20 AUGUST
Plucked as a brand out of the fire
‘And he said unto him, I am the LORD that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it.’ Genesis 15:7
SUGGESTED FURTHER READING: Zechariah 3:1–10
In this passage we have the Lord’s word to Abraham by way of remembrance: I brought thee from Ur of the Chaldees—from idolaters, plucked thee as a brand out of the fire [Zechariah 3:2]. Thus he reminds all his people. It is said the night when Israel left Egypt was a night much to be remembered [Exodus 12:42]. Believers surely will never forget the mercy which called them. It was a special mercy. Many [were] left when Abraham was called. How many of your companions have been left? Some of you were brought from places at a great distance, like Abraham, and it was a foundation mercy—how much depended upon it. As it is farther said: to give thee this land—a type of the heavenly Canaan. The Lord did not call Abraham to leave him by the way. If you are called out of sin and the world, brought to Jesus, it is because the Lord designs to give you the good land—for his gifts and callings are without repentance.
FOR MEDITATION:
With Satan, my accuser near,
At his rebuke the tempter fled;
My spirit trembled when I saw
Then he removed my filthy dress;
The Lord in majesty appear,
‘Poor sinner take this robe,’ he said,
And heard the language of his law.
‘It is thy Saviour’s righteousness.
In vain I wished and strove to hide
And see, a crown of life prepared!
The tattered filthy rags I wore;
That I might thus thy head adorn;
While my fierce foe, insulting cried,
I thought no shame or suffering hard,
‘See what you trusted in before!’
But wore, for thee, a crown of thorn.’
Struck dumb, and left without a plea,
O how I heard these gracious words!
I heard my gracious Saviour say,
They broke and healed my heart at once;
‘Know, Satan, I this sinner free,
Constrained me to become the Lord’s,
I died to take his sins away.
And all my idol-gods renounce.
‘This is a brand which I in love,
Now, Satan, thou hast lost thy aim,
To save from wrath and sin design;
Against this brand thy threats are vain;
In vain thy accusations prove,
Jesus has plucked it from the flame,
I answer all, and claim him mine.’
And who shall put it in again?
SERMON SERIES: GENESIS, NO. 32 [1/3], GENESIS 15:7–11
Milo 