While confined in Bedford Jail for twelve years for preaching the gospel, John Bunyan was visited by his wife and little blind daughter, Mary. Briefly recounting incidents of his arrest, Bunyan ended as follows: “On the morning after, we sent to Justice Compton, but he refused to release me, though I had broken no law whatsoever; still I am content that if my lying here will serve the cause of God, I will lie here till my flesh drops from my bones. Let it be as God will.”
“True, beloved, but we will do our utmost; the house is so dull without you. Your little Mary sits pining for your voice, and the other two are often crying for Father. It goes to my heart to see them craving for you. And some that I thought better of will not pay you. William Swinton, the sexton, owes you five pounds, you know; now he says not a penny will he pay you.
“Yet I am proud of you. Yield not, John, for we will beg from door to door before you shall yield for our sake, to do what you feel to be wrong in the sight of God. I pray much that we may see you again by our fireside, and I look through the stone lattice often, longing to see your brave face through the pane; but I pray more that you might stand fast like David against the giant, and that you shall one day, too, conquer. Think not of us, but be firm.”
“That I will,” said Bunyan, who had nestled little blind Mary in his arms; “but what will my Mary do if her father has to die for the truth?”
“Do, Father? Why, love you all the more, and pray for them that kill you, and come as quickly as I may to be with you. Oh, Father! I shall look upon your dear face in heaven. How I strive to picture you! But I should like to see you as you really are. When I feel your warm breath upon my cheek and rest in your arms, I feel I fear nothing and want nothing. But oh, Father! My mother taught me that you were Christ’s servant, and I am proud that you were called to serve while the great ones deny the Lord.”
“My little maiden then loves my Lord?” asked Bunyan, bending with tearful eyes over the clear, white face radiant with love that the eyes could not speak.
“Yes, Father, I’ve loved Him a little for a long time, but I’ve loved Him, I cannot tell how much, since these dark days began. When Mother and I sat trembling, and wondering how you were faring away from home, in the time of trouble, how I prayed for you, and I felt your God was my God, and I would serve Him too.”
“But ’tis not enough, darling, to say that you love Christ! What about your sins?”
“Oh, Father, I have confessed them all, and repented of them, and I do accept Jesus as my Saviour. I feel more certain every day that He has forgiven my sins. Is it not sweet to feel this—we are tied together by a bond that nothing can ever break?”
“Aye, it is, dear one; and with your love and the love of your dear mother, I feel brave and strong. You help me not a little to stand without flinching in the time of trial.”
ML-07/16/1978