When is a people so overgrown with dross as that it is necessary the good and the bad should go into the same furnace?
I shall name but two plain things : —
1. When the generality of a people are openly wicked and pro fane. You will see in the following verses of this chapter the rea son given why God will put them all into the furnace. And why is it? Because the prophets were wicked, and the priests were wicked, and the princes were wicked, and the people were wicked. He dis tributes them all into several parts, — prophets, priests, princes, people; and they are all wicked, and therefore they must into the furnace, saith he. Isaiah also speaks of setting up a furnace, chap. i. Why will God set up such a dreadful furnace? Why, saith he, verses 5, 6, it is because "the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it ; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment/' When there is an universal corruption of the ways and walkings of all sorts of men, and of the whole body of the people, then God sets up his furnace.
2. You may add hereunto, that the dross doth so cleave unto the silver that there is no other way of separating them, but they must all into the same furnace. When all endeavours fail, warnings fail, chastisements fail, preaching of the word fails, and the silver is not separated from the dross; when men can scarce, professors can scarce, bear to be warned ; when they can think of others' sins, but will not think of their own ; when they will do nothing towards reforma tion, but say they shall have peace, — let what will come, one way or other they shall have peace; — there is no way but we must all into the same furnace ; nothing else will do.
This is all that I shall observe from the words; only I would make a little use of them in one or two words. And I will say con cerning them, as the apostle Paul doth in another case, " This speak I, not the Lord ;" that is, not that he spake any thing against the mind of the Lord, but it was that which he had not an immediate revelation about. * Though/ saith he, 'I judge I have the Spirit of God to guide me according to rule in this matter, yet I have not
496 THE FUKNACE OF DIVINE WRATH.
an especial revelation about it ; " This speak I, not the Lord/' ' But when he comes in with that for which he hath a special revelation, then, " This the Lord commandeth, not I." So, truly, I will say two things, whereof one is, ' I say, and not the Lord ;' and it is only this, that it is my judgment we are all going into the same fur nace. Let men please and flatter themselves as they will, crying, ' The church, the church ; The temple of the Lord ; Peace, peace ;' my judgment is, we are all going into the same furnace with all the brass, and tin, and lead, and iron, in the nation, — going into the same furnace. And do I say so now? do I think so now? Nay, I have been speaking of it to this congregation for some years, that we are all going into the same furnace. But this I can say, ' I speak from the Lord, the Lord speaketh, and not I/ that things are so stated in the rule, so stated in providence, that it is your duty and mine to prepare for the furnace, a fiery furnace, a smoking furnace, that I am afraid God will cast this whole nation into ; for, —
First, Neither you nor I can tell what to say as to the sins of the nation, of all sorts of persons, — our priests, prophets, princes, people. Nor you nor I can tell what to say unto the deadness and slowness of all sorts of professors, — of me, and you, and of all sorts of professors, — to come to such a reformation as may be preventive of a furnace ; nay, to come to such a reformation as may give us faith to plead for an interest in the fining-pot and not in the furnace. I know what the general hopes of men plead and speak. Well, bring forth your reasons, plead them before God this day, if you can, if you have any thing to plead but sovereign grace and mercy.
And [as for] the utter impossibility that appears by any other way to separate the silver from the dross, to separate us from the world, the plague, the fire, have not done it; signs in the heavens above and in the earth beneath have not done it; the sincere preaching of the gospel, though in weakness, hath not done it; entreaties, beg gings, exhortations, have not done it; our prayers have not done it: we cleave unto the world still.
I will not insist upon particulars now ; I have showed you enough formerly. So that I know nothing that can be a plea why we should not all into the same furnace. And, —