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 17^th 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.

OSTINATO RIGORE

Leonardo da Vinci was a man who marked the world far beyond his lifetime.  He made some valuable contributions to the hometown he grew up in.  But it was his drawings that would outlive him.  The principle behind electric doors that are present at department stores was one of his ideas.  The principle behind the lamps and bulbs that have the ability to operate with varying degrees of power was another of his ideas.  I am certain that most people are familiar with his drawings of what he called “flying machines.”  These drawings would be proven true later on as the field of physics and the study of aerodynamics developed.  While some would categorize da Vinci as a genius, from various biographies it is clear that da Vinci had a gifted mind but it was not what many would classify today as an exceptional one.  So what was it that separated da Vinci from the rest of his fellows both in his time capsule and those beyond it? 

It was a principle that is noted very early on in the journals that da Vinci seriously began to write in while he was in his early ‘20’s.  He lived by a principle called OSTINATO RIGORE which means a stubborn, relentless and persevering work ethic.  This is what da Vinci did.  Once he started working on a project or a certain pursuit, he would not let it rest until he had completed it.  This is what made him one of the masters of the world as we know it.  His voice was one of the prevailing voices that came out of the Renaissance.  It was through his commitment to this principle that he allowed science, art, military strategies, and machinery to be forever changed because he stayed with it.