Sodom, and removing from the sinful country.

How

ever, he did not take it as such. Nothing, indeed, is said of his return thither in this passage of the history; but in the narrative which follows shortly after, we find him still in Sodom, though not involved in the Divine vengeance inflicted upon it;-but of this more presently.

Let us first turn, by way of contrast, to Abraham. How many excuses might he have made to himself, had he so willed, for neglecting his kinsman in misfortune! Especially might he have enlarged on the danger and apparent hopelessness of the attempt to rescue him. But it is a principal characteristic of faith to be careful for others more than for self. With a small band of followers he boldly pursued the forces of the victorious kings, and succeeded in recovering his brother's son. Observe, too, his disinterested and princely spirit after the battle, in refusing part of the spoil. "I will not take from a thread even to a shoelatchet," he said to the king of Sodom, "and I will not take any thing that is thine, lest thou shouldest say, I have made Abram rich." Besides, this might be especially necessary to mark his abhorrence of the men of Sodom and Gomorrah, and was a sort of protest against their sins. His conduct suggests a further remark: He had been promised the land in which he now lived as a stranger; -he had valiant troops, though few in number, who, doubtless, had he so desired, might have conquered for him a sufficient portion of it. But he did not attempt it: for he knew God could bring about His design and accomplish His promise in His own good time, without

his use of unlawful means. Force of arms, indeed, would not have been unlawful, had God ordered their use, as afterwards when the Israelites returned from Egypt; but it was unlawful without express command, and Abraham perhaps had to overcome a temptation in not having recourse to it. We have, in the after-history, a similar instance of forbearance in the conduct of David towards Saul. David was promised the kingdom by God Himself; Saul's life was more than once in his hands, but he thought not of the sin of doing him any harm. God could bring about His promise without his "doing evil that good might come." This is the true spirit of faith to wait upon God, to watch for and to follow His guidance, not to attempt to go before Him.

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But did Abraham return to his place without reward for his generous and self-denying conduct? Far otherwise; God mercifully renewed to him the pledge of His favour in answer to this new instance of his faith. He had renewed the blessing when Lot at first chose the fruitful land, so He blessed him now by the mouth of a great priest and king. Lot went back to Sodom in silence; but God spoke to Abraham by Melchizedek. "And Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought forth bread and wine, and he was the priest of the most High God; and he blessed him and said, Blessed be Abram of the most High God, possessor of heaven and earth" (who can give away kingdoms and countries as He will), "and blessed be the most High God, who hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand." Who Melchizedek was, is not told us: Scripture speaks of

him as a type of Christ; but we cannot tell how far Abraham knew this, or what particular sanctity attached to his character, or what virtue to his blessing. But evidently it was a special mark of favour placed on Abraham; and the bread and wine, brought forth as refreshment after the fight, had perhaps something of the nature of a sacrament, and conveyed the pledge of mercy.

3. Now let us pass to the concluding event of Lot's history. The gain of this world is but transitory; faith reaps a late but lasting recompense. Soon the Angels of God descended to fulfil in one and the same mission a double purpose ;-to take from Lot his earthly portion, and to prepare for the accomplishment of the everlasting blessings promised to Abraham; to destroy Sodom, while they foretold the approaching birth of Isaac.

The destruction of the guilty cities was at hand. "The Lord said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous, I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto Me, and if not, I will know."1 And now the greatest honour was put upon Abraham. God entrusted him with the knowledge of His secret purpose, and, in so doing, made him a second time the deliverer of Lot from ruin; strongly marking the contrast between the two, in that the weak brother owed his safety to the intercession of him, who, enjoying God's favour, was content to be without earthly portion. "And the Lord said, Shall I hide from Abraham that

1 Gen. xviii. 20, 21.

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thing which I do? seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord to do justice and judgment, that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which He hath spoken of Him." Accordingly, Abraham was allowed to intercede for Sodom, and all who were in it. I need scarcely go through this solemn narrative, which is doubtless well known to all of us. Abraham began with asking whether fifty righteous were not remaining in the city; he found himself obliged gradually to contract the supposed remnant of good men therein, till he came down to ten, but not even ten were found to delay God's vengeance. Here he ceased his intercession, perhaps in despair, and fearing to presume upon that adorable mercy, the depths of which he had tried, but had not ascertained. He did not mention Lot by name; still God understood and answered the unexpressed desire of his heart; for we are told presently, "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."1

It was at eventide that two Angels came to Sodom, to rescue from it the only man (as it would seem) who had retained in his mind those instincts of right and wrong which are given us by nature, who continued to

1 Gen. xix. 29.

acknowledge the true God, had exercised himself in faith and obedience, and had not done despite to the gracious Spirit. Multitudes of children there doubtless were in that city untainted with actual sin; these were involved in their parents' ruin, as they are now-a-days in earthquakes, conflagrations, or shipwreck. But of those who could "discern between their right hand and their left," not ten (we know for certain), and (as it may be concluded) not one had righteousness such as Lot's. "Old and young, all the people," "in every quarter," were corrupt before God, and therefore are "set forth for an example" of what the All-merciful God can do when sinners provoke Him to wrath. "We will destroy this place," the Angels said, “because the cry of them is waxen great before the face of the Lord, and the Lord hath sent us to destroy it." "And when the morning arose the Angels hastened Lot... and brought him forth and set him without the city: and said, Escape for thy life, look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain, escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed." Thus was Lot a second time warned and rescued; whether he was brought thereby to a more consistent righteousness, or more enlightened faith, than before, we know not, became of him after this event, we know not; of his subsequent life and death nothing is told us, the sacred record breaks off abruptly. This alone we know, that his posterity, the Moabites and Ammonites, were the enemies of the descendants of Abraham, his friend and kinsman, the favoured servant of God; especially as seducing them to that idolatry and sensuality which

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