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I. IN THE BEGINNING A SERMON WAS PREACHED. A crisis had been reached; and in his searching and solemn discourse Samuel seems to have sought to make these four points, which certainly are worthy of employment always:

1. Those people must admit the necessity of a new departure in their conduct and life immediately; they must "return unto the Lord with all their hearts."

2. They must put away every sign and vestige of a bad past; "strange gods" would have to be entirely relinquished.

3. They must instantly enter upon a fresh spiritual consecration: they would have to "prepare their hearts unto the Lord and serve Him only."

4. Then they must trust wholly, to the ancient promises God had made to their fathers and to them; for He had covenanted to "deliver them out of the hands of" their foes.

II. THEN FOLLOWED AN EXEMPLARY RESPONSE FROM THE NATION: "Then the children of Israel did put away Baalim and Ashtaroth, and served the Lord only." This sudden and thorough cleansing of themselves from forms of idolatry reminds us of what in Britain used to be called "a reformation of manners."

III. NEXT THEIR LEADER SUMMONED A GREAT ASSEMBLAGE FOR A RELIGIOUS SERVICE OF PRAYER.

IV. NOW COMES WHAT MIGHT BE CALLED A PROTRACTED MEETING. There is always a point at which human mediation in behalf of sinners must cease; then the sinners must take up the duty of supplication for themselves, or be lost. This was true of even such a prophet. priest as Samuel (Jeremiah 15:1): "Then said the Lord unto me, Though Moses and Samuel stood before me, yet my mind could not be towards this people: cast them out of my sight and let them go forth." In this case the people were intelligent enough to undertake at least these four duties which are mentioned.

1. They came to a direct posture of humiliation; they "fasted on that day."

2. Then these people made confessions of sin: they "said there, We have sinned against the Lord."

3. Next, these repenting people soberly renewed their covenant: "They drew water, and poured it out before the Lord." One of the Targums renders the clause thus: "And they poured out their hearts in penitence as waters before the Lord." Gill says: "This signified that they thoroughly renounced idolatry, that nothing of it should remain, as when water is poured out of a cask there remains no smell, as there does when other liquors are poured out."

4. They put themselves into condition for fresh activity in devotion. The best explanation of that statement, "Samuel judged the children of Israel in Mizpeh," seems to be that he reorganised the people afresh, for military service and for civil order and for religious worship.

V. THUS THERE CAME THE DESCENT OF BLESSING IN FULFILMENT OF THE LORD'S COVENANT.

1. Real consecration of Christians generally evokes new opposition from foes.

2. Importunate prayer is the condition of all success.

3. The full consecration of one's soul must recognise the sacrifice for sins. This lamb was the suggestion of atonement made by a Redeemer.

4. God is faithful to the instant in His interposition.

VI. THERE REMAINED NOW NOTHING MORE THAN TO ERECT A MEMORIAL OF THE TRANSACTION.

1. All glory and honour of the achievement should be distinctly ascribed to God: "The Lord hath helped us."

2. We should make our acknowledgment as permanent as possible. Samuel chose stone; so did Jacob (Genesis 28:18).

3. We should take pains to group our memorials so that one shall strengthen the other. Samuel set up his pillar between Mizpeh, where this deliverance was vouchsafed, and Shen, where another had been vouchsafed in the victory gained over the Philistines twenty years before. Thus he linked the histories together, like pearls in a necklace.

4. Each successive deliverance by a gracious God should deepen our trust and quicken our expectation.The careful investigation of such an incident as this has given us certain conclusions which might well be stated at the close of our study now.

1. A revival of religion is located in the church, and assumes a previous state of sad and guilty backsliding.

2. The conversion of sinners is not a revival; it is the gracious result that follows one which is genuine.

3. Any "measures" are allowable, provided they are decent and orderly, that will lead believers to penitence and duty.

4. Blessed is the congregation whose spirituality is lifted and whose life is saved by a day of God's visitation.

5. More blessed still is that church which never had a revival in all its history, and never needed one.

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

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KJV: And Samuel spake unto all the house of Israel, saying, If ye do return unto the LORD with all your hearts, then put away the strange gods and Ashtaroth from among you, and prepare your hearts unto the LORD, and serve him only: and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.

WEB: Samuel spoke to all the house of Israel, saying, "If you do return to Yahweh with all your heart, then put away the foreign gods and the Ashtaroth from among you, and direct your hearts to Yahweh, and serve him only; and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines."