Men have their winnowing days, and God hath his; a day to separate the chaff from the wheat, the godly from the ungodly, who shall both be held up to the wind, but only the wicked shall be driven away by it. Such a day God hath in this world, wherein he winnows his wheat, and separates the chaff. There is a double fanning or winnowing of men here in this world; one is doctrinally, in which sense I understand that Scripture, Mat. 3. 12. spoken of Christ, when he was entering into his Ministerial work, His fan is in his hand, and he shall throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire. The preaching of the Gospel is as a fan in Christs hand, and it is as much as if John had thus told the Jews, that though there were the many hypocritical ones among them, that had now a place and name among the people of God, and gloried in their Church-privileges, yet there is a purging blast of truth coming, which shall make them fly out of the Church, as fast as chaff out of the floor. Thus Christ winnows or fans the world doctrinally: The other is judicially, by bringing sore and grievous trials and sufferings upon the Churches, for this very end, that those which are but chaff, (i. e.) empty and vain Professors may be such winds as these, be separated from his people.
MEn have their winnowing dayes, and God hath his; a day to separate the chaff from the wheat, the godly from the ungodly, who shall both be held up to the wind, but only the wicked shall be driven away by it. Such a day God hath in this world, wherein he winnows his wheat, and separates the chaff. There is a double fanning or winnowing of men here in this world; one is doctrinally, in which sense I understand that Scripture, Mat. 3. 12. spoken of Christ, when he was entring into his Ministerial work, His fan is in his hand, and he shall throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner, but he will brun up the chaff with unquenchable fire. The preaching of the Gospel is as a fan in Christs hand, and it is as much as if Iohn had thus told the Iews, that though there were the many hypocrytical ones among them, that had now a place and name among the people of God, and gloried in their Church-priviledges, yet there is a purging blast of truth coming, which shall make them fly out of the Church, as fast as chaff out of the floor. Thus Christ winnows or fans the world doctrinally: The other is judicially, by bringing sore and grievous tryals and sufferings upon the Churches, for this very end, that those which are but chaff, (i. e.) empty and vain Professors may be such winds as these, be separated from his people.
