The River and the Celestial City

When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee. ISAIAH 43:2

Every road in The Pilgrim’s Progress leads, in the end, to the river. After the Enchanted Ground the pilgrims come into the country of Beulah, where the air is sweet, the birds sing, the sun shines night and day, and they are out of sight of Doubting Castle. They can see the city now, built of pearls and precious stones, so glorious that Christian falls sick with longing. Two men in raiment that shines like gold meet them and tell them they have but two difficulties more, and then they are in the city. Between them and the gate is a river. There is no bridge, and the river is very deep.

There is no bridge

The pilgrims are stunned. They ask whether there is no other way to the gate. Only two, they are told, Enoch and Elijah, have been permitted to tread another path since the foundation of the world. Christian begins to despond. They ask whether the waters are all of one depth. No, say the men; you shall find it deeper or shallower as you believe in the King of the place.

For I know that thou wilt bring me to death, and to the house appointed for all living. JOB 30:23

The river is death, and Bunyan is honest about it. There is no way round. Every pilgrim, however far he has come, however many battles he has won, must go through the water. And the depth of the river is not the same for all. It depends on faith — or rather, on how far the pilgrim is able, in that hour, to lean on the King.

I sink in deep waters

They go into the water, and Christian begins to sink. He cries out to his good friend Hopeful, I sink in deep waters; the billows go over my head; all his waves go over me. Hopeful answers with one of the most comforting sentences in the book: “Be of good cheer, my brother: I feel the bottom, and it is good.”

But Christian cannot feel it. A great darkness and horror falls on him, so that he cannot see before him. He loses his senses in great measure, and cannot remember any of the sweet refreshments he met on the way. He is troubled by the thought of the sins he committed, both before and since he became a pilgrim, and by apparitions of hobgoblins and evil spirits. Hopeful has much ado to keep his brother’s head above water.

Save me, O God; for the waters are come in unto my soul. PSALM 69:1

This is astonishing, and it is deliberate. Christian — the man who lost his burden at the cross, fought Apollyon, walked through the Valley of the Shadow, stood firm at Vanity Fair — dies in terror. Bunyan does not give his hero a serene deathbed. He gives him the deathbed that many real saints have had: dark, confused, full of fear and old guilt. And Bunyan is saying to every believer who dreads dying badly: it is no sign that God has forsaken you.

These troubles are no sign

Hopeful tries to comfort him. Brother, I see the gate, and men standing by to receive us. Christian answers, It is you they wait for; you have been hopeful ever since I knew you. If I were right, surely He would now arise to help me; but for my sins He has brought me into the snare and left me.

Then Hopeful gives him the answer that has comforted dying Christians for centuries. You have forgotten the text, he says, that speaks of the wicked, that there are no bands in their death, but their strength is firm. And then, in Bunyan’s own words: “These troubles and distresses that you go through in these waters, are no sign that God hath forsaken you; but are sent to try you” — to see whether you will call to mind the goodness you have already received from Him, and live upon Him in your distress.

For there are no bands in their death: but their strength is firm. They are not in trouble as other men; neither are they plagued like other men. PSALM 73:4–5

I see Him again

Christian is in a muse a while. Then Hopeful adds, Be of good cheer, Jesus Christ maketh thee whole. And Christian breaks out with a loud voice: Oh, I see Him again; and He tells me, When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee. Then they both take courage, the enemy is as still as a stone, Christian finds ground to stand on, and the rest of the river is shallow. Thus they get over.

O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 CORINTHIANS 15:55–57

The welcome

On the other bank the Shining Ones wait for them. The pilgrims have left their mortal garments in the river; they went in with them and came out without. They go up the mighty hill with ease, led by the arms, sweetly talking as they go. A company of the heavenly host comes out to meet them; the King’s trumpeters salute them with ten thousand welcomes. They give in their certificates — the rolls received at the cross — and the King commands the gate to be opened. As they enter, they are transfigured, clothed in raiment that shines like gold, given harps and crowns, and all the bells of the city ring for joy.

And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. REVELATION 21:3

The dreamer looks in after them and sees the city shining like the sun, and those within singing Holy, holy, holy is the Lord. Then the gates are shut. And, he says, “when I had seen, I wished myself among them.”

The deaths in the Second Part

Bunyan returned to the river at the end of the Second Part, and there the tone is different. The pilgrims in Christiana’s company receive their summons one by one, and most go over in peace. Mr Standfast, halfway in, stands and talks with his friends. “This river has been a terror to many,” he says; the thoughts of it had often frightened him; but now his foot is fixed where the priests who bore the ark stood when Israel crossed Jordan. Mr Valiant-for-truth leaves his sword to him that shall succeed him, and goes down into the water saying, Death, where is thy sting? and as he goes deeper, Grave, where is thy victory? “So he passed over, and all the trumpets sounded for him on the other side.”

FOR REFLECTION AND ACTION

1. Have you thought honestly about your own death? Read Psalm 23 and 1 Corinthians 15:50–58, and let them shape your thoughts.

2. If you fear dying badly — in confusion, pain or doubt — take Hopeful’s words as God’s word to you: such troubles are no sign that He has forsaken you.

3. Choose one promise of Scripture to be the one you want spoken to you at the end, and tell someone who may be with you.

4. Be a Hopeful for a dying friend. Visit someone who is ill or old this month, and bring them a promise.

5. Spend a few minutes imagining the welcome — the bells, the trumpets, the King’s face — and let it strengthen you for today’s stretch of road.

A PRAYER

Lord Jesus, You went through the river before me, and You have promised to be with me in the waters.

When I come to die, keep my head above the waves. If darkness falls and I forget Your mercies, send me a friend to speak Your word, and let me see You again.

Keep me from the false comfort of Vain-Hope, and give me the true comfort of Your promise.

And bring me safe over, to the city where the bells ring, and where I shall see You face to face. Amen.