SECTION. II. 527 Yet again let me ask, what is meant by all the phrases of the like kind, when they are used by-the ancient heathens, as we because the men of Agrippa's creed boast of this text as a proof of their doctrine, viz. that -all sacrifices are useless thingstoward any real atonement for sin : For when Balak puts the question, say they, " Wherewith shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before the high God 2 Shall I come beforehim with Iurnt- otferings, with calves of a year old ? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, or ten thousands of rivers of oil, or the sacrifice of my own Son2" Ba- laam refers him only to the practice of natural religion " He bath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do }astly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God ;" without no much as any positive approbation of sacrifices 2 And, say they, this very answer of Balsam, the heathen, is cited by Micah, a prophet of the Jews, as an instruc- tion for them how to please God, that is, by moral duties, and not by sacrifices. Now to give a fair answer to this matter, let it be considered, First, Balak was the king of Moab, and imagined God was to be engaged on his side by sacrifices : Therefore in several places " he built seven altars, and offered a bull and a ram on every altar, that he might prevail with God to give him victory over Israel ;" Num. xxiii. When be found all this was vain labour, he may thenbe supposed to enquire-of Balsam, " wherewith shall I come before the Lord ?" Are not my sae"fioes young enough ? Must they be calves of a year old? Are they not large enough? Shall I bring a thousand rams insteadof seven, or rivers of oil. instead of a small quantity ? Or are they not precious enough? Shall I offer my own children instead of brute beasts?' Whereupon Balaam Seems to say, Alas, you are quite mistaken : It is not for want of younger or larger sacrifices, or of any other kind, that God neglects you: If you would become acceptable to him, you must mind the duties of morality, and piety, " do justice, love mercy, and humble thyself, as the original words are, to walk with thy God." So that sacrifices are neither encouraged nor for- bidden in this speech of Balaam : but Balak is pointed to that morality and ihward religion which he wanted, and without which no sacrifices whatsoever could be acceptable to God. Secondly, Considerthat Balaam was a heathen, who was sometimes inspired, but not always. Now if these words an spoken by Balaam were not inspired, then it is only Micah the Jewish prophet's citation from a heathen, to put the Jews in mind bow much more acceptable the duties of morality are to God than mere ceremonies. The Jews were much of Balak's mind, and thought ceremo- nies and sacrifices should do all for them, while they neglected moral duties. Balaam is silent about sacrifices, and directs Balak only to piety and morality; and Micah, for the same reason, cites thesame sentence to the Jews, that while he reproves them by the mouth of a heathen, he may shame them into virtue and piety. Probably Balaam, among the rest of the heathens, had lost the original institution and design of sacrifices, and the light of nature could not teach it him again r And therefore he makes no answer about them, nor saith any thing of them; but the light of stature could teach him, that todo justly, &c. was necessary to please God. But on the other hand, suppose Balaam was inspired to deliver this sentence to Balak; and suppose, while he preaches mo- rality, he had gone so far as to have strongly denied the useof sacrifices here, it can mean only a coatparative.deuial, that is, a preference of morality when compared with ceremonies; for comparisons are expressed often in thismanner is the Eastern languages,. by a negation of one thing, and an affirmation of the other, as is abundantly evidentin this very case; Hos. vi. 6. rr I desired mercy and not sacrifice, and the knowledge of Gbsl more than burnt offerings." , Thirdly, Consider yet further, that when the prophet Isaiah reproves the Jews for want of moral virtue, be speaks more expressly against sacrifices than Bataan does here. He tells them, their " oblations were vain, their new moons and appointed feasts were an abomination ; Is. i. 11 -15, &c. not that God had not appointed them, but because they were not attended with moral virtues; 'And upon this account he says, rt Bring no more vain oblations : To what pur- pose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me?" Yet all this language of the
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