Chapter 2

_Seventhly_, Children, it is natural for them to depend upon their father for what they want. If they want a pair of shoes, they go and tell him; if they want bread, they go and tell him; so should the children of God do. Do you want spiritual bread? go tell God of it. Do you want strength of grace? ask it of God. Do you want strength against Satan’s temptations? go and tell God of it. When the devil tempts you, run home and tell your heavenly Father; go pour out your complaints to God. This is natural to children; if any wrong them, they go and tell their father; so do those that are born of God, when they meet with temptations, go and tell God of them.

The first use is this, to make a strict inquiry whether you be born of God or not. Examine by those things I laid down before of a child of nature and a child of grace. Are you brought out of the dark dungeon of this world into Christ? have you learned to cry, My Father? Jer. iii. 16, “And I said, Thou shalt call me thy Father.” All God’s children are criers. Can you be quiet without you have a bellyful of the milk of God’s word? Can you be satisfied without you have peace with God? Pray you consider it, and be serious with yourselves. If you have not these marks, you will fall short of the kingdom of God, you shall never have an interest there; there is no intruding. They will say, “Lord, Lord, open to us; and he will say, I know you not.” No child of God, no heavenly inheritance. We sometimes give something to those that are not our children, but not our lands. O do not flatter yourselves with a portion among the sons, unless you live like sons. When we see a king’s son play with a beggar, this is unbecoming; so if you be the king’s children, live like the king’s children. If you be risen with Christ, set your affections on things above, and not on things below. When you come together, talk of what your Father promised you; you should all love your Father’s will, and be content and pleased with the exercises you meet with in the world. If you are the children of God, live together lovingly. If the world quarrel with you, it is no matter; but it is sad if you quarrel together. If this be amongst you, it is a sign of ill-breeding, it is not according to rules you have in the Word of God. Dost thou see a soul that has the image of God in him? Love him, love him; say, This man and I must go to heaven one day. Serve one another, do good for one another; and if any wrong you, pray to God to right you, and love the brotherhood.

_Lastly_, If you be the children of God, learn that lesson: “Gird up the loins of your mind as obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to your former conversation; but be ye holy in all manner of conversation.” Consider that the holy God is your father, and let this oblige you to live like the children of God, that you may look your Father in the face with comfort another day.

BUNYAN’S DYING SAYINGS.

OF SIN.

SIN is the great block and bar to our happiness, the procurer of all miseries to man, both here and hereafter; take away sin, and nothing can hurt us; for death temporal, spiritual, and eternal, is the wages of it.

Sin, and man for sin, is the object of the wrath of God. How dreadful therefore must his case be who continues in sin; for who can bear and grapple with the wrath of God?

No sin against God can be little, because it is against the great God of heaven and earth; but if the sinner can find out a _little_ God, it may be easy to find out little sins.

Sin turns all God’s grace into wantonness: it is the _dare_ of his justice; the _rape_ of his mercy; the _jeer_ of his patience; the _slight_ of his power; and the _contempt_ of his love.

Take heed of giving thyself liberty of committing one sin, for that will lead thee to another; till by an ill custom it become natural.

To begin sin is to lay a foundation for a continuance; this continuance is the mother of custom, and impudence at last the issue.

The death of Christ giveth us the best discovery of ourselves; in what condition we were, so that nothing could help us but that; and the most clear discovery of the dreadful nature of our sins. For if sin be such a dreadful thing as to wring the heart of the Son of God, how shall a poor wretched sinner be able to bear it?

OF AFFLICTION.

Nothing can render affliction so heavy as the load of sin; would you therefore be fitted for afflictions, be sure to get the burden of your _sins_ laid aside, and then what afflictions soever you meet with will be very easy to you.

If thou canst hear and bear the rod of affliction which God shall lay upon thee, remember this lesson, thou art _beaten_ that thou mayst be better.

The Lord useth his _flail_ of tribulation to separate the chaff from the wheat.

The school of the cross is the school of light; it discovers the world’s vanity, baseness, and wickedness, and lets us see more of God’s mind. Out of dark affliction comes a spiritual light.

In times of affliction we commonly meet with the sweetest experiences of the love of God.

Did we heartily renounce the pleasures of this world, we should be very little troubled for our afflictions; that which renders an afflicted state so insupportable to many, is because they are too much addicted to the pleasures of this life; and so cannot endure that which makes a separation between them.

OF REPENTANCE AND COMING TO CHRIST.

The end of affliction is the discovery of sin; and of _that_ to bring us to the Saviour; let us therefore, with the prodigal, return unto him, and we shall find ease and rest.

A returning penitent, though formerly bad as the worst of men, may by grace become as good as the best.

To be truly sensible of sin, is to sorrow for _displeasing_ of God: to be afflicted, that he is displeased _by us_ more than that he is displeased _with_ us.

Your intentions to repentance, and the neglect of that soul-saving duty, will rise up in judgment against you.

Repentance carries with it a _divine rhetoric_, and persuades Christ to forgive multitudes of sins committed against him.

Say not to thyself, to-morrow I will repent; for it is thy duty to do it daily.

The gospel of grace and salvation is above all doctrine the most dangerous, if it be received in _word_ only by graceless men; if it be not attended with a sensible need of a Saviour, and bring them to him; for such men only as have the _notion_ of it, are of all men most miserable; for by reason of their knowing more than heathens, this shall only be their final portion, that they shall have greater stripes.

OF PRAYER.

Before you enter into prayer, ask thy soul these questions, 1. To what _end_, O my soul! art thou retired into this place? Art thou come to converse with the Lord in prayer? Is he present, will he hear thee? Is he merciful, will he help thee? Is thy business slight, is it not concerning the welfare of thy soul? What words wilt thou use to move him to compassion?

To make thy preparation complete, consider that thou art but _dust_ and _ashes_; and he the great God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, _that clothes himself with light as with a garment_; that thou art a vile sinner, and he a holy God; that thou art but a poor crawling worm, and he the omnipotent Creator.

In all your prayers, forget not to thank the Lord for his mercies.

When thou prayest, rather let thy heart be without _words_ than thy words without _heart_.

Prayer will make a man cease from sin, or sin will entice a man to cease from prayer.

The spirit of prayer is more precious than thousands of gold and silver.

Pray often, for prayer is a shield to the soul, a sacrifice to God, and a scourge for Satan.

OF THE LORD’S-DAYS, SERMONS, AND WEEK-DAYS.

Have a special care to sanctify the Lord’s-day; for as thou keepest it, so will it be with thee all the week long.

Make the Lord’s-day the _market_ for thy soul; let the whole day be spent in prayer, repetitions, or meditations; lay aside the affairs of the other parts of the week; let the sermon thou hast heard be converted into _prayer_: shall God allow thee six days, and wilt thou not afford him one?

In the church, be careful to serve God; for thou art in his eyes, and not in man’s.

Thou mayst hear sermons often, and do well in practising what thou hearest; but thou must not expect to be told in a pulpit all that thou oughtest to do, but be studious in reading the Scriptures, and other good books; what thou hearest may be forgotten, but what thou readest may better be retained.

Forsake not the public worship of God, lest God forsake thee; not only in public, but in private.

On the week-day, when thou risest in the morning, consider, 1. Thou must die; 2. Thou mayst die that minute; 3. What will become of thy soul. Pray often. At night consider, 1. What sins thou hast committed; 2. How often thou hast prayed; 3. What hath thy mind been bent upon; 4. What hath been thy dealing; 5. What thy conversation; 6. If thou callest to mind the errors of the day, sleep not without a confession to God, and a hope of pardon. Thus, every morning and evening make up thy account with Almighty God, and thy reckoning will be the less at last.

OF THE LOVE OF THE WORLD.

Nothing more hinders a soul from coming to Christ than a vain love of the _world_; and till a soul is freed from it, it can never have a true love for God.

What are the honours and riches of this world, when compared to the glories of a crown of life?

Love not the world, for it is a moth in a Christian’s life.

To despise the world is the way to enjoy heaven; and blessed are they who delight to converse with God by prayer.

What folly can be greater than to labour for the meat that perisheth, and neglect the food of eternal life?

God or the world must be neglected at _parting_ time, for then is the time of trial.

To seek yourself in this life is to be lost; and to be humble is to be exalted.

The epicure that delighteth in the dainties of this world, little thinketh that those very creatures will one day witness against him.

ON SUFFERING.

It is not every suffering that makes a man a martyr; but suffering for the Word of God after a right manner; that is, not only for _righteousness_, but for righteousness’ sake; not only for _truth_, but out of love to truth; not only for God’s Word, but according to it: to wit, in that holy, humble, meek manner, as the Word of God requireth.

It is a rare thing to suffer aright, and to have my spirit in suffering bent against God’s enemy, sin. Sin in doctrine, sin in worship, sin in life, and sin in conversation.

Neither the devil, nor men of the world, can kill thy righteousness, or love to it, but by thy own hand; or separate that and thee asunder, without thy own act. Nor will he that doth indeed suffer for the sake of it, or out of love he bears thereto, be tempted to _exchange_ it for the good will of the whole world.

I have often thought that the best of Christians are found in the worst times: and I have thought again, that one reason why we are not better is, because God purges us no more. Noah and Lot, who so _holy_ as they in the time of their afflictions! and yet, who so _idle_ as they in the time of their prosperity?

OF DEATH AND JUDGMENT.

As the devil labours by all means to keep out other things that are good, so to keep out of the heart as much as in him lies, the thoughts of passing out of this life into another world; for he knows if he can but keep them from the serious thoughts of _death_, he shall the more easily keep them in their sins.

Nothing will make us more earnest in working out the work of our salvation than a frequent meditation of mortality; nothing hath a greater influence for the taking off our hearts from vanities, and for the begetting in us desires for holiness.

O! sinner, what a condition wilt thou fall into when thou departest the world; if thou depart unconverted, thou hadst better have been _smothered_ the first hour thou wast born; thou hadst better have been plucked one limb from the other; thou hadst better have been made a dog, a toad, a serpent, than to die unconverted; and this thou wilt find true if thou repent not.

A man would be counted a fool to slight a judge before whom he is to have a trial of his whole estate. The trial we are to have before God is of _otherwise_ importance; it concerns our eternal happiness or misery, and yet dare we affront him.

The only way for us to escape that terrible judgment is to be often passing a sentence of condemnation upon ourselves here.

When the sound of the trumpet shall be heard, which shall summon the dead to appear before the tribunal of God, the righteous shall hasten out of their graves with joy to meet their Redeemer in the clouds; others shall call to the mountains and hills to fall upon them, to cover them from the sight of their judge; let us, therefore, in time be _posing_ ourselves which of the _two_ we shall be.

OF THE JOYS OF HEAVEN.

There is no good in this life but what is mingled with some evil: honours perplex, riches disquiet, and pleasures ruin health. But in heaven we shall find blessings in their purity, without any ingredient to imbitter; with everything to sweeten it.

O! who is able to conceive the inexpressible, inconceivable joys that are there! None but they who have tasted of them. Lord, help us to put such a value upon them here, that in order to prepare ourselves for them, we may be willing to forego the loss of all those deluding pleasures here.

How will the heavens echo for joy, when the bride, the Lamb’s wife, shall come to dwell with her husband for ever!

Christ is the desire of nations, the joy of angels, the delight of the Father; what solace then must the soul be filled with, that hath the possession of him to all eternity!

O! what acclamations of joy will there be, when all the children of God shall meet together, without fear of being disturbed by the anti-Christian and Cainish brood.

Is there not a time coming when the godly may ask the wicked, what profit they have in their pleasure? what comfort in their greatness? and what fruit in all their labour?

If you would be better satisfied what the beatifical vision means, my request is, that you would live _holily_ and go and see.

OF THE TORMENTS OF HELL.

Heaven and salvation is not surely _more_ promised to the godly, than hell and damnation is threatened to, and shall be executed on, the wicked.

Oh! who knows the power of God’s wrath? None but damned ones.

Sinners’ company are the devil and his angels, tormented in everlasting fire with a curse.

Hell would be a kind of paradise, if it were no worse than the _worst_ of this world.

As different as grief is from joy, as torment from rest, as terror from peace; so different is the state of sinners from that of _saints_ in the world to come.