“The Excellent Benjamin Keach”

Would you allow me to draw your attention to a book? It is my father’s work, and concerns a man that you may not know, a seventeenth century Baptist called Benjamin Keach. Keach was one of the movers and shakers of the century, a prominent London Baptist who faced fierce persecution but also saw sweet blessings. He was a pastor of the church which can be traced to the one meeting today at the Metropolitan Tabernacle.

Might I also say that it is not just a tale for Baptists or historians, though both would find it delightful. His example as a man who wrestled toward truth, stood fast in accordance with his convictions, was prepared to suffer for the cause of Christ, and served the Lord and his people faithfully and fruitfully, makes him a worthy study for any Christian, perhaps especially any pastor.

This is a revised second edition of what is now the standard work on the life of this Baptist pastor and preacher, taking account of research conducted since the original publication. It can be found at the publisher’s website, and it is available in hardback (Amazon.com / Amazon.co.uk) and paperback (Amazon.com / Amazon.co.uk) and now has the virtue of an index, making it more useful to scholars. I strongly recommend it.

“Fearless Pilgrim: The Life and Times of John Bunyan”

Fearless Pilgrim: The Life and Times of John Bunyan by Faith Cook

Evangelical Press, 2008 (528pp, hbk)

John Bunyan has had a good number of biographers, but Faith Cook’s new work sits in a niche of its own.  It is at once carefully-researched and popular; it considers the man himself yet puts him in his historical, social, political and cultural context; it recognises his literary brilliance yet sees him primarily as a man of God; it appreciates his own mental and emotional constitution but also takes account of spiritual realities.

In structure, the book essentially traces the turbulent life of John Bunyan through the turbulent times in which he lived.  But there is more to it than that.  Mrs Cook carefully situates her man in his times, showing evidence of careful research and thought.  This journey is illuminated by judicious quotes from Bunyan’s writings.  Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners obviously has a prominent place, especially in the earlier years of Bunyan’s spiritual journey, but various other works come to the fore in their turn.  This literary element is particularly enjoyable: we keep track of Bunyan’s work alongside his passing years, and the circumstances out of which his books were written provide insight into his life, and vice versa.  At points along the way there is a little necessary reading into the white spaces of Bunyan’s life.  Mrs Cook usually keeps closer to reasonable surmise than to narrative licence to fill the gaps that exist.

The author is certainly and understandably sympathetic to her subject, but she does not cut him unreasonable slack.  She spells out the trials of his sensitive conscience, but also has wise words of warning with regard to hypersensitivity of conscience.  She recognises his constitutional frailties, but also appreciates his spiritual struggles, interacting with others who have sought to assess (and, in some cases, diagnose) Bunyan’s spiritual and mental condition.  She does not shy away from the conflicts that Bunyan had with those outside the church, nor the debates with those within her arising from his distinctive views (for example, on the relationship between baptism and church membership).  In these matters, however, she is generally careful to report rather than to judge.  These elements, together with consideration of a variety of other issues – often drawing on other movers and shakers from the period (both in the religious and other spheres) – enrich the tapestry of Bunyan’s life.

It will be interesting to see how this volume fares in the academic realm.  It is soundly researched and well-written, and yet the author’s own commitment to the same truths which fired Bunyan’s heart is likely to compromise the worth of the book in the eyes of many specialists in the fields of literature and history.  This would be a great shame.  However, while academia might struggle to understand and acknowledge the heart of Bunyan, Christian scholars will be glad to have a competent, substantial yet sympathetic work to assist in understanding this early Baptist in his context and to validate their approach to him as a Christian man and minister.  Christians outside of this context should be able simply to enjoy this well-paced and insightful treatment.

The book is also well-illustrated with various prints, photographs and sketches.  However, a proliferation of fonts does not necessarily improve the reading experience.  With regard to substance, this deserves to be a standard work among Christians interested properly to grasp the life, work and times of this eminent servant of God.  It is heartily recommended.

An introduction to John Bunyan and “The Pilgrim’s Progress” #1 The man

“Sir, as to this matter, I am at a point with you;[1] for if I am out of prison today, I will preach the gospel again tomorrow – by the help of God!”

These spirited but respectful words were John Bunyan’s parting shot to the judges who sentenced him to prison for preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ, threatening him even with death if he did not give up his ministry. During what became twelve years in jail, Bunyan’s tongue worked through his pen. Of the several books which he wrote or worked on during his imprisonment, one especially has become a classic in the fullest sense of the word: The Pilgrim’s Progress.

John Bunyan was born in November 1628, in the county of Bedfordshire, in England. His father was a brazier or tinker (a basic metalworker, a mender of pots and pans, for example). John Bunyan was briefly sent to school, where he learned to read and write, but he was soon taken out of school to follow his father’s trade, and – by his own admission – forgot much of what he had learned. From a young age, his ungodliness was proverbial, although even then he had terrifying dreams of God’s punishment of sinners. His life was providentially spared on at least one occasion, when he almost died in a boating accident.

In 1642 the English Civil War began. King Charles I had overstepped his authority, and his Royalists clashed with the Parliamentary army. Bunyan’s mother and sister died in 1644, and that same year (probably after his sixteenth birthday) John Bunyan enlisted in the Parliamentary Army. Again, his life was spared by God when a man who took his place at a siege was shot dead.

His regiment was disbanded in 1647 and he returned to the village of Elstow in Bedfordshire, where, shortly afterward, he married. His wife (whose name we do not know) had a godly father. Although they were “as poor as poor might be,”[2] Bunyan’s wife brought two books with her to the marriage: The Plain Man’s Pathway to Heaven by Arthur Dent and The Practice of Piety by Lewis Bayly. Reading these, and under some influence from his wife, Bunyan’s conscience began to afflict him, and he sought to be outwardly moral. However, he says that he “was not sensible of [did not feel] the danger and evil of sin.”[3] That soon changed, and Bunyan spent several years deeply distressed and sometimes despairing on account of his felt sin and need of salvation. He came into contact with an Independent church in Bedford, pastored by a godly man named John Gifford, and found profitable instruction in his wrestlings with God and with conscience. He struggled on in spiritual agony for years, assaulted by all manner of questions, concerns, doubts and temptations, longing to be saved but often fearing himself already damned.

Then, one day, “this sentence fell upon my soul, Thy righteousness is in heaven; . . . [and] . . . I saw with the eyes of my soul Jesus Christ at God’s right hand, there, I say, as my righteousness . . . I also saw moreover, that it was not my good frame of heart that made my righteousness better, nor yet my bad frame that made my righteousness worse: for my righteousness was Jesus Christ himself, the same yesterday, and today, and for ever (Heb. 13:8). Now did my chains fall off my legs indeed, I was loosed from my affliction and irons, my temptations also fled away . . .”[4]

With his soul finding peace – albeit after many long and painful struggles – through the righteousness of Jesus Christ, Bunyan was soon afterward admitted to the membership of the Bedford Independent church, and it was not long until he was invited to exercise his gifts as a preacher: “I preached,” says Bunyan, “what I felt, what I smartingly [acutely, deeply] did feel.”[5] Such preaching by an unlearned man, while effective among those who heard him, was not generally considered acceptable in the prevailing cultural and political climate, and became even less so in 1660, when King Charles II came to the throne.

Bunyan’s first wife died in 1658, and he married a godly woman named Elizabeth in 1659. She was pregnant with his first child (as well as caring for his four children from his previous marriage) when Bunyan came into open conflict with the authorities. During the rule of Oliver Cromwell (Lord Protector from 1649 to 1658) churches like the one to which Bunyan preached enjoyed a degree of freedom; when Charles II came to the throne those freedoms were swiftly repealed. Bunyan was one of the first Nonconformist[6] preachers to suffer; a warrant for his arrest was issued in November 1660. Nevertheless, he arrived to preach at one of the illegal gatherings of Dissenting Christians. Some, fearful of the persecution, suggested cancelling the meeting. Bunyan said, “Our cause is good, we need not be ashamed of it; to preach God’s Word is so good a work that we shall be well rewarded, even if we suffer for it.”[7] Before he had long been preaching, the persecutors burst in, and Bunyan was arrested and eventually committed to prison for three months, charged with refusing to attend the services of the Established church and preaching to unlawful assemblies. Refusing to conform, and despite the pleas of his poor wife to the authorities, those three months eventually stretched to twelve years.

With opportunity forced upon him, Bunyan began to write. His spiritual autobiography, Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners, was one of the fruits of his time in prison, and was the last of his prison works to be published before his release in 1672. This was the result of a pardon following from a Declaration of Indulgence by Charles II.[8] During his imprisonment, Bunyan had been able to maintain contact with the church, and had even been voted to be their pastor. Using his freedom fully, Bunyan was so active in travelling, gospelling and organizing that he became known as ‘Bishop Bunyan’. The threat of further imprisonment was never far off, though, and he was imprisoned again for six months in 1677. It was during this imprisonment that he probably put the finishing touches to a book the bulk of which seems to have been written during his first imprisonment: The Pilgrim’s Progress. The first part of this book was published in 1678, followed by other major works, including The Life and Death of Mr Badman (1680), a most excellent book called The Holy War (1682), and a second part to The Pilgrim’s Progress (1684), along with many other tracts and treatises.

Despite ongoing waves of persecution, Bunyan’s popularity grew. The Pilgrim’s Progress was a bestseller of the day. Thousands would gather to hear him preach (when he came to London, 1200 gathered at 7 o’clock on a winter workday morning to listen to him explain the Word of God). Among his regular hearers was perhaps the greatest Puritan theologian, John Owen, ‘the Prince of Puritans.’ King Charles II is said to have asked John Owen how a man of learning could go “to hear a tinker prate [prattle, chatter].” Owen answered, “May it please your majesty, could I possess the tinker’s abilities for preaching, I would willingly relinquish all my learning.”[9]

In 1688 Bunyan travelled from Bedford to the town of Reading, where he was seeking to reconcile a father to his estranged son. The work was successful, and Bunyan continued on to London on horseback despite a gathering storm. Arriving in London soaked through, he developed a fever, although he preached the next Lord’s day. His health then rapidly declined. By Friday 31^st August 1688, several friends had gathered round the dying man. After some gracious conversation, they asked if anything more could be done for him. “Brothers,” he replied, “I desire nothing more than to be with Christ, which is far better.” Stretching out his arms, he cried, “Take me, for I come to thee!” and thus crossed over the river to the Celestial City.[10] He was buried in a cemetery called Bunhill Fields, used by the Dissenters. The book he carried with him to London was published shortly afterward by his friends: The Acceptable Sacrifice, or, The Excellency of a Broken Heart. Only a few months later would come the toppling of James II, ushering in the ‘Glorious Revolution’ of 1689 which would bring the first taste of the religious freedom that Bunyan had been denied during his life.

Such was the life and testimony of John Bunyan. The best known of his works today is The Pilgrim’s Progress. In a future post we will consider some of the distinguishing features of this book that have made it valuable as a guide to Christian faith and experience.

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[1] The sense is, “In this matter, I cannot back down, and take my stand against you here.”

[2] John Bunyan, Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners (London: Penguin, 1987), p.9 (paragraph 15). This book is Bunyan’s spiritual autobiography.

[3] Ibid., p.10 (paragraph 19).

[4] Ibid., p.59 (paragraphs 229-230).

[5] Ibid., p.70 (paragraph 276).

[6] A Nonconformist (or Dissenter) was someone who was, on principle, not a part of the established Church of England.

[7] Frank Mott Harrison, John Bunyan (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 1964), p.86.

[8] This was a decree by the king that gave some freedoms to Nonconformists, who by this time had suffered horribly under cruel and godless persecutions. Although Bunyan was blessed with relatively good conditions during his time in jail, many Dissenters died in prison, or were released with their health permanently damaged.

[9] John Owen, Works (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 1965), 1:xcii.

[10] Paraphrased from Harrison, John Bunyan, p.196.