"Here I Am!"
(No. 3082)
A SERMON PUBLISHED ON THURSDAY, MARCH 5, 1908.
DELIVERED BY C. H. SPURGEON,
AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON, ON LORD'S-DAY EVENING, APRIL
19, 1874.
"The LORD called Samuel, and he answered, Here I am!" 1 Samuel 3:4.
SAMUEL was a model child. He was the son of a prayerful mother. Hannah
is one of the most notable pietists mentioned in the Scriptures. She
possessed a truly original mind, but she was yet more famous for her
piety–a woman who knew how to take her griefs to the Mercy Seat and
cast them upon her God. So Samuel came of good stock but, "that which
is born of the flesh is flesh," and he would have been none the better
for his godly parentage unless the Spirit of God had early in life
renewed his heart. May our dear children all grow up as Samuel did. And
that they may do so, may they in their early life be such children as
Samuel was!
It is to be noticed how obedient Samuel was to his guardian who stood
to him in the place of a parent. We do not read of any disobedience or
discourtesy to Eli. On the contrary, we see that the greatest respect
and attention were paid by the child to the aged man who had the care
of him. There is nothing in a child more beautiful than obedience–and
a young Christian should be careful to keep his proper place–and the
more he knows what his privileges are in being a child of God, the
better should he fulfill his duty as a child at home.
The child Samuel was consecrated to God from his earliest days. His
mother gave him to the Lord and He, Himself, confirmed the
consecration. Happy is the child who is God's child and who can say as
truly as Paul said, "For to me to live is Christ." Such Grace is seen
even in children–may it be seen in all the children of all the
families connected with this Church!
Samuel also had the great privilege of growing up amid holy services.
He saw the daily sacrifices offered in the sanctuary and he was
probably not absent from any of the means of Grace of that day. Parents
do their children grievous wrong when they do not allow them to go with
them to the House of Prayer. I have noticed, when the showers are
falling, that you who try to keep a few pots of flowers in this smoky
London, set them out to get the benefit of the rain. And you not only
put out the large plants, but you put out the little ones, too, so that
the precious drops may fall on them. Let your little children, like the
little pots of flowers, be put under the gracious showers of the
sanctuary and who knows how largely God my bless them? If children
cannot understand all that is said, I think that where the preaching is
what it should be, even a small child will remember something and
perhaps understand it better, by-and-by.
Further, Samuel was a child who was not merely given up to God and
brought up in God's House, but he was doing God's work. He could not
offer sacrifices, but he could trim the lamps. He could not speak like
Eli, but he could open the doors of the Lord's House and it was as
necessary that somebody should open the doors as that somebody else
should be inside when the doors were opened–ready to attend to the
more important parts of the solemn service. Happy, happy child, whose
earliest work is work for God, whose earliest hearing is hearing the
voice of God, whose earliest breath is spent in the praise of God! God
grant, of His infinite mercy, that our children may be such children,
and He shall have the praise!
I am going to apply Samuel's little speech, "Here I am," specially to
grown-up people, yet I am not going to exclude children from the
application. When God called Samuel, he answered, "Here I am!" Now,
first, what did this show? And secondly, what did it foretell?
I. I must devote the greater part of the time to the question, WHAT DID
SAMUEL'S ANSWER, "HERE I AM,"
SHOW?
It showed, first, a hearing ear. God spoke and Samuel heard. Have you a
hearing ear, dear Brother? Be grateful if you have, for all men have
not that blessing. There are some who have an itching ear–and they
come to a place of worship not to hear profit, but merely to judge, to
criticize, to find fault, to draw comparisons between one speaker and
another. If that is the case with you, dear Friend, may the Lord cure
your ears of itching and open them to the Truth of God, for they are
stopped up! John Bunyan speaks of Ear-Gate being stopped up with filth,
and it is often so. Men cannot hear the voice of God because there is
sin in the way–some darling sin–and they are not wise enough to
realize that what they hear will be the means either of saving them or
of damning them. Hearing true Gospel sermons is one of the most solemn
occupations in which intelligent beings can be employed. Hearing ears
are by no means common things–happy are you who have them.
Samuel was asleep, yet he heard God's voice. I know some people who are
awake, yet who have not heard it. They have been sitting here with
their eyes wide open, yet they have seen nothing of the Truth–and with
their ears open, too, yet the voice of God has never penetrated the
secret chambers of their souls. How long some of you have been hearers
only, and therefore not true hearers! How long have the ears of your
heart been dull of hearing! You have heard my voice, but you have not
heard God's voice. You have heard the voice of earnest teachers and
preachers, but as yet the voice of God has not reached your heart.
In Samuel's case, it was the first thing that God had spoken to him,
yet he heard Him, but in your case, God has spoken to you many times,
yet you have not heard His voice once. How many times has God spoken to
some of you? Can you calculate how many Gospel sermons you have heard?
I heard someone say, the other day, as she opened her Bible and looked
at the texts which she had marked from which she had heard me preach
these many years, "What a responsibility to have heard so many sermons
from such texts as these!" And she said more which it is not for me to
repeat, but I felt, "Yes, there is truth in that." If God has sent us
to preach His Word, you may depend upon it that He will resent it if
you do not hear the message that He sends to you through us. It will
not merely be a rejection of the ambassador of Christ, but a rejection
of the King who sent him to you! Therefore, I pray that God may give to
each one of you a hearing ear.
I expect that the voice of God to Samuel was only a faint call. It was
in the night watches and I suppose that the Lord spoke softly, "Samuel,
Samuel." Yet Samuel heard at once. But the voice of God to some of you
has been a loud one. He has spoken to you not only in loving
exhortations, but with the voice of threats. You have had Christ set
before you in the gentleness of His love, but you have also seen Him in
the terror of His vengeance. You have heard concerning the wrath to
come, the Pit without a bottom and the fire that never shall be
quenched. I can say, with Paul, that "I have not shunned to declare
unto you all the counsel of God." I have not kept back anything from
you, however terrible His Truth was. These lips have never sought to
make the penalty of sin appear lighter than Scripture makes it, nor to
pare down the dread solemnities of eternity to please this evil
generation. No, we have let Sinai speak with its pealing thunders as
well as Calvary with its gentle wooing and yet, alas, there are still
some here who have not heard God's voice so as to heed it!
God has spoken to you through your conscience. He has made you shake in
your beds and tremble as you walked about the streets. He has spoken to
you through that dear child who once nestled in your bosom, but who was
called away to Heaven. He has spoken through that beloved friend with
whom you took sweet counsel, who was suddenly smitten with a death
sickness and taken away from you. It might have been yourself–that
funeral might have been your own–and then where would your soul have
been? God has spoken to you by the fever that laid you low, the effects
of which are still upon you. He has spoken to you through that
"accident" from which you only escaped, as it were, by the skin of your
teeth! Again and again has God spoken to you so that both your ears
have tingled, but there it ended! The avenue from your ears to your
heart has still been blocked up by the devil and his angels–and by
your sin. And as yet you have not answered the Divine call and said,
"Here I am!" If you were deaf, you might be excused for not hearing.
But you have ears, yet you hear not. You could hear God's voice if you
wished to hear it, but you are not willing–your inability lies in your
will–and that inability is the real obstruction. It is not so much a
subject for pity as for censure, and so you will find it at the Last
Great Day. But I pray that there may be many among you who, when the
Gospel call is sounded, will say, "Here I am! I am a hearer of the Word
and I do enjoy hearing it. It is sweet to me and I do lay hold on
eternal life through hearing the voice of Jesus in the Gospel." Pleased
be the name of the Lord if you can truthfully say this!
The next thing I see in this answer of Samuel is a responsive heart.
"The Lord called Samuel," and he not merely heard, but sounded, and
said, "Here I am!" Many of you have heard the Gospel. Be thankful if,
in addition to hearing it, you have been able to give a response to it.
I remember the first response that I gave to the Gospel. It threatened
me with punishment for my sin–and when I was able to respond to it, I
said, "I deserve that threat and I bow my head to the dust," and, for
some years the only part of the Gospel to which I could respond was
that part which destroyed my self-righteousness and my carnal
hopes–and made me feel that I was lost. Now, if you cannot go any
further than that, thank God that you can go as far! If, when the Word
that is preached to you says, "You have broken the Law of God and you
must pay the penalty for your disobedience," you say, "Here I am. I
cannot complain of the justice of the sentence." I thank God that you
can go as far as that. There is something of the life of God in the
soul that yields its assent and consent to the denunciations of Divine
Justice.
But, Beloved, how much better it is when you can go further than this!
Some of us can recollect when we went further, when the voice of God
sounded over the mountains of our guilt and said, "Look unto Me, and be
you saved, all the ends of the earth." And we replied, "Here I am," and
we looked unto Him and were lightened and our faces were not ashamed!
Christ said, "Where are you, Sinner?" And we said, "Here I am!" "Come,"
He said, "to My Cross. Are you there, Sinner?" And we answered, "Here I
am!" "I am looking down with love," He said. "Look up with joy if you
are there." And we answered, "Here I am!" Oh, it was a blessed thing
for us when we had come to that point where Christ would receive us,
where the Gospel spoke of pardon and we accepted it! Where the Gospel
spoke of simple faith and we exercised the simple faith which God had
given to us! Where the Gospel spoke of putting away sin and we rejoiced
to have it put away! Where the Gospel spoke of repentance and we
rejoiced to have repentance and to forsake the world and to follow
Jesus!
In addition to having a hearing ear and a responsive heart, it is clear
that Samuel had a teachable spirit. When the Lord called Samuel, he
said, "Here I am." That is to say, "I am ready to hear what You have to
say to me. Speak, Lord. I only want You to speak and it shall be enough
for me. I am Your willing disciple, waiting to learn whatever You will
teach me." I do not know any position that is better for a Christian to
occupy than that of sitting with Mary at the Master's feet and looking
up into His face, saying, "Lord, I love You and I know something of
Your Truth, but have You not more of it to teach me? Lord, is there any
duty which You have enjoined upon Your followers, but which I have not
yet seen to be a duty? Then show it to me Lord, for here I am, waiting
to know Your will. Is there a Doctrine that I have kicked against,
which is, after all, Your Doctrine? Then, Lord, instruct me in it! Will
it cause me to forsake my former associates if I am true to You? If it
must be so, I will give it all up! Lord, here I am, waiting to learn of
You.
It is the lack of this resolve that makes so many denominations in the
world today. Most professors never look in the Bible to see what is
right and what is wrong. Their father and mother went to a certain
place of worship, so they go to it. They saw things in a certain light
and their children do the same. But they never search the Scriptures to
see whether these things are so or not. I am afraid there are many
Christians and some ministers, too, who would be afraid to search the
Scriptures lest they should learn too much from them! We should soon
end all the divisions in the Church of Christ if we took this blessed
Book only–no book of prayer, no book of sermons, no book of devotions
and no catechism as our rule of life–nothing but this Book–and opened
it, saying, "Lord, speak, for Your servant hears. Whatever You have to
say to me, here I am, waiting to know and to do Your will." I ask every
Christian here whether he can honestly say that he has given up his
mind to be molded by the Holy Spirit–whether, upon questions that are
in dispute among men, he has really searched the Scriptures and whether
he is prepared at all costs to follow the Truth of God wherever it
leads him? For this is both the duty and the honor of the
Christian–and in that day when the Lord shall stand upon Mount Zion,
the hundred and forty and four thousand who shall be especially honored
will be those who "follow the Lamb wherever He goes." Notice those
words, "wherever He goes." Following the Lamb in little things and
great things, in Doctrinal matters, in the Christian ordinances–not
following man's custom, nor any Church's regulations, but
following the Lamb "wherever He goes." [See Sermons #2324, Volume
39–THE FOLLOWERS OF THE LAMB and #2456, Volume 42–THE LAMB OUR
LEADER] God give us Grace, then, to reply to the call of Jesus,
"Here I am, Lord. Do You bid me believe this Doctrine? Here I am! Do
You bid me be baptized in Your name? Here I am! Do You bid me come to
Your Table? Here I am! Do you bid me work for You, or suffer for You,
or even die for You? Show me what You would have me do, for here I am,
waiting and willing to do it."
Now, in the fourth place, this answer of Samuel showed that he was in
the right position. Adam was not in his right position when God called
him in the Garden of Eden, but Samuel was in bed and that was where he
ought to have been, for it was bedtime. So, when the Lord called
Samuel, he was not ashamed to answer, "Here I am!" I wonder whether
some professing Christians would be willing to say to God, "Here I am,"
when they are in certain positions and conditions? They can hardly
justify themselves to themselves–how, then, can they justify
themselves to their Lord? I pray, Brothers and Sisters in Christ, that
we may all live in such a position that whenever the Lord calls to us,
we may be able to answer without shame, "Here I am!" We should never be
where we would be ashamed to meet our Master. For instance, the Lord
Jesus calls all His servant to come out from the world and be
separate–set apart unto Him–to go outside the camp, bearing His
reproach. Suppose He were to come here tonight and begin to speak to us
about being separate from sinners–could each one of you answer, "Lord,
here I am. By Your Grace, I have taken up my cross and come right away
from everything of which You would disapprove, to the best of my
knowledge. And, by Your Grace, in my life I have endeavored not to be
conformed to the world, but to be transformed by the renewing of my
mind"?
Further, the Lord Jesus Christ bids His children join in fellowship
with one another by uniting in Christian Churches. Suppose He were to
come tonight and to ask us who profess to be His, "Are you all joined
together in the bonds of Christian union that I ordained for you?"–are
there not some Christians here who never made a Scriptural profession
of their faith and who, therefore, could not reply, "Here I am"? Where
are you, then? "Oh, I am sneaking away somewhere in the background for
fear anybody should find me out. I am afraid I should be jeered at if I
were known to be a Christian." O, you coward! Have you never read that
solemn message of Christ, "Whoever shall be ashamed of Me and of My
words, of him shall the Son of Man be ashamed when He shall come in His
own Glory, and in His Father's, and of the holy angels"? When the
muster roll of the visible Church is called, it is a great comfort for
anyone to be able to answer, "Here I am!"
Besides that, the Lord Jesus would have His people meet together for
prayer. On the next Prayer Meeting night, will each one of you be able
to answer, "Here I am"? I hope so. Yet there are some of you whom I do
not very often see at the Prayer Meeting. I have no fault to find with
the most of you, for you love the House of God and you love to meet
with the saints for prayer and praise and worship. But there are some
who forsake the assembling of themselves together. A Brother prayed,
recently, for those who were detained on beds of sickness and armchairs
of laziness–and I am afraid there are a good many of the second sort!
Do not you be one of them, but when the roll of those that meet
together for prayer is read, may you be able to reply when your name is
called, "Here I am!"
Christ would also have His people work for Him. When the great Captain
of our salvation bids the sergeant call the roll of His soldiers, I
like to hear the answer, whether it is from the pulpit, or from the
Sunday school, or from the Tract Society, "Lord, here I am! Here I am!
Here I am!" But what has become of that man who was so zealous five
years ago? I do not hear him say, "Here I am." No, he says, "I cannot
come so far now." Yet it is no further than it was five years ago! It
is not that the distance is too far for him to walk–it is his distance
from Christ that accounts for his absence. But when the roll was read
just now, where was that man who used to teach in the Sunday school ten
years ago? He has given up, he says, to let the young people have a
turn. Yes, but he would not like the Lord to leave off blessing him and
to give the young people all His Presence and Grace! Suppose the sun
were to say, "I have shone long enough and I shall put out my flames"?
And the air were to say, "I have supplied breath long enough"? And the
sea were to say, "I have pulsed long enough as the lifeblood of the
world"? And the earth were to say, "I have yielded bread long enough"?
Where would we all be? When we need to receive no more, then we may say
that we will do no more–but as long as we are receiving of the Grace
of God, we must come into the ranks of the workers for Him and each one
reply–when our name is called, "Lord, here I am." I ask every
Believer–whereabouts in Christ's field of service are you? What are
you doing for the Lord Jesus Christ? Are any of you compelled to reply
that you are doing nothing for Him?
Perhaps one says, "My family requires my care." Then give it your
care–you cannot do better than serve the Lord at home. I have known
fathers go on preaching who ought to have stayed at home to teach their
own children. And good women who have been very busy at sewing meetings
who would have been better employed at home. But I am not now speaking
about those who are doing good works at home. If that is your sphere,
fill it, and God bless you in it! But I am speaking to
others–especially young people upon whom there is a claim for service
for Christ. What are you doing for Jesus, my young Brother? "Nothing at
present, but I have been thinking of doing something, by-and-by." Ah,
but it is
good for a man that he should bear this yoke in his youth. There is no
worker for Christ like the young worker! I bless God that I was
preaching the Gospel at 16 years of age! I could never have found such
pleasure and ease in doing my Master's work if I had not begun to do it
early. And you Christian young people cannot serve the Master too soon.
Samuel said, "Here I am," and I want you, John, and Thomas, and
William, and you, Mary, and Jane, and Elizabeth– each one to reply
distinctly, "Here I am! Here I am, here I am!" Come into Christ's'
Church, engage in Christ's work and adorn the Doctrine of God your
Savior in all things!
Once more, I think that Samuel's answer implied a submissive spirit. He
said, "Here I am," as much as to say, "What am I to do, Lord? I am
ready for any service that is appointed unto me. Here I am!" That was a
grand answer of the Prophet Isaiah to the Lord's question, "Whom shall
I send?"–"Here I am; send me." Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
are we, all of us, up to that mark in the matter of service for the
Savior? Several of our Sunday schools are short of teachers, will you
not say, "Here I am"? It is a very delightful Christian work and
Christians ought to spring forward to fill every gap in the ranks.
There are thousands of workers needed in this great city–workers to go
into the lodging-houses, workers to visit poverty-stricken districts,
workers to get at the rich in their drawing rooms, and workers to get
at the poor in their slums. O Christians, will you not answer with
alacrity, "Here we are, Lord! What department of service can we take?"
Suppose the Lord were to set you, my Sister, to work among the
extremely poor–would you say, "Here I am"? Suppose, my Brother, you
had to go on working and everybody sneered at you–could you still say,
"Here I am"? It is easy, when there is a good berth to be had in the
Church, to say, "Here I am!" If there is a bishopric to be given away,
you can find a self-denying minister who says, "Here I am!" But if it
is only a poor living, not so readily do we get the response, "Here I
am!" Yet if our hearts were in a right state, we would be willing to do
anything that the Master gave us to do! If two angels were sent out of
Heaven and one was to preach in this pulpit and the other to sweep a
muddy crossing, they would not mind which they did. So long as God gave
them their work, they would feel an equal pleasure and an equal honor
in doing it whatever it might be. Are you ready to say, for service,
"Here I am"?
Can each Christian here say the same with regard to suffering? Here I
come to heart-searching work. If Christ wants one who can bear reproach
for Him, can you say, "Here I am"? If He wants one who can suffer the
loss of prosperity and become poor, can you say, "If it is for Your
Glory, Lord, here I am"? And can you endure it if you do say so? If God
should lay a heavy affliction upon you and rack you with pain from day
to day, can you say, "Here I am"? In the dreary night-watches, I
confess that I have not found it easy. I have wanted to be able to say,
"Lord, here I am," but I have caught myself saying, "I do not want to
be here much longer. I want to be up preaching the Gospel again, for I
do not like lying here, going without my necessary rest and feeling
countless depressions of spirit and grievous pains of body." But I know
some Christians who are more used to pain who have learned to say with
old Eli, "It is the Lord: let Him do what seems good to Him." I daresay
some of you remember Dr. Hamilton's story of poor Betty who said, "The
Lord said to me, 'Betty, look after your husband and your house,' and I
did it. And then He said, 'Betty, go and talk to your neighbors about
Jesus,' and I did that. And then He said, 'Betty, go and lie on the bed
and cough,' and I am doing it, blessed be His holy name!" Ah, but it
needs a great deal of Grace to lie and cough to God's Glory! Yet it is
being done, and the groans of sick, yet submissive saints are as
musical to God's ear as the hallelujahs of archangels!
II. Now my time has fled, so I can only give you the outline of what I
was going to say in answer to my second question, WHAT DID THIS
UTTERANCE OF THE CHILD SAMUEL FORETELL FOR HIM?
Why, it foretold, first, further communications from God. Those who
answer to God's call shall hear His voice again! If you are faithful to
what you know, you shall know more! If you can truly say, "Here I am,"
God will call you again and keep on calling you as long as He has
messages to give you.
It foretold, secondly, higher service for Samuel. The little boy who,
on his bed, said to God, "Here I am," would grow up to be a Prophet who
would speak God's words so faithfully that God would not let one of his
words fall to the ground. The child who promptly answers to God's voice
becomes the echo of God's voice before long. "He that is faithful in
that which is least, is also faithful in much." He who uses one talent
well shall have ten talents entrusted to him.
It foretold, next, that Samuel would have prevalence in prayer. God
spoke and Samuel heard, so he might be sure that the Lord would, as we
say, "return the compliment." Very often God will not hear us because
we will not hear Him. If He speaks and we are deaf to His voice, we
must not wonder if we find Him deaf when we speak to Him! Our success
in
prayer will often depend upon our obedience to the precept–you cannot
have the promise torn away from the precept. That would be like cutting
a living child in two.
And, lastly, I am sure that this reply of Samuel's foretold that he
would have happier calls afterwards. He who was called to hear a
servile or menial message in the dead of night and yet said, "Here I
am," should afterwards be called to lead the Lord's chosen people, to
speak powerfully to them in Jehovah's name and to anoint Saul to reign
over them when they clamored for a king! O, dear Brother or Sister in
Christ, the Lord Jesus has called and you have answered, "Here I am!"
He has called for you to suffer and you have said, "Here I am!" He has
called you, my Sister, to give up your husband and your children and
you have yielded to His will and answered, "Here I am!" So let me tell
you what He will do, by-and-by. When the pitcher is broken at the
fountain and the wheel is broken at the cistern, He will say to you,
"Rise up, My love, My fair one, and come away." And that message will
be so welcome to you that you will gladly answer, "Lord, here I am."
Have I not seen many Christians propped up in their bed with their
pillows, speaking joyously to all around and telling them that the
chariot had come to bear them to their Beloved? Have I not seen them
step into that chariot to be borne away to dwell at God's right hand
forever? That was their way of saying to the Lord, "Here I am!" Their
bodies slumber in the dust, as yours and mine shall do before long
unless the Lord shall first come– and one of these days, when we are
lying beneath the sod, and the daisies are blooming above us, there
will come the sound of the archangel's trumpet! And the Lord's voice
will be in it and He will call, "Samuel! Samuel!" and you will
recognize His voice, and know your own name, and you will answer, "Here
I am!" And your very dust shall rise again to be re-animated in a
nobler image and made like unto your Lord! Then will come the Judgment
and the Great White Throne shall be set and the books shall be
opened–and the King will say to those upon His right hand, "Come, you
blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the
foundation of the world." What a joy it will be to each one of His
saints then to answer, "Here I am, Lord! By Your Sovereign Grace I am
at Your right hand, numbered among Your sheep and welcomed with them to
Glory everlasting!"
Perhaps some of you think that only a great and eminent saint will be
able, in that day, to answer, "Here I am." But I can tell you one name
that will be read out then–"Mrs. Much-Afraid," and she will answer,
"Here I am!" There will be something strange in her voice, for she
never used to speak like that when she was down here. But now she
speaks up as boldly as Paul himself does, "Here I am, Lord!" And
Ready-to-Halt, without his crutches, will answer as bravely as any of
the Apostles! And poor members of the Church who were not much noticed
on earth, will each one answer, "Here I am!" And that feeble one who
was always doubting, trembling, fearing, fretting and worrying–yet for
all that did somehow rest in the Lord–will answer, "Here I am!" I
think the music of Heaven would lose it sweetest note if there were not
many a little one there to answer, "Here I am!"
If, on Christmas night, when you were gathered around the blazing fire
and the big log was burning on the hearth, and you were ready to sing
for joy, if, I say, somebody were to ask, "Where is the baby?" There
would be but one answer, "What? Is she not here?" Mother does not know
where she is, does not father know? No, he thought the little one was
all right. Do not her brothers and sisters know where the little one
is? Suppose someone should say, "Don't worry yourselves about her, you
be merry among yourselves." But mother cannot be merry without her
baby, and father cannot rest, and brothers and sisters cannot rejoice
as long as the little one is not there to share their joy. And I can
tell you that God, Himself, and Christ, Himself, and the Holy Spirit,
Himself, and the holy angels and all the host of the redeemed could not
be happy in Heaven if one dear child of God who had trusted in Jesus
should be missing at the Last Great Day! They would stop the angelic
harps to find that lost one, and empty out Heaven, and send every angel
and every saint out as a scout to find this poor little lost one that
cannot be lost! If you are trusting in Jesus, answer to your name now,
and say to Christ, "Lord, here I am!" And then you will be able to say
to Him, before the Throne, "Here I am, Lord, and here will I adore You
forever and forever!" God bless you, for Christ's sake! Amen.
EXPOSITION BY C. H. SPURGEON: 1 SAMUEL 2:12-36; 3:1-18.
1 Samuel 2:12. Now the sons of Eli were sons of Belial; they knew not
the LORD. What a very dreadful thing it was that these sons of a man of
God, the sons of God's high priest, were not, themselves, sons of God,
but sons of Belial, foul-
hearted, foul-mouthed, foul-living men, who knew not the very God at
whose altar they served and in whose house they lived!
13, 14. And the priest's custom with the people was that when any man
offered sacrifice, the priest's servant came, while the flesh was in
seething, with a flesh hook of three teeth in his hand; and he struck
it into the pan, or kettle, or caldron, or pot and all that the flesh
hook brought up, the priest took for himself So they did in Shiloh unto
all the Israelites that came there.God had appointed a proper portion
for His priests so that they who ministered at the altar might live of
the altar. But these wicked men were not content with the Divine
allowance, so they robbed the altars of God and showed such greed as to
make the appointed sacrifices to be obnoxious to the people.
15, 16. Also before they burnt the fat, the priest's servant came and
said to the man that sacrificed, Give flesh to roast for thepriest;
forhe willnot have sodden flesh ofyou, but raw. Andifany man said unto
him, Let them not fail to burn the fat presently and then take as much
as your soul desires; then he would answer him, No; but you shall give
it to me now: and if not, I will take it by force.It is a terrible
thing when God's servants are domineering and oppressive towards the
people of God! They who should be the gentlest of all and the most
self-denying of all must not talk as this priest's servant did, and he
no doubt talked as the young men whom he served bade him talk.
17. Therefore the sin of the young men was very great before the LORD:
for men abhorred the offering of the LORD.It is horrible when those who
should make God great among men cause His service to be despised and
abhorred. When those who should be the friends and servants of God act
like His enemies, it is indeed terrible.
18-24. But Samuel ministered before the LORD, being a child, girded
with a linen ephod. Moreover his mother made him a little coat and
brought it to him from year to year, when she came up with her husband
to offer the yearly sacrifice. And Eli blessed Elkanah and his wife,
and said, The LORD give you seed of this woman for the loan which is
lent to the LORD. And they went unto their own home. And the LORD
visited Hannah, so that she conceived, and bore three sons and two
daughters. And the child Samuel grew before the LORD. Now Eli was very
old, and heard all that his sons did unto all Israel; and how they lay
with the women that assembled at the door of the tabernacle of the
congregation. And he said unto them, Why do you do such things? For
Ihear of your evil dealings by all this people. No, my sons; for it is
not a good report that Ihear: you make the LORD'S people to transgress.
That is all that the godly old man said to his wicked sons. He was far
too gentle in his way of reproving them. He was evidently afraid of his
own sons–not the only man who has been in the same predicament!
25. If one man sins against another, the judge shall judge him: but if
a man sins against the LORD, who shall entreat for him? Notwithstanding
they hearkened not unto the voice of their father, because the LORD
would slay them. They had gone so far in vice and sin that the Lord did
not mean to forgive them. They had transgressed so foully that He would
permit them to go on in sin until they perished in it!
26-30. And the child Samuel grew on, and was in favor both with the
LORD, and also with men. And there came a man of God unto Eli, and said
unto him, Thus says the LORD, DidIplainly appear unto the house of your
father, when they were in Egypt in Pharaoh's house? And did I choose
him out of all the tribes of Israel to be My priest, to offer upon My
altar, to burn incense, to wear an ephod before Me? And did I give unto
the house of your father all the offerings made by fire of the children
of Israel? Why did you kick at My sacrifice and at My offering, which I
have commanded in My habitation; and honor your sons above Me, to make
yourselves fat with the chief of all the offerings of Israel My people?
Therefore the LORD God of Israel says, I said indeed that your house,
and the house of your father, should walk before Me forever."But I said
it conditionally upon your good behavior. I installed you into the
priest's office for life, and your sons might have continued in it
after you if they had kept My commandments."
30-36. But now the LORD says, Be it far from Me; for them that honor Me
I will honor, and they that despise Me shall be lightly esteemed.
Behold, the days come that I will cut off your arm, and the arm of your
father's house, that there shall not be an old man in your house. And
you shall see an enemy in My habitation, in all the wealth which God
shall give Israel: and there shall not be an old man in your house
forever. And the man of yours, whom I shall not cut off from My altar,
shall be to consume your eyes, and to grieve your heart: and all the
increase of your house shall die in the flower of their age. And this
shall be a sign unto you that shall come upon your two sons, on Hophni
andPhinehas; in one day they shall die, both of them. And I will raise
Me up a faithful priest, that shall do according to that which is in My
heart and in My mind: and I will build him a sure house; and he shall
walk before My anointed forever. And it shall come to pass that
everyone that is left in your house shall come and crouch to him for a
piece of silver and a morsel of bread, and shall say, Put me, I pray
you, into one of the priests' offices that I may eat a piece of bread.
The same sad prophecy that the Lord communicated to old Eli was also
revealed in a very special manner to young Samuel.
1 Samuel 3:1-13. [Mr. Spurgeon preached two sermons on verses 9 and
10–See Sermons #586, Volume 10–THE CHILD SAMUEL'S PRAYER and #2526,
Volume 43–"SPEAK, LORD"] And the child Samuel ministered unto
the LORD before Eli. And the Word of the LORD was precious in those
days; there was no open vision. And it came to pass at that time, when
Eli was laid down in his place, and his eyes began to wax dim, that he
could not see; and before the lamp of God went out in the Temple of the
LORD, where the Ark of God was, and Samuel was laid down to sleep; that
the LORD called Samuel: and he answered, Here I am! And he ran unto
Eli, and said, Here I am; for you called me. And he said, I called not;
lie down again. And he went and lay down. And the LORD called yet
again, Samuel. And Samuel arose and went to Eli, andsaid, Here Iam; for
you did callme. Andhe answered, I callednot, my son, lie down again.
Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, neither was the Word of the LORD
yet revealed unto him. And the LORD called Samuel again the third time.
And he arose and went to Eli, and said, Here I am; for you did call me.
And Eli perceived that the LORD had called the child. Therefore Eli
said unto Samuel, Go, lie down: and it shall be, if He calls you, that
you shall say, Speak, LORD; for Your servant hears. So Samuel went and
lay down in his place. And the LORD came, and stood, and called as at
other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel answered, Speak; for Your
servant hears. And the LORD said to Samuel, Behold, I will do a thing
in Israel, at which both the ears of everyone that hears it shall
tingle. In that day I will perform against Eli all things which I have
spoken concerning his house: when I begin I willalso make an end. For
Ihave toldhim that I willjudge his house forever for the iniquity which
he knows; because his sons made themselves vile, andhe restrained them
not. Take warning, fathers and mothers, by this experience of old Eli!