THE K I N G ' S BU S I NE S S
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though the ordained priesthood be deaf to His voice.— Sum. Bible. God to Sam uel was not a mere idea, an abstraction. He was a reality, a personality, a Being who dealt very closely with men and with whom they were called to deal very closely too.— Blaikie. God is- never at a loss for suitable instruments. They are always ready when peculiar work is to be done.— Sel. v. 5. He ran unto Eli. Can any voice be so human as God’s? Herein is the incarnation mystery—God showing His power to talk humanly.— Parker. Such mistakes as these we make oftener than we think of. God calls us by His Word and we take it to be only the call of the minister and answer it accord ingly.-—Henry. Thou callest me. There is a great danger of mistaking God’s voice for man’s or man’s voice for God’s. It needs a heart thoroughly purged to distinguish.— Echoes. v. 6. Lord called again. The Lord was not angry because the child did not understand, nor did He, impatient of the delay, close the interview. With all of us there is ignorance as well as mistake. In our confusion we run hither and thither.— Meyer. Samuel went to Ell. Some people have a habit of run ning to others whenever God calls.— Davis. I called not. To be treated by Eli as Samuel supposed that he had been, was highly provoking. It is not an easy thing for a young person in the midst of sleep to spring to his feet time after time. Why drag him out of bed over the cold floor at that time of night? But Samuel’s temper was in no degree ruflled. He felt he was a servant and Eli was his master and it was his part to obey however unreasonable his treat ment might be.— Blaikie. v. 9. Ell said, Lie down. Eli knew that such communications were made at times by God, and remembering the visit of the man of God to himself, he may have surmised that this was an other such occasion. The voice was no natural voice, so Samuel is told to lie down once more, to take the attitude of simple receptiveness, and humbly invite God to utter His message.-—Exp. Bible. If He call thee. It is well to be sure when we hear a voice that it really is the Lord’s voice. (1 Jn. 4:1) ,-r^Torrey. Speak, Lord. We may expect that God will speak to us when we set ourselves to hearken to what He says. (Ps. 65:8; Hab. 2 :1). Even when we attend the preaching of the Word, we should come
you don’t come out I will punch your head,’ and he said, ‘I will punch your head.’ ” His mother said, “ Oh, Johnny, if you had said, ‘I love you,’ he would have said, ‘I love you,’ for it was the Echo-boy talking to you.” This is like life—when we delight in God, He de lights in us. When we are kind to others, others are kind to us. The way we treat God and man is the way we will be treated. Subject illustration—Intemperance. A Nashville drinking man one morn ing told his family of a wonderful dream he had the previous night, in which he saw three cats, one fat, one lean, and one blind, and he wondered what it meant. “ I know,” promptly re sponded his little son. “ The man that sells you the whisky is the fat cat, mother is the lean cat, and you are the blind cat.” “Who hath woe.” Prov. 23:29. 11 v. 1. The child Samuel ministered. ■The child may have an ear fo r .God’s call, a mind for His service and a mes sage for His bidding.— Sel. Word of the Lord was pre- COMMENTS PROM clous. Literally MANY SOURCES “ rare.” M o r e Keith L. Brooks empty than fam ine, more dread ful than plague, more dense than Egypt’s darkness, is the land where God’s Word ( is rare. (Ps. 107:10, 11). Professing Christendom is surely in need of a re vival of Bible study.— Eliott. There was in those days no “ frequent vision.” (A. R. Y.) When the Word of the Lord is as common as it is today, many set little store by it. God will judge men for this even as He did Israel for icon tempt of His Word. (Amos 8:4-6; 11:12).— Torrey. v. 3. Ere the lamp went out. The dying lamp of the tabernacle, the glim mering dawn, the silence and awe of the Holy Place, were in strict accord with the boy’s attentive ear and opened heart. The rug on which he lay was not too lowly for the eternal God to visit.— Meyer. I I v. 4. The Lord called Samuel. God will not be without a mouthpiece even
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