heard, instead of what I had otherwise designed to say."

Upon a careful consideration of the passage that "Balaam went not, as at other times, to seek for enchantments, but set his face towards the wilderness," it appears to me evident, from the whole narrative, that this unholy man, seeing the extreme disappointment of his employer, and fearful of losing the rewards promised to his successful exertions, was fully prepared to curse the seed of Jacob from the summit of Peor, in the immediate vicinity of the idol worshipped by the Moabites; but that his intention was diverted by the spirit of God, which, against his own will, caused him to pronounce a blessing instead of a malediction. It is remarkable, that each prophecy thus extorted, as it were, from the reluctant lips of the seer, increases in earnestness and glowing warmth of expression, as if the more anxious he felt to execrate the Israelites, the more eloquent he became in their praise. Nothing can well exceed the animated fervour of the language, and the graceful variety of the comparisons, in this eminently beautiful composition. So engrossed was Balaam's soul by the pure spirit of prophecy which at that moment absorbed it, that the noblest expressions sug gested themselves to clothe the sacred inspirations which he was miraculously compelled to deliver.

CHAPTER XXXVII.

Balaam's third prophecy.

BALAAM, having "set his face towards the wilderness," the plain upon which the triumphant hosts of Israel lay encamped, was probably about to gratify the sovereign of Moab by consigning them over to the malignity of those demons whom the latter, no doubt, imagined were capable of exterminating them, when, unexpectedly, the prophetic afflatus came upon him, "and he took up his parable,” that is, he delivered the divine oracle in parabolical or figurative terms, "and said" to the anxious sovereign of the Moabites,

Balaam, the son of Beor, hath said,

And the man whose eyes are open hath said:
He hath said which heard the words of God-

Which saw the vision of the Almighty,

Falling into a trance but having his eyes open

How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob,

And thy tabernacles, O Israel!

As the valleys are they spread forth,

As gardens by the river's side

As the trees of lign-aloes which the Lord hath planted,

And as cedars beside the waters.

He shall pour the water out of his buckets,

And his seed shall be in many waters,

And his king shall be higher than Agag,
And his kingdom shall be exalted.

God brought him forth out of Egypt!

He hath, as it were, the strength of a unicorn:

He shall eat up the nations his enemies,

And shall break their bones and pierce them through with his arrows.

He crouched, he lay down as a lion,

And as a great lion: who shall stir him up?

Blessed is he that blesseth thee,

-And cursed is he that curseth thee.

In the introduction to this prophecy, how beautifully do the terms rise in force and comprehensiveness! First, the prophet simply mentions himself as Balaam, the son of Beor, and no doubt well known as the celebrated seer or diviner of Mesopotamia, nevertheless, claiming respect for his own person by the mention, secondly, of his father's name, who was, we may reasonably suppose, known as a man of distinction in those days; for Balaam would scarcely have referred to the author of his birth directly to Balak had not his parent been a person of some consequence, and therefore not a stranger, by repute at least, if personally so, to the king of Moab. Balaam's manner of mentioning his father's name, appears to me fully to warrant the presumption that he was a man of family. He next refers to his sacred office, heightening the parallelism by a direct allusion to the divine communication. In the next pair of lines, the immediate presence of the celestial influence is expressed, the gradational parallelism being very happily exhibited; he not only “heard the words of God," but "saw the vision of the Almighty;" hearing the words of God being a less strong indication of prophetic influence than seeing the vision, in which the heavenly communication was more vividly presented to the mind

than by the mere fact of hearing a voice. But in this instance he both heard and saw, so that nothing could be added to strengthen the revelation here made to him.

There is great solemnity in these couplets, and the climax closes with a significant declaration of the reality of the whole scene;-that the words of God entered into the ears, and the celestial vision passed into the mind, of one who possessed all his faculties unembarrassed at the time, and not only so, but strengthened by immediate intercourse with the Divinity. Nothing can more directly confirm the circumstance of Balaam's inspiration than these passages. He seems to declare it by way of justification of what is to follow, for it was in spite of his own will that he was made the vehicle of a blessing, where both he and his employer sought a curse. He thus shows the divine predominancy which can baffle human intentions where they would interpose betwixt the Deity and the all-wise determinations of his providence.

It will be observed, that the exordium of this fine poem differs much from those of the two preceding prophecies. It relates to Balaam in his accredited character of prophet or seer. He maintains his inspiration, but begins by characterizing himself as the son of Beor, of whom nothing appears to be known, though from the circumstance of Balaam mentioning his father's name, as if with a view of proclaiming the respectability of his birth-for of this the orientals have been at all times exceedingly tenacious, preserving their genealogies with remarkable care,

tracing them to the most primitive times—it is probable that Beor was a name of some consideration in his own country. It is presumed by some learned men that Beor was father to Bela, the first king of Edom. Under this supposition, Balaam must have been the brother of a king, consequently a person of the first distinction, and this assumption is, I think, favoured by the whole tenor of the history. Balak at first sends an embassy of distinguished men to solicit the prophet's presence to pronounce a malediction upon his enemies, but finding he did not return with his messengers, who were loaded with presents to induce him to accompany them, the king of Moab dispatches a second embassy, composed of the first nobles of the land, bearing still more costly rewards and soliciting his presence at the Moabitish capital; showing him such deference and respect as renders it abundantly evident that whether the son or brother of a king, or neither, he was no ordinary person. His bearing, too, in the presence of Balak, is independent and even lofty; he issues commands with a tone of authority; he addresses the sovereign of Moab, as if they were upon terms of perfect equality; under all these circumstances we may fairly presume that he was a man of high kindred alliance, and of some civil distinction, independent of what might have accrued to him from his skill in the practice of enchantments. It is obvious, that in the proem of this third prediction, and a highly elevated composition it is throughout, he refers to the responsibility of his own character in his social