The Riches of Bunyan Part 24

It is also to be considered that those acts of our graces that cannot be put forth or show themselves in their splendor but when we christianly suffer, will yield such fruit to those whose trials call them into exercise, as will in the day of G.o.d abound to their comfort and tend to their perfection in glory. 1 Peter, 1:7; 2 Cor.

4:17.

Why then should we think that our innocent lives will exempt us from sufferings, or that troubles shall do us harm?

Alas, we have need of those bitter pills at which we so much wince.

I see that I still have need of these trials; and if G.o.d will by these judge me, as he judges his saints, that I may not he condemned with the world, I will cry, Grace, grace, for ever.

Shall we deserve correction, and be angry because we have it? Or shall it come to save us, and shall we he offended with the hand that brings it? Our sickness is so great that our enemies take notice of it; let them know too that we take our purges patiently.

We are willing to pay for those potions that are given us for the health of our body, how sick soever they make us; and if G.o.d will have us pay too for that which is to better our souls, why should we grudge thereat? Those that bring us these medicines have little enough for their pains; for my part, I profess I would not for a great deal be bound, for their wages, to do their work. True, physicians are for the most part chargeable, and n.i.g.g.ards are too loath to part with their money to them; but when necessity says they must either take physic or die, of two evils they desire to choose the least. Why, affliction is better than sin; and if G.o.d sends the one to cleanse us from the other, let us thank him, and be also content to pay the messenger.

BUNYAN'S TRIAL AND IMPRISONMENT. FROM BUNYAN'S EXAMINATION BEFORE JUSTICES KEELING, CHESTER, [Footnote: On the restoration of the house of Stuart, Charles II. entered London, in May, 1600. In November of that year, Bunyan was indicted for an upholder of unlawful a.s.semblies and conventicles, and for not conforming to the church of England. "He was sentenced,"] ETC.

KEELING. Justice Keeling said that I ought not to preach, and asked me where I had my authority; with many other such like words.

BUNYAN. I said that I would prove that it was lawful for me, and such as I am, to preach the word of G.o.d.

KEELING. He said unto me, By what scripture?

BUNYAN. I said, by that in the first epistle of Peter, fourth chapter and eleventh verse, and Acts eighteenth, with other scriptures; which he would not suffer me to mention, but said, Hold, not so many: which is the first?

BUNYAN. I said, This: "As every man hath received the gift, even so let him minister the same unto another, as good stewards of the grace of G.o.d. If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of G.o.d."

KEELING. He said, Let me a little open that scripture to you. As every man hath received the gift; that is, said he, as every man hath received a trade, so let him follow says Crosby, "to perpetual banishment, in pursuance of an act made by the then parliament."

This sentence was never executed, but he was kept in prison for more than twelye years.

Subsequently to this year, 1660, several oppressive acts were pa.s.sed, as the Corporation act, 1661, the act of Uniformity, 1662, the Five-mile act, 1665, the Conventicle acts, 1666 and 1671, and the Test act, 1673. The act of Uniformity required that every clergyman should be reordained; should declare his a.s.sent to every thing contained in the Book of Common Prayer, etc. By this act, about two thousand dissenting ministers were ejected from their livings, and the most cruel persecution followed. The Five-mile and Conventicle acts imposed various fines, imprisonment, and death upon all persons above sixteen years of age, who attended divine service where the liturgy was not read; ordained that no non-conformist minister should live within five miles of any town; and aimed to suppress all meetings for wors.h.i.+p among the non-conformists. These in a short time made frightful desolations, and all the jails in the kingdom soon became filled with men who were the brightest ornaments of Christianity. The persecuted included both s.e.xes and all ages, from the child of nine or ten years, to the h.o.a.ry-headed saint of eighty. In Picart's Religious Ceremonies, it is stated that the number of dissenters of all sects, who perished in prison under Charles II., was EIGHT THOUSAND. On the accession of William III., these penalties and disabilities were removed by the Toleration act.

The Corporation and Test acts, however, disgraced the statute-book of England till the year 1828, when they were triumphantly repealed.

Offer's Introduction, Hume's History, and Ency. Amer. it. If any man hath received a gift of tinkering, as thou hast done, let him follow his tinkering; and so other men their trades, and the divine his calling, etc.

BUNYAN. Nay, sir, said I, but it is most clear that the apostle speaks here of preaching the word: if you do but compare both the verses together, the next verse explains this gift what it is; saying, "If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of G.o.d;" so that it is plain that the Holy Ghost doth not so much in this place exhort to civil callings, as to the exercising of those gifts that we have received from G.o.d. I would have gone on, but he would not give me leave.

KEELING. He said we might do it in our families, but not otherwise.

BUNYAN. I said, if it was lawful to do good to some, it was lawful to do good to more. If it was a good duty to exhort our families, it is good to exhort others; but if they held it a sin to meet together to seek the face of G.o.d, and exhort one another to follow Christ, I should sin still; for so we should do.

KEELING. He said he was not so well versed in scripture as to dispute, or words to that purpose. And said, moreover, that they could not wait upon me any longer; but said to me, Then you confess the indictment; do you not? Now, and not till now, I saw I was indicted.

BUNYAN. I said, This I confess: we have had many meetings together both to pray to G.o.d and to exhort one another, and we have had the sweet comforting presence of the Lord among us for encouragement; blessed be his name therefor. I confessed myself guilty no otherwise.

KEELING. Then said he, Hear your judgment. You must be had back again to prison, and there lie for three months following; and at three months' end, if you do not submit to go to church to hear divine service, and leave your preaching, you must be banished the realm: and if, after such a day as shall be appointed you to be gone, you shall be found in this realm, or be found to come over again without special license from the king, you must stretch by the neck for it; I tell you plainly. And so he bid my jailer have me away.

BUNYAN. I told him, as to this matter I was at a point with him; for if I was out of prison today, I would preach the gospel again tomorrow, by the help of G.o.d.

I continued in prison till the next a.s.sizes, which are called midsummer a.s.sizes, being then kept in August, 1661.

Now at that a.s.sizes, because I would not leave any possible means unattempted that might be lawful, I did, by my wife, [Footnote: "This courageous woman [his second wife] and lord chief-justice Hale and Bunyan have long since met in heaven; but how little could they recognize each other's character on earth! How little could the distressed, insulted wife have imagined, that beneath the judge's ermine there was beating the heart of a child of G.o.d, a man of humility, integrity, and prayer! How little could the great, learn- ed, ill.u.s.trious, and truly pious judge have dreamed that the man, the obscure tinker whom he was suffering to languish in prison for want of a writ of error, would one day be the subject of greater admiration and praise than all the judges in the kingdom of Great Britain." Dr. Cheever's Lectures on Pilgrim's Progress, p. 158.]

present a pet.i.tion to the judges three times, that I might be heard, and that they would impartially take my case into consideration.

The first time my wife went, she presented it to Judge Hale, who very mildly received it at her hand, telling her that he would do her and me the best good he could; but he feared, he said, he could do none. The next day again, lest they should through the mult.i.tude of business forget me, we did throw another pet.i.tion into the coach to Judge Twisdon, who, when he had seen it, snapt her up, and angrily told her I was a convicted person, and could not be released unless I would promise to preach no more, etc.

Well, after this, she again presented another to Judge Hale, as he sat on the bench, who, as it seemed, was willing to give her audience; only Justice Chester being present, stept up and said that I was convicted in the court, and that I was a hot-spirited fellow, or words to that purpose; whereat he waived it, and did not meddle with it. But yet, my wife being encouraged by the high-sheriff, did venture once more into their presence, as the poor widow did to the unjust judge, to try what she could do with them for my liberty before they went forth of the town. The place where she went to them was to the Swan Chamber, where the two judges and many justices and gentry of the country were in company together. She then, coming into the chamber with abashed face and a trembling heart, began her errand to them in this manner.

WOMAN. My lord-directing herself to Judge Hale--I make bold to come once again to your lords.h.i.+p to know what may be done with my husband.

JUDGE HALE. To whom he said, Woman, I told thee before I could do thee no good, because they have taken that for a conviction which thy husband spoke at the sessions; and unless there be something done to undo that, I can do thee no good.

WOMAN. My lord, said she, he is kept unlawfully in prison; they clapped him up before there was any proclamation against the meetings; the indictment also is false; besides, they never asked him whether he was guilty or no; neither did he confess the indictment.

ONE OF THE JUSTICES. Then one of the Justices that stood by, whom she knew not, said, My lord, he was lawfully convicted.

WOMAN. It is false, said she; for when they said to him, Do you confess the indictment? he said only this, that he had been at several meetings, both where there was preaching the word and prayer, and that they had G.o.d's presence among them.

JUDGE TWISDON. Whereat Judge Twisdon answered very angrily, saying, What, you think we can do as we list! Your husband is a breaker of the peace, and is convicted by the law, etc. Whereupon Judge Hale called for the statute-book.

WOMAN. But, said she, my lord, he was not lawfully convicted.

CHESTER. Then Justice Chester said, My lord, he was lawfully convicted.

WOMAN. It is false, said she; it was but a word of discourse that they took for conviction.

CHESTER. But it is recorded, woman, it is recorded, said Justice Chester; as if it must of necessity be true, because it was recorded. With which words he often endeavored to stop her mouth, having no other argument to convince her but, It is recorded, it is recorded.

WOMAN. My lord, said she, I was a while since at London, to see if I could get my husband's liberty; and there I spoke with my Lord Burkwood, one of the House of Lords, to whom I delivered a pet.i.tion, who took it of me and presented it to some of the rest of the House of Lords for my husband's releas.e.m.e.nt; who, when they had seen it, said that they could not release him, but had committed his releas.e.m.e.nt to the judges at the next a.s.sizes. This he told me; and now I come to you to see if any thing can be done in this business, and you give neither releas.e.m.e.nt nor relief. To which they gave her no answer, but made as if they heard her not.

CHESTER. Only Justice Chester was often up with this, He is convicted, and it is recorded.

WOMAN. If it be, it is false, said she.

CHESTER. My lord, said Justice Chester, he is a pestilent fellow; there is not such a fellow in the country again.

TWISDON. What, will your husband leave preaching? If he will do so, then send for him.

WOMAN. My lord, said she, he dares not leave preaching as long as he can speak.

TWISDON. See here: what should we talk any more about such a fellow?

Must he do what he lists? He is a breaker of the peace.

WOMAN. She told him again, that he desired to live peaceably and to follow his calling, that his family might be maintained; and moreover said, My lord, I have four small children that cannot help themselves, of which one is blind; and we have nothing to live upon but the charity of good people.

HALE. Whereat Justice Hale, looking very soberly on the matter, said, Alas, poor woman!

TWISDON. But Judge Twisdon told her that she made poverty her cloak; and said, moreover, that he understood I was maintained better by running up and down a preaching, than by following my calling.

HALE. What is his calling? said Judge Hale.

ANSWER. Then some of the company that stood by said, A tinker, my lord.