III. ATTENDS THE MINISTRY OF MR. GIFFORD, AND BECOMES INTENSELY EARNEST TO UNDERSTAND THE DOCTRINES OF THE GOSPEL-Is comforted by Luther on Galatians; tempted to sell Christ; is in fearful despair lest he had sinned against the Holy Ghost; reads the account of Francis Spira, and is in a fearful state of misery; at length finds refuge in prayer and ACCOUNT OF HIS JOINING THE CHURCH AT BEDFORD- Doubts and fears, but eventual happiness in partaking of the Lord's Supper; still beset with temptations; becomes exceed- V. HIS CALL TO THE MINISTRY, AND THE MANNER AND SUC- CESS OF HIS PREACHING-At first with great fear and trem- bling; his ministry attractive and blessed; preached what he had felt and tasted; during the Commonwealth he is not molested; on restoration of Charles II., he is imprisoned for preaching the gospel; content to be in jail, or even to be hanged, if sinners might by that be converted; avoided con- troversy; is grossly slandered, and considers it part of his Christian character to be reproached, vilified, and reviled VI. A BRIEF ACCOUNT OF THE AUTHOR'S IMPRISONMENT- Apprehended when about to preach at Samsel; indicted, and sentenced to transportation for life, for nonconformity; de- tained in prison; severely exercised by the parting with his wife and children, like the pulling the flesh from his bones; RELATION OF HIS IMPRISONMENT, AND EFFORTS OF HIS WIFE TO OBTAIN HIS RELEASE-Offered liberty if he would leave off preaching; dialogue with Dr. Lindale and the Justices; examination by the Justices, and by Mr. Cobb, the clerk of the peace; interview with his wife and Judge Hale; mercifully Some carriages of the adversaries of God's truth with me at the next assizes, which was on the nineteenth of the first month, CONTINUATION OF BUNYAN'S LIFE, beginning where he left off, and concluding with the time and manner of his death and burial; with his true character, BUNYAN'S DYING SAYINGS-Of sin; of affliction; repentance and coming to Christ; of prayer; Lord's day and daily duties; love of the world; of suffering; death and judgment; the joys TO THE CHIEF OF SINNERS: OR, A BRIEF AND FAITHFUL RELATION OF THE EXCEEDING JOHN BUNYAN; WHEREIN IS PARTICULARLY SHOWED THE MANNER OF HIS CONVERSION, HIS SIGHT AND TROUBLE FOR SIN, HIS DREADFUL TEMPTATIONS, ALSO HOW HE DESPAIRED OF GOD'S MERCY, AND HOW THE LORD AT LENGTH THROUGH CHRIST DID DELIVER HIM FROM ALL THE GUILT AND TERROR THAT Whereunto is added a brief relation of his call to the work of the ministry, of his temptations therein, as also what he hath met with in prison. All which was written by his own hand there, and now published for the support of the weak and tempted people of God. 'Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will declare what he hath done for my soul.'-Psal. lxvi. 16. London: Printed by George Larkin, 1666. THIS TITLE PAGE WAS AFTERWARDS ALTERED, AND INSTEAD OF WHAT FOLLOWS THE FIRST LINE, HE INSERTED, Or a brief and faithful relation of the exceeding mercy of God in Christ to his poor servant, John Bunyan; namely, in his taking of him out of the dung. hill, and converting of him to the faith of his blessed Son, Jesus Christ. Here is also particularly showed what sight of, and what trouble he had for sin; and also what various temptations he hath met with, and how God hath carried him through them. Corrected and much enlarged now by the Anthor, for the benefit of the tempted and dejected Christian. Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will declare what he hath done for my soul.-Psal. lxvi. 16. 1 ADVERTISEMENT BY THE EDITOR. THE great utility of remarkable accounts of tho ways of God in bringing his sheep into the fold, must be admitted by all. The Bible abounds with these manifestations of Divine grace from the gentle voice that called Samuel, even unto the thunder which penetrated the soul of one, who followed the church with continued malignity, calling unto him, "Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?" -a voice so terrible, and accompanied by such a flood of light, as to strike the persecutor to the earth, and for a season to deprive him of sight. The 'Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners' is doubly interesting, as it unfolds to us not only the return of a notorious prodigal, but a wondrous system of education, by which a chosen man was fitted for a wondrous work; heavenly and spiritual learning, which could not have been obtained in all the schools and universities in the world. enabled a poor, vile, unlettered rebel-a blasphemous travelling tinker, to become a most eminent preacher; one whose native powers, sanctified by harrowing but hallowing feelings, attracted the It deep attention of the most learned and pious of his contemporaries, while it carried conviction to the most impious and profane. Even beyond all this, his spiritual acquirements fitted him, without scholastic learning, to become the most popular, the most attractive, the most useful of English authors. His works increase remarkably in popularity. As time rolls on, they are still read with deeper and deeper interest, while his bodily presence and labours mingle in the records of the events of bygone ages. Bunyan's account of his singular trials and temptations may have excited alarm in the minds of some young Christians, lest they should be in an unconverted state, because they have not been called to pass through a similar mode of training. Pray recollect, my dear young Christian, that all are not called to such important public labours as Bunyan, or Whitfield, or Wesley. All the members of the Christian family are trained to fit them for their respective positions in the church of Christ. It is a pleasant and profitable exercise to look back to the day of our espousals, and trace the operations of Divine grace in digging us from the hole of the pit; but the important question with us all should be, not so much поw we became enlightened, but Now do we love Christ? Now do we regret our want of greater conformity to his image? If we can honestly answer these questions in the affirmative, we are believers, and can claim our part in that precious promise, "Whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die." Spiritual life is ours, and eternal life is essentially connected with it, and must be our portion, without an inquiry into the means by which we were called, whether by the thunders and lightning of Sinai, as Paul was smitten, or by the "still small voice." Ac. ix. 3, 4. 1 Ki. xix. 12. Job iv. 16, 17. The value of such a narrative to a terror-stricken prodigal is vividly shown by Bunyan, in his Jerusalem Sinner Saved,' in one of those colloquial pieces of composition in which he eminently shone. 'Satan is loath to part with a great sinner. "What, my true servant," quoth he, "my old servant, wilt thou forsake me now? Having so often sold thyself to me to work wickedness, wilt thou forsake me now? Thou horrible wretch, dost not know, that thou hast sinned thyself beyond the reach of grace, and dost think to find mercy now? Art not thou a murderer, a thief, a harlot, a witch, a sinner of the greatest size, and dost thou look for mercy now? Dost thou think that Christ will foul his fingers with thee? It is enough to make angels blush, saith Satan, to see so vile a one knock at heaven-gates for mercy, and wilt thou be so abominably bold to do it?" Thus Satan dealt with mc, says the great sinner, when at first I came to Jesus Christ. And what did you reply? saith the tempted. Why, I granted the whole charge to be truc, says |