(J. Clifford, M. A.)

2. In the experience of Samuel we observe, in the second place, there was the attitude of listening.

3. Then next in the experience of Samuel we observe there is a spirit of reverence.

4. There is the apprehension of obligation. So whenever Christ comes by His Spirit into contact with a young life there is the bending of the will into desire for service.

5. There is the temper of submission. The entire surrender of the soul is reached in that word "heareth." This young child was offering himself most unconsciously to a duty immediate and pressing, but indescribably hard.

(C. S. Robinson, D. D.)

1. Some of these differences.(1) It is quite true that none of you are called in a miraculous way like Samuel.(2) It is also true that God now calls none of you by name as he did Samuel.(3) Nor are you called, like Samuel, to be inspired prophets. The code of Revelation is finished.

2. Resemblances between the circumstances of the call of Samuel and yours.(1) Are not some here, like Samuel, children of many prayers.(2) Like Samuel, "lent unto the Lord."(3) You are all young like Samuel.(4) Called like Samuel at an important crisis in the history of the Church of God.

4. Have not all of you, like Samuel, been called repeatedly?

II. WITH RESPECT TO THE REALITY OF THE DIVINE CALL THERE IS A PERFECT PARITY IN BOTH CASES. —

1. The Bible you allow to be the Word of God.(2) It contains appeals addressed to you. "Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say I have no pleasure in them" (Ecclesiastes 12:1).

(Evangelical Preacher.)

1. Yes, he does, in His Providence. In this land of Sabbaths, and churches, and Bibles, and Christians, God is always speaking to you. Did He not speak to you in the first human voice that reached your infant mind? And did not God speak to you in that illness?

2. And God speaks to you by His word. For His word is not like the word of a man in a book, a dull, dead thing: but in it you may hear God's living voice.

3. And God speaks to you by His Spirit.

II. THE CHILD HEARING. Your ear is one of the main gateways of the soul. A man of science calls it "a harp of three hundred strings," and it is made up of many wonders. But far more wonderful is the inner ear of the heart, or the conscience, by which you hear the noiseless voice of God. You have great power over the ear of the body; you may spoil it, close it, or improve it. Oh, have you a good ear for this music? It is astonishing how quick the ear grows to hear anything we wish to hear. An Indian, by laying his ear to the ground, and hushing his breath, can discover the approach of a horseman at the distance of miles. His ear is as quick as the ear of the hare, or of the deer. A sleeping mother will hear the gentlest movement of her suffering child, and awake to help it. Her mother's love calls her listening soul into her ear: her heart makes her all ear. Thus the ear within the soul may be trained to know even the gentlest whisperings of God's voice.

III. THE CHILD SERVING. "Thy servant," he called himself.

1. His obedience was prompt. He might have said, "Oh, I'm frightened in the dark: there must be soma mistake: I'll keep my warm bed this cold night." He was prompt in obeying Eli's voice (as he thought it) and God's.

2. Samuel's obedience was also hearty: he put his whole heart into it. The trembling slave obeys promptly, but not heartily. He does his task at once, but would gladly not do it, if he dared. We cannot obey God till we really love Him.

3. Notice also that Samuel's obedience was life long. There is the closest connection between the heartiness and the continuance of our service.

(J. Wells, M. A.)

I. A DISENGAGED MIND. When the attention is absorbed by one object there is no room for another.

II. AN UNBIASSED INTELLIGENCE. Our own selfishness, conceit, and prejudice, both collectively and individually combine to prevent our hearing and regarding the truth, in its fulness and entirety. We want to speak and argue, as well as hear.

III. AN EARNEST EXPECTATION.

IV. A SENSE OF HUMILITY. "Speak, Lord, for thy servant heareth." This implies that we hear in order to do. God will never give His counsel to the haughty and the proud.

V. A PERSONAL INDIVIDUAL COMMUNION. It is the want of the personal union to God that keeps us in the dark and hides His light from our souls.

(Homilist.)

(Lyman Abbott, D. D.)

(Monday Club Sermons.)

(H. Crosby, D. D.)

1. It was calm and silent.

2. It would lend impressiveness to the call. It being unusual to hear a voice at midnight, earnest attention would be secured, and reverent awe inspired.

3. It was also consistent, with the event announced. What time more appropriate for the utterance of tidings so terrible as darkness, whose gloom would also be prophetic of the future?

4. To show that God works at the moss unlikely times, independent of external and natural aid.In fact, when we look upon the dead horses and unblown trumpets of Sennacherib's defeat, on the desolation caused in Egypt by the withering breath of the destroying angel, we feel in the presence of this principle that when nature and mortals slumber, God is most active.

1. In what the vision consisted. "And the Lord called" (ver. 4). What a deep impression would this night's transaction make upon Samuel's mind! Hence, by this vision, he was conducted to advanced experiences, of which the two most prominent thoughts would be the woeful destiny of evil, and the judicial majesty of God. These communications were(1) Astounding;(2) of widespread interest (ver. 11); not merely was the lightning to scathe a willow by the stream but an oak near the palace. The doom predicted was(3) Inevitable. Rendered so

(a)By Divine oath (ver. 14)

(b)By a strict refusal of compromise (ver. 14).

2. To whom entrusted. The Lord called Samuel (ver. 4). Childhood vocal on the lips of God. Devoted childhood honoured by God. Compare. "In those days there was no open vision" (ver. 1). "And the Lord called yet again, Samuel."

3. Honestly mistaken. "And he ran unto Eli" (ver. 5). Have we not in the cheerful obedience of this young servant a pattern for all stations of service?

(1)It was prompt; "he ran."

(2)It was responsive; "Here am I."

(3)It was deferential; "for thou calledst me."Samuel mistook the Divine call for the human; this is the greatest tendency of the present day, to expunge the miraculous, not only from the records of inspiration, but also from the events of general life. Mistaken childhood instructed (ver. 7). It is the duty of old persons, and especially old priests, to instruct the young.

4. Obediently received (ver. 10). "Speak, for thy servant heareth." Samuel omits the word "Lord," which Eli had instructed him to use. His youthful nature had not yet grasped its meaning; the doctrine of the Divine Lordship was too deep a mystery, he stood before it in silence, daring not to vocalize such an attribute of majesty. Every impulse of his heart cried out, "Speak," and Samuel signified himself attentive to the message; "thy servant heareth."

II. MORNING DISCLOSURES. Samuel enters upon the duties of the day with a heavier heart than usual, trying as much as possible to avoid contact with Eli, lest he should be questioned respecting the call of the previous night. What contrasts do the Christian life present! He "opened the doors of the house of the Lord" (ver. 15). The revelation of woe had not caused him to forget his duty, or filled him with pride to disdain it. Here we catch a glimpse of the greatness of his young nature, that it could walk amidst this splendour with such unconscious simplicity. The vision was: —

1. Timidly retained (ver. 16, 17). "And Samuel feared to show Eli the vision." Probably he had received no command from God to disclose it, and feared lest he should intrude upon the threshold of the Divine prerogative. Perhaps he discreetly considered that the tidings would be too astounding, that Eli's feeble energies, like the drooping plant, would succumb to the fury of the storm; feeling also a respect for and a sympathy with the unfortunate Priest, knowing that God had irrevocably signed his death warrant, Samuel did not wish to embitter the final hours by heedless, useless sorrow. However Eli suspects that the call of the night had reference to himself, and importunately asks for its message:

2. Faithfully disclosed (ver. 18). "Samuel told him every whit." Faithful to God, and respectful to Eli, he unfolds the solemn secret of the future, in language not softened by omission or nullified by misrepresentation.

3. Reverently acknowledged (ver. 18). "And he said, It is the Lord."LESSONS:

1. Childhood taken to the tabernacle as likely to be called by God.

2. The tabernacle is the place for the instruction of youth.

3. The punishment of parental indulgence is both certain and fearful.

4. The secrets of Divine Providence are ever entrusted to faithful souls.

5. Moral rectitude honoured by God and respected by man (ver. 19-21).

(Joseph S. Exell, M. A.)

II. Samuel's early piety made him — A MODEL OF HAPPINESS. Religion is intended to make us happy. Loving and serving God is the secret of true happiness.

III. Samuel's early piety made him — A MODEL OF PERSEVERANCE. To persevere means to keep on doing whatever we begin to do without giving up. One reason why some people never succeed in what they begin to do, is that they do not persevere. They soon get tired and give it up. But this was not the way with Samuel. When he began to serve God he persevered in it. He kept on trying without getting tired.

IV. Samuel's early piety made him — A MODEL OF HONOUR.

(R. Newton, D. D.)

II. Now consider — SAMUEL'S PERCEPTION OF ONLY THE HUMAN VOICE.

1. That when young hearts do not recognise God's voice calling them, or His purpose with them, it is not a proof or a sign that God is not with them, or that they are not under religious influence.

2. Again, when repeated special calls are not intelligently responded to by the young we are not justified in thinking that the Lord is not leading them.

3. But let me say to the young, What may seem to you only a human voice may be God's, is God's, if it asks you to love Him.

(G. B. Ryley.)

I. Those who are living religiously have from time to time truths they did not know before, or had no need to consider, BROUGHT BEFORE THEM FORCIBLY, truths which involve duties, which are in fact precepts and claim obedience. In this and similar ways Christ calls us now He works through cur natural faculties and circumstances in life.

II. These Divine calls ARE COMMONLY SUDDEN AND AS INDEFINITE AND OBSCURE IN THEIR CONSEQUENCES AS IN FORMER TIMES. The call may come to us:(1) through the death of a friend or relative;(2) through some act of sacrifice, suddenly resolved on and executed, which opens as it were a gate into the second or third heaven — an entrance into a higher state of holiness.(3) The call may come through the hearing or reading of Scripture, or through an unusual gift of Divine grace poured into our hearts.

III. NOTHING IS MORE CERTAIN THAN THAT SOME MEN DO FEEL THEMSELVES CALLED TO HIGH DUTIES AND WORKS TO WHICH OTHERS ARE NOT CALLED. No one has any leave to take another's lower standard of holiness for his own. We need not fear spiritual pride if we follow Christ's call as men in earnest. Earnestness has no time to compare itself with the state of other men; earnestness has too vivid a feeling of its own infirmities to be elated at itself. It simply says, "Speak, Lord; for Thy servant heareth." "Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do?"

(J. H. Newman.)

II. Let us now consider the words as THE CRY OF AN ANXIOUS SOUL.

III. We will turn to the third view of the text as the PRAYER OF AN EARNEST RELIEVER. I was led to select this text, by finding it in the letter of one who has just been taken away from our classes, and from our Church. She was about to change her position in life in some degree, and the one prayer that seemed to be ever upon her mind, was a prayer for guidance, and she prayed, "Speak, Lord; for thy servant heareth." She said she felt that God was about to do something for her, but she did not know what it was; she little dreamed that she was so near the kingdom and the glory, but yet that was the prayer, "Speak, Lord; for thy servant heareth." This is a very appropriate prayer for the Christian when he is in providential difficulty. Take thy matters before the God of Abraham, and the Urim and Thummim shall yet speak to thee. Domine Dirige nos, "Lord direct us," is a good motto, not only for the City of London, but for the citizens of heaven. In points of doctrine this de, ire humbly uttered may bring us much light. The same course should be adopted by every Christian in matters of practice. As melted wax is fitted to receive the impress of the seal, so let us be ready to accept the Master's teaching. Let His faintest word bind us as with bonds of steel; and let His minutest precept be precious as the gold of Ophir. As for the matters of duty again, be ye ever ready to follow the Master and Him alone. Not Luther, nor Calvin, neither Wesley, nor Whitfield, is to be your Rabbi; Jesus alone is Master in the kingdom of heaven. Whatsoever He saith unto you, do it, but where you have not His warrant, let no traditions or ancient customs make you stir so much as a single inch.

IV. We will close by observing that our text seems to us rightly to express THE SPIRIT OF A DEPARTING CHRISTIAN. He sits patiently upon the river's brink, expecting that his Master shall open the passage for him to pass over dryshod. He is praying, "Speak, Lord," and the sooner Thou wilt speak the more shall I rejoice. Say unto me, "Come up hither." "Speak, Lord; for thy servant heareth."

( C. H. Spurgeon.)

2. God speaks to us in the inner life — to the souls of His trusting people. St. John says: "His voice was as the sound of many waters" — helpful, encouraging, loving; the life itself.

(J. S. Stone, D. D.)

I. THEY REVEAL THE ATTITUDE OF ATTENTION. The man who never leaves his counting room, the student who never lifts his eyes or his attention from his books, will never know the glories of Mendelssohn or Beethoven. The housewife in whose ears is always the clatter of pots and pans will have no time or attention for a sweeter orchestra. So the man or the woman who never listens to God's voice will never hear it. The marginal reference makes a verse in the thirty-seventh Psalm read: "Be silent to the Lord, and wait patiently for Him." It is a soul silent unto God that is in the best attitude for knowing Him, for hearing Him, and for holding fast the blessings which He bestows. This marks as indispensable the quiet hour, the moments of silent communion, until our senses have become so refined and our spiritual ears so attentive that, like Nicholas Herman, of Lorraine, the devout monk, better known as "Brother Lawrence," we too can hear God's voice above the din of the market place and the buzz of the schoolroom and the clatter of the kitchen. As someone has welt said: "The very familiarity of the voice of God in Nature or His Word may dull our accustomed ears to its sound, just as the roar of Niagara is never beard by those who live upon the banks of the Horseshoe Falls, and the whirr of the loom in the factory falls upon calloused ears. Because we are familiar with God's message in His house, with His written Word, with His songs of praise, we need all the more to stop said listen that we may catch His individual message for our souls." It is said that so great is the hum of business that the people in the streets of London scarcely ever hear the tolling of the bell in the spire of St. Paul's Cathedral. But they could hear if they would stop a moment in the mad rush of trade, and listen.

II. Those words reveal THE ATTITUDE OF OBEDIENCE. "Speak, Lord, for Thy servant heareth." The hearing was in order to heeding. Some people seem to think that contemplative people must, of necessity, be very unpractical and useless people. They point to the almost barren lives lived by many monks and nuns and others, who, as they say, retired from the world to live lives of spiritual meditation and exclusion from evil. But it was in their retirement from the world, in their seclusion from life's active duties, that they made their mistake. They listened to God's voice, but it was not in the attitude of readiness for self-denying, active obedience. Hearing should always be for heeding. The seasons of contemplation should lead to other and longer seasons of service. In Christian contemplation the ideals of the Christian should glow luminous and living. Hearing in order to heeding; contemplation in order to service; this should be the attitude and method of the true Christian.

(G. B. F. Hallock, D. D.)

1. And, first, I will speak to you upon THE SOUL DESIRING — desiring to be spoken to by God: "Speak, Lord." We cannot endure a dumb God. It is a very dreadful thing to have a dumb friend, a very painful thing to have a wife who never spoke with you, or a father or mother from whom you could never hear a single word of love; and the heart cannot bear to have a dumb God, it wants Him to speak. For what reason does the soul desire God to speak to it? Well, first, it desires thus to be recognised by God. It seems to say, "Speak, Lord, lust to give me a token of recognition, that I may know that I am not overlooked, that I am not flung away like a useless thing upon the world's dust heap, that I am not left to wander like a waif and stray."

2. More than that, this desire of the soul is a longing to be called by God. When the Lord said to the child, "Samuel, Samuel," it was a distinct, personal call, like that which came to Mary: "The Master is come, and calleth for thee," or that which came to another Mary when the Lord said to her, "Mary," and she turned herself, and said, "Rabboni," that is to say, "my dear Master." "Speak, Lord, speak to me; call me."

3. "Speak, Lord, moreover, that I may be instructed."

4. We sometimes mean by this expression, "Speak, Lord, for our guidance." We have got into a great difficulty, we really do not know which way the road leads — to the right or to the left — and we may go blundering on, and have to come all the way back again; so we specially need the Lord to speak to us for our guidance.

5. At times, also, we want the Lord's voice for our comfort.

II. Now, secondly, let us think of THE LORD SPEAKING. Suppose that the Lord does speak to us; just think for a minute what it is.

1. It is a high honour. The peers of the realm are not so honoured when they see their Queen as you are when you see your God, and he speaks with you. To be permitted to speak with Him is a delight; but to hear Him speak with us is heaven begun below.

2. It is a very solemn responsibility. Jesus Christ spoke to Saul of Tarsus out of heaven, and from that hour Paul felt himself to be the Lord's, a consecrated man, to live and die for Him who had spoken to him.

3. To hear God speak to us will bring us many a happy memory.

4. I think I must also say that it is a probable mercy that God will speak to you.

5. "But how does the Lord speak?" someone asks.

1. God often speaks to His children through His works.

2. God also speaks to His children very loudly by His Providence.

3. But the Lord speaks to us chiefly through His Word.

4. But the Lord has a way of sometimes speaking to the heart by His Spirit = — I think not usually apart from His Word — but yet there are certain feelings and emotions, tendernesses and tremblings, joys and delights, which we cannot quite link with any special portion of Scripture laid home to the heart, but which seem to steal

III. THE SOUL HEARING. We have had the soul desiring, and the Lord speaking; now for the soul hearing: "Speak, Lord; for Thy servant heareth."

1. I think we have here an argument: "Lord, do speak, for I do hear." "There are none so deaf as those that will not hear."

2. Yet it appears to be an inference, as well as an argument, for it seems to run like this, "Lord, if thou speakest, of course thy servant heareth."

3. "Speak, Lord; for Thy servant heareth," seems also to contain a promise within it, namely, that if the Lord will but speak, we will hear. I remember being asked to see a person, and I thought that he wanted to learn something from me; but when I saw him for three-quarters of an hour, he spoke the whole time, and afterwards he told a friend that I was a most delightful person to converse with! When I was told that I said, "Oh, yes, that was because I did not interrupt the man! He was wound up, and I let him run down." But conversation means two people talking, does it not? It cannot be a conversation if I do all the talking, or if my friend does it all; so, in conversing with God, there must be, as we say, turn and turn about, You speak with God, and then sit still, and let God speak with you; and, if He does not at once speak to your heart, open His Book, and read a few verses, and let Him speak to you that way. Some people cannot pray when they wish to do so. I remember George Muller sweetly saying, "When you come to your time for devotion, if you cannot pray, do not try. If you cannot speak with God, do not try. Let God speak with you. Open your Bible, and read a passage." Sometimes, when you meet a friend, you cannot begin a conversation.

( C. H. Spurgeon.)

1. In the first place, it is a very interesting fact to note what; is directly stated here, that up to this time Samuel did not know the Lord. Of course there was a sense in which Samuel did know the Lord. He knew what one can know about God in seeing others worship; but his own heart did not go out to God in prayer and love; and in that deep, inner, personal sense he was without God. Is that not exactly your case? You have heard about Christ since you were a little child, and you feel that; you know e great deal about Him, and yet in the truest sense you do not know Him.

2. I want you to notice again that God called Samuel three times before he answered. Has not God called you again and again? You heard the call and you understood it, but you did not answer. Perhaps God came to you at a time of some disgrace because of your sin. Your conscience spoke as it had never spoken before. God called you then with clanging notes of alarm; and your heart said, "I ought to kneel to God; I ought to seek the forgiveness of my sins." You knew it was God's call to you, but you did not answer. Perhaps it was a great joy that came, and the goodness and gentleness of God filled your heart with up springing praise. With warm heart and tearful eyes you exclaimed, "God is so good to me, I ought to yield Him my heart, I ought to give Him my open thanks, I ought to let the whole world know how good He is to me." It was God's call to you, but you did not answer.

3. I call your attention to the fact that God called Samuel by name. "Samuel, Samuel," is the way the Lord talks to the boy. God spoke to Abraham in the same way. When the Lord Jesus met Saul on the way to Damascus it was a personal message he brought him, and he cried out to him, "Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou Me?" God knows us all by name; you are not lost in the crowd to Him. No one can tell how much it will mean if you will only listen to God and answer His call tonight. It is quite possible that if some who hear me now, who are called of God through this word, would yield their hearts in response to God's call, it would be the beginning of a life equally as useful.

(L. A. Banks, D. D.)

( C. H. Spurgeon.)

(Christian Herald.)

(R. C. Ford, M. A.)

     1095   God, patience of
     7944   ministry, qualifications
     8604   prayer, response to God

1 Samuel 3:1-10

     5537   sleeplessness

1 Samuel 3:1-21

     5658   boys

1 Samuel 3:4-10

     5887   inexperience

1 Samuel 3:9-10

     5165   listening

1 Samuel 3:10-15

     1469   visions

A Private Enquiry
"What is the thing that the Lord hath said unto thee?"--1 Samuel 3:17. THE Lord would not speak directly to Eli, although he was the High Priest. In ordinary circumstances it would have been so; but Eli had grieved the Lord, and thus had lost his honorable standing. God had not cast him off; but he viewed him with such displeasure that he would only speak to him through another person: even as great kings, if they are offended with their courtiers, send them messages by other hands. The Lord sent, …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 37: 1891

What the Truth Saith Inwardly Without Noise of Words
Speak Lord, for thy servant heareth.(1) I am Thy servant; O give me understanding that I may know Thy testimonies. Incline my heart unto the words of Thy mouth.(2) Let thy speech distil as the dew. The children of Israel spake in old time to Moses, Speak thou unto us and we will hear, but let not the Lord speak unto us lest we die.(3) Not thus, O Lord, not thus do I pray, but rather with Samuel the prophet, I beseech Thee humbly and earnestly, Speak, Lord, for Thy servant heareth. Let not Moses …
Thomas A Kempis—Imitation of Christ

Samuel, the Little Server
It was some years after Ruth's son had been born in Bethlehem that another mother was made glad by the precious gift of a little son. This mother's name was Hannah, and her baby was a special joy to her because she had so longed to have a son and had prayed so earnestly to God for this great gift. There was no doubt about the baby's name. He was called "Samuel," which means "God has heard." [Illustration: "Samuel answered, Speak; for Thy servant heareth." 1 Sam. iii. 10.] For had not God listened …
Amy Steedman—The Babe in the Bulrushes

By Collating Similar Passages with 1 Sam. ...
By collating similar passages with 1 Sam. iii. 25, St. Ambrose shows that the meaning is not that no one shall intercede, but that the intercessor must be worthy as were Moses and Jeremiah, at whose prayers we read that God spared Israel. 40. But you say, It is written: "If a man sin against the Lord, who shall entreat for him?" [2968] First of all, as I already said before, I might allow you to make that objection if you refused penance to those only who denied the faith. But what difficulty does …
St. Ambrose—Works and Letters of St. Ambrose

Letter Xlvi (Circa A. D. 1125) to Guigues, the Prior, and to the Other Monks of the Grand Chartreuse
To Guigues, the Prior, And to the Other Monks of the Grand Chartreuse He discourses much and piously of the law of true and sincere charity, of its signs, its degrees, its effects, and of its perfection which is reserved for Heaven (Patria). Brother Bernard, of Clairvaux, wishes health eternal to the most reverend among fathers, and to the dearest among friends, Guigues, Prior of the Grande Chartreuse, and to the holy Monks who are with him. 1. I have received the letter of your Holiness as joyfully …
Saint Bernard of Clairvaux—Some Letters of Saint Bernard, Abbot of Clairvaux

Being Made Archbishop of Armagh, He Suffers Many Troubles. Peace Being Made, from Being Archbishop of Armagh He Becomes Bishop of Down.
[Sidenote: 1129] 19. (12). Meanwhile[365] it happened that Archbishop Cellach[366] fell sick: he it was who ordained Malachy deacon, presbyter and bishop: and knowing that he was dying he made a sort of testament[367] to the effect that Malachy ought to succeed him,[368] because none seemed worthier to be bishop of the first see. This he gave in charge to those who were present, this he commanded to the absent, this to the two kings of Munster[369] and to the magnates of the land he specially enjoined …
H. J. Lawlor—St. Bernard of Clairvaux's Life of St. Malachy of Armagh

Faithlessness and Defeat
'And the word of Samuel came to all Israel. Now Israel went out against the Philistines to battle, and pitched beside Eben-ezer: and the Philistines pitched in Aphek. 2. And the Philistines put themselves in array against Israel: and when they joined battle, Israel was smitten before the Philistines: and they slew of the army in the field about four thousand men. 3. And when the people were come into the camp, the elders of Israel said, Wherefore hath the Lord smitten us today before the Philistines? …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Christian Meekness
Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth Matthew 5:5 We are now got to the third step leading in the way to blessedness, Christian meekness. Blessed are the meek'. See how the Spirit of God adorns the hidden man of the heart, with multiplicity of graces! The workmanship of the Holy Ghost is not only curious, but various. It makes the heart meek, pure, peaceable etc. The graces therefore are compared to needlework, which is different and various in its flowers and colours (Psalm 45:14). …
Thomas Watson—The Beatitudes: An Exposition of Matthew 5:1-12

Our Attitude Toward his Sovereignty
"Even so, Father: for so it seemed good in Thy sight" (Matt. 11:26). In the present chapter we shall consider, somewhat briefly, the practical application to ourselves of the great truth which we have pondered in its various ramifications in earlier pages. In chapter twelve we shall deal more in detail with the value of this doctrine but here we would confine ourselves to a definition of what ought to be our attitude toward the Sovereignty of God. Every truth that is revealed to us in God's Word …
Arthur W. Pink—The Sovereignty of God

The Acceptable Sacrifice;
OR, THE EXCELLENCY OF A BROKEN HEART: SHOWING THE NATURE, SIGNS, AND PROPER EFFECTS OF A CONTRITE SPIRIT. BEING THE LAST WORKS OF THAT EMINENT PREACHER AND FAITHFUL MINISTER OF JESUS CHRIST, MR. JOHN BUNYAN, OF BEDFORD. WITH A PREFACE PREFIXED THEREUNTO BY AN EMINENT MINISTER OF THE GOSPEL IN LONDON. London: Sold by George Larkin, at the Two Swans without Bishopgates, 1692. ADVERTISEMENT BY THE EDITOR. The very excellent preface to this treatise, written by George Cokayn, will inform the reader of …
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

Effectual Calling
'Them he also called.' Rom 8:80. Q-xxxi: WHAT IS EFFECTUAL CALLING? A: It is a gracious work of the Spirit, whereby he causes us to embrace Christ freely, as he is offered to us in the gospel. In this verse is the golden chain of salvation, made up of four links, of which one is vocation. Them he also called.' Calling is nova creatio, a new creation,' the first resurrection. There is a two-fold call: (1.) An outward call: (2.) An inward call. (1.) An outward call, which is God's offer of grace to …
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity

Thoughts Upon Self-Denyal.
THE most glorious Sight questionless that was ever to be seen upon the face of the Earth, was to see the Son of God here, to see the supreme Being and Governour of the World here; to see the Creator of all things conversing here with his own Creatures; to see God himself with the nature, and in the shape of Man; walking about upon the surface of the Earth, and discoursing with silly Mortals here; and that with so much Majesty and Humility mixed together, that every expression might seem a demonstration …
William Beveridge—Private Thoughts Upon a Christian Life

Exposition of Chap. Iii. (ii. 28-32. )
Ver. 1. "And it shall come to pass, afterwards, I will pour out My Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy; your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions." The communication of the Spirit of God was the constant prerogative of the Covenant-people. Indeed, the very idea of such a people necessarily requires it. For the Spirit of God is the only inward bond betwixt Him and that which is created; a Covenant-people, therefore, without such an inward …
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament

The Christian's Book
Scripture references 2 Timothy 3:16,17; 2 Peter 1:20,21; John 5:39; Romans 15:4; 2 Samuel 23:2; Luke 1:70; 24:32,45; John 2:22; 10:35; 19:36; Acts 1:16; Romans 1:1,2; 1 Corinthians 15:3,4; James 2:8. WHAT IS THE BIBLE? What is the Bible? How shall we regard it? Where shall we place it? These and many questions like them at once come to the front when we begin to discuss the Bible as a book. It is only possible in this brief study, of a great subject, to indicate the line of some of the answers. …
Henry T. Sell—Studies in the Life of the Christian

The Roman Pilgrimage: the Miracles which were Wrought in It.
[Sidenote: 1139] 33. (20). It seemed to him, however, that one could not go on doing these things with sufficient security without the authority of the Apostolic See; and for that reason he determined to set out for Rome, and most of all because the metropolitan see still lacked, and from the beginning had lacked, the use of the pall, which is the fullness of honour.[507] And it seemed good in his eyes[508] that the church for which he had laboured so much[509] should acquire, by his zeal and labour, …
H. J. Lawlor—St. Bernard of Clairvaux's Life of St. Malachy of Armagh

Samuel
Alike from the literary and the historical point of view, the book[1] of Samuel stands midway between the book of Judges and the book of Kings. As we have already seen, the Deuteronomic book of Judges in all probability ran into Samuel and ended in ch. xii.; while the story of David, begun in Samuel, embraces the first two chapters of the first book of Kings. The book of Samuel is not very happily named, as much of it is devoted to Saul and the greater part to David; yet it is not altogether inappropriate, …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament