He That Is Down Needs Fear No Fall

As Mr Great-heart guides his companions into the Valley of Humiliation, he bids them listen to the song of a shepherd boy.

Introduction

In the second part of John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress, a little band of believers enters into the Valley of Humiliation. As they make their way down into the valley, Mr Great-heart calls a halt and bids the others listen to the song of a shepherd boy, tending his father’s sheep on the hillside.

HE that is down needs fear no fall.
He that is low no pride;
He that is humble, ever shall
Have God to be his Guide.

I am content with what I have.
Little be it, or much:*
And Lord, contentment still I crave,
Because thou savest such.*

Fulness to such a burden is
That go on Pilgrimage;
Here little, and hereafter Bliss,
Is best from age to age.

Philippians 4:12-13.

Hebrews 13:5.

Read Next

The Spacious Firmament on High

A meditation on the Psalms, and on the evidence for the existence of God that is plain for every eye to see.

A Prayer for the King’s Majesty

A prayer for the King, from the sixteenth-century Book of Common Prayer.

Come O Thou Traveller Unknown

A superlative Christian poem based on Righteous Jacob’s encounter with an angel.