High and Silver Presents: The Pilgrim’s Progress

Zach and Mr. Sagacity are back from Louisville and (mostly) healthy again, discussing our watchfulness and God's faithfulness.

Faithful faces deadly foes—old and new—while Christian must overcome a major setback.

No new chapter in the Pilgrim's Progress this week, but I hope you enjoy this short Holy Week audio presentation. It's from 2018, but I've had a number of people tell me they listen to it every year, at this time of year. Back next week with Christian and Faithful.

The reverend and the sage have a look at some of the odder characters along the Pilgrim Road.

Christian meets some unusual fellows along the Narrow Way.

Zach and Mr. Sagacity talk about the iron cage and the freedom that comes from a look to the cross. (Special guest: Charles Haddon Spurgeon!!)

Here are the Scripture texts:

Christ pours oil on the fire:

The man in the iron cage:

Heb. 6:4-6  For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt.

Rom. 1:24-25 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen. 

2 Cor. 7:9-11  As it is, I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but because you were grieved into repenting. For you felt a godly grief, so that you suffered no loss through us. For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death. For see what earnestness this godly grief has produced in you, but also what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what longing, what zeal, what punishment! At every point you have proved yourselves innocent in the matter.

The Vision of the End:

For behold, the Lord is coming out from his place

to punish the inhabitants of he earth for their iniquity,

and the earth will disclose the blood shed on it,

and will no more cover its slain.

The nations shall see and be ashamed of all their might;

they shall lay their hands on their mouths;

their ears shall be deaf;

 they shall lick the dust like a serpent,

like the crawling things of the earth;

they shall come trembling out of their strongholds;

they shall turn in dread to the Lord our God,

and they shall be in fear of you.

For you are not a God who delights in wickedness;

evil may not dwell with you.

The Mighty One, God the Lord,

speaks and summons the earth

from the rising of the sun to its setting.

Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty,

God shines forth.

Our God comes; he does not keep silence;

before him is a devouring fire,

around him a mighty tempest.

“As I looked,

thrones were placed,

and the Ancient of Days took his seat;

his clothing was white as snow,

and the hair of his head like pure wool;

his throne was fiery flames;

its wheels were burning fire.

 A stream of fire issued

and came out from before him;

a thousand thousands iserved him,

and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him;

the court sat in judgment,

and the books were opened.

His conscience condemned him:

The wall called "Salvation:"

 In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah:

“We have a strong city;

he sets up salvation

as walls and bulwarks.

Christian wept, looking upon the cross:

"Your sins are forgiven:"

New clothes given to Christian:

A mark on his forehead:

Rev. 7:3  “Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.”

Faithful arrives at the gate and Christian at the cross.

Zach and Mr. Sagacity discuss the first few rooms of the Interpreter's house and last-ditch efforts of the enemy at the gate,.

----more---

1 John 1:8-9   If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.  9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Luke 10:4  Carry no moneybag, no knapsack, no sandals, and greet no one on the road.

(Also connects to Faithful leaving with no bag, purse, sword, etc.)

Matthew 7:7-8  "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.  8 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.

Psalm 2:6  As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill."

Psalm 48:1-3  Great is the LORD and greatly to be praised in the city of our God! His holy mountain,  2 beautiful in elevation, is the joy of all the earth, Mount Zion, in the far north, the city of the great King.  

(vs. the worldly fortress/citadel that Beelzebub maintains)

Hebrews 12:22-24  But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering,  23 and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect,  24 and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

Psalm 51:17   The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

Jeremiah 31:2-3   Thus says the LORD: "The people who survived the sword found grace in the wilderness; when Israel sought for rest,  3 the LORD appeared to him from far away. I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you.

John 6:44  No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day.

Psalm 2:11-12   Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling.  12 Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in him.

Revelation 3:8  "'I know your works. Behold, I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut. I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.

John 6:37   All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.

Matthew 7:13-14   "Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many.  14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.

John 14:26   But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.

John 15:26   "But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me.

John 16:13-14   When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.  14 He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you.

Matthew 13:10-11  Then the disciples came and said to him, "Why do you speak to them in parables?"  11 And he answered them, "To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.

1 John 2:20, 27   But you have been anointed by the Holy One, and you all have knowledge . . .   But the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie--just as it has taught you, abide in him.

Psalm 119:105  Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

Ezekiel 36:25-27   I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you.  26 And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.  27 And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.

1 Corinthians 15:56  The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.

Galatians 3:19   Why then the law? It was added because of transgressions, until the offspring should come to whom the promise had been made, and it was put in place through angels by an intermediary.

Romans 5:20  Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more,

Romans 7:6   But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code.

Acts 15:8-9   8 And God, who knows the heart, bore witness to them, by giving them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us,  9 and he made no distinction between us and them, having cleansed their hearts by faith.

Romans 16:25-27   Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages  26 but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith--  27 to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen.

Ephesians 5:25-26  Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her,  26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word,

Malachi 2:4-7  So shall you know that I have sent this command to you, that my covenant with Levi may stand, says the LORD of hosts.  5 My covenant with him was one of life and peace, and I gave them to him. It was a covenant of fear, and he feared me. He stood in awe of my name.  6 True instruction was in his mouth, and no wrong was found on his lips. He walked with me in peace and uprightness, and he turned many from iniquity.  7 For the lips of a priest should guard knowledge, and people should seek instruction from his mouth, for he is the messenger of the LORD of hosts.

Proverbs 14:12  There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.

Matthew 7:15-20  "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.  16 You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?  17 So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit.  18 A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit.  19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.  20 Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.

James 1:14   but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed.

James 5:8  You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.

Matthew 20:16  "So the last will be first, and the first will be last." (Here, in the context of the Parable of the Eleventh Hour)

Luke 16:25  But Abraham said, 'Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish.

2 Corinthians 4:18  So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

Galatians 5:16-17   But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.  17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.

Proverbs 7:6 - 8:1   For at the window of my house I have looked out through my lattice,  7 and I have seen among the simple, I have perceived among the youths, a young man lacking sense,  8 passing along the street near her corner, taking the road to her house  9 in the twilight, in the evening, at the time of night and darkness.  10 And behold, the woman meets him, dressed as a prostitute, wily of heart.  11 She is loud and wayward; her feet do not stay at home;  12 now in the street, now in the market, and at every corner she lies in wait.  13 She seizes him and kisses him, and with bold face she says to him,  14 "I had to offer sacrifices, and today I have paid my vows;  15 so now I have come out to meet you, to seek you eagerly, and I have found you.  16 I have spread my couch with coverings, colored linens from Egyptian linen;  17 I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.  18 Come, let us take our fill of love till morning; let us delight ourselves with love.  19 For my husband is not at home; he has gone on a long journey;  20 he took a bag of money with him; at full moon he will come home."  21 With much seductive speech she persuades him; with her smooth talk she compels him.  22 All at once he follows her, as an ox goes to the slaughter, or as a stag is caught fast  23 till an arrow pierces its liver; as a bird rushes into a snare; he does not know that it will cost him his life.  24 And now, O sons, listen to me, and be attentive to the words of my mouth.  25 Let not your heart turn aside to her ways; do not stray into her paths,  26 for many a victim has she laid low, and all her slain are a mighty throng.  27 Her house is the way to Sheol, going down to the chambers of death. 

Proverbs 6:25-29   Do not desire her beauty in your heart, and do not let her capture you with her eyelashes;  26 for the price of a prostitute is only a loaf of bread, but a married woman hunts down a precious life.  27 Can a man carry fire next to his chest and his clothes not be burned?  28 Or can one walk on hot coals and his feet not be scorched?  29 So is he who goes in to his neighbor's wife; none who touches her will go unpunished.

Job 31:1   "I have made a covenant with my eyes; how then could I gaze at a virgin?

Proverbs 5:1-5   My son, be attentive to my wisdom; incline your ear to my understanding,  2 that you may keep discretion, and your lips may guard knowledge.  3 For the lips of a forbidden woman drip honey, and her speech is smoother than oil,  4 but in the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword.  5 Her feet go down to death; her steps follow the path to Sheol;

1 Corinthians 10:13  No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.

In the final push to the wicket gate and beyond, new dangers and temptations threaten the pilgrims.

The pilgrims discuss the right and wrong use of the law and how these fit into the pilgrim way.