1 Samuel 3:17

What is the thing that the Lord hath said unto thee?

A private enquiry

I. Let us view the question as addressed to Samuel.

1. The first remark which we shall make upon it is that God does speak to men. In ways suitable to their feeble nature the Lord has spoken to men.

(1) He has done so in the inspired volume of His sacred Word. Every line in this priceless volume was dictated by the Spirit, and is a message from God to men.

(2) God, in a renewed manner, speaks to us by His Word when His Spirit applies it to us individually.

(3) Moreover, our God has ways of communicating His mind to His children by those of His servants who speak in His name. He directs the thoughts of His ministers, and suggests their words, so that they speak to the cases of those who are led to hear the Word of God.

(4) By our own thoughts, also, the Lord communes with us.

(5) Our God speaks to us also in Providence.

2. God regards not age in His speaking, but He condescends to speak with young children.

3. When we do hear the voice of God we should be deeply impressed by it.

4. We should store up in our memories whatever God says to us.

5. Looking at the text in its light toward Samuel, we learn that we should be able to tell what we hear from God.

(1) Samuel did this very solemnly, with a deep sense of its weight.

(2) Samuel did his work very carefully and completely. We read, “and Samuel told him every whit, and hid nothing from him.” He said nothing more and nothing less than God had spoken. You know how difficult it is to repeat a story correctly. Additions and subtractions are seeds which it is hard to keep out of the garden of conversation. Alas! this holds good even of the Word of the Lord: how many add to it or take from it!

(3) It was a very painful duty, which the holy child was called upon to perform.

(4) But then, in Samuel’s case, it was an obvious duty.

(5) And to communicate the message of God was a very weighty duty to the child Samuel.

II. Let us now view the question as it comes from Eli.

1. I understand from Eli’s question, first, that we should willingly learn, even from a child.

2. Next, learn from Eli, that we should be willing to know the very worst of the ease.

3. Next, we should desire to hear the whole of God’s word. Men aspire to be clever, and to that end they must appear to be bold thinkers, highly cultured, and far removed from the old worn out notions of orthodoxy. Many are the floral displays in sermons! Sheaves of corn are too plain and rustic. This is the age of bouquets and wreaths of rare flowers. Paul must give way to Browning, and David to Tennyson. Brethren, there are enough in the novelty business without us; and we have something better to do. Keep us right by saying to us, “What is the thing the Lord hath said to thee? I pray thee, hide it not from me!”

III. And now consider the question, to and from ourselves. I want to put a series of questions.

1. Have we ever asked the Lord to speak to us?

2. Next, have we all regarded what God has spoken?

3. A further question is this: Have we shaped our lives by what God has said?

4. Next, have we told what we know?

5. Do our children ever rebuke us? This Samuel was to Eli like a grandchild. His sons were grown up, and had left him; but here was this little one brought into the temple to minister there, and the old man came to be rebuked by this little child. (C. H. Spurgeon.)