Sighs from Hell, Title page – To the reader
Sighs from Hell: OR, THE Groans of a Damned Soul. Discovering From the 16th of Luke, The Lamentable State of the Damned. And may fitly serve, As a Warning-Word to SINNERS, both Old and Young, by Faith in JESUS CHRIST, to avoid the same Place of Torment. With a Discovery of the Usefulness of the SCRIPTURES, as our Safe Conduct for avoiding the Torments of HELL.
By John Bunyan.
The Second Edition
London, Printed for F. Smith at the Elephant and Castle without Temple Barr. At 1s. Bound.
The AUTHOUR to the READER.
FRiend, because it is a dangerous thing to be walking towards the place of darkness and anguish: and again, because it is (notwithstanding) the Journey that most of the poor Souls in the World are taking, and that with delight and gladness, as if there was the onelyonly happiness to be found; I have therefore thought it my duty (being made sensible of the danger that will befall those that walk therein) for the preventing of thee, (O thou poor Man or Woman) to tell thee, by opening this Parable, what sad success those Souls have had, and are also like to have, that have been, or shall be, found persevering therein.
We use to count him a friend that will forewarn his Neighbour of the danger, when he knoweth thereof, and doth also see, that the way his Neighbour is walking in, doth lead right thereto; especially when we think that our neighbour may be either ignorant, or careless of his way. Why Friend, it may be, nay twenty to one but thou hast been, ever since thou didst come into the World, with thy back towards Heaven, and thy face towards Hell; and thou, either through ignorance, or carelessness (which is as bad, if not worse) hast been running full hastily that way ever since. Why? I beseech thee put a little stop to thy earnest race, and take a view of what entertainment thou art like to have, if thou do indeed and in truth persist in this thy course. Thy way leads down to death, and thy steps take hold on hell, Prov. 5. 5. It may be the path indeed is pleasant to the flesh, but the end thereof will be bitter to thy Soul. Hark, dost thou not hear the bitter Cryes of them that are but newly gone before? saying, Let him dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue, that is so tormented in this flame: Luke 16. Dost thou not hear them say, Send one from the dead to prevent my father, my brother, and my fathers house from coming into this place of torment? Shall not then these mournfull groans pierce thy flinty heart? Wilt thou stop thine ears, and shut thy eyes? and wilt thou not regard? Take warning, and stop thy journey before it be too late. Wilt thou be like the silly flie, that is not quiet, unless she be either intangled in the spiders web, or burned in the Candle? Wilt thou be like the Bird that hasteth to the snare of the Fowler? Wilt thou be like that simple one named in the 7. of Proverbs, That will be drawn to the slaughter by the cord of a silly lust? O sinner, sinner, there is better things than Hell to be had, and at a cheaper rate by the thousand part than that! (O there is no comparison) there is Heaven, there is God, there is Christ, there is Communion with an innumerable company of Saints and Angels: Hearthe Message then that God doth send, that Christ doth send, that Saints do bring; nay, that the Dead do send unto thee; I pray thee therefore that thou wouldst send him to my fathers house, if one went to them from the dead, they would repent. How long ye simple ones, will you love simplicity? and ye scorners delight in scorning, and ye fools hate knowledg? Turn you at my reproof, and behold, saith God, I will po…r out my Spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you. I say, …ear this voice, O silly one, and turn and live thou sinfull …ul, lest be make thee hear that other saying: But, because I have called, and you have refused, I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded, I also will laugh at your calamity, and mock when your fear cometh.
O poor Soul, if God and Christ did wis… thee for thine harm, it would be another matter; then if thou didst refuse, thou mightest have some excuse to make▪ or fault to find, and ground to make delays: But this is for thy profit, for thy advantage; for the pardoning of thy si…s, the salvation of thy Soul, the delivering of thee from Hell fire, from the wrath to come, from everlasting burnings, into favour with God, Christ, and Communion with all happiness, (that is so indeed.)
But it may be thou wilt say, All that hath been spoken to in this discourse, is but a Parable, and Parables are no realities.
I could put thee off with this Answer, That though it be a Parable, yet it is a truth, and not a lie, and thou shalt find it so too, to thy cost, if thou shalt be found a slighter of God, Christ, and the salvation of thy own Soul.
But secondly, know for certain, That the things signified by Parables, are wonderfull realities. O what a glorious reality was there signified by that Parable! The Kingdom of heaven is like to a net that is cast into the Sea, &c. Signifying, that sinners of all sorts, of all Nations, should be brought into Gods Kingdom, by the net of the Gospel. And O how real a thing shall the other part thereof be, when it's fulfilled! which saith, And when it was full, they drew it to shore, and put the good into vessels, but threw the bad away, Matth. 13. 47, 48. signifying the mansions of glory that the Saints should have, and also the rejection that God will give to the ungodly, and to sinners. And also that Parable, what a glorious reality is there in it! which saith, Except a corn of wheat fall to the ground and die, it abideth alone; but if it die, it doth bring forth much fruit, Joh. 12. 24. To signifie, That unless Jesus Christ did indeed spill his blood, and die the cursed death, he should abide alone; that is, have never a Soul into glory with him; but if he died, he should bring forth much fruit, that is, save many sinners. And also how real a truth there was in that Parable, concerning the Jews putting Christ to death! which the poor dispersed Jews can best experience to their cost; for they have been almost ever since a banished people, and such as have had Gods sore displeasure wonderfully manifested against them, according to the truth of the Parable, Matth. 21. v. 33. to 41. O therefore, for Jesus Christ's s…ke, do not slight the truth, because it is discovered in a Parable; for by this argument thou mayest also, nay thou wilt slight almost all the things that our Lord Jesus Christ did speak; for … spake them for the most part (if not all) in Parable. Why should it be said of thee, as it is said of some, These things are spoken to them that are without in Parables, that seeing they might not see, and that hearing they might not understand, Luke 8. 10. I say, take heed of being a quarreller against Christ's Parables, lest Christ also objecteth against the salvation of thy Soul at the Judgment Day.
Friend, I have no more to say to thee now, if thou dost love me, pray for me, that my God would not forsake me, nor take his holy Spirit from me; and that God would fit me to do and suffer, what shall be from the World or Devil inflicted upon me. I must tell thee, the World rages, they stamp and shake their heads, and fain they would be doing: the Lord help me to take all they shall do with patience, and when they smite the one cheek, to turn the other to them, that I may do as Christ hath bidden me; for then the Spirit of God, and of glory shall rest upon me. Farewell.
I am thine, to serve in the Lord Jesus, John Bunyan,