Page images
PDF
EPUB

mouth there fell a voice from heaven, saying, O king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken, the kingdom is departed from thee." What an awful lesson to the proud!

In short, wherever we go, whatever wę do, let us still apply this solemn truth. Thou God seest me.' Pious men, like David, frequently address God in such language as this: "Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O Lord, thou knowest it altogether. Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon

[blocks in formation]

III. MANY ADVANTAGES WILL RESULT FROM THIS PRACTICE.

1. It will lead to a circumspect walk. When we are in the company of wise and good men, we are circumspect; for their presence inspires us with a kind of awe, which has an amazing influence upon our conduct. In the company of the ignorant and wicked, we are apt to throw off every restraint, and to follow the strong tide of our corruptions. Surely, then, a deep sense of the presence of God will lead us to circumspection. That man will be careful both of his inward and outward walk, who calls to mind, "Thou God seest

[blocks in formation]
[ocr errors]

2. It will prove a source of consolation in affliction. How supporting in affliction is the presence of that God who pities and relieves the distressed and afflicted! Our fellow-creatures may not see our afflictions; or if they do, they may neither pity nor relieve. Think, then, when thy spirit is bowed down with grief, and when wearisome days and nights are appointed unto thee, "Thou God seest me.' God knows how much thou canst bear; what support is necessary; and when thou shouldst be delivered. Commit thyself to him, and leave all thy affairs in his hands. He looks upon thee, that he may do thee good. When we intend to relieve an indigent man, we look at him; but when we have no such intention, we turn our face away. God might hide his face, and leave us in distress; but after all our crimes, he looks with kind compassion.

3. It will reconcile us to trying providences. What does it signify how much, or in what way we suffer, if God see us? Come what will, we are prepared, and every providential occurrence is overruled for our good. We dread solitary affliction; but we love to have friends about us in a trying hour. Well, we may be confident that whatever afflictions take place, we shall not be left alone. In every future period, a good man

will be able to say, what he says now, "Thou God seest me.'

99

4. It will lead us to cultivate holy tempers. We dare not suffer either unholy passions to burn, or malice to take root in our hearts, while we recollect that God sees us. We dare not indulge vain thoughts, we dare not murmer, we dare not be light and trifling, while we think upon this passage, "Thou God seest me."

[ocr errors]

5. It will help our devotion. God is not far off when we pray. His eyes are upon He beholds the bended knee, the up

"'The

[ocr errors]

lifted eye, and the rising desire. eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayers.' Jesus pleads, and God is attentive when we pray! O persevere in his duty, and never forget, "Thou God seest me.

The Destruction of Sodom.

SERMON XIV.

GEN. xix. 24, 25.

Then the Lord rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven; and he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground.

THE destruction of Sodom was a most awful event, and it stands recorded in the sacred scriptures, as a perpetual warning to presumptuous sinners. It is an event which is well attested. The country to this day bears dreadful marks of that calamity; sufficient both to convince unbelievers, and to alarm the careless. The place where Sodom stood is now a great lake, called the Dead or Salt Sea, into which the river Jordan empties itself. It is about thirty miles long, and ten broad. The waters are so bitter and fetid, that neither fish, nor any other acquatic animals can possibly live in them. The Greeks call it Asphaltites, on account of the Asphaltus orbitumen with

which it abounds.

is not cultivated.

The land on its borders
It is of a white
It is of a white appear-

ance and mixed with salt; and it has totally lost the power of vegetation.

Let us carefully examine this dreadful judgment, that we may learn to abhor and detest those sins which provoked the indignation of God, and brought ruin upon Sodom and Gomorrah. The whole account may be divided into three parts: first, the circumstances which preceded the destruction: secondly, the destruction itself: and thirdly, the circumstances which followed the destruction.

1. THE

CIRCUMSTANCES

CEDED THE DESTRUCTION.

WHICH PRE

1. Sodom enjoyed largely the bounties of divine providence. The plain of Jordan, on which it stood, was fruitful, and produced not only the necessaries, but even the luxuries of life. In reference to this, we read that the inhabitants had "fulness of bread." When Lot left Abraham, he pitched his tent toward Sodom, because he had" beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered every where, before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the Lord."

2. But, notwithstanding the goodness of the Lord, the people were exceedingly wicked. They gave themselves up to fornication, and went after strange flesh. "The men, leav

« PreviousContinue »