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Of the melancholy history of this wicked man let us make its proper use.

1. It teaches the danger of giving way in the first instance to temptation. After we have been once conquered, we have lost half our strength.

2. Again, we are taught by this story that a religious disposition makes always the greatest and best part of every man's character. Shining talents are 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.

3. We learn, further, from this story, the dreadful state of being what the Scriptures call forsaken of God.

4. But the most obvious use of the story is to convince ourselves of the folly and wickedness of acting under two characters — of hiding a bad heart under the pretences of religion. What pains it costs — the constant attention to every word and action. In fact, it would cost less to be good in earnest. Rarely did hypocrisy ever carry its deceit to the grave. Will the best gains of hypocrisy repay us for a bad conscience?

(W. Gilpin, M. A.)

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KJV: Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness;

WEB: forsaking the right way, they went astray, having followed the way of Balaam the son of Beor, who loved the wages of wrongdoing;