CHRIST. Laugh! aye, and well you might, to see yourself so well. For you must give me leave to tell you, that I believe it was a good dream; and that, as you have begun to find the first part true, so you shall find the second at last. 'God speaketh once, yea twice, yet man perceiveth it not. In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falleth upon men, in slumberings upon the bed' (Job 28:14, 15). We need not, when a-bed, lie awake to talk with God. He can visit us while we sleep and cause us to hear His voice then. Our heart ofttimes wakes when we sleep; and God can speak to that, either by words, by proverbs, by signs and similitudes, as well as if one were awake.
MERCY. Well, I am glad of my dream; for I hope, ere long, to see it fulfilled, to the making me laugh again.
CHRIST. I think it is now high time to rise, and to know what we must do.
MERCY. Pray that, if they invite us to stay a while, we willingly accept the proffer. I am willing to stay awhile here, to grow better acquainted with these maids. Methinks Prudence, Piety, and Charity have very comely and sober countenances.
CHRIST. We shall see what they will do. So when they were up and ready, they came down and asked one another about their rest, whether it was comfortable.
MERCY. Very good, said Mercy; it was one of the best nights' lodging that I ever had in my life.
Then said Prudence and Piety, If you will be persuaded to stay here awhile, you shall have what the house will afford.
CHAR. Aye, and that with a very good will, said Charity. So they consented and stayed there for about a month, or more, and became very profitable to one another. And because Prudence would see how Christiana had brought up her children, she asked leave of her to catechize them. So she gave her free consent. Then she began with the youngest, whose name was James.
PRUDENCE. And she said, Come, James, canst thou tell me who made thee?
JAMES. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost.
PRUD. Good boy. And canst thou tell me who saves thee?
JAMES. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost.
PRUD. Good boy still. But how doth God the Father save thee?
JAMES. By his grace.
PRUD. How doth God the Son save thee?
JAMES. By His righteousness, death, and blood, and life.
PRUD. And how doth God the Holy Ghost save thee?
JAMES. By His illumination, by His renovation, and by His preservation.
Then said Prudence to Christiana, You are to be commended for thus bringing up your children. I suppose I need not ask the rest of these questions, since the youngest of them can answer them so well. I will therefore now apply myself to the next youngest.
PRUD. Then she said, Come, Joseph (for his name was Joseph), will you let me catechize you?
JOSEPH. With all my heart.
PRUD. What is man?
JOSEPH. A reasonable creature, so made by God, as my brother said.
PRUD. What is supposed by this word 'saved'?
JOSEPH. That man, by sin, has brought himself into a state of captivity and misery.
PRUD. What is meant by his being saved by the Trinity?
JOSEPH. That sin is so great and mighty a tyrant, that none can pull us out of its clutches, but God; and that God is so good and loving to man, as to pull him indeed out of this miserable state.
PRUD. What is God's design in saving poor men?
JOSEPH. The glorifying of His name, of His grace, and justice, &c, and the everlasting happiness of His creature.
PRUD. Who are they that must be saved?
JOSEPH. Those who accept His salvation.
PRUD. Good boy, Joseph; thy mother has taught thee well, and thou hast hearkened to what she hath said unto thee. Then said Prudence to Samuel, who was the eldest but one,
PRUD. Come, Samuel, are you willing that I should catechize you also?
SAMUEL. Yes, forsooth, if you please.
PRUD. What is Heaven?
SAM. A place and state most blessed, because God dwelleth there.
PRUD. What is hell?
SAM. A place and state most woeful, because it is the dwelling-place of sin, the devil, and death.
PRUD. Why wouldest thou go to Heaven?
SAM. That I may see God, and serve Him without weariness; that I may see Christ, and love Him everlastingly; that I may have that fullness of the Holy Spirit in me that I can by no means here enjoy.
PRUD. A very good boy also, and one who has learned well. Then she addressed herself to the eldest, whose name was Matthew, and she said to him, Come, Matthew, shall I also catechize you?
MATTHEW. With a very good will.
PRUD. I ask, then, if there was ever anything that had a being antecedent to, or before God?
MATT. No, for God is eternal; nor is there anything excepting
He himself had a being until the beginning of the first day.
'For in six days the Lord made Heaven and earth, the sea, and all
that in them is.'
PRUD. What do you think of the Bible?
MATT. It is the holy Word of God.
PRUD. Is there nothing written therein but what you understand?
MATT. Yes. A great deal.
PRUD. What do you do when you meet with such places therein that you do not understand?
MATT. I think God is wiser than I. I pray also that He will please let me know all therein that He knows will be for my good.
PRUD. How do you believe, as touching the resurrection of the dead?
MATT. I believe they shall rise, the same that was buried; the same in nature, though not in corruption. And I believe this upon a double account: First, because God has promised it; secondly, because He is able to perform it.
