STUDY DEVOTION: PILGRIM'S PROGRESS
“…but I wholly followed the Lord my God.” Joshua 14:8
“Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them.” Psalm 119:165
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Please enjoy the scripture references below that correspond to the PDF file above. This is a labor of love, and is a work in progress...
PILGRIM’S PROGRESS
Chapter 1 THE DEN AND THE DREAMER:
1. Den – Bedford Jail in which Bunyan was 12 years a prisoner
2. Isaiah 64:6 – “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.”
Psalm 38:4 – “For mine iniquities are gone over mine head: as an heavy burden they are too heavy for me.”
Luke 14:33 – “So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.”
Habakkuk 2:2 – “And the Lord answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it.”
3. Acts 2:37-40 – “Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation.”
Acts 16:30-31 – “And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.”
Hebrews 2: 2-3 – “For if the word spoken by angels was stedfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompence of reward; How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him;”
4. Sighs & Tears – 2 Corinthians 7:10 “For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.”
Carriages – behaviors.
5. Acts 2:37- – “Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?
Acts 16:30-31 – “And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.”
6. Evangelist – Representing Pastor John Gifford who greatly helped Bunyan at the time of his conversion.
7. Hebrews 9:27 – “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:”
8. Job 16:21-22 – “O that one might plead for a man with God, as a man pleadeth for his neighbour! When a few years are come, then I shall go the way whence I shall not return.”
9. Ezekiel 22:14 – “Can thine heart endure, or can thine hands be strong, in the days that I shall deal with thee? I the Lord have spoken it, and will do it.”
10. Isaiah 30:33 – (Tophet here means hell.) “For Tophet is ordained of old; yea, for the king it is prepared; he hath made it deep and large: the pile thereof is fire and much wood; the breath of the Lord, like a stream of brimstone, doth kindle it.”
This burden – (The weight of) his sin
11. Parchment Scroll – Conviction of the necessity of flying / fleeing (God’s word)
12. Matthew 3:7 – “But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?”
13. Matthew 7:13-14 – “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.”
Wicket (small) gate – It was usually beside or in a larger gate.
14. Psalm 119:105 – “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.”
2 Peter 1:19 – We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:
15. Christ and the way to him cannot be found without the Word
16. Luke 14:26 – If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.
17. John 3:16, 36 – “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 36 He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.”
18. Genesis 19:17, cf v. 26 – “And it came to pass, when they had brought them forth abroad, that he said, Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed. 26 But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.”
Chapter 2 - CHRISTIAN IS PURSUED BY OBSTINATE AND PLIABLE
(Numbering is off in PDF but kept the same as the pdf for ease of following along.)
15. Jeremiah 20:10 – “For I heard the defaming of many, fear on every side. Report, say they, and we will report it. All my familiars watched for my halting, saying, Peradventure he will be enticed, and we shall prevail against him, and we shall take our revenge on him.”
They that fly from the wrath to come are a gazing-stock [entertaining spectacle] to the world.
16. Genesis 19:24 - Then the Lord rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven;
Revelation 20:15 - And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
Revelation 21:8 – But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.
17. The pilgrim claims to be a Christian before entering the Wicket-gate
18. Romans 8:18 - For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
II Corinthians 4:18 - While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.
19. Luke 15:17 – “And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!”
(That is enough grace and mercy.)
20. 1 Peter 1:4 – “To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you,”
21. Hebrews 11:16 – “But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city.”
22. Luke 9:62 – “And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”
Coxcombs – silly, vain fellows.
23. Proverbs 26:16 - The sluggard is wiser in his own conceit than seven men that can render a reason.
24. Christian and Obstinate in conflict over Pliable’s soul.
25. Luke 22:20 – “Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you
Hebrews 9:17-28 – “17 For a testament is of force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth. 18 Whereupon neither the first testament was dedicated without blood. 19 For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and of goats, with water, and scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book, and all the people, 20 Saying, This is the blood of the testament which God hath enjoined unto you. 21 Moreover he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle, and all the vessels of the ministry. 22 And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission. 23 It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. 24 For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us: 25 Nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others; 26 For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. 27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: 28 So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.”
Hebrews 13:20-21 – “Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.”
Chapter 3 - CHRISTIAN AND PLIABLE CONVERSE ALONG THE WAY
26. Titus 1:2 – “In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;”
27. Isaiah 65:17 – “For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.”
John 10:27-29 – “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand.”
28. Matthew 13:43 – “Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.”
2 Timothy 4:8 – “Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.”
Revelation 3:4 - “Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy.:
29. Genesis 1:16 - “And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.”
30. Isaiah 25:8 - “He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the Lord hath spoken it.”
Revelation 7:16-17 – “They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.
Revelation 21:4 – “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.”
31. Isaiah 6:2 – “Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly.”
I Thessalonians 4:16-17 – “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.”
Revelation 5:11 – “ And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands;”
32. Revelation 4:4 – “And round about the throne were four and twenty seats: and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold.”
33. Revelation 14-5 – “And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father's name written in their foreheads. And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps: And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth. These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb. And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God.”
34. John 12:25 – “He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.”
35. II Corinthians 5:2-5 – “For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven: If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked. For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life. Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit.”
36. Isaiah 55:12 – “For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.”
John 6:37 – “All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.”
John 7:37 – “In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.”
Revelation 21:6 – “And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.”
Revelation 22:17 – “And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.”
37 Isaiah 55:1-7 – “Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.
2 Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness.
3 Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David.
4 Behold, I have given him for a witness to the people, a leader and commander to the people.
5 Behold, thou shalt call a nation that thou knowest not, and nations that knew not thee shall run unto thee because of the Lord thy God, and for the Holy One of Israel; for he hath glorified thee.
6 Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:
7 Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
Romans 3:24 – “Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:”
Romans 5:17 = “For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.”
Romans 8:32 – “He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?”
38. Conviction of sin distinguishes Christian from Pliable.
Chapter 4 - CHRISTIAN AND PLIABLE CONFRONT THE SLOUGH OF DESPOND
39 Bunyan describes a similar experience in Grace Abounding, § 82.
40 It is not enough to be pliable.
41 Christian in trouble still seeks to get further from his own house.
42 Psalm 20:1-2 – “The Lord hear thee in the day of trouble; the name of the God of Jacob defend thee; 2 Send thee help from the sanctuary, and strengthen thee out of Zion;”
Psalm 70:5 – “But I am poor and needy: make haste unto me, O God: thou art my help and my deliverer; O Lord, make no tarrying.”
43 The promises. II Pet. 1:4 “Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.”
44 Psalm 40:2 – “He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings.”
45 Isaiah 35:3-4 – “Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees. 4 Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompence; he will come and save you.”
