The works of George Swinnock, M.A

In the severity of the Lord, we may read, 1. How sore his judgement is; He shall cut him asunder, and give him his portion among unbelievers; These two expressions speak the dreadfulness of his doom, though no words can speak fully how woeful it is; He shall cut him asunder; An allusion to some tortures then in use amongst the Heathen, to show the exquisite pain which his body shall suffer; And give him his portion among unbelievers. Because the hottest Hell is reserved for such, (The wrath of God abideth on them, Joh. 3. ult.) to note the extreme punishment which his soul shall undergo. 2. How sudden it is; unexpected evils are most dreadful; The Lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him. Sudden frights overwhelm the spirits; Those miseries which seen at some distance, have been entertained with patience, surprising men on a sudden, have stricken them into despair; Death comes sometimes like a Thief up into our windows; coming in at the door is ordinary, but coming in at the window is unlooked for, Jer. 19. 21. As the snare secretly and unexpectedly seizeth the silly Bird, so doth a day of death the simple Children of men, Luk. 21. 35. Our Saviour speaks of his coming in the second or ⟨p. 493⟩third watch of the night (which the Jews called, Intempestum & Gallietnium) not in the first and fourth) because saith Theophilact, they are the dead time of the night, when men are in their soundest sleep, to show us how suddenly and unexpectedly he shall surprise most men, Luk. 12. 38.

In the severity of the Lord, we may read, 1. How sore his judgement is; He shall cut him asunder, and give him his portion among unbeleivers; These two expressions speak the dreadfulness of his doom, though no words can speak fully how woful it is; He shall cut him asunder; An allusion to some tortures then in use amongst the Heathen, to shew the exquisite pain which his body shall suffer; And give him his portion among unbeleivers. Because the hottest Hell is reserved for such, (The wrath of God abideth on them, Joh. 3. ult.) to note the extream punishment which his soul shall undergo. 2. How sudden it is; unexpected evils are most dreadful; The Lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him. Sudden frights overwhelm the spirits; Those miseries which seen at some distance, have been entertained with patience, surprising men on a sudden, have triken them into despair; Death comes sometimes like a Thief up into our windows; coming in at the door is ordinary, but coming in at the window is unlookt for, Ier. 19. 21. As the snare secretly and unexpectedly seiseth the silly Bird, so doth a day of death the simple Children of men,