_And Hannah prayed, and said, My heart rejoiceth in the Lord._ HANNAH’S SONG Modern criticism has decided, to its own satisfaction, that the noble hymn here attributed to Hannah, cannot possibly have been uttered by her lips as a thanksgiving for the birth of Samuel. It breaks the obvious connexion... [ Continue Reading ]
_Neither is there any rock like our God._ GOD COMPARED TO A ROCK I. God is here described as a rock. God frequently compares himself to a rock, and that for his people’s encouragement. 1. He is compared to a rock, because, as a shelter, defence, refuge, every perfection of His nature is as their... [ Continue Reading ]
_There is none holy as the Lord._ THE FOUR PERFECTIONS OF GOD 1. She speaks of his holiness; “There is none holy as the Lord.” St. Mary the Virgin echoes her, when in her song she says: “Holy is his name.” This would be a very sad thought for sinners, whose thoughts, and words, and actions, are so... [ Continue Reading ]
_Talk no more exceeding proudly._ THE DIFFERENT FORMS OF PRIDE 1. The pride of conquest. “The bows of the mighty men are broken.” 2. The pride of abundance. There may be pride in any and every condition of life. Children, as well as grown people, may be very proud; and God hates pride in the youn... [ Continue Reading ]
_The Lord killeth, and maketh alive: he bringeth down to the grave, and bringeth up._ KILLED, THEN MADE ALIVE We must be emptied of self before we can be filled with grace; we must be stripped of our rags before we can be clothed with righteousness; we must be unclothed that we may be clothed; woun... [ Continue Reading ]
_The Lord maketh poor._ THE RICH AND THE POOR Everything created is taught by God a lesson of dependence; the earth upon which we tread is subject to continual wants; the sea requires replenishing from its tributary streams. Man is a volume of wants, as is recorded in every page of his history. I.... [ Continue Reading ]
_He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill; to set them among princes._ THE POOR RAISED OUT OF THE DUST I. By these “poor” some understand those who are literally beggars. One cannot doubt but that Hannah’s heart did bear on the remembrance of her own compa... [ Continue Reading ]
_He will keep the feet of His saints, and the wicked shall be silent in darkness; for by strength shall no man prevail._ THE SECURITY OF THE SAINTS AND THE RUIN OF THE WICKED I. The security of the saints of God. 1. The title, saints, although used by a profane world as a term of contempt, is of... [ Continue Reading ]
_Now the sons of Eli were sons of Belial._ INDULGENT HOME LIFE I. The sins it induces. The sons, Hophni and Phinehas, are the more prominent, so we will contemplate, 1. Their conduct and character. They appear in an official capacity; but the official must be viewed in its association with the pe... [ Continue Reading ]
_But Samuel ministered before the Lord._ EARLY PIETY I. the mother’s devotion. II. Samuel’s early piety. 1. It arose first from a mother’s piety. It was the mother’s act by means of which all his early impressions were of sacred things. It has been said that the secret of greatness is ordinarily... [ Continue Reading ]
_And the child Samuel grew before the Lord._ GROWTH THE BEST TEST “Where there is life there will be growth, and if grace be true, it will surely increase. A painted flower keepeth always at the same pitch and stature; the artist may bestow beauty upon it, but he cannot bestow life. A painted chil... [ Continue Reading ]
_Nay, my sons: for it is no good report that I hear._ WEAKNESS IS WICKEDNESS It does not often occur to us what shame and guilt belong to mortal vacillation and weakness. Too often a man’s weakness is accepted as a sufficient excuse for his sin. Outbursts of evil passion are excused because a man h... [ Continue Reading ]
_If one man sin against another, the judge shall judge him._ THE SINNER’S FRIEND Even had we no revelation on the subject, a future judgment would be inferred by us from reason; for we should be led by analogy to conclude, that, as when “one man sinned against another the judge judged him” and awar... [ Continue Reading ]
_And the child Samuel grew on, and was in favour both with the Lord, and also with men._ CHILD GROWTH One of the most beautiful things that God has made in the world is growth, and the world is full of it. God did not make a great Samuel at once, but a little child Samuel, who grew before Him. I w... [ Continue Reading ]
_And there came a man of God unto Eli._ ELI’S TWO MESSENGERS That was a terrible speech to make to an old man whose life was all behind him, who was now tottering on the last edge! Ministers of God are required to come up to this point of faithfulness, now and again; to have to say these words, ter... [ Continue Reading ]
_For them that honour Me I will honour, and they that despise Me shall be lightly esteemed._ THE REWARD OF HONOURING GOD The words are in the strictest sense the word of God, uttered immediately by God Himself; and may thence command from us an especial attention and regard. I. The reward may be... [ Continue Reading ]
_I will cut off thine arm._ JUDGMENT UPON A FALSE PRIESTHOOD “As a priest or interpreter of the holy is the noblest and highest of all men, so is a sham priest the falsest and basest; neither is it doubtful that his canonicals, were they the Pope’s tiaras, will be torn from him one day to make ban... [ Continue Reading ]
_In the flower of their age._ PREMATURE DEATH CONSEQUENT UPON, PARENTAL NEGLECT Now it is too evident to require proof, that the sin, of which Eli was guilty, naturally tends to produce the consequence which is here threatened as a punishment. When youth are permitted to make themselves vile, witho... [ Continue Reading ]
_And I will raise me up a faithful priest._ REJECTION AND ELECTION I. The principle of Divine rejection is always the same. 1. There is nothing arbitrary in God’s dealings with men. (1) They seem so to us-- (2) Only because we are ignorant of many of the facts with which He is acquainted. (3)... [ Continue Reading ]