Sidebilder
PDF
ePub

all those things that to this day are in me an annoyance to me: there they say there is no death'; and there I shall dwell with such company as I like best. For, to tell you the truth, I love him because I was by him eased of my burden; and I am weary of my inward sickness. I would fain be where I shall die no more, and with the company that shall continually cry, " Holy, holy, holy." Then said CHARITY to CHRISTIAN, Have you a family? are you a married man?

CHR. I have a wife and four small children.

CHAR. And why did not you bring them along with you?

Then CHRISTIAN wept, and said, Oh! how willingly would I have done it! but they were all of them utterly averse to my going on pilgrimage.

CHAR. But you should have talked to them, and have endeavoured to have shown them the danger of being left behind.

CHR. So I did; and told them also what God had showed to me of the destruction of our city; but I seemed to them as one that mocked, and they believed me not2.

CHAR. And did you pray to God that he would bless your counsel to them?

CHR. Yes, and that with much affection; for you must think that my wife and poor children were very dear unto me.

CHAR. But did you tell them of

your own sorrow,

and fear of destruction? for I suppose that destruction

was visible enough to you.

Ifa, xxv. 8. Rev. xxi. 4. 2 Gen. xix. 14.

CHR. Yes, over, and over, and over. They might also see my fears in my countenance, in my tears, and also in my trembling under the apprehension of the judgements that did hang over our heads; but all was not sufficient to prevail with them to come with me.

CHAR. But what could they say for themselves why they came not?

CHR. Why, my wife was afraid of losing this world; and my children were given to the foolish delights of youth: so, what by one thing and what by another, they left me to wander in this manner alone.

CHAR. But did you not with your vain life damp all that you by words used by way of persuasion to bring them away with you?

CHR. Indeed I cannot commend my life, for I am conscious to myself of many failings therein: I know also, that a man by his conversation may soon overthrow what by argument or persuasion he doth labour to fasten upon others for their good. Yet this I can say, I was very wary of giving them occasion, by any unseemly action, to make them averse to going on pilgrimage. Yea, for this very thing they would tell me I was too precise; and that I denied myself of things, for their sakes, in which they saw no evil. Nay, I think I may say that if what they saw in me did hinder them, it was my great tenderness in sinning against GOD, or of doing any wrong to my neighbour.

CHAR. Indeed CAIN hated his brother, "because "his own works were evil, and his brother's righteous';" and if thy wife and children have been offended with 1 John iii. 12.

thee for this, they thereby show themselves to be implacable to good; and thou hast delivered thy soul from their blood'.

Now I saw in my dream, that thus they sat talking together until supper was ready. So when they had made ready, they sat down to meat. Now the table was furnished with fat things, and with wine that was well refined; and all their talk at the table was about the Lord of the hill; as namely, about what he had done, and wherefore he did what he did, and why he had builded that house; and, by what they said, I perceived that he had been a great warrior, and had fought with and slain him that had the power of death2; but not without great danger to himself; which made me love him the more.

For, as they said, and, as I believe, said CHRISTIAN, he did it with the loss of much blood. But that which put glory of grace into all he did, was, that he did it out of pure love to his country. And besides, there were some of them of the houshold that said, they had been and spoke with him since he did die on the cross; and they have attested, that they had it from his own lips, that he is such a lover of poor pilgrims, that the like is not to be found from the east to the west.

They, moreover, gave an instance of what they affirmed, and that was, he had stripped himself of his glory that he might do this for the poor; and that they heard him say and affirm, that he would not dwell in the mountain of ZION alone. They said, moreover, that he had made many pilgrims princes, though by

[blocks in formation]

nature they were beggars born, and their original had been the dunghill'.

Thus they discoursed together till late at night; and after they had committed themselves to their Lord for protection, they betook themselves to rest. The pilgrim they laid in a large upper chamber, whose window opened towards the sun rising: the name of the chamber was PEACE, where he slept till break of day, and then he awoke and sang

"Where am I now! Is this the love and care
Of JESUS, for the men that pilgrims are
Thus to provide! That I should be forgiven,
And dwell already the next door to heaven!'

So in the morning they all got up; and, after some more discourse, they told him that he should not depart till they had showed him the rarities of that place. And first they had him into the study, where they showed him records of the greatest antiquity: in which, as I remember my dream, they showed him, first the pedigree of the Lord of the hill, that he was the Son of the ANCIENT-OF-DAYS, and came by that eternal generation: here also were more fully recorded the acts that he had done, and the names of many hundreds that he had taken into his service; and how he had placed them in such habitations that could neither by length of days, nor decays of nature, be dissolved.

Then they read to him some of the worthy acts that some of his servants had done: as how they had

"subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained

[ocr errors][merged small]

"promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the "violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out "of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, " and turned to flight the armies of the aliens."

Then they read again in another part of the records of the house, where it was showed how willing the Lord was to receive into his favour any, even any, though they in time past had offered great affronts to his person and proceedings. Here also were several other histories of many other famous things, of all which CHRISTIAN had a view: as of things both antient and modern; together with prophecies and predictions of things that have their certain accomplishment, both to the dread and amazement of enemies, and the comfort and solace of pilgrims.

The next day they took him and had him into the armoury, where they showed him all manner of furniture which their Lord had provided for pilgrims, as sword, shield, helmet, breast-plate, all-prayer, and shoes that would not wear out. And there was here enough of this to harness out as many men, for the service of their Lord, as there be stars in the heaven for multitude.

They also showed him some of the engines, with which some of his servants had done wonderful things. They showed him Moses's rod; the hammer and nail with which JAEL slew SISERA; the pitchers, trumpets, and lamps too, with which GIDEON put to flight the armies of MIDIAN. Then they showed him the ox's goad, wherewith SHAMGAR slew six hundred men. They showed him also the jaw-bone with which

Heb. xi. 33, 34

« ForrigeFortsett »