The Pilgrim’s Progress, Part II: X — Through the Valley of Humiliation

The shepherd boy's song.

In our last chapter, Christiana and her company left the Palace Beautiful, strengthened by fellowship, instruction, and rest. The Palace had provided food for the journey, but the pilgrims were never meant to remain there.

The road to the Celestial City continued downward, into a place that might at first seem an unlikely part of the Christian pilgrimage: the Valley of Humiliation. Christiana travelled with her sons, Mercy, and the faithful Mr. Great-heart, who had been appointed to guide and protect them.

Their journey was not the same as Christian’s. Though they followed the same road, they did not encounter every danger in the same manner. Bunyan is careful to show that the experiences of pilgrims may differ, even when they are travelling toward the same heavenly destination.

A valley with a good name

The Valley of Humiliation had been a place of fierce conflict for Christian. There he met Apollyon, the enemy who sought to turn him back from the King’s highway. Christian’s encounter became a desperate battle, and he passed through the valley wounded but victorious.

Christiana and her companions, however, are not attacked by Apollyon in the same way. Their guide explains that Christian had been “hardly beset” in this place, and he directs their attention to the marks left by that earlier struggle. The valley still bears witness to Christian’s trial, but for this later company it becomes a place of quiet reflection rather than immediate combat.

Mr. Great-heart also reminds them that the valley is not evil simply because it is low. It is fruitful, peaceful, and full of good things. Its very name teaches an important lesson: the downward road may sometimes be the safest road.

The pilgrims may have expected that progress would always mean rising higher—moving from one mountaintop experience to another. But Bunyan presents a different truth.

The path to the Celestial City includes descents as well as ascents. There are times when the soul must be brought low before it can rightly understand grace.

The blessing of being brought low

Humiliation, in Bunyan’s allegory, is not humiliation for its own sake. It is not despair, degradation, or the destruction of a person’s worth. Rather, it is the surrender of self-importance and self-reliance.

In the valley, the pilgrims are reminded that they are not travelling by their own strength. They need a guide. They need one another. They need the protection of the King whose country they are crossing.

This is one of the distinctions between Christian’s journey and Christiana’s. Christian often appears alone, forced to confront dangers without human companionship. Christiana’s pilgrimage is marked by family, friendship, and shared burdens.

Yet companionship does not remove the need for humility. Indeed, it may deepen it. To travel with others is to learn patience, tenderness, responsibility, and mutual dependence.

Christiana must care for her children. Mercy must walk among those who have become, in some respects, her family. Mr. Great-heart must protect those entrusted to him. Each pilgrim must receive help as well as give it.

The valley therefore becomes a school of grace. Its lessons are learned not only in solitude, but in community.

A different experience from Christian’s

It is important not to confuse this passage with Christian’s earlier journey. Christian crossed the Valley of Humiliation before reaching the Valley of the Shadow of Death, and it was here that he fought Apollyon.

Christiana and her company are now following the same general route in Part II, but their experience is not a repetition of Christian’s story.

Bunyan does not suggest that Christiana’s pilgrimage is less real because she is spared Christian’s particular battle. Nor does he imply that every believer must endure precisely the same trials. The Lord may lead one pilgrim through fierce conflict and another through a quieter portion of the same country.

The road is the King’s road, but the experiences of those who travel it are varied.

This is a valuable word for readers who compare their spiritual lives with those of others.

One person’s great battle may not be another person’s battle. One pilgrim may be called to endure open opposition, while another is tested through long seasons of service, care, grief, or hidden faithfulness.

Different trials do not mean different destinations. The important question is not whether our journey looks like someone else’s, but whether we are following the appointed road.

The song of the shepherd boy

As the pilgrims continue through the valley, they hear the voice of a shepherd boy singing. His song captures the spiritual character of the place:

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.

The song is simple, but its wisdom is profound.

The person who has been brought low has less distance to fall. The humble person is protected from the dangers of pride. The one who knows his need is more ready to accept God’s guidance.

The song does not deny that the valley can be difficult. Nor does it claim that humility is always comfortable. To be brought low may involve the loss of reputation, certainty, independence, or control. But the shepherd boy understands that lowliness can become a place of safety.

When the pilgrim no longer trusts in personal strength, the guidance of God becomes precious in a new way.

The song also echoes one of the central patterns of the Gospel: the way upward leads downward first. The King himself entered the world in humility.

The servant becomes exalted through obedience. The pilgrim learns that the posture of the kingdom is not self-glorification, but dependence.

The valley as preparation

Christiana and her companions have not yet reached the darkest parts of the road. Their journey will continue through more dangerous country. The Valley of Humiliation is therefore not the end of their testing but a preparation for what lies ahead.

Here they are taught to walk quietly. They are reminded of Christian’s earlier conflict. They learn that the place of apparent weakness may be rich with spiritual fruit. Above all, they are encouraged to trust the Shepherd who leads them.

The valley gives them a different kind of strength from that which they received at the Palace Beautiful. At the Palace, they were instructed and equipped.

In the valley, they are humbled and steadied. They are learning that knowledge must become character, and that rest must lead to renewed obedience.

A pilgrim who has been welcomed into the Palace must still walk through the valley. Comfort is a gift, but it is not the destination. The lessons of fellowship must be carried onto the road.

A word for modern pilgrims

Many of us instinctively resist the valleys of life. We prefer visible progress, public success, and spiritual experiences that feel like ascent. Yet some of the deepest work in a person’s life takes place in low and unnoticed places.

The valley may be a season of caring for family, enduring disappointment, recovering from failure, or admitting that we cannot manage without help. It may be a time when faith feels less triumphant and more like simple perseverance.

Bunyan’s lesson is not that every low place is pleasant. It is that no low place is wasted when the King is guiding us through it.

The Valley of Humiliation teaches Christiana, Mercy, the children, and their guide that safety does not always look like strength.

• Sometimes it looks like humility.

• Sometimes it looks like accepting help.

• Sometimes it looks like continuing one step at a time, content to be led.

• And so the pilgrims move onward—not boasting in their progress, but trusting the One who knows the way.

The Palace has strengthened them. The valley has humbled them. Ahead lies darker country, but they will not enter it as they came from the City of Destruction.

They have companions now. They have a guide. And they have learned that the lowly road may be the very road on which the Shepherd is nearest.

Next time: Christiana and her companions continue toward the Valley of the Shadow of Death, where the road becomes more fearful and the need for faithful companionship more evident.

***************************************

Lead me Lord. Lead me in Thu righteosness

make Thy way plain before my face. Psalm 6:8

***************************************

All the way my Savior leads me;

What have I to ask beside?

Can I doubt His tender mercy,

Who through life has been my Guide?

Heav’nly peace, divinest comfort,

Here by faith in Him to dwell!

For I know, whate’er befall me,

Jesus doeth all things well;

For I know, whate’er befall me,

Jesus doeth all things well.

All the way my Savior leads me,

Cheers each winding path I tread;

Gives me grace for every trial,

Feeds me with the living Bread.

Though my weary steps may falter,

And my soul athirst may be,

Gushing from the Rock before me,

Lo! A spring of joy I see;

Gushing from the Rock before me,

Lo! A spring of joy I see.

All the way my Savior leads me

O the fullness of His love!

Perfect rest to me is promised

In my Father’s house above.

When my spirit, clothed immortal,

Wings its flight to realms of day

This my song through endless ages—

Jesus led me all the way;

This my song through endless ages—

Jesus led me all the way.

Fanny Crosby, 1861

For the Lamb shall lead them unto living fountains of waters:

and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes. Revelation 7:17