Portraits From The Past

Bunion was born and lived in very turbulent times and all kinds of things, were going on in his life. Is there any chance of getting that thing on? I guess not. So, there was religious intolerance at the time that he was born. So king Charles the first was was king the church of England, was really the only organization that was allowed to present Christianity or religion in any way.

And if you were a dissenter or a non conformist or a puritan that would become a noncon for formist and you didn't do it the church of England way. Do church the the church of England way. Then, you were in trouble. It was illegal for you to meet together. It was illegal for you to preach and so forth.

So there were turbulent times there religiously And then of course you has have the civil war. You've got uh-uh puritans growing in there. Desire to want to be more biblical, in their in their church life. And then Cromwell over all over all over Cromwell coming into parliament in 16 40, and then the civil war broke out against, the Royalists in 16 42 And so you had the forces of the of the uh-uh parliamentarians and the royalists fighting away and so forth. And that was at that time, that if you if you just before that, if you didn't follow the book of common prayer and the episcopalian, that's the church of England way of doing things.

You're in trouble. But at this time, the Westminster the Assembly and a couple of people from Kingston, actually were on that Westminster Assembly and they put together something called the Westminster confession of faith, if you're interested in those things, which was much more sort of presbyterian in its feel. And then of course, uh-uh parliamentarians, 1 Cromwell, became the lord protectorate and and eventually, Charles the first was beheaded in 16, 49. And then we had this this commonwealth. And there was a lot of freedom then.

So we've gone from no freedom if you were a Baptist or a dissenter or a nonconformist to lots of lots of freedom. In fact, religious freedom was so good that the Jews returned to this country. They had been banned in 12 90. And we hadn't had Jews allowed to practice Judaism in this country until Cromwell, took over. But then if you know the story, Cromwell died, obviously, his son Richard was unable to sort of hold the Commonwealth together, and then there was a sort of swell to get the king back.

And, so, Charles the second was called back and then he was made king, brought home made king the restoration of the monarchy, in, 16 60. And therefore, now Bungen again would have been illegal, and that's when he he first went to prison. And then you've got this thing, in 16, 62, which is called the act of uniformity, which again required everyone who was doing religion in this country to follow the prayer book, the episcopalian way. Ordination was only through the church of England and then there was this thing called the great ejection where 2000 puritans were rejected ejected from from the church of England. And so, you know, in this time in that whole sort of period, you've got, you know, the, Mayflower going over to America with with a load of puritans on it and all of that sort of stuff.

So that's the sort of turbulent thing that was coming up going on in his life. And then you had plague. The plague was going on, and then you had the great fire of London. So these were really turbulent times that Bunyan was was born in. He had humble beginnings right.

He had humble beginnings. He was born in this little town of Elstone. Still there. It's worth going to to have a look around just outside of Bedford and, he was born in August at 16 28. And, his father was Abrazier that really meant that he sort of mended pots and pans, that sort of stuff.

If you had a hole in your pan, you couldn't just throw it away like you do today. And buy a new 1, you know, you had to have it sealed up and and stuff. But his family were very poor. Even though they lived, originally in quite a big house. Things had gone wrong for the Bunion family.

And, they were, they were they were very poor. Bunion says this, about his humble beginnings. For my dissent was as is well known by many of a low and inconsiderable generation. My father's house being that being of the rank that is meanest and most despised in all the land. It pleased god to put into their hearts to put me to school to learn both to read and write.

I never went to school to learn Aristotle or Plato. But the school he went to, he didn't go for very long, and it said this is what said of his teacher. It is said that his teacher William Varney was charged for neglecting the school frequently and miss spending his time in the taverns and nail houses. It's it's remarkable that he only went to school for a few years and yet he became 1 of our greatest offers It is quite remarkable and had a massive effect of on on our language, which is is quite quite remarkable. He wasn't an easy child to handle, so we're told he was strong, physically tall, hardy, that sort of word they use in those days, distinctive red red hair, a ringleader amongst the boys in this town of Elstow, always up to trouble His parents didn't seem bothered to restrain him.

They let him run wild so it seems. But as a young kid, He had quite a lot of nightmares. Nightmares about the devil dragging him to hell. And they had quite an effect on him, and they were very, very vivid, and he had quite a few of them. When John was 9, he left his education.

So he wasn't in it for very long. And, he joined his father in the Brazier business or the tinker traveling around. This this is in fact his, his anvil that he would have put on a backpack It's a very heavy weight on his back that he would have to walk around up hills and down hills and through valleys. This great weight on his back. And that is his actual actual anvil that he used to carry around.

So you'd put a pot on it and bang it away and remake it and all of that sort of stuff. So he started doing that from from 9. He never had any higher education than 9 years old of a bloke who's down the tavern the time. So that was his education. So it is astonishing that he could write pilgrims progress.

Here's some other, big events in his life. In, June 16 44, his mother dies. July 16 44. His sister dies August 16 44. His father remarris and he doesn't like that.

That's that's that's a big problem, to him He didn't get on well with his stepmother and he didn't get on well with his father for for doing that and he was devastated by his the death of his mother and his sister. He was 15 years old at that time. But and he was this sort of child. This is what this is what he says. This is what is said about him.

From a child, I had but few equals both for cursing, swearing, lying, and blaspheming the holy name of God. So he was well known with this gang around him in Elstow as a wild living 15 year old who now was angry at his father and didn't like his stepmother. So what do kids do? Well, they go in the army. And it was the Civil War.

And in November 16 44, Parliament issued an ordinance to Bedford saying you've got to produce as a city in 14 days time, 225 Abel men to come and fight, this civil war. So they were looking for anyone. So Bunion wants to get out of home and he's a discontented young man with a lot of strop. And although you're meant to be 16 to join the army and he was only 50, he got in anyway. And he was stationed in Newport Pagnal, which is just outside of Bedford, 12 miles from Bedford.

And he was under, a man, a colonel who was a dissenter. So he had been an anglican had dissented from being an anglican. He'd come out of anglicanism and he was colonel Richard Cokin. That was his name. And, he'd done the right thing, obviously.

I tell Richard Koch in this story lots. He always forgets it and says, did he? Did he? Am I related to him? Anyway, there you go.

In the army, he had a number of harrowing moments that made him think of death and hell and, and, you know, was he was he right with god? And on 1 occasion, he swapped with with another soldier, his duties. And that soldier was killed. This is what he says. When I was a soldier, I with others were, were drawn out to go to such a place to besiege it.

But, when I was just ready to go, 1 of the company desired to go in my room in my place. To which when I had consented, he took my place and coming to the siege as he stood sentinel he was shot into the head with a musket bullet and died. Now that played on Bunion. So he's had these dreams about being pulled to hell. He's a wild person, and he probably knows that.

And now he's seen death face up and he's seen that he should have died, but someone else died in his place. So that was going on in in in his in his in his mind. On the the 20 first of July, 16 47, he returns to civilian life. He leaves the army. He's done his duty.

He returns to Elstone's hometown. He's about 19 now. Years old. This, the civil war, was was was was soon to end and, and then Charles the first was going to be executed a few years later. And it was at that time that Bunion married a girl that he'd met in Newport Pagnal.

And they were poverty stricken. Bonyon says that, they didn't have a dish or a spoon betwixt them both. So they they were at work, but they managed to sort of rent a little cottage in Elso High Street. There it is. There's Elso High Street or rather a a modern sign before you get into it.

In 16 50, this is very important. So he's he's married now. They have Mary, their first child, Mary. That that that is his real beloved daughter, Mary. She's born blind.

And his wife comes to her senses and thinks John with all his profanity and his wild living, and his whole ugly attitude should not really be a father. And so she goes at him to change and says you need to change. And when she, became, married, the only gift that they had. They didn't have a spoon and they didn't have a dish, but they were given by that by her father 2 books 1 called a plane man's pathway to heaven. So remember, Pilgin's progress, see where he's getting this stuff from.

Plain man's pathway to heaven. And the other was called practice of piety. And she made him read those books, and, they read them together as well. And it's it's in reading those that Bunion really loved them. He loved the way they were written.

They captured his attention and they captured religious desires in him. So actually, he became very religious. And he turned around and became absolutely full on religious like a pharisee. And he went to the the local parish church which was fairly high. Well, very high.

And the vicar was Christopher Hall. And he loved all the ceremonies, and he loved all the smells and the bells. In fact, he became a bell ringer, but he gave that up because he was scared that the bell would fall on and that the Tower would crush him to death, actually, as well. But he loved all the vestments and he loved all the holy things. He he was really into that.

And then he he heard again in 1 of these sort of dreams, like a voice saying very clearly to him leave thy sin and go to heaven or have thy sin and go to hell. So he had vivid imagination and heard these things and they were ringing in his ears. And so he decided that he had to actually please god and become extremely religious. He gave up dancing. He loved dancing, and it it it took him a year to give give up dancing.

He gave up playing this game on Elstone Green where you can go and see where where he played it called Cabinet. And he he gave up sort of games on on the Sabbath and on Sunday, and even though the vicar said that was alright to do, he became a very serious religious man. And try to please god that way. And then 1 day when he was in, Bedford tinkering around, He saw 2 old women prattling away as he says. And he thought, well, that, you know, look at those old biddies.

They they will be just gossiping. He'll get the lacing latest gossip what's going on in Bedford. So he listens in and they're whispering away and prattling away but they're not gossiping. They're talking about the joys of the lord Jesus Christ and being forgiven and that it isn't by religion that you're safe It is by the the lord Jesus Christ. And this absolutely blows him away that you need to be born again they were talking about.

Now, whether they saw him there listening in and then went on on the conversation, who will know? They talked about their love of Christ. They talked about how sinful and they were. And all of this brought conviction on on Bunion over over a period of time. He started to see that he really was sinful.

And that all that he did for god wasn't really actually doing anything that he was a wicked man, what was on the road to hell. And, he was at rock bottom. He calls himself a toad. He he thinks in god's eyes, I'm as ugly as a toad. And, all of that sort of stuff and and assume that the towers and the bells would fall on him and he would be damned.

So he started to read the scriptures And as he read the scriptures, he saw his own soul that he was a blasphemer that he was more and more wicked couldn't get any satisfaction whatsoever. And this went on, for for for quite some time until he suddenly meditate as he was walking on these verse, on this verse. Thy righteousness, oh, he he this this thought, rather. Thy righteousness is in heaven And me fought with all, I saw with the eyes of of my soul. Jesus Christ at god's right hand, there I say was my righteousness.

So that wherever I was or whatever I was doing, god could not say to me, he wants, he lacked my righteousness. For that was just before him, beside him. Jesus is my righteousness. So he realized that. And, and that was really, the start of his conversion, but don't let me talk about it.

Let's hear him, give his testimony. So there he is. Let's move on. We've done humble beginnings. We've seen his testimony or heard his testimony.

As you can see, he's a preacher. He's a preacher and a pen pusher. A writer. And that's what he's like. In fact, John Owen who's a great, you know, considered considered actually Britain's greatest theologian.

Under under Cromwell, of course. He he's written volumes of theology that are impenetrable as far as I cannot understand, but people love them. He says this. I I he said this. I I would willingly exchange my learning for the tinkers power of touching men's hearts.

He would go to hear bunyan wherever whenever he could. So he was he was a preacher. And after his, soul was settled in his conversion and his understanding of the grace of Christ to a sinner, like himself. He He settled down in the sense that he wanted to follow Christ and he was asked to preach a church for the first time and it had great effect and preacher was discovered. He didn't get a license to preach or to be a pastor for 17 years.

After that. So, his first breach was in 16 55. But he then started to preach like he traveled around as a tinker he started to preach all over the place and hundreds would come out, to hear him, in fields and and so forth like that. Of course, at this time, it was legal for him to do this because he's under this is under to uh-uh cromwell. 1 comb comaker in London who actually describes Bunion's last sermon, describes, a Bunion, like this.

Mister Bunion preached this the first time he heard Bunion preach. Mister Bunion preach so new testament like he made me admire and weep for joy and give him my affection. So in those days of tolerance, people were very moved by his preaching and crowds would come out into the field sometimes, a thousand 200 people. They would come with 24 hours notice and he would be preaching at 7 o'clock in the morning. And then and this was on a on a work day in the week day.

So 24 hours no spunions preaching in this field, and, thousand 200 people would turn up to hear hear him preach. And when you hear that, who wouldn't wanna go? But his preaching, brought, obviously, a lot of, attention and hatred as well. And there were always people in in the crowds that were out to disturb him and stop him. Particularly the religious people.

On 1 occasion, He was preaching in a little village, and a professor from Cambridge came to hear him preach and was appalled that anyone who was a tinker should be allowed preach because only, ordained, educated Cambridge people should really be allowed to preach. And he protested that Bunion didn't know what he was talking about. And Bunion said, well, when were you converted, and what is the fruits of your conversion that you can bear? And he said, I was baptized as a child. And Bunion said, when were you converted?

And of course, that didn't go down very well, and the professor then goes and complains to authorities, and then the religious authorities get involved and they want to push him on and and not have him do these things, even in the times of tolerance as well. So there's gathering storms, coming. But in this time, he writes his first book and, his first book is, is against the quakers, believe it or not. Because the quakers were beginning to there were a group of people that were beginning to talk about the word of god against Christ the word. It's very interesting.

Because that's a that's a thing that's around today. Steve chalk, for instance, wants to separate those 2 those 2 radically. And so he starts writing a book against the the quakers. If you've ever heard of the quakers, they were people that the the they were really in some ways to sort of first charismatic because they would believe the spirit would come on them and they would shake quake. Like this, this is what they did.

And that's why they were called the quakers. But they were looking for sort of the word of god out side of the word of god, the Bible. So it was it was quite an interesting thing and and his first books were were uh-uh his first book was was written about that. Where am I gathering storm? Should have moved on.

There we go. The heretical quakers. That's that's his first book. Some gospel truths opened. That wouldn't be the full, title of his book.

I read I read, this morning, a full title of 1 of his book, and it's it's basically, probably I was reading it to Anne and saying, would you publish the title of this? And the title was was probably 400 words. Maybe 300 words. It was pretty brilliant. So there we go.

There he is. The the writer I'm not sure where I am now. I've lost myself. Oh, we're gonna hear we're gonna hear another bit of his another bit of his preaching Now just listen to what he does here because he's already done it in those in those uh-uh bits of preaching where he takes things that are around. He's totally biblical, but he's taking, things that the people in front of him know an experience to bring the word of god god to them.

And just listen how passionate he was. No wonder people didn't like him. And how amazing he is with words and how he uses all kinds of imageries, with the truths of and yet it's just constantly bible references as well. So here we go. Let's have a listen to him as a as a pre.

So he's a preacher. Certainly a preacher. Alright. But there was gathering storm, in, in, 19, in 16 60, Charles the second returned from exile and the failing parliament hands. He hands over power.

Is hands over power to him. And then you have this thing called this act of uniformity, which I've I've already said requiring all repeat preachers receive episcopalian ordination, and you could only really do that if you went to to Oxford or Cambridge and you're from that sort of elite group and then you have to use this book of common prayer and that's caused 2000 puritans from the Church of England to be expelled at that time. So the Gathering storm there was this thing called, the Conventiicals, act which forbade a number of uh-uh people gathering together to to hear anybody preach like him And as a result, it caused Bunion to be, arrested. And, the punishments were imprisonment banishment and, property seizure. So here's Bunion.

He's been married 10 years now. And he's 30 and he's preaching and his wife dies. And, leaves him 4 children all under 10. 1 of them blind, blind, Mary. A year later, he marries Elizabeth.

We don't know the name of his first wife, but we know the name of his second wife Elizabeth. She was a lot younger woman but she was a remarkable woman. And a year after their marriage, she was pregnant and he was arrested, for the first time, and it was so stressful for her. She miscarriage. Carriage and lost the child.

And, she then took on obviously, these, 4 children, from from his previous marriage and then had actually 2 children, as well from from Bunion, which is sounds odd because he's just gone to prison, but I'll say what happened in a minute. So she he's arrested. He sent to prison. His new wife looking after 4 step children lost a baby and, he sent to prison. That is in fact, actually, his prison door.

And you can go to see that. Now Elizabeth was a peasant woman, but a bold woman and she loved the gospel and she loved John Bunion and she loved those children. And, she went to plead with him. She actually went down to London, which was a big deal for a peasant woman to plead before the religious authorities to, set him free. They dismissed her as as nothing.

But she did manage to get into some judges and make a plea and she says I have 4 small children and they say you're too young to have 4 small children. She explained that, she, was their stepmother. And in fact, was pregnant and when her husband was, arrested, she lost her child. But they didn't really they weren't really moved by that and said he's a tinker. Tinkers can't preach.

And she said, well, he can. He's he's very good. And so, well, it will only be heresy, what he preaches because he's an uneducated tinker. And she said, well, I think on judgment day you'll find out that it isn't heresy that he preached And they say his doctrine is the doctrine of the devil. And again, she comes back and says, on judgment day, you'll find out that it's not the doctrine of the devil.

So she was fairly bold and, for a peasant girl in front of these people, but they dismissed her and left him in prison. He spent 12 years in prison. And, it's not a not a pleasant, place to be. His his daughter Mary, who is, I think, they're portraying on that little film clip. You know, the girl that's standing sort of sideways.

I think that's probably Mary. Blind blind Mary used to come with a, you know, a flagging of of soup and stuff to feed him and push through the prison door. So so that he could have something something to eat. It was it was not a pleasant place, to be in in prison. And he, knew that he he would not stop preaching.

He could he could have been out of prison immediately if he promised never to preach. But he couldn't promise that because the Lord had called him to preach. And yet there were tensions in him because he was a sensitive man and he writes this. The parting with my wife and poor children have often been to me in this place as the pulling off the flesh from my bones. And that not only because I I am somewhat too fond of these great mercies.

But also because I should have often brought to my mind the many hardships, miseries, and wants that my poor family was to meet with should I be taken from them, especially my poor blind child. Oh, I saw in this condition. I was a man who was pulling down his house upon the head of his wife and children. Yet though I I must do it. I must do it.

So there's this tension here. He hates the idea that he's not providing for his family. And he's seeing them destitute really. I mean, they were destitute. They had no money and couldn't earn anything.

He could only earn really by making bits of rope that they would sell outside the window, to pass us by from the prison. So It was torment to him. This wasn't an easy thing for him. This is a stained glass window in Bunion Baptist Church in Bedford. And lots of people think that's what it was like for Bunion in prison.

Actually, this was the postcard that was sent to Terry Wait when he was in prison that kept him going, but that was not what it was like, in, in Bedford prison. It had no heating you only had straw and that was if people threw it in. It had 2 to 3 inches of effluence on the on the floor. They had to beg out the windows or sell sort of ropes that they'd made. There was this thing called jail fever.

That most people got when they were put in jail in those days. So it meant they died, within 6 weeks or 6 months for sort of the maximum most people lived. He was in there for 12 years. So it's it's quite amazing. And in in in prison, he wrote his most famous book, pilgrims progress.

In fact, he wrote 57 books, there. So it's quite quite amazing. This is this gives you something of his character because the prisoner, the the jailer would let him out. Sometimes and that's what you saw there. He would go out and preach and then come back in.

And sometimes he he could sneak out and uh-uh and and and come back without anyone knowing it. I'm not quite sure how that happened, but that's did happen. But he also was very musical and that flute there, is made from the little 3 legged stall that he did have in prison, and he took that off, hollowed it out, made a flute and the jailer would often come in and say, well, I'm hearing flute music, and he would stick it back on to the on the thing. There's no flute to be found because it was just a chair leg. And and that violin just shows you how skilled he was, as a tinker because that's made out of metal.

That violin. So he he made that. And you can see these things. It's quite amazing. So there he is in in prison.

Eventually, in 16 72, he was released under the declaration of religious indulgence. He was immediately given a license to be a pastor in Bedford and he purchased a barn or someone purchased a barn for him and they restored it, and that's where he became the minister of the church. He probably only had about a hundred and 20 people there, even though thousands wanted to hear him preach. He he was offered lots of big pulpits, you know, with big numbers, but he stayed with a hundred and 20. And, preach there for 16 years, although he did travel around.

Eventually, he, went traveling August 16 88. He was off traveling. He was 60 years old now. He goes to Reading to sort out a father and son argument. Christians, and he, reconciles them.

But he has to get to London for the Sunday to preach but it's dreadful weather and and he gets soaked. And, he does preach, but he's got a violent fever but he dies, just after he he he preaches last sermon. So there we are now. What can we learn from Bunion? Lots of stuff.

How how to handle suffering, you can learn that from bunion Bunion quotes 2 2 Corinthians chapter 1 verse 9, and he says, we had this sentence of this is Paul writing We had this sentence of death in ourselves that we should not trust in ourselves, but in god that raise raises the dead. And Banyan said, by this scripture, I was made to see that if if I was to suffer rightly, I must first put sentence of death upon myself. And sentence of death on everything in my life so that I could reckon everything as dead, even my children, and my health and my wife and my enjoyment. And if I'm dead to those things, then in 1 sense, I can't suffer. So that's it's quite amazing, isn't it?

How he how he takes takes that? You never hear Bunion complaining. I don't think I've ever read anything about him complaining even though he was in prison for 12 years and he had to go in prison again for another period of time to write towards the end as well. Amazing. Second thing, I think you see is how he uses his time.

He wrote 60 books in his 60 years, 60 books. He wrote books about all kinds of things. 1 of my favorites is his children's poetry. They're fantastic. He wrote poetry about everything.

U usually about little, insects and weird things like that. My favorite poem that he wrote is called the spider. And, I forgot to forgot to bring it. I've been working on trying to update it because it needs updating. It's fantastic poem.

It's it's it's a bloke who looks down and he sees a spider and he starts talking to it. He says, what are you doing here? You filthy ugly brutish hairy thing. And the spider looks up at him and says, I may be ugly, but you are an ugly sinner. And then it goes on like this.

And and then the spider basically says, look, I may be ugly, but I can crawl through any little crack and sit on any throne I like, but you can't go to heaven in your ugly sin. And it's this argument between a sinner and a spider. And in the end, the book's converted, by the spider. Brilliant. He loved doing things like that because he wanted to reach the ordinary person and particularly obviously children there.

So, he used his time. He wrote. He wrote. His stuff is quite hard to read. You know, it's quite antiquated now and it needs, you know, updating.

But, it would be a very good thing if there was a you know, like a book, you know, publisher that could print some of his books, but they do need updating, and they are some terrific stuff. Third, his bible knowledge is amazing. I mean, even in those sort of excerpts, of that of that sermon, you see that he's quoting the bible all over the place. In a way that's very real, it comes very naturally to him. So, spurgeon said of him, you could prick Bunion anywhere, and he would he would bleed the Bible.

And that's that's right. His his his blood is be blind, he said. And that's true. He really knew the Bible. He knew the Bible.

And so as he speaks, it's all coming out, all of the imagery from all over the place. As spurgeon knew the Bible, of course. Understanding, of the Christian life He understood the Christian life that it isn't an instant. Done. I've become a Christian.

That's it. He really understood the Christian life was this journey, this progress, We're converted. We're Christ. We're justified. But we move.

We keep walking. We keep walking in fellowship with the spirit. And so he really understood, the the the the the Christian life, I think. And when you read this stuff, you you, you understand that. I'm sorry.

Just back to bible knowledge. In case I don't say it, is that his application of the Bible was really heartfelt. You you could hear it, couldn't you in something there? It's really heartfelt. He was not interest in just a bible knowledge, but a heartfelt imaginative understanding, of the bible that he applies prize to his heart.

He had massive passion for the lost and wanted to see them saved and therefore would warn them of hell. 1 of his books is is is worth reading, actually, called the life and death of mister Badman. This is quite an interesting book, a lot lesser known book, but there's this dialogue of this bad man. And this bad man is a church member, who's after the girls. That's all he's after.

He comes to church to get the women. And, and then, there's this sort of discussion that goes on. And in the end, bad mister Badman is in hell. And you've got this crying out. It's very powerful at the end of that book.

Why am I here? And the answer is, you know, what have I done? And the answer is is what you've not done? You didn't trust in Christ. Did I hear about Christ?

Of course, you heard about Christ. Why am I here? Because you're a foolish man who didn't listen. It goes, this very powerful So he had a passion for the lost, and he had a passion for the saved. He was prepared to sneak out of prison where he if he was caught by the authorities, if it wasn't for a, you know, a nice jailer letting him out, and he was, caught by the authorities, he would've been hanged.

And, it wouldn't have, you know, been a nice, ending for but he was prepared to do that. On 1 occasion, he did go out and preach, and they were all arrested, and they were all put in the prison. So he was really happy because he had 60 people. Crowned in his provision that he just carried on preaching to. So, those sort of things happened, to him.

So he had a passion for the saved. And of course he was this great, preacher. And you can see that in his in in his writings. So there we are. There's John Bunion.

We must stop any questions that you might have, and then we'll pray.