December 14

"I shall see him, but not now; I shall behold him, but not nigh; there shall come a star out of Jacob, and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the children of Sheth."—Numbers 24:17.

WE have in the context an account of Balaam's prophecy. Balak, the king of Edom, sent to him from a great distance that he might curse Israel; but Balaam, against his will, instead of cursing, was constrained to bless them. Balak tried him several times, and took him to different places, but all to no purpose; which greatly displeased him, and he sent Balaam away; but ere he departed he delivered a prophecy concerning the advent of the Messiah, and the future glory of his Church. Let us contemplate the Saviour

IN HIS GLORY. "A star." No imagery can furnish us with any thing like an adequate conception of that Being who has been styled the Father of the patriarchs, the Inspirer of prophets, the Master of the apostles, the Teacher of evangelists, the crown of the martyrs, and the praise of all his saints. He is designated a star for

The light he imparts. The world was in darkness till he came as the bright and morning star. He illuminates the pages of inspiration, enlivens the gloom of solitude, dispels the dark age of folly, gilds the shadows of the grave, and irradiates the eternal world.

The direction he affords. In the waste sandy deserts of the East, where there are no mighty elevations to guide the traveller, the stars of heaven are his conductors, leading him safely to the place of his destination. Before the compass was invented, mariners took their course by the polar star. Christ is our guide through this world to the regions of glory.

The immutability he sustains. The nations of the earth pass away; one generation succeeds another, but the stars remain fixed. So it is with this star; it has been dispensing its beams for many ages, and is still immutable; it shone on our first parents in the garden; Abraham saw it and was glad, Jacob rejoiced in it, it illuminated the minds of prophets, was seen by apostles, who were directed by it in their course. It shall shine in glorious splendor when the sun is turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, and the stars fall from heaven.