The travels of true godliness, from the beginning of the world to this present…

Thoughtful, Christ's Righteousness hath more worth in it to save you, and raise you up to Heaven, than your own Unrighteousness has weight to cast you down to Hell. You say you are a great black and bloody sinner, but you can be but a sinner, and Christ died for sinners, and never any threw themselves by an act of true faith upon him, but were saved by him; alas, he died for the chiefest of sinners; and do you not hear him say, Come unto me all ye that labour, ¹and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Sir, He that believes not, makes God a liar, for he hath said, in his Son, There is life and Salvation for you, and all that come to God by him.

1. 1Mat. 11.28, 29.

Thoughtf. O that I could believe! my sins! my sins! No sooner had Godliness showed him what it was to open the door, and laid before him the necessity of Faith, in order to union with God, but Apollyon, with the Old Man, and other cursed enemies, began to cause dreadful Combustions in his house; for nothing doth the Devil fear more than true Faith; and Thoughtful finding it very hard to believe, Wilful-will being such a stubborn, crooked and perverse fellow; also Apollyon tried his skill many other ways to undo him, so that he was hard beset; but when Apollyon saw none of those ways were like to do, he laid before ⟨p. 140⟩him the outward danger he would be in, if True Godliness was embraced; he told him, he was like to suffer great Persecution, it being the portion of all who entertained True Godliness, in so much that his very life might be in danger; but Godliness comforted him sweetly with many precious promises; telling him also he had such a glorious Retinue to attend him, which he would bring into his House with him, that he need not to fear any difficulty, provided that he would but let him in; but he seeing he was not able to open the door, his enemies being too strong for him, notwithstanding his own strength: To his joy he told him, there was one friend of his, whom, if he could prevail with to come into his assistance, he would soon make the way clear, and open the door. Who is that? said Thoughtful, Godliness then discovered immediately, the excellency of his Person, and the nature of his Operations, by which he soon understood it was the Holy Ghost; upon this he was not a little glad, but presently cried out as one whose life is in danger, to God to send the Holy Spirit to assist him, O Lord, the Spirit, the holy Spirit, now Lord! thus he cried, and presently there was strange strugglings indeed, yea, such a conflict, that he never met with in all his life, Judgment in the combat behaved himself bravely; Consideration was not wanting; Conscience laid on home blows, being backed with Endeavour, alias Laborious; but at last, in the middle of the battle, in comes the Holy Spirit, and with him Faith, and some other of Godliness's Attendants, and the door flew open, and Old Man immediately went to the walls, crying out quarter, pleading his great Age, but had no mercy showed