A Century of Sermons, Sermon 2
THE SECOND SERMON UPON LOT'S WIFE.
GEN. xix. 26.
And ſhe became a pillar of ſalt.
HEre is a relation of a great ſin, and of the deſtruction of the ſinner, and both in the compaſs of one ſhort verſe. And yet as brief as the Story is, I believe it is longer in telling than the deed was a doing. Though it might give us not an hours but an Ages time to conſider how ſuch a tranſmutation ſhould come to paſs; for every alteration in nature requires time, and previous diſpoſitions to work it, yet a thouſand years to the Lord are but as one day, and a moment of one day as ſufficient to bring his will to paſs as a thouſand years. If you regard the gripes of pain which cuſtomarily are antecedent to death, I think never any died with leſs ſenſe of pain than this woman did, for a numbneſs took her all over in the twinkling of an eye, and left her as it had been a ſtone. And you know long lingring puniſhments are moſt cruel, and moſt exquiſite to fleſh and bloud; Ita moriatur ut ſe mori ſentiat, was a moſt tyrannical ſentence. But of that the example in my Text was moſt free, and yet never the happier. Julius Caeſars quick anſwer to his friends demand, what death is moſt eligible, and he ſaid, the quickeſt is much cited, but little commended. For though his opinion ſeem ſpecious in one ſimilitude, that no Seafaring man will complain that he was brought too ſoon to the Haven: Yet there is another ſimilitude to counterpoiſe that, how an unprovided Steward may be ſhent, becauſe he was brought too ſoon to his reckoning. A little warning time at the lateſt of all may be worth much time. Moſes had this beſtowed upon him for the fulneſs of all favours that went before, to have his paſſing-bell toll in his ears, in thoſe words which God ſpake unto him. Get thee up into Mount Nebo, Deut. 32 50.and die in the Mountain whither thou goeſt up, and be gathered unto thy people. From hence I collect, that this Judgment in my Text will be moſt ſenſible to our apprehenſion, becauſe we ſhall hear of one that was ſnatcht away unpreparedly, without all ſenſe of death. It is true, ſhe had no Will to make, ſhe had no Legacies to bequeath, for all was loſt. She had no houſe to ſet in order with Hezekiah, for her Habitation was conſumed with fire and brimſtone; yet ſhe had a Soul to ſet in order, which was ten thouſand times more than all beſide. And although I will define nothing raſhly againſt her for this judgment ſake, for I have learnt that modeſty to let God only judge his own ſervants, yet this momentary deſtruction of Lots Wife, I am ſure, is worth both this, and many hours meditations. Quod cuivis cuiquam; that which hapned but once ſince the world began to this one perſon, may happen in ſome kind every day to any man. Saul was deſperately driven to ſeek to raiſe Samuel from the dead, and appear before him; this inſtance in my Text is one that never went down to the grave among the dead, that ſhe might always be in the remembrance of the living, how ſhe looked back to Sodom, and became a Pillar of Salt.
Which words I divided formerly into ſuch terms as might both reſpect the Contents of the Text, and be expedient places for your memory: Therefore I called the two principal branches, an Epitaph, and a Tomb. The Epitaph thus, But his Wife looked back from behind him: The Tomb which this Epitaph reſpects in that which follows, And ſhe became a Pillar of Salt. If God made Epitaphs, the ſtones of the Church ſhould not be guilty of ſuch flattery as they are, for none of the offences of Lots Wife are left out in theſe few words: but ſhe is accuſed, and very juſtly, of theſe particulars, as I ſhewed before: 1. Of diſobedience, that ſhe would not obſerve the preciſe Commandment of God in every motion of her body. 2. Of great folly and blindneſs of heart, that ſhe would reject God and the preſervation of her own life upon ſuch eaſie conditions as to hold ſtill her head. 3. Of a Spirit moſt unattentive to learn, for Lot went before her conſtantly and ſtedfaſtly, the example was in her eye every ſtep from Sodom to Zoar, yet ſhe would go her own ways. 4. Of incredulity, an incredulous ſoul, Wiſd. x. 7. Either ſhe did not believe that Sodom ſhould be conſumed as God had ſent word, or elſe ſhe thought it would not be the worſe for her though ſhe turn'd about, and lookt upon it. 5. She relapſed and fainted in well-doing, and deſired to live again among thoſe wicked ſinners from whom God had withdrawn her. This was opened in the firſt part. The ſecond is as ſtrange for a Tomb as this was for an Epitaph. A Chriſtian Poet wrote thus Enigmatically upon it, Cadaver nec habet ſuum ſepulchrum▪ ſepulchrum nec habet ſuum cadaver, ſepulchrum tamen & cadaver intus; That ſhe was made a Carkaſs that had no Sepulchre, nay, that ſhe was made a Sepulchre that had no Carkaſs or rather that ſhe was both Carkaſs and Sepulchre. And to conform my ſelf to the reſolution of this Riddle, I will conſider this puniſhment inflicted from God two ways, in reference to her ſelf as to the Carkaſs, and in reference to that into which ſhe was turned as to the Sepulchre. She that was puniſht, 1. Was one of thoſe very few that profeſſed the name of God among thouſands that were unrighteous. 2. She was one of four that were brought out of Sodom, and yet there wanted one of thoſe four before they got into Zoar. 3. She was well nigh paſs'd all danger, and ſuffred ſhipwrack in the very Haven. 4. She did wilfully caſt her ſelf away at the laſt caſt, therefore we read ſhe was loſt, but not that ſhe was ever bemoaned. After this, in reference to the Pillar of Salt, 1. I conſider it as a new puniſhment, the like was never heard. 2. As a ſudden or momentaneous puniſhment. 3. As a miraculous and moſt ſupernatural puniſhment. 4. As a mortal puniſhment, but not as a final deſtruction. Of theſe in order.
Ver. 21.The Lord told Abraham in the former Chap. that the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah was very great, and therefore He was come down to ſee how grievous their ſin was. That which called him down to execute vengeance was not the iniquity of Lots houſe, (that little Family was all the remnant He had there to call upon his name) but the filthy ſins of the other Canaanites that abounded with rank and unnatural pollutions. And the Angel tells Lot in this Chapter they were come to ſpare him and his,Verſ. 13. but the Lord had ſent them to deſtroy that City, becauſe the cry of it was waxen great before the Lord. They confeſs their Commiſſion was given them to puniſh none but thoſe Children of perdition, that were aliens from all fear of God. And yet behold one that was in the Catalogue of them that profeſſed the Worſhip of God ſhe offended, and the hand of Gods fury is ſtretched out upon her, She became a pillar of Salt. Says one upon it, Par eſt ut judex priùs ſuam domum examinet quàm alienam. A Magiſtrate that will reform abuſes, let him make his own houſe the firſt example of reformation, and then his Juſtice may more confidently call any to account that are not ſo near unto him. St. Paul, grounding upon that equitable caſe, deciphers a good Biſhop to be one that ruleth his own houſe well, for if a man know not how to rule his own houſe, how ſhall he take care of the Church of God? 1 Tim. iii. 5. This brings it to our apprehenſion directly, why this perſon in my Text was chaſtiſed with no leſs than death, becauſe God would ſhew his juſtice upon his own Family where they ſinned, that unconverted Reprobates might expect nothing but the utmoſt of ſeverity. For if theſe things be done in a green tree, what ſhall be done in a dry? Luk. xxiii. 31.
There is no ſort of anguiſh, no calamity of any name or magnitude, Captivities Famines, Diſeaſes, that doth not ſhew it ſelf as ſoon within the bowels of the Church, as in any part of the World beſide. For a ſmall treſpaſs is taken more unkindly at their hands where grace abounds, than a great profanation from the Heathen, who were left as forſaken as the Mountains of Gilboa in Davids curſe, upon whom no dew of heaven did fall. A ſmall ſin in Judah is as bad as an Idol in Samaria. A lukewarmneſs, or faintneſs of Religion in Laodicaea as bad as Paganiſm in thoſe Regions that ſate in darkneſs, and in the ſhadow of death. Therefore the firſt ſtroke of indignation ſhall light upon their ſins, from whom the Lord did expect the leaſt offence, and the moſt obedience. Slay utterly both young and old, both Maids and Children, and begin at my Sanctuary, ſays God, Ezek. ix. 6. You hear that the ſword of vengeance ſhall be drawn forth firſt againſt the Sanctuary, that is, the pollutions of the Sanctuary. Chriſt will ſooner take his ſcourge in hand to drive the money changers out of the Temple than to correct the Publicans and Tole-gatherers at the Cuſtom-houſe, who were the greater Extortioners. A tree that was made to bear fruit ſhall be hewn down and caſt into the fire, if it continue barren; but wild Plants, from which neither Figs nor Olives were expected, God never threatens them with the Axe, but lets them ſtand till they decay with age and rottenneſs.
This is the reaſon of it, that although God had no more in Sodom for his ſhare but a very little houſhold, yet one of his own Domeſticks that look'd back upon Sodom periſh'd as well as thoſe his Enemies that never came out. But if God ſpared not his own, what remains for them that were never folded up in his flock, never called by his name? Si flagellantur filii, quid debent ſperare ſervi nequiſſimi, ſays S. Auſtin? In Pſal. 93.If the Sons of the Family be ſcourged, what can Runnagates hope for? If King Joſias, a Saint worth all the men of Judah beſide, was brought to an untimely end, that ſtroke was but a forerunner that all the ſtubborn Nation beſide ſhould ſoon after be caſt out into a moſt woful captivity. Quando juſtis non parcitur propter perficiendam purgationem, non parcetur impiis tanquam ſarmentis praeciſis ad combuſtionem, ſo St. Auſtin goes on in a ſweet ſimilitude, If God do not forbear the Righteous, but prune them off ſometimes to trim the tree, certainly the unrighteous ſhall not be endured, who are dead ſear boughs, and moſt combuſtible for the fire. Ʋpon the Land of my people, ſhall come up thorns and briars, how much more upon all the houſes of the joyous City? Iſa. xxxii. 13. As waters are ſtill and ſhallow near the Spring-head, but run with the ſwifter Current as they are further off, ſo the indignation of Divine Juſtice which begins calmly in the Church, which is near to God, will increaſe more violently among the out-caſts of Satan, among whom at laſt it will end. Says St. Peter, 1 Epiſt. iv. 17. The time is come that judgment muſt begin at the houſe of God; and if it firſt begin at us, what ſhall the end of them be that obey not the Goſpel of God? The Houſe of God ſhall be puniſhed, and ſeverity begins at them; but it is not finis eorum, that is not their final doom; nay, it is no more but a twitch by the way; but puniſhment, in St. Peters own words, is the end, the laſt caſt of impenitent ſinners; What ſhall be the end of them that obey not the Goſpel? Inchoatur ira judicii divini à correptione juſtorum, Moral. 26. c. 17.ut in reproborum damnatione conquieſcat, ſo Gregory in reference to St. Peter. The Rod of Gods Power begins with the chaſtiſement of the Juſt, that it may give over in the damnation of Reprobates. And as Gregory expounds St. Peter, ſo our Vulgar Engliſh Margin makes St. Peter to expound Solomon, Prov. xi. 31. Behold the Righteous ſhall be recompenced in the earth, much more the wicked and the ſinner. Finally, as God ſpares not the neareſt to him, ſo let us take up the ſame juſtice, my meaning is, let no man ſpare himſelf, Proximus egomet mihi. If thy right eye offend thee, thine own eye, thy right eye, pull it out, and caſt it from thee. Beati qui cum omnium miſereantur, ſibi nunquam penitus ignoſcant, ſays Salvianus; Happy are they that are pitiful to all men, only they will not pity themſelves, but avenge themſelves of themſelves, that God may ſhew them mercy.
Secondly, She became a Pillar of Salt, even ſhe that was one of four that were brought out of Sodom to be delivered, and yet there wanted one of thoſe four before they got into Zoar. I will not move that queſtion hereupon, that one did to our Saviour in the Goſpel, Luk. xiii. 23. Lord are there few that be ſaved? No anſwer can be given to this directly but either curious or uncomfortable. Our Saviour replies unto it in that ſame place thus, Strive to enter in at the ſtraight gate, for many, I ſay unto you, will ſeek to enter in, and ſhall not be able. But becauſe St. Matthew ſays of that ſtraight gate that leadeth unto life, few there be that find it. Therefore Cajetan ſays, that in effect our Saviour rejoyned to that mans queſtion, few ſhould be ſaved, Ex anguſtiâ portae ſignificans paucos eſſe qui ſalvantur; the narrowneſs of the way did ſignifie how few ſhould hit upon that path that conducteth to eternal life. But I had rather take in light at another window, and receive St. Auſtins Expoſition,De verb. Dom. that Chriſt did purpoſely decline to give punctual and affirmative ſatisfaction to that queſtion, deriving his words to this ſcope, rather to make us ſtudy which way every man may be ſaved than to know how many, or how few ſhall be ſaved. Ad queſtionis vaniloquium nihil dicit ſed transfert ſuum ſermonem ad rem magis neceſſariam. He would not reply to ſuch an impertinent interrogatory, but raiſed doctrine out of it more neceſſary to edification.
Let not that curious inveſtigation then lie in our way, what a ſmall number of ſouls four were, in reſpect of ſo many thouſands that were burnt to aſhes in the deſtruction of four Cities, and yet how much that portion decreaſed, becauſe one of them four was cut ſhort by the way; rather I will turn the Point into this conſideration, that the Devil is always detracting and abating from that ſmall portion and remnant which God hath ſet apart for himſelf. Could our Saviour have choſen fewer than Twelve Apoſtles to teſtifie over all the world what they had heard and ſeen? And yet the Devil entred into one of theſe, to make him the guide unto thoſe that betrayed Jeſus. God cantonized out for himſelf but Twelve Families or Tribes out of all the Kingdoms of the Earth, with whom he made a Covenant by Sacrifice, and Ten portions of thoſe Twelve revolted both from God and the King, and fell into Idolatry and Treaſon. I might be infinite both in Sacred and Humane Hiſtories, but our own experience is as ſure a touch unto us; The Chriſtian Faith you know is received but into few Regions of the habitable world; I may ſay according to Nathans Parable, that Europe was unto God as that only Ewe Lamb, all that the poor man had, but the Devil is like that rich one, that had many Flocks and Herds beſides in all places under the Sun, yet you ſee what a great ſtride Mahomet hath ſtept into Europe, though the Church complains of her ſmall number, as Micah did,Mic. 7.1. Woe is me, I am as when they have gathered the Summer fruits, as the grape-gleanings of the Vintage, there is no cluſter to eat; yet the envious one would abate the Lord of that ſmall Remnant; among all the Inhabitants of Sodom he thought four too great a number to eſcape, and one of them relapſed, and became a Pillar of Salt. But let us come from perſons to things that concern Gods Worſhip and Honour, and note how we defalk, and rob God in them. Of two Teſtaments of holy Scriptures, the Manichaeans, Hereticks in ancient times, and now our modern Anabaptiſts do reject the Old. Of two parts of the Sacrament of the Lords Supper, Bread and Wine, to ſignifie the body of Chriſt crucified, and his bloud ſpilt, the Layty, you know where, have loſt the uſe of the Cup. Of four Commandments in the Firſt Table of the Law the Second among ſome is either ſnapt off for brevity ſake, or crouded into the Firſt, to make it loſe its force and vigour. Inſtead of Faith and good Works, which are both neceſſary to ſalvation, we are much too ſlow with our good Works, and think to come off well enough with a dry barren Faith. Inſtead of our Prayers early and late as a Morning and Evening Sacrifice, diſſolute men and women think a ſhort good-night will ſerve the turn as they go to bed. Inſtead of glorifying God in our bodies, and in our ſpirits, many do ſubtract their humility of bodily worſhip, and ſuppoſe it is abundantly well done to ſerve him in Spirit. Finally, inſtead of devoting our whole Age to repentance and newneſs of life, many will not abandon their ſins till their ſins are forſaking them in their laſt years; nay, perhaps in the laſt hour; nay, God help them, perhaps but in the laſt gaſp or two of that lateſt hour; thus the Devil hath envenomed the World with a Sacrilegious Poyſon, and perſwades us that all is well gotten which is loſt to God. But in deed and in truth God loſeth nothing; He will be honoured either in our Converſion, or in our Confuſion. As his mercy was content to be glolified in the deliverance of Lots Wife, ſo his juſtice was exalted in her puniſhment.
Thirdly, This woman was come out of Sodom, come out of the Plain, hard by the Gates of Zoar, at the very laſt Furlong of the way, as Adrichomius deſcribes it, and caſt her ſelf wilfully away, when ſhe was almoſt paſt all danger, as the Proverb is, In portu naufragium, ſhe had paſs'd the Waves of a perilous Journey, but ſhipwrackt and loſt all when ſhe was come home to the Haven. Quod quiſque vitet nunquam homini ſatis cautum eſt in horas; None periſh ſo ſoon as they that think they cannot periſh now, they are paſt the worſt, and ſo become leſs wary of their ſafety. When Caeſar had it divin'd unto him, that the Ides of March ſhould be fatal to him, he ſhould never out-live that day; he was jocund and ſecure about afternoon, and frumpingly told his Wizzards, the day was far-ſpent and he felt no ſign of death; O but ſays one that Propheſied evil to him, the day is come, but it is not paſs'd yet, and the event of the day was the ſlaughter of Caeſar. So, many are wound up to the laſt minute of confidence and ſecurity, and there began their ruine where they thought to conſummate their felicity. Abimelech marched againſt the City of Thebes, he took it, he beſieged the Tower, cloſe to the Gates of the Tower, and was about to ſet fire to the Gates; thus he ſtood in limine victoriae; as his Victory was come to the juſt complement, a woman caſt down a piece of a Mill ſtone, and brake his skull that he died, Judg. ix. 22. Thus as a Gameſters whole Stake and winnings may be loſt at the laſt caſt, ſo many men have had a long progreſs in proſperity, and for want of due thankfulneſs of that they had received, their concluſion and ſhutting up of their eyes hath been bitterneſs. Relapſing in ſickneſs, a thing as frequent as the water that runs by us, it is not unskilfully imputed to the heedleſneſs of him that was too adventurous upon recovery, and ſome other indiſpoſition of natural cauſes: but when we ſee a man brought down to the Grave with infirmity, and brought back again by Art and skil, and yet in the midſt of his joy to be ſtrangely caſt back into the former languiſhment; Let not the ſound judge anothers ſervant, but let the ſick party judge himſelf, that either he returned to the vomit of his former ſins, which he did abandon upon fear of death, or promiſed reſtitution of ſomething got by fraud, which afterwards he would not perform; or forgave his enemies at the point of extremity, and being reſtored renewed his old grudge: or forgot his Vows which he had made: or flubbered over the benefit which God had done for him with careleſs ingratitude. Certainly ſome offence did intervene, that when the bitterneſs of death did ſeem to be paſt, the Lord ſhould cauſe his very recovery to be his ruine. For there is nothing more dangerous than deliverance out of danger, if we do not uſe our fortune reverently, and ſtand in awe of God even in the midſt of his mercies.
And this is more conſpicuous in the ſoul than in the body. Gods grace leads a penitent man along by the hand in the narrow way of righteouſneſs, but if he begin to think that he can go alone without a ſupporter, when he thinks he hath one foot in heaven, he ſhall be thrown down to hell, or, as our Saviour ſpeaks, the latter end of that man ſhall be worſe than the firſt. How many have revolted from the true Faith, through the deceivable wit of ſeducers, even upon the laſt bed of their ſickneſs? How many have repulſed Satans tentations oftentimes, and have yielded, as you would ſay, at the laſt time of asking? As Samſon denied Delilah ſundry times, but betrayed his life into her hands at the laſt onſet and importunity. What a courage had Peter againſt the whole band of the Prieſts ſervants? And how much diſcouraged at the voice of a ſilly Damoſel, and made to forſwear his Maſter? This was in extremo actu deficere, to be far from Sodom, and almoſt at Zoar, and yet to fall back from God when we are within ſight, and almoſt within touch of the Crown of life, this is that turpitude which is moſt ignominious to our Chriſtian Warfare. With ſhame enough ſhall back-ſliders hear that reproach from God, You did run well, who did hinder you? You were almoſt at the top of my holy hill, why did your feet ſlip? Why did you look back to Sodom? Wherefore, my Beloved, when your conſcience tells you, that hitherto your heart hath been right with the Lord, you have plaid your part well to the laſt act, why then be moſt ſollicitous that you be not defective in the end, and loſe your reward, and the fruit of all your labour that went before. But pray with David, Forſake me not, O Lord, in mine old age when I am gray-headed. Let me not forget thee, as Lots Wife did, when I am almoſt at Zoar, and then the Lord will ſay, Even to your old age, even to your hoary hairs will I carry you, Iſa. xlvi. 4.
So much be ſpoken of the puniſhment of Lots Wife, as in reference to a Carkaſs, now I proceed to ſpeak of it in reference to that into which ſhe was turned, as to the Sepulchre. She became a Pillar of Salt. Exemplum ſine exemplo, that is the firſt thing I collect out of it, it is new and ſingular, without any thing to match it. The juſtice of the Lord may ſay upon this in the words of the Prophet Iſaiah, Remember ye not the former things, neither conſider the things of old, behold I will do a new thing, Iſa. xliii. 19. To kill a Tranſgreſſour with ſuch a death as never any died before muſt needs be remarkable. Moſes bid the Iſraelites mark it in Core, Dathan, and the reſt of that Rebellion, that they had incurred a great diſpleaſure, Num. xvi. 29. If theſe men die the common death of all men, if they be viſited after the viſitation of all men, then the Lord hath not ſent me; but if the Lord make a new thing, &c. then ye ſhall underſtand that theſe men have provoked the Lord. Sceleratius commiſſum eſt quod eſt gravius vindicatum, ſays St. Auſtin. Great impiety went before when it was revenged with ſuch great ſeverity: But that is not all; for ſurely there is a kind of ſingularity in the ſin, where there is ſuch a ſingularity in the judgment, as to ſlay the Delinquent in that manner as was unheard of to all former Generations. You will ſay, there was nothing new and ſingular in this womans ſin; diſobedience, unthankfulneſs infidelity, relapſing, theſe are common caſes, vulgar faults committed a thouſand times over. I grant it, but do you ever read, that God was ſo ſoon forgotten by any one, while the memory of ſo great a deliverance was freſh and warm, and while an Angel of the Lord was preſent, and before her eyes to aw her and inſtruct her? Never did any ſinner ſo wilfully caſt their life away, and therefore never was any humane creature ſo ſtrangely congealed into a lump of Salt. Core and his band of Rebels were ſwallowed quick into the loweſt Pit; Ne terram contaminarent ſepulchro, ſays St. Ambroſe, that the interring of ſuch odious corpſes might not defile the earth; and ſince that time many others have been ſo devoured by the open jaws of the ground in an Earthquake. But the Grave did never admit the dead body of the ſinner, there it was left between heaven and earth, never the like done before or ſince, becauſe ſhe wavoured and doubted whether ſhe ſhould ſtill look up to heaven, or look back to that portion of earth from whence ſhe was eſcaped. It was a Statute of grace and mercy, that the body of a Malefactor put to death ſhould be buried ſoon after his execution. The Gibeonites indeed when the Sons of Saul were delivered up to them, did uſe them after their heatheniſh manner, and let them remain for a publick ſpectacle many months after they were hanged on a tree; but God was more pitiful, as it is Deut. xxi. 23. If a man have committed a ſin worthy of death, and be put to death, his body ſhall not remain all night upon the tree, thou ſhalt in any wiſe bury him that day, that the Land be not defiled. The monument of Gods curſe was not to remain viſibly in that place, but burial was to aboliſh the curſe from appearing in the Lords Land. This is the particular inſtance in all the Scripture, this of Lots Wife, where God did leave the Malefactor ſlain, to be ſeen above ground for many Ages after.
I think I have proved it a new and unheard of puniſhment. For the righteous Judge hath new kind of bleſſings for ſome holy ones that were never known before; and he hath new kind of revengeful Arrows in his Quiver for his rebellious enemies, ſuch as were never felt before. A new kind of ſuſtenance ſhall be found out for Elias in the Wilderneſs: a new kind of remedy to cure Hezekiahs ſickneſs: a new way to ſave Jonas in the belly of a Whale: a new form of Gaol-delivery for Peter out of Herods Priſon. And as men are full of new inventions, and excogitate unheard-of Pride and Luxury, freſh ways to ſerve the Devil, which were never known before, ſo God doth fill the earth with new Plagues to correct them. Novae febrium terris incubuit cohors; ſtrange ſymptoms of Fevers rage oftentimes, which put Phyſicians to a new ſtudy. That murrion, or Morbus vervecinus, Anno 1580. of which thouſands died in Germany and Italy, was a new infliction of mortality, never wrote of by any Artiſt in former Ages. The Sweating ſickneſs, called the Engliſh ſweat over all the world, was firſt inflicted upon England, in the Reign of Henry the Seventh. Our Hiſtories are ſilent if there were any ſuch Malady among us in former Ages. And I need not to remember you, that Columbus his return out of Weſt India brought the firſt contagion of deſerved loathſomneſs upon Fornicators, which for reverence to your ears I will not mention. It is the ſingularity of our ſins which is juſtly requited with ſuch ſingularities of chaſtiſement. It is too vulgar that every little Croſs will make us fall into a bitter expoſtulation, An quiſquam hominum eſt aequè miſer? Was there ever the like that hapned to any man? None ſo wrongfully defeated for want of juſtice, none ſo perfidiouſly betrayed by falſe friends, none ſo continually afflicted with recurrent ſickneſs. Theſe diſcontents are nought and peeviſh, there is none but the Son of God can juſtly complain, Was ever any ſorrow like my ſorrow? But if you be truly perſwaded, that your calamities are new and unheard-of, lay it to your conſcience, and examine your ſelf upon it, that you are made an example like Lots Wife, becauſe of ſome unparallel'd and matchleſs diſobedience.
Yet ſome kind of new puniſhments riſe out of natural cauſes, ſo did not this, for it is miraculous and ſupernatural to be turned into a Pillar of Salt. The Heathen have many devices in their elaborate Fictions of Men and Women metamorphoſed into Plants and Stones, indeed into all kind of Creatures Celeſtial and Terreſtrial, and ſurely that which provoked their buſie wits was to tell ſome things as ſtrange in fiction as this ſtory in my Text is infallible truth. Nay, this narration of Lots Wife, how ſhe look'd back to Sodom and ſo periſhed, ſet their inventions ſo much on work, that the heathen grounded a particular Fable upon it, how Orpheus had Pluto's licenſe to bring his Wife Eurydice out of hell, if he kept this condition, not once to look back upon her, till he had brought her ſafe to earth out of thoſe ſhades of darkneſs: but he could not refrain out of fondneſs to caſt back his eyes upon her, and ſo loſt his longing. Bleſſed are they that have the ſpirit of underſtanding, for you ſee that the beſt uſe that the heathen made of ſacred Scripture was to turn it to the worſt.
And as theſe Poetical heads roved at random, ſo I would not put it upon Philoſophical Inquiſition, how ſhe became a Pillar of Salt. He that wrote of the marvelous works of God that occur in Scripture, and calls himſelf St. Auſtin, Lib. 3. c. 11.bids it be obſerved, that there is an hidden vein of ſalt in every mans body, as appears by the tears in our eyes, and the rheum in our mouth; and that this ſalt Spring did overflow all the body in an inſtant, as God commanded, and turned the whole ſubſtance into its own malignity. Aben Ezra the Rabbine ſays, that ſhe felt part of the puniſhment of Sodom, for as it is Deut. xxix. 23. The whole Land is brimſtone, and ſalt, and burning. So that the fire that came down from God upon thoſe Cities had ſalt and ſulphur in it, and ſhe was ſcorched with thoſe ſalt ſulphurious flames, and made a Pillar of ſalt. Not incinerated, as the word is, as if a ſudden flaſh of fire had waſted her into ſmall corns of ſalt, as into aſhes, for then the tranſlation ſhould have been not ſtatua, but cumulus, not a Pillar, but an heap of ſalt: and ſo indeed it was tranſlated before St. Hieroms time, but when he viſited the Holy Land, and ſaw this Figure with his own eyes, he mended the errors of all former Copies, and tranſlated it a Pillar of ſalt. Nor was it of the nature of that ſalt which we make by Art, and ſometimes compact it into Pyramidal ſhapes, and other Figures, that, you know, fall away into dirt, if wet take it; but this lump, into which Lot's Wife was congealed, endured all injuries of Rain and Snow. Therefore it was that which we call Sal metallicum, the Metal of ſalt, which is a durable ſtubborn ſtone which kept the ſhape of an humane body as the Reporters ſay, continually lick'd upon by the Herds of Cattel that grazed in thoſe places to provoke their appetite by the ſaltiſh ſapour, yet not at all diminiſhed. Nunquam pluviis nec diruta ventis, ſays Tertullian; but that Poem of his hath ſuch prodigious additions that I ſhame to rehearſe them. Burchardus ſays, that this fatal Monument was to be ſeen in his days, not three hundred years paſt, between Engadi and the Red Sea. The Jeruſalem Targum undertook to Propheſie almoſt 1600 years ago, that there it was to ſtand untill the Reſurrection: And therefore I conjecture that Luther had met with none of theſe reports, for he ſays, that the Pillar of Salt, into which ſhe was turned, was preſently deſtroyed with the City of Sodom, and paſh'd to pieces with thunder. But all Geographers who have wrote upon it teſtifie there was the very taſte of ſalt in it, literally, it was a Pillar of ſalt.
Others, that love to find more in the Scripture than there is in the Letter, ſay it is not ſo called becauſe it was of a ſaltiſh Element, but for another reſpect; 1. Becauſe it was to ſtand for long continuance, and a Pillar of Salt is as much as an incorruptible Pillar; ſo Numb. xviii. Gods eternal Covenant with his people is called a Covenant of Salt, for Salt is a preſervative from Corruption. 2. As Salt makes Viands taſte well upon the palate, ſo the ſight of this dreadful Monument was to put the ſavour of Gods judgements in the thoughts of them that called it to mind, Humilibus fidelibus quoddam praeſtitit condimentum ut ſapiant aliquid, ſays St. Auſtin. Every notable puniſhment that a ſinner incurs in the eyes of all the world, it is ſalt unto the wiſe to make them cautious. In me quis intuens pius eſto, as it was engraven upon the Monument of an Egyptian King, who went down with much ſorrow to his grave, becauſe of his Sacriledge, ſo look upon this pair that came out of Sodom, upon Lot and his Wife, Hic perfectè mundum deſerit; illa tepide; he renounced the vain world perfectly and devoutly, and it went well with his life: She ſaid ſhe would renounce it, and did not perſevere, and ſhe died relapſing. Though ſhe was fooliſh ſhe may make us wiſe; though ſhe were evil, yet her ſalt is good. Let her unſavourineſs be our ſeaſoning.
There are yet two Points to be diſpatcht: The one of terrour, that this was a momentaneous and a ſudden death: The other of ſome alloy, that though it were a mortal, yet we cannot ſay it was a final deſtruction. She, that is, her body was concrete into ſalt in an inſtant; the ſoul, you know, could admit of no ſuch tranſmutation, but it was violenced out of the fleſh in the twinkling of an eye. O if ſhe had ſuſpected her eyes ſhould have been cloſed for ever, at that turning her ſelf about, ſhe would not have look'd back for all the world. If Ananias had imagined he ſhould have breathed his laſt, while he was forging a lie to deceive the Holy Ghoſt, he would not have retained a denier of his poſſeſſions, but caſt it all at the Apoſtles feet. No man would be an unrepentant ſinner to day, but that he hopes for to morrow. No man can be ſo deſperate to ſin ſo faſt, but that he thinks his Age runs away but ſlowly. The Devil knows there is no way to advance his Kingdom, but to ſet a falſe glaſs before us that we have long to live. Perſwade your ſelves that your days are numbred, and the ſtrength of ſin is evacuated. I never heard of more conſtancy in any man of this kind than Thuanus records to have been in a Landgrave of Heſſen within theſe forty two years,Gulielmus obit. 1593. for the ſpace of ten years and more before he departed, he compoſed himſelf to die every night with all the ſolemnity of taking of leave of Children, Friends, and Family, confeſſing where he had offended that day, and asking pardon of his worſt inferiours; and ſo he left very little room for any ſin to enter, becauſe he prepared himſelf to give place unto death, and to admit it every moment. Beloved, againſt death we cannot fortifie our ſelves, againſt the ſuddenneſs of death we may: and yet our labour is to put off death, and to live always, which is impoſſible; and nothing is leſs ſtudied than to mitigate the miſchief which may come by ſudden death, and that is poſſible and neceſſary.
But I will not cloſe my Text in a diſconſolate key. She became a Pillar of ſalt, that is, her body became a hard rock, and her breath was ſtopt before ſhe could cry Ah Lord God, or ah be merciful. Surely death in the very act of ſin is moſt terrible, eſpecially put this unto it, that it was no common Viſitation. But from hence ſhall we leave her among thoſe that went down into the nethermoſt pit? Gods gentleneſs and mercy will not let me ſay ſo; Chriſt prevented ſuch cenſures, when he gave us ſome comfort of their ſalvation on whom the Tower of Siloam fell ſuddenly. How the ſoul may commend it ſelf to the compaſſion of God, in the very moment of egreſs and out paſſage, it is within the hope of our charity, though above the definition of our judgment. And thus I would riſe up into pious credulity of their ſalvation, for our Church hath a pious credulity at their burial: As the longer proportion of afflictions uſually falls upon them that can more patiently ſuffer them; and God lays his burden upon them that can beſt bear it; ſo let our charity infer, that he makes the bed of their ſickneſs be long and tedious that had need of large repentance, and takes them away ſuddenly that are beſt prepared.
Levit. 10.2.St. Auſtin fills up this very doctrine with the inſtance of Lots Wife, Magis eſt hoc exemplum eruditio nobis, quàm condemnatio ipſius; this Pillar of ſalt ſtood there rather for our inſtruction than for our condemnation. And God doth often chaſtiſe his own in the fleſh, as well with ſudden as with lingring correction, to ſave the ſoul from the wrath to come. Filii Aaronis caſtigati ſunt non damnati, ſays Gregory; Nadab and Abihu were chaſtiſed, and ſuddenly ſlain for offering ſtrange fire, but not damned. So the old Prophet, that was rent by the Lion for his diſobedience, lived and died an holy man in all the reputation of Iſrael. Luther pleads thus for Lots Wife, that in the general courſe of her life ſhe was faithful and holy, left Ʋr of the Chaldaeans to come away with Abraham from that ſink of Idolatry, and with Lot her Husband, Gen. xii. 5. and ſhe ſtuck cloſe to her Husband in this Exile out of Sodom. Therefore it is to be credited that her former faith did not leave her, though her ſoul had but a ſhort moment to call for mercy. I wonder the Jeſuits ſhould extenuate her ſin to be but venial,1 Ki. 13.24. and yet make her a caſtaway. For Lorinus ſays he would grant ſhe was ſaved, but that all their Authors were againſt him, Lenior placet ſententia quamvis Patronum non reperiam. Nay, I think the beſt of her in charity, not by leſſening her ſin, but by extolling Gods mercy. Some of the Rabbies make a toy of it, that ſhe became a Pillar of Salt, becauſe ſhe would not ſet Salt before the Angels, whom ſhe had received the night before in hoſpitality. The Hebrews will write ſometimes as if they were wiſer than men, ſometimes ſcribble as if they were fooliſher than children. The fault was a vaſt one, ſhe caſt away that which the Lord would have ſaved, in regard of her ſelf deſperately, of the Angel contumeliouſly, of her Huſband and Daughters ſcandalouſly, of God and his favours unthankfully, yet her laſt gaſp might be illuminated by the Spirit to commend her ſoul into the hands of her gracious Father. To which Father, and the Holy Spirit, together with Jeſus Chriſt be all glory and honour. AMEN.