The Works of John Bunyan, vol 3, John Bunyan [ebook reader color screen TXT] 📗

will answer, those that God blesseth, and giveth abundance of this world unto; when, for the most part, they are they that are the cursed men. Alas! poor men, they are so ignorant as to think that because a man is increased in outward things, and that by a small stock, therefore God doth love that man with a special love, or else he would never do so much for him, never bless him so, and prosper the work of his hands. Ah! poor soul, it is the rich man that goes to hell. And ‘the rich man died,’ and in hell, mark, ‘in hell he lift up his eyes,’ &c.

Methinks to see how the great ones of the world will go strutting up and down the streets sometimes, it makes me wonder. Surely they look upon themselves to be the only happy men; but it is because they judge according to outward appearance; they look upon themselves to be the only blessed men, when the Lord knows the generality are left out of that blessed condition. ‘Not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble are called’ (1 Cor 1:26). Ah! did they that do now so brag, that nobody dare scarce look on them, but believe this, it would make them hang down their heads and cry, O give me a Lazarus’ portion.

I might here enlarge very much, but I shall not; only thus much I shall say to you that have much of this world, Have a care that you have not your portion in this world. Take heed that it be not said to you hereafter, when you would very willingly have heaven, Remember in your lifetime you had your portion (Psa 17:14).

And friend, thou that seekest after this world, and desirest riches, let me ask this question, Wouldst thou be content that God should put thee off with a portion in this life? Wouldst thou be glad to be kept out of heaven with a back well clothed, and a belly well filled with the dainties of this world? Wouldst thou be glad to have all thy good things in thy lifetime, to have thy heaven to last no longer than while thou dost live in this world? Wouldst thou be willing to be deprived of eternal happiness and felicity?

If you say no, then have a care of the world and thy sins; have a care of desiring to be a rich man, lest thy table be made a snare unto thee (Psa 19:22). Lest the wealth of this world do bar thee out of glory. For, as the apostle saith, ‘They that will be rich, fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition’ (1 Tim 6:9).

Thus much in general; but now more particularly.

These two men here spoken of, as I said, do hold forth to us that state of the godly and ungodly; the beggar holdest forth the godly, and the rich man the ungodly. ‘There was a certain rich man.’

But why are the ungodly held forth under the notion of a rich man?

1. Because Christ would not have them look too high, as I said before, but that those who have riches should have a care that they be not all their portion (James 1:10-12; 1 Tim 6:17). 2. Because rich men are most liable to the devil’s temptations; are most ready to be puffed up with pride, stoutness, cares of this world, in which things they spend most of their time in lusts, drunkenness, wantonness, idleness, together with the other works of the flesh; for which things sake, the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience (Col 3:6). 3. Because he would comfort the hearts of his own, which are most commonly of the poorer sort; but God hath chosen the poor, despised, and base things of this world (1

Cor 1:26). Should God have set the rich man in the blessed state, his children would have concluded, being poor, that they had no share in the life to come.

And again, had not God given such a discovery of the sad condition of those that are for the most part rich men, we should have had men concluded absolutely that the rich are the blessed men. Nay, albeit the Lord himself doth so evidently declare that the rich ones of the world are, for the most part, in the saddest condition, yet they, through unbelief, or else presumption, do harden themselves, and seek for the glory of this world as though the Lord Jesus Christ did not mean as he said, or else that he will say more than shall assuredly come to pass; but let them know that the Lord hath a time to fulfil that he had a time to declare, for the scripture cannot be broken (John 10:35).

But again, the Lord by this word doth not mean those are ungodly who are rich in the world, and no other, for then must all those that are poor, yet graceless and vain men, be saved and delivered from eternal vengeance, which would be contrary to the Word of God, which saith that together with the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, there are bondmen or servants, and slaves, that cry out at the appearance of the Almighty God, and his Son Jesus Christ, to judgment (Rev 6:15).

So that though Christ doth say, ‘There was a certain rich man,’

yet you must understand he meaneth all the ungodly, rich or poor.

Nay, if you will not understand it so now, you shall be made to understand it to be so meant at the day of Christ’s second coming, when all that are ungodly shall stand at the left hand of Christ, with pale faces and guilty consciences, with the vials of the Almighty’s wrath ready to be poured out upon them. Thus much in brief touching the 19th verse. I might have observed other things from it, but now I forbear, having other things to speak of at this time.

Verse 20.—‘And there was a certain beggar, named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores.’

This verse doth chiefly hold forth these things; 1. That the saints of God are a poor contemptible people; ‘There was a certain beggar.’ If you understand the word beggar to hold forth outward poverty, or scarcity in outward things, such are saints5 of the Lord, for they are for the most part a poor, despised, contemptible people. But if you allegorize it and interpret it thus, They are such as beg earnestly for heavenly food; this is also the spirit of the children of God, and it may be, and is a truth in this sense, though not so naturally gathered from this scripture. 2.

That ‘he was laid at his gate, full of sores.’ These words hold forth the distempers of believers, saying he was ‘full of sores,’

which may signify the many troubles, temptations, persecutions, and afflictions in body and spirit which they meet withal while they are in the world, but also the entertainment they find at the hands of those ungodly ones who live upon the earth. Whereas it is said, he was ‘laid at his gate, full of sores.’ Mark, he was laid at his gate, not in his house—that was thought too good for him—but he was laid at his gate, full of sores. From whence observe, (1.) That the ungodly world do not desire to entertain and receive the poor saints of God into their houses. If they must needs be somewhere near unto them, yet they shall not come into their houses; shut them out of doors; if they will needs be near us, let them be at the gate. And he ‘was laid at his gate, full of sores.’ (2.) Observe that the world are not at all touched with the afflictions of God’s children for all they are full of sores; a despised, afflicted, tempted, persecuted people the world doth not pity, no, but rather labour to aggravate their trouble by shutting them out of doors; sink or swim, what cares the world? They are resolved to disown them; they will give them no entertainment: if the lying in the streets will do them any good, if hard usage will do them any good, if to be disowned, rejected, and shut out of doors by the world will do them any good, they shall have enough of that; but otherwise no refreshment, no comfort from the world. And he ‘was laid at his gate, full of sores.’

Verse 21.—‘And he desired to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table: the dogs came also and licked his sores.’

By these words our Lord Jesus doth show us the frame of a Christian’s heart, and also the heart and carriage of worldly men towards the saints of the Lord. The Christian’s heart is held forth by this, that anything will content him while he is on this side glory. And ‘he desired to be fed with the crumbs’; the dogs’ meat, anything.

I say a Christian will be content with anything, if he have but to keep life and soul together; as we used to say, he is content, he is satisfied; he hath learned—if he hath learned to be a Christian—to be content with anything; as Paul saith, ‘I have learned in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content’ (Phil 4:11). He learns in all conditions to study to love God, to walk with God, to give up himself to God; and if the crumbs that fall from the rich man’s table will but satisfy nature and give him bodily strength, that thereby he may be the more able to walk in the way of God, he is contented. And he ‘desired to be fed with the crumbs that fell from the rich man’s table.’[6] But mark, he had them not; you do not find that he had so much as a crumb, or a scrap allowed unto him. No, then the dogs will be beguiled, THAT

must be preserved for the dogs. From whence observe that the ungodly world do love their dogs better than the children of God.[7] You will say that is strange. It is so indeed, yet it is true, as will be clearly manifested; as, for instance, how many pounds do some men spend in a year on their dogs, when in the meanwhile the poor saints of God may starve for hunger? They will build houses for their dogs, when the saints must be glad to wander, and lodge in dens and caves of the earth (Heb 11:38). And if they be in any of their houses for the hire thereof, they will warn them out or eject them, or pull down the house over their heads, rather than not rid themselves of such tenants.[8] Again, some men cannot go half a mile from home but they must have dogs at their heels, but they can very willingly go half a score miles without the society of a Christian. Nay, if when they are busy with their dogs they should chance to meet a Christian, they would willingly shift him if they could. They will go on the other side the hedge or the way rather than they will have any society with him; and if at any time a child of God should come into a house where there are but two or three ungodly wretches, they do commonly wish either themselves or the saint out of doors; and why so? because they cannot down9 with the society of a Christian; though if there come in at the same time a dog, or a drunken swearing wretch,