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 purified 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 2of the Word, by and by he is offended. Thus the fan of Persecution purges these Chaffy Professors out of Christs Spiritual floor, or rather his garner: Namely, his Church, into which in a day of Liberty they got, and had a place; but they cannot bear the Wind and blast of Affliction and Tribulation: And as it purges out much Chaff, so also the Wheat is thereby refined and made more clean and fit for the Lords use. Of so great benefit is Persecution to Gods Church, that they cannot some times be without it; it is if need be that we are in heaviness; if we need it not, or if Christ sees there is no need of it, we shall never feel the Rod: He doth it 3not for his pleasure, but for our profit, that we might partake of his Holiness. And this Jehovah by the Prophet further makes known to us: This is the fruit of all, the taking away your 4Sin. And thus the Lord purgeth away the filth of the Daughter of Zion, and the Blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof, by the ⟨p. 18⟩Spirit of Judgment and by the Spirit of burning. The Rod of Affliction, or Furnace of Persecution, cannot purge out the 5filth of Sin that is in the Lords People, without the operations of the Holy Spirit:
And from hence Afflictions are compaired 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 purified 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 reciveth it: Yet hath he not root in himself, but endureth for a while; for when Tribulation or Persecution ariseth, because 2of the Word, by and by he is offended. Thus the fan of Persecution purges these Chaffy Professors out of Christs Spiritual floor, or rather his garner: Namely, his Church, into which in a day of Liberty they got, and had a place; but they cannot bear the Wind and blast of Affliction and Tribulation: And as it purges out much Chaff, so also the Wheat is thereby refined and made more clean and fit for the Lords use. Of so great benefit is Persecution to Gods Church, that they cannot some times be without it; it is if need be that we are in heaviness; if we need it not, or if Christ sees there is no need of it, we shall never feel the Rod: He doth it 3not for his pleasure, but for our profit, that we might partake of his Holiness. And this Jehovah by the Prophet further makes known to us: This is the fruit of all, the taking away your 4Sin. And thus the Lord purgeth away the filth of the Daughter of Sion, and the Blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof, by the ⟨p. 18⟩Spirit of Judgment and by the Spirit of burning. The Rod of Affliction, or Furnace of Persecution, cannot purge out the 5filth of Sin that is in the Lords People, without the operations of the Holy Spirit:
- 1Mat. 3. 3.
- 2Mat. 13. 20. 21.
- 3Heb. 12. 10.
- 4Isa. 27. 9.
- 5Isa. 4. 4.
