"Speak, Lnrd; for thy servant hea.reth," the grey-headed saint could look back in hie rublic appeal to the nRt,ion (1 Sam. xii. 2-6). Seldom has so great a life been so bl11.me- less. This view of Samuel's life and chuacter appeals: 1. To the young. You may neglect. or throw off the fear and love of God, faith and prayer and duty and yet be cnnv~rted and saved, like the poor prodigal; but you will have flung' away life's m<Jrnrng, robbed God of the fi1·slji·uits of life, forfeited the honour and happiness that crown a consecrated life, and the right to say with St. Paul, Acts xxiii. 1 • xxiv. 16 • xxvi. 4,' 5 ;, 2 Tim. i. 3. 2. To parents. Samuel was consecrated to God by hi~ mothers faith and prayers before he had any knowledge or choice. 3. To teachers of the young. The teacher who has trained one Samuel has richer reward nnd higher honour than one who has crammed a hundred prize-winners, II. SAMUEL AN EXAMPLE OF THE POWER OF PRAYER. His name, "Heard of God" (q.d. granted in an~wer to prayer), was the memorial of his mother's broken- hearted supplications (1 Sam. i. 11, 26, 27). The first thing recorded of his childhood !~ that he '_'.~orshipp.ed t~e Lord" (1 Sam. i. 28), ~• mi_nistered to the Lord" (1 Sam. 11. 11, 18; m. 1). His bnef prayer (most of the m1ght1est recorded prayers are brief), '' Speak; for thy servant heareth " (iii. 10), contains the very concentrated spirit of prayer, the open ear of faith, the loving heart of obedience. Therefore it is not wonderful that Samuel's prayers had great power (1 Sam. vii. 8, 9; xii.17, 18, 19, 23). Prayer was his refuge in trouble (1 Sam. viii. 6; xv. 11). The text specially com- memorates him" among them that call upon his Name." The truth of the necessity, duty, and value of prayer, and of the fact that God does indeed answer prayer, is one ia which the teaching of the Old and New Testament Scriptures is most completely and emphatically one. The Christian could not afford to dispense with this witness- loses much if he does not constantly feed his faith on it. Promises of prayer, and commands to pray, are even fuller and more emphatic (if possible) in the New 'l.'esta- ment; but the Old Testament backs these up with the experience of two thousand years; and nearly two thousand years more have supplemented this experience, and tested and verified these promises. If there is a truth verified by human experience, it is thls-that God bears prayer (John xvi. 23, 24; Jas. v. 16). III. THE RELATION OF RELIGION TO NATIONAL LIFE. Christians make a tremendous mistake when they suppose they may neglect the Old Testament Scriptures. The Kew Testament Scriptures unfold a fuller gospel, richer promises, a clearer manifes- tation of Divine love, a world-embracing message. But in the history of ancient Israel lessons were taught, experiments made, problems solved for the Church and for man- kind in all ages. God will not either repeat or unteach them. Woe to us if we despise them, especi&lly in an a11:e in which the Christian Cburch is so loudly called to face the social, national, and international problems of to-day! 1. National life and well- being •need religion as their only secure foundation. Samuel, as prophet-judge, not a military leader, like Othniel or Gideon, but a judge because he was a prophet, repre- sented God in relation to Israel, and Israel in relation to God (see 1 Sam. vii. 2-15). All the miseries which befell l,,rael during the centuries from Joshua to Samuel were from one cause-their provokiog the Lord. When deliverance followed repentance, the monument set up was not a military trophy of their prowess, but a religious memorial (1 Sam. vii. 12). The special relation of Israel to God, constituted at Sinai, was doubtless unique, but the underlying principles are good for all time, all nations (Prov. xiv. 34). Life, private or public, is alone securely founded on truth. Righteousness- q.d. justice, good faith, temperance, purity, doing as you would be done by,-this is the sure ha.sis of national well-being. And the only safeguard is true religion. 2. Yet Law is impotent to maintain true religion or spiritual life. The experiment (we may with reverence say) was bound to be tried. .A. universal religious society, like the Christian Church, was in earlier ages alike inconceivable and impossible. 'l'he national form of the Church was the only practicable. The history of Israel is the history of the failure of this experiment. (1) First, the people themselves were tried. Endowed with laws they could neither repeal nor improve, sanctioned by God himself; with tribal and municipal magistrates, partly elective, partly hereditary; with an elaborate system of public religion, an i careful provision for home educatioa and public teaching; and with a perfect land system,-Ierael was ol.aced in uniquely favourable circumstances. '.l'Le Book of Judges is the record of their trial, during some four centuries, and utler t•a. xoot. 1-9.J •rHE BOOK OF PSALMS. 317
failure. (2) Next, at the nation's own wish, kings were tried for some five hundred yenrs. A few splendid examples showed what good a wise, strong, pious ruler might effect if he understood his position 6S the servant of Jehovah and the father and yet brother of his subjects. But on the whole, national failure was yet more shameful, ending in the Babylonian captivity. Samuel's life forms the link between these two stages. Remarkable that priestly government was guarded against by special funda- meutal laws-thll denial to Levi of any inheritance, and dispersion of the sacerdotal tribe throughout Israel. Samuel was a Levite, but the only priest-judge, Eli, was a sad failure. (3) Lastly, after the CaptivHy, came the rule of the teacbers---5cribes and rabbis-or, as we should say, clergy and universities, with an episode of priestly sovereignty under the Me.ccabees. The Gospels describe the utter and woeful failure of this last stage (sec Matt. xxiii. and parallel passages; Gal. iii. 21). 3. Whei·e the Law/ailed, what can the gospel do for national life f Christianity brought to an end the national pre-eminence of Israel, putting all nations on a level; but much more- substituting, as the supreme rule of life, for public law personal obedie.ice to Christ (Isa. xliv. 3-5; Heb. viii. 7-13). There are four possible relations of the Church to the State. (1) Identical, as in Israel. (2) The Church ruling the State, which i8 the theory of Rome. (3) The State ruling the Church, which has been tried in various forms frorn Constantine's days. (4) The pervading influence of the Church as a spiritual community in the persons and lives of its members, moulding and inspiring legislation, policy, manners, business, and every form of public and social life (Isa. lx. 21 ; Rev. xi. 15).