July With the Puritans--George Swinnock--Part 2
This is the second outing that we are going to spend with
George Swinnock whom was introduced in the previous post. One of the chief ways of gaining insight into
the Puritans is the need to read their sermons but even more so than that is to
think and meditate on what they have written.
Early on you will discover that there were some matters that set the
writings of the Puritans apart. I intend
on showing you some of the chief themes and characteristics about their
preaching. First, they were very
concerned about the state of their conscience.
Secondly, they were very focused in on the brevity of life. Thirdly, they used some of the most masterful
word pictures in their preaching. I have
gathered most of the material I will write today from Volume 1 of George
Swinnock’s work (pp. 1-26).
The State of the
Conscience
The condition of the human heart is sinful and has great
proclivities toward sin. This is the reason
that men must be converted because of his fallen nature. Never be surprised at the actions that
sinners fall into. “Men’s hearts
naturally, are like Nebuchadnezzar’s, the hearts of beasts, grazing only in
fleshly pastures, savouring only sensual pleasures, till their reason returneth
to them; then they bless and honour the most high God, who liveth forever, Dan.
iv. 34; then they mind spiritual dainties, and relish celestial delights” (pp.
3-4). This is the kind of understanding
of the human condition that has been seriously lost and sorely neglected by
much of our world today. Somewhere along
the way, educators, politicians, news commentators, and even religious leaders
have come to believe that man is basically good. Take that single sentence that Swinnock wrote
in the 17th century and make a comparison with any Christian
bestseller today and you will notice a drastic difference in the content of the
books. In fact, the New York Bestseller
List for the Religion/Spirituality list for today has a book about Scientology
in the first slot. The books that follow
are those which are very marketable which means that there is very little of a
call toward holiness and devotion to God but rather how to get God to do what
we want Him to do.
What you find in the works of Swinnock is a very strong call
to the conscience. The only real way for
the conscience of a spiritual man to be exercised is for it to be
provoked. Swinnock exhorted, “Do not
muzzle the mouth of the conscience but give it leave to speak its mind freely.” One of the ways that the conscience is
settled down so that it cannot speak is the neglect of private prayer and the
private spiritual disciplines that should be at work in the life of every child
of God. When we neglect these areas of
commune with God, the spiritual authority slowly seeps out of us. Before too long, Swinnock notes that life can
become a liar to the conscience by allowing so many actions to smother out and
hinder religious behavior. We need
religious behavior in our lives despite what some critics of this might
say. If you would see the true elements
of conversion, they are summed up in 1 John 2.
The very first mark of conversion is that we obey the laws and
commandments of God which is in turn, religious behavior. Worldly behavior seriously stifles the voice
of the conscience. All through the
section “To the Reader” there is a reach by Swinnock to stir the
conscience. He noted that to continually
contradict the conscience will bring a dreadful vengeance on the soul. You will find that he constantly uses
questions to goad a man into thinking.
The Brevity of Life
A second characteristic of the Puritans, Swinnock notwithstanding,
was their heavy emphasis on the brevity of life and the length of
eternity. They were in the practice of
regularly reminding their hearers that life was just a vapor and that a man’s relationship
with God, His Word, and His church were the real priorities of life. Swinnock writes like this about the brief time
that we are here on this earth:
Believe it, death will
search thee to the quick, and try to purpose what metal thou art made of. When thou comest to lie upon thy sick-bed,
and thy wealth, and honours, and relations, and flesh, and heart shall fail
thee, what will become of thee, if God be not the strength of thy heart and portion
forever? What will he do to look death
in the face, upon whom the jealous God shall frown?
Thy friends my carry
thy body to its grave for a time, but frightful devils will carry thy soul to
hell, to remain there forever and ever.
Religion, indeed, is like the stone Chrysolapis, which will shine
brightest in the dark of death.
Death is never sudden
to a saint; no guest comes unawares to him who keepeth a constant table; but as
when the day dawns to us in Europe the shadows of the evening are stretched on
Asia, so the day of their redemption will be a long night of destruction to
thee.
When was the last time you have heard a preacher call out
with those kinds of words? Those sorts
of words are strangely lacking in the vast majority of my own preaching so I
cannot afford to cast any stones in other directions. However there needs to be reminders to myself
and those who hear me that life moves so very rapidly and we all will give an
account as to our actions for the Lord.
Another reason that the Puritans were so acutely aware of
the brief nature of life was the time period they lived in. The Black Plague along with the Great Fire in
London took place during their lifetimes.
They frequently lost children to a variety of illnesses that are well
contained in our world today. They found
that there were farming accidents that caused the deaths of many who lived in
the communities that were common to the time.
Childbirth was frequently a very dark experience with many mothers dying
with the newborns in the process. So
seemingly everywhere the Puritans look there were constant reminders that death
was always about them. I read about one
Puritan minister whose name slips my mind at this moment but he and his wife
had 12 children or so and they buried seven of them because of a variety of
illnesses and accidents. When you are
living in a situation such as that it will warrant a strong attention to the
condition of the soul.
Word Pictures in
Preaching
The third matter that Swinnock falls into line with all the
other Puritans is the ability to build a powerful word picture. The majority of the Puritans were fairly well
educated and they studied not only the English language but Hebrew, Greek, and
Latin as well. Because of this, they
understood very clearly the very powerful impact that words could have on both
the reader and the hearer. The use of
adjectives and adverbs to modify other words were used to their great
advantage. Some of the word pictures
that Swinnock uses gives a great example of this.
Silly are many men;
how they do cark and care, toil and moil for this world, which they must leave
forever!
The devil putteth old
men’s spectacles on young and old men’s eyes, which cause them to think that
the way to heaven is broad and large; when God himself hath told us that it is
narrow and few go in it.
Let no day pass
without thy morning and evening sacrifices.
Fasting is bad for some bodies; I am sure to fast from spiritual food is
exceeding injurious to thy soul.
Satan catcheth many a
soul with these baits, and then throweth them into the fire. But if religion be thy business, that which
is poison to others will nourishing food to thee.
Satan, the crooked
serpent, is ever busy to poison the air in thine house, and thereby to destroy
thyself, servants, and whole household.
Serious piety will
abundantly profit thee, but careless service will highly provoke God. Spiders’ cobwebs may better be suffered in a
cottage than in a king’s palace.
When the nights are
long, the days are very cold; when there are long omissions of duties,
godliness will cool. Ah, didst thou but
know what many a saint hath gained by that hidden calling, I am confident thou
wouldst mind it, whatever thou didst omit.
Remember how often and earnestly I have urged thee to this duty.
That is just a small portion of some of the work of
Swinnock. We will explore some other
areas of his work as well.
Thanks for reading. . . .
Philip Harrelson
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