takenly made, is not to be reckoned hypocrisy. Every one, however, is guilty of all the sins which he ignorantly commits, who neglects to avail himself of the means of instruction within his reach. But when we wilfully cloak our offences before God, and abuse the ceremonies of religion to serve our passions, or to promote base and worldly purposes, we are unquestionably guilty of this sin. Balaam had a name to live, but he was spiritually dead; he knew God, but glorified him not as God; with his mouth he said, "Lord, Lord!" but the idol wealth sat enthroned in his affections, and gave the lie to his professions. In him we discover a high profession of religion, and an unrivalled reputation for spiritual gifts and attainments, covering a deceitful heart; and a train of religious ceremonies practised to minister to the basest of passions,-the love of money. Why did he wait upon God, direct the offering up of sacrifice, and retire professedly to ask counsel of the Almighty? Not that he required farther information; he knew the mind of God already: nor that he wished to do the will of God; for his mind was bent on his own way: but he wishes to please Balak, at the risk of displeasing God; practises in favour of the idolatrous King, what he knew his Creator must abhor; and seeks in the hypocritical performances of the ceremonies of religion a sanction for his unhallowed attempt to possess himself of "the reward of divination." The Minister who enters on his sacred office from merely secular motives; who, unenlightened by the saving grace of God, intrudes himself into the station of a spiritual guide; and who leads the devotions of the sanctuary without experiencing the hallowing influence of the ceremonies which he performs; may see a picture of his own hypocritical services in the conduct of this unhappy Prophet; and may well tremble at the woe denounced by Jude against those "who ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward." But the subject admits of wider application. A hypocritical profession of piety, covering a practical disregard to moral and religious duty, appears to me to prevail to a lamentable extent. Many would be alarmed to find themselves excluded from the ranks of a Christian society, and would vehemently contend, perhaps not always with spiritual weapons, for their place among the people of God on earth; who at the same time seem to be very little concerned at the awful fact, that they have never been truly converted; that they are strangers to the new birth, without which, the Redeemer saith, they cannot enter into the kingdom of God; that they have not the Holy Spirit of God bearing witness with their spirits that they are his children, and are habitually living without the power of vital religion. They may, it is true, once have been under awakenings; but, having neglected to follow them up, they are now "settled on their lees." The whole of their religion is but a name, and an oilless lamp. And it cannot be denied that a great portion of those broils, contests, and scandals which disturb the church of Christ, or bring disgrace upon her, are caused by unsancti

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fied men, who arrogate to themselves the right of church-membership, and of directing the affairs of Christian societies. Others seem to rest in the mere excitement produced by external ceremonies, without going on to experience the power of godliness making them new creatures in Christ Jesus. They attend on the sanctuary, join in its services, court excitement, and seem to delight in bustle and movement; they account it a refreshing or a dry ordinance, a profitable or an unprofitable season, and themselves blessed or not, just in the proportion that their passions have been moved. But what effect has this in forming their moral and religious character ? No settled principles of piety are fixed in their minds; their evil tempers and sinful propensities remain unsubdued; and their lives exhibit no salutary change from sin to holiness. Their conduct is deficient in consistency and uniformity in the house of God they seem saints of no ordinary character; in common life they let fall the mask, and the carnal mind leads them captive; they make large professions of high religious attainments, which, however, are unsupported by holy tempers and actions. Theirs is a religion in continual fluctuation, which waxes and wanes with the means and opportunities of producing excitement of the passions; it depends upon the creature, and fails of leading up the soul to God. And yet how common is it for persons of this description to set up their own views as the infallible standard; and, in violation of the great law of Christian charity, condemn as lukewarm, formal, or fallen, every professor who refuses to go along with them! If the former rests in a cold and powerless name, the latter rests in mere touches of the passions; both come short of the reality, and fall under the condemnation of hypocritical professors. Frequent and awful are the warnings contained in the New Testament against the sin of hypocrisy: "Except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven:" (Matt. v. 20:) "Woe unto you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows' houses, and for a pretence make long prayers: therefore ye shall receive the greater condemnation." (See Matt. xxiii. 14, to the end.) Let the follower of Christ examine his heart, and watch its movements. Let him always bear in his recollection, that unfelt prayers, and ceremonies practised from other motives than those of sincere piety, are an abomination to God; and that by his profession of Christianity he is called and obliged to resemble in his character Nathanael, of whom the Redeemer said, "Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no guile."

2. We have an instance of the determined pursuit of known sin, under peculiarly aggravating circumstances. Neither ignorance nor surprise can be pleaded in mitigation of Balaam's offence: he understood what he did, and he acted deliberately. He knew that God had forbidden him to go with Balak's messengers; and that it was contrary to the unalterable will of Him who " is not man, that he should

lie, nor the son of man, that he should repent," that he should curse Israel; but his passion for the proffered reward of soothsaying overcame every better feeling, and impels him onward in opposition to his own knowledge, the expressed will of God, and the solemn warnings which followed from the time he entered on his fatal journey. His love of money triumphs over his religious compunctions; degrades God's Prophet into the soothsayer of an idolatrous King; prostitutes the ceremonies of religion to serve the purposes of unrighteous gain; and all this, too, with death, which terminates all worldly greatness and possessions, full in his view, the awful realities of eternity present to his recollection, and whilst he is uttering the prayer, "Let me die the death of the righteous!" What a riddle is man! What a strange compound of inconsistencies are found in the unregenerate heart! What a strife of contradictory feelings! And yet, is Balaam's case altogether singular? Certainly not! The picture of the workings of his sinful passions answers to that of thousands. Men may differ in their natural propensities, their prejudices of education, their habits of life, and the peculiar circumstances under which they are placed; but in this all agree," the heart is deceitful above all things," and not only so, but "desperately wicked." "Who," says the Prophet, "can know it?" Who can fathom the depth of iniquity that dwells in his own heart? All may not have Balaam's high character, talents, and advantages, nor, in the indulgence of their sinful inclinations, have to force their way through so many hinderances from within and without; yet where do we not see men sinning with their eyes open? indulging their passions contrary to their convictions? grasping at iniquity, knowing that "the wages of sin is death?" and wishing to "die the death of the righteous," whilst they are living the life of the sinner? Nay, do not many even resort to religious ceremonies, attempting thereby to stifle conscience, silence the voice of truth within them, and remain in the tranquil possession of their sins?

Most in the present day have a share of religious light accompanied by a desire of salvation; they form resolutions to lead a holy life, and hope that they shall die like the righteous. They would enter at once on their course of preparation for eternity, but then there is a something, that is, some easily besetting sin, from which they cannot part. It may be the love of money, of pleasure, of company, or of something else; human propensities are various; but to it the reins of selfgovernment are resigned, and reason, conscience, and eternal truth are prostrated before this master-passion. The deceitful heart too frequently refuses to admit the full guilt of its own delinquency; and puts the sinner on crooked, but often too successful, methods of reasoning away the force of his convictions. He thinks that there is something special in his case; and the peculiarity of his circumstances compels him to pursue a line of conduct which he himself condemns. Were it not for his master, his family, his business, his pressing wants,

he would act far otherwise; and the plainest obligation to duty is thus evaded by an imaginary or self-created necessity. But let the sleeper awake! All unrighteousness is sin. There can be no irresistible necessity which compels us to commit sin; and its destructive nature cannot be altered by the garb in which it appears, or the pleas under which it may be committed. If strong and stubborn passions, or longcontracted habits of sinning, rise up to oppose us in the way of duty, are we to pause, hesitate, and attempt to find out excuses for their indulgence? Nay, we are commanded to " crucify the flesh with its affections and lusts." "If," says Christ, "thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell." (Matt. v. 29, 30.) The struggle may be sharp, but, "If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple." (Luke xiv. 26.) Sometimes an awkward attempt is made at compromising with conscience; and the result is, that a compound of inconsistencies is brought together in a vain effort to harmonize sin with duty. God is to be served, but Mammon must not be neglected: counsel may be asked of God; but it is with the intention that our own inclinations are to be followed. Reading, hearing, and prayer are to be performed; but then they are the price paid for indulgence in play-going, pleasure-taking, or worldly vanities: confession of sin is substituted in the place of forsaking it; and the goodness of our intention is to atone for those occasional slips inseparable from humanity in its present imperfect state. We would pay our reverence to the Most High, but with the understanding that he should overlook our failings; and when we have performed our duty to him, he is not to interfere with our enjoyments; and the boon we seek for in our religious services is the privilege of an unmolested indulgence of our besetting sin. But "what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? What communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial?” (2 Cor. vi. 14, 15.) Or how do you evade Christ's own declaration, "No man can serve two masters; ye cannot serve God and mammon?" (Matt. vi. 24.) The performance of one duty must not be substituted for the omission of another, much less offered up as an atonement, or to procure a licence to indulge in sin. There is only one available sacrifice for sin, -the death of Christ; as there is only one method of obtaining forgiveness, which is through faith in his blood; and he who hopes for salvation through Christ, so far from being permitted to continue in sin, is called unto entire holiness: "Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity." (2 Tim. ii. 19.) And "the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin." (1 John i. 7.) 3. We see the danger of not following first impressions when these VOL. XVII. Third Series. AUGUST, 1838. 2 P

are clear and satisfactory. "Second thoughts are best," is a maxim that can only apply to cases not decided by authority. But on all points where God himself has spoken, it becomes our duty not to hesitate and ponder, but promptly to obey. Second thoughts are in this case dangerous; and reconsideration will then be found only an attempt to evade the force of conscience without curbing the corruption of the heart, and to find out some easier and more agreeable method of discharging our duty. If God himself commands, what farther light can we expect? We cannot hope to alter his will; and our lingering after sin, and unwillingness to make the sacrifices which God requires, may grieve the Holy Spirit, and end in our being left to complete our own ruin in the unrestrained indulgence of our propensities. Had Balaam followed up his first impressions, he would not have fallen into the snare; and his history, handed down to posterity, might have afforded an instructive example of successful resistance to temptation; but his covetousness prompted him to a second consideration of that which before was sufficiently clear to him, and in the issue he was abandoned to the devices and desires of his own heart.

The sinner is convinced of the necessity of repentance: the uncertainty of life, and the command of God, urge him to an immediate compliance with the duty. He hesitates, he ponders, he reconsiders the subject: "Is there no way by which I can make the will of God better accord with my own inclinations? Cannot I find some middle path less rugged, where I may be spared a part, at least, of this selfsacrifice? Cannot I be a disciple of Christ on some other condition less difficult than that of an absolute self-denial and taking up the cross?" But is not the subject sufficiently plain to him? Does he need any farther light? Then why does he delay? Why does he hesitate to yield himself up to the force of his convictions? It is the love of sin, and the enmity of his heart against God, which put him on a conduct so dangerous; and the natural result follows: his carnal reasonings bring darkness into his mind; his sinful propensities gather strength; his heart grows hard under the reiterated reproofs of his own conscience and the Spirit of God, and he is farther from repentance than ever. Or you are tempted to something of an immoral character; to form an improper connexion; or to embark in some business, of the sinfulness of which your first impressions leave you no room to doubt. Do you at once follow up your impressions, and for ever renounce the temptation? No! It strikes you as desirable; your inclination is drawn towards it; you review the subject, and it now finds an advocate within you. "Is it really as sinful as I at first supposed? May I not have taken too dark a view of the subject? Are there not many palliating circumstances which render it less objectionable in my case?" These and a thousand other pleas will a deceitful heart urge to stifle conviction and induce delay. Was Achan ignorant of the heinousness of the sin to which he was tempted,