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over his scruples, he went. On the way, as he passed through a narrow road enclosed by walls on either side, the ass on which he rode, suddenly stood still.-Surprised and provoked, he urged her with blows to go on—but she persisted in refusing. At length she opened her mouth and spoke :-" Am not I thine ass, on which thou hast ridden ever since I was thine unto this day; was I ever wont to do so unto thee?" At that moment the eyes of the prophet were opened, and he saw "the angel of the Lord" standing in the way." Wherefore,” demanded the celestial messenger, "hast thou smitten thine ass these three times ?-Behold I went out to meet thee, because thy way is perverse before me."-Balaam, confounded by this unexpected rebuke, acknowledged his guilt, and professed his readiness to return to his own city. But he was now permitted to proceed, and enjoined to say only that which should be revealed to him.

At the river Arnon, the border of Moab, they were welcomed by Balak, the king, who immediately conducted the prophet to an elevated situation, that he might behold the multitudes of Israel. Uncertain what he might be compelled to say, yet desirous to obtain the promised rewards, he required altars to be built, and propitiatory sacrifices to be offered, which was done three several times, the kings and princes attending. Each time, instead of the curses required, Balaam pronounced only blessings; and Balak, at last, exasperated by repeated disappointment, returned hopeless to his capital.

CATHERINE. Did these heathens offer sacrifices to the true God?

MRS. M. It is generally believed that Balaam worshipped the true God, but was the slave of avarice. The

king led him from place to place, putting confidence in Balaam's God; saying-" Come, I pray thee, I will show thee another place: peradventure it will please 'the Lord,' that thou mayest curse me them from thence:”—and Balaam's answer discovered his own firmness.- "If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the commandment of the Lord, to do either good or bad of mine own mind; but what he saith, that will I speak." But, although their design was really to propitiate Jehovah, their worship was so mingled with their own superstitions, that it would not be accepted; for, it is added, after they had built altars, and offered burnt-offerings three times-" when Balaam saw that it pleased the Lord to bless Israel, he went not, as at other times, to seek for enchantments;" but proceeded to pronounce the sublime, prophecy, which you will find in the twenty-third and twenty-fourth chapters of Numbers. It is a beautiful specimen of the eastern style of composifull of lofty metaphors, and, perhaps, but indistinctly comprehended by the speaker.

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FANNY. Do you suppose, mother, that Balaam did not understand what he himself delivered?

MRS. M. There is reason to believe that the prophecies delivered by the most pious men, were not always fully understood by themselves; and it is not likely that an unrighteous prophet, but indifferently acquainted with the true God, would be more highly favoured.

FANNY. Why then should we put any faith in the prophecy of such a man as Balaam, a soothsayer, an enchanter? MRS. M. The people concerning whom the predictions were delivered, might safely receive them, for Moses informed them "the Spirit of God came upon him," and

we have the additional evidence of having seen them ac complished. Take, for instance, these words: "From the top of the rocks I see him, and from the hills, I behold him; lo the people shall dwell alone, and shall not be reckoned among the nations."-" Who can count the dust of Jacob, and the number of the fourth part of Israel ?” "I shall see him, but not now-I shall behold him, but not nigh-there shall come a Star* out of Jacob, and a sceptre shall arise out of Israel."-" And when he looked on Amalek, he took up his parable and said-Amalek was the first of the nations; but his latter end shall be, that he perish for ever.

These particulars, with several others predicted by Balaam, are obviously fulfilled. The people of Israel have been, and still are, a very numerous nation-they dwell alone, that is, they are as completely distinct from all other people, at this day, as they were when they entered the land of Canaan. Even under the monarchs by whom they were subdued in later times, they always maintained a subordinate government, by their own peculiar laws.-They have never been "reckoned among the nations." Star has risen out of Jacob, and a sceptre from Israel." And the Amalekites, although in the days of Moses they were the first of nations, have perished for ever—not a trace of them can be found on the face of the whole earth.

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The Midianites invited the Israelites to assist at the festive rites of their impious religion:---they fell into the snare---they ate of their sacrifices, and did homage to

* A star, in the Egyptian hieroglyphics, denoted a deity— in the prophetic writings, a star and a sceptre denoted a prince or ruler.

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their deities! Idolatry had always been punished; but at this critical juncture, on the eve of their entrance into a country entirely abandoned to such stupid practices, it was particularly necessary to mark it with signal abhorrence. Accordingly, twenty-four thousand of the principal offenders were cut off; and Phinehas, the son of Eleazer the priest, was rewarded for his pious resolution in executing the painful duty of putting to death, with his own hand, a prince of the house of Simeon, who was preeminently guilty, with the continuance of the priesthood in his family.

But the Midianites, who, had they kept quiet, might have possessed their country in security, were not with impunity to bring these evils on the unoffending Israelites.--Twelve thousand men, with Phinehas, and the ark of the Covenant, were sent against them: they were conquered--their cities were destroyed, and an immense spoil, in cattle, and goods of various sorts, was taken. Five kings, and Balaam, their counsellor, paid the price of their folly, in the loss of their lives in the battle. The spoil was divided between the victors and those who remained in the camp. A tribute from each went into the treasury; to which was added, an offering of gratitude, from the officers. who went on the expedition; when they found, upon examining their troops, that not one had perished!

Whilst these efforts to frustrate the designs of Providence were in operation, the persevering leader of the Israelites, and Eleazer their priest, were preparing to pass the Jordan, the natural barrier between the plains of Moab and the land of promise.

Another census of the male population was taken, and found not to contain the name of one individual who had

been numbered in the wilderness of Sinai, save only Ca→ leb and Joshua, the faithful messengers. The sentence the ungrateful congregation had brought upon themselves, was now completely executed ;---they had fallen by disease, by the sword, and by fire, and Moses alone, their venerable chief, remained, of all that were involved in it! --- He, too, must soon be removed by death---and Joshua, a man of pre-eminent qualifications, was now pointed out as the captain who should succeed him.

CATHERINE. Pointed out by whom?-By Moses ? or was he elected by the people?

MRS. M. By neither. Very few things connected with the government of the Hebrews, either civil or religious, originated with themselves. All was the work of the Deity; and by him communicated immediately to Moses; who, notwithstanding he is called the legislator, was but the organ of the real Sovereign.

Moses might institute inferior regulations for present expedience, and select inferior magistrates to assist him; but every permament precept was promulgated with the imperative preface; "The Lord spake unto Moses, saying." Every important designation was "according to the word of the Lord,"an idea so awful, so commanding, that we cannot withhold our respect from those who still sincerely adhere to them, and cannot believe with us, that the greater part are abolished.

Moses had been summoned by "a voice from the burning bush" at the foot of mount Horeb; and the same voice proceeded now from the "Seat of Mercy," commanded him to lay his hands on Joshua, and consecrate him in the sight of the whole assembly; and a gracious promise was added, that "a part of the spirit that

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