hold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord: Peradventure there shall be twenty found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for twenty's sake. 32 And he said, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak yet but this once: Peradventure ten shall be found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for ten's sake. It is probable that Abraham thought that he had now got within the limits of Lot's family; if, however, there were not that small number in Sodom and its dependencies, he must allow the justice of the sentence.-Scott. Not a soul seems to have been won over, by Lot's residence in the place, to the worship of the true God.-A. Fuller. 33 And the LORD went his way, as soon as he had left communing with Abraham: and Abraham returned unto his place. Sir Walter Raleigh one day asking a favour from Queen Elizabeth, the latter said to him, 'Raleigh, when will you leave off begging?' to which he answered, 'When your Majesty leaves off giving.' But think how much more bountiful God is, who did not give over granting Abraham his request for Sodom till he left off asking. And who can tell but that if he had gone on and prayed that, if five righteous persons had been found in Sodom, the city might have been spared for their sakes, his request would have been answered?-Anon. CHAP. XIX. AND there came two angels to Sodom at even; and Lot sat in 2 the gate of Sodom: and Lot seeing them rose up to meet them; and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground; And he said, Behold now, my lords, turn in, I pray you, into your servant's house, and tarry all night, and wash your feet, and ye shall rise up early, and go on your ways. And they said, Nay; but we will abide in the street all night. And he pressed upon them greatly; and they turned in unto him, and entered into his house; and he made them a feast, and did bake unleavened bread, and they did eat. When a traveller in the East had no friend to resort to on his arrival at a town or village, he took his station at the city gate, or in the street, whence he was soon invited to enter some tent or house, and partake of the table and the comforts of the bed-chamber. The same hospitality still prevails in the same parts.-Carpenter. Those that live in bad places should know how to value the society of those that are wise and good, and earnestly desire it; and good people should be (with prudence) generous people.-M. Henry. 4 But before they lay down, the men of the city, even the men of Sodom, compassed the house round, both old and young, all the people from every quarter: 5 And they called unto Lot, and said unto him, Where are the men which came in to thee this night? bring them out unto us, that we may know them. And Lot went 7 out at the door unto them, and shut the door after him, ' And said, I pray you, brethren, do not so wickedly. Behold now, I have two daughters which have not known man; let me, I pray you, bring them out unto you, and do ye to them as is good in your eyes only unto these men do nothing; for therefore came they under the shadow of my roof. This offer was very unwarrantable in Lot. It was doing evil that good might come. Of two evils we may choose the least, but of two sins we may choose neither.-Orton. There can be no warrant for us to sin lest others should sin. It is for God to prevent sins with judgments; it is not for men to prevent a greater sin with a less. While Lot's offer was faulty, his intention was good. The best minds, when they are troubled, yield inconsiderate motions; as water that is violently stirred sends up bubbles. God meant better to Lot than to suffer his weak offer to be accepted. -Bp. Hall. And they said, Stand back. And they said again, This one fellow came in to sojourn, and he will needs be a judge: now will we deal worse with thee, than with them. And they pressed sore upon the man, even Lot, and came near to break the door. 10 But the men put forth their hand, and pulled Lot into the house to them, and shut to the door. 11 And they smote the men that were at the door of the house with blindness, both small and great so that they wearied themselves to find the door. Those who are bent upon villany are more exasperated by dissuasion; as some strong streams, when they are resisted by flood-gates, swell over the banks.-Bp. Hall. besides ? son 12 And the men said unto Lot, Hast thou here any in law, and thy sons, and thy daughters, and whatsoever thou hast in the city, bring them out of this place: 18 For we will destroy this place, because the cry of them is waxen great before the face of the LORD; and the LORD hath sent us to destroy it. It is God's manner, whenever He is about to bring some great and destroying judgment upon a people, first to gather in His elect that they may be secure. If God meets with a very good field, He pulls up the weeds, and lets the corn grow; if indifferent, He lets the corn and weeds grow together; if very ill, He gathers the few ears of corn, and burns the weeds.-Bp. Hall. 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 LORD will destroy this city. But he seemed as one that mocked unto his sons in law. *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 LORD being merciful unto him: and they brought him forth, and set him without the city. V. 16. Between a life of sin and a life of holiness, there must always be a specific and decided difference. The initiation into the former is through flowery paths and delusive wiles; the entrance of the latter is guarded by solemn truths and wholesome severities, and is consequently the scene of many a struggle. As Lot lingered on leaving Sodom, so it is with difficulty that men can be prevailed upon to give up all for Christ. 'Never,' says Livy, did a man under sentence of banishment, show so much reluctance to relinquish his native country as 6 Hannibal displayed on leaving that of the enemy.' Lot lingered,' and, but for the gracious and seasonable aid vouchsafed him, would have perished in the devoted city. It is the Lord who, by His Spirit, first awakens and convinces the renewed sinner; it is His grace which predisposes the soul to accept the invitations and believe the doctrines of the Gospel; and it is He who, whilst we still linger amidst the blandishments and enticements of the world, lays hold on the hand and leads us forth.-Mary Grafton. 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 shewed 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 is near to flee unto, and it is a little one: O, let me escape thither, (is 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. Sinner, listen to the exhortation addressed here to Lot; and if ever thou meanest to get out of the devil's dominions, fly out of his doors and run for thy life. Wheresoever this warning finds thee, stay not, though in the midst of thy joys, with which thy lusts entertain thee: as the paper which came to Brentius from that senator, his dear friend, found him at supper with his wife and children, and bade him flee,cito-citius-citissime—which he did, leaving his dear company and sweet cheer; so do thou, or else thou mayest repent thy stay when it is too late!-Gurnall. 6 Happy believer! thou art already taken by the hand, and the staff of promise provided for thy journey; nor is precept wanting to guard thy steps in the paths of peace. Let it be thy care to go on, like Gideon's army, though faint, yet pursuing.' Look not with desire upon relinquished and forbidden pleasures, neither stay in all the plain to trifle with the privileges and mercies of thy profession; but escape for thy life from sin, the world, and self.-Mary Grafton. 23 The sun was risen upon the earth when Lot entered into Zoar. The wicked inhabitants of Sodom augured from appearances that they should have a fine and happy day; but how speedily and awfully was the prospect changed!' Sinners little imagine how near they are to destruction; they hug their mercies, till all at once they are withdrawn, and give place to bitter judgments. The shining of the sun on this mournful occasion, may be regarded as nature taking her last farewell of wicked Sodom. Precisely such a flattering morning preceded the destruction of the city of Lisbon by an earthquake, in the year 1755.-L. 24 Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD 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. Evidences of this catastrophe have been supplied both by profane historians and modern travellers, such as Diodorus Siculus, Tacitus, Strabo, Maundrell, and Thevenot. 26 But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt. The lightning blasted her. She was struck dead, but not thrown down. She stood like a pillar or statue. The sulphur and salt which were rained down fell upon 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 years, a metallic salt. Josephus tells us he himself had seen it.Orton. This act of Lot's wife in looking back, though apparently very insignificant in itself, was a very heinous and complicated sin. It revealed: 1. Her unwillingness to obey the Divine command. 2. Her discredit of the threatened judgment. 3. Her unjustifiable sympathy with those she had left behind. 4. A hankering after forbidden and sinful pleasures; and 5. A disposition to return to Sodom. Great was her sin, and proportionably severe her punishment!L. The classical reader cannot fail to call to mind the similar conduct of the fabled Orpheus; and, as the story is so apposite, I may here, perhaps, be pardoned for inserting it. The legend is as follows: Eurydice, the wife of the musician Orpheus, having died of a wound inflicted by a serpent, her husband resolved to recover her, or to perish in the attempt. Accordingly, with his lyre in his hand, he entered the infernal regions, and gained admission to Pluto. The King of Hell was charmed with his strains; the wheel of Ixion stopped; the stone of Sisyphus stood still; Tantalus forgot his thirst; and even the Furies relented. Pluto and Proserpine were moved, and consented to restore him Eurydice, provided he forbore looking behind him till he had come to the extremest borders of hell. The condition was accepted; and Orpheus was already in sight of the upper regions of the air, when he forgot his promises, and turned back to look at his longlost Eurydice. He saw her, indeed, but she instantly vanished from his eyes.' A pardonable folly, indeed,' says Virgil in his delicate comment upon the story, if the infernal gods were capable of pardoning!'-L. 27 And Abraham gat up early in the morning to the place where he stood before the LORD: 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. V. 29. The relations of good men often fare better for their prayers and intercessions. It is frequently so with regard to their temporal concerns, and would be often so in spiritual things, if it were not their own fault. It will 32 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. -Orton. 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. 81 And the firstborn 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: 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, and 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. The dishonourable end of this good man shows that we are never out of danger while we are upon earth. He whose righteous soul was grieved with the filthy conversation of the wicked while in a city, is drawn into the same kind of evil himself when dwelling in a cave. If worldly accom modations be preferred to religious advantages, we have nothing good to expect, but everything evil. We see here what sort of a harvest Lot reaped from his well-watered plain; and such are the fruits very commonly seen in the experience of those that follow his example.-A. Fuller. $8 37 And the firstborn bare a son, and called his name Moab: the same is the father of the Moabites unto this day. 58 And the younger, she also bare a son, and called his name Ben-ammi: the same is the father of the children of Ammon unto this day. Lot died under a dark cloud; and, though he was not written childless,' his posterity were the monuments of his reproach; and their very names A perpetuated the memory of their disgraceful original, Moab signifying of my father, and Ben-ammi the son of my people.-Scott. CHAP. XX. ND Abraham journeyed from thence toward the south country, and dwelled between Kadesh and Shur, and sojourned in Gerar. And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, She is my sister: and Abimelech king of Gerar sent, and took Sarah. 2 Here we find Abraham a second time equivocating; and if God had not remarkably interposed in his fa vour, there is no saying what would have been the consequence. It has been observed that when wicked men |