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Grace Abounding and The Pilgrim's Progress
Grace Abounding and The Pilgrim's Progress Author:John Bunyan Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: Grace Abounding To The CHIEF SINNERS: A brief Relation of the exceeding Mercy of God in Christ, to his poor Servant, 'John Eunyan, IN this my ... more »relation of the merciful working of God upon my Soul, it will not be amiss, if in the first place, I do, in a few words, give you an hint of my Pedigree, and manner of bringing up ; that thereby the goodness and bounty of God towards me, may be the more advanced and magnified before the sons of men. 2. For my Descent then, it was, as is well known by many, of a low and inconsiderable generation ; my father's house being of that rank that is meanest, and most despised of all the families in the Land. Wherefore I have not here, as others, to boast of Noble Blood, or of an high-born state according to the flesh; though, all things considered, I magnifie the heavenly Majesty, for that by this door he brought me into this World, to partake of the Grace and Life that is in Christ by the Gospel. 3. But yet, notwithstanding the meanness and incon- siderableness of my Parents, it pleased God to put it into their hearts, to put me to School, to learn both to read and write j the which I also attained, according to the rate of other poor men's children; though to my shame, I confess, I did soon lose that little I learnt, even almost utterly, and that long before the Lord did work his gracious work of Conversion upon my Soul. 4. As for my own natural life, for the time that I was without God in the world, it was, indeed, according to the course of this world, and the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience, Eph. 2. 2, 3. It was my delight, to be taken captive by the Devil, at his will, 2 Tim. 2. 26. being filled with all unrighteousness : The which did also so strongly work, and put forth it self, both in my h...« less