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Signs of the Times, Vol. 6, No. 44.

BALAAM'S ENCOUNTER WITH THE ANGEL

Signs of the Times

Nov 25, 1880

Seventh-day Adventist Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Nov 25, 1880

BALAAM'S ENCOUNTER WITH THE ANGEL

By Mrs. E. G. White

General Articles.

BALAAM'S ENCOUNTER WITH THE ANGEL

BY MRS. E. G. WHITE.
WHEN the messengers of Balak returned to Moab, after their first visit to Mesopotamia, they reported to their king the prophet's refusal to accompany them, but did not intimate that God had forbidden him. Supposing that Balaam desired more valuable gifts and greater exaltation, Balak and his counselors determined to make the inducements so great that nothing could hinder his compliance with their request. They now sent princes more in number and more honorable than the first, with promises of higher honors, and with authority to concede to any terms which Balaam might demand.
The king of Moab was deeply in earnest, and his urgent message to the prophet was, "Let nothing, I pray thee, hinder thee from coming unto me; for I will promote thee unto very great honor, and I will do whatsoever thou sayest unto me; come, therefore, I pray thee, curse me this people."
A second time, Balaam was tested and tried. In response to the solicitations of the ambassadors he professed great conscientiousness and integrity, assuring them that no amount of gold and silver could induce him to act contrary to the will of God. This speech reveals the hypocrisy of the man; for the will of God had already been definitely and positively made known to him. His heart was longing to comply with the king's request, and he was seeking some excuse to gratify his desire for riches and honor.
The heart of Balaam was with the enemies of God, rather than with Israel. Had he sincerely wished to do the will of God, he would have utterly refused the rewards of Balak, and would have dismissed the messengers without delay. Thus he might have gained a victory over those strong avaricious propensities which would prove his ruin unless overcome. The sin of covetousness is fearfully denounced in the word of God. "The wicked boasteth in his heart's desire, and blesseth the covetous, whom the Lord abhorreth." Worldliness, covetousness, and avarice are vices which are sure to deteriorate the entire man. They are the fruits of selfishness and sin, and grossly dishonor God.
Balaam urged the messengers to tarry, that he might further inquire of God; as though the Infinite One were a man, to be persuaded. In the night season, the Lord appeared unto Balaam and said, "If the men come to call thee, rise up and go with them; but yet the word which I shall say unto thee, that shalt thou do." The Lord gave Balaam his own way, because he was determined to have it. He did not desire to do the will of God, but chose his own course, and then endeavored to secure the sanction of the Lord.
The Moabites were a degraded, idolatrous people, yet they manifested sincerity and earnestness in their persistent efforts to secure the power of divination against Israel. According to the light which they had received, their guilt was not so great in the sight of Heaven as was that of Balaam. As he professed to be God's prophet, all he should say would be supposed to come from the Lord Jehovah. Hence he was not to be permitted to speak as he chose, but must deliver the message which God should give him. The Lord saw in this pretentious prophet, a man whose heart was difled with deception and hypocrisy, and dealt with him according to his own perverse and stubborn ways.
This instance is placed on record for the benefit of all succeeding generations. It is dangerous to trifle with God, in order to follow a stubborn, determined will. There are thousands at the present day who are pursuing a course similar to that of Balaam. They follow their own ways, and take counsel of their own hearts, under a pretense of being guided and controlled by the Spirit of God. And the prayers of these willfully deceived ones are answered in accordance with the spirit that prompts them. For wise purposes the Lord often permits them to have their own way. They walk in a thick mist, — the atmosphere which Satan breathes about the soul.
Dangers beset the path of every man who, forsaking the only true Guide, tries by the light of his own wisdom to find a safe way through the dangers and difficulties of this world. Such a man places himself in a situation far more perilous than that of the traveler climbing along the slippery face of a cliff, where, if he lose his balance for a moment, he will fall and be dashed in pieces. David describes the peril of those who do not walk with God, but for a time seem to be prosperous in an evil way: "Thou didst set them in slippery places, Thou castest them down to destruction in a moment. They are utterly consumed with terror."
The careless, presumptuous, and self-confident press recklessly on in forbidden paths, really thinking that they may depart from strict integrity for the time being, for the sake of some worldly advantage, and that after this desire of the depraved heart is gained, they can change their course when they please. Such are walking upon slippery places. It is seldom that they recover their foothold. The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord; but those who choose to invite temptation, who will venture upon forbidden ground to secure some selfish advantage, will become weak in moral power; and the temptation to evil not being discerned, they will see in it only good, and thus they are left to wander farther and farther from God.
We are living in the last days. Evil prevails on every hand. The removal of one safeguard from the conscience, the failure to practice one good resolution, the cherishing of one evil habit, one neglect of the high claims of duty, breaks down the defenses of the soul, and opens the way for Satan to come in and lead us astray at pleasure. The only safe course is to let our prayers go forth daily from sincere hearts, as did David, "Hold up my goings in the path, O God, that my foot steps slip not."
Balaam had received permission to go with the messengers from Moab, if they came in the morning to call him. But annoyed at his delay, and expecting another refusal, they set out on their homeward journey without further consultation with him. He was now freed from their solicitations, and every excuse for complying with the request of Balak had been removed. He could not, however, bring himself to relinquish the honors upon which his heart was set; and since the Lord had not a second time forbidden him to go, he determined to set out at once, and, if possible, overtake the ambassadors.
Accordingly, taking the beast on which he was accustomed to ride, and accompanied by his servants, Balaam began his journey. He feared that even now the divine permission might be withdrawn, and he pressed eagerly forward, hurried, nervous, and impatient, lest he should by some means fail to gain the coveted reward. How little did he in character and appearance resemble a man qualified to execute a divine commission!
God's anger was kindled against Balaam for his Heaven-daring folly, and "an angel of the Lord stood in the way for an adversary against him." The animal, seeing the divine messenger, who was, however, invisible to the master, turned aside from the highway into a field. With cruel blows, Balaam brought the beast back into the path; but again, in a narrow place hemmed in by walls, the angel appeared, and the animal, trying to avoid the menacing figure, crushed the rider's foot against the wall.
Had Balaam paused to consider, he would have had sufficient cause to question whether he was not moving contrary to God's will. But he was blinded to the heavenly interposition, and knew not that God was obstructing his path. The man became exasperated, and beating his animal in a most unmerciful manner, forced it to proceed.
Again, in a place where there was no passing, the angel appeared, as before, in an offensive attitude; and the poor beast, trembling with terror, made a full stop, and fell to the earth under its rider. Balaam lost all self-control, and his mad rage rose to an extreme height. The dumb beast was now gifted with speech, and remonstrated with its phrenzied master for his cruel treatment. "What have I done to thee, that thou shouldst beat me these three times?"
Had Balaam been in possession of his reason, he would have been filled with awe, and would have realized that a supernatural power was barring his way. But ungovernable rage had dethroned reason, and this wonderful miracle was unnoticed. He answered this beast as he would have addressed an intelligent being, — "Because thou hast mocked me, I would there were a sword in mine hand, for now would I kill thee." Here was a professed magician, on his way to pronounce a curse upon a whole people with the intent to paralyze their strength, while he had not power even to slay the humble beast upon which he rode!
The eyes of Balaam were now opened, and he beheld the angel of God standing with drawn sword ready to slay him. He was more terrified than the poor beast had been, and "he bowed down his head, and fell flat on his face." The angel said unto him, "Wherefore hast thou smitten thy beast these three times? Behold, I went out to withstand thee, because thy way is perverse before me. Thy beast saw me, and turned from me these three times; unless she had turned from me, surely now also I had slain thee, and saved her alive."
Here is a lesson to all who have reasoning powers, that harsh treatment, even to the brutes, is offensive to God. Those who profess to love God do not always consider that abuse to animals, or suffering brought upon them by neglect, is a sin. The fruits of divine grace will be as truly revealed in men by the manner in which they treat their beasts, as by their service in the house of God. Those who allow themselves to become impatient or enraged with their animals are not Christians. A man who is harsh, severe and domineering toward the lower animals, because he has them in his power, is both a coward and a tyrant. And he will, if opportunity offers, manifest the same cruel, overbearing spirit toward his wife and children.
God, who created man, made the animals, also. They were to minister to man's comfort and happiness, to serve him, and to be controlled by him. But this power was not to be used to cause pain by harsh punishment or cruel exaction. Yet some are as reckless and unfeeling toward their faithful animals as though the poor brutes had not flesh and nerve that can quiver with pain.
Many do not think that their cruelty will ever be known, because the poor dumb beasts cannot reveal it. But could the eyes of these men be opened, as were the eyes of Balaam, they would see an angel of God standing as a witness to testify against them in the courts above. A record goes up to Heaven, and a day is coming when judgment will be pronounced against men who make themselves demons by their dealings with God's creatures.
If animals could speak, what deeds of horror would be revealed, — what tales of suffering, because of the perversity of man's temper! How often those creatures of God's care suffer pain, endure hunger and thirst, because they cannot make known their wants. And how often is it determined by the mercy or the caprice of man, whether they receive attention and kindness, or neglect and abuse. Punishment given in passion to an animal is frequently excessive, and is then absolute cruelty. Animals have a kind of dignity and self-respect, akin to that possessed by human beings. If abused, under the influence of blind passion, their spirits will be crushed, and they will become nervous, irritable, and ungovernable.
There were beasts in Eden, and there will be beasts in the earth made new. Unless the men who have indulged in cruelty toward God's creatures here, overcome that disposition and become like Jesus, kind and merciful, they will never share in the inheritance of the righteous. They would, if there, exercise the same spirit that had not been overcome here. All disposition to cause pain to our fellow-men or to the brute creation is Satanic. Balaam evinced the spirit which he possessed, in his course toward his beast.
When he beheld the messengers of God, Balaam exclaimed in terror, "I have sinned; for I knew not that thou stoodest in the way against me; now, therefore, if it displease thee, I will get me back again." For wise purposes, the Lord suffered Balaam to proceed on his journey, but gave him clearly to understand that his words should be controlled by divine power. God would give evidence to Moab that the Hebrews were under the guardianship of Heaven; and this could not be done in a more effectual manner than by showing them that a man of Balaam's covetous disposition could not, for any promise of promotion or reward, pronounce a curse against Israel.
There are many in the world to-day whose character is represented by that of Balaam. They have a correct knowledge of most of the doctrines of religion, but with these are mingled superstitions and heresies. Satan has a knowledge of the truth, and so do many who are his servants. Excellent words may proceed from their lips; they may claim to possess great faith, and to enjoy much of the divine blessing; but their hearts are destitute of the grace of God. They are not followers of Christ, and do not those things that please him. The only safety for any, at the present day as well as in ancient times, is to seek diligently to know the will of God, and then be ready to obey that will.
Those who profess to be servants of the living God, frequently unite themselves with ungodly men, expecting to be promoted to honor, and to be rewarded with riches; and many sacrifice conscience, judgment, character, and the favor of God, to form an alliance with worldlings. Such persons call God their Master, but they refuse to keep his commandments. They mistake gain for godliness, and unless they turn from their evil ways, they must perish with the workers of iniquity.

SOMETIME, SOMERWHERE.

By Robert Browning

UNANSWERED yet? the prayer your lips have pleaded In agony of heart these many years? Does faith begin to fail? is hope departing, And think you all in vain those falling tears? Say not, the Father hath not heard your prayer; You shall have your desire, sometime, somewhere.
Unanswered yet? tho' when you first presented This one petition at the Father's throne, It seemed you could not wait the time of asking, So urgent was your heart to make it known. Tho' years have passed since then, do not despair; The Lord will answer you sometime, somewhere.
Unanswered yet? nay, do not say ungranted, Perhaps your part is not yet wholly done. The work began when first your prayer was uttered, And God will finish what he has begun. If you will keep the incense burning there His glory you shall see, sometime, somewhere.
Unanswered yet? Faith cannot be unanswered,- Her feet were firmly planted on the Rock; Amid the wildest storms the sands undaunted, Nor quails before the loudest thunder shock. She knows Omnipotence has heard her prayer, And cries, "It shall be done," sometime, somewhere! —Robert Browning.

WALKING WITH GOD.

"And Enoch walked with God." Gen. 5:24.
WHAT a lesson does Enoch give us! It is said of him that he "walked with God." But can a man walk with God? Is it possible to walk with God? We know it is delightful to walk with a friend. It would be a great thing to have it to say that we had walked arm in arm with the Emperor Alexander, or with Napoleon, or with some of the great men of earth. It would be greater still if we could say we had walked with angels; if they had come to sit with us as they did with Abraham, and to talk; if they had come to visit us, as they did Manoah; if they had come to wait upon us, as they did upon the Saviour when they gathered around the Bethlehem to which he came, or the garden in which he suffered, or the cross on which he hung, or the tomb in which he lay, or when they waited over the top of Mount Olivet that they might greet him home to Heaven, and cry out: "Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lifted up ye everlasting doors, and the King of Glory shall come in." It would be a great thing to walk with angels, and to have them for our friends, and to know that they were with us by day and by night; they are ministering spirits that wait upon the heirs of salvation.
Oh! it would have been a great thing, when Jesus was upon earth, to have walked beside him! I should like to have gone with him as he went through the grain fields, and plucked the ears of corn and did eat; to have sat down with him at the well of Samaria, and waited while he had water to drink. I should have been glad if I could have been by his side when he stopped by yon city-gate to heal a blind man; and, oh! how I would like to have seen the light sparkle for the first time in the eyes of that blind man, and to have beheld the rapture that thrilled his soul when he looked out upon the earth! How I should like to have been with him, when, at the grave of Lazarus, he uttered those words, "Lazarus, come forth," and the dead man came to life!
And yet, as high as that, as glorious as that, is our privilege, for a man may walk with God. Enoch walked with God. Nor was that walk for a moment merely. It is not said that he walked with God for a moment or two, or an hour or two, of his life. We might fancy, possibly, that he walked with God a few moments before his death, or on some hallowed occasion; but the Scriptures seem to teach us that it was the habit of his life to walk with God. His life was no short one; for, although it was one of the briefest among those old patriarchs, he lived just as many years as there are days in the year; three hundred and sixty-five years Enoch lived; and he walked with God, and was not, for God took him. How long that pilgrimage, how many those journeyings, how sweet those associations, how singular those emotions he must have enjoyed, when he walked with God!
But it may be asked: "Can one walk with God amid the busy associations of life?" Enoch was not alone. A family grew around him. He had sons and daughters, for it is said he was a father; he lived three hundred years, and he walked with God through those centuries. The heavens were above him, and the earth at his feet; God was his companion. In the cares of his family, in the discharge of his duties, he had the same necessities, doubtless, that we have, the same sorrows; he had the same human heart, the same passions, the same temptations, the same trials, the same conflicts that we have, and yet he walked with God. And if a man can walk with God, ought you and I may walk with him!
This is the first lesson he teaches us, that it is possible for man to walk with God. But how is this brought about? In the first place, the word Enoch in the original signifies to be trained, to be educated, or instructed. It is precisely the same word that is used in the passage, "Train up a child in the way he should go;" and Enoch's name was probably given him from the care with which he was trained. He received instruction—received it with an honest heart. At the basis of all success in life lie knowledge, education, training. If a man attempts to be a merchant, he must have an education, must be trained for it. If a man is to be a manufacturer, he must be trained for it. If a man is to be a mechanic, he must learn his art. If he is to be a professional man, he must have a preparation for it. There is no pathway in lifein which a man can walk successfully without training; for though a man disciplined to business may sometimes change his occupation, it is by careful study, examination, learning the relation of things, that he becomes qualified for his business. And so if we would walk in life's pathway successfully, and triumph over difficulties, we must be educated or trained for it. We must learn our nature; "know thyself" lies at the foundation of great success. A man must study himself, and no man can succeed who does not examine thoroughly his own temperament and disposition.
But the expression, "walked with God," here has a peculiar signification, critics tell us. It signifies, set himself purposely to walk with God, determined to walk with God, indicating, as the next lesson, decision, purpose. It was a resolution formed upon the part of Enoch that he would walk with God. Having been instructed that it was his duty to walk with God, having understood how he might walk with God, he set himself to walk with God. It was his firm purpose. There are many who have indefinite wishes; they intend to be better than they have been, and yet have no fixed purpose or decision of character. To-day they determine to be better, and to-morrow yield to temptation; to-day they are in the house of God, and they resolve that they will be Christians, and to-morrow, going out into company, they fall into every evil way, they are led captive by the enemy at his will. And why? They have no firmness of character, no decision of purpose; they have not said to themselves, "I will conquer my besetments, I will triumph, no matter what difficulties be in my way." Now, we ought to determine what is right, and then to go forward at all hazards.
Are you a father, the head of a family? You are to say, "Others may do as they will, as for me and my house we will serve the Lord." No matter whether there be an altar of prayer in any other family on the face of the earth, you are to set up an altar, to gather your family around it. Oh, how sweet to offer your incense and let it rise with fragrance, were there no other altar on this earth! That is decision of character.
Are you a young man, and have you wicked associates? Then you are to say: "God helping me, I will be a Christian. Others may be profane, the oath shall never pass my lips; others may be fraudulent, the wrong shall never be done by me; others may waste their moments, I will redeem the time, because it is precious; others may trifle away their energies, I am born for something higher; I am traveling to a holier land. Company I love on earth, but oh! the company of the redeemed, of the blood-washed, of angels, and of God, is higher than these companionships of earth! I will seek that."
Are you a young lady, walking in the beauty of youth and loveliness? It is lovelier to be a Christian than to be any other character on the face of the earth; to be at the foot of the cross, drawing from that cross its fragrance and power, looking up to heaven and having companionship with the Beloved, and having purity and love and beauty and heaven all around you. And this decision of character, this firm purpose that you will walk with God, that you will set yourself to this, no matter what may come, is the second step in the furnishing of true character. If you can be drawn aside, there are many who will draw you aside. If you may be tempted, there are tempters all around you. If you are ready to go astray, there will be some one to allure you. Only in perfect firmness and decision is there any safety whatever. *
But now that I have drawn these outlines of Enoch's character, let us make a little comparison, if we can, between him and ourselves, to see whether there may be this walking with God on our part, whether we have the same facilities of life. I have noticed the instructions of Enoch. Have we the same facilities of instruction he had? Now there are some that he had which we cannot have. I have sometimes fancied I saw him when a boy. Adam had not yet left the earth; he was a little over six hundred years old when Enoch was born, and lived more than three hundred years after. I have thought that very probably the aged Adam used to take little Enoch by the hand and walk with him. Enoch was anxious to learn, and when a child is anxious to learn and listen, age loves to talk with childhood; and Enoch seeking for training, ready to be instructed, oh! what lessons did Adam give! Methinks he told him of how the earth looked when he first opened his eyes, of Eden in all its glory; how the heavens beamed in brightness and the flowers sent forth their sweet perfume; how the birds sang beautiful melodies, and the angels came down to walk in the garden, and God himself was there. Methinks he told Enoch the whole story—how God gave him Eve, and her beauty and loveliness; then of the fall, and his sorrow, and his turning away from Eden, and the cherubim that guarded the gate that man might never enter there; and then the promise of a Saviour; and then about Abel and Cain. And what a host of questions would young Enoch ask! Then, too, all the inventors of earth were there, and Enoch could talk with them. And yet with all the opportunities Enoch had—and they were great—how much greater are ours! Had he the story of the creation and of the fall? We have it. Had he a knowledge of science and its conquests? We have it all he had, and for six thousand years the world has been moving on in its triumph of mind over matter; materials have been gathered, and we can learn as Enoch never could, because there are materials on which he could not lay his hand. Did angels walk on earth? We have the record. Did he trust in a Saviour to come? The Saviour has come.
Standing where we do, we have the lessons Enoch had, the lessons Moses had; we have listened to the thoughts that made a David tune his harp, have visions that fired the imagination of Ezekiel and Daniel, have the teaching of Jesus when on earth, and oh! the songs that have been rolling, that angels started from heaven, rolling on to fill this earth! Had he instruction? We have much more. And if because he was instructed he was able to walk with God, we stand on higher ground and ought to be able to walk with him.
We may not have that same firmness of purpose he had, and I fear many of us fail just here. You, as well as I, may have set out in early youth to be religious; but oh! how often we have been turned aside! how frequently have we erred! what sad mistakes have we made, and how often have we lost our firmness of purpose! It seems to me there is a ladder, like that which Jacob saw set up from earth to heaven, and while Enoch would have been away up yonder on those higher rounds, almost ready to pass into the invisible, we linger yet on the lower rounds of the ladder, having not ascended, having traveled a little step up and then a step down, a little step up and then a step down; and there are some of us, I am afraid, to-day, no higher in our ascent toward glory than we were twenty years ago, when all Heaven has been inviting, and all possible helps have been given us.
My dear brother, to-day, in the sight of God, are you better than you were twenty years ago? Are you more like Jesus than you were twenty years ago? Have you more of the enjoyments of religion? Is the image of Christ more perfectly stamped on your heart than it was twenty years ago? What have you been living for? God has graciously spared you, and given you his word and spirit and all needful helps, and yet no better all the twenty years! Oh! how sad it is for us!
But if we are to walk with God, there are a few things requisite. In the first place, we must go nowhere that Christ will not go. Oh! how many venture beyond the territory in which they ought to walk, and they wonder why they have not the enjoyments of religion. They go where Jesus will not go. "Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly." Christ is not there. "Nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful." Christ is not there. "Nor standeth in the way of sinners." Christ is not there.
If you would walk with Christ, keep out of all evil company, of all evil associations, keep from all evil places—from every place where you cannot go in the spirit of Christ, and that, if upon earth, you might not expect to meet him there. If you go out of the territory where he would go, you need not expect to find him.
And now, my dear friends, oh! how my soul yearns that some of you may begin a higher life—begin it to-day. Young people, aim at a higher life than ever you have done—this glorious life, this walking with God. Christians of age, you know something of the sweetness of it; cultivate it more; have more of the spirit of the Master, more love to the Saviour; give yourselves to working for his cause in a way you have never done before. What if difficulties are in the way? Omnipotence can carry you safely over. What if there are clouds? There is a light beyond the clouds. What if enemies combine? He who is for us is more than all those who are against us. Mothers, set about it to-day; teach your children more of Jesus. Fathers, set about it to-day; let your sons see you are more like Jesus. Men of position, consecrate yourselves to Christ, and let the world see that you are living as seeing Him who is invisible.—From a Sermon by Bishop Simpson in the Methodist.

Forget Not Your Blessings

WHAT unthankfulness is it to forget our consolations, and to look only upon matter of grievance; to think so much upon two or three crosses as to forget a hundred blessings.

THE CURE FOR GOSSIP.

By J. G. Holland

WHAT is the cure for gossip? Simply culture. There is a great deal of gossip that has no malignity in it. Good-natured people talk about their neighbors because, and only because, they have nothing else to talk about. As we write, there comes to us the picture of a family of young ladies. We have seen them at home; we have met them in galleries of art; we have caught glimpses of them going from a bookstore or library with a fresh volume in their hands. When we meet them, they are full of what they have seen and read. They are brimming with questions. One topic of conversation is dropped only to give place to another in which they are interested. We have left them, after a delightful hour, stimulated and refreshed; and during the whole hour not a neighbor's garment was soiled by so much as a touch. They had something to talk about. They knew something, and wanted to know more. They could listen as well as they could talk. To speak freely of a neighbor's doings and belongings would have seemed an impertinence to them, and, of course, an impropriety. They had no temptation to gossip, because the doings of their neighbors formed a subject very much less interesting than those which grew out of their knowledge and their culture.
And this tells the whole story. The confirmed gossip is always either malicious or ignorant. The one variety needs a change of heart, and the other a change of pasture. Gossip is always a personal confession either of malice or imbecility, and the young should not only shun it, but by the most thorough culture relieve themselves from all temptation to indulge in it. It is low, and frivolous, and too often a dirty business. There are country neighborhoods in which it rages like a pest. Churches are split in pieces by it. Neighbors are made enemies by it for life. In many persons it degenerates into a chronic disease, which is practically incurable. Let the young cure it while they may.—J. G. Holland, in Scribner.

MAN-WORSHIP.

A SUITABLE rebuke was given to the modern sentiment by an eccentric but devout Christian, who went to church one Sunday and was met by an usher with this remark, "Come to hear the Rev. Mr.—? he is out of town to-day."
"No, sir," said my earnest friend, "I have come to worship God."
There is altogether too much of man-worship in our holy temples. We run after such or such a preacher whose talent or whose peculiarities may attract, and we put far below this motive, the idea of true, sublime, all-absorbing adoration of the great Being who commands our highest reverence and love.
The desire for novelties in religion, and for diversion in the house of God is something that we should check in ourselves the moment we become conscious of its existence.
To hear and see some new thing—this is the bane of our present age. It destroys all stability in our young people, and takes from them the deep, earnest spirituality that ought always to belong to a simple, godly life.
A pastor now-a-days can scarcely know what sort of food to prepare for his flock, so common is it for half of them to forage in other fields. The old-time clergy had a better supervision of those committed to their charge, and the laity had a wholesome respect for their spiritual teachers, whom they regarded as sent of God for their soul's good, and not to be set up as idols in the place of the great Jehovah.—Selected.

DEAFNESS OF THE AGED.

Nothing is more common than to hear old people utter querulous complaints about their deafness; but those who do so are not perhaps aware that this infirmity is the result of an express and wise arrangement of Providence in constructing the human body. The gradual loss of hearing is affected for the best purpose, it being intended to give ease and quietude to the decline of life, when any noise or sounds from without but discomposes the enfeebled mind, and prevents meditation. Indeed, the gradual withdrawal of all the senses, and the decay of the frame in old age have been wisely ordained in order to wean the human mind from the concerns and pleasures of the world, and to induce a longing for a perfect state of existence.

Don't Fire too High.

By Editor

Speak to men in language they can understand. A few days since, a gentleman made one of a little company of spectators at a velocipede exhibition. He turned to a plain looking young man and said, "It must be very fatiguing; don't you think so?" "I don't know what you mean," was his answer. He stumbled at the word fatiguing. The gentleman saw it, and said, "It must make them very tired." "Oh, yes," he quickly responded. Ministers should remember not to fire over people's heads. Truth must be put in simple language, and illustrated by metaphors familiar to all. Call the sun a sun—not a luminary. Don't call the sky "an azure vault"—call it the sky. Don't talk of the "economy of grace," for your plainer hearers will at once revert to the kitchen.

A BEAUTIFUL PICTURE.

Rev. Daniel March, D. D., in "Our Father's House," draws the following beautiful picture:—
"I have stood on the top of a high mountain when the sun was up in heaven filling the world with his glorious light. As I gazed around and beneath, I saw clouds ridged and rolling like the billows of the sea. I saw them far off and far beneath, advancing toward the rocky height on which I stood. In the distance they seemed like mighty masses of Parian marble, white as the drifted snow in the noonday sun. It was a delight to watch their ever-changing beauty as they sailed on the viewless air. The play of imagination easily transformed them into the white thrones of the cherubim; then again they seemed like the streaming banners of the armies of Heaven; and now, behold chariots of fire and horses of fire advancing with such restless might as to sweep away the summits of the eternal hills in their march. By and by they approached and smote the sides of the mountain far beneath, and then rolled upward swiftly, silently, till they reached the summit and shut out the light of the sun with their shadow. And then the bright forms, which seemed so mighty and glorious in the distance, proved to be nothing but a driving, darkening mist—a mere mass of shapeless vapor—disfiguring everything with its touch, and leaving no trace of beauty for the eye to rest upon while it went sweeping by. But in a moment the mist was gone. Again the sun shone clear and bright upon the bald mountain. Again I could see the cloud as it rolled down the rugged steep till the air was of sufficient density to bear its weight. Then, again, it put on the shape and hues of glorious beauty, and sailed away in serene and gentle majesty upon the wings of the wind."
"And I said aloud, in the solitude, This is a picture of life. So do all the forms of temptation appear, fascinating in the distance, and worthless in possession. When the tempter allures from afar, we see an angel form, and his voice sounds like the music of Heaven. But when he comes near, we feel the clutch of a demon, and we hear a voice that mocks at our misery. The rewards of worldly ambition, and the indulgences of worldly pleasure, seem so precious and beautiful, when seen afar, that we cannot wait to make them our own. But when they come near, and we grasp at the tempting prize, we fill our hand with the mist, and we draw it back to our bosom wet with the chill of death. When the gilded shadow which dazzled our vision and awakened our hope has come near and proved to be only such staff as dreams are made of, then it passes away, and often, in the distance, it seems again as brilliant and alluring as before. If we would not spend our life in the chase of phantoms that lead to bewilder, and dazzle to blind, we must turn our yearning hearts to Him who is the same yesterday, to-day, and forever. We must climb so high up the mount of faith that the clouds of doubt and fear will never darken our minds nor deceive our hearts."
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