Works of John Bunyan Volume II Part 141

Pride is the unbecoming'st thing of all: Besides, 'tis the forerunner of a fall.

He that is proud, soon in the dirt will lie, But honour followeth humility.

Let each then count his brother as his better, Let each esteem himself another's debtor.

Christ bids us learn of him, humble to be, Profession's beauty is humility.

3. Forgive, is here another statute law; To be revenged is not worth a straw, He that forgives shall also be forgiven, Who doth not so, must lose his part in heaven; Nor must thou weary of this duty be 'Cause G.o.d's not weary of forgiving thee.

Thou livest by forgiveness; should a stop Be put thereto one moment, thou wouldst drop Into the mouth of h.e.l.l. Then let this move Thee thy dear brother to forgive in love.

And we are bid in our forgivenesses To do as G.o.d doth in forgiving his.

If any have a quarrel against any, (As quarrels we have oft against a many) Why then, as G.o.d, for Christ's sake, pardons you, For Christ's sake, pardon thou thy brother too.

We say, What freely comes, doth freely go; Then let all our forgivenesses be so.

I'm sure G.o.d heartily forgiveth thee, My loving brother, prithee forgive me; But then in thy forgiveness be upright; Do't with thine heart, or thou'rt an hypocrite.

4. As we forgive, so we must watch and pray; For enemies we have, that night and day, Should we not watch, would soon our graces spoil, Should we not pray, would our poor souls defile.

Without a watch, resist a foe who can?

Who prays not, is not like to play the man?

Complaint that he is overcome, he may; But who would win the field, must watch and pray.

Who watches, should know who and who's together: Know we not friends from foes, how know we whether Of them to fight, or which to entertain?

Some have instead of foes, familiars slain.

Sometimes a l.u.s.t will get into the place, Or work, or office, of some worthy grace; Till it has brought our souls to great decay.

Unless we diligently watch and pray, Our pride will our humility precede: By th' nose, our unbelief our faith will lead.

Self-love will be where self-denial should; And pa.s.sion heat, what patience sometime cool'd.

And thus it will be with us night and day, Unless we diligently watch and pray.

Besides what these domestics do, there are Abroad such foes as wait us to ensnare; Yea, they against us stand in battle-'ray, And will us spoil, unless we watch and pray.

There is the world with all its vanities, There is the devil with a thousand lies; There are false brethren with their fair collusions, Also false doctrines with their strong delusions; These will us take, yea carry us away From what is good, unless we watch and pray.

Long life to many, is a fearful snare; Of sudden death we also need beware; The smiles and frowns of men, temptations be; And there's a bait in all we hear and see.

Let them who can, to any shew a way, How they should live, that cannot watch and pray.

Nor is't enough to keep all well within, Nor yet to keep all out that would be sin, If entertained; I must myself concern With my dear brother, as I do discern Him tempted, or a wand'ring from the way; Else as I should, I do not watch and pray.

Pray then, and watch, be thou no drowsy sleeper, Grudge, nor refuse, to be thy brother's keeper, Seest thou thy brother's graces at an ebb?

Is his heel taken in the spider's web?

Pray for thy brother; if that will not do, To him, and warn him of the present woe That is upon him; if he shall thee hear Thou wilt a saviour unto him appear.[14]

5. Sincerity, to that we are enjoined, For I do in our blessed law-book find, That duties, how well done soe'er they seem, With our great G.o.d, are but of small esteem If not sincerely done; then have a care For hypocrites are hateful everywhere.

Things we may do, yea, and may let men see Us do them too, design but honestly; Vain-gloriously let us not seek for praise, Vain-glory's nothing worth in gospel days.

Sincerity seeks not an open place, To do, tho' it does all with open face; It loves no guises, nor disfigurations.

'Tis plain, 'tis simple, hates equivocations.

Sincerity's that grace by which we poise, And keep our duties even: nor but toys Are all we do, if no sincerity Attend our works, lift it up ne'er so high.

Sincerity makes heav'n upon us smile, Lo, here's a man in whom there is no guile!

Nathaniel, an Israelite indeed!'

With duties he sincerely doth proceed; Under the fig-tree heav'n saw him at prayer, There is but few do their devotions there.

Sincerity! Grace is thereto entailed, The man that was sincere, G.o.d never fail'd.

One tear that falleth from sincerity, Is worth ten thousand from hypocrisy.

6. Meekness is also here imposed by law, A froward spirit is not worth a straw.

A froward spirit is a bane to rest, They find it so, who lodge it in their breast.

A froward spirit suits with self-denial, With taking up the cross, and ev'ry trial, As cats and dogs, together by the ears; As scornful men do suit with frumps[15] and jeers.

Meek as a lamb, mute as a fish, is brave, When anger boils, and pa.s.sions vent do crave.

The meek, G.o.d will in paths of judgment guide; Good shall the meek eat, and be satisfied; The Lord will lift the meek to highest station; Will beautify the meek with his salvation.

The meek are blest, the earth they shall inherit: The meek is better than the proud in spirit.

Meekness will make you quiet, hardy, strong, To bear a burden, and to put up wrong.

Meekness, though divers troubles you are in, Will bridle pa.s.sion, be a curb to sin.

Thus G.o.d sets forth the meek before our eyes; A meek and quiet spirit G.o.d doth prize.

7. Temp'rance also, is on this house imposed, And whoso has it not, is greatly nosed[16]

By standers by, for greedy, l.u.s.tful men: Nor can all we can say, excuse us, when Intemp'rance any where to them shall be Apparent; though we other vices flee.

Temperance, the mother is of moderation, The beauty also of our conversation.

Temperance will our affections moderate, And keep us from being inordinate In our embraces, or in our salutes Of what we have, also in our pursuits Of more, and in a sedate settlement Of mind, will make's in all states be content.

Nor want we here an argument to prove That who, inordinate is, in his love Of worldly things, doth better things defy, And slight salvation for the b.u.t.terfly.

What argument can any man produce, Why we should be intemperate in the use Of any worldly good? Do we not see That all these things from us a fleeting be?

What can we hold? What can we keep from flying From us? Is not each thing we have a dying?

My house, my wife, my child, they all grow old, Nor am I e'er the younger for my gold; Here's none abiding, all things fade away, Poor I at best am but a clod of clay.

If that be true, man doth not live by bread, He that has nothing else, must needs be dead; Take bread for what can in this world be found, Yet all that therein is, is but a sound, An empty sound, there is no life at all, It cannot save a sparrow from her fall.

Let us then use this world as we are bid, And as in olden times, the G.o.dly did.

Who buy, should be as if they did possess None of their purchase, or themselves did bless In what they have; and he that doth rejoice In what he hath, should rather out of choice, Withdraw his mind from what he hath below, And set his heart on whither he must go.

For those that weep under their heavy crosses, Or that are broken with the sense of losses, Let them remember, all things here are fading, And as to nature, of a self-degrading And wasting temper; yea, both we and they Shall waste, and waste, until we waste away.

Let temperance then, with moderation be As bounds to our affections, when we see, Or feel, or taste, or any ways enjoy Things pleasing to the flesh, lest we destroy Ourselves therewith, or bring ourselves thereby To surfeits, guilt, or Satan's slavery.

8. Patience, another duty, as we find In holy writ, is on this house enjoined; Her state, while here, is such, that she must have This grace abounding in her, or a slave She'll quickly be unto their l.u.s.ts and will, That seek the mind of Satan to fulfil.

He who must bear all wrongs without resistance, And that with gladness too, must have a.s.sistance Continually from patience, thereunto, Or he will find such work too hard to do.

Who meets with taunts, with mocks, with flouts and squibs, With raileries, reproaches, checks, and snibs; Yea, he who for well-doing is abused, Robb'd, spoiled, and goal'd, and ev'ry way misused; Has he not patience soon will be offended, Yea his profession too will soon be ended.

A Christian for religion must not fight, But put up wrongs, though he be in the right; He must be merciful, loving, and meek, When they smite one, must turn the other cheek.

He must not render railing for reviling Nor murmur when he sees himself a spoiling, When they shall curse, he must be sure to bless, And thus with patience must his soul possess.

I doubt our frampered[17] Christians will not down With what I say, yet I dare p.a.w.n my gown, Do but compare my notes with sacred story, And you will find patience the way to glory.

Patience under the cross, a duty is, Whoso possess it, belongs to bliss; If it is present work accomplisheth; If it holds out, and still abideth with The Truth; then may we look for that reward, Promised at the coming of the Lord.

9. To entertain good men let's not forget Some by so doing have had benefit; Yea for to recompense this act of theirs, Angels have lodged with them unawares.

Yea to encourage such a work as this, The Lord himself makes it a note of his, When hungry or when thirsty I have been, Or when a stranger, you did take me in.

Strangers should not to strangers but be kind Specially if conferring notes, they find Themselves, though strangers here, one brotherhood, And heirs, joint heirs, of everlasting good; These should as mother's sons, when they do meet In a strange country, one another greet With welcome; come in, brother, how dost do?

Whither art wand'ring? Prithee let me know Thy state? Dost want or meat, or drink, or cloth?

Art weary? Let me wash thy feet, I'm loth Thou shouldst depart, abide with me all night; Pursue thy journey with the morning light.

X.

THE WAY OF REDUCING WHAT'S AMISS, INTO ORDER HERE.

Although this house thus honourable is, Yet 'tis not sinless, many things amiss Do happen here, wherefore them to redress, We must keep to our rules of righteousness; Nor must we think it strange, if sin shall be Where virtue is; don't all men plainly see That in the holy temple there was dust, That to our very gold, there cleaveth rust?

In Abraham's family was a derider I' th' palace of a king will be the spider.

Who saith, we have no sin, doth also say We have no need at all to watch and pray; To live by faith, the flesh to mortify, Or of more of the spirit to sanctify Our nature. All this wholly needless is With him, who as to this, has nought amiss.

But we confess, 'cause we would not be liars, That we still feel the motions and desires Of sin within us, and should fall away, Did not Christ intercede and for us pray.

We therefore do conclude that sin is here, But that it may not to our shame appear, We have our rules, thereby with it to deal, And plaisters too, our deadly wounds to heal.

And seeing idleness gives great occasions To th' flesh, to make its rude and bold invasions Upon good orders, 'tis ordained we see, That none dwell here, but such as workers be: So plain's the law for this, and so complete, It bids who will not work, forbear to eat; Let then each one be diligent to do What grace or nature doth oblige them to.

Who have no need to work for meat or clothes, Should work for those that want. Not that the sloth Of idleness should be encouraged, But that those, poor indeed, be clad and fed.

Dorcas did thus, and 'tis to sacred story Committed for her praise and lasting glory.