THE

PILGRIM'S PROGRESS.

PART I.

AS I walked through the wilderness of this world, I lighted on a certain place, where was a den,. (a) and laid me down in that place to sleep, and as I slept, I dreamed a dream. I dreamed, and behold "I saw a man clothed with rags*, standing in a certain place with his face from his own house, a book in his hand, and a great burden upon his back." I looked; and saw him open the book, and read therein and as he read, he wept and trembled ; and not being able longer to contain, he brake out with a lamentable cry, (b) saying, "What shall I do?"†

*Isa. Ixiv. 6. Luke xiv. 33. Psa. xxxviii. 4. Heb. ii. 2. Acts xvi. 31. † Acts ii. 37.

(a) By the den is meant the jail at Bedford, in which Mr. Bunyan wrote this precious book, where he was confined on account of his religion. The following anecdote is related of him: a Quaker came to the jail, and thus addressed him: "Friend Bunyan, the "Lord sent me to seek for thee, and I have been through several "counties in search of thee, and now I am glad I have found thee." To which Mr. Bunyan replied, "Friend, thou dost not speak truth, "in saying, The Lord sent thee to seek me; for the Lord well knows that I have been in this jail for some years: and, if he had "sent thee, he would have sent thee here directly.

(b) This is the cry of a convinced sinner-one who sees his own righteousness to be as filthy rags, his soul is in a state of wrath and wretchedness, exposed to everlasting destruction, feeling the burden of his sins upon his back, he turns his face from his own house, from himself, and from all his false hopes and vain confidences, for refuge; and takes bis Bible in his hand to direct him where he shall flee for refuge and salvation. The more a sinner reads therein, the more he is convinced of the wretched state and ruined condition of his precious and immortal soul, and of his necessity of fleeing to Christ for eternal life and salvation. As he reads, he weeps and

Christian discloses his state to his family.

In this plight, therefore, he went home, and refrained himself as long as he could, that his wife and children should not perceive his distress; but he could not be silent long, because that his trouble increased; wherefore, at length, he brake his mind to his wife and children; and thus he began to talk to them:

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"O my dear wife (said he,) and you the children of my bowels, I your dear friend am in myself undone, by reason of a burden that lieth hard upon me moreover, I am certainly informed, that this our city will be burned with fire from heaven; in which fearful overthrow, both myself, with thee my wife, and you my sweet babes, shall miserably come to ruin, except (the which yet I see not) some way of escape may be found, whereby we may be delivered." At this his relations were sore amazed, (c) not for that they believed what he had said to them was true, but because they thought some frenzy distemper had got into his head; therefore, it drawing towards night, and they hoping that sleep might settle his brains, with all haste they got him to bed: (d) but the night was as troublesome to him as the

*This world.

trembles to think what will become of him. Reader, was this ever your case? Did you ever see your sins, and feel the burden of them, so as to cry out, in the anguish of your soul, What must I do to be saved? If not, you will look on this precious book as a romance or history which no way concerns you: you can no more understand the meaning of it, than if it were wrote in an unknown tongue: for you are yet carnal, dead in your sins, lying in the arms of the wicked one in false security. But this book is spiritual it can only be understood by spiritually-quickened souls, who have experienced that salvation in the heart which begins with a sight of sin, a sense of sin, a fear of destruction, and dread of damnation. Such, and only such, commence pilgrims from the city of destruction to the heavenly kingdom.

(c) Conviction of sin in the heart will discover itself to those about us, by the outward conduct and behaviour of the life.

(d) When we begin to be wise unto salvation, carnal friends pronounce us mad unto destruction; and administer carnal physic for our sin-sick souls.

Meets Evangelist.

day; wherefore instead of sleeping be spent it in sighs and tears. So when the morning was come, they would know how he did he told them worse and worse: he also set to talking to them again, but they began to be hardened. They also thought to drive away his distemper by harsh and surly carriage to him sometimes they would deride; sometimes they would chide; and sometimes they would quite neglect him. Wherefore he began to retire himself to his chamber, to pray for and pity them; and also to condole his own misery. He would also walk solitary in the fields, sometimes reading, and sometimes praying; and thus for some days he spent his time.

Now, I saw upon a time, when he was walking in the fields, that he was (as he was wont) reading in his book, and greatly distressed in his mind; and as he read, he burst out, as he had done before, crying, "What shall I do to be saved?*"

1 saw also that he looked this way and that way, as if he would run, yet he stood still, because, I perceived, he could not tell which way to go. I looked then, and saw a man, named Evangelist, coming to him, and asked, "Wherefore dost thou cry?" (e)

He answered, Sir, I perceive by the book in my hand, that I am condemned to die,† and after that to come to judgment; (f) and I find that I am not willing to do the first, nor able to do the second.

Then said Evangelist, why not willing to die, since this life is attended with so many evils? The man answered, Because I fear that this burden that is

*Acts xvi, 30, 31. † Heb. ix. 26. Job. xvi. 21, 22. Ezek. xxii. 14.

(e) Behold here the tender love and care of Jesus, the great Shepherd and Bishop of souls, to sin-distressed, heavy-laden sinners, in sending Evangelist, that is, a preacher of the gospel-grace and glad tidings of salvation, to them."

(f) Fools make a mock of sin; but when a poor soul takes his estimate of sin from the word of God, enlightening his conscience, and considers what an awful thing it is to stand before God, it is a burden too heavy for himself to bear.