A Century of Sermons, Sermon 1
THE FIRST SERMON UPON LOT'S WIFE.
GEN. xix. 26.
But his Wife looked back from behind him, and ſhe became a pillar of ſalt.
SInce the leaſt ſin that ever was committed deſerves eternal puniſhment, I am ſure any ſin that ever was done deſerves an hours reprehenſion; eſpecially one of ſo great magnitude as this of Lots Wife. He that will judg himſelf, and take a ſtrict account of his faults, let him look this way to my Text, and obſerve with me how many ways this woman tranſgreſſed, through ſo ſmall a motion as to turn about. He that will examin his repentance and his vivification as well as his ſins, let him look upon this Pillar, and mark that it is a Monument erected againſt a relapſing convert, againſt one that was turning from the vain pomp of the World and did not perſevere. For ſhe that fled from Sodom, and lookt back, periſhed as well as they that never came out. And he that will conſider what an heinous crime it is to be invited unto mercy, and abuſe it, let him taſte of this ſalt, and feel what a ſtrange judgment remains in this example to caſt away that which God would have ſaved. All this is tacitly included in the words which I have read unto you: and as the Prophets of old uttered their Prophetical ſpirit many times by deeds and geſtures, as well as by word and ſpeech. So God doth teach his Church as well by fact as by precept. Thoſe Exhortations I premiſed were not doctrinally delivered at the caſtigation of Lot's Wife, but miraculouſly exhibited in a viſible work, objectivè, non praeceptivè, they are not paſſed over in a line or two by the Pen of a ready Writer, but built up for all poſterity to look upon in a durable Monument.
And when judgment advanceth it ſelf in a Trophy, in a ſtanding Pillar, every man will conceive that it is meant it ſhould be a monitory to all ſucceſſion, rather than if it were a fluxive a tranſitory penalty that left no print behind it. The Idol Calf which the Iſraelites worſhipped was beaten to powder, the duſt of it blown away before the wind, and drunk up in the River. The Sea which had given back on either ſide for the paſſage of Gods Hoſt, met together and overwhelmed Pharaoh and his Army in the bottom, that they were no more ſeen. The Earth clave and opened it ſelf to ſwallow up Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, and it cloſed again, ſo that no appearance of them remained. Nothing was found of Jezebel, eaten up of dogs, but her skull, her feet, and the palms of her hands. So it pleaſed him who ſits on high that all viſible memorial of theſe ſinners ſhould be rid out of the way. But He made brine of Lot's Wife, and congealed it into a Statue, where it ſtood longafter, nay I cannot convince thoſe reporters who have written, that the reliques of it are to be ſeen to this day, that paſſengers might ſhake their heads at it, and ſay, Ah thou that wert pluckt out of Sodom, like a brand out of the fire, and yet didſt loiter by the way, and couldſt not refrain to caſt back a wiſhing and a voluptuous eye upon thoſe filthy habitations.
Ingenious fancies have taken ſcope to riddle upon this judgment, Cadaver nec habet ſuum ſepulchrum, ſepulchrum nec habet ſuum cadaver, ſepulchrum tamen & cadaver intus; that ſhe was a dead corps that had no ſepulcher, and that ſhe was a ſepulcher that had no dead corps, and yet it was both corps and ſepulcher. This gives me the hint to divide my Text into an Epitaph and a Tomb: the Epitaph, His wife looked back from behind him; the Tomb which that Epitaph reſpects is, that ſhe became a pillar of ſalt. If you will have it in Logical terms, which come all to one paſs, thus, here are two principal heads to which all the matter is to be referred, qua fecit, quae paſſa eſt, firſt what ſhe did, and that's the ſummary Enditement of her ſin, ſecondly what ſhe ſuffered, and that's the ſentence of her puniſhment. I bind my ſelf to the firſt part only at this time, in which there is cumulus ſalis, as many corns of ſalt as will lie upon a knifs point, ſo in theſe few words, ſhe looked back from behind him, many Commandments are broken. 1. She was inobſequens, ſhe looked back, being expreſly forbidden, there's diſobedience. 2. Excors, here's blindneſs of heart, ſhe might have ſaved her ſelf by going ſtreight on, and looking forward, yet ſhe violated thoſe eaſie conditions. 3. I…docilis, ſhe looked back from behind him. Lot was a good example that went before her, and ſhe would go her own ways. 4. Incredula, ſhe doubted whether thoſe Cities ſhould be deſtroyed as God had ſent word, or ſhe thought it would not be the worſe for her though ſhe ſtood ſtill and gazed upon Sodom. 5. Recidiva, ſhe fainted in well doing, and had a deſire growing upon her to live again among thoſe filthy ſinners whom ſhe had eſcaped. 6. Miſericordiae contemtrix, ſhe was ſlow to ſave her ſelf, and did not fly away upon the wings of mercy. 7. Beneficii pertaeſa, ſhe rather valued what ſhe had loſt, than what ſhe had ſaved, her Habitation, her Eſtate and Riches were conſumed, for her lifes preſervation ſhe ſet little by that, and ſo loathed the benefit.
The Angel ſpeaks in the 17. verſe of this Chapter, Eſcape for thy life, look not behind thee, neither ſtay thou in all the Plain, yet ſhe would not hearken, no not to ſuch a Monitor as an Angel, but ſhe looked back from behind him, and ſo ſtands guilty of diſobedience. For diſobedience is a ſin by it ſelf alone, Cum crimen potius contra prohibitionem quàm contra rem ipſam fiat, ſays the School, when the fact it ſelf were innocent, but that the prohibition of the Lawgiver makes it nocent. There are ſome Commandments of Gods which lean not ſo much upon apparent reaſon, as upon abſolute authority. For though there be weighty cauſes which moved the moſt wiſe God to appoint it ſo, yet when thoſe reaſons are not emergent out of the ſeeds of nature, nor any way expreſt and revealed, as the Angel expreſſeth none in this place, then the Command is ſaid to come from abſolute and uncontradicted dominion to try obedience. There is a natural Law which lighteth every man that cometh into the World to chooſe the good in ſundry caſes of honeſty, and to refuſe the evil; this light is not a pure elementary fire, but ignis culinaris as we ſay in Philoſophy an impure ſmoaky flame, which makes it apparent to the underſtanding what's filthy to the ſoul, as well as what's noxious to the body. And in thoſe things where God is little known, or at leaſt little thought of, humanity it ſelf doth ſuggeſt the performance. But becauſe we reſt not in the good of nature only, as beaſts do, but aſpire to a ſupernatural end and felicity; therefore there is a ſupernatural Law to bring us to it, Repent and believe, and thou ſhalt be ſaved; this is the Covenant of mercy and forgiveneſs which is made in Chriſt, and the grace of God doth work in us a good will to thoſe Divine duties, that we do not fruſtrate our ſalvation. Then thirdly the Sacraments of the New Teſtament are the Seals of the righteouſneſs of faith: as Sacraments they are Ceremonial Ordinances, and are ſolemnly kept upon ſubmiſſion to the abſolute Command of the Divine Authority; but as faith is neceſſarily now knit unto them, ſo they are a limb of the ſupernatural Law, and are carefully obſerved, not as Canons of obedience, but as the way to eternal life. As a ſick man takes the potions that are preſcribed him, not out of duty to the Phyſitian, but out of due regard to his own recovery.In Pſal 70. The ſimilitude ſorts with our infirmity, Obtemperet medico ut ſurgat, qui noluit credere ne aegrotaret, ſays St. Auſtin, Man would not obey the Phyſitian to prevent his ſickneſs, therefore let him uſe his after-wit, and take thoſe Sacramental means that are appointed to make him whole. But fourthly there is lex privata, a Law impoſed upon ſome particular perſon, in whoſe tranſgreſſion neither were juſtice infringed, nor Gods glory violated, if his Command were not laid upon it; and there is no ſcope in this but to make the paſſive humility of our ſoul, that is our obedience more illuſtrious.
1 Ki. 13.8.What was there in it elſe that the Man of God that came from Judah unto Bethel was charg'd neither to eat nor drink water in that place, nor to return by the ſame way that he came, there is no colour of Religious Worſhip in theſe obſervations, but God would have him ſubmit to his unqueſtionable Authority, and you know his miſery enſued, when he was unperſwaded to obey it. Dominus cur juſſerit viderit, what profit there is to keep ſuch private Laws, as ſeem to carry no great ſubſtance in them, let God look to that ſays the Father, but be you obſequious. That peremptory denuntiation upon pain of death not to eat of the Tree of knowledg of good and evil, called the forbidden fruit, no Theological wits could ever paſs a ripe mature judgment upon it why it was ſo laid, but that they, and all we in them, are to ſtoop under that ſweet yoke of the Divine Will with abſolute, indefinite, undiſcourſed obedience. It was no robbery to eat of it, wherein God was defrauded of any thing that He ſtood in need of, then it had been hurtful to him; the fruit was not diſeaſeful or poiſonous, then it had been hurtful to them: it was a pure Edict of Authority, to let the beſt of all bodily Creatures know to what ſervice and homage they were born; as the vulgar Latin reads that verſe, Pſal. ix. ult. Conſtitue legiſlatorem ſuper eos, not as we tranſlate it, put them in fear, O Lord, but ſet a Lawgiver over them, that they may know themſelves to be but men. Quomodo eris ſub Domino, niſi fueris ſub praecepto? ſo St. Auſtin upon that very inſtance of the forbidden fruit. How are you under the Lord, unleſs you be under the Law? and not that Law which leans upon apparent reaſon, for that Law is within you, and therein you obey your ſelf; but that Law which flows from abſolute Authority, that's without you, and therein you ſtoop loweſt under the power of God. And this is the very condition of that word which the Angel ſpoke to Lot and thoſe that were with him, Look not behind thee, neither ſtay in all the plain. Wherein could it tend to the honour of God that they ſhould ſet their face one way more than another? perhaps you will ſay it was meant to the greater deteſtation of the Sodomites, whom the Lord would not permit to have commiſeration, or any reſpect from good men: or to urge them to make haſte away with a kind of hyperbolical celerity. As our Saviour ſent his Diſciples to preach in every City of Judaea with this ſpeedy or prefeſtinating Command, Salute no man by the way, Luke x. 4. And Eliſha impoſed that poſt haſte upon Gehazi his ſervant,2 Ki. 4.29. Gird up thy loyns and go thy way, if thou meet any man ſalute him not, and if any man ſalute thee anſwer him not again. Suppoſe this or that were the ſecret drift of this Interdiction look not behind thee, yet a little caſting of the head on one ſide had not made their expedition the ſlower. What need we ſeek a knot in a ruſh? what need we prove her faulty for reaſons that are not alleaged? this convinceth obliquity enough in her ſin, that ſhe did not obſerve the preciſe command of God in every geſture of her body.
In a word, the thing it ſelf commanded did not in it ſelf bind the conſcience, but with the Command it did. The eye is free to view all the works of the Lord, unleſs ſomething upon which it glanceth doth ſcandalize it with concupiſcence. Who ſuſpects the contrary, but that the crackling of the fire, and the out-cries of them that periſht in thoſe Cities that were conſumed, did rowze many in the neighbour Villages to look upon thoſe places, and lament them? Did not Abraham riſe up early in the morning and look toward the Land of the Plain, and ſee the ſmoak of the Country go up as the ſmoak of a Furnace? 'tis ſoon anſwered, Where there was no reſtraint, there was no tranſgreſſion. But above all other Laws, thoſe which we may rather call Canons and Conſtitutions, that impoſe the preſtation of adiaphorous duties, and prohibit other things that have no moral obliquity in them, are moſt generous ways to heap reward upon the willing, and to diſcover the ſtiff ſtomach of rebellion. In all Injunctions Eccleſiaſtical and Political, ſet aſide charity, edification, unity, peace of the Church, or any other moral reſpect. Put it only upon this, that meer authority enforceth them, which is juſt authority derived from Gods Ordinance, God forbid we ſhould need any haling or towing to them, for he that ſees the finger of Authority held up, ſees reaſon enough to obey; and to recoil as Lots Wife did, becauſe the Commandment ſeem'd not to be weighty and ponderous, is blind diſobedience. O 'tis a bleſſed thing not to have a licentious itch upon a man, not to deſire ſcope and random, but to ſubmit chearfully to a punctual Diſcipline in all our actions, and every circumſtance of them. foreign, as it is the praiſe of an Holy Father, as if his ſoul had been created without a will. Alas into what precipices would our fancy carry us if we were left to our ſelves, to be libertines in any thing, there would be nothing but confuſion? Deus ſervitute noſtrâ non eget, Lib. 8. de Gen ad. lit. cap. 11.nos autem ſine ejus dominatione eſſe non poſſumus, nothing truer, it is St. Auſtins. God ſtands in no need of our ſervice, but we could not live without his command and governance. 'Tis hard to confine this point to brevity, but I muſt break off: only let me put you in mind, that whereas the Jeſuits ſet forth themſelves to be the only Obedientiaries in the World, ſo that to neglect the Precept of their Superior in a trifle, they brand it for a flagitious crime; yet the Jeſuit a Lapide ſays upon my Text that he would not diſcord with them, that hold the treſpaſs of Lots Wife to be no more than venial error; for either ſome ſudden clap of thunder might make her ſtart and look back unawares: or elſe ſhe thought not that the Angel gave her that direction not to retort her eyes under the guilt of a mortal ſin, or ſhe thought the Commandement held her no longer, when ſhe came out of the Plain, and was even entring into Zoar. Here's a Jeſuitical ſubtlety for you, to aggravate the offence to the bigneſs of a Mountain, if a Novice violate the private Law of his Superior; but to extenuate the ſin almoſt to nothing, if a Servant diſobey the private Law of his heavenly Maſter. But it is not the wit of man that can ſet a ſize upon ſins which are mortal and which are venial, for it is the Lord that judgeth the Earth.
The next place to which I refer the heinouſneſs of this womans ſin, is great folly and blindneſs of heart, for ſhe refuſed the will of God, and the preſervation of her own life, upon ſuch eaſie conditions as to hold ſtill her head. When Eliſha's Meſſenger bad Naaman waſh ſeven times in Jordan, and he turn'd away in a rage, his Servants ſpake reaſon to him, if the Prophet had bid thee do ſome great thing, 2 Ki. 5 13.wouldſt thou not have done it? how much rather then when he ſaith to thee, waſh and be clean? If he would not uſe ſuch gentle means, ſo near at hand, means of no expence, no pain, no lingring moleſtation, he deſerved to continue a Leper. In like ſort if Lots Wife had been ſet a task of many obſervations, put to a ſtrict and a tedious penance would ſhe not have done it, to have eſcaped a ſtorm of fire and brimſtone? how much more when this was all that was required from her, Go on ſtreight to the Mountain that is before thee, turn neither to the right hand nor to the left. Quanta erat iniquitas in peccando ubi tanta erat non peccandi facilitas? ſays the Father, Auguſt. Civ. Dei. lib. 14. cap. 15.What a ſhame it was to offend when there was ſo much facility to decline the offence? Were not all the Regions of the World free for her to look upon, excepting that one City behind her which could not be ſeen for the ſmoak? Ex omnibus unum elige Myrrha virum, modo ne ſit in omnibus unus: A ſingle exception is the ſmalleſt exception that can be made, and let them feel the ſmart that cannot conform themſelves to thoſe things which are of ſuch eaſie obſervation. For wherein did the tranſgreſſion of Adam and Eve eſpecially conſiſt. God knows beſt, but the trivial and beſt grounded conjecture is, quod levis fuiſſet in tantâ copiâ unius arboris continentia, all the Trees of the Garden elſe were frankly theirs both for food and pleaſure, both for delight and neceſſity; What an eaſie impoſition was this, let this only Graft be untoucht, the Tree of the knowledg of good and evil, and all beſide is yours? Who could forget it, or neglect it? But they ſtumbled when there was nothing to make them fall, that is, they violated a Law which was neither burdenſom in ſtrictneſs, nor in multitude of circumſtances.
Therefore in thoſe good hours which we ſet apart for repentance and bewayling of our ſins, let it ſtrike us deep to the heart, when we remember how much evil we have done upon very ſmall provocation, how many branches of the Law we have broken, when we cannot juſtly ſay that we were ſtrongly beſet with any tentation, and how far we have given way to our frailties when 'twas prompt and eaſie to repreſs them. The negative Commands of the Law are more obvious to us, more ready in our power to obey them than the affirmative. So St. Chryſoſtom ſpends his judgment upon it with a tacit reaſon, foreign, 'tis far eaſier to hold off our hand from ſin than to put to our hand to virtue: and we can ſooner ſhew the evil that we have not done, than the good that we have done. Nay the Father makes that ſuch a ſlight thing that he ſays, foreign, the very Beaſts might alledg that, or it might be alledged for them that they had done no iniquity: yet what a ſtrong charge it will be againſt us all in the day of judgment, that we have not girt our ſelves cloſe, no not to this negative obedience, touch not, taſte not; What facil Ordinances are theſe to a temperate man? and nothing but cuſtom and a ſluggiſh ſpirit hath made them difficult to the intemperate. Defraud no man, extort from no man; God is no auſtere God in thoſe Statutes, they are quickly learnt, and quickly kept; yet the wealthieſt many times will do the contrary: when they could not pretend, as the neceſſitous may, the leaſt impulſion of poverty. How ſoon may any one abſtein from the Lords Table that finds himſelf unprepared and uncompoſed for thoſe ſacred Myſteries? yet God ſhall have their company at that holy Feaſt when he leaſt deſires it. How eaſie a thing it is for a man not to fall down before Stocks and Stones, and to worſhip them? yet a ſmack of Idolatry abounds even in the Church of Chriſt. We dream of difficulties, we cry out againſt invincible tentations, when there is no ſuch matter. I know there are Royal Laws in Scripture fit for heroick vertue, to bleſs them that perſecute you, to pull down every high imagination, to quench all the ſparks of concupiſcence, to lay down our life for Chriſts ſake. God doth juſtly weigh both the dureſs and the weight of theſe Commands, and our infirmity to fulfil them, foreign ▪ he ſees us ſtrive for maſtery in thoſe Combats, and admires the fortitude of his Saints; but in other things it is as ſtrange how quickly our faintneſs and eaſineſs is ſubdued. Could you not watch one hour, ſays our Lord to his Diſciples? What a poor requeſt is this? to wake one hour for his comfort and ſervice: Therefore the objurgation was the ſharper, becauſe they fail'd him. You will pollute my name for handfuls of barly and pieces of bread, Ez. xiii. 19. The Devil's haec omnia is a ſtrong allurement, All theſe things will I give thee; he may bate a great deal of that offer to them that are ready to run into ſin, let it be hoc aliquid, a little preferment, a little countenance and they are taken with the Snare. O inſenſati, O ſlow of heart, like this ſinner in my Text, will you reject God and forſake his Word even in things wherein you may ſo eaſily perform obedience?
Thirdly it is another brand upon her ſin, that ſhe was indocilis, moſt unattentive to learn. Lot went before her conſtantly and ſtedfaſtly without any reciprocation or backſliding, the Example was in her eye all the way from Sodom to Zoar, every ſtep he trode was a Sermon to bid her do the like, if ſhe would be ſaved, yet ſhe made no benefit of the Pattern, though he were her own Mate, her foreign, with whom ſhe was bound in a more particular bond than all others, to draw the ſame yoke. What was this but to ſhut her eyes unto the light that was before, and to turn to the ſmoak that was behind? This is no diſtorted amplification, but an evident ſpot in her crime: yet not in her alone, but in all thoſe that cannot ſhew the uſe of good examples in the fruits of their lives. A good Example is the faireſt tranſcript of Gods will, texted in capital letters, ſo that he that runs may read; and as a Picture expreſſeth the life more when colours are laid upon it, than when 'tis drawn out only in the rude figure: ſo where piety lives and moves in the actions of virtuous men, 'tis more illuſtrious ſo by far than in empty Precepts, and God expects it at our hands, that where we are deaf to plain inſtruction, yet we would eaſily be won with imitation. We will run after thee in odore unguentorum, ſays the Spouſe, in the ſmell of thoſe fragrancies which the Worthies of the Church have left behind them. Our Church, which hath omitted no opportune occaſion to put ſound devotion in our mouths, hath taught us often to pray in ſeveral Collects, in that admirable piece of piety the Common-Prayer Book, for grace of conformity with the beſt of Gods Children, that we may learn to love our enemies by the example of his Martyr St. Stephen, that after the example of John the Baptiſt we may conſtantly ſpeak the truth, and patiently ſuffer for the truths ſake; that we may follow all the Saints that are knit together in one communion and fellowſhip in vertuous and godly living; this is the true celebration of their Holy-days, to tread their footſteps as they have gone before us unto everlaſting life.
But Noveliſts had rather be talkt of that they began a faſhion, and ſet a Copy for others, than that they contein'd themſelves within a ſtrict imitation of the moſt excellent Preſidents. Be ye followers of me, ſays Paul to the Church of Corinth; and is it not better ſays Nazianzen to one Nichobalus upon the mention of thoſe words, to come after the Apoſtles heels, than be a ringleader, or the formoſt among Sectaries? Praeſtat infra aquilas paululum, quàm ſupra alaudas volitare, it is a fairer pitch to fly a little under an Eagle, than to ſoar ſomewhat above a Lark. The Age is bleſſed, the days are bleſſed, when conſpicuous facts of holy men are like Beacons on a hill, which cannot chooſe but be gazed upon. And if our ſluggiſhneſs obſcure ſuch rare Examples for want of emulation, and make them vaniſh like prints in ſnow that are ſoon forgotten, the Lord will ſet up others of a contrary kind that ſhall laſt longer to our terror. For ſince the memory of the juſt is no more regarded which is eternized for our imitation, he will powder and make brine of the wicked for our confuſion. Here's an inſtance in my Text of one that obſerv'd not a faithful Leader that conducted her: She would not be tied to example, and in that place where ſhe refuſed to learn ſhe was left for an example to all poſterity. But why do I ſtick at this only, that ſhe would not be a Scholar to Lot? he was a frail man, and had need of a Guide himſelf: herein rather it appears that ſhe was moſt averſe from diſcipline, nothing would make her wiſe, for there was an Angel or twain in the Troop, they were the Leaders of this little Flock out of Sodom, yet ſhe order'd her ſteps diſobediently even in the ſight of an Angel. No earthly means or perſwaſions, no nor heavenly patterns can reduce ſome headſtrong ſinners to repentance, they have hardned their hearts like the nether milſtone. The rich Glutton in Hell thought that by ſome new device his Brethren might be converted, if one would come from the dead and admoniſh them. And do not moſt of you imagin, if an Angel were ſent from Heaven to preach, there would be great reformation among us, we would mend apace: yes perhaps as much as Lots Wife did, who would tread her own path, though the Angel were at her elbow. They that will not hear the Goſpel of Jeſus Chriſt, and be converted for that, they would be at the ſame ſtay though Angels walked daily among them.
The expreſs words of my Text have afforded me hitherto all that I have objected againſt this ſinner, and what I ſhall ſay more ſhall be deducted out of it both by facil and eaſie conſequence, and by fair authority; eſpecially in the imputations of incredulity and recidivation. And to come to them with the more perſpicuity and order, I obſerve the ſame rottenneſs in the ſin of Lots Wife which Cajetan diſcovered in the tranſgreſſion of Eve. Eve cavilled upon that which God had commanded, two wayes; firſt ſhe turned that abſolute ſentence, in the day thou eateſt that fruit thou ſhalt die, into ye ſhall not eat of it leſt you die, or as the Vulgar Latin, ne forte, leſt perhaps ye die. Then ſhe cloyed the Commandment with more auſterity than was in it, to ſhew ſhe was weary of it, ye ſhall not eat of it, neither ſhall ye touch it; concerning the not touching her own loathing of the Law did put in that addition. So the poiſon of the Devil had crept into her underſtanding, and into her affections ſays Cajetan, In intellectum per haeſi…ationem poenae, in affectum per diſplicentiam praecepti: in her underſtanding ſhe doubted no ſuch puniſhment would follow as was threatned, in her affections ſhe diſtaſted the Commandment, and theſe are juſt ſo in the Subject we handle.
In the 10. of Wiſdom ver. 7. (I name an Author of all that are in the Apocryphal Liſt next to Canonical credit) Lots Wife is called a ſtanding Pillar of ſalt, as a Monument of an unbelieving ſoul. An unbeliever is one that gives not faith to that which God hath ſaid and revealed. Now ſhe fell into unbelief in one of theſe two points, or in both, either ſhe believed not that the place from whence ſhe came ſhould be deſtroyed as the Angels had denounced, or elſe ſhe believed not it would conduce to her ſafety whether ſhe looked back or no: the former ſhe would try out of curioſity, and the latter ſhe would put to hazard upon peeviſh preſumption. The Sun roſe clear that morning, ver. 23. there was no thunder nor darkneſs in the Heavens; ſhe began to ſuſpect ſhe was drawn from home to no purpoſe, and they were wiſer that ſtayed behind. So ſhe ſtood in motu trepidationis, ſhe knew not whether ſhe ſhould believe or not believe, at laſt ſhe reſolved to truſt Gods Meſſenger no further than ſhe ſaw cauſe, and would make her own eyes her ſureties, though ſhe were ſtrictly forbidden. You cannot provoke God to anger ſooner than by reſerving power and licenſe to your ſelf to judg whether all his ſayings are certain and infallible. He that believeth not is condemned already. Faith is the eye of all Religion, if you wink with that eye you ſhall never ſee the Lord: Eſpecially to think you can diſcern more with theſe bodily ſenſes than with the inerrable light of Divine Truth, is an extreme indignity. A grave Patrician would be grieved that the depoſition of a noted Varlet ſhould be heard againſt his innocency. And will you hear the objections of ſenſe and reaſon againſt that ſacred evidence, Thus ſaith the Lord? that were to truſt to darkneſs before light, the Fleſh before the Spirit, to lying vanities before unalterable and eternal truth. But to her ſenſes this Infidel would appeal, and they would inſtruct her ſufficiently, whether it had gone with Sodom ſo ill as it was foretold. And was ſhe ſure to be ſatisfied by looking back? I greatly doubt it, a miſt might riſe up like the ſmoak of a Furnace, and ſhe conceive it to come from fire, when it did not: Or the Sun might ſhine upon the waters in the Plain, and ſhe miſdoubt that the waters were become bloud, as the Moabites were ſo miſtaken. Doth not a late Hiſtorian tell us of the whole Watch of a City, that miſdoubted a Field of thiſtles a far off was a Troop of Pikemen that encamped there to beſiege them? Was ever man more cautious according to humane rules than St. Thomas the Apoſtle? He would truſt no mans reports that his Maſter was riſen from the dead, he would ſee ſomewhat; neither would he truſt his own eyes, he would feel too, nay he would not truſt his fingers ends in ſmall wounds, but he would wallow his whole hand in the rent of his ſide. For all this warineſs he might have been deluded. The Syrians ſaw Eliſha, and yet wiſt not it was he. The Sodomites felt all night at Lots door, and were ſtill to ſeek. Old Iſaac held Jacob faſt and was deluded, the hands are Eſau's hands ſays he, and yet they were not. And will this woman truſt her eye-ſight, and at a diſtance, rather than Gods peremptory aſſertion? O truſt not in man, truſt not in theſe fallible humane means. Our ſenſes are bruitiſh, Nature is corrupt, Philoſophy is vain, but Faith leans upon that ſtrong pillar, the revelation of the Spirit from above, which cannot falter, and to lie it is impoſſible.
And as this woman was called an incredulous Soul, becauſe ſhe looked back to ſee whether vengeance had paſſed upon the Cities of the Plain, as the Angel of the Lord had foretold, ſo for want of faith, touching the caution which was given to her own perſon, ſhe fell into preſumption, and by preſumption into death; it would not ſink into her thoughts that God was in earneſt, that as many of their Troop as looked behind them ſhould be conſumed; ſhe thought they were big words to ſcare timerous perſons, ſuch as Prophetical men in their zeal did every day denounce againſt ſinners, yet they liv'd and rub'd on that took their own liberty to diſobey, for God was gracious and would not ſuffer his whole diſpleaſure to ariſe againſt miſerable ſinners. Feel, feel the pulſe of your own conſcience I beſeech you, tell me if it do not beat diſorderly? Doth it not confuſe you to call to mind, that this infidelity, this in ipſo genere, hath betrayed you to the tentations of Satan more than all his ſnares beſide? that deſperate courage which you aſſume to your ſelves upon ſome hope of impunity is it not the ſpur to all tranſgreſſion? God is gentle and of long ſuffering, his minacies are terrible, but his dearly beloved Son and our only Saviour is merciful, ſed & exorabile numen fortaſſe experiar, ſays the Heathen, his loving kindneſs is ſoon entreated. This is a baſtard faith of our own, to ſubvert the true faith which is begotten by the Spirit. A Diabolical infuſion that God doth menace out of policy that which He never meant, to make us obſequious by the ſhadow of his ſcourge: but remember that non moriemini was a lie. 'Tis the Serpents Maſter-piece to expel all faith and fear out of our mind, for they go hand in hand together, and to break our necks with confidence. A barbarous beaſtly kind of life ſays Ariſtotle hardned the Scythians, that they neither feared Thunder nor Earthquakes: but it is infernal witchcraft that makes obdurate hearts believe that all the woes and curſes in the Goſpel are but a ſtrong noiſe, terrible while it is heard, but comes to nothing. Quotidie Diabolus quae Deus minatur levigat, Moral. lib. 24. cap. 7.ſays Gregory. God affirms, the Woman doubts, the Devil denies. O unhappy they that think Truth it ſelf may be deceived, and give ear to a deceitful ſpirit. If all the maledictions againſt Impenitents were not indubitably to be expected, Chriſtianity were but fainthearted ſuperſtition, Religion nothing but panick fear, Faith not the Evidence of things to come, but a deviſed Fable, and the ſacred Scriptures in all penalties and threatnings a vizard of mockery. But as ſin brought puniſhment upon us, ſo let the certain expectation of puniſhment bring us out of ſin. Remember Lots Wife, the only memento that Chriſt fixeth upon any Story of the Old Teſtament. The leſs ſhe believed the leſs ſhe feared, but the leſs ſhe feared the more ſhe ſmarted. What God hath threatned will not be declin'd by our contrary opinion. Though Chriſt ſhed his bloud to ſave a ſinner, God will not lie to ſave a ſinner. No title of his Word ſhall fail, no not to ſave an hundred thouſand ſouls out of the infernal pit.
I am come to the utmoſt portion of the hour, and not to the utmoſt of the firſt part of my Text by three points. She fainted in well-doing, ſhe neglected mercy, and was ſlow to ſave her ſelf, ſhe contemned the benefit of preſervation in reſpect of that which was taken from her. But as Logick convinceth more than Rhetorick, as the fiſt knit together is ſtronger than the hand ſpread abroad; ſo all this will be moſt doctrinal in one point, that ſhe relapſed, and ſunk after ſhe was in fair ſpeed to obtain mercy, becauſe ſhe fell in love with wicked Sodom again from whence God had withdrawn her? This is her crime which Philo exaggerates more than once, aeſtu refluo retroſum abſorpta, ſhe was like a Ship ſailing with full ſails from the ſinful delights of the World, but the contrary winds and tides of concupiſcence carried her clean back again. Joſephus accuſeth her worſe upon the ſame charge, that though her feet came from that impious City, yet her heart ſtaid behind, Et ſaepius tardavit vertendo ſe ad civitatem, ſhe ſtood ſtill more than once to take her full view of that loſs which ſhe ſo much bemoaned, nor was it at the firſt turning about, as he ſays, that ſhe was turn'd into a pillar of ſalt. The very Apples of Sodom remain as a token againſt her to this day, which put forth at firſt as if they would grow to be very delicious in the taſte, and in concluſion they pulverize, and become ſooty aſhes. So Lots Wife ran well at firſt, but in the midſt of her courſe, nay almoſt at the end ſhe fainted, and ſtuck faſt in the mire of recoyling deſires. Theſe are the Apples of Sodom, Plants bearing fruit that never come to ripeneſs, Wiſd. x. 7. This was not her native Country from whence the Angel brought her, I confeſs that would have moved a ſtony heart to have pitied it, if they had ſeen it deſolate: No, Lot and ſhe were ſtrangers in Sodom, and but coarſly uſed by the lawleſs luxurious multitude: but wealth came in apace, Lot choſe it for that end: there were other reaſons I believe that took her more, there was the conflux of the Gallantry, there were the Faſhions, there was the Bravery, there were the Sports that filled up idle hours, there were the Servants and the Viſitants, and ſome things elſe which we much miſtruſt did follow all this. O 'tis an harſh thing for feminine pride and wantonneſs to be ſent from ſuch a City into little Zoar, or into a Mountain. No marvail if good counſel do not altogether work that good effect in this kind among our Ladies that might be expected, for the Angels of God could neither perſwade nor affright Lots Wife from ſuch a place, but that being a mile or ſo out of the Gates ſhe longs to return.
He that puts his hand to the plough and looks back, ſays our Saviour, Luke 9.62. Homil. 3. in Ezek.is not fit for the Kingdom of Heaven. Poſt aratrum reſpicit qui ad mala revertitur quae reliquit, ſays Gregory. If you call back any ſin to which you had bid adieu, then you mar that furrow which is before your eyes, wherein you were caſting good ſeed, and make it crooked. This is a cleanly Compariſon, but becauſe relapſing is an odious ſin,2 Pet. 2.22. St. Peter hath ſtreined for a loathſome Similitude, and calls it returning with the dog unto his vomit. Si canis hoc faciens horret oculis tuis, tu quid eris oculis Dei, ſays St. Auſtin, In Pſal 80.if a dog is not to be endured in our ſight that will lap in his own diguſtments, how ſhall God caſt thee out of the ſight of his eyes which doſt wallow in thoſe ſins which thou hadſt abjured? 'Tis a ſubtle queſtion which Clemens propounds in the 2. of his foreign: and the reſolution of it will coſt them dear, I think, that reſume thoſe ſins for which they had asked pardon, whether it be worſe to ſin in one kind once with a mans full knowledg and obſtinacy, or out of negligence and weakneſs to return again to thoſe faults whereof he had repented? certainly the determination will be, that relapſing begets extreme obſtinacy, and obſtinacy begets obdurateneſs: Facit obrigeſcere in peccato, as one ſays, the Metaphor is taken from her in my Text, that after recidivation became ſenſeleſs as a Pillar, and did not feel what it was to ſin. They marry thoſe ſins again from whence their Soul was once divorced: they are reinamoured of iniquity which once they confeſſed was to be loathed: they do as it were ſay unto God, take thy reſtraining grace again, we will have none of it: they were drawn out of the ſnare of the Hunter, and put in their foot again, improbè Neptunum accuſat, qui iterum naufragium facit, ſaid the Heathen; therefore as their firſt illumination was an illuſtrious example of mercy, ſo their ſliding back and ingratitude ſhall be puniſhed with a memorable inſtance of juſtice. The Canoniſts ſay bis recidivus non debet commutare. A ſimple offender, in whom unfeined ſorrow appears, if the Magiſtrate pleaſe may be puniſhed in his Purſe for once to excuſe him from his corporal ſhame; but if he fall into the ſame offence again he muſt undergo his own penance without all indulgence of commutation.
Conſider therefore, and the Lord put it into all our thoughts, that all Vows, Promiſes, and Proteſtations of amendment of any fault that are retrograde, ceaſe, and become nothing, will be the moſt terrible witneſſes againſt us in the day of judgment.Lev. 16.26. De leg. lib. 9. The Scape-goat that was ſent out into the Wilderneſs with the ſins of the people was diſmiſſed never to return again. The Philoſopher Plato could ſay foreign; which is as one would ſay, go out of Sodom, and never turn back to look upon it. Chriſt bad us not only come unto him, Matth. xi. 28. but alſo abide with him, and ſtay with him, Jo. 15.4. There is no labour to loſt labour, to begin in the ſpirit, and to end in the fleſh. Root up vanity that it may grow no more; if you do but clip off the top it will grow the thicker afterward, The Philiſtins let the hair of Samſon grow again to their own deſtruction. Take heed that your repentance be not the worſt ſin that ever you committed; be as conſtant in well doing as the worſt are in evil, be conſtant unto the end, and the Lord will give you a Crown of Life. AMEN.