of the Redeemer. Joshua was now prepared to enter on the duties of his office; and, according to Prideaux, he officiated fifty-three years, died at Jerusalem, and was succeeded by his son Jehoiakim. This piece of ancient history, recording the restoration of the Jewish high priesthood, cannot but be interesting to those who are in the habit of studying the Old Testament. This, however, is not all the instruction which this part of Scripture is calculated to afford. Therefore

SECONDLY-I shall consider not only the words of the text, but the several parts connected with it, as a just representation of the state in which every impenitent transgressor lies under the fiery displeasure of his offended God; and the interposition of the great REDEEMER in plucking many such as brands from the burning. This is by no means accommodat ing the subject-it is real; for Joshua was charged with iniquity, as is every sinner; and the procedure of the Lord's gracious conduct to him, is a striking instance of the same grace extended to every sinner plucked as a brand from the burning. As I have good reason to believe, that this interposition of mercy was extended to your late companion, GEORGE VANDERPOOL, it is the more proper on this occasion that I should attempt to explain this subject to you, presuming that there are none in this unfortunate assembly but will pay to it the necessary attention.

1. You will perceive, that the most material emblem in the text is that of fire. This is one of the four well known ele. ments in the natural world; the general properties of which are light and heat. It tries metal, and consumes fuel. As we are too ignorant of God and his perfections, emblems or figures are used in the Scriptures to aid our senses and conception in the knowledge of the MOST HIGH, his righteous procedures, and his conduct to his creatures. The emblem of fire, therefore, describes the holy and just anger of God against the transgressors of his righteous law; and, if this be the resemblance only, how inconceivably awful and severe must be the reality of his indignation? The Scripture de

clares that our God is a consuming fire. Heb. xii. 29. Thus saith the Lord to the rebellious Israelites, A fire is kindled in mine anger, which shall burn to the lowest hell. Deut. xxxii. 22. David, while under an impression of the displeasure of his God, exclaimed, How long shall thy wrath burn like fire? Ps. lxxxix. 46. Thine hand shall find out all thine enemies ; thou shalt make them as a fiery oven in the time of thine anger: the Lord shall swallow them up in his wrath, and the fire shall devour them. Ps. xxi. 8, 9. By this element, God threatened and executed his fierce judgment upon Jerusalem, for the greatness of her iniquities. The word of the Lord came to Ezekiel, saying, Son of man, the house of Israel is to me become dross; all they are brass, and tin, and iron, and lead, in the midst of the furnace; as they gather silver, and brass, and iron, and lead, and tin, into the midst of the furnace, to blow the fire upon it; so will I gather you in mine anger and in my fury, and I will leave you there, and melt you; I will blow upon you in the fire of my wrath, and ye shall be melted in the midst thereof. Ezek. xxii. 17-22. Terrible as such a judgment may appear, it has been inflicted upon Jerusalem, and equally so upon Babylon; and their ruins have become a monument of the enormity of their crimes, and the justice of God in their punishment. But nations are not the only instances of God's awful displeasure; individuals also have experienced the anger of the Lord; for, when he hideth his face, who then can behold him? whether it be done against a nation, or against a man only. Job xxxiv. 29. We all by nature are children of wrath even as others, and are as brands in the midst of the fire, though some are more flagrant than others, and experience more severe expressions of the Divine displeasure. The history of man, and of crime, give too strong testimony of this melancholy fact, and it well becomes us seriously to lay it to heart. With the Bible in my hand, I am also compelled to declare, that the heavens and the earth, which are now by the word of God, are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. 2 Peter iii. 7. More

than this, the same word of truth describes the final state of punishment, which, after the day of judgment, will be inflicted upon the finally impenitent. Dreadful as is the recorded sentence, I am bound to repeat it. Then shall the Judge say unto them on his left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels. Matt, xxv. 41.

My fellow sinners, what a fearful thing is it to fail into the hand of the living God! How important are the questions of Isaiah-Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings? xxxiii. 14. Say not that this is fiction, and that the description is merely intended to create an unnecessary alarm. No. It is drawn purely from the word of your God; and there is not a calamity attending on man, not a twinge in a guilty sinner's conscience, nor a sinner that dies in his sins, but what confirms the truth of all these solemn reflections. Here, perhaps, you may ask, How can such a description of man's punishment consist with the benign character of the ever-blessed God? Can his wrath burn like fire against the rational creatures which he hath formed? And is it not contrary to his attribute of love? Remember that anger in God is not a furious, yjndictive passion, as in man; it is in harmony with all his holy perfections. Therefore God declares, Fury is not in me. His anger is the infliction of punishment, whether upon angels or men, for the violation of his righteous law; and which the pu rity and inflexibility of his provoked justice demands. And it is necessary to be understood, that his mercy or his love cannot be sacrificed at the expense of his justice; for all his attributes are in unison. The cause, therefore, is the sin and transgression of man. We all know that a flame of fire illuminates and makes visible surrounding objects; and it is equally true, that whatever tokens of Divine displeasure are manifested to guilty man, they are to show and to convince us that the Lord is known by the judgment which he executeth, and that the wicked is snared in the work of his own hand. Ps. ix. 16. And likewise, as fire penetrates, and produces the most exquisite pain;

so nothing is more calculated to convince us of the effect of a guilty conscience, and the imperious necessity of being saved from the wrath to come. Knowing therefore the terrors of the Lord, we cannot but with faithfulness and compassion persuade men; in hope that the Lord may bless our addresses, and that he may pluck them as brands from the burning.

2. Cast your eye again upon this text, and you will perceive a very affecting description of a sinner in his sins, lying as a brand burning in the midst of the fire. A brand is a piece of wood, or the branch of a tree, which once possessed vegetative life. It is therefore a fit emblem of man; who, by natural union with our first parent Adam, possessed the excellence of moral life; but by sin is cut down, as with the axe of God's violated law. Wherefore, as by one mañ sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned. Rom. v. 12. In addition to this, the vast multitude of personal and actual transgressions which we have committed, are sufficient to cast us down as brands in the fire of God's displeasure. In this our conscience will not dare to charge God with the shadow of injustice or cruelty; the blame recoils upon ourselves; and if we have but the least remains of rationality, we must be convinced, that the justice of God cannot but pursue the transgressors of his law. How affecting is it to look around, and behold so many of our fellow creatures, as brands burning, consuming their time, talents, bodies, and souls! Some of them, as David expresses it, do not live out half their days. For by their intemperance, and coroding vices, in habitual sin, their constitution becomes more dry and combustible, and of course more easily consumed. What adds to this serious description is, that sinful man is insensible of his state, and lies dormant as a brand in the fire, without disposition or power to extricate himself from destruction. The pride of some men may attempt to palliate, or deny this description; but it perfectly accords with reason, revelation, and positive facts, which are too visible in the history of human nature to be denied. Let favour be showed to

the wicked, yet will he not learn righteousness: in the land of uprightness will he deal unjustly, and will not behold the majesty of the Lord. Isa. xxvi. 10. Still, many there are whe contend for the ability of man, to rescue himself from the fiery indignation of the Lord, which is created by his own offences. If man really possesses such ability, why does he not exert it? Why let practice so glaringly contradict avowed sentiment? Why not escape from the devouring flame? Such declamation does but prove the impossibility of man to save himself from the punishment of his sins; or, as a brand, to escape from the burning flame. Of this truth, however, the convinced, humble sinner is truly sensible; and he stands as a witness to the truth. Like Joshua, represented in the vision connected with the text, he was not only sensible of his transgressions, but he knew that he was clothed with filthy garments; and as such was a brand in the midst of the burning. David had the same feelings when he exclaimed, Thy wrath lieth hard upon me. It is possible that some in this forlorn assembly may, in a degree, feel the scourging of a guilty conscience, and dread the thought of being a brand in the fire, utterly to be consumed, without an ability to escape. In what language shall I address you ? Though my heart commiserates your most wretched state, my hand is incapable of effecting your deliverance. But, it is with peculiar pleasure I announce to you, that the strong arm of Jesus, the Son of God, the Angel of the Divine Presence, possesses both authority and power to pluck sinners as brands from the burnings of their iniquities. This leads me again to review the text, and to explain to you—

3. The gracious interposition of the Saviour in rescuing a sinner as a brand from the fire of God's indignation. We must indeed confess, that such a deliverance never can be effected by human effort; for, none can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him. Ps. xlix. 7. This, therefore, is the alone prerogative of Jesus the Son of God. The divinity of his person, God and man united; his appointment as a Saviour; his having answered the requisitions of law