child ran to Eli, believing that it was his voice. Eli old in years, old in religious experience, soon perceived whence the call came; he instructed Samuel how to answer, and so when the voice again was heard, when the Lord came and stood, and called as at other times, "Samuel! Samuel!" Samuel answered, "Speak, Lord, for Thy servant heareth." And what did God say to Samuel? He revealed to him the destruction of Eli's house. "I will do a thing in Israel at which both the ears of every one that heareth it shall tingle." "I will perform against Eli all things which I have spoken concerning his house: when I begin I will also make an end, for I have told him that I will judge his house for ever, for the iniquity which he knoweth, because his sons made themselves vile and he restrained them not." 66 It was a terrible message for the young child to have to deliver, but Samuel, though loth, told it every whit." And Eli, stunned as he must have been, yet accepted God's decree with instant resignation.. "It is the Lord, let Him do what seemeth Him good." With Eli's resignation we are not concerned to-day, it is on Samuel, and Samuel as a religious child, that I desire to fix your attention. There are parents here who must have noticed what comes of a child, who is not virtuously and religiously brought up,-never learns prayer, is seldom at Church. As we get on in life we have larger experience. What must we all be agreed upon? A child not religiously brought up, not controlled early, is for the most part beyond control when he is older. Do we not see homes made miserable? Grey hairs brought down with sorrow to the grave by the misconduct of children? And is not that misconduct traceable almost in every case to the neglect of parents? To their letting their children go unrestrained, uninstructed, uncorrected? I fear this is even so-parents are very touchy about their children, and it is generally a thankless office to point out to a parent the faults of a child; but parents cannot hide from themselves the truth; that when a child. goes wrong, the fault lies at their own door. The child "made itself vile, and they restrained him not." The warning against such folly, such cruelty, is that which God gives the sons of Eli, they were let to go unchecked in boyhood, they became past governing as they grew older, and the result was that they came to an untimely end, punished, both of them, in one day and by their death, caused the death of their aged father, who could not survive the ruin of his house. Oh! that the warning were more heeded! Oh! that God would write on all parents' hearts the lesson that He sends to us in Eli's sons, which is "Chastise thy son while there is hope," this; "Correct thy son, and he shall give thee rest." Yea, bring him up betimes in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Human nature is the same now as it was in Eli's day-prone to evil, wayward, subject to passion, greatly needing guidance, greatly needing careful and thoughtful correction. "The child is father to the man," the well-trained child turns out a good and useful man; the child left to himself "bringeth his parents to shame," and bringeth misery upon himself. It is for him-for the poor child-that I plead when I beg of all parents not to spoil their children. No cruelty is so great as that; talk of cruelty of correction, alas! the cruelest of all cruel parents, is he who passeth over the child's faults, sees his children make themselves vile, and yet restraineth them not. Once more, the child Samuel grew on, and was in favour both with the Lord and also with men. Often recur to that, you who have the charge of children. Remember it is their early growth in grace that we should seek for our children; do not suffer them, I beg of you, to run wild in youth, trusting to their conversion in after years, such conversion, such late turning is not to be reckoned on; and even where it does happen, happens only after a man has lost many precious years, and been defiled by many grievous sins. Try! I would say to all parents Try to spare your children such defilement, try and preserve them all their lives what they are made at their baptism-God-children-and that you may so preserve them, fence them round from harm in their home life, from seeing and hearing what is bad. That parent is greatly to be blamed who allows himself to say any word, or do any act in the presence of a child, which might possibly tend to corrupt it, even among the heathen the utmost reverence was paid to innocent youth. And then, beside this, have a care to train aright a child's conscience. Impress them early with the thought that God sees them, is about their bed, and about their path, and spieth out all their ways. Learn them to hear God's voice betimes, to obey His movement in their souls. Instead of laughing at a child, as I have known some foolish parents do, for being over scrupulous, we should do all we can to make them of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord, ready to catch the least hint of His will, and prompt to obey it. Add to this an habit of prayer: pray God daily, to be your own and your children's Guide; pray Him to lead them forth by the right way; pray Him to keep them from falling, and when they have fallen, to raise them up, "to set their feet" once more 66 upon the Rock, and to order their going;" do this as you are in duty bound, and you will then have done what you could to gain for your children happiness in this world and in the world to come. |