1 Samuel 7:12 Then Samuel took a stone, and set it between Mizpeh and Shen, and called the name of it Ebenezer, saying… God must be acknowledged in all our mercies, and it is delightful to be able to see in them the answer of believing and fervent supplication. "Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto Thy name give glory." I. Let us consider WHAT WE HAVE TO RECORD. II. Let us now consider WITH WHAT VIEWS AND FEELINGS OUR STONE OF MEMORIAL SHOULD BE SET UP, and this expressive word, Ebenezer, inscribed upon it. 1. With sincere piety. To ascribe the honour and power of a work of grace to ministers instead of God the Spirit, is about as irrational as it would be to give praise and glory to the pen with which Milton wrote his immortal poem, instead of giving it to the sublime genius of the bard himself. O let me be forgotten as far as possible, and Christ only thought of. 2. This expression, Ebenezer, must be uttered by us, as it was by Samuel and the Jews, with adoring wonder. 3. Can joy be absent or unsuitable on this occasion? Impossible! 4. A sense of unworthiness should make our gratitude the more intensely fervent. (J. A. James.) Parallel Verses KJV: Then Samuel took a stone, and set it between Mizpeh and Shen, and called the name of it Ebenezer, saying, Hitherto hath the LORD helped us. |
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