WITHOUT attempting to discuss the original design of this vision in its prophetic aspect, we may take the above question and apply it to every sinner saved by sovereign grace. We have read of a poor Hindoo who had been brought to a knowledge of the truth as it is in Jesus, and who was tauntingly asked by an European unbeliever, what Jesus had done for him. The converted Hindoo took a worm, and putting it inside a circle of dried leaves and grass, set fire to them. When the fire approached the worm, he bared his arm, and, snatching it from the flame, placed it in his bosom. “That,” he exclaimed, “is what Jesus has done for me. I was once exposed to the vengeance of eternal fire. The flames had even touched me, and I was as a scorched and blackened ‘brand,’ when Christ Jesus, in His matchless grace, ‘plucked’ me forth. Glory forever to His name! May I never forget what He has done for me, and what I owe to Him!” And every saved sinner may say the same. When a scoffing world inquires, “What has Jesus done for you?” let us, with the energy of grateful love, exclaim, “He has snatched me as ‘a brand’ from the burning ‘fire’ of endless perdition!”
“He freely redeem’d, with His blood,
My soul from the borders of hell,
To five in the smile of my God,
And in His sweet presence to dwell;
To shine in bright glory and light,
Where God and the Lamb are adored;
To view with eternal delight
My Saviour, my Jesus, and Lord.”
All sinners before they are saved by Jesus are in GREAT DANGER; they are like to “a brand” in the “fire.” See that piece of charred, black toed wood lying there in the fire. In a few moments it will ignite, and be utterly consumed. That “brand” is a type of all unconverted men and women; they lie exposed to the eternal “fire” of God’s burning indignation. They are all “children of wrath.” (Ephesians 2:33Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. (Ephesians 2:3).) This is God’s estimation of all who are not believers it Jesus Christ. They are “by nature the children of wrath.” Because they are sinners, therefore are they in danger of “the wrath of the Lamb.” All who now reject the righteousness of God all who now refuse to look unto Jesus for salvation, all who are unbelieving and impenitent, all who are “children of disobedience,” are under the curse of God. O ye careless, Christless, unbelieving readers, think of the great danger you are in, and now believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, that you may be saved.
Look again at that “brand” as it lies there in “the fire,” and note its UTTER WORTHLESSNESS. It is only fit to be consumed. Just so is it with unconverted sinners. They are utterly worthless; only fit to be fuel for hell-fire. They may pride themselves upon their righteousness; but they “are all as an unclean thing, and all” their “righteousnesses are as filthy rags;” and they “all do fade as a leaf:” and their “iniquities, like the wind, have taken” them away. (Ise. 64:6.) Unconverted man, at his best state, is “abominable and filthy;” he drinketh iniquity like water. (Job 15:1616How much more abominable and filthy is man, which drinketh iniquity like water? (Job 15:16)) “The Lord looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand. They are all gone aside, they are altogether become stinking. (Heb.) There is none that death good, no, not one.” (Psalms 14:2, 32The Lord looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God. 3They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one. (Psalm 14:2‑3).) This is God’s estimate of all men in their natural state; they are utterly worthless. If they continue in this state, and will not come unto Christ, that they may have life, soon God will say concerning them, “He that is unjust, let him he unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still.” (Revelation 22:1111He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still. (Revelation 22:11).) Oh! sinner, see your wretched condition. Utterly worthless though you are, Jesus is willing to give you His free salvation. Cast from you your useless begging cloth, as did poor blind Bartimeus (Mark 10:5050And he, casting away his garment, rose, and came to Jesus. (Mark 10:50)), and come just as you are to Jesus.
Once more, that “brand” lying in the “fire” suggests to me the thought of COMPLETE HELPLESSNESS. It cannot pluck itself out of the fire. ‘Tis just so with the convinced sinner; in and of himself he is entirely helpless. If the salvation of the sinner depended upon himself, even in the least degree, he could not be saved. Oh! ‘tis a grand lesson to learn―our complete helplessness. How many are vainly endeavoring to help themselves, to make themselves better before they come to Jesus. It is all useless toil. As soon shall that charred and blackened “brand” pluck itself out of the “fire,” as the sinner do anything which shall assist Jesus in the matter of salvation. “What must I no to be saved?” is the anxious, heart-agonizing cry of thousands. You can do nothing. “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ,” who has done everything, “and thou shalt be saved.” (Acts 16:30, 3130And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? 31And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. (Acts 16:30‑31).) Faith in the Lord Jesus is all you need, and the very instant you have faith in Him, you are saved. Salvation is freely presented to you in Jesus. That salvation you may have, if you simply turn your eye off yourself, and on to Christ. Jesus knows your complete helplessness, therefore He has done all for you, and asks you simply to trust in Him.
“Cast your deadly ‘doing’ down,
Down at Jesus’s feet;
Stand in Him, in that ALONE,
Gloriously complete!”
The “brand plucked out of the fire” suggests another thought, that of Divine SOVEREIGNTY. I may, or I may not, pluck that half-burned piece of wood from the fire, just as it pleases me. There is no necessity laid upon me with regard to it. So God might have allowed the whole human race to remain under the curse and condemnation which all had merited, if He had seen fit to do so. There was no necessity laid upon Him to save any. Every saved sinner is a monument of the sovereign favor of God. He is “a brand plucked out of the fire.” There are many other brands still in the fire; God has left them there that they might be consumed; but he is saved: he is a miracle of grace. It is a great thing to learn that we are absolutely in the hand of God; that He can do as He pleases with us; that He has a right to do with us as He sees fit; that He can create, or destroy. He doeth as He pleases among the armies of heaven, and the sons of earth, and none dare say unto Him, “What doest thou?” If God, with a besom of destruction, had swept us all into the gulf of hell, He had been just. He need not have saved any of us. We all deserved death, and eternal damnation. But God has saved me I am “a brand plucked out of the fire!” Herein He has displayed divine sovereignty.
Yet one thought more, and we have done. The expression, “Is not this a brand plucked out of the fire?” suggests the idea of PERILOUS CONTACT. We can best illustrate this idea by means of the following anecdote: ―A poor countryman who had been brought to a knowledge of the truth as it is in Jesus, by means of a sermon from the above words, was solicited by a former companion to accompany him to a certain place, where he would be brought into temptation. “Nay, nay,” said the poor man, “I cannot go there: for I am a brand plucked out of the fire.” His old companion, not knowing what he meant, asked him for an explanation. “Look ye,” said the countryman, “there is a great difference between ‘a brand’ and a green stick. If a spark flies upon ‘a brand’ that has been partly burnt, it will soon catch fire again; but it is not so with a green stick, that resists the fire. I tell you, ‘I am a brand plucked out of the fire,’ and I dare not venture in the way of temptation, lest I be set on fire again.” This is what we mean by perilous contact. It will be perilous to the saved sinner, if he again approach the way of sin. He must ever “walk circumspectly,” and “watch unto prayer,” lest he fall in temptation. As children of the light, let believers ever remember, that they must have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. They must make the Word of God their strict rule, and ever strive in their walk and conversation not to deviate therefrom, no, not even by so much as a hair’s breadth. They must never forget that hell is beneath them, and snares and destructions are everywhere around them, in this present evil world. Their only safety is in looking unto Jesus, as they set their faces heavenward. In a land of danger, we must always walk with measured steps, if we would walk safely. We must always be ready to follow wherever our heavenly Father leads. We are in the path of folly the moment we begin to walk at our own discretion. We need to be kept near to Jesus in the spirit of our minds. T. W. M.