ought to be diligently studied by every child of man. It is a lesson of vast importance,
1. For the forming of our principles —
[In the true spirit of the Pharisees of old, many amongst ourselves lay a very undue stress on outward observances, as recommending us to God. But the answer of Balaam to Balak, who had consulted him on this subject, gives us the true view of it: " Wherewith shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before the high God ? Shall I come before him with burnt-oiferings, with calves of a year old ? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil ? Shall I give my first-born for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul ? " This was the ques- tion put to Balaam. His answer was, " He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good : and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God^?" To the same effect is the declaration of St. Paul : " The kingdom of God is not meat and drink, but righteous- ness and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost™." It is the inward disposition of the mind that God regards, and not the service of the body. " The sacrifice of a broken and contrite spirit is, in his sight, of more value than the cattle upon a thousand hills"." We must not, then, form a judgment of our state by our punctuality in outward duties, but by the depth of our humiliation, the simplicity of our faith, and the integrity of our souls in the way of holy obedience. To this must we attend, as of absolute and indispensable necessity: and any principle opposed to this will only deceive us to our ruin.]
2. For the regulation of our conduct —
[There must, of necessity, be times when our ritual and moral duties clash with each other. To wait upon God in the public assembly of his people is a duty which we all owe to him, and which should not be omitted without great necessity. But who will say that an attendance upon a sick and dying person is not a sufficient cause for neglecting, for a season, the house of God ? Who will say, that if there were in a town a general conflagration, the inhabitants would be ill employed in extinguishing the fire, even though it were the Sabbath-day? True, we must take care that we do not pretend a necessity which does not really exist : for we cannot deceive God ; and therefore it becomes us to be on our guard that we deceive not our own souls. But, supposing that we exercise an im- partial judgment in determining the question before us, we may be sure that God will approve of the conduct that is
1 Mic. vi. 6—8. m Rom. xiv. 17. " Ps. 1. 8—14. and li. 17.