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

Se'ue 1nlHS uullnS Iuelr journey through
the desert; as Amos charges: Have ye
offered unto me sacrifices and offerings,
forty years in the wilderness, o house of
Israel? But We have borne the taber-
nacle of your Molock, and Chiun your
images, the star of your god, which We
made to yourselves. And Stephen,
speaking of the same thing, says: "Ye
took up the tabernacle of Molock, and
the star of your good Remphan, figures
which We made to worship them" All
are familiar with the inveterate propen-
sity of the Jews in Canaan, until the
Babylonish captivity, to mingle the wor-
ship of Baal with that of Jehovah.
But we need not go so far to seek ex-
amples; the papal communion Joins the
hero worship of paganism with the SER
vice of God; and many amongst us are
striving to serve God and Mammon.
Truly, BALKAN was not singular in his
effort to compound the worship of God
with the worship of the Devil.
The last inquiry suggested by BALKAN s
reply is: How was it possible that God
should employ this idolater, this wizard,
as medium of His messages? Balaam's
was not the only instance of the kind !;
King Saul was often the subject of in
spiration; false prophets were sometimes
overruled by God to utter His messages :;
the wicked Caiaphas delivered remark
able prediction of the death of Jesus.
From all this it is evident that God used
evil men for His own purposes in this, as
in other things.
The apparent incongruity is obviated
by the reflection that inspiration does not
imply sanctifcation hence wicked man
might be employed to deliver the word
OF the Lord. The regular prophets were
holy men, made so, by different opera
ton of the Spirit; but casual use Of the
ungodly for the conveyance of a special
message does not imply that the agent is
the uBject of saving grace. In ali other
departments of His Providence, God in
sovereign way makes use of evil men and
angels for the furtherance of His own
purposes; there is no reason why we
should think it strange that He should
do so in the delivery of messages, in
which they have no concern, except to
transmit what they have received. A
command to speak certain words is not
to be COMPOUNDED with the regenerating
agency of the Holy Spirit.
In the silent watches of that awful
night, while Balaam anxiously awaited
the issue, the Lord appeared to him, and
after extorting confession of the nefari-
Gus business in hand, peremptorily for
babe his going; and God said unto.
BALKAN, thou shalt not go with them
thou shalt not curse the people for they
are blessed" Whereupon BALKAN acted
with apparent sincerity and decision:
He "rose up in the morning, and said
unto the princes of Balak, get ye into
your land for the Lord refuseth to give
me leave to go with you
This should have settled the matter
finally, but it did not; for when Balaams
reply was reported to Balak, he was not
discouraged, but reasoning from his own
corrupt nature, or from some knowledge
of BALKAN s, he believed there was still
hope Of success; he thought Balaam had
his price, and hence tempted his avarice,
and fattered his vanity by sending
more splendid retinue, costlier presents,
and larger promises.
To this second embassy, BALKAN re.
piled in lofty terms: "If Balak would
give me his house full Of silver and gold,
1 cannot go beyond the word of the Lord
my God, to do less or more" Had he
stopped here, we should have been com
PEELED to admire his noble fidelity to his
sacred trust but the words which fol-
low evince the vacillation of his purpose,
and the secret evil of his heart =" Now
therefore, pray you, tarry ye also here
this night, that may know what the
Lord will say unto me more" 1t is evil |
dent that BALKAN secretly hankered after
the profered rewards, and thought that
God might be induced to alter His com
mands. Strange to say, the Almighty |
seemed to yield; He granted the coveted |
permission: And God came to BALKAN
by night and said unto him, if the men
come to call thee, rise up and 90 with
them" How shall we explain this
How was it that God now permitted what
He had forbidden? All God often suf-
fers us to follow the desires of our hearts,
while His own purposes remain un-
changed. Two human analogies will, in |
some measure, illustrate this profound !
method of Providence. A wise parent
sometimes yields to the hayward wishes
of his child, in order to teach salutary
lesson, and restore the erring one to sub
mission by the thorny path of suffering
and remorse, and the steep hill Of repent
ance. A king discovers the seeds Of dis
content in subiect and falling To Grad,