Samuel. Samuel was born, as we
read a few moments ago, to a woman named Hannah. And the Lord had
shut this woman's womb up. But this woman, who loved God
and prayed According to God's good pleasure, Lord, if it be
Your will, would You give me a son? The Scripture says that
she was in bitterness of soul. And she asked the Lord for that
man-child and she vowed this vow unto the Lord. Lord, if You'll
be pleased to give me a son, male, a man-child, I'll lend
him back. He'll be the Lord. That's what
it doesn't mean just for a little while. I will lend Him, give
Him unto the Lord all the days of His life, and He'll be a Nazarite. No razor will come upon His head. Well, the Lord directed Hannah
to pray that prayer because Almighty God was going to send a prophet
named Samuel to Israel. So the Lord caused Hannah's path
to cross with Eli, God's preachers. And the Lord assured Hannah through
Eli that she was going to have a son. The Scripture says the
Lord remembered Hannah. She bore a son. She called his
name Samuel, because I have asked of God. And the Lord surely,
knowing that Samuel was going to be born, called Hannah to
ask. You know, the Scripture says
that the Lord is going to do for His people, I shall give
you a new heart. I shall do this. I shall prosper
you. But Almighty God directs His
people to pray for. I will be inquired of. But whenever the child was weaned,
The Scripture says she brought Samuel to the house of the Lord
in Shiloh. She brought him to Eli and she
told him, she said, I'm the woman that you saw that day when I
was here praying. I was in anguish. I was miserable. I was hurting. And I'm the woman
that you thought was drunk. And I asked the Lord and I brought
this boy back. And I'm going to leave him here.
He's lent unto the Lord all the days of his life. Well, Samuel,
the Scripture says, was in a place that was grievous during those
days. Eli had a couple of boys. Now let's just look at 1 Samuel
2 and verse 12. The Scripture says, Now the sons
of Eli were sons of Belial, and they knew not the Lord. These
two boys were unbelievers. They abused the office of the
priesthood, and they acted so disrespectfully that they caused
the people there to hate the offering of the Lord. The Scripture
says in verse 17, Wherefore, the sin of the young men, was
very great before the Lord, for men abhorred the offering of
the Lord." Now you think about this. Where men act so disrespectfully
that people hated the offering of God. Hated to come. Hated
to bring their offerings to be offered unto the Lord. Well,
Samuel, young boy, he was faithful. Samuel did not know the Lord.
God had not regenerated Samuel yet. But the Scripture says in
1 Samuel 2.18, But Samuel ministered before the Lord, being a child
girded with the linen ephod. And moreover, his mother made
him a little coat and brought it to him from year to year when
she came up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice. And Eli blessed Elkanah and his
wife and said, The Lord give thee seed of this woman for the
loan which is lent to the Lord. And they went unto their own
house, and the Lord visited Hannah. so that she conceived and bare
three sons and two daughters, and the child Samuel grew before
the Lord." Now, the Lord revealed to Samuel that he was going to
cut off Eli's posterity. Chapter 3, verse 18, the Scripture
says that this is what the Lord revealed. to Eli from Samuel. It said in verse 18, Samuel told
him, we'll look at what the Lord said to him in a moment, Samuel
told him every wit, hid nothing from him, and said, this is what
Eli said, it's the Lord. Let him do what seemeth him good. Well, the Lord had told Eli. In chapter 2 verse 32, this is
what's going to be your pay. This is what's going to happen
to you. Verse Samuel 2 verse 32, Thou shalt see an enemy in
my habitation, in all the wealth which God shall give Israel,
and there shall not be an old man in thine house forever. Because Eli did not reprimand
his sons. They were priests. And because
Eli would not reprimand his boys, the Lord said, this is what's
going to happen. There's not going to be an old man in your
house. They're going to die. 1 Samuel 2 verse 34, the Scripture
says, And this shall be a sign unto
thee, that shall come upon thy two sons on Hophni and Phinehas,
and one day they shall die, both of them." But the Lord was going
to raise up a faithful priest in Israel. Here Samuel is a picture
of the Lord Jesus Christ, a faithful, obedient, priest of Almighty
God. Now, the Scripture says concerning
that time when Samuel was sent into Shiloh, into that place
where Eli was, and they were going to be the minister. Samuel was going to be the minister.
The Scripture says in chapter 3 verse 1, the child Samuel ministered
unto the Lord before Eli. And the word of the Lord was
precious in those days, and there was no open vision. That means
that God's prophecy was rare. And the word of the man of God
to Eli in chapter 2 in verse 27-36, this was the only word
during that time between the word to Hannah of what God would
give her, a son, and this word right here. 1 Samuel 2 verse
27, the Scripture says, And there came a man of God unto Eli, and
said unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Did I plainly appear unto
the house of thy father when they were in Egypt in Pharaoh's
house? And did I choose him out of all the tribes of Israel to
be my priest, to offer upon mine altar, to burn incense, to wear
an ephod before me? And did I give unto the house
of thy father all the offerings made by fire of the children
of Israel? Wherefore, kick ye at my sacrifice
and my offering, which I have commanded in my habitation, and
honorest thy sons above me, to make yourselves fat with the
chiefness of all the offerings of Israel my people. Wherefore,
the Lord God of Israel saith, I said indeed that thy house
and the house of thy father should walk before me forever. But now
the Lord saith, be it far from me, for them that honor me I
will honor. And they that despise me shall
be lightly esteemed. Behold, the days come that I
will cut off thine arm, and the arm of thy father's house. And
there shall not be an old man in thine house, and thou shalt
see an enemy in my habitation and all the wealth which God
shall give Israel. And there shall not be an old
man in thine house for ever. And the man of thine whom I shall
not cut off from mine altar shall be to consume thine eyes and
to grieve thine heart. And all the increase of thy house
shall die in the flower of their age, and this shall be a sign
unto thee, that shall come upon thy two sons on Hothmah and Phinehas,
and one day they shall die, both of them, and I will raise me
up a faithful priest that shall do according to that which is
in mine heart and in my mind, and I will build him a sure house,
and he shall walk before mine anointed forever, and it shall
come to pass that every one that is left in thine house shall
come and crouch to him for a piece of silver and a morsel of bread,
and shall say, Put me, I pray thee, into one of the priest's
offices that I may eat a piece of bread." Now, in chapter 3,
verses 3 and 4, the scripture says, And ere the lamp of God
went out in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was,
and Samuel was laid down to sleep, that the Lord called Samuel.
And he answered, Here am I. Eli's eyes, the scripture says,
were dim. But the lamp of God had not gone
out in the temple. The Lord was merciful. Eli had
been a disrespectful prophet. His two boys had not been reprimanded. caused the people to despise
the offering of God. And God Almighty was going to
cut off Eli's family. But God did not forget His everlasting
covenant to show mercy to His people. And here the Scripture
says that the Lord was going to call Samuel. Look at verses
in chapter 3, verses 4 to 10. That the Lord called Samuel,
and he answered, Here am I. And he ran unto Eli, and he said,
Here am I, for thou callest me. And he said, I call not. Lie
down again. And he went and lay down. And
the Lord called yet again Samuel. And Samuel arose and went to
Eli and said, Here am I, for thou didst call me. And he answered,
I call not, my son. Lie down again. Now Samuel did
not yet know the Lord, neither was the word of the Lord yet
revealed unto him. And the Lord called Samuel again
the third time, and he arose and went to Eli and said, Here
am I, for thou didst call me. And Eli perceived that the Lord
had called the child. Therefore 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. So Samuel went and lay
down in his place, and the Lord came and stood and called, as
at other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel answered, Speak,
for thy servant heareth. Samuel, God's appointed prophet. Before Samuel ever knew the Lord,
Samuel was chosen of Almighty God to minister in that temple. Now from that we know this. Conversion
is according to God's choice. Samuel did not know God. Samuel
knew not the Lord. Samuel did not know to call on
the Lord. Samuel had no heart to call on
the Lord. Almighty God calls in power. And we hear. And I know this
secondly, that prevenient grace placed Samuel as predestinating
grace places every one of God's elect exactly where God Almighty
wants them, crosses their path with the gospel. Here was this
young boy. His mama was barren. His mama's
womb shut up by God. And this woman was moved upon
by the Spirit of God to ask the Lord, would You give me a boy? Would You give me a son? Lord,
if you give me a son, I'll give him back to you. He's yours.
I'll lend him back all the days of his life." And God remembered
Hannah and gave her the very boy that God was going to give
her. Caused her to ask Him for him. And the Lord blessed that
little boy and put him in a place where he could sit under the
sound of the gospel. You ought to think about it. Who knows? Prevenient grace that
has caused God's elect to be placed in a position to where
they can hear the gospel. Who knows? Who knows? For adventure, the Lord might
be pleased this evening to bless and to call in power, just like
He called this young boy, Samuel, Called him. Eli, you called me? No, I didn't call you. You go
back. If he calls you again, you say,
Lord, your servant heareth. Well, in chapter 3, verse 19,
the Scripture says, Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him, and
did let none of his words fall to the ground. That which God
gave to Samuel as prophecy came to pass. Well, in chapters 4-6,
there's a lot of Scripture concerning this prophet Samuel. And I would
encourage you, you can go back and read chapters 1-12. That's what I'm actually dealing
with tonight. But chapters 4-6 relate Israel's
defeat by the Philistines. And because of the unfaithfulness
of Eli, God chastened. The nation of Israel chastened
him, chastened his son. And so the Lord caused the nation
of Israel to fall into the grasp of the Philistines. He caused
the people then to have to behold the error of their ways. And
He caused the ark to fall into the hands of the Philistines.
The sons of Eli were killed just like God had said. In the words
of Eli's daughter-in-law, one of the son's wife, she was given
birth. And when she actually gave birth,
the Scripture says in chapter 4, verse 21, she named the child
Ichabod, saying, the glory has departed from Israel because
the ark of God was taken, because her father-in-law and her husband. And she said, The glory is departed
from Israel, for the ark of God is taken. It is by the grace
of God, if the candlestick of God's gospel is allowed to be
in this place or any other place. I've said so many times, and
I encourage you, pray for this assembly. Pray for this assembly. We don't know how long the Lord
will be pleased to allow the candlestick here. The Lord has
allowed the candlestick here to be here 55 plus years. That doesn't mean it's going
to be here any longer. Almighty God places His gospel
where He's pleased to place the gospel. And by God's grace, we're
here this evening. Seven months passed. The ark
was in the hands of the Philistines, but the judgment of God by a
grievous plague on those Philistines caused them to want to send the
ark back. And here's the amazing thing.
They got the ark of God and thought, now this is the power. They had
that ark for seven months. But Almighty God, because they
had taken the ark, God used them. to bring the people of Israel
into subjection and to cause them to see the error of their
ways. The Lord used the Philistines to chasten His people. And then
He judged the Philistines for touching His anointed. Almighty
God does as He will in the army of heaven. He said, touch not
mine anointed. Do my prophets no harm. Israel
rebelled against God. God used the Philistines. God
used them. God gave the Philistines the
victory over Israel. God caused the ark to fall into
the hands of the Philistines. And then God judged them for
doing exactly what they were going to do. Now, though the
Lord's ark is being returned, The Philistines said, we're not
going to have it. They're going to take it. And
they took two milk cows. And they put it on a cart. And
they sent that cart away. Frady spoke on that here a while
back. And it was sent to a place, and
it was in Beth-shemesh. Chapter 6, verse 19. The Scriptures
set forth that The ark got there, and when it
got to Beth Shemesh, some of the men got and looked into the
ark. And the Scripture says that the
Lord smoked the men of Beth Shemesh. because they looked into the
ark of the Lord. Even he smote of the people 50,000, three score
and ten men. The people lamented because the
Lord had smitten many of the people with a great slaughter. God killed all of those people
because they looked into the ark. No one. That ark was the
visible symbol of the presence of God. That was God's ark. That was a picture of Christ.
That's God's Christ. And for those men to go and to
look into that ark, what they were actually saying is that
we could approach Almighty God without a priest. We don't have
to approach God on God's terms. We'll approach the Lord as we
want to. And the Scripture said God killed thousands of them.
Well, they sent messengers to Kerjath-Jerim saying the Philistines
have brought again the ark of the Lord, come ye down and fetch
it up to you. That's found in chapter 6, verse
21. And so the ark was brought to
a place called Kerjath-Jerim. This is in chapter 7 and verse
2. It says, "...came to pass while
the ark abode in Kerjeth, Jerarim, that the time was long, for it
was twenty years, and all the house of Israel lamented after
the Lord." Now, all the house of God, all the house of Israel,
grieved. The ark was sent to this new
place, and it stayed there for twenty years. But the people
had a heart. They were faithful to maintain
that hungering after God's ark, even though it was not where
it was supposed to be yet. It was 20 years. And the Lord
was faithful to maintain His Word to the people. Chapter 7,
verse 3, Samuel spake to all the house of Israel, saying,
If you do return unto the Lord with all your hearts, then put
away the strange gods Astaroth, from among you, and prepare your
hearts unto the Lord, and serve Him only." And God blessed the
word that He had sent. The Scripture says, and oh, I'm
sorry, I'll finish, serve Him only, and He will deliver you
out of the hand of the Philistines, chapter 4. Then the children
of Israel did put away Balaam and Astaroth and served the Lord
only. The Philistines then rose up
again. The ark has been sent back. And
they rose up again against Israel. Chapter 7, verse 7, And when
the Philistines heard that the children of Israel were gathered
together to Mizpah, the lords of the Philistines went up against
Israel. And when the children of Israel
heard it, they were afraid of the Philistines. They came up,
and the Philistines now were going to seek the Lord again.
Here our enemies have been risen up. In chapter 7, verse 8 and
9, the children of Israel said to Samuel, cease not to cry unto
the Lord our God for us, that He will save us out of the hand
of the Philistines. And Samuel took a sucking lamb
and offered it for a burnt offering, holy, unto the Lord. And Samuel
cried unto the Lord for Israel. And the Lord heard him. Samuel
approached God with a sacrifice. The people now, their enemies
have risen up. Samuel, would you approach God
for us? Almighty God, here's Samuel now. A picture of the priest. Here's the prophet approaching
Almighty God. Our blessed Savior being set
forth in shadow and type. Approaching God. Asking God for
mercy for God's people. It never ceases to amaze me when
we look in the Old Testament and see how the nation of Israel
that did things that Almighty God cut other nations off for
with no hope, no chance whatsoever of reprieve, and the nation of
Israel for His covenant's sake. Almighty God had made an everlasting
covenant, and Israel was a picture of that, a type of that. But
for the long-suffering of God, where would we be? Well, while
Samuel offered this sacrifice, in verse 10, the Scripture says,
Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, and the Philistines
drew near to battle against Israel. But the Lord thundered with a
great thunder, and on that day, upon the Philistines, and discomforted
them, troubled them, And they were smitten before Israel. Israel
prevailed. The cities were restored that
had been taken. Now in chapters 8 through chapter
11, the people now are beginning to see Samuel getting old. They're fearful. What are we
going to do? I want you to look at chapter
8, verses 1-5. Now here's what's happened. Look
at this whole gamut. We started off, and here's Samuel.
Here's a young boy brought by his mama, brought to Eli, and
he's raised up in that temple. And all these years, and the
Philistines take him, and they take the ark away, and then God
plagues the Philistines with them rods, They send it back
and it stays in this place for 20 years. And the people, they're
grieving and longing after the Philistines now are raising up
now again. They go to Samuel. Now Samuel,
help us pray for us. Help us that we might be able
to not be defeated by our enemies. And the Scripture says that God
answers and He remembered and He thundered and He troubled
the Philistines and the Israelites defeated them. Here we come. Chapter 8. This has been a long
lifespan for this prophet. The Scripture says it came to
pass when Samuel was old that he made his sons judges over
Israel. Now the name of his firstborn
was Joel, the name of his second, Abiah. And they were judges in
Beersheba. And his sons walked not in his
ways, but turned aside after Lucca, and took bribes and perverted
judgment. Then all the elders of Israel
gathered themselves together and came to Samuel unto Ramah,
and said unto him, Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not
in thy ways. Now make us a king to judge us
like all the nations. Samuel now, he's an old man. And the people are kind of looking
at this situation and they're thinking, what are we going to
do? Samuel, the prophet that God
has maintained all of these years, he's old. What are we going to do for a
prophet? What are we going to do? He's got two boys. And these two boys don't walk
in his ways. They don't trust the Lord. They
don't know God. What are we going to do? And they come to Samuel
and they said, Samuel, we need a king. We need a king
to rule over us like the other nations. Now, I want you to turn
Now to chapter 12. And here's the chapter. All of
that information that we just looked at concerning these scriptures
comes down to this chapter right here. The faith of Samuel. Here's what it is. Samuel is. He's an old man. And as far as
Samuel is concerned, Samuel obviously like any other normal human being. He doesn't know exactly what's
going to happen. He knows he's got two sons that
are judges. They're not walking in his ways.
And the people now are questioning. Questioning Samuel, questioning
God. We need a king. Well, the Scripture sets forth
when they insisted that Samuel, speaking to the Lord, give him
a king. In chapter 12, the faith of Samuel is truly set forth.
God has given him a king. That took place in these prior
chapters. God gave him Saul. And now, chapter
12, verse 1 and 2, the Scripture says, and Samuel said, unto all
Israel, Behold, I have hearkened unto your voice in all that you
said to me, and have made a king over you. And now, behold, the
king walketh before you, and I am old and gray-headed. And
behold, my sons are with you, and I have walked before you
from my childhood until this day." The faith of Samuel was
given by God. when Samuel was just a young
man. And the Lord had kept him all
the days of his life. God's people are kept by the
power of God. Through faith, God kept him. Verse 3-5, he says, Behold, here
I am, witness against me before the Lord and before His anointed. Whose ox have I taken? Whose
ass have I taken? Or whom have I defrauded? Whom
have I oppressed? Or whose hands have I received
any bride to blind mine eyes therewith, and I will restore
it you? And they said, Thou hast not
defrauded us, nor oppressed us, neither hast thou taken aught
of any man's hand. And he said unto them, The Lord
is witness against you. And his anointed is witness this
day, that you have not found aught in my hand.' And they answered,
He is witness." Samuel had set forth that his desire was not
for that which they had, not for the stuff. But his desire
all these years, by the grace of God, was for the spiritual
good of Israel, and not what he could get from them in a temporal
way. And verse 6 to 11 says, And Samuel
said unto the people, It is the Lord that advanced Moses and
Aaron, and that brought your fathers up out of the land of
Egypt. Now therefore stand still, that
I may reason with you before the Lord of all the righteous
acts of the Lord which He did to you and to your fathers. When
Jacob was coming to Egypt and your fathers cried unto the Lord,
then the Lord sent Moses and Aaron which brought forth your
fathers out of Egypt and made them dwell in this place. And
when they forgot the Lord their God, He sold them into the hand
of Sisera, captain of the host of Hazar, into the hand of the
Philistines, into the hand of the king of Moab. And they fought
against Him. They cried unto the Lord and
He said, we've sinned. because we have forsaken the
Lord and have served Balaam and Ashtoreth. But now deliver us
out of the hand of our enemies, and we will serve Thee." And
the Lord sent Jeroboam, and Bedan, and Jephthah, and Samuel, and
delivered you out of the hand of your enemies on every side,
and you dwelled safe. Samuel here rehearses before
the whole nation of Israel the truth of God's redemption and
God's preservation, keeping them when they were in Egypt, keeping
them, bringing them out of the hand of bondage, keeping them
because of His love for His people. Verse 12 and 13, And when you
saw that Nahash the king of the children of Ammon came against
you, you said unto me, Nay, but a king shall reign over us. when the Lord your God was your
King. Now therefore, behold the King
whom you have chosen and whom you have desired. And behold,
the Lord has set a King over you." Almighty God brings back
to their memory. He said, this is the way it was. When Jacob came into Egypt years
ago, Came there, Pharaoh, remember? Pharaoh accepted Jacob. Jacob
brought his family over. And they grew and multiplied
and multiplied. And Scripture says that another
Pharaoh that didn't know Jacob, raised up. And Pharaoh was fearful
of the nation of Israel. And he oppressed the nation of
Israel. Made them make bricks and build
and stuff. And Almighty God heard their
cry, and He sent Moses and Aaron. And He delivered them out of
Egypt. And Samuel tells them time after time after time, God
delivered, God delivered. He heard your cry. God would
put you under oppression because of your rebellion against God,
and God would deliver you. And now you've come to this point. All these years, the Lord has
kept us. Raised up a prophet from a child
and kept him all these years. And now, the prophet's at the
end of his years. He said, I'm gray-headed. I'm
just an old man. And he said, now, you're going
to do it your way. You want a king. You want a king
to reign over you. You want to be like the other
nations. He said, Behold your king. God has given you just
exactly what you wanted. I heard someone say one time,
Be careful what you ask for. God may just give it to you and
then let you live with it for the rest of your life. With that
rebuke, Samuel encouraged the people in verse 14. He said this,
if you will fear the Lord and serve Him, obey His voice, not
rebel against the commandment of the Lord, then shall both
ye and also the King that reigneth over you continue following the
Lord your God. God's love never changes. God raised up a King just like
they wanted. He said, I've given you what
you wanted. Samuel encouraged him. Follow after the Lord. Seek His face. Fear Him. Verse 15, But if you will not
obey the voice of the Lord, but rebel against the commandment
of the Lord, then shall the hand of the Lord be against you, as
it was against your fathers. God's hand of providence will
correct His people. He never forsakes His own, though. Never. If you do not obey, if
you will not walk concerning His Word, the Lord's hand will
be against you. But my blessed brother and sister,
thanks be unto Him, that God's longsuffering for the sake of
His precious Son never forsakes His own. Those that the Lord
Jesus Christ has redeemed by blood, the Lord will not, for
Christ's sake, forsake His own. Verse 16-19, Now therefore, stand
and see this great thing which the Lord will do before your
eyes. Is it not wheat harvest today? I will call upon the Lord
and He shall send thunder and rain that you may perceive and
see that your wickedness is great. which ye have done in the sight
of the Lord, in asking you a king. So Samuel called upon the Lord,
and the Lord sent thunder and rain that day, and all the people
greatly feared the Lord and Samuel. And all the people said unto
Samuel, Pray for thy servants unto the Lord thy God, that we
die not. For we have added unto all our
sins this evil, to ask us a king." Samuel prayed for the Lord to
answer. in confirmation to what he had
said through his prophet. And God answered with a thunder
and a rain and a season that usually didn't have that kind
of weather. But then by faith, Samuel declared
God's Word of mercy to his people. Verses 20-25, Samuel said unto
the people, Fear not, ye have done all this wickedness Yet
turn not aside from following the Lord. Serve the Lord with
all your heart, and turn you not aside, for then should you
go after vain things which cannot profit nor deliver for they are
vain. For the Lord will not forsake
His people for His great name's sake, because it has pleased
the Lord to make you His people. Moreover, as for me, God forbid
that I should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you,
But I will teach you the good and the right way. Only fear
the Lord and serve Him in truth with all your heart. For consider
how great things He has done for you. But if you shall still
do wickedly, you shall be consumed, both ye and your king." Samuel
was a faithful prophet. And he shunned not to declare
God's Word God's faithfulness. And he encouraged the people
to the Lord's unending love for them. Oh, the blessing of Almighty
God to send a preacher to affectionately set forth God's Word to his own. Verse 24 again. Only fear the
Lord. Serve Him in truth with all your
heart. For consider, how great things He has done for you. Consider this, you that know
Him. Consider that Almighty God has
everlastingly loved you. He said, I've loved you with
an everlasting love. Therefore, in mercy and kindness,
I called you. Consider what great things He's
done for you. He chose you. Chose you and put
you in Christ. Elect, according to the foreknowledge
of God, predestinated you to be conformed to the image of
His Son. Consider this great thing that He's done for you.
He everlastingly saw you in the Lamb slain from before the foundation
of the world. And trusting Him justified you. Declared you eternally. No charge. No charge. Blessed is the man to whom the
Lord will not impute sin. It doesn't say that we're not
sinners. We are sinners. We are sinners. If we say we
have no sin, we make God a liar. But blessed is the man that God
won't charge with it. Now that's mercy. Grace. Consider this great thing. Being
born in this world, He kept you. Protected you. Hedged you about
all the days of your unregeneracy. When you knew Him not, He knew
you. Knew you and in time was pleased
to put you in a place where you heard the gospel and gave you
a new heart. You consider what great things
the Lord's done for you. He didn't leave you to yourself.
And then He called you. Revealed His Son in you. And
kept you. And has kept you until this very
moment right here. And by grace, soon, very soon,
the Scripture reveals that we'll see Him as He is. And be like
Him. Lord, blessed be Your holy name,
as we consider these men who were men just like we are. Women,
men saved by the grace of God. Samuel, a man that God Almighty
called and put in a place, called him by grace and kept him all
these years. And right up to the end of his
life, a man that was faithful by the grace of faith. Lord bless
these words to our heart for Christ's sake.