Chapter 156

Consider, besides this, what a privilege thou shalt have at the Day of Judgment above thousands, if thou do in deed and in truth close in with this Jesus and accept of Him; for thou shalt not only have a privilege in this life, but in the life everlasting, even at the time of Christ’s second coming from Heaven; for then, when there shall be the whole world gathered together, and all the good angels, bad angels, saints, and reprobates, when all thy friends and kindred, with thy neighbours on the right hand and on the left shall be with thee, beholding of the wonderful glory and majesty of the Son of God; then shall the Son of Glory, even Jesus, in the very view and sight of them all, smile and look kindly upon thee; when a smile or a kind look from Christ shall be worth more than ten thousand worlds, then thou shalt have it. You know it is counted an honour for a poor man to be favourably looked upon by a judge, or a king, in the sight of lords, earls, dukes, and princes; why, thus it will be with thee in the sight of all the princely saints, angels, and devils, in the sight of all the great nobles in the world; then, even thou that closest in with Christ, be thou rich or poor, be thou bond or free, wise or foolish, if thou close in with Him, He will say unto thee, “Well done, good and faithful servant,” even in the midst of the whole world; they that love thee shall see it, and they that hate thee shall all to their shame behold it; for if thou fear Him here in secret, He will make it manifest even at that day upon the house-tops.

Secondly, Not only thus, but thou shalt also be lovingly received and tenderly embraced of Him at that day, when Christ hath thousands of gallant saints, as old Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, David, Isaiah, Jeremiah, together with all the Prophets, and Apostles, and martyrs, attending on Him; together with many thousands of glittering angels ministering before Him; besides, when the ungodly shall appear there with their pale faces, with their guilty consciences, and trembling souls, that would then give thousands and ten thousands of worlds, if they had so many, if they could enjoy but one loving look from Christ. I say, then, then shalt thou have the hand of Christ, reached to thee kindly to receive thee, saying, Come, thou blessed, step up hither; thou was willing to leave all for Me, and now will I give all to thee; here is a throne, a crown, a kingdom, take them; thou wast not ashamed of Me when thou wast in the world among my enemies, and now will not I be ashamed of thee before thine enemies, but will, in the view of all these devils and damned reprobates promote thee to honour and dignity. “Come, ye blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” Thou shalt see that those who have served Me in truth shall lose nothing by the means. No; but ye shall be as pillars in My temple, and inheritors of My glory, and shall have place to walk in among My saints and angels (Zech 3:7). O! who would not be in this condition? who would not be in this glory? It will be such a soul-ravishing glory, that I am ready to think the whole reprobate world will be ready to run mad, to think that they should miss of it (Deu 28:34). Then will the vilest drunkard, swearer, liar, and unclean person willingly cry, “Lord, Lord, open to us,” yet be denied of entrance; and thou in the meantime embraced, entertained, made welcome, have a fair mitre set upon thy head, and clothed with immortal glory (Zech 3:5). O, therefore, let all this move thee, and be of weight upon thy soul to close in with Jesus, this tender-hearted Jesus. And if yet, for all what I have said, thy sins do still stick with thee, and thou findest thy hellish heart loath to let them go, think with thyself in this manner—Shall I have my sins and lose my soul? Will they do me any good when Christ comes? Would not Heaven be better to me than my sins? and the company of God, Christ, saints, and angels, be better than the company of Cain, Judas, Balaam, with the devils in the furnace of fire? Canst thou now that readest or hearest these lines turn thy back, and go on in your sins? Canst thou set so light of Heaven, of God, of Christ, and the salvation of thy poor, yet precious soul? Canst thou hear of Christ, His bloody sweat and death, and not be taken with it, and not be grieved for it, and also converted by it? If so, I might lay thee down several considerations to stir thee up to mend thy pace towards Heaven; but I shall not; there is enough written already to leave thy soul without excuse and to bring thee down with a vengeance into Hell-fire, devouring fire, the Lake of Fire, eternal everlasting fire; O to make thee swim and roll up and down in the flames of the furnace of fire!

FOOTNOTES:

1 These words are quoted from the Genevan or Breeches Bible (Mark 2:17).—Ed.

2 This quotation is from the Genevan translation (Eph 2:3).—Ed.

3 It is observable that the reason given for the punishment of the murderer with death (Gen 9:6) is taken from the affront he offers to God, not from the injury he does to man.—Scott.

4 The reader need scarcely be reminded, that by “public person” is meant the Saviour, in whom all His people have an equal right. “For He made Him, who knew no sin, to be sin for us” (2 Cor 5:21).—ED.

5 Bunyan’s first sight of the spiritual, inward, and extensive requirements of the law filled his heart with despair; see “Grace Abounding,” No. 28. It was like the alarming sound of the drum Diabolus mentioned in the “Holy War,” which caused Mansoul to shake with terror and dismay. Thus the soul is stripped of self-righteousness, and flies to Christ, whose blood alone cleanseth from all sin.—ED.

6 “Crank,” brisk, jolly, lusty, spiritful, buxom.—ED.

7 From the Puritan or Genevan version.—ED.

8 These nine particulars are very methodically arranged, and are all deeply interesting. Very few of those who read the scriptural law of sacrifices see how clearly they pointed as types to Christ the great Antitype.—ED.

9 It is a mark of prying and dangerous, if not wicked curiosity to inquire whether God could have found any other way of salvation than by the atoning death of our blessed Lord. Instead of such vain researches, how much more consistent would it be to call upon our souls, and all that is within us, to bless His name, who hath thus provided abundant pardon, full remission, even to the chief of sinners.—ED.

10 The duty of the priests, under the law, led them to be familiar with the most loathsome and catching diseases; and doubtless they took every precaution to avoid contagion. Poor sin-sick soul, do you consider your state more loathsome and dangerous than the leprosy? Fly to Christ, our High Priest and Physician; He will visit you in the lowest abyss of misery, without fear of contagion, and with full powers to heal and save.—ED.

11 The word “hell” in the two verses means the unseen place of the dead, the invisible world, or the grave.—ED.

12 How awful and vast must have been the sufferings of the Saviour, when He paid the redemption price for the countless myriads of His saints; redeemed “out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation.” How magnificent His glory when “ten thousand times ten thousands, and thousands of thousands, shall sing with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing, for ever and ever.” Such were the ecstatic vision which Bunyan enjoyed, drawn from the unerring pages of eternal truth.—ED.

13 This singular use of the law term “premunire,” meaning that the soul has trusted in a foreign jurisdiction, incurred God’s anger, and forfeited its liberty and all its goods.—ED.

14 These are solemn truths, in homely, forcible language. Let the soul be convinced that by the obedience of Christ it is released from the law, it has no fear of Satan or of future punishment; Christ is all and in all.—ED.

15 “Indenture”; a written agreement, binding one party to reward the other for specified services. As man is by nature bound to love God with all his soul, he cannot be entitled to any reward for anything beyond his duty. When he feels that he has failed in his obedience, he must fly to Christ for that mercy which he can never obtain by indenture of service or merit and reward.—ED.

16 Same as 15—Ed.

17 Same as 15—Ed.

18 For a deeply affecting account of the author’s experience about this period read Grace Abounding, No. 259-261.—ED.

19 “Scrabble”; to go on the hands and feet or knees. See a remarkable illustration of the word “scrabble” in Grace Abounding, No. 335.—ED.

20 As Bunyan was a Baptist, this is full proof that his friends did not ascribe regeneration to water baptism. It is an awful delusion to suppose that immersion in or sprinkling with water can effect or promote the new birth or spiritual regeneration of the soul.—ED.

21 This is one of the very thrilling circumstances described by Bunyan in his Grace Abounding, No. 24:—Sunday sports were then allowed by the State, and after hearing a sermon on the evil of Sabbath-breaking, he went as usual to his sport. On that day it was a game at cat, and as he was about to strike, “a voice did suddenly dart from Heaven into my soul, which said, Wilt thou leave thy sins and go to Heaven, or have thy sins and go to Hell?”—ED.

22 The word Man was essential in Bunyan’s days, as an antidote to the jargon of the Ranters, who affirmed that Jesus only existed in the heart of the believer.—ED.

23 Same As 20—Ed.

24 Same as 22—Ed.

ISRAEL’S HOPE ENCOURAGED;

OR,

WHAT HOPE IS, AND HOW DISTINGUISHED FROM FAITH:

WITH ENCOURAGEMENTS FOR A HOPING PEOPLE.

ADVERTISEMENT BY THE EDITOR.

‘Auspicious hope! in thy sweet garden grow Wreaths for each toil, a charm for every woe.’

Christian hope is a firm expectation of all promised good, but especially of eternal salvation and happiness in heaven, where we shall be like the Son of God. This hope is founded on the grace, blood, righteousness, and intercession of Christ—the earnest of the Holy Spirit in our hearts, and the unchangeable truths and enlightening power of God.[1] ‘Every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself even as God is pure’ (1 John 3:3). Blessed hope! (Titus 2:13). Well might the apostle pray for the believing Romans, ‘That ye may abound in hope through the power of the Holy Ghost’ (15:13). ‘Which is Christ in you the hope of glory’ (Col 1:27). This is the sacred, the solemn, the all-important subject which Bunyan in his ripe age makes the theme of his meditations and of his deeply impressive exhortations.

When drawing near the end of his pilgrimage—while in the fullest fruition of his mental powers—he gives the result of his long and hallowed experience to comfort and cherish his fellow pilgrims in their dangerous heaven-ward journey. One of his last labours was to prepare this treatise for the press, from which it issued three years after his decease, under the care of his pious friend Charles Doe.

Here, as drawn from the holy oracles of God, we contemplate Hope, the helmet of salvation, without which our mental powers are exposed to be led captive into despair at the will of Satan. Our venerable author pictures most vividly the Christian’s weakness and the power of his enemies; ‘Should you see a man that could not go from door to door but he must be clad in a coat of mail, a helmet of brass upon his head, and for his lifeguard a thousand men, would you not say, surely this man has store of enemies at hand?’ This is the case, enemies lie in wait for Israel in every hole, he can neither eat, drink, wake, sleep, work, sit still, talk, be silent—worship his God in public or private, but he is in danger. Poor, lame, infirm, helpless man, cannot live without tender—great—rich—manifold—abounding mercies. ‘No faith, no hope,’ ‘to hope without faith is to see without eyes, or expect without reason.’ Faith is the anchor which enters within the vail; Christ in us the hope of glory is the mighty cable which keeps us fast to that anchor. ‘Faith lays hold of that end of the promise that is nearest to us, to wit, in the Bible—Hope lays hold of that end that is fastened to the mercy-seat.’ Thus the soul is kept by the mighty power of God. They who have no hope, enter Doubting Castle of their own free will—they place themselves under the tyranny of Giant Despair—that he may put out their eyes, and send them to stumble among the tombs, and leave their bones in his castle-yard, a trophy to his victories, and a terror to any poor pilgrim caught by him trespassing on Bye-path Meadow.[2] Hope is as a guardian angel—it enables us to come boldly to a throne of grace ‘in a goodly sort.’ The subject is full of consolation. Are we profanely apt to judge of God harshly, as of one that would gather where he had not strawn? Hope leads us to form a holy and just conception of the God of love. ‘Kind brings forth its kind, know the tree by his fruit, and God BY HIS MERCY IN CHRIST. What has God been doing for and to his church from the beginning of the world, but extending to and exercising loving-kindness and mercy for them? Therefore he laid a foundation for this in mercy from everlasting.’ ‘There is no single flowers in God’s gospel garden, they are all double and treble; there is a wheel within a wheel, a blessing within a blessing in all the mercies of God; they are manifold, a man cannot receive one but he receives many, many folded up one within another.’ Bless the Lord, O my soul!!

Reader, my deep anxiety is that you should receive from this treatise the benefits which its glorified author intended it to produce. It is accurately printed from the first edition. My notes are intended to explain obsolete words or customs or to commend the author’s sentiments. May the Divine blessing abundantly replenish our earthen vessels with this heavenly hope.

GEO. OFFOR.

FOOTNOTES:

1. Cruden.

2. Pilgrim’s Progress.

Israel’s Hope Encouraged;

‘Let Israel hope in the LORD: for with the LORD there is mercy, and with him is plenteous redemption.’—Psalms 130:7

This Psalm is said to be one of ‘the Psalms of Degrees,’ which some say, if I be not mistaken, the priests and Levites used to sing when they went up the steps into the temple.[1] But to let that pass, it is a psalm that gives us a relation of the penman’s praying frame, and of an exhortation to Israel to hope in God.

Verse 1. ‘Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O Lord’; that is, out of deep or great afflictions, and said, ‘Lord, hear my voice, let thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications.’ The latter words explain the former; as who should say, By voice I mean the meaning and spirit of my prayer. There are words in prayer, and spirit in prayer, and by the spirit that is in prayer, is discerned whether the words be dead, lifeless, feigned, or warm, fervent, earnest; and God who searcheth the heart, knoweth the meaning of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God (Rom 8:27). Verse 3. ‘If thou, Lord, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand?’ Here he confesseth, that all men by the law must fall before God for ever; for that they have broken it, but cannot make amends for the transgression thereof. But, he quickly bethinking himself of the mercy of God in Christ, he saith, verse 4, ‘But there is forgiveness with thee that thou mayest be feared.’ Then he returns, saying, verse 5, ‘I wait for the Lord,’ that is, in all his appointments; yea, he doubleth it, saying, ‘My soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope.’ By which repetition he insinuates, that many are content to give their bodily presence to God in his appointments, while their hearts were roving to the ends of the earth; but for his part he did not so. Verse 6. ‘My soul waiteth for the Lord, more than they that watch for the morning, I say, more than they that watch for the morning.’ As who should say, even as it is with those that are tired with the night, either by reason of dark or wearisome journies, or because of tedious sickness, to whom the night is most doleful and uncomfortable, waiting for spring of day; so wait I for the Lord, that his presence might be with my soul. So and more too I say, ‘More than they that wait for the morning.’ Then he comes to the words which I have chosen for my text, saying, ‘Let Israel hope in the Lord; for with the Lord there is mercy, and with him is plenteous redemption.’

In which words we have, FIRST, AN EXHORTATION; SECOND, A REASON OF THAT EXHORTATION; and THIRD, AN AMPLIFICATION OF THAT REASON. ‘Let Israel hope in the Lord’; there is the exhortation; ‘For with the Lord there is mercy’; there is the reason of it; ‘And with him is plenteous redemption’; there is the amplification of that reason.

[FIRST. AN EXHORTATION.]

In the exhortation there are three things to be inquired into. FIRST, The matter contained in it; SECOND, The manner by which it is expressed; THIRD, The inferences that do naturally flow therefrom.

[FIRST. The matter contained in the exhortation.]

We will speak first to the matter contained in the text, and that presenteth itself unto us under three heads. First, A duty. Second, A direction for the well management of that duty. Third, The persons that are so to manage it.

First, Then, to speak to the duty, and that is HOPE; ‘Let Israel HOPE.’ By which word there is something pre-admitted, and something of great concern insinuated.

That which is pre-admitted is faith; for when we speak properly of hope, and put others distinctly to the duty of hoping, we conclude that such have faith already; for no faith, no hope. To hope without faith, is to see without eyes, or to expect without a ground: for ‘Faith is the substance of things hoped for,’ as well with respect to the grace, as to the doctrine of faith (Heb 11:1). Doth such a one believe? No. Doth he hope? Yes. If the first is true, the second is a lie; he that never believed, did never hope in the Lord. Wherefore, when he saith, ‘Let Israel hope in the Lord,’ he pre-supposeth faith, and signifieth that he speaketh to believers.

That which is of great concern insinuated, is, that hope has in it an excellent quality to support Israel in all its troubles. Faith has its excellency in this, hope in that, and love in another thing. Faith will do that which hope cannot do. Hope can do that which faith doth not do, and love can do things distinct from both their doings. Faith goes in the van, hope in the body, and love brings up the rear: and thus ‘now abideth faith, hope,’ and ‘charity’ (1 Cor 13:13). Faith is the mother-grace, for hope is born of her, but charity floweth from them both.

But a little, now we are upon faith and hope distinctly, to let you see a little. 1. Faith comes by hearing (Rom 10:17), hope by experience (Rom 5:3,4). 2. Faith comes by hearing the Word of God, hope by the credit that faith hath given to it (Rom 4:18). 3. Faith believeth the truth of the Word, hope waits for the fulfilling of it. 4. Faith lays hold of that end of the promise that is next to us, to wit, as it is in the Bible; hope lays hold of that end of the promise that is fastened to the mercy-seat; for the promise is like a mighty cable, that is fastened by one end to a ship, and by the other to the anchor: the soul is the ship where faith is, and to which the hither[2] end of this cable is fastened; but hope is the anchor that is at the other end of this cable, and which entereth into that within the vail. Thus faith and hope getting hold of both ends of the promise, they carry it safely all away. 5. Faith looketh to Christ, as dead, buried, and ascended; and hope to his second coming (1 Cor 15:1-4). Faith looks to him for justification, hope for glory (Rom 4:1-8). 6. Faith fights for doctrine, hope for a reward (Acts 26:6,7). Faith for what is in the bible, hope for what is in heaven (Col 1:3-5). 7. Faith purifies the heart from bad principles (1 John 5:4,5). Hope from bad manners (2 Peter 3:11,14; Eph 5:8; 1 John 3:3). 8. Faith sets hope on work, hope sets patience on work (Acts 28:20, 9:9). Faith says to hope, look for what is promised; hope says to faith, So I do, and will wait for it too. 9. Faith looks through the word to God in Christ; hope looks through faith beyond the world to glory (Gal 5:5).

Thus faith saves, and thus hope saves. Faith saves by laying hold of God by Christ (1 Peter 1:5). Hope saves by prevailing with the soul to suffer all troubles, afflictions, and adversities that it meets with betwixt this and the world to come, for the sake thereof (Rom 8:24). Take the matter in this plain similitude. There was a king that adopted such a one to be his child, and clothed him with the attire of the children of the king, and promised him, that if he would fight his father’s battles, and walk in his father’s ways, he should at last share in his father’s kingdoms. He has received the adoption, and the king’s robe, but not yet his part in the kingdom; but now, hope of a share in that will make him fight the king’s battles, and also tread the king’s paths. Yea, and though he should meet with many things that have a tendency to deter him from so doing, yet thoughts of the interest promised in the kingdom, and hopes to enjoy it, will make him out his way through those difficulties, and so save him from the ruin that those destructions would bring upon him, and will, in conclusion, usher him into a personal possession and enjoyment of that inheritance. Hope has a thick skin, and will endure many a blow; it will put on patience as a vestment, it will wade through a sea of blood, it will endure all things, if it be of the right kind, for the joy that is set before it. Hence patience is called, ‘Patience of hope,’ because it is hope that makes the soul exercise patience and long-suffering under the cross, until the time comes to enjoy the crown (1 Thess 1:3). The Psalmist, therefore, by this exhortation, persuadeth them that have believed the truth, to wait for the accomplishment of it, as by his own example he did himself—‘I wait for the Lord,’ ‘my soul waiteth,’ ‘and in his word do I hope.’ It is for want of hope that so many brisk professors that have so boasted and made brags of their faith, have not been able to endure the drum[3] in the day of alarm and affliction. Their hope in Christ has been such as has extended itself no further than to this life, and therefore they are of all men the most miserable.

The Psalmist therefore, by exhorting us unto this duty, doth put us in mind of four things. I. That the best things are yet behind, and in reversion for the saints. II. That those that have believed, will yet meet with difficulties before they come at them. III. The grace of hope well exercised, is the only way to overcome these difficulties. IV. They therefore that have hope, and do exercise it as they should, shall assuredly at last enjoy that hope that is laid up for them in heaven.

I. For the first of these, that the best things are yet behind, and in reversion for believers; this is manifest by the natural exercise of this grace. For ‘hope that is seen, is not hope; for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it’ (Rom 8:24,25). Hope lives not by sight, as faith doth; but hope trusteth faith, as faith trusts the Word, and so bears up the soul in a patient expectation at last to enjoy what God has promised. But I say, the very natural work of this grace proveth, that the believer’s best things are behind in reversion.