impos~ible to k_ecp n_ child :11togethcr f:om the sight of vice. External safeg·uards arc no pro_tect10n without mte!·nal punty. On the other lrnnrl, outward circum- stnnces ":luch are na~urally perilous have ofte? TI? effect on internal purity, except to make 1t more decided and robust. "The Jarrmg contrast which he had befor~ hi~ eyes in the ~\'i_l example of Eli's childr~n could but force more strongly upon his rnmd th_e coi:inct10n of the g-re~t nece~s1~y ?,f the age, and impel to still more unflmchmg rigour to act up to _th_1s conv1ct1on. (Ewald). But this could only tak':I place by-:7. ~he power of Divine grace, wluch is the_ greatest and only effectuaj teacher (Titus 11. 11, 12). The atmosphere of prayer winch he breathed from earliest life was the atmosphere of grace.. ~he Holy Spirit rested upon him in an eminem_ degree, and he grew up under lns mfluence, "like a tree planted by the rivers of water,·' gTadually and surely to perfection. II. His CHARACTER, or the dispositions which he developed under these influences. He "gre:-• on" not onl,r ph,r~ically a?d intellectually, but also morally and spiritu- ally, rnanifestmg the d1spos~!!ons winch properly belong_ to a child, and 1nake him a pattern to men (Matt. xvm. 3). 1. Humble submission. 2. Great docility or readiness to learn what he was taught. 3. Ready obedience to what he was toltl to do. How promptly did he respond to the voice of Eli, who as he thought called him from !~is slum1?er_ (eh. iii. 5). The watchword of childh~od and youtli'should be '' Obey. And 1t 1s only those that learn to obey who will be fit to command. 4. Profound reverence. For "he ministered before the Lord," as if under his eye and with a growing sense of his presence. "He was to receive his training at th~ sanctuary, that at the very earliest waking up of his spiritual susceptibilities he might receive the impression of the sacred presence of God " (Keil). 5. Transparent tl'utlifulness and guilelessness. 6. Puri,ty and self-control (1 Tim. iv. 12; 2 Tim. ii. 22). 7. Sincere devotion to the purpose of his dedication to the Lord. In this manner he gradually grew into the possession of a holy character, and needed not, like ma.ny others, any sudden or conscious "conversion" from the ways of sin to the ways of God. Like John the Baptist, "he grew and waxed strong in spirit' (Luke i. 80) ; and his childhood is described in the very words employed to describe the childhood of our Lord: ".And Jesus increased in favour with God and man" (Luke ii. 40, 51, 52). III. HIS ACCEPTANCE, or the favour he obtained (Prov. iii. 4). 1. With God, who looked down upon him with delight, beholding in him the effect of his grace, and a reflection of his light and love. For "the Lord taketh pleasure in his people' (Ps. c:xlix. 4). 2. With men. The gnti.fication which Eli felt in his presence and service appears in the benediction he uttered on his parents when they visited the tabernacle, and in accordance with which they were compensated with three sonB and two daughters for "the gift which they gave unto the Lord" ( eh. ii. 20, 21). Even Hophni and Phinehas must have regarded the young Nazarite with respect. A.nd the people who brought their offerings to the tabernacle looked upon him with admiration and hope. So he was prepared for the work that lay before him.-D. Vers. 12-17. {SHILOH.)-.A degenerate priestlwod. "The best things when cor- rupted become the w:orst. ". _It is thus with offi~ial po~itions such a~ wer~ held br the priests of old. Tbe1r pos1t10ns were an hereditary nght, and their dut10a consisted largely of a prescribed routine of services. It was required, however, that their per- sonal character should accord with their sacred work (Mai. ii. 7) ; and their influence was great for good or evil. Whilst they refl_ected i~ their character and conduct t~e moral condition of the times, they also contnbuted m no small degree to produce it. The sons of Eli employed their high office not for the welfare of men and the glory of God, but for their own selfish and corrupt purposes, and afford _an ex~mple of "great and instructive wickedness." Concerning them the follow mg thrngs are recorded:- I. CULPABLE IGNORANCE OF GoD (ver. 12). They had no proper concepti~n of him as holy and just, and they did not consider that he. obs?rved and hated BID by whomsoever it was committed, and would surely pumsh ,1t. They had no com- munion with him, no sympathy with his purposes, and no sense of their own obliga. ()B. II. 11-26.] THE FIRST BOOK OF SAMUEL. 53
tions to him. They were unspiritual men, and practically infidel. And they were euch notwit~standing the instructions they received, the opportunities they possessed, and the services they rendered. Although the servants of God, "they knew not God " and were "without excuse." Amidst a blaze of light men may be dark withi;1. 11 And if the light within thee be darkness, how great is that darkness I "