The works of George Swinnock, M.A

Some spend their time in nice Questions, as what Christ disputed of amongst the Doctors? where Paradise stood? in what part of the world is local Hell? What became of Moses body? how many orders and degrees of elect Spirits? These curious persons, the further they go, the nearer they approach a Sun that blinds them. Others in circumstantial ⟨p. 264⟩controversies, when in the interim the essentials of Religion are laid by; Such talk is but a wasting time, and those that sweat at it, are but laborious loiterers, like those that take great pains to crack or cleave a date stone, which when they have done, affords them no Kernel. Would it not be counted a piece of great folly, for a man that had a wound near some vital part, to be very busy in laying a plaster upon his scratched finger, while the other lay unregarded? Were it not a piece of strange madness, when the enemy is at the walls, and the town every moment in danger of being stormed, the Bullets flying thick about the streets, for the people within to be sitting still and consulting, whether a Musket would carry further then a Trunk, or whether more are killed with Bullets or Arrows? Truly, such folly, such madness, is it to employ our selves about needless discourse about the world, or superficial circumstantial things, when our inestimable souls are continually in danger of being surprised and slain. The Apostle reproveth such as spent their time about fables and endless genealogies (that is things frivolous, and besides our work of Christianity, though not false or directly opposite to it) which minister Questions rather then godly edifying, 1 Tim. 1. 5.

Some spend their time in nice Questions, as what Christ disputed of amongst the Doctors? where Paradise stood? in what part of the world is local Hell? What became of Moses body? how many orders and degrees of elect Spirits? These curious persons, the further they go, the nearer they approach a Sun that blinds them. Others in circumstantial ⟨p. 264⟩c•ntroversies, when in the interim the essentials of Religion are laid by; Such talk is but a wasting time, and those that sweat at it, are but laborious loyterers, like those that take great pains to crack or cleave a date stone, which when they have done, affords them no Kernel. Would it not be counted a peice of great folly, for a man that had a wound neer some vital part, to be very busie in laying a plaister upon his scratcht finger, while the other lay unregarded? Were it not a peice of strange madness, when the enemy is at the walls, and the town every moment in danger of being stormed, the Bullets flying thick about the streets, for the people within to be sitting still and consulting, whether a Musquet would carry further then a Trunk, or whether more are killed with Bullets or Arrows? Truly, such folly, such madness, is it to imploy our selves about needless discourse about the world, or superficial circumstantial things, when our inestimable souls are continually in danger of being surprised and slain. The Apostle reproveth such as spent their time about fables and endless genealogies (that is things frivolous, and besides our work of Christianity, though not false or directly opposite to it) which minister Questions rather then godly edifying,