Here is Nancy Damas Walgemuth.

I've been reading Pilgrim's Progress recently where Pilgrim and his friend Hopeful,

and as you know, Pilgrim is a Christian who is making his way from this earth to the celestial city to heaven.

And at this point he's traveling with a friend whose name is Hopeful

and they stumble into Doubting Castle, which is owned by giant despair and giant despair

imprisons pilgrim and his friend in a very dark dungeon where he tormented them, as Pilgrim's Progress says, from Wednesday morning

till Saturday night without one bit of bread or drop of drink or light or any to ask how they

did, and were far from friends and acquaintance.

Giant despair beat them mercilessly while they were in his dungeon.

He counseled them to kill themselves, told them it wasn't worth going on, and that they should just take their own lives and

they thought that through they considered it but hopeful was used to bring hope to the

situation and they decided not to take their lives so then giant despair came back in and threatened to kill them himself.

And just gave this very gruesome graphic description of how he was going to kill them as he had others before them.

So they had to go through the night with these wounds of the merciless

beatings and the doubts and the fears that had been planted in their minds. Well, the passage

goes on to say, on Saturday Saturday about midnight they began to pray

pilgrim and hopeful down in the dungeon and they continued in prayer until

almost break of day. Now a little before it was day good, as one half amazed broke out in this passionate

speech.

What a fool, said he am I, thus to lie in a stinking dungeon, when I may as well walk in liberty. I have a key in my bosom called promise that

will I am persuaded open any lock in doubting castle. Then said hopeful that's

good news good brother pluck it out of thy bosom and try

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