in your tents; and Balak said unto Balaam, Curse, I pray thee, from this spot, the children of Israel; but I put it into his heart to bless thee, and he blessed thee. Then Balak, in his foolish thought, imagined there was some ill omen connected with the spot, and that Balaam could not curse thee from that spot; so he took him along the range of hills from Shittim, looking towards Gilgal, and made him stand in other places, with, his face in other directions, and said, Curse, I pray thee, from this, and this spot, the children of Israel; but there also I put it into his heart to bless thee, and there also he blessed thee. O my people, think of Egypt; think of that house of servants; think of Moses; think of Aaron; think of Miriam ; think of Balak, who sought to crush thee; think of Balaam, who would have cursed thee if he could think of all this, "that ye may know the righteousness of the Lord."

The heart must have been strangely hardened that could withstand such an appeal as this. One rushes forward from the close ranks of Israel, O let me go, cries he, and prostrate myself before the footstool of the Almighty; let me humble myself in the very dust before so generous a father; but I must not appear empty handed in the presence of the Eternal." Wherewith shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before the high God?" Then his mind wanders back to the gods of his idolatry; he thinks of Thammutz, and Baal, and the gods of the Zidonians, and the gods of the Assyrians; of the sacrifices they have required from him; of the altars he has heaped up; and he asks, "Shall I come before him with burnt-offerings, with calves of a year old? will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams?" I have flocks, I have herds, I have cattle feeding on a thousand hills, I will slay

them all, I will offer thousands of rams, will the Lord be pleased with thousands. of rams?" or with ten thousands of rivers of oil?" I have olive groves, rich and loaded; I will strip them of their fruit ; I will press it in the mill; I will bring to the Lord's house ten thousands of rivers of oil, will the Lord be pleased with ten thousands of rivers of oil? or if all these are insufficient, if my flocks, my herds, my olive groves, all avail not, "shall I give my first-born for my transgression?" I love my child; but our children have passed through the fire to Moloch before now, shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, "the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?" The lips of the father, who so passionately reproved the ingratitude of his children, return no answer to this consciencestricken wretch; it is the voice of the prophet that interposes in the scene; "He," he who brought thee up out of

the land of Egypt; who redeemed thee out of the house of servants; who sent before thee Moses, Aaron, and Miriam ; who protected thee from the tyranny of Balak; who turned aside the curse of Balaam; He, thy parent, thy Saviour, thy judge, "He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good, and what doth the Lord require of thee?" Not of thee only; thou art a prince; thou hast flocks; thou hast herds; thou hast olive groves; thou art so lavish of thy children's blood; not of thee only, but of all this countless multitude, of all the poorest, the lowest, the meanest, the basest that there is, what doth the Lord require? Aught that is so difficult, so burdensome, so wearying? He requires but this at thy hands, "to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God."

There was in Jewry a temple, dedicated to God's service, built by Solomon,

that wise prince; it was grand and noble in its structure, adorned, without and within, with gold and precious stones, and gifts of curious workmanship; it had priests ever in attendance there to offer sacrifice: no unclean thing was suffered to approach it; it was holy to the Lord, and undefiled; nevertheless he, to whose honour it was erected, would have been well content to have seen that splendid edifice neglected, and in ruins; its gold and precious stones, and gifts of curious workmanship, disfigured and debased its priests forgetting to offer sacrifice; the unclean and defiling thing in its very holiest of holies, would his people have done justly, would they have loved mercy, would they have walked humbly with their God; a duty so simple, so easy, so natural as it were to the heart, could they not perform this little duty? Alas! they could not; their Father stretch