CHAPTER XX: Upon the winnowing of Corn
His children he may smite, but cannot hate; He beats them, true, to make their chaff to fly,
That they, like purged golden grains, may lie In one fair heap, with those bless'd souls that here
Once in like manner thresh'd and winnow'd were.
CHAPTER XX
Upon the winnowing of Corn The fan doth cause light chaff to fly away; So shall th' ungodly in God's winnowing-day.
OBSERVATION
WHEN the corn is threshed out in the floor where it lies mingled with empty ears, and worthless chaff, the husbandman carries it out altogether into some open place; where, having spread his sheet for the preservation of the grain, he exposes it all to the wind; the good, by reason of its solidity, remains upon the sheet, but the chaff, being light and empty, is partly carried quite away by the wind, and all the rest separated from the good grain into a distinct heap, which is carried away either to the fire, or dung-hill, as a worthless thing.
APPLICATION
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 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, Matth. 3:12. spoken of Christ, when he was entering upon his ministerial work: "His fan is in his hand; and he shall thoroughly 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 Christ's hand: and it is as much as if John had thus told the Jews, that though there were many hypocritical ones among them, that had now a name and place 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 chaff out of the floor. Thus Christ winnows or fans the world doctrinally: the other is judiciously, 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 by such winds as these be separated from his people.
The church increases two ways, and by two diverse means; extensively, in breadth and numbers; and intensively, in vigour and power; peace and prosperity cause the first, sufferings and adversity the last: And well may a day of persecution be called a winnowingday, for then are the people of God tossed to purpose, as corn in the sieve, though nothing but chaff be lost thereby. Of such a winnowingday the prophet speaks, Amos 9:9, 10. "I will sift the house of Israel among all nations, like as corn is sifted in a sieve, yet shall not the least grain fall upon the earth; all the sinners of my people shall die." q. d. I will cause great agitations and tossings among you by the hands of the Assyrians and Babylonians, into whose countries you shall be dispersed and scattered; yet I will so govern those your dispersions by my providence, that not one good grain, one upright
soul, shall eternally perish, but the sinners of my people, the refuse stuff, that shall perish.
To the same purpose speaks another prophet, Zeph. 2:1, 2. "Gather yourselves together, (or as some read) fan yourselves, yea, fan yourselves, before the decree bring forth, and the day pass as the chaff." He doth not mean that the time shall pass as the chaff, but there is the day of affliction and distress coining, in which the wicked shall pass as the chaff before the wind; and yet, notwithstanding all these winnowings upon earth, much chaff will still abide among the corn; therefore God hath appointed another day for the winnowing of the world, even the day of judgment; in reference to which it is said, Psalm 1:4, 5. "The ungodly are not so, but are like the chaff which the wind drives away; therefore the ungodly shall not stand in judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;" i.e. God hath a day wherein he will sift the world like corn in a sieve, and then the wicked shall appear to be but chaff, which God will eternally separate from his wheat. I will not strain the similitude, but fairly display it in these seven particulars.
1. The chaff and wheat grow together in the same field, and upon the same root and stalk. In this wicked men are like chaff, who not only associate with the people of God, but oftentimes spring up with them in the same family, and from the same root or immediate parents,
Mal. 1:2. "Was not Esau Jacob's brother?" Yet the one was wheat, the other chaff. Instances of this are infinite.
2. The husbandman would never endure the husks, chaff, and dry stalks to remain in the field; if it were not for the good corn's sake, he would quickly set fire to it, but that the corn is among it, which he highly prizeth: And be assured, God would never suffer the wicked to abide long in this world, were it not for his own elect that are
dispersed among them: Except the Lord had such a remnant dispersed in the world, he would quickly set fire to the four quarters of it, and make it like Sodom, Isa. 1:9.
3. The chaff is a very worthless thing, the husbandman cares not what become of it; and of as little worth are wicked men, Prov. 10:20.
"The heart of the wicked is little worth." The heart is the principal part of the man, and yet that is but chaff, no worth in it; his hands, his clothes, &c. are worth somewhat, but his heart is worth nothing.
4. Though chaff in itself be nothing worth, yet it is of some use to the corn while it is standing in the field; the stalk bears up the ear, and the chaff covers the grain, and defends it from the injury of the weather. Thus God makes wicked men of use to his people in outward society; they help to support and protect them in this world,
Rev. 12:16. "The earth helped the woman," i.e. worldly men for carnal ends helped the church, when a flood of persecution was poured out.
The church often helps the world, it receives many benefits from the people of God; and sometimes God over-rules the world to help his church.
5. When the chaff and wheat are both brought forth and held up to the wind in one sieve, they fall two ways; the wheat falls down upon the floor or sheet, the chaff is carried quite away: So that although for a time godly and ungodly abide together, yet when this winnowingtime comes, God's wheat shall be gathered into his garner in heaven, the chaff shall go the other way, Mat. 3:12.
6. If there be any chaff among the corn, it will appear when it is sifted in a windy day; it cannot possibly escape if it be well winnowed; much more impossible it is for any wicked man to escape the critical search of God in that day; the closet hypocrite shall then be detected, for God will judge the secrets of men, 1 Cor. 5. "He will then bring to
light the hidden things of darkness, and make manifest the counsels of the heart," 1 Cor. 4:5.
7. Lastly, After corn and chaff are separated by the winnowing wind, they shall never lie together in one heap any more: The wicked shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but themselves thrust out: There is no chaff in heaven.
REFLECTIONS
1. Am I an empty vain professor, that wants the pith and substance of real godliness? Then am I but chaff in God's account, though I grow among his corn; the eye of man cannot discern my hypocrisy; but when he comes, whose fan is in his hand, then how plainly will it be detected? Angels and men shall discern it, and say, "Lo, this is the man that made not God his hope;" How shall I abide the day of his coming? Christ is the great heart-anatomist: Things shall not be carried then by names and parties, as they are now; every one shall be weighed in a just balance, and a Mene Tekel written upon every false heart: Great will be the perspicuity of that trial: My own conscience shall join with my judge, and shall then acknowledge, that there is not one drop of injustice in all that sea of wrath; and though
I am damned, yet I am not wronged. The chaff cannot stand before the wind, nor I before the judgment of Christ.
2. Is there such a fanning-time coming? Why do not I then sift my heart every day by serious self-examination? No work more important to me, and yet how much have I neglected it? O my soul! thou hadst been better employed in searching thine own estate in reference to that day, than in prying sinfully into the hearts, and censuring the conditions of other men: Judge thyself, and thou shalt not be condemned with the world; the work indeed is difficult, but
the neglect dangerous: Were I within a few days to stand at man's bar, there to be tried for my life, how busy should I be every hour of the day in writing to any that I thought could befriend me, and studying every advantage to myself? And yet what a vast difference is there betwixt man's bar and God's? Betwixt a trial for my life, and for my soul? Lord, rouse up my sluggish heart by awful and solicitous thoughts of that day, lest I be found amongst that chaff which shall be burnt up with unquenchable fire.
3. Fear not, O my soul! though there be a blast coming which shall drive all the chaff into hell, yet it shall blow thee no harm. "I know that when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold," Job 23:10. I confess I have too much chaff about me, but yet I am not altogether chaff; there is a solid work of grace upon my soul that will abide the trial: Let the judgment to come be as impartial and exact as it is possible to be, yet a grain of sincerity cannot be lost in it: for "God will not cast away a perfect (i.e. an upright-hearted) man," Job 8:20.
He that is appointed to judge the world is mine! and his imputed righteousness will make me full weight in the balance. Bless the Lord, O my soul, for sincerity! this will abide, when common gifts and empty names will flee as the chaff before the wind.
THE POEM THE winnowing wind first drives the chaff away, Next light and hollow grains; those only stay
Whose weight and solid substance can endure This trial, and such grains are counted pure.
The corn for use is carefully preserv'd;
The useless chaff for burning flames reserv'd.
No wind but blows some good, a proverb is; Glad shall I be if it hold true in this.
O that the wind, when you to winnowing go, This spiritual good unto your souls might blow!
To make you pause, and sadly ruminate, In what a doleful plight and wretched state
Their poor souls are who cannot hope to stand When he shall come, whose fan is in his hand;
His piercing eyes infallibly disclose The very reins, and inward part of those Whose out-side seeming grace so neatly paints,
That, with the best, they pass for real saints.
No hypocrite with God acceptance finds, But, like the chaff, dispers'd by furious winds.
Their guilt shall not that searching day endure, Nor they approach the assemblies of the pure.
Have you observ'd in autumn, thistle-down,
By howling Æolus scatter'd up and down About the fields? Ev'n so God's ireful storm
Shall chase the hypocrite, who now can scorn The breath of close reproofs; and like a rock,
Repel reproofs, and just reprovers mock.
How many that in splendid garments walk, Of high professions, and like angels talk,
Shall God divest, and openly proclaim Their secret guilt to their eternal shame?
This is the day wherein the Lord will rid His church of those false friends, who now lie hid
Among his people; there will not one False heart remain, to lose our love upon.
O bless'd assembly! glorious state! when all In their uprightness walk, and ever shall.
O make my heart sincere, that I may never Prove such light chaff as then thy wind shall sever
From solid grain! O let my soul detest