The Castle of Giant Despair

You think you've seen it all in Pilgrim's Progress. And you've been in the Valley of the Shadow of Death, which was a pretty dark place, and you've been in Vanity Fair, which was a dark place, and now you're coming. to perhaps an even darker place, the dungeon. of the castle of giant Despair. They are locked in a dungeon without food and without water and without light.

Christians can find themselves captured by giant despair in the basement of Doubting Castle. It's a dark place, and perhaps you have been there. or someone you know. Hi, I'm Nathan W. Bingham, and you're listening to Renewing Your Mind.

This week, we've been exploring John Bunyan's classic The Pilgrim's Progress. Taking you on this tour has been Legionnaier Teaching Fellow Derek Thomas. And if you're just joining us, this allegory follows a man named Christian. and his journey. to the celestial city.

If you'd like to own your own copy of Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress and Derek Thomas's Guided Tour Through It, We'll send you the book and the DVD. when you give a donation at renewingyourmind.org in support of this daily outreach.

Well, on this leg of the journey, Christian does find himself in Doubting Castle. But thankfully. There is a way out. And that's a truth we all need to remember. Here's Dr.

Thomas. Last time we saw The valiant Faithful's martyrdom. And then that beautiful description that Bunyan gives of a chariot and horses reminiscent, of course, of Elijah. And that he's taken up to the nearest gate to the celestial city and. The sort of vindication of God to this faithful servant called Faithful.

And then that little song that was sung in his memory.

Well faithful thou hast faithfully professed Unto thy Lord, with whom thou shalt be blest. When faithless ones with all their vain delight Are crying out Under their hellish plight, sing, faithful, sing, And let thy name survive. for though they killed thee, thou art yet. alive. And then the next line You know, that's a that's a Terrible bond of friendship that's been broken.

Faithful has just emerged in the story, now he's been taken out of the story. The next line in Pilgrim's Progress says, Now I saw in my dream that Christian went not forth alone, for there was one whose name was Hopeful. Being so made by the beholding of Christian and faithful in their words and behavior, in their sufferings at the fair. who joined himself unto him. and entering into a brotherly covenant told him that he would be his companion.

What a beautiful thing here. Faithful is gone, but this man, hopeful, has. has seen the death of faithfulness. Blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church, Tertullian said. And out of martyrdom the church has emerged.

We see that story. In Eastern Europe, we see that story in Korea. We see that story in China, we see that story in parts of Africa. in the twentieth century. And now emerges Hopeful.

Hopeful will be with Christian. right to the end of the story.

Some of you remember. how uh Christian has a little bit of trouble crossing the river. That eventually leads to the celestial city, and it is hopeful who actually almost carries him across that river. at the end of the story.

So hopeful is yet another A friend. and the importance of friendship, I think, in Bunyan's understanding of what the Christian life uh should be like Now, hopeful then has been converted through the valiant testimony of faithful in particular in Vanity.

Now the two of them walk together. and come across mister Byands, who is from the town of Fair Speech. He doesn't tell them his name, but he does relate to them some of his kindred, including. A mista facing both ways The parson. A mister Two Tongues and his wife my Lady Feyning's daughter, That's I think Banyan Talking a snook a little at the aristocracy.

Bunyan was decidedly blue-collar, I think. and his politics uh Some of Bunyan's great interpreters in the 20th century have been of communist persuasion in political history. For entirely different reasons, you understand, but in the bourgeoisie versus the proletariat. Bunyan was definitely of the proletariat variety rather than the bourgeoisie, so Communists, historians in the 20th century have sort of been drawn to Bunyan and have made him out to be something that I don't think he was. Um Byans tells Christian Now and Hopeful tells them eventually that this is not his real name.

but a name given to him by someone who did not like him. And he wants to go with Christian and hopeful, but cannot leave his old principles since they are harmless. and profitable. And as they look back, Christian and Hopeful see that three others have joined buy-ins: Mr. Hold the World, Mr.

Money Love, and Mr. Save All. Banyan had a thing about preachers who preached that everybody would be saved. in whatever way uh they thought.

So universalists were alive and well, of course, in the seventeenth century, and here's one called Mr. Save All. Now it all sounds like a conversation about health and wealth. as you overhear the conversation between buy-ins and Mr. Money Love and Save All and Hold the World.

And eventually they drift out of the story. Hopeful and Christian.

Now pass through a narrow plain called Ees with this little hill called Lucre. Look, I was uh A 16th, 17th century word for money. Hence the King James talks about filthy lucre, meaning the love of money. And there's a place now in this story called Lucca with a silver mine in it. A man called Deimas.

calls out and hopeful is tempted To go back and have a look, but Christian senses the danger and stops him. Bus demos in the New Testament is. The man who having loved this present world, forsook Paul. On the highway, Christian and hopeful. Come across a statue of a woman with the inscription: Remember Lot's wife.

There's a discussion about the dangers of covetousness.

Next they come to a river. where the two stop and take a drink on either side are meadows and pasture and leaves that are good for medicine. There's a recognition here of passages like Psalm 23 and Ezekiel 47 and Revelation 22. They lie down, they fall asleep. Actually they spend several days there.

And then they go on, and the road becomes considerably more difficult. And on the left is a meadow called. Bypass meadow. And there is a parallel path on either side of the fence, and because Christian. And hopeful are discouraged, they step over the fence and they join this path.

Hopeful is somewhat suspicious, but Christian prevails. The path of course leads them into trouble. They meet a man called Bain Confidence. Who says he is on his way to the celestial city, but that evening they hear him fall into a deep. Pit.

A storm. Gathers. There's thunder, there's lightning, They are nearly drowned by the rising rain water. Christian asks for hopeful's forgiveness for having taken him thus out of the way. They come across a shelter.

They fall into a deep. Sleep. What they don't know, of course, is that they have strayed into the grounds. of doubting Hustle. And Giant despair.

Cool. occupies the castle. With his wife. Diffidence. And giant despair discovers them asleep, in this shelter and they take them Captive, they're locked in a dungeon.

of the castle without food. and without water. And without light.

Now, Bunyan is describing events, I think, in his own life here from Grace Abounding. Days of darkness, darkness of the soul. Bunyan experienced uh days of great depression. days when the light of God's countenance seemed to have been altogether taken from him, Perhaps in the background here are words from Psalm eighty eight. If you are not familiar with Psalm 88, Don't make the mistake of saying it's your favourite psalm.

There is no light in Psalm 88. It ends with the words: Darkness is my only friend. Friend. That's a dark place to be. where darkness is your only friend, It's one of those psalms that you're glad that it's there.

It's like knowing that if the aeroplane at thirty thousand feet is going to descend into the ocean. that your seat can be used as a flotation device. I'm not sure how reassuring that is when you're Heading to that sea at five or six hundred miles. an hour. It's probably you're going home to be with Jesus time.

Well, Psalm 88, darkness is my... only friend and This is a very, very dark place. You think you've seen it all in Pilgrim's Progress. And you've been in the The Valley of the Shadow of Death, which was a pretty dark place, and you've been in Vanity Fair, which was a dark place, and now you're coming. to perhaps an even darker place, the dungeon of the castle of giant despair.

Now we're told by Bunyan That they're in this dungeon from Wednesday morning until. Saturday Night. And perhaps what is the most important thing? alluding to is the last days of Jesus. from the moment of his betrayal From Gethsemane, And through his trial Into The Friday and his death.

and his burial and Saturday and Saturday night and he's of course raised on the Sunday. And perhaps there's an allusion here. That this darkness is a darkness that our Saviour has known. and redeemed. That's a wonderful thing for Christians who experience great darkness, experience depression.

For whatever reason, and they find themselves in Psalm 88, they find themselves in a place where. Darkness is my only friend. And Banyan is sort of alluding here that Jesus has been here too. He's known what it is to be without a friend and to be surrounded by darkness, that the sun. eventually refuses to shine upon him on the cross.

Now let's get back to the allegory. Giant despair. has a wife. She's called Diffidence. which in the seventeenth century would mean Suspicion or distrust.

She urges Giant Despair, her husband, to beat Christian and hopeful to torture them. Uh in effect. and to do so mercilessly. And then something something quite unexpected happens and if you've not read Pilgrim's Progress carefully or you've not read it recently, you're just not expecting this. Giant despair urges Christian and hopeful to end their lives, to commit suicide.

Uh this is Bunyan. Bunyan is a pastor. Yes. He's dealing with very dark issues, some of the darkest issues, the issues of. suicide and the temptation to take one's own Life and all of us, I'm sure, in this room, and I'm certainly not an exemption to this.

I've known dear friends, Christian friends, who have taken their own Lives, or we've been pastors in situations in churches where. Young people, college students especially, have taken their lives, and I've certainly had my share of those pastoral. situations and they're among the most difficult and the most dark. that you have to deal with. And what are What a mercy.

What an insight. What a... What a pastoral mindset Bunyan has that in this Family tale. Pilgrim's Progress that parents would read to their children. That here that you reach this really dark, dark moment, and Christian and hopeful are genuinely tempted.

They are. very tempted to take their own lives and I think Banyon is saying Christians do sometimes reach this place. Perhaps Perhaps Bunyan did. Perhaps in his imprisonment. Perhaps in the twelve years that he spent in prison there were occasional evenings when He descended into a very dark Place It's a rather lengthy and sensitive section in Pilgrim's Progress and If you have a mind too, I would urge you to study it carefully.

hopeful it's Christian who is most tempted to take his life. Hopeful gives him 10 reasons why he shouldn't. They're absolutely wonderful. They're They're a Christian Puritan pastor, giving reasons why you shouldn't take your life. And on the Saturday evening, at the urging of diffidence, Giant despair takes them out into the castle yard and he shows them skulls.

and bones and skeletons of those who have been killed. In the past. Bringing the temptation then to its peak, bringing the sense of despair and the hopelessness of the situation. And they're beaten once more and giant despair. doesn't carry out his threat to actually kill them, Because he too is under the sovereign control and direction.

of Almighty God. And uh I think this is a wonderful section. It's a dark section. I I find it quite astonishing. But I also am impressed by the way Bunyan is actually ministering pastorally.

to uh an extremely difficult uh situation. And he knows this is a family story. It's meant for. parents to read to their children and this book will become The most read book in Christian homes and for probably 200 years. Almost until The present generation, this was the most widely published book, apart from the English.

Bible in English literature. Consider For a minute, the testimony of Spurgeon. Spojan of course loved Pilgrim's Progress. Often cites from it. Almost take a sermon at random from the Metropolitan Tabernacle.

and you'll see Spurgeon's love for Pilgrim's Progress. Spurgeon tells us of a time in his autobiography. A man comes to the service. This is when they were in the Surrey Gardens. uh rather than the Metropolitan Tabernacle.

a man who came to the service and uh he's despondent and he's thinking of ending his life and then he cures Spurgeon one day And then he's delivered. And Banyan is telling you about this in his autobiography, tells of his own story. when there was a fire in the church. And Spurgeon's church.

Somebody In the balcony cries out, fire! It's a it's a hoax. But there's a stampede to get out to the building. This is before all the sort of civil codes that we now have for fire escapes and so on. Several people are killed.

I think up to about a dozen people are killed. In the stampede to get out of the buildings. Burger is. absolutely and totally shaken by it. He's out of commission.

He doesn't preach for months afterwards. He is urged to go to the south of France to this house that somebody loans him. to recuperate. He is in the depths of depression. because of this incident that he experiences.

Well, on the Saturday night, about midnight, Christian and Hopeful begin to pray. And I thought I would read part of this story to you of the way in which. This tail is now Told. As Bunyan himself tells it in Pilgrim's Progress. Uh towards Evening.

The giant goes down into the dungeon again to see if the prisoners had taken his counsel to. end their lives. But when he came there, he found them alive, and truly. Alive was all. For now what for want of bread and water, and by reason of the wounds they received when he beat them, they could do little but breathe.

But I say he found them alive. At which he fell into a grievous rage and told them that seeing They hadn't obeyed his counsel, it should be worse. with them than if they had never been born. At this they trembled greatly, and I think that Christian fell Into a a swoon. But coming a little to himself again, they renewed their discourse about the giant's counsel and whether yet they had best take.

Take it or no?

Now Christian again seemed to be for doing it, but hopeful made his second reply and uh so so on. He describes now these ten reasons why he shouldn't. take his life. On the Saturday night, about midnight, They began to pray and continued in prayer. Till almost Break of day.

Now little before it was day, good Christian, As one half amazed, break out in his passionate speech. What a fool Coursey am I? thus to lie in a stinking dungeon when I may as well walk at liberty. I have a key. In my bosom called Promise.

that will, I am persuaded, open any lock in Doughting Castle. Then said hopeful That's good news, good brother. Pluck it out of thy bosom and try. Then Christian Pulled it out of his bosom and began to try at the dungeon door, whose bolt. As he turned the key, gave back, and the door flew open with ease, and Christian.

and hopeful both came out. Then he went to the outward door that leads into the castle yard. And with this key. Open that door also. after he went to the iron gate for that must be open too.

But that lock went damnable hard. Yet the key did open it. Then they thrust open the gate To make their escape with speed. But that gate as it opened made such a cry. Tracking that it waked giant despair, who hastily rising to pursue the prisoners.

Felt In his limbs to fail but his fits trick him again.

so that he could by no means go after them. Then they went on and came to the King's Highway. And so were safe because they were out of his jurisdiction.

Now when they were gone over the style they began to contrive with themselves what they should do at that style to prevent those that shall come after them. from falling into the hands of giant despair.

So they consented to erect there a pillar. and to engrave upon the side thereof this sentence over this stile, is the way to Doughting Castle. which is kept by giant despair, who despiseth the king of the celestial country, and seeks to destroy the holy pilgrims. Many therefore that followed after read what was written and escaped the danger. This done they sang as follows Out of the way we went.

And then we found what 'twas to tread upon forbidden ground And let them that come after have a care. Lest they for trespassing his prisoners are. Who's doubting castles doubting? And whose names? Despair.

Well, in part two of Pilgrim's Progress. Christiana, actually, two of the sons and some others. go into this castle and destroy it. And just remember this part of the story where this warning is given because the two boys, they're teenagers. They're just ready for a fight and they go in to destroy the castle and raise it to the ground.

But a very dark, dark section of Pilgrim's Progress that ends with this key called promise this lying all the while in his poison. It's the Promise of the covenant that God will. always hear the cries of his children who come to him. By faith. In our distress, may we not forget the key.

An important and very practical lesson today on Renewing Your Mind from Derek Thomas and his guided tour. Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress. What I love about The Pilgrim's Progress is just how memorable the characters and their experiences are. making it easy to remember and to bring up in conversation. Especially when you're speaking with children.

or new believers about the Christian faith. Yet it's also treasured by seasoned saints. doctor Thomas mentioned Charles Spurgeon today. and Spurgeon said that he had read The Pilgrim's Progress at least one hundred times.

So if you'd like a copy of the book, Along with Derek Thomas's three DVD set walking you through this classic allegory. Give a donation today. at renewingyourmind.org or when you call us at 800-435-4343. will get both the book and the series to you, and will unlock the series and the study guide in the free Ligoneer app. This is a book and series that I believe would be a great help for every Christian family.

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After being in Dowding Castle and before that, Vanity Fair. And before that, the valley of the shadow of death.

Next, we'll journey to a Fasuita location. the Delectable Mountains. Also be sure to join us tomorrow. Kia on Renewing Your Mind.