Episode 70, also for those who are with us for this first time on Sunday evening, I've been editing the Holy War in modern English to make it a little bit more understandable from 17th century Cromwellian English. And Diabolus is the name. of the devil, he's diabolical. But because of things like in this episode, we've named him Diabolus, because Satan comes and he's kind of fabulous. That's how he, you know, tempts us. So episode 70, after Diabolus attempted to convince Mansell to submit to him via his heralds, the drummer and Captain Sepulcher, He continued to camp outside the walls of Mansoul with his army of doubters. Mansoul had appealed to the Lord's secretary, but had to continue to lean upon Emmanuel's gospel captains for strength and comfort. So all in Mansoul armed themselves immediately and went to their places. The captains to theirs, the Lord Mayor to his, the subordinate preacher to his, and my Lord Willbewill to his. The captains longed to be at some work for their prince, for they delighted in warlike achievements. The next day, therefore, they came together and conferred. After their conference, they resolved to give an answer to the captain of Diabolus with slings, which they did at the rising of the sun on the morrow. For Diabolus had ventured to come nearer again, but the sling stones were like hornets to him." And we had already discussed that those slings were the New Testament scriptures that they were firing. at Diabolus and his army of doubters. Just as there was nothing as terrifying to the town of Mansoul as the roaring of Diabolus' drum, there was likewise nothing as terrible to Diabolus as Emmanuel's slings well played. Therefore, Diabolus was forced to make another retreat even further off from the famous town of Mansoul. At his retreat, the Lord Mayor of Mansoul caused the bells to be rung and that thanks should be sent to the Lord High Secretary by the mouth of the subordinate preacher." The subordinate preacher's understanding and the Lord High Secretary is the Holy Spirit. For by his words, the captains and elders of Mansoul had been strengthened against Diabolus. When Diabolus saw that his captains and soldiers, high lords of renown, were frightened and beaten down by the stones that came from the golden slings of the prince of the town of Mansoul, he thought to himself, I will try to catch them by fawning. I will try to flatter them into my net. Therefore, after a while, he came down again to the wall, this time without his drum, nor with Captain Sepulcher. But having sugared his lips, he seemed to be a very sweet-mouthed, peaceable prince, scheming nothing for humor's sake, nor for any vengeance upon Mansoul for injuries he suffered by them. He fawningly explained that his own plan was for Mansoul's welfare and good, and for the advantage of the town and people therein. Therefore, after he called for audience and desired the townsfolk to give him such, he proceeded in his oration and said, Oh, the desire of my heart, the famous town of Mansoul. How many nights have I watched and how many weary steps have I taken? If perhaps I might do you good. Far be it, far be it from me to desire to go to war with you if you would just be willing to quietly deliver yourselves unto me. You know that you were mine of old. Remember also that as long as you enjoyed me as your Lord and that I enjoyed you as my subjects, you lack for nothing of all the delights of the earth that I, your Lord and Prince, could get for you or that I could fabricate such for your joy and cheer. Consider, you never had so many hard, dark, troublesome, and heart-afflicting hours while you were mine as you have had since you revolted against me. Nor shall you ever have peace again until you and I become one as before. Only he persuaded to embrace me again, and I will grant, yes, enlarge your old charter with abundance of privileges, so that your license and liberty shall be to take, hold, enjoy, and make all that is pleasant from the East to the West your own. Nor shall you ever be charged with any of those incivilities by which you have offended me, so long as the sun and moon endure. Nor shall you ever be harmed by any of those dear friends of mine who, for fear of you, now lie lurking in dens and holes and caves in man's soul." That's the corruptions of our flesh. Yes, they shall be your servants and shall minister unto you of their substance and of whatever shall come to hand. I need speak no more. You know them and have some time since been delighted greatly in their company. Why then should we abide at such odds? Let us renew our old acquaintance and friendship again. Take heed, Manzel. That was a marginal note in the original. bear with your friend he continued i take the liberty at this time to speak freely to you the love i have for you presses me to do it as also does the zeal of my heart for my friends with you therefore don't put me to further trouble, nor yourselves to further fears and frights. I will have you, whether by war or peaceful means. Don't flatter yourselves with the power and force of your captains, or by thinking Emmanuel will shortly come to help you, for such strength will do you no pleasure. I've come against you. with a stout and valiant army, and all the chief princes of the den are even at the head of it. Besides, my captains are swifter than eagles, stronger than lions, and greedier of prey than are the evening wolves. What is Og of Bashan? What is Goliath of Gath? And what is a hundred more of them to one of the least of my captains? How then shall Mansoul think to escape my hand and force? Diabolus, having thus handed his flattering, fawning, deceitful, and lying speech to the famous town of Mansoul, the Lord Mayor replied to him as follows. Oh, Diabolus, prince of darkness and master of all deceit, we have had your lying flatteries and made sufficient probation of them and have tasted too deeply of that destructive cup already. If we should therefore hearken unto you again, breaking our great Shaddai's commandments, by joining in likeness with you, would not our prince reject us and cast us off forever? and being cast off by him, can the place he has prepared for you be a place of rest for us? Besides, O you who are empty and void of all truth, we are rather ready to die by your hand than to fall in with your flattering and lying deceits. When the tyrant saw that there was little advantage by parlaying with my Lord Mayor, he fell into a hellish rage and resolved that again, with his army of doubters, he would assault the town of Mansoul another time. You can see the parallel between his temptations and the Lord Jesus' in the wilderness. Since you're the son of God, oh, command these stones to be turned to bread. And then he left, departed for a season, as it says in Matthew 4 and Luke 4. When the tyrant saw that there was little advantage of parley, excuse me, so he called for his drummer, who beat for his men to be in a readiness to give battle to the corporation. And while he drummed, Mansoul trembled. Then Diabolus drew near with his army and thus disposed of his men. Captain Cruel and Captain Torment, these who drew up and placed against Fieldgate, commanding them to sit there for the war. And he also pointed that if need arose, Captain No-Ease should come in as their relief. At Nosegate, he placed Captain Brimstone and Captain Sepulcher. and bid them look well to their ward on that side of the town of Mansoul. But at Eyegate he placed that grim-faced one, Captain Past Hope, and there also he had set up his terrible standard. Now, Captain Insatiable, he was to look after Diabolus' conquests and was also appointed to take into custody of those persons and things that should at any time be taken from the enemy as prey. Now, the inhabitants of Mansoul kept Mouthgate for a fortified passage called a sally port. This is the reason they kept strong, for it was through Mouthgate by which the townsfolk sent their petitions to Emmanuel, their prince. This was also the gate from the top of which the captains used their slings against the enemies. For that gate stood somewhat ascending, so that the placing of them there and the letting of them fly from that place accomplished much against the tyrant's army. Therefore, for these causes, with others, Diabolus sought, if possible, to block up Mouth Gate with dirt. Now, as Diabolus was busy and industrious in preparing to make his assault upon the town of Mansoul without, so the captains and soldiers in the corporation were as busy in preparing within. They mounted their slings, they set up their banners, they sounded their trumpets, and put themselves in such order as was judged, most for the annoyance of the enemy, and for the advantage of Mansoul, and gave to their soldiers orders to be continued. Now you can see, like with Mouthgate, that's where the passages of the New Testament scripture as slings used to, you know, they come forth as you, young people, when you memorize scripture and the temptation comes upon you, you use those scriptures that you've memorized to use them to guard against that temptation. And Bunyan here makes a very interesting comment. He says that Diabolus desires to block up Mouthgate full of dirt. In his autobiography, Grace Abounding, The Chief of Sinners, John Bunyan was a almost transparently honest man about his life in Christ. He recounts this one time that he was preaching right behind the pulpit, and the foul language that came to him, even while he's preaching the word, came to his mind that he had to fight off with scripture verses while he's preaching because they came to him. And this is something that we've talked about in our morning worship service a couple Sundays ago, where we as, excuse me, in Sunday school where I mentioned when we were in Hebrews, when older Christians like myself, when we've been walking with the Lord, we become much more susceptible to temptation. So for you younger, or excuse me, for you older children of God, like myself, we need to be much more even on guard. as we grow older, because the temptations that come, and the reason for that is John says in 1 John, I write to you fathers, I write to you young men, I write to you children. And under the fathers, he says, because you knew him from the beginning. And he says this, I believe also is a warning. Because we've known the Lord Jesus for so long, we tend to become a little bit more comfortable with who we are in the Lord. We've memorized more scriptures. We have walked and we have been victorious in temptation. And we might take those victories from some years ago and apply them to today when we need His mercies new every morning. And so Bunyan seems to capture that even with the filthy language. I know that I've confessed to you folks that sometimes I would go to sleep and have these dreams because one of the first things that the Lord removed from my life when he saved me back in 1985 was the foul language that a Navy deep sea diver was very prone to. and he cleaned up my language. But I would have these dreams sometimes even, you know, a few months ago, I remember that I'd have this dream and that the filth that came out of my mouth in that dream seemed so real, it woke me. And I even confessed to the Lord, Lord, forgive me for even dreaming that. That's how much the corruptions were in my flesh. And so, The Holy War, John Bunyan wrote it years after he wrote Pilgrim's Progress Part One and Two, possibly one of his greatest works. And being older, he's writing these things from experience. Any questions or comments on The Holy War?