At the Sight of which, Evangelift caught him by the right Hand, faying, All Manner of Sin and Blafphemies fhall be forgiven unto Men; be not faithlefs, but believing: Then did Chriftian again a little revive, and stood up trembling, as at first, before Evangelift.

Then Evangelift proceeded, faying, Give more earnest Heed to the Things that I fhall tell thee of. I will now fhow thee who it was that deluded thee, aad who it was alfo to whom he fent thee. *The Man that Mr.Worldmet thee is one Worldly Wifeman, and ly Wifeman rightly he is fo called; partly because he defcribed by favoureth only of the Doctrine of this 1 John iv. 5. Evangelift. World; (therefore he always goes to the Town of Morality to Church ;) and partly Col. vi. 12. because he loveth that Doctrine beft; for it faveth him from the Cross; and because he is of this carnal Temper, therefore he feeketh to prevent my Ways, though right. +Now there are three Things in this Man's Counsel, that thou must utterly abhor :

1. His turning thee out of the Way. 2. His labouring to render the Crofs odious to thee.

3. And his fetting thy Feet in that Way that leadeth unto the Administration of Death.

+ Evangelist difcovers the Deceit of Mr. Worldly Wifeman.

First. Thou must abhor his turning thee out of the Way; yea, and thine own confenting thereto; becaufe this is to reject the Counsel of God for the Sake of the Counsel of a Worldly Wifeman. The Lord Lays, Strive to enter in at the Strait Gate, † Luke xii.

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the 24

Mat. vii. 13 the Gate to which I fend thee; for ftrait is

14.

26. Mark viii.

the Gate that leadeth unto Life, and few there be that find it. From this little Wicket-gate, and from the Way thereto, hath this wicked Man turned thee, to the bringing of thee almost to Deftruction: Hate, therefore, his turning thee out of the Way, and abhor thyfelf for hearkening to him.

Secondly, Thou must abhor his labouring to render the Crofs odious unto thee; Heb. xi. 25 for thou art to prefer it before the Treasures in Egypt: Befides, the King of Glory hath told thee, That he that will fave his Life John xii. 25. Shall lofe it: And, he that comes after him, Mat. x. 39. and kates not his Father and Mother, and Luke xiv. 26 Wife, and Children, and Brethren, and Sifters,

35

Gal. iv. 21

22, 23, 24,

yea, and his own Life also, he cannot be my Difciple. I fay therefore, for a Man to labour to perfuade thee that that shall be thy Death, without which, the Truth hath faid thou canst not have eternal Life : This Doctrine thou must abhor.

Thirdly, Thou muft hate his fetting of thy Feet in the Way that leadeth to the Miniftration of Death. And for this thou muft confider to whom he fent thee, and alfo how unable that Perfon was to deliver thee from thy Burden.

He to whom thou was fent for Eafe, being by Name Legality, is the Son of the Bond-woman which now is, and is in Bondage with her Children, and is in a The Bund Myftery this Mount Sinai, which thou haft feared will fall on thy Head. Now if the with her Children are in Bondage, How

25, 26, 27.

Woman.

How canft thou expect by them to be made free? This Legality, therefore, is not able to set thee free from thy Burden. No Man was as yet ever rid of his Burden by him, no, nor ever is like to be: Ye cannot be juftified by the Works of the Law, for by the Deeds of the Law no Man living can be rid of his Burden: Therefore Mr. Worldly Wifeman is an Alien, and Mr. Legality a Cheat: As for his Son Civility, notwithstanding his fimpering Looks, he is but an Hypocrite, and cannot help thee. Believe me, there is nothing in all this Noife that thou haft heard of thefe fottifh Men, but a Design to beguile thee of thy Salvation, by turning thee from the Way in which I had fet thee. After this, Evangelift called aloud to the Heavens for Confirmation of what he had faid; and with that there came Words and Fire out of the Mountain under which poor Christian stood, that made the Hair of his Flesh stand up: The Words were thus pronounced, As many as are of Gal. iii. 19. the Works of the Law, are under the Curse; for it is written, curfed is every one that continueth not in all Things which are written in the Book of the Law to do them.

Now Chriftian looked for nothing but Death, and began to cry out lamentably; even curfing the Time in which he met with Mr. Worldly Wifeman; ftill calling himself a thousand Fools for hearkening to his Counsel: He alfo was greatly afhamed to think that this Gentleman's Arguments, flowing only from the Flesh,fhould have the Prevalency with him as to caufe him to for

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fake

Chriftian

may yet be

happy.

fake the right way. This done, he applied himself again to Evangelift in Words and Senfe as follow:

Chr. Sir, What think you? Is there enquires if he Hopes? May I now go back, and go up to the Wicket-gate? Shall I not be abandoned for this, and sent back from thence afhamed? I am forry I have hearkened to this Man's Counfel; but may my Sin be forgiven?

Evang. Then faid Evangelift to him, Thy Sin is very great, for by it thou haft committed two Evils; thou haft forfaken the Way that is good, to tread in forbidden. + Evangelift Paths; † yet will the Man at the Gate comforts him. receive thee, for he has Good-will for Men ; only, faid he, take heed that thou turn not afide again, left thou perifh from the Pfalm ii. laft Way, when his Wrath is kindled but a Verje. little. Then did Christian addrefs himself to go back; and Evangelift, after he had kiffed him, gave him one Smile, and bid him God fpeed: So he went on with Hafte, neither spake he to any man by the Way; nor if any afked him, would he vouchsafe them an Anfwer. He went like one that was all the while treading on forbidden Ground, and could by no Means think himself fafe, till again he was got into the Way which he left to follow Mr. Worldly Wifeman's Counfel: So in Process of Time Chriftian got up to the Gate. Now over the Gate there was written, Knock, and it fhall be opened unto

Mat. vii. 8

you.

4

He