Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1895-10-25
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL,
LESSON v. FOURTH QUARTER, IN
rERNATlONAL SEXES, OCT 27.

IeNt OF the Lesson, ! sam. III, i-io Meh-
ory Verses. 1-4-Golden Text, Sam.
Iii, e-Commentary by the Rev. ID. N.
stearns.
l. And the child Samuel minstered
unto the Lord" We have set forth in this
book the blessings of submission and obe-
dicncc and the opposite. Hannah, in the
bitterness of her soul, looked unto the
Lord, and He heard her and gave her this
child. Therefore she called his name Sam
uel, which means "asked of God" (chap
ter i, 90, margin). When she had weaned
him, she returned him to the Lord (chaptcr
l. 2S, margin) Then she praised God in
the beautiful words of chapter ii, 40. In
this song we have the first use of the word
Messiah" translated His anointed'
(vcrsc 10; see also verse 35). We have
also in chapter i, 3, Il, the title Lord of
hosts for the first time. Both of these
titles suggest many things concerning the
kingdom, and in this book, sometimes
called 1.-THE first book of Kings" we have
the story of the first two kings, one n man
after the peoples heart, the other n man
after the Lords heart.
2, B. Ere the lamp of God went out in
the temple of the Lord, where the ark of
God was. Eli was now old and was not
walking before God in the matter of his
sons. and very early in the morning the
Lord came to talk with this child, Samuel,
of whom it is written that he ministcrcd
unto the Lord grew before the Lord, the
Lord was with him and revealed Himself
to Samuel in Shiloh by the word Of the
Lord chapters ii, |, is, 2l, 26; ill., 10, 2).
hot chi st n
the Lord and have II place i'm the Lords
house and receive messages from the Lord
while older ones are passed by. Many
things are still hidden from the wise and
prudent and revealed unto babes (Math
ri, 25) Tho thing that greatly plcaseS
God is to live before Him. and "unto
Him, " seeking in all things His glory"
I "Thc Lord called Samuel, and he an
swcrcd, Here am |. 1t is evident from
verse 10 that He called him by name. This
makes Us think of that beautiful verse in
lsa. Kill | :" Fear not, for | have redeemed
thee have called thee by thy name;
thou art mine. And also of lisa. vi, :,
where the Lord SAYS, "Whom shall | send,
and who will 20 for us?' And the prophet
answers. Here am |; send me. How
/ beautiful to be ready for His every call, an
/ ear always open to Him.
| , And he ran unto Eli and said. Here
am |. for thou cnllcdst me- But Eli did
not recognize that it was the Lord calling
/ him and 50 told him to lie down again.
Eli had not the ear for God which he should
/ have had and God saw it. and that He
could communicate with him only through
samuel 1t was Il rare thing to get a word
from the Lord in those days, and visions
such as those granted to Abram and Jacob,
Moses and Joshua were unknown. See
verse /. Il. V, margin.
Il. And the Lord called yet again, sam
ucl." Behold the patience of the Lord
Samucl's readiness and Ellis continued
dizziness. How difficult it often is for the
Lord to get our ear and make known to us
| His will. What IL contrast to watching
to see what He will say unto us, or
"watching daily at His gates" CIab. ii, |;
Prov viii, 81.
: "Now, samuel did not yet know the
Lord nett her was the word of the Lord yet
revealed unto him" He must have known
the Lord through Moses and Joshua, but
not yet by direct communication. Known
means to perceive, understand, acknowl-
edge, 80 there may easily be many degrees
in knowledge. When Paul said. THAT |
may know Him" (Phil. iii, 100, he certain
ly knew Him as saviour and Lord, His
] WlSVDln ana MS righteousness, Dll ne
longrd To know Him better.
$. And the Lord called Samuel again
the third time And Eli perceived that the
Lord had called the child " The third
time did samuel rise and promptly 90 to
Eli believing that me called him. What
unwcaricd obedience! What Il blessed son
When ne would tell hi, mother of his cx-
pcricncc and ROW hc had acted, how glad
She would hc! think hi, i, the only in-
stance of God ,roa.iug directly tou It'll,
bow but all. vounu and old. may hear lii
voice in Iii, written word (Johu vi go
q. IF He call thee. say. speak. Lord
for Thy servant hcurcth" Eli is nv thi.
time wide awake and also wide awake i,
The fact thai the Lord ha, something t,
say. bur not directly to him II j. proha
Bile that hr rrruinrd awake till bee hear,
the tidingS. and then hc would hr more
awake than ever Awake thou thai
slccpcst. " is IA good word for many of ~,
1t would be wise also to say, "-pcak
Lord. for Thy servant heareth. whenever
we omen our Bibles, and it would also b,