A47542:82
A golden mine opened, or, The glory of God's rich grace displayed in the…
A golden mine opened, or, The glory of God's rich grace displayed in the mediator to believers, and his direful wrath against impenitent sinners containing the substance of near forty sermons upon several subjects / by Benjamin Keach.
London: printed by the author, 1694
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.
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 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 3