The works of George Swinnock, M.A

O my soul, proceed farther, Speak to the earth and it shall teach thee, 1. A lesson of Humility. Thou art but breathing earth, enlivened dust, as vile as the dirt that every Beast of the field trampleth on. Behold, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, who am but dust and ashes! Gen. 18. 27. 2. A lecture of thy frailty, that thine earthly tabernacle will ere long fall to the ground; Dust thou art, and to dust thou shalt return. 3. A lesson of fruitfulness; It bringeth forth thirty, forty, sixty, an hundred for one; And Isaac sowed in the Land, and had an hundred fold increase. 4. A lesson of faith and trust in God. The earth hangs on nothing, it hangs in the thin air, where an Hair-ball, nay a straw, will not stay without a support, Job 26. 7. He hangeth the Earth upon nothing.

Once more, And the fishes of the Sea shall declare unto thee. Though they are mute Masters, yet they are great Teachers; They declare unto thee, 1. The Affection and communion that ought to be amongst Saints; Fish of the same kind flock together in Shoals; The Greek word for Fish is, [Greek or Hebrew], which is derived as some think, from [Greek or Hebrew], to come, and [Greek or Hebrew] to be carried with force and violence, so the Fish swim in troops with great force. The safety of Saints consisteth much in their society. 2. The misery of want of government. The greater Fish devour the lesser; The Pike feed upon ⟨p. 458⟩Roach; Thou makest men like Fishes of the Sea that have no government, Hab. 1. 14. So Men without Magistrates, like Cannibals, feed on each other. 3. The folly of men that take not warning by others. Silly fish are caught by the Angle or Net, and carried to the fire, yet they that remain are still greedy of the bait; Satan takes some sinners with the snares and baits of his temptations, jerks them out of the water of life, and casteth them into the unquenchable fire, yet those that survive are as ready to hearken to his suggestions, as if there were no such thing,