1 Samuel 7:8 And the children of Israel said to Samuel, Cease not to cry to the LORD our God for us… I. MEDIATION SOUGHT. The Israelites, unarmed, undefended, are in great dismay. They turn to Samuel and implore his continued intercession. 1. Times of humiliation for sin and of reformation from sin are times in which the foe is very busy — doing what he can to binder. 2. Times of humiliation and awakening produce a sense of need of an intercessor from personal unworthiness, from the gravity and danger of the occasion, from the difficulty of relation to the unseen. We want someone to act for us. The principle of mediation in the Gospel of Jesus Christ does fit in with our nature and condition. II. MEDIATION EXERCISED. Samuel prays and sacrifices. 1. Takes a young lamb. 2. Prays. The mediation of Jesus Christ is so divinely suitable and sufficient, as He is both priest and sacrifice. His offering and intercession may give us "boldness and access with confidence." III. MEDIATION ACCEPTED. "The Lord heard him." 1. Interposition by means of the elements of the natural world. 2. The foe is completely routed. (H. Gammage.) Parallel Verses KJV: And the children of Israel said to Samuel, Cease not to cry unto the LORD our God for us, that he will save us out of the hand of the Philistines. |
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