Page:John Bunyan's Dream Story.djvu/51

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THE LIFTING OF THE BURDEN
47

And as he wondered and wept, he saw three Shining Ones, who saluted him and said, "Peace be to thee."

The first said to him, "I give thee a pure heart."

The second stripped him of his rags and clothed him in beautiful garments.

The third set a mark on his forehead, and gave him a little book with a seal upon it. "Keep this book with care," he said, "and read in it often as you journey onward. When you come to the Celestial City, show it to the keeper of the gate; it shall be your passport."

So the Shining Ones vanished from sight. And Christian was so filled with joy that he leaped three times into the air and then went on, singing,—

"Thus far did I come
With my burden of sin,
And nothing could ease
The grief I was in.
But when I came hither
The burden I lost;
And I found peace and joy
At the foot of the cross."