It is not the pleasure of the King that this place should remain in such a bad condition. For this reason, His laborers have, according to the direction of His Majesty’s surveyors, been employed for sixteen hundred [now over two-thousand] years attempting to mend this piece of ground. Yes, to the best of my knowledge, this location has swallowed up at least twenty thousand cart-loads, that is millions of wholesome instructions that have, at all seasons, been brought from all regions of the King’s dominions. And those that know from experience say that there is no better material for making the ground solid here. This being so, it might well have been mended, but it remains the Slough of Despond still, and so it shall be when they have done what they can. It is true, according to the directive of the Law-giver, that a number of reliable and solid steps have been placed through the very middle of the Slough. But at such a time as this when so much filth spews forth, as is the case during periods of changeable weather, these steps are hardly visible. And even if they are noticed, yet on account of guilt-induced dizziness, their feet miss the steps. So they are thoroughly bemired, notwithstanding that the steps are there. However, the ground does prove to be good [firm] once they enter in at the Gate.
John Bunyan, The Pilgrim’s Progress
- When do you think this “Slough” had its beginning? What is the significance that they had been trying to repair it for 2000 years?
- Are you surprised that there are steps amid the Slough so that one may not fall in?
- How many times have your feet missed those able steps and caused you to stumble?
- Who and what have been your “Help” to get out of the slough?
As men and women become aware of the sin and the burden of it in their lives, without looking to the salvation in Christ, they become dejected, despondent, depressed and realize that there is no help and no hope. It is then that they are brought down into the depths of the “Slough of Despond”, for they have missed the steps perfectly placed by the King Himself, to aid them in crossing over. May we this week see those struggling in the “Slough” and help them out, pointing them to the steps and as Jude 23 tells us “Save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh.”
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