Pilgrim's Progress II

I will put my very favourite part of the book into this post because this post is a special one for me - it is my 100th blog! I don't know if I ever thought I'd make it to 100 when I first started this blog but now here I am 10 months later. (I'm no mathematician but this would apparently mean that I average 10 blogs a month.)

My favourite part was once again a part that I was alerted to ahead of time - this time by John Piper on page 120 of When I Don't Desire God.

Piper writes:

One of the greatest scenes in The Pilgrim's Progress is when Christian recalls in the dungeon of Doubting-Castle that he has a key to the door. Very significant is not only that the key is, but where it is:

'What a fool I have been to lie like this in a stinking dungeon, when I could have just as well walked free. In my chest pocket I have a key called Promise that will, I am thoroughly persuaded, open any lock in Doubting-Castle.'

'Then,' said Hopeful, 'that is good news. My good brother, do immediately take it out of your chest pocket and try it.'

Then Christian took the key from his chest and began to try the lock of the dungeon door; and as he turned the key, the bolt unlocked and the door flew open with ease, so that Christian and hopeful immediately came out.

Three times Bunyan says that the key out of Doubting-Castle was in Christian's 'chest-pocket' or simply his 'chest.' I take this to mean that Christian had hidden God's promise in his heart by memorization and that it was now accessible in the prison for precisely this reason."