To this time, Bunyan
was only known as an extraordinarily talented and eloquent man, whose retentive
memory was most richly stored with the sacred Scriptures. All his sermons and
writings were drawn from his own mental resources, aided, while in prison, only
by the Bible, the Concordance, and Fox's Book of Martyrs. Very emphatically he
says, 'I am for drinking water out of my own cistern.' 'I find such a spirit of
idolatry in the learning of this world, that had I it at command I durst not
use it, but only use the light of the Word and Spirit of God.' 'I will not take
off it from a thread even to a shoe latchet.' It must not be understood that he
read no other works but his Bible and Book of Martyrs, but that he only used
those in composing his various treatises while in confinement. He certainly had
and read The Plain Man's Pathway, Practice of Piety, Luther on the Galatians,
Clarke's Looking glass for Saints and Sinners, Dodd on the Commandments,
Andrews' Sermons, Fowler's Design of Christianity, Danvers and Paul on Baptism,
and doubtless all the books which were within his reach, calculated to increase
his store of knowledge.
About this time, he
published a small quarto tract, in which he scripturally treats the doctrine of
eternal election and reprobation. This rare book, published for sixpence, we
were glad to purchase at a cost of one guinea and a half, because a modern
author rejected its authenticity! It is included in every early list of
Bunyan's works, and especially in that published by himself, in 1688, to guard
his friends against deception; for he had become so popular an author that several
forgeries had been published under his initials. These few pages on election
contain a scriptural treatise upon a very solemn subject, written by one whose
mind was so imbued by the fear of God, as to have cast out the fear of man,
which so generally embarrasses writers upon this subject. It was translated
into Welsh, and is worth attentive perusal, especially by those who cannot
see the difference between God's foreknowledge and his foreordination.
A new era was now
dawning upon him, which, during the last ten years of his life, added tenfold
to his popularity. For many years his beautifully simple, but splendid
allegory, The Pilgrim's Progress, lay slumbering in his drawer. Numerous had
been his consultations with his pious associates and friends, and various had
been their opinions, whether it was serious enough to be published. All of them
had a solemn sense of the impropriety of anything like trifling as to the way
of escape from destruction, and the road to the celestial city. It appears
strange to us, who have witnessed the very solemn impressions, in all cases,
made by reading that book, that there could have been a doubt of the propriety
of treating in a colloquial manner, and even under the fashion of a dream,
those most important truths. Some said, 'John, print it'; others said, 'not
so.' Some said, 'it might do good'; others said, 'no.' The result of all those
consultations was his determination, 'I print it will,' and it has raised an
imperishable monument to his memory.
Up to this time, all Bunyan's popularity arose
from his earlier works, and his sermons. Leaving out of the question those most
extraordinary books, The Pilgrim's Progress and Holy War, his other writings
ought to have handed down his name, with honor and popularity, to the latest
posterity. While the logical and ponderous works of Baxter and Owen are well
calculated to furnish instruction to those who are determined to obtain
knowledge, the works of Bunyan create that very determination and furnish that
very knowledge, so blended with amusement, as to fix it in the memory. Let one
illustration suffice. It is our duty to love our enemies, but it is a hard
lesson; we must learn it from the conduct of the Divine Creator—' There is a man who hates God, blasphemes his name, despises his being; yea, says there is no God.
No comments:
Post a Comment