Derek Thomas

And there is a parallel path on either side of the fence.

And because Christian and Hopeful are discouraged, they step over the fence and they join this path.

Hopeful is somewhat suspicious, but Christian prevails.

The path, of course, leads them into trouble.

They meet a man called vain confidence who says he is on his way to the celestial city, but that evening they hear him fall into a deep pit.

A storm gathers.

There's thunder.

There's lightning.

They are nearly drowned by the rising rainwater.

Christian asks for hopeful's forgiveness for having taken him thus out of the way.

They come across a shelter.

They fall into a deep sleep.

What they don't know, of course, is that they have strayed into the grounds of doubting castle and giant despair who occupies the castle with his wife.

diffidence and giant despair discovers them asleep in this shelter and they take them captive they're locked in a dungeon of the castle without food and without water and without light now bunyan is describing events i think in his own life here from grace abounding days of darkness darkness of the soul

But inexperienced, days of great depression, days when the light of God's countenance seemed to have been altogether taken from him.

Perhaps in the background here are words from Psalm 88.

If you're not familiar with Psalm 88, don't make the mistake of saying it's your favorite psalm.

There is no light in Psalm 88.

It ends with the words, darkness is my only friend.

That's a dark place to be, where darkness is your only friend.