1 Samuel 3:10 And the LORD came, and stood, and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel answered, Speak; for your servant hears. I. THE LORD SPEAKING. "But does God speak to me?" you ask. 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.) Parallel Verses KJV: And the LORD came, and stood, and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel answered, Speak; for thy servant heareth. |
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