  SAMUEL. FIRST READING.
YOUNG SAMUEL BROUGHT TO ELI. THERE was a very good woman named Hannah, and she grieved because she had no children. Whenever she came with her husband to God's holy place, she used to kneel, and pray with all her heart to God that He would let her have a son; and she promised that if she had one, she would lend him to the Lord all the days of his life. At last God granted her prayer, and gave her a little son, and she named him Samuel. She was very glad when he was born, and she thanked God, and sang a hymn of praise for her dear little child. But she had promised to lend him to the Lord all his life; and she kept her promise. As soon as little Samuel was old enough to be without her, she took him to the holy place, that was instead of a church, and gave him to wait upon the Lord. He lived with the High Priest, whose name was Eli, and was taught by him. Eli was a very old man, and his sons used to behave very badly; but Samuel was always good and obedient to him, and used to wait upon him, and help him when he served God in the holy place. Samuel wore a little white linen dress like the priests; and when his mother came to see him, she used to bring him a little coat. She had five more children afterwards, three sons and two daughters. HANNAH'S PRAYER.—1 Sam. 1:11. If you listen in the afternoon, you will hear how God spoke to Samuel whilst he was still a little boy; and I am sure you like to think of the little child in his white dress, ministering before God in His beautiful holy place. But only think. You can be like Samuel. Your father and mother lent you to God for all your life, when they took you to the font, and made you God's child; and though you live at home, you go to church, and can serve God there, if you kneel and stand and sit quietly at the proper times, mind the prayers, and repeat the Amens, and the QUESTIONS.
SECOND READING.
HANNAH brought her little son Samuel, to be brought up in the holy place by the High Priest Eli. Samuel was very good and holy, and God blessed him and loved him. One night, when everyone was gone to bed, but the lamp in the holy place was not yet gone out, Samuel heard a voice calling to him, "Samuel!" He sprang up at once, for he thought that Eli had called him, and he ran to Eli and said, "Here I am, for thou didst call me." But Eli answered, "I called not, my son; lie down again;" and Samuel went back to his bed. Then again came the voice calling to him, "Samuel!" and again he thought it was Eli's call. He was not lazy, or fretful at being roused out of his sleep, but he ran at once to Eli, and again said, "Here I am, for thou didst call me." But Eli sent him back to his bed again; and there again he heard the call, "Samuel!" Patiently he once more rose and came to the old man, but this time Eli knew that it must have been no other than God's And so Samuel did. Again his name was called, and he made answer, "Speak; for Thy servant heareth." And God spoke to him in the still night, and told him to give Eli a fresh warning of the sad things that were coming on him and on his sons. Samuel was forced to tell Eli all in the morning, sad and mournful as it was. He was afraid and grieved to have such things to say, but he told the truth, and Eli was too good a man to be angry with him, and only said, "It is the Lord: let Him do what seemeth Him good." GOD TELLS SAMUEL OF DESTRUCTION OF ELI'S HOUSE.—1 Sam. 3:11. And, after that, God often made His will known to Samuel, and blessed him, and all Israel knew that Samuel was God's own prophet. Think of the great honor and blessing of having God so often speaking to him! But we have that blessing too. God is nearer to a little Christian child than He was to Samuel; for the Holy Spirit speaks in a Christian child's heart, and tells him to be good and dutiful, and to think of God, and say his prayers with all his heart. And that is better than even being a prophet like Samuel. Only we must take great care to attend to that voice; or it will leave off, and then we shall get worse and worse, like those bad sons of poor old Eli. QUESTIONS.
THIRD READING.
GOD helped the Israelites again and again, but they would not leave off their wickedness, and at last He punished them still more. There came up a nation to make war upon them, fiercer than any before, called the Philistines. Then the Israelites fancied that if they took the Ark of the Covenant out into the battle with them they would get the victory, as they had done when Joshua conquered the land. But God had never bidden them take the Ark. He had commanded that it should stay in its place at Shiloh. They did not heed this, but took it out into the camp, and all the people shouted for joy when it was brought, with the two priests, Hophni and Phinehas, Eli's sons, to take care of it. When the Philistines heard the shout, they said that the gods of Israel were come, and that they must fight all the more bravely. And they did. God would not help His people because of their self-will, so He let them be beaten by the Philistines, and Hophni and Phinehas were killed, and the holy Ark of God was taken by these heathens. And when poor old Eli, the High Priest, heard the sad news, he was so much shocked, that he fell down backwards and broke his neck and died. God still shewed His power, for when the Philistines put the Ark into the temple of one of their false gods the idol fell down and was broken; and wherever it was taken the people fell sick, till at last they sent it back to the Israelites: but it THE DEATH OF ELI.—1 Sam. 4:17, 18. QUESTIONS.
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