So when they were come again into the house and supper as yet was not ready, Christiana again desired that the Interpreter would either show or tell of some other things that are profitable. Then the Interpreter began, and said, “The fatter the sow is, the more she desires the mire; the fatter the ox is, the more gamesomely he goes to the slaughter; and the more healthy the lusty man is, the more prone he is unto evil. “There is a desire in women to go neat and fine; and it’s a comely thing to be adorned with that which in God’s sight is of great price. “‘Tis easier watching a night or two ..read more

Then, as they were coming in from abroad, they espied a little robin with a great spider in his mouth. So the Interpreter said, “Look here.” So they looked; and Mercy wondered. But Christiana said, “What a disparagement is it to such a pretty little bird as the robin redbreast is; he being also a bird above many, that loves to maintain a kind of sociableness with man! I had thought they had lived upon crumbs of bread, or upon other such harmless matter. I like him worse than I did.” The Interpreter then replied, “This robin is an emblem very apt to set forth some professors by; for to sight ..read more

Again, he had them into his field, which he had sowed with wheat and corn; but when they beheld, the tops of all were cut off, only the straw remained. He said again, “This ground was dunged, and ploughed, and sowed; but what shall we do with the crop?” Then said Christiana, “Burn some, and make muck of the rest.” Then said the Interpreter again, “Fruit you see, is that thing you look for; and for want of that you condemn it to the fire, and to be trodden under foot of men. Beware that in this you condemn not yourselves.” Notes and Commentary The Interpreter then shows the pilgrims his fiel ..read more

After this, he led them into his garden, where was great variety of flowers. And he said, “Do you see all these?” So Christiana said, “Yes.” Then said he again, “Behold the flowers are diverse in stature, in quality, in color, and smell, and virtue, and some are better than others. Also, where the gardener has set them, there they stand; and quarrel not one with another.” Notes and Commentary For the next lesson, the Interpreter leads the pilgrims into his garden. There they see a “great variety of flowers.” This imagery comes from Song of Solomon 4 where the Beloved sings a love song to hi ..read more

Life is filled with many perplexing realities. It seems all too brief. It is tainted by sin. It is marred with suffering. Along with joy, there is sorrow. Contentment is ever being challenged with longing. We know that God is good and always does good. He created both time and space as a canvas to display His glory.  He made the heavens and the earth and declared them to be “very good” (Genesis 1:31). He crafted the world with beauty and wonder.  Yet, as we look at the world around us, we see trials and troubles. We experience sorrow and pain. We know that God is not the author of s ..read more

So he had them into the slaughter house, where a butcher was killing a sheep. And behold the sheep was quiet, and took her death patiently. Then said the Interpreter, “You must learn of this sheep to suffer and to put up wrongs without murmurings and complaints. Behold how quietly she takes her death; and without objecting, she suffers her skin to be pulled over her ears. Your King doth call you his sheep.” Notes and Commentary The Interpreter continues to instruct the pilgrims by taking them into the slaughter house. There they saw a sheep being butchered, yet “the sheep was quiet, and too ..read more

From Psalm 39 “Lord, make me to know my end, And what is the measure of my days, That I may know how frail I am. Indeed, You have made my days as handbreadths, And my age is as nothing before You; Certainly every man at his best state is but vapor.” (Psalm 39:4–5) Behold, O Lord, My Days 1. Behold, O Lord, my days are made A handbreadth as their span. Before the noon, my flow’r must fade, The end of ev’ry man. 2. So teach me Lord, to know my end And know that I am frail. To heav’n let all my thoughts ascend And let not earth prevail. 3. What love of earth can keep me here? I hope in You alone ..read more

He had them then into another room where was a hen and chickens, and bid them to observe awhile. So one of the chickens went to the trough to drink; and every time she drank, she lifted up her head and her eyes towards heaven. “See,” said he, “what this little chick doth; and learn of her to acknowledge whence your mercies come, by receiving them with looking up. Yet again, said he, “observe and look.” So they gave heed, and perceived that the hen did walk in a fourfold method towards her chickens.  1. She had a common call; and that she has all day long. 2. She had a special call; and ..read more

When the Interpreter had showed them this, he has them into the very best room in the house (a very brave room it was); so he bade them look round about, and see if they could find anything profitable there. Then they looked round and round; for there was nothing there to be seen but a very great spider on the wall, and that they overlooked. Mercy: Then said Mercy, “Sir, I see nothing.” But Christiana held her peace. Interpreter: But said the Interpreter, “Look again.” She therefore looked again, and said, “Here is not anything but an ugly spider, who hangs by her hands upon the w ..read more

After awhile—because supper was not ready—the Interpreter took them into his significant rooms, and showed them what Christian, Christiana’s husband, had seen some time before. Here, therefore, they saw the man in the cage; the man and his dream; the man that cut his way through his enemies; and the picture of the biggest of them all; together with the rest of those things that were then so profitable to Christian. This done, and after these things had been somewhat digested by Christiana and her company, the Interpreter takes them apart again, and has them first into a room where was a man ..read more