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quest concerning this thing also, that I will not overthrow this city, for the which thou hast spoken; so much do I regard 22 the prayers of my people, for their safety and happiness. Haste thee, escape thither; for I cannot do any thing till thou be come thither, because of God's promise to save thee from the destruction. Therefore from that time the name of the city was called Zoar, that is, a little one.

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REFLECTIONS.

E see in these verses, what monstrous wickedness the human nature is capable of. We cannot think of it without horror, that the men of Sodom, young and old, should attempt the commission of such a crime in such an open and impudent manner. When men declare their sin, like Sodom, they must be daring sinners indeed. Pride, fulness of bread, and much idleness, led those exceeding great sinners to such a pitch of wickedness; their habitual practice of sin, took away the horror of it. Filthy conversation and unlawful deeds the apostle Peter charges them with. These wretches were not ashamed, neither could they blush. Their wickedness was greatly aggravated by the temporal blessings which God had bestowed upon them, and by the example and reproofs of Lot; but they continued in the practice of the most vile and unnatural wickedness, till wrath came upon them to the uttermost. Let us bewail their degeneracy, and avoid every appearance of such evil.

2. Observe here with pleasure God's care of a good man, and his favour to him. This is the apostle's inference in 2 Peter ii. 7,8,9, where he says, God delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked: and infers, The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished. Lot lived in a wicked place, and kept himself pure; he did not follow a multitude to do evil; but was singularly holy, and reproved them by his preaching and example; and God showed such a regard for him, and his promises to him, that he says, v. 22. I cannot do any thing till thou art safe. He would rather let them all escape, than hurt him. How precious are the lives of good men in the sight of God! He will take care that they are preserved. Those who, like Lot, mourn for the abomination of the times and places where they live, shall have a mark set upon them before the destroying angel goes forth; and he shall not come near any man on whom that mark is found; he will spare them now, and when the day comes, in which he maketh up his jewels, he will honour and reward them. Let this engage us to be blameless and harmless, the sons of God without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation,

3. God's dealings with Lot are an emblem of his dealings with his people in general. He hath sent messengers to convince them of the evil of sin, and exhort them to flee from the wrath to come; yet sometimes, when they believe the message, they linger, and are too much attached to earth and sense; but God being merciful to them, as was here said of Lot, repeats the warning, takes them by the hand, and pulls them out. Their salvation is to be ascribed to God's mercy; they are saved by grace. If God had not brought them out, they would have lingered still, and perished with the ungodly. We are exhorted to escape for our lives, as we prize the life of our souls, and desire eternal life. We are not to look behind, to slacken our pace, or hearken to the allurements of the world; but escape to the mountain; reach toward Christ and heaven, and take up with nothing short of it. That is a necessary exhortation, work out your own salvation; for we are too prone to trifle, though we know we are in danger of being consumed; and that is a most encouraging promise which follows it, for God will work in us to will and to do of his good pleasure.

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CHAP. XIX. 23, to the end.

The destruction of Sodom and the cities of the plain; and some unhappy circumstances relating to Lot's family.

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HE sun was risen upon the earth when Lot entered into Zoar; it was a fine bright morning, and no ap24 pearance of the storm that was just going to fall. Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah, and upon Admah and Zeboim, hail and lightning, brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven, by his own immediate power, and not` 25 according to the common course of nature; And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground.*

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But his wife looked back from behind him, out of curiosity, unbelief, and a covetous desire of what she had left behind, and she became a pillar of salt.†

And Abraham gat up early in the morning, full of anxiety to know the event, and he hastened to the place where he stood 28 before the LORD: And he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain, and beheld, and, lo, the smoke of the country went up as the smoke of a furnace. And it came to pass, when God destroyed the cities of the

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* The plain where they stood was changed into a sulphureous lake, called the Dead Sea. + The lightning blasted her. She was struck dead, but not thrown down. She stood erect like a pillar or statue. The brimstone and salt which were rained down, fell upo her, and not only crusted her over, but penetrated through her whole body. Thus she was instantly petrified; changed into a substance that would endure for many ages; a metallic salt. Josephus tells us he himself had seen it.

plain, that God remembered Abraham, his intercession and the promise made to him, and Lot's relation to him, and he sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when he overthrew the cities in the which Lot dwelt. This intimates that Lot, though a good man upon the whole, yet had deserved to perish with this wicked people, because he fixed his residence among them from worldly views; and also that he was saved for Abraham's sake. 30 And Lot went up out of Zoar, and dwelt in the mountain, and his two daughters with him; for he feared to dwell in Zoar, lest the people of that place should fall upon him, as the cause of the destruction of Sodom: and he dwelt in a cave, he and his two daughters.

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And the first born said unto the younger, Our father [is] old, and [there is] not a man in the earth to come in unto us after the manner of all the earth; we live here in a cave without the society of any but ourselves, and it is all one to us as if 32 there was not a man upon the face of the earth: Come, let us

make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, 33 that we may preserve seed of our father. And they made their father drink wine that night: and the first born went in; and lay with her father; and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose. Drunkenness drowns the un34 derstanding, senses, conscience, and all. And it came to pass on the morrow, that the first born said unto the younger, Behold, I lay yesternight with my father: let us make him drink wine this night also; and go thou in, [and] lie with 35 him, that we may preserve seed of our father. And they made their father drink wine that night also: and the younger arose, and lay with him; and he perceived not when she $6 lay down, nor when she arose. Thus were both the daugh37 ters of Lot with child by their father. And the first born

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bare a son, and called his name Moab, that is a child from my father; the same [is] the father of the Moabites unto this 38 day. And the younger, she also bare a son, and called his name Benammi, that is, the son of my people, and not of a stran ger: the same [is] the father of the children of Ammon unto this day. We read no more of Lot, and hope he repented; but it was a shameful crime, with the smoke of Sodom before his eyes.

Which perhaps they had brought from Zoar.

+ Some writers have endeavoured to excuse the scandal of this story, by saying, They were influenced by a desire of being the remote parents of the Messiah; and urged that they lived chastely in Sodom; that they joined in the contrivance, which guilty persons in such a case would not do; and that they perpetuated the fact in the names of the chil dren: but it is to be feared they had no such expectations; and whatever their pretence was, their condu&t was shamefully wicked

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REFLECTIONS.

ET us think of the terrible judgment that shall overtake all the wicked, illustrated by the destruction of Sodom. This was designed to be a standing mark of the displeasure of God against sin, especially the lust of uncleanness; and it is made an example of the ruin of many nations that rebel against God. Those people suffered the vengeance of eternal fire; and their destruction is an emblem of that which shall come upon all the ungodly. Accordingly, hell is represented as a lake that burneth with fire and brimstone. They have frequent warnings from the righteous men that live among them, but they are disregarded. Ministers call to sinners to turn and live; say unto them, as Lot did to his sons, Up, and get ye out of this place; but they seem as those that mock; they think them in jest, or de spise their remonstrances. God's bowels yearn over them, as well as men's; and he says, How shall I give thee up? but they refuse his offer; they think themselves secure, till sudden de struction cometh upon them. They are engaged in their worldly concerns or pleasures; and the sun of prosperity shines brightly upon them; but the breath of the Lord kindleth a stream of brimstone before they are aware. Our Lord illustrates the destruction of sinners by this story, in Luke xvii. 28. Let wicked men promise themselves ever so much peace and happiness, and go on ever so daringly, and impudently in sin, it is certain, as it is expressed Psalm xi. 6. Upon the wicked God shall rain snares, fire and brimstone, and an horrible tempest. What a fearful thing is it to fall into the hands of the living God! who hath such stores of vengeance; who can kindle a fire in his anger, that shall burn to the lowest hell! Be warned therefore, O sinners, and escape for your lives to the rock of refuge; or be assured, as our Lord himself argued, that after all these warnings, it will be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment, than for you.

2. Remember Lot's wife; as Christ exhorts us, Luke xvii. 32. She was punished for lingering, when she should have fled; for loving the things of the world, and turning back from the path which God had appointed. Though the wife of a good man, and remarkably favoured by her deliverance from Sodom, yet she was destroyed, and made a monument of wrath to future generations. Let us fly earnestly for refuge, and lay hold on the hope that is set before us; guarding against the prevailing love of the world, and sacrificing every thing to the welfare of the soul: not draw ing back, lest it be to perdition; but setting our faces Zion-ward, and pressing on to the kingdom of heaven. Linger not in the plains of destruction, or in the practice of sin. God hath declared, If any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. Let us then forget what is behind, and press on to those things that are before, toward the mark for the prize of our high calling; consider

ing, What is a man profited if he gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?

3. It is a happy thing to be nearly allied to those who are eminent for religion. Lot's sons in law and daughters would have been saved for his sake, if they had taken the warning; but they would not. God saved Lot for Abraham's sake, in answer to the prayers of this his pious relative, v. 29. The relations of good men often fare better for their prayers and intercessions; it is frequently so with regard to temporal concerns, and would be often so in spiritual things, if it were not their own fault. It will therefore be our wisdom to form alliances with those only who fear God and work righteousness, and from whose prayers, counsels, and examples we may expect the greatest advantage.

4. We see the odious and ensnaring sin of drunkenness. A certain writer against the scriptures, has ventured to assert, that there is nothing in the Mosaic law to discourage this vice. But, beside several other passages that might be mentioned, this story itself answers that objection. We see how big it is with all manner of mischief. It is bad in itself; dishonourable to our rational natures; an ungrateful abuse of the kindness of God, in giving such things for our refreshment and entertainment; and an inlet to all manner of vice. It makes the tongue pervert right things; and a person, who is in the main good, when overtaken with this fault, may be guilty of such actions as will bring perpetual shame on himself; a great reproach on his profession; and may make him go mourning all his days. Justly does the pious HERBERT say,

He that is drunken, may his mother kill
Big with his sister: He hath lost the reins,
Is outlaw'd by himself. All kind of ill
Did with his liquor slide into his veins.'

Thus Lot, who had kept himself pure amidst all the debauchery of Sodom, when he was drunk commits incest with his own daughters. A man may be guilty of such faults in similar circumstances, of which, if he were told before, he would say, Is thy servant a dog, that he should do such things as these? Persons cannot be too much on their guard against so frequent and so abominable a practice. Be not drunk with wine wherein there is excess. But if men will, with such instances as these before their eyes, go on to add drunkenness to thirst, make a god of their belly, and dethrone their reason, let them remember what the apostle declares, that such persons shall not inherit the kingdom of God. Let us conIclude with the exhortation of our Lord in Luke xxi. 34. heed to yourselves, best at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares.

YOL. I.

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