Fire and brimstone from heaven, from earth, in hell, or, Three discourses I. Concerning…

CHAP. VII. Concerning the Spectators of Sodom's burnings.

5 Concerning the Spectators of this Judgement. Abraham, however remote his habitation was, had a plain prospect of this Fire and burning of Sodom. We read Gen. 19. 27, 28. And Abraham gat up early in the morning unto the place where he stood before the Lord; and he looked towards Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the Land of the Plain, and beheld, and lo the smoke of the Country went up as the smoke of a Furnace. Abraham's heart did misgive him that those wicked Cities would not escape destruction, what ever conditional promise the Lord had made unto him of their preservation; therefore, it is likely, he arose and came to this place, that he might see what became of the Cities, and quickly he […] them to be all in flames, by the great smoke which mounted up from them; what his thoughts were is not mentioned, but it is likely he was more than ordinarily affected with this more than ordinary Judgement; such an appearance of God in the World, clothed with such wrath and vengeance, might well make even Abraham himself, whatever Interest he had in God, to quake and be astonished: When he looked up to Heaven, he saw God all in flames of anger, when he looked down to the Earth, he saw Sodom and Gomorrah all in flames of Fire: He knew that Lot did dwell there, and he did not know (it may be) but ⟨p. 37⟩that Lot with his Family might be burning there, and this might cause him to lift up his voice and weep: be sure he knew that the wickedness of the Sodomites was very great, and that the righteous of the place were very few, if any, when the Lord had promised him to spare the whole City for the sake of Ten righteous persons, could they there have been found. Ah Lord! thought he, what a wicked place is Sodom, that it should not yield Ten righteous persons? O what an evil thing and a bitter is it to Sin against God, and hereby to provoke him unto anger? and what a fearful thing is it to fall into the hands of the living God, when his anger is stirred up! and doth burn thus like fire. And if Abraham could so clearly discern the burning of Sodom and Gomorrah, the Inhabitants of Zoar, who dwelt so near, might more clearly discern it.