Stephen Crisp

“ And let none of them say, it happened better with me than with many; for I have understood, since coming into this house, that the same Light that appeared to me, doth appear to any poor distressed soul in the whole world; but the reason that so few come here is, because they fear the perils and dangers that are in the way, more than they love the Light that would lead them through them; and so turn aside, and shelter themselves in an old rotten building, that at one time or other, will fall on their heads, and they perish in the ruins. ”

“ He finds a satisfied multitude in the outer court. They invite him to stay with them in easy circumstances but catching sight of his guide, the Light, as it passes through a narrow door (compare Bunyan's wicket gate) he presses on, divests himself of his travel-worn garments and enters the House of God. Here, like the Friends with whom Stephen Crisp had found Peace after his own period of seeking, he first rests from struggle, then finds his calling which is to supply the needs of the young, and finally aspires to bring his good tidings to the Babylon from which he had set out. ”

“ But for further satisfaction, I was born in Egypt, spiritually called; and my father went and lived in Babylon, about the time the true children of Israel were in captivity; there I became acquainted with some of the stock of the Jews, about the time they were returning to their own land; and they told me wonderful things of the glory of the house they had at Jerusalem, and would have had me go with them. And I understood that Solomon, with many thousands of carpenters and masons had built it ”

“ And he spake very kindly to me; "Young man," said he, "whither art thou bound?"
I now set forward with my new guide pretty cheerfully; and he entertained me with a good deal of discourse by the way. As he went on in pretty smooth paths, and without stopping, he told me, in a short time we should come in sight of the house; which made my travel easier. He also told me something of the rules and orders of the house, at which I was not at all discouraged; for I considered God was a God of order, and I doubted not but there were good orders in his house, to which I was willing to submit. ”

“ What! dost thou talk of human frailties in the house of God? That complaint is at large in the world, but doth not become the house of God; into which I have heard none can come, but such as are redeemed from the earth, and are washed from their pollutions; for God saith, all the vessels in my house shall be holy; and they that dwell in the house of God must have pure hearts and clean hands. And much more I told him of what I had heard and read concerning the house of God. ”

“ I must expect men to have their human frailties, and that men were but men: and he would have persuaded me to be satisfied, and make further trial. And as for the orders he spake of, they were mostly about meats and drinks, and about rules for electing of officers to rule the house of God; as I would see in time, if I stayed: and as to the dirtiness of the house, he confessed, that those to whom the care was committed to keep the house clean, had not been so diligent as they ought to have been ”

“ How does Stephen Crisp's theology differ from that of Bunyan's? In the first place, while Crisp's pilgrim starts off with a pack on his back of luggage for his journey, Bunyan's pilgrim had as his pack the burden of guilt which is original sin. Second, Crisp's pilgrim soon gives up confidence in human leadership having discovered a measure of the Light. Third, he crosses the river early on his journey, whereas for Bunyan's pilgrim the river is at the end, the river of death. Fourth, Crisp's pilgrim reaches the House of God in this life. ”

“ I said, to the house of God. He told me it was the way; but he thought I should never get there. I asked him, why? "Why," quoth he, "there are in yonder mountain so many vipers, adders, and serpents, and such venomous beasts, that they devour many people that are going that way. For my part," he said, "I also was going, but was so affrighted with those venomous serpents, that I was forced to turn back, and so would have you." I answered him, friend, I have for a pretty while taken yonder light to be my guide, and it hath directed me along this way, and I see it doth not leave me ”

“ The medieval detail is gone but intense inwardness, devotion, and obedience are still required of the seeker to enable him to become a finder.
In his "Varieties of Religious Experience," which I heard William James deliver as a series of lectures at Stanford University when I was a Freshman over sixty years ago, he said of the religion of the Quakers: In a day of shams it was a religion of veracity rooted in spiritual inwardness and a return to something more like the original gospel truth than men had ever known in England. ”

“ Well, said I, I have heard by travellers, that if a man have fire or light, the venomous beasts cannot hurt him; and I intend to quicken my pace a little, and keep as close to the light as I can. Come, go along with me and venture it. He said it was true, he had heard that fire would preserve from them, but he thought light would not ”

“ This tiny tract usually printed in pocket size (2" x 3") sometimes with a passage from the author's journal included, was reprinted more than twenty times. I happened upon it in the Friends Historical Library at Swarthmore College twenty years ago. They then had four copies. Today they have more than a dozen. ”