The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1882-09-13

between Gods provldentlal permission
and His moral appreciation. BALKAN,
urged by the passions of avarice and am
bltion, was so fully resolved to 90 that
God could have hindered him only by
destroying his freedom, and with it, his
responsibility; hence He said, in affect
Go, if you will go; will not prevent
you by force; you are free, moral agent,
and must act under that responsibility :;
but remember you go at the price of nv
displeasure. Thus the Lord condemned
and punished the Israelites for desiring
king, regarding it assrejection of His
rule over them, still He granted their
request. This is the divine method with
US, and with all men. Why does He not
strike with palsy, the disappearing tongue,
the uplifted arm of rebellion? Why are
men permitted to attain success in their
sinful schemes of pleasure and pride and
avarice? God could defeat all their
plans and arrest every overt act of trans
erosion. But of what avail would this
be, as moral discipline, while the breast
remained rebellious, and sordid, and
clamorous for the forbidden objects?
None but willing obedience is accept
able to our maker; if our hearts will
wander from Him, He lets our feet wan
der too.
But ever and anon, He reveals His
dlspleasure. How often does the angel
OF the Lord stand in the way for an ad-
versary against us The awful messen-
ger OF the divine anger appears in many
forms: sometimes a terrific calamity be-
falls US; sometimes, mysterious fear
alarms our souls at other times, the very
things we have so ardently sought, lose
their charms, and turn to ashes on our
lips; and again some strange event, some
portentous prodigy, interpreted to our
agitated minds by a voice out of the
depths OF eternity, convicts us of the folly
OF mourning the displeasure of heaven for
the sake of any earthly good Thus God
in miracle employed the dumb beast
to rebuke the madness of the prophet.
Then the Lord opened the eyes of Ba-
laam, and he saw the angel Of the Lord
standing in the way, and his sword drawn
In his hand and he bowed down his
head and fell fiat on his face-aud BALKAN
said unto the angel of the Lord, 1 have
sinned; for knew not that thou stoodest
in the way against me now therefore if
1T displease thee, will get me back
again. Conscious at length of his sin,
and of the presence of the avenging Deity,
his coward heart reluctantly relaxed its
grasp of the sordid gifts of the royal
tempter, and prompted futile effort to
regain the divine favor-futile because
lnsincere. Had he truly repented and
turned to the Lord, all would have been
we'll. But terror-stricken at the dread
tul apparition; grovelling in the dust at
the feet of the mighty angel with the
drawn sword; in momentar7 fear of his
ilfe-the miserable wretch eagerly en-
braced the only way Of escape open to
him, and declared his willingness to re-
turn.
But it was too late his steps could
not be retraced he must go on to the
tragical end. So, none of us can undo
what we have done our deeds are i'm
perishable; the paths we have trod can
not be the avenues of return to our start
ing place; the wicked man cannot re-
cover the comparative innocence Of his
childhood; we can never be again what
we once were; the evil that men do often
pursues them as Nemesis through life
and even lives after them.
BALKAN must press forward in his
chosen course, driven by sinful desires,
though held in the leash of an alarmed
conscience. There is now no turning back
for him.
For the Central Presbyterian.