the prisoners escaped; see Grace Abounding, Nos 261-263.

Fellow-pilgrims ‘look not over,’ nor ‘lay by,’ those keys that ‘go too hard,’ the prayerful use of which may save us much bitter dejection and gloomy doubts.—Ed.

[12] The murder of Sir E. Godfrey, and the fears of a Popish plot, greatly alarmed the country at this time. The recollection of the frightful atrocities committed by the Papists upon the unoffending and unarmed Protestants in Ireland, led to the fears which are here so forcibly, but naturally, expressed. Although we re here directed to the sole ground of hope in the spiritual warfare, yet doubtless, in temporal things, Bunyan felt the necessity of human agency. Had he lived to witness the punishment inflicted on these murderers by William III, he would have owned with gratitude the services rendered to the nation by that warlike king and his brave parliament.—Ed.

[13] How infinite is the condescension of Jehovah to enter into such a relationship with every member of his mystical body, the church. ‘Thy Maker is thy husband, the Lord of Hosts is his name’

(Isa 14:5). Surely it hath not entered into the heart of man to conceive the riches of that endowment, the magnificence of that estate.—Ed.

[14] Beware lest an evil heart, and Satan’s devices, lead us to idolatry. All our ideas of God must be formed and governed by his revelation of himself in his Word.—Ed.

[15] Gospellers was the nickname for those who loved the gospel at the Reformation, as Puritan or Methodist in a later age.—Ed.

[16] These are solemn and bitter truths. While the public assembly is at times the gate of heaven to the soul, sincerity is better evidenced by heart-wrestling with God in private. No duty draws down such blessings from heaven, nor has greater opposition from Satan, than earnest closet prayer. While it humbles the soul before God, it excites our zeal in good works and a heavenly conduct towards man.—Ed.

[17] ‘For whom the Lord loveth, he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth’ (Heb 12:6,7).—Ed.

[18] In Popish times, the poor wretchedly and lazily depended upon the alms of the rich, which were especially bestowed at a funeral, to buy their prayers for the repose of the soul; and at wedding, for a blessing on the newly-married couple. Happily for them they are now taught, by gospel light, to depend, under God, upon their honest exertions to produce the means of existence and enjoyment, as the most valuable class of society.—Ed.

[19] Bunyan had felt all this. ‘Alas!’ says he, ‘I could neither hear Christ, nor see him, nor feel him, nor savour any of his things; I was driven with a tempest, my heart would be unclean, the Canaanites would come into the land.’—Grace Abounding, No. 78.—Ed.

[20] See 2 Samuel 2:23, 3:27. To smite under the fifth rib is to give a mortal blow.—Ed.

[21] Human laws we must obey, unless they infringe upon the prerogative of God and upon conscience; to such we must refuse obedience, and count it an honour to suffer as Daniel and the Hebrew youths. These laws we may strive to get repealed or amended; but the laws of God are immutable and eternal—they must be obeyed, or we perish.—Ed.

[22] How striking an exemplification is this of our utter helplessness and the unbounded love of God. O my soul, it is impossible to number or recollect all his mercies, but take heed lest thou forget them all.—Ed.

[23] The reader will easily understand this passage if he considers ‘these folks’ to mean those who were deterred from making a public profession of faith, by the fear of ‘the enemies,’ or persecutors, properly called the devil’s scarecrows. ‘Today,’ refers to the time in which this encouraging treatise was written. Then persecutors and informers were let loose upon the churches, like a swarm of locusts. Many folks were terrified, and much defection prevailed.

But for such a time God prepared Bunyan, Baxter, Owen, Howe, and many others of equal piety. Thus, when the enemy cometh in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him.—Ed.

[24] The word ‘virtuous’ is now very rarely used in this sense; it means, ‘efficacious by inherent qualities,’ or having great or powerful properties, as, ‘By virtue of our Lord’s intercession’; see Imperial Dictionary.—Ed.

[25] ‘Tang’; a strong sense, flavour, or relish.—Ed.

[26] ‘O the unthought of imaginations, frights, fears, and terrors that are affected by a thorough application of guilt, yielded to desperation! This is the man that hath his dwelling among the tombs.’—Bunyan’s experience in Grace Abounding, No. 185.—Ed.

[27] This is not merely an exhortation to diligence in the Christian calling, but it is meant to convey to all the certain fact, that the prayer of faith in the merits of the Redeemer will and must be followed by renewed speed in running the race that is set before us.—Ed.

[28] There is something about the word blood at which the mind recoils, as if intended to impress upon us the evils of sin and its awful punishment—the death, spiritual and eternal, of the sinner.

‘Without shedding of blood is no remission.’ Blessed are those who were in Christ when his precious blood was shed as an atoning sacrifice.—Ed.

[29] See the character of Ignorance in the Pilgrim’s Progress.—Ed.

[30] The words are, ‘In the name of God, gracious and merciful,’

before each of the 114 chapters of which Alcoran consists.—Ed.

[31] No service on the part of those who are out of Christ, can be accepted (Prov 15:8). We are accepted IN the Beloved (Eph 1:6).—Ed.

[32] One who justifies himself; the self-righteous. The word is only used by religious writers, and never now.—Ed.

[33] What is this to me, O law, that thou accusest me, and sayest that I have committed many sins? Indeed, I grant that I have committed many sins, yea, and still do commit sins daily without number. This toucheth me nothing. Thou talkest to me in vain. I am dead unto thee.—Luther. In the person of his Surety, the believer has died, and paid the penalty of the law. It can have no claim on him.—Ed.

[34] A proverbial saying, which means that all are alike, ‘there is no one barrel better than another, the whole cargo is bad.’—Ed.

***

I WILL PRAY WITH THE SPIRIT AND WITH THE UNDERSTANDING ALSO-OR,

A DISCOURSE TOUCHING PRAYER;

WHEREIN IS BRIEFLY DISCOVERED,

1. WHAT PRAYER IS. 2. WHAT IT IS TO PRAY WITH THE SPIRIT. 3. WHAT

IT IS TO PRAY WITH THE SPIRIT AND WITH THE UNDERSTANDING ALSO.

WRITTEN IN PRISON, 1662. PUBLISHED, 1663.

“For we know not what we should pray for as we ought:—the Spirit—helpeth our infirmities” (Rom 8:26).

ADVERTISEMENT BY THE EDITOR.

There is no subject of more solemn importance to human happiness than prayer. It is the only medium of intercourse with heaven.

“It is that language wherein a creature holds correspondence with his Creator; and wherein the soul of a saint gets near to God, is entertained with great delight, and, as it were, dwells with his heavenly Father.“1 God, when manifest in the flesh, hath given us a solemn, sweeping declaration, embracing all prayer—private, social, and public—at all times and seasons, from the creation to the final consummation of all things—“God is a Spirit, and they that worship him MUST WORSHIP HIM IN SPIRIT AND IN TRUTH” (John 4:24).

The great enemy of souls, aided by the perverse state of the human mind, has exhausted his ingenuity and malice to prevent the exercise of this holy and delightful duty. His most successful effort has been to keep the soul in that fatal lethargy, or death unto holiness, and consequently unto prayer, into which it is plunged by Adam’s transgression. Bunyan has some striking illustrations of Satan’s devices to stifle prayer, in his history of the Holy War. When the troops of Emmanuel besiege Mansoul, their great effort was to gain “eargate” as a chief entrance to Mansoul, and at that important gate there were placed, by order of Diabolous, “the Lord Will-be-will, who made one old Mr. Prejudice, an angry and ill-conditioned fellow, captain of that ward, and put under his power sixty men called Deafmen to keep it,” and these were arrayed in the most excellent armour of Diabolous, “A DUMB AND PRAYERLESS SPIRIT.” Nothing but the irresistible power of Emmanuel could have overcome these obstacles.

He conquers and reigns supreme, and Mansoul becomes happy; prayer without ceasing enables the new-born man to breathe the celestial atmosphere. At length Carnal Security interrupts and mars this happiness. The Redeemer gradually withdraws. Satan assaults the soul with armies of doubts, and, to prevent prayer, Diabolous “lands up Mouthgate with dirt.“2 Various efforts are made to send petitions, but the messengers make no impression, until, in the extremity of the soul’s distress, two acceptable messengers are found, not dwelling in palaces, but in “a very mean cottage,“3 their names were “Desires Awake and Wet Eyes,” illustrating the inspired words, “Thus saith the High and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is holy: I dwell—with him—that is of a contrite and humble spirit” (Isa 57:15). By this we are taught the utter worthlessness of depending upon the prayers of saints on earth, or the glorified spirits of heaven. Our own prayers alone are availing. Our own “Desires-awake” and “Wet-eyes,” our own aspirations after God, our own deep repentance