Parochial and Plain Sermons

HE lesson to be gained froln the history of Abralmm and Lot is obviously this—that nothing but a clear apprehension of things unseen, a siml_,le trust in God's promises, and the greatness of mind thence arising, can make us act above the Wol'ld—indifferent, or almost so, to its comforts, enjoyments, and friendslfips; or in other words, that its goods corrupt the common run even of religious men who possess them. Lot, as well as Abraham, left his own country "by faith," in obedience to God's command; yet on a further trial, in which the will of God was hot so clearly signitied, the one was fotmd "without spot and blameless," the other "was saved so as by tire." Abraham became the "father of all them that believe;" Lot obscured the especial hope of his calling—impaired the privfleges of his election —for a rime allowed himself to resemble the multitude [In] A of men, as now seen in  Chfistian country, who are religious to a certain point, and inconsistent in their ]ives, not aiming at perfection. tIis history may be dividcd into three parts:—first, from the rime of his setting out with Abraham ïrom tIaran, to thcir separation; then, fi'om his settlement in the cities of the plain (as they are ca]led), of which Sodom was oue, till his captivity and rescue; and ]astly, ff'oto his rcturn to Sodom, fo his escape thence to the mountaiu, undcr the Angel's guidance, when the Scripturc history loses sight of him. Let us revicw these in order:— 1. Vhen Abraham and Lot first came into the land of Canaan, they had received, as it seems, no Divine direction where they were to settle. They first came to Sichen; thence they went on to the neighbourhood of ]3ethe]; at length a famine drove them down to:Egypt; and after this the history of their temptation (for so it nmst be called) begins. Abraham and Lot had given up tMs world at the word of God; but a more diiîicult trial remained. Though never easy, yet it is ea.sier to set out hearts on religion, when we bave nothing else to enga.ge them —or to take some oue decided step, which throws us out of out line of life, and in a manner forces UlOn us xvha we shofld nturally shrink from; than to possess in good measure the goods of this wofld, and yet love God supremely, hIany a man might make a sacrifice of hîs vorldly interests ïrom impulse; and then having little to unsettle him, he is enabled to hold ïast his religion, and serve God consistently mad acceptably. Of course nmn who make such sacrifices, often evidence much strength of character in nmking them, which doubfless was Lot's case when he left his country. But if is even a greater thing, if re«luires a clea.rer, steadier, nobler faith, fo be surrounded with worldly goods, yet fo be self-denying; to consider ourselves but stewards of God's bounty, and to be "faithful in all things" committed to us. In this, then, l;y the next temptation which befell the two patriarchs. God gave them riches and importance. When they went down to Egypt, Abraham was honourably received by the king of the country. Soon af ter, if is said tlmt Abraham had "sheep, and oxen, and he-asses, and nmn-servants, and maid-servants, and she-asses, and camels:" again, that "Abram was very rich iu cattle, in silver, and in gold;" and presently, that "Lot also..... had flocks, and herds, and tents. '' The consequence was, that, on their return fo Canaan, their households and cattle had become too numerous for one place: "The land was not alle to bear them, that they might dwell together; for their sulstance was great, so that they could not dwell together. ''- Their servants ciuarrelled in consequence; each party, for instance, endeavouring to secure the richest pastures, and the best supplied wells. This discordance in the chosen family was, of course, very nnseelnly, as witnessed by idolaters, the Canaanites and Perizzites, who lived in the neighbourhood. Abraham accordingly proposed a friendly separation, and left if to Lot to choose what part of the country he would settle in. a Gen. xii. 16; xiii. , 5.  Gen. xiii. 6.

4 A&'a/a»z ad Lot. tIere xvas the trial of Lot's faith; le us see how he met it. It so happened, that tire mos fruififl region, tire plain of Jordan, was in tire lmnds of an abandoned people, tire inlmLians of Sodom, Gomorrah, and he neighbouring cities. Nmv, the weth vhich t had hitherto enjoyed had been given him as a pledge of God's favour, and had its chief value as coming from lliln. But surely he fogot this, and esteemed it for its own sake, when he allowed himself to be attracted by the richness and beauty of a guilty and devoted country. The prosperity of a wicked people could hot be accounted a mark of God's love; but to look toward Sodom was to go the way of the world, and to make wealth the measure of all things, and the end of life. In the words of the text, "Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld a the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered evea3avhere.... even as the garden of Eden...... And Lot chose him aH the I»lain of Jordau..... and pitched his tent toward Sodom. But the men of Sodom were wicked, and silmers before the Lord exceedingly." I do not see how we can deny that this was a false step in the holy patriarch, blamable in itself, and leading to most serious consequences. "I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God," says the Psalmist, "than to dweH in the tents of wickedness. '' But those who bave accustomed their minds to look on worldly prosperity as highly desirable in itself, take it wherever they meet with it; now as given by God, and now, again, when hot given by Him. It is hot to them a point of first importance  Ps. xv. 10.

A'a]a»z azd Loi. 5 bj «lo it is given, af least no in their seere hearts: though they lnight, perhaps, be surprised did any one so t.ell them. If all his does hOt in ifs fulness apply o Lot, his history a leas reminds us of what takes place daily in instances whieh resemble i externally. Men st.ill eonsider themselves, and promise themselves o be, eonsist.en worshippers of the One True God, while they are falling into tha sin whieh the Apostle ea.lls "idolatry,"—the love and worship of the ereature for the Creator. In the meantine Abraham is left without any emoEhly portion, but with God's presence for his inheritance: and so God witnessed it: for, as if to reward him for his disinterestedness, I[e renewed to him the promise ah'eady ruade him, of the future grant of the whole land, including even that fair portion of which Lot had tempora W possession. "And the Lord said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou m., northward and southward and eastward and westward; for ai1 the land which thou seest, to t.hee wfll [ give if, and fo thy seed for ever. And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth, so t.hat if a man can munber the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered. Arise, walk through the land in the length of it, and in the breadth of it, for I will give it unto thee."  2. Thus ends the first portion of the history of Abraham and Lot:—To proceed. God is so merciful that He suffers hot His favoured servants to wander from Him without repeat.ed warnings. They cannot be  Gen. xiii. 14-1î.

"as the heathen:" they are pursued with acious visitings, as Jonah when he fled away. Lot had chosen the habitation of silmers; still he was hot left to himself. A calamity was sent to warn and chasten him;—we are hot told indeed that this was the intention of it, but we know even by the light of nature that all attliction is calculated fo try and improve us, and so it is fair ta say that this was the design of the violence and captivity to whieh Lot was soon exposed. Sodom, I lomorrah, and the neighbouring cities, whieh were subjeet fo Chedorlaomer, king of Elam, at this rime revolted from him. In eonsequenee, their emmtry was overrun by his forces and those of his allies; and, a battle taking plaee, the kings of those eities were defeated and killed, and "their goods and vietuals" taken. Lot also and lais property fell into theh" hands. Thus, independently of religions eonsiderations, his t)laee of abode had its disadvantage in that very fertility and opflence which he had coveted, and which attracted the notice of those whose power enabled them to be rapaeious. Abraham at this rime dwelt in the plain of Mainte, and on hearhg the news of his kinsman's capture, he at once assembled his own followers, fo the nmnber of above three hundred men, and being joined by several prinees of the country, with whom he was eonfederate, he pursued the plunderers, surprised them by night, routed them, and reseued Lot with his fellowcaptives and ail his goods. This, I bave said, was a aeious warning fo Lot; hot a warning only, it seems also fo bave been an opportunity of breaking off his eonneetion with the people of

Sodom, and removing from the sinful country. However, he did hot take if as such. Nothing, indeed, is said of his retura thither in this passage of the history; but in the narrative which follows shortly after, we find him sti]l in Sodom, though hot involved in the Divine vengeance inflicted upon it;—but of this more presently.. Let us first turn, by way of contrast, to Abraham. tIow many excuses might he bave ruade to himself, had he so willed, for neglecting his kinsmal in misfortune! Especially might he have enlarged on the danger and apparent hopelessness of the attempt to rescue him. But itis a priucipal characteristic of faith tobe careful for others more than for sell: With a Slnall band of tbllowers he boldly pursued the forces of the victorious kings, and succeedcd in rccovering his brother's son. Observe, too, his disinterested and princely spirit after the battle, in refusing part of the spofl. "I will hOt take froln a thread even to a shoelatehet," he said to the king of Sodoln, '" and I will hOt take any thing that is thine, lest thou shouldest say, I have nmde 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 theh" sins. His conduct suggests a further renmrk:—He had been promised the laud in which he now lived as a stranger; —he had valiant troops, though few in number, who, doubt.less, had he so desired, might have eonquered for him a suffieient portion of it. But he did hot attempt it: for he knew God eould bring about His design and aeeomplish His promise in His own good rime, without his use of unlawful means. Force of arms, indeed, would hot have been mfla.wful, had God ordered their use, as afterwards when the ]sraelites returned froln Egypt; but it was unlawful without express COmlnand, and Abraham perha.ps had to overcome a temptatiou in not having recourse fo it. We have, in the after-history, a similar instance )f forbearance in thç conduct of I)avid towards Saul. ])avid was promised the kingdom by (lod Himsclf; Saul's lire was more than once in his hands, but he thought hot of the sin of doing him any harm. (lod could bring about IIis promise without his "doing evil that good lnight COlne." This is the truc spirit of faith: to wait upon God, to watch for and to fi)llow IIis guidance, hot to attempt go go before Him. But did A1)raham return fo his place without reward for his generous and self-denying conduct? Far otherwise; God mercifiùly renewed go him the pledge of His favour in answer fo this new instance of his faith. _As l[e had renewed the blessing when Lot af first chose the fi'uitfifl land, so I[c blessed him now by the mouth of a great priest and king. Lot welt back go Sodom in silence;—but God spoke to Abraham by Mclchizedek. '" And Melchizedek, king of, alem, 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 bath delivered thine enemies into thy hand." W-ho 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 if was t special mark of favour placed on Abralmm; and the bread and wine, brought forth as refreshment after the fight, had perhaps something of tire nature of  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 tra.nsitory; faith reaps a lute but lasting rccompense. Soon the Angels of God descended fo fulfil in one and the saine mission  double purpose;—to take froln Lot his earthly portion, and fo prepare fi»r the accomplishment of the everlasting blessings promised to Abralmln; to destroy,_odonl, while they foretold the approaching birth of Isaac. The destruction of the guilty cities was at lmnd. "The Lord said, Because the cry of Sodoln and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous, I will go down now, and see whether they have doue altogether according fo the cry of it, which is corne unto Me, and if hot, I wfll know. '' And now the greatest honour was put upon Abralmm. God entrusted him with the knowledge of His secret purpose, and, in so doing, ruade him a second rime the deliverer of Lot from ruin; strongly marking the contrast between the two, in that the weak brother owed his safety fo the intercession of hiln, who, enjoying God's favour, was content to be without earthly portion. "And the Lord said, Shall I hide from Abraham that  Gen. xviii. 20, 21.

t.hing which I do? seeing that _Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nattions of the earLh shall be llessed in him? For I know him, that he will comnland his children and his househohl after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord fo do justice and judgment, that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which He hath spoken of I[im." Aeeordingly, Abraham was allowed to ingereede fi»r Sodom, and ail who were in ig. I need scarcely go through tlfis solemn narrative, .vhich is doubtless well known fo all of us. Abraham began with asking whether fiffy righteous were hot remaining iii lie eit.y; he round himself obliged gradually fo eontraet t.he supposed remnant of good men therein, till he emne down fo ten, but hOt even ten were round fo delay God's vengeance. Here he eeased his inLereession, perhaps in despair, and fearing to presume upon that adorable mercy, the depths of which he had tried, but had no aseertained. I le did hot mention Lot by naine; still Goal understood and answered the unexpressed desh'e of lfis hearg; for we are told presently, " If came fo pass, when God destroyed t.he eities of the plain, tha God rcmcmbered Abr«ha», and sent Lot out of the midst of he overthrow, when he overthrew the eities in the whieh Lot dwelt.."  If n'as af eventide that gwo Angels came Go Sodom, to rescue from ig the only man (as ig woltld seem) n-ho had ret.ained in his mind Lhose instines of right and wrong which are given us by nature, who eontinued o Ç—  Gen. xix. 29.

acknowledge the true God, had exercised himself in faith and obedience, and had hot doue despite to the gracious Spifit. Multitudes of children there douhtless were in that city untainted with actual sin; these were involved in their parents' ruin, as they are now-a-days iu earthquakes, conflagrations, or shipwreck. But of those who could "discern between their right hand and their left," hot ten (we lnow for certain), and (as it may be concluded)hot one had righteousness such a.s Lot's. "01d and young, all the peoplc," "iu eve W quarter," were corrupt before God, and the'cfore are "set fo'th for an example" of what the All-merciful God can do when simers provoke I[im 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 mo'ning a'ose the Angels hastened Lot... and brought him forth and set him without the city: and said, Escape for thy life, look hot behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain, escape to the lnOUntain, lest thou be consumed." Thus was Lot a second rime warned and rescued; whet.her he was brought thereby to a more consistent righteousness, or more enlightened faith, than before, we know hot. What became of hiln after this event, we know hot; of his subsequent life and death nothing is told us, the sacred reco'd 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 the chosen family was set apart fo withstand. Itad hot God in merey eonfirmed fo us, by the mouth of St. Peter, the saying of the wise man in the Apoerypha, that Lot was "righteous," we should have had eause to doubt whether lle had hot fitllen away. However, vitllout forming harsh judgments eoncerning one wlloln Scripture thus honours, we may af least draw from his history a useful lcsson for ourselves. Niscral,le will be the fate of the doul,leminded, of those who love lhis world so well that they will not give if np, though they believe and acknow]êdge that God 1,ids them do so. Not that they confess fo themselves that their learts are set upon it; they contrive fo hide the fact ri'oto themselves by specious excuses, and consider them.,:elves religious men. hIy brethren, do hot take it for granted that your retaper of mind is much superior fo that which I bave been describing and condemning; nay, that itis not worse than if. You, indeed, are placed in an age of the world which is conspicuous f¢,r decency, and in which there are no teml»tations to the more hideous forms of sin, or rather much to deter from them. But answer this one question, and then decide whether this age does hot follow Lot's l»attern. It would appear that he thought more of the riches than of the sins of the cities of the plain.:Now, as fo the retaper of this country, consider fairly, is there auy place, any persons, any work, which our countrymen will not connect themselves with, in the way of trade or business?:For the sake of gain, do 'e not put aside all considerations of principle as unseasonable and almost absurd? If is not possible to explain myself on this subject without entering into detafls too famfliar for this sacrêd place; but try fo follow out for yourselves what I suggest in general terres. Is there any spectflation in COmlnerce which religion is allowed to interfere with? Whether Jew, l'agan, or Heretic, is to be our associate, does it • frighten us ever so little? Do we care what side of  quarrel, civil, political, or international, we take, so that we gain by it? Do we not serve in war, do we not become debaters and advocates, do we llOt form associa.tions and parties, with the supreme ol,ject of preserving property, or making if? Do we hot support religion for tlle sake of peace and good order? Do we hot measure its importance by its efficacy in securing these objects? Do we hot support it only so far as it secures them? Do we not retrellch all expenses of nlaintaining if which are not necessa'y for securing thenl? Should we hot feel ve W lukewarm towards the established religion, ullless we thought the security of property bound up in its welfare? Should we not easily resign ourselves fo ifs ovel'tllrow, could it be proved to us that it endangered the State, involved the prospect of civil disturbances, or embarrassed the Government? nay, could we hot even consent fo that overthrow, at the price of the reunion of all parties in the nation, the pacification of turbulent districts, and the establishment of our public credit? ay, further still, could we hot easily persuade ourselves to support Anticln'ist, I will hot say at home, but af least abroad, rather than we should lose one portion of the freights which "the ships of Tarshish" bring us? If this be the case in

4 Ahraha»z aud Loi. any good measure, how vain is ig t.o shelter om'selves, as the manner of some is, under the notion tlag we are a moral, thoughtfifl, sober-minded, or religious people Logis ealled a "just man" by S. l'eteg he is referred to as "hospitalle" by St. Paul;a doubtless he was a confessor of the t«'ut.h mnong the retched inhabitants of the eities in which he dwelt; and the rays of light which those Ap,-stles shed upon his history, are most checring and a.eeel,table, after reading the sad narrative of the ]]t»ok of I lenesis; still, after Ml, who woMd willingly take on himself Lot's sins, plahi though it he Ihat. (lod had hot deserted him? Surely, if we are fo be saved, it. is hot by keeping onrselves just above Ihe line of rcprobation, and living without any anxiety and struggte to serve God with a perfect heart. urely, if Christians are to bç saved, af least their righteousness must be far other than that whieh merely aNued some remaiuNg grace in one who was hot a Christ.ian. Surcly, if Christians are to be saved, they must bave earefldly uulearned the love of this wotd's pleasures, eomforts, luxuries, honours. No one, sure135 ean really be a Christim, who makes his worldly interests his eNef end of action. A man may be, in a measure, ill-tempered, resentful, proud, cruel, or sensual, and yet be a Christim. For passions belong fo onr inferior natnre; they are irrational, fise spontaneously, are to be subdued by out governing principle, and (through God's grace) are ultimately, thougk gradually, subdued. But what shall be said when the reusoning and nfling faety, the power tha wills and eontrols, is turned earthward? 1 2 Pet. ri. 7, 8; Heb. xiii. 2.

"If the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!''1 God only knows how far these reinarks concern each of us. I will hOt date fo apply them to this lnan or that; but where I even might, I wfll rather turn awav my mind from the subject. The thought is too serious, too dreadflfl fo dwell upon. P, ut you lllllSt do, lny brethren, what I must hOt do. It is your duty fo al,ply theln to yourselves. No hOt hesitate, as many of you as have never done so, fo imagine the miseral,le and shocking possibility of your COlning short of your hope, "having loved this present world." letire into yourselves and imagine if; in the presence of Christ your Sa.viourin that presence which af once will shame you, and will encourage you to hope for forveness, if you earnestly turn to Him fo obtain if.