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mouth, and with thee I mourn without the light: but let us exercise a little more patience: remember how thou playedft the man at Vanity Fair, and was neither afraid of the chain for cage, nor yet of bloody death; wherefore let us, at least to avoid the fhame (for it becomes not a Chriftian to be found thus), bear up therefore with patience as well as we can.

Now night being come again, and the giant and his wife being in bed, fhe asked him concerning the prifoners, and if they had taken his counfel: to which he replied, they are fturdy rogues, they choose rather to bear all hardships, than to make away with themfelves. Then faid fhe, Take them into the caftle-yard to-morrow, and fhew them the bones and fculls of those whom thou haft already dif patched, and make them believe, ere a week comes to an end, thou wilt alfo tear them in pieces, as thou haft done their fellows before them.

So when the morning was come, the giant goes to them again, and takes them into the castle-yard, and fhews them, as his wife had bidden him: Thefe, faid he, were pilgrims as you are, once, and they trefpaffed in my grounds, as you have done; and when I thought fit, I tore them in pieces, and fo within ten days I will do you; go, get you down to your den again; and with that he beat them all the way thither. They lay therefore all day on Saturday in lamentable cafe, as before.

Now, when night was come, and when Mrs. Diffidence

Diffidence and her husband the giant were got to bed, they began to renew their discourse about their prifoners; and withal, the old giant wondered that he could neither by his blows nor counsel bring them to an end. With that his wife replied: I fear, faid fhe, that they live in hopes that fome one will come to relieve them, or that they have picklocks about them, by means of which they hope to escape. Sayeft thou fo, my dear? faid the giant; I will therefore fearch them in the morning.

Well, on Saturday, about midnight, they began to pray, and continued in prayer till almost break of day. Now, a little before it was day, good Chriftian, as one half amazed, brake out in this paffionate speech: What a fool, quoth he, am I, thus to lie in a stinking dungeon, when I may as well walk at liberty? I have a key in my bofom, called Promife m, which will, I am perfuaded, open any lock in Doubting-Caftle. Then faid Hopeful, That's good news, good brother, pluck it out of thy bofom, and try.

m The key by which the pilgrims were delivered was called Promife; but their imprisonment was by turning aside to the law. It may be asked, "Is the law then against the promife?" No, but in fubferviency to it; namely, to prove that there can be no falvation or deliverance, but by promife; therefore the apoftle argues, If the inheritance was by the law, it could not be by promise; but God gave it to Abraham by promife. So then, as the law concludes all under fin, our deliverance can only be by promife; thus the law is not against the promise, but in fubferviency to it. M

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Then Christian pulled it out of his bofom, and began to try at the dungeon door, whofe bolt, as he turned the key, gave back, and the door flew open with eafe, and Chriftian and Hopeful both came out. Then he went to the outward door which leads into the caftle-yard, and with his key opened that door alfo. After that he went to the iron gate, for that must be opened too, but that lock went very hard, yet the key did open it. Then they. thruft open the door to make their escape with speed, but that gate, as it opened, made fuch a cracking, that it waked giant Defpair, who, hastily rifing to purfue his prifoners, felt his limbs fail, for his fits took him again, fo that he could by no means go after them. Then they went on, and came to the king's highway, and fo were fafe, because they were out of his jurifdiction.

Now, when they were gone over the ftile, they began to contrive with themfelves, what they fhould do at that ftile, to prevent thofe who fhould come after them from falling into the hands of giant Defpair. They consented therefore to erect there a pillar, and to engrave upon the stile this fentence": • Over

" It is often afked, What need is there of speaking so much about the law, and of infisting so much upon it, that the believer is not under it, but dead to it, and delivered from its authority? I anfwer, because of the great danger we are in of going back to it, and of being brought again into bondage by it, for the law genders to bondage. "Ye fuffer," St. Paul fays, "if a man bring you into bondage." And in another place

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Over this file is the way to Doubting-Castle, which is kept by giant Defpair, who defpifeth the King of the celeftial country, and feeks to destroy ' his holy pilgrims.' Many therefore who followed after read what was written, and escaped the danger. This done, they fang as follows:

Out of the way we went, and then we found
What 'twas to tread upon forbidden ground;
And let them that come after have a care,
Left they for trefpaffing his prifoners are,

Whofe castle's Doubting, and whofe name's Defpair.

They went forward till they came to the Delectable Mountains°; which mountains belong to the Lord of that hill, of which we have spoken before; so they went up to the mountains, to behold the gardens and orchards, the vineyards and fountains of water; where also they drank and washed themfelves, and did freely eat of the vineyards. Now there were, on the tops of those mountains, fhepherds feeding their flocks, and they stood by the

he fays, "Do any fuffer, and I burn not?" Knowing the terrors of the Lord, and the awful confequences which must follow upon going back to the law, we labour to perfuade men to cleave to Chrift, and to keep themselves in the love of God, by looking to Jefus; for as the law works wrath, fo faith works love in the heart, and works by love as the motive of obedience.

• Through what a variety of scenes do these pilgrims pass! At one time they were lying down in green paftures, drinking freely of the river of life; after that they were shut up in Doubting-Castle, and now they are come to the Delectable Mountains,

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highway fide.

The pilgrims therefore went to them, and leaning upon their staffs (as is common with weary pilgrims when they ftand to talk with any by the way), they afked, Whofe Delectable Mountains are these? and whose be the fheep that feed upon them?

Shep. Thefe mountains are Emanuel's land, and they are within fight of his city; and the sheep also are his, and he laid down his life for them.

Chr. Is this the way to the celeftial city?
Shep. 'You are just in the way?

Chr. How far is it thither?

Shep. Too far for any, but for those who shall get thither indeed.

Chr. Is the way fafe or dangerous?

Shep. Safe, for those for whom it is to be fafe; but tranfgreffors fhall fall therein.

Chr. Is there in this place any relief for pilgrims who are weary and faint in the way?

Shep. The Lord of these mountains hath given us a charge not to be forgetful to entertain strangers, therefore the good of the place is before you.

I faw alfo, in my dream, that when the fhepherds perceived they were wayfaring men, they also put queftions to them (to which they made anfwers as in other places), as, Whence came you? And how got you into the way? And by what means have you so persevered therein? For, but few of them who begin to come hither do fhew their faces on thefe mountains. But when the fhepherds heard their

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