indignantly the Most High God will resent such conduct at our hands.]

He himself has told us,

II. What notice he will take of it

He will honour his faithful and obedient servants

[This he has promised: and he will perform it. Men may treat them as if they were "the filth of the earth and the offscouring of all things;" (though they cannot help reverencing them in their hearts:) but God will honour them with the most distinguished tokens of his love. He "will give them a name better than of sons and of daughters," and will enrich them with the inestimable blessings of grace and peace. Through their whole lives he will admit them to the nearest fellowship with himself: and what will he not do for them in the hour of death?--Yet all this falls infinitely short of the glory he will confer upon them in the future world. Read what testimonies of his approbation he will give them before the assembled universe, and with what honours he will invest them at his own right hand": verily they shall never have reason to complain that their fidelity to God has not been adequately rewarded.]

But those who have despised him shall be despised by him

[Though they may be exalted among men, God will hold them in the utmost contempt. He will not vouchsafe to them so much as one kind look: but, on the contrary, in the hour of their greatest extremity," he will laugh at their calamity, and mock when their fear cometh." No consolations will he administer to them in a dying hour; but will rather hide his face from them, and shut his ear at the voice of their cry. And when they stand at his judgment-seat, he will bid them "depart accursed into everlasting fire," regarding them no more than the chaff that is cast into the oven- -They will then indeed "be lightly esteemed;" for they will "awake to shame and everlasting contempt."]

Here then we may SEE,

1. What estimate we should form of lukewarm religion

[That religion is most pleasing to men, which is regulated by the opinions of the world: but that alone is acceptable with God, which is agreeable to the standard of his revealed will.

b John xii. 26.

c Mark vi. 20.

d Matt. xxv. 34. Mal. iii. 17.

VOL. III.

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He requires our whole hearts; and looks with utter abhorrence upon the lukewarmness of a Laodicean state-Let us then not be contented with serving God in our closets; but let us confess him in the world: and let us not only serve him ourselves, but use all our influence to bring others also to a submission to his will. Yea, if all others should determinately reject his yoke, let us say, "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”]

2. What alone we are to regard as the great object of our desire

["The honour that cometh of man" should be no further of any account with us, than it may augment our influence in serving God. It is the honour which cometh of God that alone deserves our concern. To have the witness of his Spirit and the testimony of our own conscience that we are pleasing God, is worthy of our most diligent pursuit. That will comfort us, when all other sources of consolation are cut off. Moreover, the approbation of God will continue, millions of ages after that the breath of man's applause has vanished away. Let us then act to God, and live for God, and endeavour so to walk with him, that we may enjoy the light of his countenance: for "in his favour is life, and his loving-kindness is better than life itself."]

e Rev. iii. 15, 16.

CCLXXXV.

ELI'S SUBMISSION TO THE DIVINE REBUKES.

1 Sam. iii. 18. And Samuel told him every whit, and hid nothing from him. And he said, It is the Lord: let him do what seemeth him good.

IT is of the nature of sin to harden the heart, and to prevent the declarations of God from having their due influence on the minda. It operates in this manner, wherever it is found: the righteous, no less than the wicked, experience the same effects, in proportion as it gains an ascendant over them. Eli had neglected to exert that authority, which, as God's high-priest, and as a parent, he ought to have exercised over his abandoned sons: and God sent a prophet to him, "a man of God," to reprove him, and

a Heb. iii. 13.

to warn him of the judgments which his sin would bring both on himself and his posterity". But this message seems to have produced no good effect. God therefore used another method of awakening his conscience: he revealed himself to Samuel by an audible voice, and renewed to him the declarations, that had been before made in vain. The voice was new to Samuel; and, taking it for Eli's voice, he repeatedly attended on the aged priest: but when, according to the direction of Eli, he had requested the further manifestation of God's will, he received from God the communication he desired. It does not appear that he would of himself have imparted to Eli the information he had received: but when adjured to it by Eli himself, he could not refrain. The points for our present consideration are,

I. The fidelity of Samuel—

[The tidings were of a most dreadful nature: and to deliver them must have been a distressing office to Samuel. But Samuel was not elated by the revelation that had been made to him; nor was he hasty to denounce the judgments which he was commissioned to declare; yet on the other hand, when he was solemnly called upon to disclose the whole, he would not dissemble, nor conceal any thing; but related to Eli every minute particular.

In this we have an excellent model for God's servants in every age. They should deliver only what they themselves have received from God: nor, in delivering that, should they delight to denounce the judgments of God, or exult over those whom they are constrained to condemn: yet they should, with becoming fidelity, "declare the whole counsel of God:" they should "keep back nothing that can be profitable" to those to whom they are sent; but should "commend themselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God."

The consciousness of their own youth or weakness should not keep them from discharging their duty aright: they should declare the whole truth to all, whether old or young, professors or profane: "Having received God's word, they must speak his word faithfully."]

Whilst we approve of the fidelity of Samuel, we must also of necessity admire,

b 1 Sam. ii. 27-35.

e Jer. xvii. 16.

d Jer. xxiii. 28.

II. The resignation of Eli

[If the tidings were painful to Samuel to deliver, much more must they be so to Eli to hear: even to persons far less interested than he, they were sufficient to make "their ears to tingle." Yet Eli did not set himself against them, though delivered by a child: on the contrary, he submitted to the divine decree with humble resignation. He knew that God was too wise to err, and too good to inflict punishment without a cause. He knew also that he himself had sinned against the Lord, and well deserved the judgments that had been denounced against him. Hence the language of his heart was, "I will bear the indignation of the Lord, because I have sinned against him." This shews how we should receive all the denunciations of We should not God's wrath against sin. 66 puff at them," or harden ourselves against them, or think unkindly of those who set them before us; we should not with Pharisaic pride exclaim, "In so saying thou reproachest us:" but whatever God says in his word, by whomsoever it may be delivered, we should "receive it, not as the word of man, but as the word of God," precisely as much as if it had been spoken to us by an audible voice from heaven. Eternal judgments indeed we may deprecate, yea and ought to deprecate, with all our might: and even temporal calamities we may deprecate in submission to God: we may entreat him to remove the bitter cup, as fervently as we will, provided we add, "Nevertheless, not my will, but thine be done:" but we must acknowledge the justice of God even in his severest judgments, and be contented that our temporal happiness should be destroyed, if only "our spirits may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus'."]

From this subject we may further LEARN,

1. The importance of exerting our influence for God

[Eli had neglected to punish his sons for their great impieties: he had reproved them indeed; but when he found the inefficiency of lenient reproofs, he had neglected to adopt severer measures. This was the sin which excited God's displeasure against him, and occasioned the utter ruin of his whole family. How strongly does this apply to every individual amongst us! and how urgently does it call upon us to exert our influence, whatever it may be, for God! Let us not say, "Am I my brother's keeper?" If others are bold in the service of the devil, we should be bold in the service of our God: "we must in any wise reprove our brother, and not suffer sin upon him." Our influence is as much a talent as our time, or money, or

any thing else; and we ought to use it for God. We should not be contented to go to heaven alone, but should endeavour to carry all we can along with us.]

2. The comfort of being interested in the Gospel of Christ

[There were many sins for which the Mosaic dispensation provided no sacrifice: and God himself warned Eli, that "the iniquity of his house should never be purged by sacrifice or offering, to the end of time." But no such declaration is made to us under the Gospel: there is not a word in all the Bible that even hints at the insufficiency of Christ's sacrifice to atone for the greatest guilt, or the doubtfulness of any person's acceptance, provided he plead that sacrifice as the ground of his hopes. We are told indeed, that, "if a man sin wilfully (in rejecting that sacrifice) after he has received the knowledge of the truth, there remains no other sacrifice, but a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation":" but to those who penitently trust in that sacrifice there is no ground of despondency. Whatever then our sins may have been, let us remember, that the death of Christ was "a propitiation for the sins of the whole world;" that "his blood is able to cleanse us from all sin;" and that "though our sins be red as crimson, they shall through him be made white as snow." Let this comfort us under every desponding apprehension; and whilst, with Eli, we commit the entire disposal of all events into the hands of a righteous God, let us cast ourselves with confidence on his promised mercy, and "hold fast the rejoicing of our hope firm unto the end."]

8 Heb. x. 26, 27.

CCLXXXVI.

ELI'S ANXIETY FOR THE ARK OF GOD.

1 Sum. iv. 13. Lo, Eli sat upon a seat by the wayside watching: for his heart trembled for the ark of God.

THE word of God, to whatever it relate, shall certainly in due time be accomplished: it may indeed, like the seed under the clods, appear to have been lost but as soon as the appointed season arrives, we shall be made to see, that not a jot or tittle of God's word can ever fail. It had some years before been announced to Eli, that God would bring such judgments upon his house as should make