A62047:100
The fading of the flesh and flourishing of faith, or, One cast for eternity…
The fading of the flesh and flourishing of faith, or, One cast for eternity with the only way to throw it well : as also the gracious persons incomparable portion / by George Swinnock ...The fading of the flesh and flourishing of faith, or, One cast for eternity with the only way to throw it vvell : as also the gracious persons incomparable portion / by George Swinnock ...
London: printed for Tho. Parkhurst, 1662
Title page typeset from the transcription.
Chapter 1: The Preface, Division of the Psalm, and coherence of the Text.
Modern spelling is a reading aid: the words are the author’s, only the spelling is modernized. Original shows the page as printed, with the transcription marks.
Secondly, The Cure of his distemper; his disease was bad eyes: An envious eye is an evil eye; Why is thine eye evil because mine is good, Matth. 20.15. His remedy was this, His eyes were anointed with some Eye-salve out of the Sanctuary which helped them. He saw the end of wicked mens prosperity, to be no less then endless misery; that they did but like Malefactors, go up the ladder above others, to be turned off and executed; and this satisfied him.
The Heathen as they ascribe the subject of the disease to many causes (some Naturalists to the principles ⟨p. 5⟩of Generation and corruption; the Stoics to the necessary connection of second causes; the Astrologers to the motion and influence of the stars, undertaking to show us the very Houses of Prosperity and Adversity; the wiser sort of those Pagans, though also their foolish hearts were darkened, to the will of Jupiter, who had his vessels of good and bad things by him, out of which he gave to all persons according to his pleasure) so also they prescribe for its removal many cures; though generally their medicines like weak lenitives did only move and stir, not remove or purge away the distemper: Their receipts were all of Kitchen Physic, such as grew in Natures Garden, when those drugs which do work the cure must be fetched from far.1 I confess the Master of Moral Philosophy (whom I most admire of all Heathen) seemeth to harp upon the same string with the Psalmist, Those (saith he) whom God approveth and loveth he exerciseth and afflicteth: Those whom he seemeth to spare; he reserveth for future sufferings. But an ordinary capacity may perceive by the Treatise (though there be many excellent things in it) how far the Moralist came short of Christianity. It is also without question that his sight was not so good as to look into the other world, and there to see the eternal pains of the evil, and pleasures of the good, which vision did allay the storm in the Prophets spirit. He tells us indeed that vicious persons are not dismissed, only their punishment is delayed; but to him this life was the time, and this world the place of their execution.