The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Samuel — Section 12

when associated with the unfolding of high spiritual purposes. It was the connection .0 f Samuel with Christ's glorious kingdom that linked a "certain man " and his wife with the same, and so raised them from obscurity. Spiritual uses give real value to thi11gs. The frail and insignificant becomes enduring and important when blended with the interests of the II kingdom that cannot be moved." Every mem. ber of Christ's body is precious to him. Names are recorded in heaven which ent0r .0 n no earthly roll. The life and spirit of every lowly Christian are known by God to exercise a widespread, abiding influence in the invisible sphere. As the kingdom is to be eternal, so, whatever part each one may take in its unfolding, that item will be saved from the transitoriness and oblivion of other toil. Fame in the world i~ not the criterion and measure of rool usefulness. The chief concern should be so to -live as to be, in some £<,.rn., useable by God for advancing the glory of Christ. All are morally _gTent when emp1oyed in his service to the full extent of their capacities. VII. A. DILIGENT USE OF SUCH LIGHT AS IS BESTOWED, especially in degenerate times, may qualify even obscure men for rendering important service. The family religion of a II certain man " bore its fruit. The moral ground of usefulness lies in character, and character is spiritually strong in so far as improvement is daily made of privileges, however few they may be. Men's fitness to confer benefits on the world is more connected with a wise use o{ what they have and know, than with the .absolute possession of knowledge. A little goodness, and a humble routine of devo- tion in a dark age, shines the brighter because of the surrounding gloom. From the ranks of pious men in modern times, who cared for piety at home, there have gone forth many sons distinguished for service in the Church of God. It is worthy of note how fixed ordinauces and seasons of Divine worship nourish whatever of piety may be struggling here and there against degenerate manners and official corruption. The usual services of the tabernacle and the recurring festivals, though despised and profaned by many, furnished comfort and cheer to the faithful few. In spite of unworthy priests, God is found in his courts by all who seek him. Vera. 4-8.-Domestic troubles. The facts given in this section are-1. Hannah's grief and disappointment. 2. Peninnah's cruel jealousy. 3. Elkanah's efforts to console. I. PROVIDENCE sometimes seems to RUN COUNTER TO WHAT JS MOST DESIRABLE, in withholding gifts where they would be devoutly valued and wisely used. Humanly .speaking, Hannah was the most fit person to be blessed with offspring to be nurtured. The course of nature which findR expression in family life is of God. Though the free element of human action plays a part, yet God is supreme. Providence is over the home of the pious. Poverty and riches, new life and bereavement, are of the Lord. Looked at in its early Btages, and tested by our range of vision, the course of Providence is often the reverse of what makes for the joy of the home and the good of the world. Often the illiberal spirit holds wealth, while the loving heart has only ,good wishes. Many a good, Christlike heart laments that it has not the means of -clothing the poor, and sending forth messengers of the cross. Men of very slender abilities and lowly position, but of intense enthusiasm for Christ, may wonder why they have not been endowed with the intellectual and social 1ualities which would -enable them to stem the tide of scepticism, and gain over to Christianity persons now inaccessible to them. , II. PnOVJDENCE, for reasons not obvious, sometimes SEEMS TO FAVOUR JNFEnI,)n CHARACTERS, hestowing gifts where there is not the purest spirit to improve them. Peninnah was immensely inferior to Hannah in all that makes character to be '.Id• mired. If judged by the benefits conferred on some persons, and the disposition to use them, Providence would be said to have erred. The writer of Psalms xxxvii. -and lxxiii. had once bitter reflections on this subject. The causes of the Divine conduct lie deep in hidden counsels. The inequalities and disproportions of life -clearly show that we see only. the beginning of things, and that there is a future where every man shall receive according to his work. It is enough to know, that in the abundant blessings which often fall to the lot of the inferior and the bad, they -have experienced goodness and mercy, so as to be without excuse for ingratitude. and that the Judge of '.Ill the earth cannot but do right.  fl THE FIRST BOOK OF SAMUEL. [cu. 1. 1-8.