And whereas thou feeft him rather give Heed to rake up Straws and Sticks, and the Duft of the Floor, than do what he fays that calls to him from above, with the Cœleftial Crown in his Hand; it is to fhew, that Heaven is but as a Fable to fome, and that Things here are counted the only Things fubftantial. Now, whereas, it was alfo fhewed thee, that the Man could look no Way but downwards: It is to let thee know that earthly Things, when they are with Power upon Mens' Minds, quite carry their Hearts away from God. Chrift. Then faid Chriftiana, Oh! deli- Christiana's ver me from this Muckrake. Muckrake. Prayer Inter. That Prayer, faid the Interpreter, against the has lain by, 'till it is almost rufty; Give me not Riches, is fcarce the Prayer of one of ten Thousand. Straws and Sticks, and Duft, with moft, are the great Things now looked after. With that Mercy and Chriftiana wept, and faid, it is, alas! too true. When the Interpreter had fhewed them this, he had them into the very best Room in the Houfe; (a very brave Room it ws) fo he bid them look round about, and fee if they could find any thing profitable there. Then they looked round and round: For there was nothing to be feen but a very great Spider on the Wall; and of the Spider. that they overlooked. Mercy. Then faid Mercy, Sir, I fee nothing: But Chriftiana held her Peace. Inter. But, faid the Interpreter, look again: She therefore looked again, and S 4 faid Talk about the Spider. The Interpre tation. faid, Here is not any Thing but an ugly Spider, who hangs by his Hands upon the Wall. Then, faid he, is there but one Spider in all this fpacious Room? Then the Water flood in Chriftiana's Eyes, for she was a Woman quick of Apprehenfion: And the faid, Yea, Lord, there is more here than one. Yea, and Spiders, whose Venom is far more deftructive than that which is in her. The Interpreter then looked pleasantly on her, and faid, Thou haft faid the Truth. This made Mercy blush, and the Boys to cover their Faces, for they all began now to understand the Riddle. Then faid the Interpreter again, The Spider taketh bold with her Hands, as you fee, and is in Kings' Palaces. And wherefore is this recorded, but to fhew you, That how full of the Venom of Sin foever you be, yet you may, by the Hand of Faith, lay hold of, and dwell in the best Room that belongs to the King's House above? Chrift. I thought, faid Chriftiana, of fomething of this; but I could not imagine it all. I thought, that we were like Spiders, and that we looked like ugly Creatures, in what fine Rooms foever we were: But that by this Spider, this venomous and ill-favoured Creature, we were to learn how to act Faith, that came not into my Thoughts, That the worketh with Hands, and, as I fee, dwells in the best Room in the Houfe. God has made nothing in vain. Then they feemed all to be glad; but the Water flood in their Eyes: Yet they looked Jooked one upon another, and alfo bowed before the Interpreter. He had them then into another Room, where was a Hen and Chicken, and bid Of the Hen them obferve a While. So one of the and Chicken. Chicken went to the Trough to drink, and every Time fhe drank, the lifted up her Head, and her Eyes towards Heaven. See, faid he, what this little Chick dath, and learn of her to acknowledge whence your Mercies come, by receiving them with looking up. Yet again, faid he, observe and look, fo they gave Heed, and perceived that the Hen did walk in a fourfold Method towards her Chicken. 1. She had a common Call, and that the hath all the Day long. 2. She had a special Call, and that he had but fometimes. had a brooding Note. And, 4. She had an Out-cry. 3. She Matt. 23. 27. Now, faid, he, compare this Hen to your King, and thefe Chicken to his obedient ones. For anfwerable to her, himfelf has his Methods, which he walketh in towards his People; by his common Call, he gives nothing; by his fpecial Call, he always has fomething to give; he has alfo a Brooding Voice, for they that are under his Wing. And he has an Outcry, to give the Alarm when he feeth the Enemy come. I chofe, my Darlings, to lead you into the Room where fuch Things are, because you are Women, and they are eafy for you. Chrift. And, Sir, faid Chriftiana, pray let us fee fome more: So he had them into the Slaughter-houfe, where was a Butcher killing I Of the Butcher killing a Sheep: And behold the Sheep and bis Sheep. was quiet, and took her Death patiently. Then faid the Interpreter, you must learn of this Sheep to fuffer, and to put up Wrongs without Murmurings and Complaints. Behold how quietly fhe takes her Death, and without objecting, the fuffereth her Skin to be pulled over her Ears. Your King doth call you his Sheep. Of the Garden Of the Field. Of the Robin and the Spider. After this, he led them into his Garden, where was great Variety of Flowers: And he faid, Do you fee all these? So Chriftiana faid, Yes. Then faid he again, Behold the Flowers are divers in Stature, in Quality, and Colour, and Smell and Virtue; and fome are better than fome: Alfo where the Gardener hath fet them, there they ftand, and quarrel not with one another. Again, he had them into his Field, which he had fown with Wheat and Corn: But when they beheld the Tops of all was cut off, only the Straw remained, he faid again, This Ground was dunged, and ploughed, and fowed, but what fhall we do with the Crop? Then faid Chriftiana, burn fome and make Muck of the rest. Then faid the Interpreter again, Fruit, you fee, is that Thing you look for, and for Want of that you condemn it to the Fire, and to be trodden under Feet of Men: Beware that in this you condemn not yourfelves. Then as they were coming in from abroad, they efpied a Robin with a great Spider in his Mouth: So the Interpreter faid, look here: So they looked, and Mercy wondered; wondered; but Chriftiana faid, What a Disparagement it is to fuch a little pretty Bird as the Robin-red-breaft is, he being alfo a Bird above many, that loveth to maintain a kind of Sociablenefs with Men; I had thought they had lived upon Crumbs of Bread, or upon other fuch harmless Matter; I like him worse than I did. The Interpreter then replied, This Robin is an Emblem, very apt to fet forth fome Profeffors by; for to Sight they are, as this Robin, pretty of Note, Colour and Carriage: They feem alfo to have a very great Love for Profeffors that are fincere, and above all other to defire to fociate with them, and to be in their Company, as if they could live upon the good Man's Crumbs. They pretend also, that therefore it is, that they frequent the House of the Godly, and the Appointments of the Lord: But when they are by themselves, as the Robin, they can catch and gobble up Spiders, they can change their Diet, drink and fwallow down Sin like Water. So when they were come again into the Pray, and House, because Supper as yet was not rea- you will get dy, Chriftiana again defired that the Inter- at that which preter would either hew or tell of fome yet lies unreother Things that are profitable. Then the Interpreter began and faid: The fatter the Sow is the more he defires the Mire; the fatter the Ox is the more gameSomely he goes to the Slaughter; and the more healthy the lufty Man is, the more prone he is unto Evil. There vealed. |