talents are, in general, what men desire, as they procure the admiration of the world; but we see in God's sight, it is otherwise. He often gives them to the most unworthy. A good heart is worth them all; and will make us illustrious, when all the rest become nothing. This even single is of value; while talents, without a heart, often ruin their possessor; are a nuisance to mankind; and make us only the more conspicuously infamous. We learn further from this story, the dreadful state of being, what the scriptures call forsaken of God. God, we believe, will never forsake any one, who earnestly desires his assistance. But when we reject his grace, through our own obstinate wickedness, we may place ourselves in a state almost beyond recovery. Balaam, in the early and innocent part of his life, was probably greatly favoured by God; till he began to think the king of Moab the better master. He then forsook God, and his strides to destruction were rapid. But the most obvious use, that may be made of the story of Balaam, is to convince ourselves of the folly and wickedness, of acting under two characters-of hiding a bad heart under the pretences of religion.Let us consider the pains it costs; the constant attention to every gains of hypocrisy repay us for a bad conscience; What, may we suppose, were Balaam's sentiments, when he lay bleeding on the plains of Midian? when all his wicked vision was fledwhen he found himself struck with the hand of death, destitute of all comfort upon earth; and of all hope from heaven? In those bitter moments, we may suppose, he saw things in their true light-in the agony of despair and horror, he was at length convinced of the folly and wickedness of all his worldly schemes-his Sin had now found him out--and he exclaimed in earnest, (what, in the hypocrisy of his soul, he had once uttered) Oh! that I might die the death of the righteous, and that my latter end $ might be like his !-May we all catch the warning voice! and may God grant us grace to make a better use of it, through Jesus Christ our Lord! 1 SERMON VIII. HEBREWS, xi. 13. THEY CONFESSED, THAT THEY WERE STRAN- OUR passage through life is compared in holy scripture, to various things-sometimes to an arrow flitting through the air-which quickly strikes the mark it aimed at-sometimes to a race, in which we soon arrive at the destined goal-sometimes to a flower, which is to-day in the field; to-morrow, cut down, and withered.But no figure, I think, more beautifully and more comprehensively describes it, than that of a journey, to which it is compared by the apostle in the text.-The other figures give us us an idea of some particulars only in the life of man-its hasty progress-its destined end-or its great uncertainty. But a journey seems to comprehend it in all its usual circumstances, from one end to the other-from the cradle to the grave. We may consider the whole world, in all its distinctions-rich, and poor-young, and old-wise, and foolish-gay, and thoughtful-all journeying to their great home. Some travel in a more expensive way with equipage, and attendants: others, in a humble manner, like the poor pilgrim with his staff; but all, in this confusion and variety, are hastening to one great point their everlasting home. For your instruction therefore to-day, I propose to mark a few of those strong lines of resemblance between a journey and our passage through life; and shall endeavour to make such observations on each, as I hope may be useful to you. THE first great resemblance may be found in the various stage of each. In the common journies of this world, some are long; and marked of course, with a great variety of circumstances. Others again are short, quickly per |