The Blessed and Boundless God – a book by George Swinnock, and edited by J. Stephen Yuille. The book is published by Reformation Heritage Books (Paperback 170 pages).
You can read a short biography of George Swinnock (1627-1673) at A Puritan’s Mind. It also has some PDF format links to his works. His full set of Works can be purchased from Banner of Truth.
Of Swinnock, Banner notes that he is “one of the easiest authors to read. Some of the puritans can be difficult. But I agree with Banner of Truth regarding Swinnock’s accessibility to people like me. Examples of his works can be found in the Two-Volume devotional Voices From The Past. George Swinnock is one of my favorite puritans; a pastoral theologian who brings us to a knowledge of God.
Mark Jones – who co-authored A Puritan Theology with Joel Beeke – wrote approvingly of Swinnock’s “The Blessed and Boundless God”. Jones points to the massive work by Stephen Charnock on the existence and attributes of God. He observes that Charnock’s Works’ “sheer size is bound to put off” many readers, especially in our sound-bite age. Jones adds that Swinnock’s book is “precisely what is needed to introduce God’s people to the Blessed and Boundless God.” I agree!
There are lots of books on God. In my personal library I have Knowing God by J. I. Packer, Knowing Christ by Mark Jones, High King of Heaven edited by John MacArthur, and a few others. They are all excellent works. The simple beauty and advantage of Swinnock’s book is that it doesn’t overwhelm the reader, yet is packed with Scripture. One doesn’t have to cumbersomely comb through pages to learn about God’s attributes.
Another great feature of Swinnock’s writing is his ability to articulate in such a wonderful way. Here are some samples:
God is an infinite being. He is without bounds or limits, measures or degrees. God is a sphere whose center is everywhere and whose circumference is nowhere…
The “heaven of heavens” cannot contain the God of heaven. No place can define Him. He is not shut in or shut out of any place. He is without place, yet in all places.
It is not the place but God’s presence that makes heaven to be heaven.
I thought so highly of “The Blessed and Boundless God” that we posted three inspirational devotionals based on his book: 1) Our Boundless Infinite God; 2) A Boundless Merciful God; 3) The Incomparable Holiness of God. I may draw more posts from this book in the future.
The book is divided into five parts, each containing chapters: 1) God’s Incomparable Being; 2) God’s Incomparable Attributes; 3) God’s Incomparable Works; 4) God’s Incomparable Words; 5) Application
It is in Application that Swinnock discusses how God’s Justice must deal with sin. It is here where he warns that God’s anger and power are infinite. If a “king’s wrath is a messenger of death, then what is the wrath of impotence?” Yet even here we learn of The Importance of Worship and The Wonder of Grace.
The Blessedness and Boundless God is a book I keep close to me. Written on the cover are the words: Puritan Treasures for Today. Swinnock’s little book certainly contains many treasures.
P.S. Crossway has also published God Is by Mark Jones. It is a devotional guide based God’s attributes, and is worth a look at.
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The Blessed and Boundless God !
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