And was this the whole amount of her criminality? Was it a mere glance of the eye, for which she is become an object of execration, and a warning to all ages? Was this the single action for which she suffered?--Have we not been led to suppose, that apostacy is rather a _course of conduct_, than the perpetration of any particular crime, however atrocious? And yet does not the wife of Lot appear to have been punished as an apostate? Beware of forming a hasty judgment, and recollect that, in some cases, a single action is an infallible criterion of a most impious character. It is the _last in a series of crimes_, although, perhaps, the only _discovered_ iniquity. The rest have been concealed by circumstances, or by artifice; and, like the apex and point of a rock piercing the surface of the deep, which indicates its immense magnitude and elevation above the bottom of the ocean, _one_ considerable act of baseness indicates the real existence of an immense accumulation of secret iniquity. Such was the character of _Judas,_ and probably of _Lot's wife_. The recorded action in question indicated, in fact, a very complicated crime. It was a direct disobedience to an express and solemn command; and whether the command respected a mere look, or a mighty undertaking, the _principle_ which influenced the conduct, was equally censurable. We must abstain from _whatever_ is interdicted, whether it respect the tasting of fruit, as in the case of Eve, or the looking back to relinquished possessions, as in the example of Lot's wife. Unbelief was also a probable concomitant in this transgression. She might doubt the reality of the threatened destruction, or be influenced by a spirit of unhallowed curiosity: or, if she heard the descending tempest, some dread of being overtaken by it might induce her to look back. But, above all, our Lord, in commenting upon her conduct, intimates that her _heart_ lingered after the possessions she had left, and her look implied a _wish_ to return to their enjoyment. The case of this woman is peculiarly affecting, from other considerations. It has been already stated, she had peculiar advantages, being the wife of a righteous man--she had thus far escaped the pollutions of Sodom, and avoided its destiny--she had obeyed the voice of the celestial messenger, and was led forth under a heavenly ministration--she was in the company of the pious--participated the deliverance of her husband, and was on the point of having completely escaped--Sodom was left behind--Zoar was at hand--the raging storm was desolating the devoted cities, while the bright sun of the morning lighted the fugitives on their way. Before, all was smiling! Behind, all was tempestuous!--Salvation, if they persevered! Perdition, if they retreated or looked back!--It is written in the book of God--may it be written indelibly on every heart--"If any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him."