Almighty to confine them within their channel. Let every man, therefore, be diligent to secure a part in the benefits of that gracious intercession, which is one day to have an end. Behold "the great High "Priest of our profession," standing before the altar in heaven, with his golden censer in his hand, ready to offer up the prayers of his servants, with the sweet incense of his own merits, to make them accepted with the Father. Now, then, let prayer ascend from earth to heaven, to glorify God, and pardon will descend from heaven to earth, to bless mankind, as we read in the epistle for the day-"Now is the accepted time, now is the day of salvation." The destruction of Sodom being thus determined, Lot was to be first called out of it. Accordingly, "There came two angels to Sodom," on the evening before the dreadful sentence was put in execution; "and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom." Happy were the days, when celestial visitants thus deigned to descend, and converse with men, "as a "man converseth with his friend." But surely, we have no reason to complain of any partiality shown, in this respect, to our fathers; we, to whom God hath been manifested, not under a similitude, or temporary appearance, but verily and indeed, in a body of our flesh, no more to be deposited, or laid aside, but actually taken up into heaven with him; we, to whom the word of life hath been sent by the hand of such a messenger, the "angel of the covenant";" we, to whom this comfortable promise hath been made b Mal. iii. 1. by the mouth of TRUTH itself; "If a man love me, my Father will love him, and we will come, and "make our abode with him." By his word, and by his Spirit, Christ continually visiteth his people, and dwelleth in the hearts of the faithful. Blessed is the man, who "sitteth at the gate of Sodom," ready to arise and depart out of a wicked world, at the moment when his Lord shall call him hence. He shall be visited with the visitation of the Almighty, instructed in the counsels of heaven, and delivered in the day of vengeance. Upon the sight of his divine guests, "Lot rose up "to meet them, and he bowed himself with his face "toward the ground; and he said, Behold now, my "lords, turn in, I pray you, into your servant's "house, and tarry all night, and wash your feet, "and ye shall rise up early, and go on your ways. "And they said, Nay, but we will abide in the street "all night. And he pressed upon them greatly, and they turned in unto him, and entered into his house: " and he made them a feast, and did bake unleavened "bread, and they did eat." The admonition of the apostle, grounded upon this occurrence, naturally offers itself; "Be not forgetful to entertain strangers, for thereby some have "entertained angels unawares". It may be added, thereby Christians entertain their Redeemer, who for their sakes was once a stranger upon the earth, and who therefore regards hospitality shown to strangers on his account, as shown to himself. "I was a stranger, and ye took me in; for inasmuch as ye "did it to the least of these my brethren, ye did it " unto me." Instructed, moreover, by this example of Lot, when we have the honour, like him, to entertain heavenly guests, who present themselves to us by means of the word and sacraments in the church, let us instantly "arise," in heart and mind, "to meet them," laying aside, for a time, all worldly business, and forgetting those things that are behind. Let us "bow "ourselves with our faces toward the ground," in humble and fervent prayer, saying, in the words of holy David, "Remember us, O Lord, with the favour that thou bearest unto thy people, O visit us "with thy salvation." "Turn into the house of thy servants, and tarry with us. At first, perhaps, our prayers may seem not to be heard, as the angels said, they would "abide in the street all "night," and as Christ, when invited by the two disciples at Emmaus, "made as though he would have 66 gone farther." But all this is done with the same intent that our Lord spake the parable of the poor widow and the unjust judge, to teach us, that “men "ought always to pray, and not to faint." By delaying the return of our prayers, God designs to try our love, and train us to perseverance; not to reject our petitions, and to hide his face from us for ever. When Lot earnestly pressed the angels, they went in and tarried with him; and the two disciples con e Matth. xxv. 35, 40. f Psal. cvi. 4. strained Jesus to go in and sup with them. Faint hearts and feeble hands obtained not the kingdom of heaven, which "suffereth violence," and must be "taken by" an holy "force." "The unleavened bread "of sincerity and truth" is the feast which our Lord expecteth, when he is pleased to come and dwell in our hearts. "No leaven" of hypocrisy, deceit, and fraud, should then be found in our houses.' 66 No sooner had Lot received and lodged his divine guests, than he suffered persecution on their account. And although he went out and spake with all the mildness imaginable to the wretches that "compassed the house about, old and young, from every quarter-I pray you, brethren, do not so wickedly; to these men do nothing; for therefore came they under the shadow of my roof;" what was the return made to this reasonable request, worded in the most humble and submissive terms?" Stand "back. This fellow came in to sojourn, and he will "needs be a judge. Now will we deal worse with "thee than with them. And they pressed sore upon "the man, even Lot, and came near to break the “door. But the men put forth their hand, and pulled Lot into the house to them, and shut the "door. And they smote the men that were at the "door of the house with blindness, both small and "great; so that they wearied themselves to find the "door." Truth and righteousness are guests that often bring those who entertain them into trouble; and our Lord himself tells us, that, in one sense, he came "not to "send peace on earth, but a sword." At his birth, "Herod was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him." Wherever the Gospel was preached, it produced a commotion among those who could not bear the lustre of its beams, and "hated the light, because their "deeds were evil." The world opposed its Redeemer, when he "testified concerning it, that its "deeds were evil." Lot had lived too long in Sodom, and knew too much of its inhabitants, to desire the office of a judge among them, or any farther connexion with them than was necessary. But his righteous example condemned their wickedness; and that circumstance provoked them more than if he had really usurped the government. It was charged, likewise, upon our Saviour, though the meekest and lowliest of characters, that he "made himself a king," and endeavoured to supplant the authority of Cæsar. And for that crime, if we believe the superscription on the cross, he was executed. But the true cause both of the accusation and execution was no other than this, that, by doctrine and example, he detected and exposed a set of the vilest hypocrites the earth ever bore. Nor let the disciple of Christ vainly imagine, that the most inoffensive carriage, framed by the rules of Christian prudence, and actuated in all points by the spirit of meekness and charity, will prevent him from being sometimes accused of designs to which his soul is an utter stranger. Would he escape the censure of the world? He must cease to convict it of sin and error; he must conform to all its ways, and pace quietly in its trammels; a conduct, which, as they well know who tempt him to adopt it, will soon deprive him of all authority and |