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

REASONS

WHY CHRISTIAN PEOPLE SHOULD PROMOTE BY SUBSCRIPTIONS THE PRINTING

IN FOLIO THE LABOURS OF MR. JOHN BUNYAN, LATE MINISTER OF THE

GOSPEL, AND PASTOR OF THE CONGREGATION AT BEDFORD.

I. He was a very able and excellent minister of the gospel; viz., able to express himself, and had excellent matter known to all Christians that have heard him preach.

II. He became thus able and excellent a minister by a great degree of Gospel Grace bestowed upon his own soul, more than probable for that very end; for that God wrought him from a very great profane sinner, and an illiterate poor man, to this profound understanding the true or genuine spiritual meaning of the Scriptures, whereby he could experimentally preach to souls with power, and affection, and apostolical learning, the true nature of the gospel.

III. God’s bestowing such great grace, to turn so great a sinner, to make such a great gospel labourer, and thrust him into his harvest, argues there was great need, and therefore without question his labours ought to be preserved.

IV. Our Bunyan being so graciously, by the Lord of the harvest, thrust into labour, clearly shows to us, (and may by this preservation to future ages), that God is not bound to human means of learned education (though learning may be useful in its place), but can, when he will, make a minister of the gospel without man’s forecast of education, and in spite of all the men in the world that would oppose it, though it be above sixteen hundred years after the apostles.

V. Many thousands had the soul benefit and comfort of his ministry to astonishment, as if an angel or an apostle had touched their souls with a coal of holy fire from the altar.

VI. This excellent operation of the special grace of God in him, and the gift of utterance when he preached, confounded the wisdom of his adversaries that heard him, or heard of him, he being, as it is commonly called, unlearned, or had not school education.

VII. For all these reasons before-mentioned, of the spirituality of his preaching, his labours in writing deserve preservation by printing as much as any other famous man’s that have writ since the apostles’ time.

VIII. Moreover he hath been a Christian sufferer for above twelve years, by imprisonment, whereby he sealed to the truth he preached.

IX. Yet, for all that imprisonment, he preached then, and there, and afterwards abroad, as a faithful labourer for the salvation of souls.

X. And he was not a man that preached by way of bargain for money, for he hath refused a more plentiful income to keep his station.

XI. And his moderation, or desire of money, was as the apostle Paul’s practice, below his privilege; so that he did not, when he died, leave much wealth to his family.

XII. And the Church that wants such a pastor may find it long before they get one, and therefore ought to respect our Bunyan’s labours.

XIII. If God had not put it into the heart of some Christians or Church to preserve the Epistles of the Apostle to the Romans, Corinthians, Galatians, and others, we in this age of the world should in all probability never have known that there ever were any such Christians and doctrines; their names and doctrines might have been lost, and we might have perished, and that would have been dreadful; for God mostly works by second causes.

XIV. And why should any Christian people, that have reason to reckon themselves obliged herein, set themselves aside from communicating to other Christians and the ages to come the gospel labours of so eminent a minister as God so graciously honoured and assisted them with?

XV. And if these labours (of, as I may say, an apostle of our age, if we have any) are not preserved by printing thus in folio, most of them in all probability will be lost, for there are many of them have been out of print many years, and will never otherwise be printed again because of the charge, &c.

XVI. By the late Act for liberty of conscience, it is lawful now to print the works of dissenters, though it was not so formerly; therefore much danger cannot plead excuse.

XVII. It is a good work without controversy, and therefore there can be no scruple of conscience about its pleasing God.

XVIII. There is also to the subscribers a further benefit in this folio; for, whereas these twenty books would, if bought single, cost nigh twenty shillings now, as printed in folio they will have them for about twelve shillings bound together in one volume, which conveniency also prevents losing.

XIX. These ten manuscripts, which were never before printed, would, if printed in small books, and bought single, cost almost the money that these twenty in folio comes for, which is great odds.

XX. Not to preserve his labours and name, which are so great, is a disingenuous slighting or despising them, and serving them no better than a wicked man’s that rots. Bunyan hath preached, and freely bestowed many a good and gospel-truth, and soul-reviving expression; for which of them doth any of his friends slight him? Nay, do not they rather owe him something for his labour he bestowed on them, as Philemon did to Paul?

XXI. The price of the first part will be an easier purchase than of the whole; and all in one volume would be somewhat too big in bulk and price.

XXII. There is need of printing these books now, because errors and superstitions, like the smoke of the bottomless pit, darken protestants understanding the purer truths of the gospel.

XXIII. And when this first part is sold off, we shall endeavour to publish a second part, whereby he that is wiling may have the whole in folio.

XXIV. This preservation will preserve the name of John Bunyan, a champion of our age to future ages; whereby it may be said in the pulpit, The great convert Bunyan said so and so.

XXV. If the labours of so eminent a minister should not be preserved, I known not whose should.

XXVI. Antichristian people are diligent to preserve the works of their eminent men; and therefore Christians should be diligent to preserve theirs.

XXVII. The chief reasons we argue from are not common rules, that therefore every good minister’s endeavours ought to be printed in folio. But this case is extraordinary, as an eminent minister, made so by abundance of gospel grace, who has also writ much, which hath gone off well. I say eminent, though he was, when young, profane, and had not school education to enable him, as is apparent to all that knew him.

XXVIII. By this printed in folio a man may have recourse for satisfaction in a case of conscience to any of these particular books with the rest, which otherwise are not to be bought; and that I have proved by often trying most London booksellers, and before that given them above twice the price for a book; and I know not how to get another of those sorts for any price whatsoever.

XXIX. All these things, or half of them, beside many others that might be given, being considered, I cannot see but it is an absolute duty.

XXX. And lastly (pardon me, if I speak too great a word, as it may seem to some to be borne), all things considered; that is, his own former profaneness, poverty, unlearnedness, together with his great natural parts, the great change made by grace, and his long imprisonment, and the great maturity in grace and preaching he attained to, I say our deceased Bunyan hath not left in England, or the world, his equal behind him, as I know of. And this is the unfeigned belief of,

Your Christian brother,

CHARLES DOE.

THE STRUGGLER

(FOR THE PRECEDING PRESERVATION OF MR. JOHN BUNYAN’S LABOURS

IN FOLIO) THINKS IT MAY ANSWER THE DESIRES OF MANY TO GIVE THE

FOLLOWING RELATION:—

CHRISTIAN READER,

I do here as further duty presume to give you, according to my understanding, a relation in three parts, concerning our eminent author, Mr. John Bunyan, and his labours.

I. The author’s parentage, imprisonment, times, and manner of his life and death, &c.

II. Relations and observations upon his labours, &c.

III. Notes on printing this folio and index, &c.

First, Our excellent author, by the abundant grace of God, Mr.

John Bunyan, was born at Elstow, a mile side of Bedford, about the year 1628. His father was mean, and by trade a mender of pots and kettles, vulgarly called a tinker, and of the national religion, as commonly men of that trade are, and was brought up to the tinkering trade, as also were several of his brothers, whereat he worked about that country,[6] being also very profane and poor, even when married, &c.

But it pleased God, by his irresistible grace, to work in him some convictions and fears of hell, and also desires of heaven, which drove him to reading and hearing of religious matters, so, controlling grace growing abundantly, he did not take up religion upon trust, but grace in him continually struggling with himself and others, took all advantages he lit on to ripen his understanding in religion, and so he lit on the dissenting congregation of Christians at Bedford, and was, upon confession of faith, baptized about the year 1651, o 52, or 53.

And after a little time, having a gift of utterance, and love to the conviction of sinners, preached about the country the same salvation he found by experience himself stood in need of, by faith and repentance, and worked at his tinkering trade for a livelihood, whereby the reigning grace of God appeared the more sovereign and glorious in this choice, even as it shone in the choice of Peter, a fisherman, and the rest of the apostles, and others of the eminent saints of old, most of them tradesmen, and of whom most excellent things are spoken, &c.

In the year 1660, being the year king Charles returned to England, having preached about7 five years, the rage of gospel enemies was so great that, November 12, they took him prisoner at a meeting of good people, and put him in Bedford jail, and there he continued about six years, and then was let out again, 1666, being the year of the burning of London, and, a little after his release, they took him again at a meeting, and put him in the same jail, where he lay six years more.[8] Before they took him his intent was to preach on these words, ‘Dost thou believe on the Son of God?’

(John 9:35). From whence he intended to show the absolute need of faith in Jesus Christ. And after he was released again, they took him again, and put him in prison the third time, but that proved but for about half a year.

Whilst he was thus twelve years and a half in prison, he writ several of his published books, as by many of their epistles appears, as ‘Pray by the Spirit,’ ‘Holy City,’ ‘Resurrection,’ ‘Grace Abounding,’

and others, also ‘The Pilgrim’s Progress,’ as himself and many others have said.

The pastor of Bedford congregation died, and, after some years’

vacancy, John Bunyan, though a prisoner, was, by the church, called to the pastoral office, December 21, 1671, and as it pleased the Lord to rule the rage of men, it proved in or about the last year of his twelve years’ imprisonment. And, being out, he preached the gospel publicly at Bedford, and about the counties, and at London, with very great success, being mightily followed everywhere. And it pleased the Lord to preserve him out of the hands of his enemies in the severe persecution at the