bowed their knees to Baal, were the remnant in the days of Elijah (1 Kings xix. 18). Indeed at all times of general sensuality and decay it may be said, "Except the Lord of hosts had left unto us a very small remnant, we should have been as Sodom, and we should have been like unto Gomorrah (Isa. i. 9). To be one of such a remnant, however despised by proud and haughty formalists, is the truest glory. "The remnant that is escaped of the house of Judah shall again take root downward, and bear fruit upward; for out of Jerusalem shall go forth a remnant, and they that escape out of Mount Zion: the zeal of the Lord of hosts shall do this" (Isa. xxxvii. 31, 32.) "And the remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst of many people, as a dew from the Lord, as the showers upon the grass, that tarrieth not for man, nor waiteth for the sons of men" (Mic. v. 7).

The mission of the remnant whose hearts are uplifted to the Most High in supreme affection is to bring down holy thoughts like celestial dew. In the inmost of their being, in the tranquil hours of meditation and devotion, the truths of peace descend like the zephyrs of a heavenly atmosphere. They are tranquillized, refreshed, encouraged and strengthened. They feel within themselves the assurances of Divine Love; thoughts of holy trust and glancing brightness fill the soul, like the calm dew of a new morning from the Lord, as the tender showers upon the grass.

Samuel represented such a remnant, especially among the priesthood; the Lord's voice ever comes to such. They are touched by the divine influence, and awakened. "The Lord called Samuel; and he said, here am I." In such tender souls as constitute the remnant there is a ready response to the voice of God in the conscience. "Here am I," is said in a moment. But although they have been aroused by a voice only heard by themselves, touched by an unseen hand, they always at first suppose they owe their new call to the old constituted order of things. Samuel ran to Eli, and supposed it was he who called him. The newly-awakened do not discriminate between the old and the new order of things. They suppose the church is as earnest as they are. They think the grand thoughts which are being unfolded within them, will be welcomed by the authorities, and they will be encouraged and cheered in the glorious visions opening before them. It is not, however, so; Eli had made no call. He had nothing to say, but "I called not, lie down again" (ver. 5.)

Nevertheless, the divine message does not rest; it is given

again, and a third time. Still it appeared to Samuel that the call was from Eli. "He did not yet know the Lord, nor was the Word of the Lord yet revealed to him" (ver. 7.) It is one thing to know of the Lord, and quite another To KNOW THE LORD. To know the Lord is a thing of the heart, not of the head. We know the Lord in proportion as we are in sympathy with him. It is a deep and holy experience which comes from warm and inward affections. They who love God know God. "He that loveth not knoweth not God, for God is Love" (1 John iv. 8).

Those who are to lead great movements in a New Dispensation, know but little of the Divine purposes, or the meaning of the Divine Words. They are only conscious of a yearning after something higher, of a desire to be true to the inward voice that is stirring them up. They demand of their old teachers what they have to say in their wonderful circumstances. All that they can obtain in reply is, "We are compelled to believe for the moment there is something divine in this; wait and be obedient." Eli said unto Samuel, "Go, lie down; and it shall be, if He call thee, that thou shalt say, Speak, Lord; for thy servant heareth." Wise advice was this, though it made no difference to the giver of it. How many can give good counsel! how few follow it! The Samuels, however, hear and do. The name Samuel signifies "PLACED OF GOD." And those who are placed of God to be the seed of a new kingdom, are always they who pray for the divine guidance, who ask for the leading of Love and Mercy, affecting their minds, and touching their hearts. These are not content with following dull routine, having no convictions, no deep thoughts, no hallowed communings with the Lord in the silent depths of their being. To them the voice of a Divine Guide is a welcome voice; they are ready to follow it. They look around at so much that is "stale, flat, and unprofitable," that they rise above their prejudices and their fears, and with devout, yet trusting love exclaim: "Speak, Lord; thy servant heareth!"

In the changes and turmoils of to-day; in the indisposition to receive new light; in the confessions of multitudes that their eyes are dim and they cannot see, we may recognise a parallel to the time of Eli. Let us devoutly pray and strive that in the new unfoldings of the Word, and the new manifestations of Divine care from the Saviour God, we may ever preserve that humility of mind which bends down before the Mercy Seat, and says, "Speak, Lord; for thy servant heareth."

SERMON IV.

THE ARK TAKEN BY THE PHILISTINES.

"And the Philistines fought, and Israel was smitten, and they fled every man into his tent; and there was a very great slaughter; for there fell of Israel thirty thousand foot

men.

"AND THE ARK OF GOD WAS TAKEN; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were slain."-1 SAM. iv. 10, 11.

THE loss of the Ark by the Israelites, when they had become quite unworthy of it, and its seizure by the Philistines to be paraded in their country, represented the loss of the Word by those who profess to revere the commandments of God but do not keep them, and its being taken possession of by those who neither profess to revere nor to keep the commandments of God, but expect to be saved by a scheme of their own devising, which they denominate THE SCHEME OF SALVATION.

The Ark represents the Word, and especially the divine commandments which are the centre of the Word. The Israelites represent the members of the church, at this time faithless, corrupt, vile, and unworthy; the Philistines those who make a religion of "faith alone," which they declare to be saving, but which leaves them quarrelsome, vindictive, selfindulgent, greedy of domination, eager for proselytism, unjust where it suits them, moderated only by what the society amongst whom they associate deem proper and allowable.

When we keep constantly before our minds, in reading the Bible, that its divine author intends its history as well as its precepts to be subservient to the regeneration of man, it magnifies the Word, and makes it honourable. "The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul" (Ps. xix. 7). We regard the literal history first; and our reverence makes us careful to acquaint ourselves fully with its facts and circumstances, that they may be a proper basis for the spiritual lessons we hope to receive. We study well and thoughtfully the divine record, and then we

say with the apostle, "These things are an allegory" (Gal. iv. 24).

The Ark was the representative of the Word, because it contained within it the divine commandments on two tables of stone, and these are the essence of the Word. All the commandments may be regarded as comprised in two, "Love to the Lord, and Love to our neighbour;" and "on these two," as the Lord said, "hang all the Law and the Prophets" (Matt. xxii. 40). The Ark contained also the pot of manna, and Aaron's rod that budded. This signified that from the Word is all heavenly food, the "hidden manna" (Rev. ii. 17), and from it is all the power of spiritual growth in regeneration. We bear blossoms and fruit, as we receive life and power from the Word of the Lord. The chest formed of the precious cedar of Shittah, covered with gold within and without, represented the Word as it is received by the highest angels and the best of men. The precious gold of their inmost affections embraces the Word. It is impressed upon their inward parts, and written on their hearts (Jer. xxxi. 33).

The Israelites lost the Ark when they had long ceased to perform their part of the covenant of which the Ark was the abiding sign. It was about four hundred and fifty years from the death of Joshua to the death of Eli, and those years had been periods of great disorder and decay. The judges had ruled with a loose hand. The people had neglected the commandments and ordinances of the Lord. Virtue had gradually declined, and zeal for what is good was entirely lost.

The twelve tribes in their order, under the direction of Moses and Joshua, were the types of the Lord's true church. How grand they seemed when Balaam said of them, "How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob! and thy tabernacles, O Israel! As the valleys are they spread forth, as gardens by the river's side, as the trees of lign-aloes, which the Lord hath planted, and as cedar trees beside the waters" (Num. xxiv. 6). When they were zealous for God under their heroic leader Joshua, they were triumphant; and while he lived, they were faithful and true. They were then the proper representatives of the church, which the apostle calls "The Israel of God" (Gal. vi. 16).

More especially were Judah and Benjamin the types of the men of heavenly love, and the men of genuine faith. Those two great tribes were the centre and bulwark of the Israelitish power. Their lands were situated next to each other. Jerusalem was built at the joining of the two tribes.

Judah, large, fertile, beautiful, entrenched in glorious moun

tains, and populous in noble men, fulfilled the prophetic words of Jacob, "Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise: thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies; thy father's children shall bow down before thee. Judah is a lion's whelp : from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up? The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be" (Gen. xlix. 8-10). The tribe of Judah was the largest and most influential, the sovereign tribe. Ultimately it gave its name to the whole nation, who from the name "Judah" were called "Jews." The tribe of Judah in its good and genuine state, represented those among Christians who are mainly animated by love to the Lord. The name Judah means in Hebrew, "praise Jehovah." Those who love the Lord desire to do His will and to praise Him. They are those of whom the apostle says, "He is not a Jew who is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision which is outward in the flesh but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God" (Rom. ii. 28, 29).

The tribe of Benjamin was possessed also of a large, fertile, and beautiful country. Shiloh, where the Ark so long abode before going up to Jerusalem, was in their land. They were a noble people, and gave their first king, Saul, to the whole nation. They were also great archers, powerful with the bow, and exact in their aim. Their name, Benjamin, means "the son of the right hand;" and it indicates, prophetically, their skill and strength. Of them it is written, "The beloved of the Lord shall dwell in safety by him; the Lord shall cover him all the day long, and he shall dwell between his shoulders" (Deut. xxxiii. 12). In the spiritual sense, they are of the tribe of Benjamin who are animated by the faith which is grounded in love. These cultivate their intellect, they abound in divine truths because they love them. They are keen and powerful against wrong. The Lord is with them and covers them all the day long. The Lord dwells between their shoulders. He is the source and fulcrum of their power.

Jerusalem, the true church of the Lord, is formed of the combination of both, of men of affection, and men of intellect; and in each person of love in the heart and truth in the understanding, and hence the earthly Jerusalem, the type of the church, was placed where the lands of the two tribes met.