Then faid Chriftian to the Interpreter, but is there no hopes for fuch a man as this? Ask him said the Interpreter. Chr. Then faid Chriftian, Is there no hope, but you must be kept in the iron-cage of despair?

Man. No, none at all.

Chr. Why? The Son of the Bleffed is very pitiful.

Man. I have crucified him to myself afresh; Heb. 6. 6. I have defpifed his perfon; I have defpifed his Luke 19. 14. righteoufnefs; I have counted his blood an unHeb. 10. 28, holy thing; I have done despite to the Spirit of grace; therefore I fhut myself out of all the promises, and there now remains to me nothing but threatenings, dreadful threatenings fearful threatenings of certain judgment, and a fiery indignation, which fhall deYour me as an adversary.

Chr. For what did you bring yourself into this condition >

Man. For the lufts, pleasures, and profits of this world; in the enjoyment of which I did, then promife myfelf much delight; but now every one of thofe things alfo bite me, and gnaw me, like a burning worm,

Cor. But cant thou not now repent and turn ?.

Man, God hath denied me repentance. His word gives me no encouragement to believe, yea, himfelf hath fhut me up in his iron cage; nor can all the men in the world let me out. O eternity! eternity! how fhall I grapple with the mifery that I must meet with in eternity P

Int. Then faid the Interpreter to Chriftian, let this man's mifery be remembered by thee, and be an everlasting caution to thee..

Chr. Well, fáid Chriftian, this is fearful! God help me to watch and be fober, and to pray that I may fhun the cause of this man's mifery. Sir, it is not time for me to go on my own way?

Int. Tarry until I fhew thee one thing more, and then thou fhalt go on thy way.

So he took Chr than by the hand again, and led him into a chamber where there was onering out of bed; and as he put on his raiment he shook and trembled. Then faid Chriflian, Why doth this man thus tremble?-The laterpreter then bid him tell to Chriftian the eaton of his fo Going: So he began and laid, This night, as I was in my

I Cor. 15.

:

fleep, I dreamed, and behold the heavens grew exceeding black; also it thundered and lightened in most fearful wife, that it put me into an agony. So I looked up in my dream, and faw the clouds racked at an unusual rate; upon which I heard a great found of a trumpet, and faw alfo a man fit upon a cloud, attended with the thousands of heaven They were all in flaming fire, alfo the heavens were in a burning flame. I heard then a voice, faying, Arife ye dead, and come to judgment; Theff. 4. and with that the rocks rent, the graves open- Jude 15. ed, and the dead that were therein came forth; John 5. 28. fome of them were exceeding glad, and look- 2 The. 1.8 ed upward; and fome fought to hide them- Rev. 10. 11, felves under the mountains: Then I faw the &c. Ifaiah Man that fat upon the cloud open the book, 26. 21. Mic. and bid the world draw near. Yet there was, 7. 16, 17. by reafon of a fierce flame which iffued out P. 5, 1, 2, 36 and came before him, a convenient diftance betwixt him and them, as betwixt the judge Mal. 3. 2. 3.. and the prifoners at the bar. I heard it alfo Dan. 7.9, 10. proclaimed to them that attended on the man

that fat on the cloud, Gather together the tares, Mark 3. 13. the chaff and stubble, and caft them into the burn- Chap. 14, 33, ing lake And with that the bottomlefs pit Mal. 4. 1. opened just whereabout I flood; out of the

mouth of which there came, in an abundant manner, smoak and coals of fire, with hideous noites. It was alfo faid to the fame perfons, Gather my wheat Luke. 37. into the garnar. And with that raw many Theff. 7. 16. catched and carried away into the clouds; 17. but I was left behind. I alfo tought to hide myfelf, but I could not, for the man that fat Rom. 2.14, 15: upon the cloud fill kept his eye upon me:

My fins alto came into my mind, and my.confcience did accufe me on every fide Upon this I awaked from my sleep. Chr. But what was it that made you so afraid of this fight?

Man. Why, I thought. the day of judgment was come, and that I was not ready for it; but this frighted me molt, that the an els gathered up feveral, and left me behind.: Alo the pit of hell opened her mouth jult where I stood.. My conftience too afflicted me; and, as I thought, the

Juuge

Judge had always his eye upon me, fhewing indignation in his countenance.

Then faid the Interpreter, Chriftian, Haft thou confidered all these things?.

Chr. Yes, and they put me in hope and fear.

Int. Well, keep all these things fo in thy mind, that they may be as goad in thy fides, to prick thee forward in the way thon must go. Then Chriftian began to gird sp his loins, and to address himself to his journey. Then faid the Interpreter, the comforter be always with thee, good Chriflian, to guide thee in the way that leads to the city. So Chriftian we..t on his way, faying,

Here I have feen things rare and profitable,
Things pleafant, dreadful, things to make me ftable ·
In what I have begun to take in hand;

Then let me think on them, and understand
Wherefore they show'd me were, and let me be
Thankful, O good Interpreter, to thee.

Now I faw in my dream, that the highway up which Christian was to go, was fenced on either fide Ifaiah 26. 1. with a wall, and that wall was called Salvation. Up this way therefore did burdened Chriftian run, but not without great difficulty, because of the load on his back.

He ran thus till he came at a place fomewhat afcending, and upon that place ftood a crofs, and a little below, in the bottom, a fepulchre. So I faw in my dream, that juft as Christian came up with the cross, his burden loofed from off his fhoulders, and fell from off his back, and began to tumble, and fo continued to do, till it came to the mouth of the fepulchre, where it fell in, and I faw it no more.

Then was Chritian glad and lightfome, When God re- and faid, with a merry neart, He hath given leafes us of our me reft by his forrow, and life by his death. guilt burden Then he flood a while to look and wonder; we are asthofe for it was very furprising to him, that the that leap for fight of the crofs fhould thus eafe him of his joy.

burden. He looked therefore, and looked again, even till the fprings that were in his

head

head fent the waters down his cheeks. Now,

as he stood looking and weeping, behold three Zech.12. 10. fhining ones came to him and faluted him,

with Peace be to thee; fo the firft faid to him, Thy fins be forgiven thee; the fecond fripped him of his

rags, and clothed him with change of raiment; Mark 2. 2. the third alfo fet a mark on his forehead, and Zech. 3. 3. gave him a roll, with a feal upon it, which

he bid him look on as he ran, and that he Ephef. 1. 13. fhould give it in at the celeftial gate; fo they

went their way. Then Chriftian gave three leaps for joy, and went on finging.

Who's this? The Pilgrim. How? 'Tis very true,
Old things are pafs'd away: All's become new:
Strange! He's another man, upon my word;
They be fine feathers that make a fine bird,
Thus far did I come laden with my fin,
Nor could ought cafe the grief that I was in,
Till I came hither; what a place is this? A Chriftian
Mult here he the beginning of my blifs?
can fing tho
Mut here the burden fall from off my back? alone when God
Muft here the ftrings that bind it to me crack? doth give him
Bleft cross! bleft fepulchre! bleft rather be the joy of his
The Man that there was put to fhame for me! beart.

I faw then in my dream, that he went on thus, even until he came at the bottom, where he faw, a little out of the way, three men faft afleep with fetters upon

their heels. The name of one was Simple, Simple, Sloth, another Sloth, and the third Prefumption. and PrejumpChristian then feeing them lie in this case, tion.

went to them, if peradventure he might awake

them; and cried, You are like them that fleep on the top of a mat, for the dead fea is under you, a

gulph that hath no bottom, awake therefore Prov. 23. 24. and come away; be willing alfo, and I will help you off with your irons.

-He alfo told them,

If he that goeth about like a roaring lion

comes by, you will certainly become a prey Peter 5.8. to his teeth. With that they looked upon

There is no per- him, and began to reply in this fort: Simple fuafion will do, faid, I fee no danger; Sloth faid, Yet a litif God openeth tle more fleep; and Prefumption faid, Every not the eyes. tub must stard upon its own bottom. fo they lay down to fleep again, and Chris

tian went on his way.

And

Yet