A trumpet blown in Zion, or, An alarm in God's holy mountain containing an…A trumpet blown in Zion, or, An allarm in God's holy mountain containing an…

But let me tell you that the Spirit and Grace of Christ in this respect is •• a Fan, rather to Cleanse the Saints, by ⟨p. 17⟩purging out the Chaff of Corruption, which naturally is in their Hearts and Lives, than to purge Hypocrites and gross Professors out of the Church, and to that I Principally refer here.

But let me tell you that the Spirit and Grace of Christ in this respect is •• a Fan, rather to Cleanse the Saints, by ⟨p. 17⟩purging out the Chaff of Corruption, which naturally is in their Hearts and Lives, than to purge Hypocrites and gross Professors out of the Church, and to that I Principally referr here.

6. Moreover Christ hath the Fan of Persecution, or the Sufferings of the Cross, and all other afflictions which he brings upon his People, which he uses to purge and purify their Souls, and his Churches too.

And from hence Afflictions are compared to a Refiners fire: He shall set as a Refiners fire, and Purifier of Silver: He, that is the Messiah, i. e. our Lord Jesus Christ; this is his ¹Work, viz. to purge his People, who in this Place are compared to Silver and Gold that is refined: As in my Text they are likened unto Wheat, in this he is compared to a Refiner, and hath his Furnace; in the other to an Husbandman, and so hath his Fan. Both these Texts allude to the same thing, and doing the same work, namely, to sever and separate the clean from the unclean, the Gold from the Dross, the Chaff from the Wheat. And evident it is, that Persecution, Trials and Afflictions, commonly make a great discovery who are Wheat or pure Gold, viz. Sincere Believers; and who drossy and chaffy Professors. If Wheat, Persecution purges and purifies them: But if they are Chaff, it usually fans them away. But he that received the seed in stony places, the same is he which heareth the Word, and anon with joy receiveth it: Yet hath he not root in himself, but endureth for a while; for when Tribulation or Persecution ariseth, because