"The child Samuel ministered." When you sing with feeling you do G.o.d's work. When you see some one without a hymn-book and you take one to the stranger, you minister. When you make room for a stranger to sit by you, then you do the work of the Lord. When you pray for the preacher, then you are of use.

II.--Boys' bedrooms are open to G.o.d.

It was while Samuel was asleep that G.o.d stood at his bedside; but He is there before we sleep. He hears when wicked stories are told, and when bad deeds are planned in the dark.

III.--G.o.d does not wait for you to grow up before He calls.

Perhaps you have heard Him call and, like Samuel, did not know the voice.

When you felt that longing to be good, then He called. When you were at the grave-side, and felt awed and silenced by the coffin, thinking that some day people would look down and read your name, He called. When you were ill and felt unfit to die, He called. In your cla.s.s at Sunday school, and while hearing the gospel preached, you were called.

IV.--Boys should answer the first call.

Samuel was not like some lads who have to be called many times before they will get up. "He ran unto Eli." And in doing this he was the picture of the way we should make haste, and delay not to keep G.o.d's commandments. You will never be of greater value to G.o.d than now. Each day you delay to serve Him, you lessen your value in His sight.

V.--Boys may be taken into G.o.d's confidence.

The Bible tells us, "The secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him,"

and a boy may fear G.o.d so as to know His secrets as Samuel did. If you will listen, as this lad did, you shall hear G.o.d speak.

VI.--Boys who do G.o.d's will shall have men do their's.

See verse 20. The whole nation came to hear the mind of G.o.d from the boy- prophet, for we read in the first verse of the next chapter that Samuel's word came unto all Israel.

IF DEATH CAN INJURE YOU YOU ARE NOT ENJOYING FULL SALVATION.

L. THE BROKEN OAR.

The other day, when the Oxford and Cambridge men were contesting for the mastery, the Oxford boat was behind, but the crew were not willing to admit they were beaten, and were making great efforts to gain the day, when, all at once, the oar of the best man in the boat broke in two, consequently all hope of winning was gone. All the rest of the way there were only seven oars, and the weight of the eighth man to carry as well.

In musing over this, it struck us that there were several lessons to be learned--lessons which the eye that used to scan the race-ground would have made use of, if he were writing an epistle in these days.

Is it not true that the dead weight in the boat hinders the progress of the Church of G.o.d? Up and down the country we hear of those who hinder the work--members of society, and sometimes office-bearers, who if they were in heaven would help more, or, at least, hinder less than they do now. If this book should fall into the hands of any of these men, we wish they would lay to heart the lesson, that if from any cause they are not working, we have their weight to carry in addition, and that we could get on better if they were not. As we write we are thinking of one of these hinderers--smooth of tongue, and sanctimonious in phraseology, who is helping the enemy of G.o.d by hindering his servants.

This becomes all the more painful when these unfaithful men are persons of power and influence. Some of them were once very useful, and have wielded an influence for good that was of immense use; but, alas! in an evil hour they turned aside, and now r.e.t.a.r.d the progress of what they once loved to a.s.sist. We appeal to such of our readers as are doing good service, that they pray to be kept from backsliding in heart, lest their oars be broken, and they become a dead weight in the boat.

Some of those who are with us, and yet not of us, are acc.u.mulating wealth. We appeal to them to bear in mind that their money makes them greater difficulties than ever, and that the more their balance at the bankers' grows the greater their dead weight in the boat. If we could only get rid of these people, how lightly the boat would spring forward!

Sometimes we are ready to wish that these men could lose their money, they would then become manageable.

What is to be done? We cannot but think of Circuit after Circuit where men of talent and influence are keeping the Church of G.o.d from coming to the front. What a loss life is to them! How much better if they had died in their useful days! If they do not repent, what a h.e.l.l awaits them! How could such people enjoy heaven if they were sent there? For them to behold the other part of the crew, who did their duty, crowned for their faithfulness, must, as a matter of course, make them reflect that their chances were the same, but that they ceased to toil, and hindered those who would have accomplished much for G.o.d but for their baneful presence.

There are other lessons we learned from this same boat-race, to which we will refer at some other time. Suffice it that for the present we pray,

LORD, SAVE US FROM DEAD WEIGHTS!

LI. "WHY COULD NOT WE CAST HIM OUT?"

And a very sensible question, too. When men fail there is a reason for it; but we cannot always find out what the reason is. But these followers of Jesus, who had not been able to cast out the deaf and dumb devil, asked their Master how it was. He had given them to see that it was not impossible to cast out even that sort, but THEY could not. And why not? It is worth our while to know, for just now the Methodist people are not succeeding as they wish to succeed, and we are inclined to think, for the same reason that caused the disciples to fail.

Jesus said, "THIS KIND GOETH NOT OUT BUT BY PRAYER AND FASTING." What does this mean, if not that

MEN WHO LOVE EASE MUST EXPECT THE DEVILS TO LAUGH THEM TO SCORN?

If we are not prepared to fast, it does not matter how well we do other things--not only abstain from food, or drink, or tobacco, but from other things we like. We know some men who would do well to fast from having their own way, and others who would serve G.o.d if they would take a back seat now and then, and let somebody else talk a bit.

But it is not to these men we address ourselves to-day. It is to those who are trying to get as much ease and comfort out of life we would speak. There are some of us who preach and live by it, who might do more to earn our stipend. We fear the Rev. Mephibosheth Neversweat is too "intellectual" to read "JOYFUL NEWS," and it is useless saying much to him, or else we should like to ask him to remember that the time is coming when he will be too old to work, and it may be then, when his eye is too dim to read his newspaper, he may be compelled to read the proof- sheets of his own biography--a book that will be published and read when all the world be there to hear it. We pity him when in old age he remembers mis-used opportunities of becoming a blessing to his generation, or looks forward to the time when he must give account of himself to G.o.d!

The reverend gentleman we have named has some cousins, who are Local Preachers; and we should like to have a word with them also. How about those village congregations that were disappointed of a preacher? How about those stale and faded sermons? We wish you would be persuaded to make a sermon on--"SHAKE THYSELF FROM THE DUST," because there would be at least one penitent, even before the sermon was preached.

However, what perhaps is needed most of all is that the decrease in our numbers as Methodists should lead us to repent, and do our first works.

We should as a Church humble ourselves before G.o.d, and that without delay. He waits to be gracious. We must not lose heart. Let the thousands of faithful workers among us remember that when the disciples were baffled, Jesus was in the company of Moses and Elijah; but He dismissed them that He might come to the help of His people. Whatever he may be doing, we can catch His ear, and bring Him to the rescue. He needs only that we should cry to Him for help. We indulge the hope that when Methodism learns that, in spite of all the earnest work done, we have fewer people meeting in cla.s.s than we had last year, there will be a bowing before the Lord. Already we see signs of blessing. There is a waking up to duty, and a longing for purity, that can have but one result. The Master is coming, and shall soon say,

"BEING HIM UNTO ME."

LII. MANNA.

EXODUS xvi. 4.

I.--Manna like salvation, because undeserved.