The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1905-10-15

a third time God called and old Eli said
TO Samuel: MY son, it is not l calling
thee, but God When God calls to thee
again do not run to me, but answer,
Speak, Lord. for thy servant heareth.' :"
Thus young Samuel was taught to listen
to the voice OF the Lord in the midnight
hour. Thus / would beg you to heed
God voice when he speaks to you In
the silent places" of life God gener-
ally calls US to our higher spiritual life
In the silent places" as he called Sam
uei to become the prophet of Israel in
the stiffness of the midnight darkness.
Where are these Silent places In
which you and can hear the voice Of the
Lord? In the first place, 1 would state
that God calls US in the hours of dark
ness. He calls to us as he called Samuel
after the first sleep Of the night Is over,
and We suddenly awake and feel that
some one is very near to US and speak
ing. We cannot See him, but we feel
him and hear him. We feel his presence
and hear him just the same as we used
to recognize our mothers hand and her
kiss and her Good night, my boy" when
we were children and she would como
and take a last look at us to see that
we were all right before going to bed.
When Most People Die.
Perhaps the reason why God Is able to
speak to us so clearly in the early hours
of the morning can be explained upon
natural grounds Have you never no
/ ticed the fact that most of our friends
die about or o'clock in the morning
AS Solomon beautifully symbolized 1t,
when was the silver cord loosed or the
golden bowl broken or the pitcher broken
at the fountain or the wheel broken at
| the cistern when your dear ones were
| translated? Your brother, how did he
! go? Your mother said to the nurse,
| Now, nurse, / think John is better to-
night, but II you need me just give q
rap upon the floor and will come up
| 1t seemed that you were asleep only a
| little while when a commotion In the
| house made you leap out of bed. You
rushed to your brothers room. YOU
saw the breathing becoming heavier and
! heavier. At last the doctor said, HE
is gone You looked at the clock, and
! you heard 1t striking, zone, two, three.
When did your mother die? At nooni
In the evening twilight. when the flush
of the setting sun was slowly fading
away and its ball of fire slowly sinking
! behind the western hills? Oh, no. You
had been awake all night worrying about
her. The last relapse came about
out with the Growing of the cock ano
with the first glimpse of the dawn. The
reason why most people die in the early
= hours of the morning is because the sur
has long been very far away from us
! At that time there is less vitality in the
| air. Then our physical hold on earthly
| life is weakest So, my friends, as eartf
| grips us less about or 3 o'clock in the
morning let the holy spirit grip US closer
| to Christ. Let these few minutes In thu
early morning be to us sacred moments
| for communion with God. When WI
awaken don't rebuke the Holy Spirit ant
break the divine spell. Let us then heal
old Eli saying: 1.-The Lord would com
mune with thee. Listen child; listen
listen to the voice of the Lord
But the voice of the Lord Is heard II
| the daylight as well as in the darkness
when we are standing upon our feet a.
we'll as when we are lying upon oul
backs, when we are tramping over thu
hllsides, or sitting by the seashore. Of
| watching the mad rush of the whirlpool
rapids of Niagara falls, or when we ar
! in the presence of the pyrotechnics OF |
thunderstorm, or when we watch bir'
build her nest. or the wild flower LII
| up its cheeks to be kissed by the sun
beams in mountain glen. or when w
hear the ripping of the brook leapinl
over the rocks to find a bathing pool il
| which the feathered songsters can TAX
their morning bath. And of all place
where the voice of the Lord can be hear
distinctly speaking to us I believe tina
voice can best be heard in the s'silen
places of nature, far away from TIL
habintations of man. IF human beini
cannot hear the voice Of the Lord in tn