The Greatness of the Soul by John Bunyan: A Review

By Elizabeth Prata

SYNOPSIS
I review John Bunyan’s “The Greatness of the Soul,” a challenging yet rewarding Puritan work. I mention the emotional and intellectual demands of reading unedited texts from the 17th century, advocating for their spiritual richness. I encourage readers to incorporate such literature into their routine for personal growth.

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Riddle: When does it take 3 months to read a 60 page book?
Answer: When it’s an original language Puritan, that’s when!

I started reading John Bunyan’s The Greatness of the Soul: and
Unspeakableness Of The Loss Thereof. It was actually a sermon Bunyan first preached in 1681 and “enlarged and published for good” as it states on the title page.

John Bunyan was a Puritan who lived from 1628-1688. Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to rid the Church of England of Roman Catholic practices. So they ‘protested’ and wanted to ‘purify’ the church. Bunyan was jailed many times for his nonconformist beliefs. In one lengthy period of incarceration he wrote The Pilgrim’s Progress, one of the best selling books of all time.

The Puritans’ writings are highly valuable to the church because they are, edifying, instructive, and a blessing. Many of the Puritans were banned from preaching, so they wrote. This was a providential thing, since their numerous writings were then preserved into the body of church literature we possess today.

However, since they wrote 350 years ago, the language has changed. Banner of Truth publishers have a series called Puritan Paperbacks (and a new series called Pocket Puritans) which includes some of the most classic Puritan works. These works have updated language, careful editing, and are published in small paperbacks to make them more accessible and affordable.

The Puritan writings admittedly are lengthy, very much so. I appreciate the efforts of these editors to make the writings of the Puritans more accessible by updating the language and shortening the length.

As for this piece by Bunyan, The Greatness of the Soul is not in book form and has not been updated. I printed it out, but you can read it for free online or have it sent to you in pamphlet form by Chapel Library, a ministry of Mt. Zion Church in Florida. Or find it at Monergism, whichever site is your preference.

MY REVIEW

I don’t think there is enough spoken or written about the soul itself. Our bodies are merely a housing or a vessel for the eternal gift of the soul. The soul is created by God, given a body, birthed, dwell on earth, then the body dies to return forever to one of two places, heaven or hell. (At the resurrection bodies are resurrected to house the soul fit for their eternal destination).

When I came across this title focusing on the soul, I was excited and I downloaded it to print out.

At 60 pages, I thought it would be a more manageable Puritan writing. In fact, I’ve read many of Bunyan’s titles. I looked at my book inventory and it turns out I’ve collected quite a few of his works.

Pro tip: Did you know John Bunyan wrote a commentary on Genesis? It covers chapters 1-11. You can get it edited by Paul Taylor at Amazon or at Monergism or Chapel Library.

I soon learned I had been ‘spoiled’ by the language updating of the Banner of Truth works I’d read before I undertook Bunyan’s Greatness of the Soul work. It was hard going. And he seemed especially wordy with this piece, and also emotional as in passionate.

It has been said that Puritans lived with a constant awareness of God’s sovereignty and presence in all aspects of life. They lived and wrote as if their head was touching the underside of heaven and their feet were walking just above hell. They had a talent for bringing this reality to earth in their writings. The eternity God had set before them was before their eyes always.

This fervency comes out in their writings. In The Greatness of the Soul, when Bunyan writes of hell, you feel the flames. Your own soul cries out for mercy. Your head is filled with woe. And the opposite is true when Bunyan writes about the Gospel and our savior Jesus Christ. You glory in Jesus’ light. Your soul expands with love. Your mind rushes to His bosom.

Therefore, reading The Greatness of the Soul was emotionally demanding for me.

Also demanding is the style. As mentioned, the booklet has not been updated with modern language anywhere I could find. It took mental acuity to read for any length of time. In fact, if I read a paragraph it was like dog-years. You know, when a dog lives one year he ages as if it is 7 of our human years? Bunyan’s 1 paragraph is like an entire page in modern writing.

And it takes a while to read because you go back over it and over it to comprehend. Emotionally demanding AND mentally demanding.

SO, WHY BOTHER?

Because it’s worth it. First, I need to keep practicing my reading skills. I have the summer off and I tend to watch a lot of TV. And not documentaries either, just cop shows and Hallmark movies. Not particularly mind-strengthening. The novels I am reading now are a chick lit novel and a sci-fi. Also an easy MacArthur book. Modern Christian books have larger type and smaller margins. They are not mentally demanding (in my opinion). It’s like Opera or Shakespeare. You have to work at it. This is a good thing. Unedited Bunyan is meaty, demanding, and ultimately mind-sharpening.

It’s also worth it because Bunyan’s Greatness booklet and most Puritan writing yields spiritual never-ending nuggets. It is a good thing they lived 350 years ago. They have a different mindset. A different approach. A unique perspective. It is helpful to delve into that.

Thirdly, they did live long ago so they cannot fall from grace. They are living in grace in heaven. Will I read a Steve Lawson book or a Josh Buice book now? No. At least with the Puritans, their faith is set in stone. No risk of being polluted by a scandalous uncovering of some deep sin. We know all their warts and can navigate them easily with hindsight in the rear view mirror.

Fourth, when I was reading The Greatness of the Soul it prompted me often to stop and pray. The writing brought Jesus to me in a real and present way. My heart was convicted, my soul cried out. And to Whom will I cry out? Jesus. I also couldn’t stop posting quotes, probably to the chagrin of my social media friends, lol.

CONCLUSION

I don’t know if Greatness of the Soul will speak to you the same way it did to me, or if you would like any of the Puritan writings. I am just one woman and my review is just one anecdote. I feel this piece as do other Puritan books promote spiritual growth. But whether you read this piece, or an updated Puritan Paperback, or any other sermon or essay by a Puritan, it’s worth it to keep your mind sharp by folding in at least one demanding material to your daily or weekly routine.

Listen to a precise expositor like Martyn Lloyd-Jones. Take a Ligonier course from Sproul. Read a Puritan. It’s OK to pace yourself. I mean, it took me 3 months to read 60 pages. I’d read a paragraph, ponder it a while, set it down and come back to it the next day. But you find after a while of training your brain that it gets easier.

So that’s my take on The Greatness of the Soul by John Bunyan. Now it’s on to Thomas Boston’s Human nature in its fourfold state…