as Holy Scripture declares it to be. "The wickedness of the wicked be upon him, and righteousness of the righteous upon him."

And now let us point out two chief lessons that there are for ourselves in Balaam's history. The first is to beware of tampering with conscience. Conscience is God's own voice, which speaks in the heart of everyone who is not wholly depraved, given over to an evil mind. Conscience is that still, small, but most distinct whisper of the Holy Spirit, which, if we will hear, will save us from many a fall-keep us from falling over when we are on the very brink of a precipice. Conscience stops a man when he is tempted of evil; moved by some strong passion to do an unlawful thing-for example, to steal, to give way to some carnal sin, to lie, or to cheat. Conscience in such moments stands in the way for an adversary, flashes before us some great word of God, forbidding us to do what we were bent on doing. "Thou shalt not do it." "How can I do this great wickedness and sin against my God?" Well for us if we do not struggle with that Angel adversary: well for us if at the sight of his glittering sword, we bow down and submit, and say as Balaam did, "I have sinned." I will go no further in this matter. "I will get me back again." Yes! it is well with those who, (God helping them), have respect to the dictates of conscience. It is the best safeguard against all sort of

evil. I cannot too earnestly insist upon this; I see daily, cases where a man's whole peace of mind is lost, his character gone, his prosperity blighted, all from this-from neglecting the still small voice of conscience. I would if I might, help you to preserve this security for your happiness undiminished, and, therefore I say it again, beware of tampering with conscience. When you feel in your heart that your course of action is a wrong course, let nothing prevail on you to follow it; you may see your way to getting your heart's desire, or the gratifying of your eye's lust, if you will only turn a deaf ear to the inward monitor; but believe me the pleasure, the gain, the gratification, will be dearly, very dearly bought, at the expense of a violated conscience, bought at the expense of lessening, and it may be losing altogether; the "light of truth," which God has lighted in our hearts, to guide our feet aright through the mazes and perplexities of this evil world. Cherish that light while yet it is bright and burning: trim it ever afresh with the oil of prayer and watchfulness. In all questions of doubt and difficulty use yourselves to consult the living oracle, the Tabernacle of witness which God has set within you, and however enticing the bait may be by which Satan, or Satan's agents, the world, and the flesh would seduce you-seek to lead you astray. However great the promises that Balak may make of

earthly honour and reward, put it back with a resolute hand and steadfast denial; "If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the word of the Lord my God, to do less or more."

Another great lesson which we may and ought to learn from what we have heard of Balaam is, how vain are good wishes when separated from good actions.

Balaam's famous wish, "Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his," is a wish that finds an echo in every heart. Who of you, dear brethren, does not desire such a death for himself? Who will not say, "let me die the death of the righteous?" To die any other death-to die the death of the unrighteous, to die the death of the scoffer, or the death of the unprepared-to die without being at peace with God through Jesus Christ, to die with no hope, to be cut off in our sins, no acknowledgment made of our past sins, no comfortable assurance of God's mercy for the penitent, no words of peace, no sight of Canaan, no promise of good things to come, to lean upon; to die, I say, the unrighteous man, the irreligious man, the unrepentant man's death; does it not seem of all things that we ever imagine, the most terrible? When we realize to ourselves such an end, do we not instinctively pray that it may not be our own? Do we not say within ourselves, Good Lord, deliver me from

such an end? Lord, let me die the death of Thy servant, the righteous man's death.

Yes! it is but natural, it is but right, that we should so pray and wish, but we must do more than wish and pray, or else the wish in itself will profit us nothing-profit us no more than it profited Balaam, for in spite of his good and pious wish, he died a miserable and untimely death. To have our wish fulfilled, we must first live (God helping us) the life of His servant, live as those who have been redeemed of the Lord; live soberly, live righteously, live Godly; walk in all His statutes and ordinances, live in His faith and fear.

Let that be our life, and then death, come when it may, will not separate us from the love of our God. He will be with us in our passage through the dark valley; "His rod and staff will comfort us." And this painful life ended, we shall dwell with Him in life everlasting, in the House of God for ever!

"Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord, even so saith the Spirit." You know the solemn words, and in what service of the church they occur. They are true words. Blessed, most blessed are the dead who so die, who die in the Lord. But such a death, do remember this, such a blessed death is not what falls to every man. It must be preceded by a life "in the Lord."

Then, again I say it, trust not to mere good wishes,

or to utterance of warm, excited feelings, to secure to yourselves a truly happy, a truly blessed death. "Awake to righteousness and sin not," " the sting of death is sin," sin never forsaken, never repented of, persisted in to the end. Till that sting be done away, there can be no peace, no good ground of hope for the dying man You know how alone that sting can be removed, you say with me "thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory, through our Lord Jesus Christ."

Then if you would have peace, and not terror and dismay of soul, have always a lively faith in God's mercy through Christ, and let that lively faith be proved, by following Jesus in the way. Trust to His atoning sacrifice, and walk (as far as you are able) walk in the blessed steps of His most holy life. Set the Lord always before your face. Hearken to His voice-the voice which speaks in every written word of His that is recorded in the Gospel. And the voice which speaks in your conscience, God's writing in your hearts. Follow that voice of the Lord God; undeterred by any offer of pleasure, or of present gain. Follow that true guide, and it will not lead you wrong. If He abide with you, and His words abide in you, you will live innocently and die happily. "The peace of God," the sunshine of the soul, "that passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds, through Christ Jesus."