deavoured to avoid him when she could, and when she could not, fhe fell down: She might have done the fame, if a Man had oppofed them in the fame manner: Or the Appearance of the Angel might very much affright her, without her knowing it to be an Angel. As to her reasoning above the Capacity of a BruteAnimal, and speaking the Result of fuch Reafoning; God undoubtedly could, if he had pleased, have inftantly capacitated any of the inferior Creatures for this, or for much greater things. But even this does not appear to have been done. An human Voice came out of the Mouth of the Afs (m); but I do not apprehend, that what the Voice uttered proceeded from her Sentiments; rather it was what God would have to be uttered to rebuke the Prophet: The Tongue of the Afs was miraculously moved, not by any natural Power of hers fo to move it, and it spake what it was moved to utter, without any Connection of the Words spoken with the Sentiments of the Afs, and without her understanding the Words, which fhe uttered upon this Occafion. this Occafion. This feems to me to have been the Fact, and herein there is a real Miracle; but no Appearance of the Abfurdity, that is pretended. I would confider 3. That the Miracle of the Afs's fpeaking was not fuperfluous and unneceffary, but very pertinent and suitable to the Defign, which God intended to promote by it. It is imagined by fome,

(m) 2 Pet. ii. 16.

that

that this Miracle might well have been spared; that the Angel's appearing was abundantly fufficient to have recalled Balaam to his Duty; that he was not much moved by the Afs's fpeaking (n), it was the feeing the Angel that affected him (0): And they fay, why should God cause fo unusual a Miracle, as a dumb Creature's fpeaking, to fo little Purpose, and so little wanted? I answer. Balaam was perhaps much furprized at the Afs's speaking, tho' MoJes has not reported it to us: The ancient Jewish Writers imagined he was fo, and accordingly Jofephus reprefents him to have been greatly aftonished at it (p). But Mofes's Narration is short and concife; and he may have omitted this and other Particulars of Balaam's Story that were not of great moment to be told by him: For, what if the Heat and obftinate Bent of Balaam's Temper caufed him not to pay a due Regard to this Miracle, fhall the Miracle be therefore argued to be in itself infignificant, because he did not suffer it to have its due Effect upon him? Many Miracles were wrought in Egypt, which Pharaoh paid little regard to; but we cannot cenfure them as extravagant or fuperfluous, because Pharaoh did not apply his Heart duly to confider them (q): They might any one of them have been of great Service to him, if he would have made them fo, and that juftifies the Wisdom and Goodness of God in caufing them to be wrought before him. And

(n) Numb. xxii. 29. (o) ver. 34. (p) Jofeph. Antiq. (9) Exod. vii. 23.

Lib.

4. C. 3.

VOL. III.

T

this

this

may be remarked in the Cafe of Balaam : God did not defign to permit a War between the Ifraelites and Moabites at this time: He had warned the Ifraelites not to distress or war against them (r), and he would not fuffer Balaam to curfe the Ifraelites; because the Moabites would have paid fo great a Regard to what he had promised, that they would thereupon have attacked them, in hopes of being able to overcome and drive them out (s) of the neighbouring Country: God could indeed, if he had pleased, have over-ruled Balaam's Heart and difpofed him for his Duty, without the Appearance of any Miracle, or have caufed any one Miracle to have been as effectual as ten thousand; but he dealt with Balaam as with a Free-Agent: He did not take away his Liberty, but set before him very confiderable Motives to induce him to make a right and virtuous Ufe of it. If we confider the whole Process of this Affair, we shall not fee Reason to judge any Part of what God was here pleased to do, to be fuperfluous or extravagant, but must allow, that in every Particular, God was exceedingly merciful unto Balaam, tho' the Corruption of his Heart was very great: When he was first sent for by Balak, and inquired, whether he should go, God did not direct him into a Temptation too hard for him (u): Upon the fecond Inquiry, a Way was ftill made for him to escape (w); for had he not gone until he had been called in the

(r) Deut. ii. 9.

xxii. 13.

(s) Numb. xxii. 11.

(w) ver. 2c.

(u) Numb.

Morning

Morning (x), probably Balak's high and more honourable Meffengers (y) would not have been fo attendant upon what they might have thought his Humour; but would have gone away without him: But he would go, and he went with a corrupt Heart, not likely to be duly mindful of the Charge which God had given him (x); but liable to be tempted to gratify the King, in order to obtain the Advancement that was offered him (a): And here God was pleased to correct his Intention by two Miracles: By the one of which he evidenced to him, that he could fo control him, that it should not really be in his Power to falfify if he would, what God had defigned to direct him to say. By the other he threatned him not to attempt it upon pain of Death: The Afs he rode on, was made to fpeak to him; a convincing Demonftration, that it would be a vain thing in him to endeavour to speak otherwife, than God fhould order him; fince the fame Power, that here caufed even a dumb Animal to move its Tongue very differently from what it was naturally capable of, could certainly over-rule even his Tongue, and make him fay just what, and no more than what was dictated to him, whether he was willing or defigned to speak it or no. Some Writers, Philo in particular (b), and Jofephus (c), repre

(x) ver. 21. (y) ver. 15. (x) Balaam's Heart was known unto God, and he intended not to be strictly careful to speak only what God should direct, and therefore this Point was given again in charge to him. Ver. 35. (a) Numb. xxii. 17. (6) Phil. Jud. Lib. 1. de vit. Mofis. (c) Jofeph. Antiq. Lib. 4. c. 5.

T 2

fent

fent Balaam as actually over-ruled in the use of his Tongue, when he bleffed the Ifraelites, and that he would have curfed inftead of bleffing them, if he could have made his Tongue speak what he defigned: But I fee no reason to go into this Opinion: God abundantly apprized Balaam by the Miracle of the Afs's fpeaking, that he could thus over-rule him, if he pleased; but I believe he still left him the Liberty of a Free-Agent, after having affured him by the Angel, that, if he abused his Liberty in this Particular, he would deftroy him: And, I think, both these Miracles appear to have affected the Prophet. He feemed after this to bear in Mind a due Senfe of his Inability to speak otherwise than God fhould permit him (d); and tho' he used endeavours, and had it at Heart, if he could any ways do it, to gratify Balak (e); yet at last he did not dare to venture, but told the King without reserve all that God, and nothing but what God had been pleased to reveal to him (ƒ). But 4, Tho' the Miracle of the Afs's speaking was not fuperfluous, and infignificant to Balaam; yet if it had not been a real Fact, Mofes could have no Inducement to relate it: He could have no Purpose to serve by it: The Ifraelites would have appeared under the efpecial Protection of God's Providence as well without it: And Mofes as a wife and prudent Man, if he had had no other Restraint, would not have invented fuch an unheard of

(d) Numb. xxii 38. xxiii. 26. (e) xxiii. 23. xxiv. 1. (f) xxiii. 3,

-9. 17, 24.

and