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<TITLE>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary on the Whole Bible [Genesis, Chapter XIX].</TITLE>
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<center><h1>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary
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on the Whole Bible</h1></center>
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[<A HREF="MHC00000.HTM">Table of Contents</A>]<BR>
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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1706)
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<!-- (Begin Body) -->
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<A NAME="Page121"> </A>
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<CENTER>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+3><B>G E N E S I S</B></FONT>
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<BR>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+2>CHAP. XIX.</FONT>
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<HR SIZE=1 WIDTH=50>
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</CENTER>
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<FONT SIZE=-1>
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<P>
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The contents of this chapter we have,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Pe+2:6-8">2 Pet. ii. 6-8</A>,
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where we find
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that "God, turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into
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ashes, condemned them with an overthrow, and delivered just
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Lot." It is the history of Sodom's ruin, and Lot's rescue from
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that ruin. We read
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+18:1-33"><I>ch.</I> xviii</A>)
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of God's coming to take a view
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of the present state of Sodom, what its wickedness was, and
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what righteous persons there were in it: now here we have the
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result of that enquiry.
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I. It was found, upon trial, that Lot was
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very good
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+19:1-3">ver. 1-3</A>),
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and it did not appear that there was any
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more of the same character.
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II. It was found that the Sodomites
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were very wicked and vile,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+19:4-11">ver. 4-11</A>.
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III. Special care was therefore
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taken for the securing of Lot and his family, in a place of
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safety,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+19:12-23">ver. 12-23</A>.
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IV. Mercy having rejoiced therein, justice
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shows itself in the ruin of Sodom and the death of Lot's wife
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+19:24-26">ver. 24-26</A>),
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with a general repetition of the story,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+19:27-29">ver. 27-29</A>.
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V. A foul sin that Lot was guilty of, in committing incest
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with his two daughters,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+19:30-38">ver. 30</A>,
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&c.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="Ge19_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge19_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge19_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec1"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Assault on the House of Lot.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 1898.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>1 And there came two angels to
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Sodom at even; and Lot sat
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in the gate of Sodom: and Lot seeing
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<I>them</I> rose up to meet them; and he
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bowed himself with his face toward
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the ground;
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2 And he said, Behold
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now, my lords, turn in, I pray you,
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into your servant's house, and tarry
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all night, and wash your feet, and ye
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shall rise up early, and go on your
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ways. And they said, Nay; but we
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will abide in the street all night.
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3 And he pressed upon them greatly;
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and they turned in unto him, and entered
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into his house; and he made
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them a feast, and did bake unleavened
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bread, and they did eat.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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These angels, it is likely, were two of the
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three that had just before been with Abraham,
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the two created angels that were sent to
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execute God's purpose concerning Sodom.
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Observe here,
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1. There was but one good
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man in Sodom, and these heavenly messengers
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soon found him out. Wherever we are,
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we should enquire out those of the place that
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live in the fear of God, and should choose to
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associate ourselves with them.
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+10:11">Matt. x. 11</A>,
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<I>Enquire who is worthy, and there abide.</I> Those
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of the same country, when they are in a
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foreign country, love to be together.
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2. Lot sufficiently distinguished himself from the
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rest of his neighbours, at this time, which
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plainly set a mark upon him. He that did
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not act like the rest must not fare like the
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rest.
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(1.) Lot sat in the gate of Sodom at
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even. When the rest, it is likely, were tippling
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and drinking, he sat alone, waiting for
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an opportunity to do good.
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(2.) He was extremely respectful to men whose mien
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and aspect were sober and serious, though
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they did not come in state. He bowed himself
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to the ground, when he met them, as if,
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upon the first view, he discerned something
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divine in them.
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(3.) He was hospitable, and
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very free and generous in his invitations and
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entertainments. He courted these strangers
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to his house, and to the best accommodations
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he had, and gave them all the evidences that
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he could of his sincerity; for,
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[1.] When the
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angels, to try whether he was hearty in the
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invitation, declined the acceptance of it, at
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first (which is the common usage of modesty,
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and no reproach at all to truth and honesty),
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their refusal did not make him more importunate;
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for he <I>pressed upon them greatly</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+19:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>),
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partly because he would by no means have
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them to expose themselves to the inconveniences
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and perils of lodging in the street of
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Sodom, and partly because he was desirous
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of their company and converse. He had not
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seen two such honest faces in Sodom this
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great while. Note, Those that live in bad
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places should know how to value the society
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of those that are wise and good, and earnestly
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desire it.
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[2.] When the angels accepted
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his invitation, he treated them nobly; he
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made a feast for them, and thought it well-bestowed
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on such guests. Note, Good
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people should be (with prudence) generous
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people.</P>
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<A NAME="Ge19_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge19_5"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge19_6"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge19_7"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge19_8"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge19_9"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge19_10"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge19_11"> </A>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>4 But before they lay down, the
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men of the city, <I>even</I> the men of Sodom,
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compassed the house round,
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both old and young, all the people
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from every quarter:
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5 And they
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called unto Lot, and said unto him,
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Where <I>are</I> the men which came in to
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thee this night? bring them out unto
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us, that we may know them.
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6 And
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Lot went out at the door unto them,
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and shut the door after him,
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7 And
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said, I pray you, brethren, do not so
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wickedly.
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8 Behold now, I have two
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daughters which have not known man;
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let me, I pray you, bring them out
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unto you, and do ye to them as <I>is</I>
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good in your eyes: only unto these
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men do nothing; for therefore came
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they under the shadow of my roof.
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9 And they said, Stand back. And
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they said <I>again,</I> This one <I>fellow</I>
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came in to sojourn, and he will needs
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be a judge: now will we deal worse
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with thee, than with them. And
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they pressed sore upon the man, <I>even</I>
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Lot, and came near to break the
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door.
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10 But the men put forth their
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hand, and pulled Lot into the house to
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them, and shut to the door.
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11 And
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they smote the men that <I>were</I> at the
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<A NAME="Page122"> </A>
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door of the house with blindness, both
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small and great: so that they wearied
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themselves to find the door.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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Now it appeared, beyond contradiction,
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that the cry of Sodom was no louder than
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there was cause for. This night's work was
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enough to fill the measure. For we find here,</P>
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<P>
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I. That they were all wicked,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+19:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>.
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Wickedness had become universal, and they were
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unanimous in any vile design. Here were
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old and young, and all from every quarter,
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engaged in this riot; the old were not
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past it, and the young had soon come up to
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it. Either they had no magistrates to keep
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the peace, and protect the peaceable, or their
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magistrates were themselves aiding and abetting.
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Note, When the disease of sin has
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become epidemical, it is fatal to any place,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+1:5-7">Isa. i. 5-7</A>.</P>
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<P>
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II. That they had arrived at the highest
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pitch of wickedness; they were <I>sinners before
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the Lord exceedingly</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+13:13"><I>ch.</I> xiii. 13</A>);
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for,
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1. It
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was the most unnatural and abominable
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wickedness that they were now set upon, a
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sin that still bears their name, and is called
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<I>Sodomy.</I> They were carried headlong by
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those vile affections
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ro+1:26,27">Rom. i. 26, 27</A>),
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which are worse than brutish, and the eternal
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reproach of the human nature, and which
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cannot be thought of without horror by those
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that have the least spark of virtue and any
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remains of natural light and conscience.
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Note, Those that allow themselves in unnatural
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uncleanness are marked for the vengeance
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of eternal fire. See
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jude+1:7">Jude 7</A>.
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2. They
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were not ashamed to own it, and to prosecute
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their design by force and arms. The practice
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would have been bad enough if it had been
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carried on by intrigue and wheedling; but
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they proclaimed war with virtue, and bade open
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defiance to it. Hence daring sinners are said
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to <I>declare their sin as Sodom,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+3:9">Isa. iii. 9</A>.
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Note,
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Those that have become impudent in sin
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generally prove impenitent in sin; and it will
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be their ruin. Those have hard hearts indeed
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that sin with a high hand,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+6:15">Jer. vi. 15</A>.
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3. When Lot interposed, with all the mildness
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imaginable, to check the rage and fury of
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their lust, they were most insolently rude and
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abusive to him. He ventured himself among
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them,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+19:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>.
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He spoke civilly to them, called
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them <I>brethren</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+19:7"><I>v.</I> 7</A>),
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and begged of them
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not to do so wickedly; and, being greatly
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disturbed at their vile attempt, he unadvisedly
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and unjustifiably offered to prostitute his two
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daughters to them,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+19:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>.
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It is true, of two
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evils we must choose the less; but of two
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sins we must choose neither, nor ever do
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evil that good may come of it. He reasoned
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with them, pleaded the laws of hospitality
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and the protection of his house which his
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guests were entitled to; but he might as well
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have offered reason to a roaring lion and a
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raging bear as to these head-strong sinners,
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who were governed only by lust and passion.
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Lot's arguing with them does but exasperate
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them; and, to complete their wickedness,
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and fill up the measure of it, they fall foul
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upon him.
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(1.) They ridicule him, charge him
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with the absurdity of pretending to be a magistrate,
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when he was not so much as a free-man
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of their city,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+19:9"><I>v.</I> 9</A>.
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Note, It is common for a
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reprover to be unjustly upbraided as a usurper;
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and, while offering the kindness of a
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friend, to be charged with assuming the
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authority of a judge: as if a man might not
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speak reason without taking too much upon
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him.
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(2.) They threaten him, and lay violent
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hands upon him; and the good man is in
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danger of being pulled in pieces by this outrageous
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rabble. Note,
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|
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[1.] Those that hate
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|
to be reformed hate those that reprove them,
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|
though with ever so much tenderness. Presumptuous
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sinners do by their consciences
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|
as the Sodomites did by Lot, baffle their
|
|
checks, stifle their accusations, press hard
|
|
upon them, till they have seared them and
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|
quite stopped their mouths, and so made
|
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themselves ripe for ruin.
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[2.] Abuses offered
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to God's messengers and to faithful reprovers
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|
soon fill the measure of a people's wickedness,
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and bring destruction without remedy.
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See
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+29:1">Prov. xxix. 1</A>,
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and
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ch+36:16">2 Chron. xxxvi. 16</A>.
|
|
If reproofs remedy not, there is no remedy.
|
|
See
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ch+25:16">2 Chron. xxv. 16</A>.</P>
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<P>
|
|
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III. That nothing less than the power of
|
|
an angel could save a good man out of their
|
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wicked hands. It was now past dispute
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|
what Sodom's character was and what course
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|
must be taken with it, and therefore the
|
|
angels immediately give a specimen of what
|
|
they further intended.
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1. They rescue Lot,
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|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+19:10"><I>v.</I> 10</A>.
|
|
Note, He that watereth shall be
|
|
watered also himself. Lot was solicitous to
|
|
protect them, and now they take effectual
|
|
care for his safety, in return for his kindness.
|
|
Note further, Angels are employed for the
|
|
special preservation of those that expose
|
|
themselves to danger by well-doing. The
|
|
saints, at death, are pulled like Lot into a
|
|
house of perfect safety, and the door shut for
|
|
ever against those that pursue them.
|
|
|
|
2. They
|
|
chastise the insolence of the Sodomites: <I>They
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|
smote them with blindness,</I>
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|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+19:11"><I>v.</I> 11</A>.
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|
This was
|
|
designed,
|
|
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(1.) To put an end to their
|
|
attempt, and disable them from pursuing it.
|
|
Justly were those struck blind who had been
|
|
deaf to reason. Violent persecutors are often
|
|
infatuated so that they cannot push on their
|
|
malicious designs against God's messengers,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+5:14,15">Job v. 14, 15</A>.
|
|
Yet these Sodomites, after
|
|
they were struck blind, continued seeking the
|
|
door, to break it down, till they were tired.
|
|
No judgments will, of themselves, change
|
|
the corrupt natures and purposes of wicked
|
|
men. If their minds had not been blinded
|
|
as well as their bodies, they would have said,
|
|
as the magicians, <I>This is the finger of God,</I>
|
|
and would have submitted.
|
|
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|
(2.) It was to
|
|
be an earnest of their utter ruin, the next day.
|
|
When God, in a way of righteous judgment,
|
|
blinds men, their condition is already desperate,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ro+11:8,9">Rom. xi. 8, 9</A>.</P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Page123"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Ge19_12"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge19_13"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge19_14"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Sec2"> </A>
|
|
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
|
|
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Rescue of Lot out of Sodom.</I></FONT></TD>
|
|
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 1898.</TD></TR>
|
|
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
|
|
</TABLE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>12 And the men said unto Lot,
|
|
Hast thou here any besides? son in
|
|
law, and thy sons, and thy daughters,
|
|
and whatsoever thou hast in the city,
|
|
bring <I>them</I> out of this place:
|
|
13 For
|
|
we will destroy this place, because
|
|
the cry of them is waxen great before
|
|
the face of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>; and the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>
|
|
hath sent us to destroy it.
|
|
14 And
|
|
Lot went out, and spake unto his
|
|
sons in law, which married his daughters,
|
|
and said, Up, get you out of this
|
|
place; for the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> will destroy this
|
|
city. But he seemed as one that
|
|
mocked unto his sons in law.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
We have here the preparation for Lot's
|
|
deliverance.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
I. Notice is given him of the approach of
|
|
Sodom's ruin: <I>We will destroy this place,</I>
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+19:13"><I>v.</I> 13</A>.
|
|
Note, The holy angels are ministers
|
|
of God's wrath for the destruction of sinners,
|
|
as well as of his mercy for the preservation
|
|
and deliverance of his people. In this
|
|
sense, the good angels become <I>evil angels,</I>
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+78:49">Ps. lxxviii. 49</A>.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. He is directed to give notice to his
|
|
friends and relations, that they, it they would,
|
|
might be saved with him
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+19:12"><I>v.</I> 12</A>):
|
|
"<I>Hast
|
|
thou here any besides,</I> that thou art concerned
|
|
for? If thou hast, go tell them what is
|
|
coming." Now this implies,
|
|
|
|
1. The command
|
|
of a great duty, which was to do all he could
|
|
for the salvation of those about him, to snatch
|
|
them as brands out of the fire. Note, Those
|
|
who through grace are themselves delivered
|
|
out of a sinful state should do what they can
|
|
for the deliverance of others, especially their
|
|
relations.
|
|
|
|
2. The offer of great favour. They
|
|
do not ask whether he knew any righteous
|
|
ones in the city fit to be spared: no, they
|
|
knew there were none; but they ask what
|
|
relations he had there, that, whether righteous
|
|
or unrighteous, they might be saved with
|
|
him. Note, Bad people often fare the better
|
|
in this world for the sake of their good relations.
|
|
It is good being akin to a godly man.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
III. He applies himself accordingly to his
|
|
sons-in-law,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+19:14"><I>v.</I> 14</A>.
|
|
Observe,
|
|
|
|
1. The fair
|
|
warning that Lot gave them: <I>Up, get you
|
|
out of this place.</I> The manner of expression
|
|
is startling and quickening. It was no time
|
|
to trifle when the destruction was just at the
|
|
door. They had not forty days to repent in,
|
|
as the Ninevites had. Now or never they
|
|
must make their escape. At midnight this
|
|
cry was made. Such as this is our call to the
|
|
unconverted, to turn and live.
|
|
|
|
2. The slight
|
|
they put upon this warning: <I>He seemed to
|
|
them as one that mocked.</I> They thought,
|
|
perhaps, that the assault which the Sodomites
|
|
had just now made upon his house had disturbed
|
|
his head, and put him into such a
|
|
fright that he knew not what he said; or
|
|
they thought that he was not in earnest with
|
|
them. Those who lived a merry life, and made
|
|
a jest of everything, made a jest of this warning,
|
|
and so they perished in the overthrow.
|
|
Thus many who are warned of the misery
|
|
and danger they are in by sin make a light
|
|
matter of it, and think their ministers do but
|
|
jest with them; such will perish with their
|
|
blood upon their own heads.</P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Ge19_15"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge19_16"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge19_17"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge19_18"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge19_19"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge19_20"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge19_21"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge19_22"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge19_23"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>15 And when the morning arose,
|
|
then the angels hastened Lot, saying,
|
|
Arise, take thy wife, and thy two
|
|
daughters, which are here; lest thou
|
|
be consumed in the iniquity of the
|
|
city.
|
|
16 And while he lingered, the
|
|
men laid hold upon his hand, and
|
|
upon the hand of his wife, and upon
|
|
the hand of his two daughters; the
|
|
L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> being merciful unto him: and
|
|
they brought him forth, and set him
|
|
without the city.
|
|
17 And it came to
|
|
pass, when they had brought them
|
|
forth abroad, that he said, Escape for
|
|
thy life; look not behind thee, neither
|
|
stay thou in all the plain; escape to
|
|
the mountain, lest thou be consumed.
|
|
18 And Lot said unto them, Oh, not
|
|
so, my Lord:
|
|
19 Behold now, thy
|
|
servant hath found grace in thy sight,
|
|
and thou hast magnified thy mercy,
|
|
which thou hast showed unto me in
|
|
saving my life; and I cannot escape
|
|
to the mountain, lest some evil
|
|
take me, and I die:
|
|
20 Behold now,
|
|
this city <I>is</I> near to flee unto, and it <I>is</I>
|
|
a little one: Oh, let me escape thither,
|
|
(<I>is</I> it not a little one?) and my soul
|
|
shall live.
|
|
21 And he said unto him,
|
|
See, I have accepted thee concerning
|
|
this thing also, that I will not overthrow
|
|
this city, for the which thou
|
|
hast spoken.
|
|
22 Haste thee, escape
|
|
thither; for I cannot do any thing
|
|
till thou be come thither. Therefore
|
|
the name of the city was called Zoar.
|
|
23 The sun was risen upon the earth
|
|
when Lot entered into Zoar.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Ge19_24"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge19_25"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
Here is,
|
|
|
|
I. The rescue of Lot out of Sodom.
|
|
Though there were not ten righteous
|
|
men in Sodom, for whose sakes it might
|
|
be spared, yet that one righteous man that
|
|
was among them delivered his own soul,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+14:14">Ezek. xiv. 14</A>.
|
|
Early in the morning his
|
|
own guests, in kindness to him, turned him
|
|
out of doors, and his family with him,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+19:15"><I>v.</I> 15</A>.
|
|
His daughters that were married perished
|
|
with their unbelieving husbands; but those
|
|
that continued with him were preserved with
|
|
him. Observe,</P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Page124"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
1. With what a gracious violence Lot was
|
|
brought out of Sodom,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+19:16"><I>v.</I> 16</A>.
|
|
It seems,
|
|
though he did not make a jest of the warning
|
|
given, as his sons-in-law did, yet he lingered,
|
|
he trifled, he did not make so much haste as
|
|
the case required. Thus many that are under
|
|
some convictions about the misery of their
|
|
spiritual state, and the necessity of a change,
|
|
yet defer that needful work, and foolishly
|
|
linger. Lot did so, and it might have been
|
|
fatal to him it the angels had not <I>laid hold of
|
|
his hand, and brought him forth,</I> and saved
|
|
him with fear,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jude+1:23">Jude 23</A>.
|
|
Herein it is said,
|
|
<I>The Lord was merciful to him;</I> otherwise he
|
|
might justly have left him to perish, since he
|
|
was so loth to depart. Note,
|
|
|
|
(1.) The salvation
|
|
of the most righteous men must be
|
|
attributed to God's mercy, not to their own
|
|
merit. We are saved by grace.
|
|
|
|
(2.) God's
|
|
power also must be acknowledged in the
|
|
bringing of souls out of a sinful state. If
|
|
God had not brought us forth, we had never
|
|
come forth.
|
|
|
|
(3.) If God had not been merciful
|
|
to us, our lingering had been our ruin.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
2. With what a gracious vehemence he
|
|
was urged to make the best of his way, when
|
|
he was <I>brought forth,</I>
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+19:17"><I>v.</I> 17</A>.
|
|
|
|
(1.) He must
|
|
still apprehend himself in danger of being
|
|
consumed, and be quickened by the law of
|
|
self-preservation to flee for his life. Note,
|
|
A holy fear and trembling are found necessary
|
|
to the working out of our salvation.
|
|
|
|
(2.) He must therefore mind his business
|
|
with the utmost care and diligence. He must
|
|
not hanker after Sodom: <I>Look not behind thee.</I>
|
|
He must not loiter by the way: <I>Stay not in
|
|
the plain;</I> for it would all be made one
|
|
dead sea. He must not take up short of the
|
|
place of refuge appointed him: <I>Escape to the
|
|
mountain.</I> Such as these are the commands
|
|
given to those who through grace are delivered
|
|
out of a sinful state.
|
|
|
|
[1.] Return not
|
|
to sin and Satan, for that is looking back to
|
|
Sodom.
|
|
|
|
[2.] Rest not in self and the world,
|
|
for that is staying in the plain. And,
|
|
|
|
[3.] Reach towards Christ and heaven, for that is
|
|
escaping to the mountain, short of which we
|
|
must not take up.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. The fixing of a place of refuge for him.
|
|
The mountain was first appointed for him to
|
|
flee to, but,
|
|
|
|
1. He begged for a city of refuge,
|
|
one of the five that lay together, called <I>Bela,</I>
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+14:2,19:18-20"><I>ch.</I> xiv. 2, xix. 18-20</A>.
|
|
It was Lot's weakness to
|
|
think a city of his own choosing safer than
|
|
the mountain of God's appointing. And he
|
|
argued against himself when he pleaded,
|
|
<I>Thou hast magnified thy mercy in saving my
|
|
life, and I cannot escape to the mountain;</I> for
|
|
could not he that plucked him out of Sodom,
|
|
when he lingered, carry him safely to the
|
|
mountain, though he began to tire? Could
|
|
not he that saved him from greater evils save
|
|
him from the less? He insists much in his
|
|
petition upon the smallness of the place: <I>It
|
|
is a little one, it is not?</I> therefore, it was to
|
|
be hoped, not so bad as the rest. This gave
|
|
a new name to the place; it was called <I>Zoar,
|
|
a little one.</I> Intercessions for little ones are
|
|
worthy to be remembered.
|
|
|
|
2. God granted
|
|
him his request, though there was much
|
|
infirmity in it,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+19:21,22"><I>v.</I> 21, 22</A>.
|
|
See what favour
|
|
God showed to a true saint, though weak.
|
|
|
|
(1.) Zoar was spared, to gratify him. Though
|
|
his intercession for it was not, as Abraham's
|
|
for Sodom, from a principle of generous
|
|
charity, but merely from self-interest, yet
|
|
God granted him his request, to show how
|
|
much the fervent prayer of a righteous man
|
|
avails.
|
|
|
|
(2.) Sodom's ruin was suspended
|
|
till he was safe: <I>I cannot do any thing till
|
|
thou shalt have come thither.</I> Note, The very
|
|
presence of good men in a place helps to keep
|
|
off judgments. See what care God takes for
|
|
the preservation of his people. The winds
|
|
are held till God's servants are sealed,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Re+7:3,Eze+9:4">Rev. vii. 3; Ezek. ix. 4</A>.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
III. It is taken notice of that the sun had
|
|
risen when Lot entered into Zoar; for when
|
|
a good man comes into a place he brings
|
|
light along with him, or should do.</P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Sec3"> </A>
|
|
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
|
|
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.</I></FONT></TD>
|
|
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 1898.</TD></TR>
|
|
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
|
|
</TABLE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>24 Then the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> rained upon Sodom
|
|
and upon Gomorrah brimstone
|
|
and fire from the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> out of heaven;
|
|
25 And he overthrew those cities, and
|
|
all the plain, and all the inhabitants
|
|
of the cities, and that which grew
|
|
upon the ground.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
<I>Then,</I> when Lot had got safely into Zoar,
|
|
then this ruin came; for good men are taken
|
|
away from the evil to come. <I>Then,</I> when the
|
|
sun had risen bright and clear, promising a
|
|
fair day, then this storm arose, to show that
|
|
it was not from natural causes. Concerning
|
|
this destruction observe,
|
|
|
|
1. God was the
|
|
immediate author of it. It was destruction
|
|
from the Almighty: <I>The Lord rained--from
|
|
the Lord</I>
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+19:24"><I>v.</I> 24</A>),
|
|
that is, God from himself,
|
|
by his own immediate power, and not in the
|
|
common course of nature. Or, God the Son
|
|
from God the Father; for the Father has
|
|
committed all judgment to the Son. Note,
|
|
He that is the Saviour will be the destroyer
|
|
of those that reject the salvation.
|
|
|
|
2. It was
|
|
a strange punishment,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+31:3">Job xxxi. 3</A>.
|
|
Never
|
|
was the like before nor since. Hell was
|
|
rained from heaven upon them. <I>Fire, and
|
|
brimstone, and a horrible tempest, were the
|
|
portion of their cup</I>
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+11:6">Ps. xi. 6</A>);
|
|
not a flash of
|
|
lightning, which is destructive enough when
|
|
God gives it commission, but a shower of
|
|
lightning. Brimstone was scattered upon
|
|
their habitation
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+18:15">Job xviii. 15</A>),
|
|
and then the
|
|
fire soon fastened upon them. God could
|
|
have drowned them, as he did the old world;
|
|
but he would show that he has many arrows
|
|
in his quiver, fire as well as water.
|
|
|
|
3. It was
|
|
a judgment that laid all waste: <I>It overthrew
|
|
the cities,</I> and destroyed all the inhabitants of
|
|
them, the plain, and all that grew upon the
|
|
ground,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+19:25"><I>v.</I> 25</A>.
|
|
It was an utter ruin, and
|
|
irreparable. That fruitful valley remains to
|
|
this day a great lake, or dead sea; it is called
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Page125"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<I>the Salt Sea,</I>
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Nu+34:12">Num. xxxiv. 12</A>.
|
|
Travellers say
|
|
that it is about thirty miles long and ten
|
|
miles broad; it has no living creature in it;
|
|
it is not moved by the wind; the smell of it
|
|
is offensive; things do not easily sink in it.
|
|
The Greeks call it <I>Asphaltites,</I> from a sort of
|
|
pitch which it casts up. Jordan falls into it,
|
|
and is lost there.
|
|
|
|
4. It was a punishment
|
|
that answered to their sin. Burning lusts
|
|
against nature were justly punished with
|
|
this preternatural burning. Those that went
|
|
after strange flesh were destroyed by strange
|
|
fire,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jude+1:7">Jude 7</A>.
|
|
They persecuted the angels
|
|
with their rabble, and made Lot afraid; and
|
|
now God persecuted them with his tempest,
|
|
and made them afraid with his storm,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+83:15">Ps. lxxxiii. 15</A>.
|
|
|
|
5. It was designed for a standing
|
|
revelation of the wrath of God against sin
|
|
and sinners in all ages. It is, accordingly,
|
|
often referred to in the scripture, and made a
|
|
pattern of the ruin of Israel
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+29:23">Deut. xxix. 23</A>),
|
|
of Babylon
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+13:19">Isa. xiii. 19</A>),
|
|
of Edom
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+49:17,18">Jer. xlix. 17, 18</A>),
|
|
of Moab and Ammon,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zep+2:9">Zep. ii. 9</A>.
|
|
Nay,
|
|
it was typical of <I>the vengeance of eternal fire</I>
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jude+1:7">Jude 7</A>),
|
|
and the ruin of all <I>that live ungodly</I>
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Pe+2:6">2 Pet. ii. 6</A>),
|
|
especially that despise the gospel,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+10:15">Matt. x. 15</A>.
|
|
It is in allusion to this
|
|
destruction that the place of the damned is
|
|
often represented by a lake that burns, as
|
|
Sodom did, with fire and brimstone. Let us
|
|
learn from it,
|
|
|
|
(1.) The evil of sin, and the
|
|
hurtful nature of it. Iniquity tends to ruin.
|
|
|
|
(2.) The terrors of the Lord. See what a
|
|
fearful thing it is to fall into the hands of the
|
|
living God!</P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Ge19_26"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>26 But his wife looked back from
|
|
behind him, and she became a pillar of
|
|
salt.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
This also is written for our admonition.
|
|
Our Saviour refers to it
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+17:32">Luke xvii. 32</A>),
|
|
<I>Remember Lot's wife.</I> As by the example of
|
|
Sodom the wicked are warned to turn from
|
|
their wickedness, so by the example of Lot's
|
|
wife the righteous are warned not to turn
|
|
from their righteousness. See
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+3:18,20">Ezek. iii. 18, 20</A>.
|
|
We have here,</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
I. The sin of Lot's wife: <I>She looked back
|
|
from behind him.</I> This seemed a small thing,
|
|
but we are sure, by the punishment of it,
|
|
that it was a great sin, and exceedingly sinful.
|
|
|
|
1. She disobeyed an express command, and
|
|
so sinned after the similitude of Adam's
|
|
transgression, which ruined us all.
|
|
|
|
2. Unbelief
|
|
was at the bottom of it; she questioned
|
|
whether Sodom would be destroyed, and
|
|
thought she might still have been safe in it.
|
|
|
|
3. She looked back upon her neighbours
|
|
whom she had left behind with more concern
|
|
than was fit, now that their day of grace was
|
|
over, and divine justice was glorifying itself
|
|
in their ruin. See
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+66:24">Isa. lxvi. 24</A>.
|
|
|
|
4. Probably
|
|
she hankered after her house and goods
|
|
in Sodom, and was loth to leave them.
|
|
Christ intimates this to be her sin
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+17:31,32">Luke xvii. 31, 32</A>);
|
|
she too much regarded her
|
|
<I>stuff.</I>
|
|
|
|
5. Her looking back evinced an inclination
|
|
to go back; and therefore our Saviour
|
|
uses it as a warning against apostasy from
|
|
our Christian profession. We have all renounced
|
|
the world and the flesh, and have
|
|
set our faces heaven-ward; we are in the
|
|
plain, upon our probation; and it is at our
|
|
peril if we return into the interests we profess
|
|
to have abandoned. Drawing back is to
|
|
perdition, and looking back is towards it.
|
|
<I>Let us therefore fear,</I>
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Heb+4:1">Heb. iv. 1</A>.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. The punishment of Lot's wife for this
|
|
sin. She was struck dead in the place; yet
|
|
her body did not fall down, but stood fixed
|
|
and erect like a pillar, or monument, not liable
|
|
to waste nor decay, as human bodies exposed
|
|
to the air are, but metamorphosed into a
|
|
metallic substance which would last perpetually.
|
|
Come, behold the goodness and
|
|
severity of God
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ro+11:22">Rom. xi. 22</A>),
|
|
towards Lot,
|
|
who went forward, goodness; towards his
|
|
wife, who looked back, severity. Though
|
|
she was nearly related to a righteous man,
|
|
though better than her neighbours, and
|
|
though a monument of distinguishing mercy
|
|
in her deliverance out of Sodom, yet God
|
|
did not connive at her disobedience; for
|
|
great privileges will not secure us from the
|
|
wrath of God if we do not carefully and
|
|
faithfully improve them. This pillar of salt
|
|
should season us. Since it is such a dangerous
|
|
thing to look back, let us always press
|
|
forward,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Php+3:13,14">Phil. iii. 13, 14</A>.</P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Ge19_27"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge19_28"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge19_29"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>27 And Abraham gat up early in
|
|
the morning to the place where he
|
|
stood before the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>:
|
|
28 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.
|
|
29 And it came to pass,
|
|
when God destroyed the cities of the
|
|
plain, that God remembered Abraham,
|
|
and sent Lot out of the midst of the
|
|
overthrow, when he overthrew the
|
|
cities in the which Lot dwelt.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
Our communion with God consists in our
|
|
gracious regard to him and his gracious
|
|
regard to us; we have here therefore the
|
|
communion that was between God and Abraham,
|
|
in the event concerning Sodom, as
|
|
before in the consultation concerning it, for
|
|
communion with God is to be kept up in
|
|
providences as well as in ordinances.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
I. Here is Abraham's pious regard to God
|
|
in this event, in two things:--
|
|
|
|
1. A careful
|
|
expectation of the event,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+19:27"><I>v.</I> 27</A>.
|
|
<I>He got up
|
|
early</I> to look towards Sodom; and, to intimate
|
|
that his design herein was to see what
|
|
became of his prayers, he went to the very
|
|
place where he had stood before the Lord,
|
|
and set himself there, as upon his watch
|
|
tower,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Hab+2:1">Hab. ii. 1</A>.
|
|
Note, When we have
|
|
prayed we must look after our prayers, and
|
|
observe the success of them. We must
|
|
direct our prayer as a letter, and then look
|
|
up for an answer, direct our prayer as an
|
|
arrow, and then look up to see whether it
|
|
reach the mark,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+5:3">Ps. v. 3</A>.
|
|
Our enquiries
|
|
after news must be in expectation of an
|
|
answer to our prayers.
|
|
|
|
2. An awful observation
|
|
of it: <I>He looked towards Sodom</I>
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+19:28"><I>v.</I> 28</A>),
|
|
not as Lot's wife did, tacitly reflecting
|
|
upon the divine severity, but humbly adoring
|
|
it and acquiescing in it. Thus the saints,
|
|
when they see the smoke of Babylon's torment
|
|
rising up for ever (like Sodom's here),
|
|
will say again and again, <I>Alleluia,</I>
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Re+19:3">Rev. xix. 3</A>.
|
|
Those that have, in the day of grace,
|
|
most earnestly interceded for sinners, will, in
|
|
the day of judgment, be content to see them
|
|
perish, and will glorify God in their destruction.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. Here is God's favourable regard to
|
|
Abraham,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+19:29"><I>v.</I> 29</A>.
|
|
As before, when Abraham
|
|
prayed for Ishmael, God heard him for
|
|
Isaac, so now, when he prayed for Sodom,
|
|
he heard him for Lot. <I>He remembered Abraham,
|
|
and,</I> for his sake, <I>sent Lot out of the
|
|
overthrow.</I> Note,
|
|
|
|
1. God will certainly give
|
|
an answer of peace to the prayer of faith, in
|
|
his own way and time; though, for a while,
|
|
it seem to be forgotten, yet, sooner or later,
|
|
it will appear to be remembered.
|
|
|
|
2. The
|
|
relations and friends of godly people fare the
|
|
better for their interest in God and intercessions
|
|
with him; it was out of respect to
|
|
Abraham that Lot was rescued: perhaps this
|
|
word encouraged Moses long afterwards to pray
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ex+32:13">Exod. xxxii. 13</A>),
|
|
<I>Lord, remember Abraham;</I>
|
|
and see
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+63:11">Isa. lxiii. 11</A>.</P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Ge19_30"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge19_31"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge19_32"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge19_33"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge19_34"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge19_35"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge19_36"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge19_37"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge19_38"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Sec4"> </A>
|
|
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
|
|
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Lot's Disgrace.</I></FONT></TD>
|
|
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 1898.</TD></TR>
|
|
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
|
|
</TABLE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>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: and he dwelt in a
|
|
cave, he and his two daughters.
|
|
31 And
|
|
the firstborn said unto the younger,
|
|
Our father <I>is</I> old, and <I>there is</I> not a
|
|
man in the earth to come in unto us
|
|
after the manner of all the earth:
|
|
32 Come, let us make our father drink
|
|
wine, and we will lie with him, that
|
|
we may preserve seed of our father.
|
|
33 And they made their father drink
|
|
wine that night: and the firstborn
|
|
went in, and lay with her father; and
|
|
he perceived not when she lay down,
|
|
nor when she arose.
|
|
34 And it came
|
|
to pass on the morrow, that the firstborn
|
|
said unto the younger, Behold,
|
|
I lay yesternight with my father: let
|
|
us make him drink wine this night
|
|
also; and go thou in, <I>and</I> lie with him,
|
|
that we may preserve seed of our father.
|
|
35 And they made their father drink
|
|
wine that night also: and the younger
|
|
arose, and lay with him; and he perceived
|
|
not when she lay down, nor when she arose.
|
|
36 Thus were both
|
|
the daughters of Lot with child by
|
|
their father.
|
|
37 And the firstborn
|
|
bare a son, and called his name Moab:
|
|
the same <I>is</I> the father of the Moabites
|
|
unto this day.
|
|
38 And the younger,
|
|
she also bare a son, and called his name
|
|
Ben-ammi: the same <I>is</I> the father of
|
|
the children of Ammon unto this day.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
Here is,
|
|
|
|
I. The great trouble and distress that
|
|
Lot was brought into after his deliverance,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+19:30"><I>v.</I> 30</A>.
|
|
|
|
1. He was frightened out of Zoar, durst not
|
|
dwell there; probably because he was conscious
|
|
to himself that it was a refuge of his
|
|
own choosing and that herein he had foolishly
|
|
prescribed to God, and therefore he could
|
|
not but distrust his safety in it; or because
|
|
he found it as wicked as Sodom, and therefore
|
|
concluded it could not long survive it;
|
|
or perhaps he observed the rise and increase
|
|
of those waters which after the conflagration,
|
|
perhaps from Jordan, began to overflow the
|
|
plain, and which, mixing with the ruins, by
|
|
degrees made the Dead Sea; in those waters
|
|
he concluded Zoar must needs perish (though
|
|
it had escaped the fire) because it stood upon
|
|
the same flat. Note, Settlements and shelters
|
|
of our own choosing, and in which we do
|
|
not follow God, commonly prove uneasy to
|
|
us.
|
|
|
|
2. He was forced to betake himself to
|
|
the mountain, and to take up with a cave for
|
|
his habitation there. Methinks it was strange
|
|
that he did not return to Abraham, and put
|
|
himself under his protection, to whom he
|
|
had once and again owed his safety: but the
|
|
truth is there are some good men that are
|
|
not wise enough to know what is best for
|
|
themselves. Observe,
|
|
|
|
(1.) He was now glad
|
|
to go to the mountain, the place which God
|
|
had appointed for his shelter. Note, It is
|
|
well if disappointment in our way drive us
|
|
at last to God's way.
|
|
|
|
(2.) He that, awhile
|
|
ago, could not find room enough for himself
|
|
and his stock in the whole land, but
|
|
must jostle with Abraham, and get as far
|
|
from him as he could, is now confined to a
|
|
hole in a hill, where he has scarcely room to
|
|
turn himself, and there he is solitary and
|
|
trembling. Note, It is just with God to
|
|
reduce those to poverty and restraint who
|
|
have abused their liberty and plenty. See
|
|
also in Lot what those bring themselves to,
|
|
at last, that forsake the communion of saints
|
|
for secular advantages; they will be beaten
|
|
with their own rod.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. The great sin that Lot and his
|
|
daughters were guilty of, when they were in
|
|
this desolate place. It is a sad story.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
1. His daughters laid a very wicked plot
|
|
to bring him to sin; and theirs was, doubtless,
|
|
the greater guilt. They contrived,
|
|
under pretence of cheering up the spirits of
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Page127"> </A>
|
|
|
|
their father in his present condition, to make
|
|
him drunk, and then to lie with him,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+19:31,32"><I>v.</I> 31, 32</A>.
|
|
|
|
(1.) Some think that their pretence was
|
|
plausible. Their father had no sons, they
|
|
had no husbands, nor knew they where to
|
|
have any of the holy seed, or, if they had
|
|
children by others, their father's name would
|
|
not be preserved in them. Some think that
|
|
they had the Messiah in their eye, who, they
|
|
hoped, might descend form their father; for
|
|
he came from Terah's elder son, who separated
|
|
from the rest of Shem's posterity as
|
|
well as Abraham, and was now signally delivered
|
|
out of Sodom. Their mother, and
|
|
the rest of the family, were gone; they might
|
|
not marry with the cursed Canaanites; and
|
|
therefore they supposed that the end they
|
|
aimed at and the extremity they were brought
|
|
to, would excuse the irregularity. Thus the
|
|
learned Monsieur Allix. Note, Good intentions
|
|
are often abused to patronise bad
|
|
actions. But,
|
|
|
|
(2.) Whatever their pretence
|
|
was, it is certain that their project was very
|
|
wicked and vile, and an impudent affront to
|
|
the very light and law of nature. Note,
|
|
|
|
[1.] The sight of God's most tremendous judgments
|
|
upon sinners will not of itself, without
|
|
the grace of God, restrain evil hearts from
|
|
evil practices: one would wonder how the
|
|
fire of lust could possibly kindle upon those,
|
|
who had so lately been the eye-witnesses of
|
|
Sodom's flames.
|
|
|
|
[2.] Solitude has its temptations
|
|
as well as company, and particularly
|
|
to uncleanness. When Joseph was alone
|
|
with his mistress he was in danger,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+39:11"><I>ch.</I> xxxix. 11</A>.
|
|
Relations that dwell together,
|
|
especially if solitary, have need carefully to
|
|
watch even against the least evil thought of
|
|
this kind, lest Satan get an advantage.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
2. Lot himself, by his own folly and unwariness,
|
|
was wretchedly overcome, and suffered
|
|
himself so far to be imposed upon by
|
|
his own children as, two nights together, to
|
|
be drunk, and to commit incest,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+19:33"><I>v.</I> 33</A>,
|
|
&c.
|
|
<I>Lord, what is man!</I> What are the best of
|
|
men, when God leaves them to themselves!
|
|
See here,
|
|
|
|
(1.) The peril of security. Lot,
|
|
who not only kept himself sober and chaste
|
|
in Sodom, but was a constant mourner for
|
|
the wickedness of the place and a witness
|
|
against it, was yet, in the mountain, where
|
|
he was alone, and as he thought quite out of
|
|
the way of temptation, shamefully overtaken.
|
|
Let him therefore that thinks he stands,
|
|
stands high and stands firm, <I>take heed lest he
|
|
fall.</I> No mountain, on this side the holy
|
|
hill above, can set us out of the reach of
|
|
Satan's fiery darts.
|
|
|
|
(2.) The peril of drunkenness.
|
|
It is not only a great sin itself, but
|
|
it is the inlet of many sins; it may prove the
|
|
inlet of the worst and most unnatural sins,
|
|
which may be a perpetual wound and dishonour.
|
|
Excellently does Mr. Herbert describe
|
|
it,</P>
|
|
|
|
<CENTER>
|
|
<TABLE BORDER=0>
|
|
<TR>
|
|
<TD>"He that is drunken may his mother kill
|
|
<BR>Big with his sister."------------------
|
|
</TD></TR>
|
|
</TABLE>
|
|
</CENTER>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
A man may do that without reluctance, when
|
|
he is drunk, which, when he is sober, he
|
|
could not think of without horror.
|
|
|
|
(3.) The
|
|
peril of temptation from our dearest relations
|
|
and friends, whom we love, and esteem, and
|
|
expect kindness from. Lot, whose temperance
|
|
and chastity were impregnable against
|
|
the batteries of foreign force, was surprised
|
|
into sin and shame by the base treachery of
|
|
his own daughters: we must dread a snare
|
|
wherever we are, and be always upon our
|
|
guard.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
3. In the close we have an account of the
|
|
birth of the two sons, or grandsons (call
|
|
them which you will), of Lot, Moab and
|
|
Ammon, the fathers of two nations, neighbours
|
|
to Israel, and which we often read of
|
|
in the Old Testament; both together are
|
|
called <I>the children of Lot,</I>
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+83:8">Ps. lxxxiii. 8</A>.
|
|
Note, Though prosperous births may attend
|
|
incestuous conceptions, yet they are so far
|
|
from justifying them that they rather perpetuate
|
|
the reproach of them and entail infamy
|
|
upon posterity; yet the tribe of Judah, of
|
|
which our Lord sprang, descended from such
|
|
a birth, and Ruth, a Moabitess, has a name
|
|
in his genealogy,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+1:3,5">Matt. i. 3, 5</A>.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
<I>Lastly,</I> Observe that, after this, we never
|
|
read any more of Lot, nor what became of
|
|
him: no doubt he repented of his sin, and
|
|
was pardoned; but from the silence of the
|
|
scripture concerning him henceforward we
|
|
may learn that drunkenness, as it makes
|
|
men forgetful, so it makes them forgotten;
|
|
and many a name, which otherwise might
|
|
have been remembered with respect, is buried
|
|
by it in contempt and oblivion.</P>
|
|
|
|
<!-- (End Body) -->
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[<A HREF="MHC00000.HTM">Table of Contents</A>]<BR>
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