Before I begin to preach the Word of God, may I just say what a privilege it is to be here. In the past, I've been welcoming preacher after preacher to this place for this meeting, and now I find myself among the welcomed. It's very kind of the Chairman and the General Committee to invite me to preach, and I appreciate that very much, as I do. meeting up with many whom I hold to be very dear friends in the meeting today. This afternoon I'd like to turn your attention to some words found in 1 Samuel chapter 3, earlier read, and the text particularly on my mind and heart is the 19th verse of that chapter. And Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him, and he let none of his words fall to the ground. The first book of Samuel continues the account of the history of Israel and sketches the transactions and happenings from the time of the judges to the time of the kings. The first seven chapters of this book, at least, are devoted to the last of the judges, Samuel. We believe this man was born around about 1100 BC in Ramaphim, or Rama, in the hill country of Ephraim. His mother, Hannah, married to Alcana, vowed that she would dedicate Samuel, her son, to the Lord for Christian service and set him apart as a Nazarite. Thus it was that at weaning age, some two or three years old, Samuel was taken to the tabernacle at Shiloh and committed to the care of Eli, the high priest, and thereafter he was engaged in the worship of God performed in that place and also the word of God which we believe he studied. The spiritual state of the nation was very poor at this time and in the early verses, indeed in the first verse of the chapter, it says the word of the Lord was precious in those days and there was no open vision. The word precious can mean rare, and it comes by process of natural development to mean precious. What is rare is often, if not always, precious. And the reason for this scarcity of the Word of God is given in that first verse, there was no open vision, which means that God was not communicating to any holy person his truth. In the book of Numbers we read in chapter 12 verse 6, If there be a prophet among you, I the Lord will make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak with him in a dream. But at this time there was no vision granted by God, neither was the word of the vision opened to the people and made available so that there was a public declaration of what God had said. And when I read those words in the first verse, the word of the Lord was precious in those days. There was no open vision. Describing as it As these words do, the situation in Israel cannot help but think how similar are the days in which we live and what a lamentable absence there is of the Word of God. The Word of God, rare in these days, no open vision. Scripture does speak of times in the experience of God's church when there is a great lack of the teaching and preaching of the Word of God. In Amos chapter 8 it's described as a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst of water, but of hearing the words. of the Lord. And rightly understood, I believe this is one of the greatest miseries and one of the greatest afflictions being suffered at this present time. Why is it that the Word of God is so rare? There is no open vision, there is no declaration and publication to men of the Word of God as there should be. Of course, in some places of the world, we say it with great sadness, there is no scripture available. We cannot imagine a darker country than the country which does not yet possess the Word of God in its own language. And so there, the word of God is rare. In other places, Bibles are to be found, but they're not faithful Bibles. They've not been translated, minding the principles which have already been set out this day, building everything upon the traditional texts, the Hebrew Masoretic texts, and the Greek received text. These Bibles are not translated according to formal equivalence. There's no attempt made very often to produce a literal translation, a word-for-word translation, whatever possible. And so dynamic equivalence takes the place to the fore, just to get over the sense of Scripture in the language of man, that will suffice. We have to say that where that obtains, the Word of God in its purity and its essential authenticity is rare because of the many, many false versions of the Holy Scripture. There's a third reason, I believe, why the Word of God can be rare, and that is that men are not being called to the ministry as once they were. Now this is an act of divine sovereignty. It's not for us to pass any judgement upon that, but sometimes God withholds blessing on account of the state of the church. When the Lord Jesus said, Pray the Lord of the harvest, that he may thrust forth labourers into his harvest. They don't seem to be thrust forth. Men do not speak generally in these days of a call to the ministry. And there's not that experience of God putting his hand upon an individual and compelling him to go and preach the gospel, if I preach, not the gospel. We can try to understand that in various ways. I think in some churches there has been confusion over the office of elder, and we think that an elder is the same as a minister, absolutely, and there's no distinction in gift or function. But whatever the reason for it, The ministry seems not to be recognised today as once it was, and the call to the ministry is almost unknown. There's a fourth reason, I think, why the Word of God is scarce, and that is there seems to be disfavour towards the whole idea of preaching. Ministers are regarded as necessary to keep a semblance of orthodoxy. In some churches they're regarded as being the centre of entertainment. So it's the minister's task to make the congregation happy so that the music players and the singers can enter a right atmosphere to play their part. Preaching is reduced to the lowest level in the esteem of some and sadly in many, many modern churches. The word of God then, preached with passion and fervour, is unfamiliar to the modern church. Then another reason is this, that often what is being preached falls short of what should be preached. Sometimes the preaching of dry morality as if our faith is wholly taken up with precepts and commandment. Now I'm not saying that these do not have their place, of course they do, but there's often the demise of gospel preaching. Christ is not being preached. The atonement is not being stressed. The full remission of sin upon repentance and faith, this is not being emphasised. Those days the word of the Lord was rare. Then we have to come to terms with the fact, a further reason, that God seems to have withdrawn his power and his influence from many pulpits. And whereas our fathers, whom we can remember perhaps in childhood preaching with great unction, appear not to have any successors who preach with like grace and like power, And the Word of God is not informing minds, and it's not moving hearts, and it's not turning wills, because the power has gone. The Word of the Lord was rare in those days, but also to recognise that people sadly do not seem to want the Word of God anymore. Every effort is made to remove it from its rightful place. In non-conformity the pulpit was always central, as here, and the early non-conformist fathers believed that even in the architecture they would make a salient point that the Word of God, read and preached, is central to the worship of his name. We have lost that somehow. Other things have taken the position of centrality and the Word of God has been moved from the sphere of the central, and it's been sidelined, and people love to have it so. I heard of a church recently where a number in the congregation were thinking along these lines. The elder to whom I spoke described it as a dumbing down at an alarming rate. People were told that The sermon had to be much shorter than the church had had for years because the outsider will never concentrate for more than about 15 minutes. It's amazing, isn't it, how we can resort to crass unbelief sometimes when we're talking about the things of God. Of course the outsider won't listen for more than 15 minutes. I think that is generous. He won't listen at all, left to himself, to the word of God. But where is the authority of the Word of God and where is the power of God in the thinking of such people who want to reduce it to a minimum? Isn't this why the Word of God is rare in these days? When you look across the nation you will quickly hear of places where the faithful men of the scripture have sometimes suffered fearful attack. I can think of a church known to me now as I speak. A faithful man, I've known him for many years, but people didn't want the ministry of the Word of God in seriousness and soberness. and in the depth that that man was able to give them, and they made difficulty for him. And in the end, he had to resign the pastorate because he could not continue. And that's not an isolated instance. There seems to be a revolt toward the Word of God. The Word of the Lord is rare in these days too. And one last reason I will give is this, and it's not popular to say this in some quarters, but the nation and the church, I believe, is under judgment. And it's because the church has become so worldly and so compromised and so guilty of departure from the plain rule of Scripture that I do think a judgment hangs over the Church. Judgment must first belong and begin at the Church of God. It's because of that that the Word of God in its fullness, in its blessing, in its comfort, in its assurance, in its wonder-working power, because of that the Word of the Lord yet a glorious change was to be brought about. And if we go to the end of the chapter, to the text, it says, verse 19, And Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him, and did let none of his words fall to the ground. There was a change which came over the visible church at this time and a change over the nation. No doubt the faithful in the land mourned that the word of God was so scarce, so rarely heard, and they lamented after the word of God. No doubt they prayed as the remnant always do, that God would be gracious enough to restore such blessing to the people, that once again his word may be revered and his word may be that to which men gave attention and through which men and women in their souls were blessed. No doubt they attended the means of grace. These godly ones whose spirit God had raised up and in the house of God they sought the Lord together and pleaded for his swift return. No doubt they had a godly concern for the state of things. As God poured upon them the spirit of grace and the spirit of supplication, no doubt they witnessed in their day God moving and stirring, raising up young men like Samuel. And it's at the point of Samuel's life and ministry that we see the change from the beginning of the chapter to the end. One man That's all there was. But that one man in the hands of God did something that was highly important and significant. That one man upon whom God lay his hand, that one man entered into the breach and he was able to do something for God. One man only, but God has chosen the weak things of this world very often to confound the things that are mighty. The word of God or the word of the Lord was rare in those days and Samuel grew. The Lord was with him, and he let none of his words fall to the ground. Samuel marked the beginning of a new period, the beginning of a succession of men who were true prophets, ministers of the word. those through whom God worked to restore church and nation. So Samuel is the man we just consider for a while today. Now there in the 19th verse we read, I don't know that this is a reference to growth in years and in stature, but I'm sure Dr. Jameson is right to say he advanced not only in age and physical stature, but in the acquirements of wisdom and piety, and the spiritual gifts with which he was so eminently endowed showing as they did that he enjoyed the favour and blessing of God, secured for him in consequence great influence with the people. I think it would be very poor if we just understood the word here to mean physical growth and Samuel grew. For one thing, it's to state the obvious. Children do grow. But for another thing, the chapter is very much concerned with Samuel's spiritual life, his call to minister the Word of God to the way that came to him. in the night hours and how the Lord addressed his soul. The growth which is mentioned as following that surely must include that. He grew physically, but he grew spiritually too. So I would understand the words in a very similar way to words which are written of the Lord Jesus himself in Luke 2. Jesus increased or grew in wisdom and stature and in favour with God and man. The first thing I want to speak about this afternoon is spiritual development. Because that's what we see in Samuel. And that's the way God turned the state of things in Israel. By a man who had advanced in his knowledge of God and his knowledge of the things of God. And how necessary that is as a prerequisite to blessing. How necessary that is to any work of recovery in the Church. Spiritual Development and Samuel Grew If any man is to make a difference in his generation, he must be a spiritual man. A man who is matured in grace, in his understanding of God, in his perception and appreciation of the Word of God. It's the divine pattern, isn't it? In Psalm 92 we read of the godly And God says of them, his purpose is that they might grow as the palm tree, and that they might grow as the cedars in Lebanon. This is God's purpose. And it is also God's command. We read in the New Testament, in 2 Peter, chapter 3, that we need to grow, but grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Why is it God's purpose? Why does it assume the form of a command? Because when a man grows spiritually, it is then that he becomes fruitful. And it is then that he can offer something to his people and to the church of God. He can bring forth much fruit. So what do we mean by this growth and Samuel grew? It will include that he grew in certain qualities abilities which God in grace gave him. He grew in the knowledge and acquaintanceship of God. He followed on, to use the words of Hosea 6, he followed on to know the Lord. His knowledge at the first was very elementary, very basic. but he was moved of the Holy Ghost, not to be satisfied with that. He wanted the light in him to shine more brightly. He wanted God to be a greater reality. He wanted to be familiar with God in a reverential way so that he could be numbered amongst them that knew God. Faith too was a quality in which he grew. To grow in faith is to grow in dependence upon God, to realise every day how much we need him. When we first begin, we are apt to think that there are many things we can do in our natural strength, in our natural ability. But as grace goes on to persuade us and convince us, we can do nothing without him. And so we grow not only in that acquaintanceship with God, but we grow in our total reliance upon that God. We walk daily by faith. We live by the faith of the Son of God who loved us and gave himself for us. We can think of another grace, the knowledge of God faith, holy fear, that grace which is so conspicuous by its absence today, at least so it appears in many of our churches, the reverence, the respect, the awe of God, the wonder of things divine, that seems somehow to have been overlooked, dare I say it, almost lost, But Samuel grew. He discovered how great God was, that he needed this great God, but he must ever treat this God with reverential fear and with awareness that he is greater than Samuel by far. He is transcendent above us. beyond us, over us. Holy, holy, holy Lord God Almighty. So Samuel grew at the beginning of life and experience, particularly the life and experience associated with spiritual things, there are so many imperfections, are there not? And so many deficiencies. So that as soon as God works in one of his people to make him a child of God, God knows that this is a lifetime's work. We are his workmanship. And he that has begun a good work in us must perform it. How long? Such is the deficiency and immaturity in every one of us. He must perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. There is so much to be done. So much to wean us away from this world. so much to render us more godly among his people, so much to prepare us for the sight of God in heaven. And Samuel grew. Yes, it's a gradual work. The growth is only gradual, at the best. We grow according to the measure of the blessing, but the blessing is not uniform. God is sovereign in the bestowal of it, and there's also the fact that our hearts are so wayward and fickle, bringing upon our lives a certain loss, so that we decline and we backslide, and we lose the blessing which once we had. And that's why God has given to us the means of grace, of course, the Word of God. to recall us, the Spirit of God, through the Word, to bring us home. And why repeatedly His call to us is, return, and I will return unto you. In this way Samuel grew. And I suppose that his growth was noticed and observed. He increasingly reached a high degree of maturity. He could speak with Eli about deep and mysterious things, things belonging to the realm of the Spirit, and of believing experience He was maturing, and of course he was maturing in life. As he developed a certain way of life, he lived holily, he lived godly, and he was maturing in service and ministry. The Holy Spirit is needed for this more than anything else. He is the dew which falls upon the dry ground. He is the rain that falls upon the mown grass. The Spirit of life is that which imparts life and brings life. to its fruition, growth. Samuel knew it, proved it. He grew before God. It was not without comfort to himself. Because my friends, when we grow, It evidences the reality of life in the first instance. And when we grow, we realize that God is at work even in our lives, sinful and unworthy as we are. God has not written us off. And it assures us that We are being made ready for heaven and meekness is being given us for heaven. And this brings assurance to us that we've got true religion in our hearts. It's not a dead thing, it's not a static thing, it's alive. Grace within us is alive, capable of growth. And it's reflected in the way we live. And God is pleased to see it. The church benefits from it. What God does in us is often for them. The people of God who constitute his church. And Samuel grew, not for his own sake, not for his own profit, but he grew. that he might be a faithful minister of the word of God, that he might have knowledge to impart to ignorant, sinful men. He grew in love so that he could care for the saints of God and sympathise with them and draw near to them in their grief and in their distress. He grew in ability so that he could fulfill his calling and be a prophet of the Lord his God. And all Israel from Dan even to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established to be a prophet of the Lord. So we look at the situation today. We deplore it. When we come together, it's often the way of our conversation, isn't it? What a state we're in, brother. Have you ever seen days like it? And we grieve together over the state of the church in our own land. How will God change this? and change we need and change we seek. Is there the possibility that a new era will begin? Will God be pleased to send revival and reformation? Seems to me increasingly though a sovereign work of God. it will begin where there is a man like Samuel, who has known spiritual development. Like Shane used to say, the world has yet to see what God will do through a really holy man. Perhaps the world still waits to see there is a power in godliness and a power in holiness. A man who enters the pulpit without it is weak and he's feeble. Brethren, especially you that minister in the Word of God, And it will take a mature man of God to make a difference today. A man with understanding of the times, with insight into the purpose of God, with actual experience of God himself, proved over many years. That will make a change. I dare to say that people will listen to you when they see that there is an aura about you which is of God. And they'll recognize what grace has done in the minister's life to make him a pattern for others. Well, spiritual development. The second thing we notice here is spiritual fellowship. Samuel grew and the Lord was with him. This marks a very precious experience. It means that Samuel knew as other Bible men and women knew. He knew the discovery of God to his soul. It says to the patriarch, God is with thee in all that thou doest. To Jacob it was said, behold I am with thee. Of Joseph it was said, The Lord was with Joseph. This is an amazing privilege of grace. When we think of that God whom Solomon said was so infinite that the heaven of heavens could not contain him. Yet this God, condescending to come down, to draw near. and to be the friend of an earthworm. That is amazing. And the Lord, in his ineffable glory, was with Samuel with all his weaknesses. In all his sinfulness, the Lord was with him. The psalmist says, he humbleth himself to behold the things that are on the earth. How much more must he humble himself to draw alongside one of the rebels and one of the great sinners in his realm and in his kingdom. What an amazing thing this is. Great privilege. The condescension of grace. The purpose of God to communicate good. Why was the Lord with Samuel? To supply Samuel's need? To fill the emptiness of Samuel's heart? to answer the earnestness of Samuel's prayers? Yes. If the Lord is with us in the sense of this text, then we are a blessed people, unspeakably blessed and eternally blessed. We need to be very sure of what we are speaking of here and thinking of here. The distinction is to be made between God's general presence and his special presence. Of course, there's a sense in which God is everywhere. We believe, do we not, in the omnipresence of God. Am I a God at hand, he says, and not a God afar off? Of course he's here and he's there. and he's everywhere. But we recognize with such a text before us that there is a special presence of God, unknown by the people of this world and by the world of this people. When Moses says to God, if thy presence go not with us, He's not expressing a defective understanding of the doctrine of omnipresence. So as to be corrected with words like this, don't you know, Moses, that God will most certainly be with you because he's with all of us, always, at all times. No, no. What Moses wanted was something more than the general presence of God. He wanted something peculiar. to God's people. It's unusual, but it's a presence that is also very gracious. When we say God is everywhere, he is in his power and in his wisdom and certainly in his goodness. But when we speak of God being with his people, we mean that he's with them in a most gracious and loving way. He's with them as a friend, you see. There lies the difference. And he's with them to initiate an intimate relationship. with those to whom he deigns to grant this experience. The Spirit, Jesus said, you know him, for he dwelleth with you and shall be in you. That's the presence. And the Lord was with him. At times, he can be very near, or believe it. We love to read books on theology and doctrine. But when you are reading these books, they must be means to an end. They are not an end of themselves. They are intended to lead us into the secret place of the Most High, under the shadow of the Almighty. When the Apostle Paul, in his last letter, spoke of a difficult experience he had, a providence he had, and he said, but the Lord stood by me. He's touching upon something there. Touching the very nerve of what I'm trying to say. The Lord stood by me. He didn't get that from a theological tome. He didn't get that through discussing some fine point of doctrine. He got that from seeking God. And what he got was finding God. the Lord stood by me." And when that happens, there is what we call communion, and the possibility of it emerges, and the possibility of it is enjoyed, becomes a reality. Communion means sharing When the Lord is with us, he shares with us what he has. Let it be first his love. He makes us to be sensitive to the fact that he loves us. The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost who is given unto us. That's communion. Communion of the love of God. So that in that experience we are convinced that there's a love toward us like the love of no other. And that love has embraced us. And that love is overwhelming us. And that love is bearing us ever closer to God himself. The communion of his love. Sometimes that communion will be the imparting of counsel some word of comfort. But it comes not as simply we read the scriptures, but it comes in a spiritual manner to our hearts. We are deeply affected by what we read because those words are winged unto us by the Holy Dove himself. God, through his word, gives us guidance. The secret of the Lord is within the fear. To them he will show his covenant. He will grant us also comfort and consolation. He's the God of all comfort. And in our distresses we may feel we brought so low that no one can understand and no one can relieve it, but God can. Behold, I, even I am He, that comforteth you. More than the comfort of a spouse, more than the comfort of a friend, more than the comfort of a minister, God himself opens his arms to us and conveys to us, I have loved thee with everlasting love. The communion I'll tell you one more thing that he shares with us. Life itself. He is the living God. His words are words of life. His spirit is the spirit of life in Christ Jesus. And when God is near, The spark makes fire. The presence of God to a failing spirit brings new life. He is the God of revival. You may say, well, why is it so little known? and the Lord was with him. I sometimes think it is so little known because we don't perceive its reality. All we want to do is to be more book All we want to do is to get immediate leading for this particular moment. But if ye seek me with all your heart, ye shall surely find me. The Lord was with Samuel. There lay one of the great secrets of Samuel's life, his power, his usefulness. The Lord was with him. I can remember being very moved when I read of John Brown of Addington when he was being subjected to examination by the presbytery there in Scotland, doing his exercises, as they say, preaching a sermon. There was a well-known literary man in the company of his judges. There were two men that day. The first, not John Brown, the first got up and preached a very well-conceived and very eloquent sermon. And it was impressive. John Brown got up of Covenanter stock. He had a more rugged appearance. He was a shepherd boy at the first His tone lacked something of the professional, and the sermon he delivered would not be rated high in the world's opinion. But this literary man observed something which he expressed in his comment at the end. He said, the first man preached a most excellent sermon But the second man, John Branagh Harrington, preached as if the Son of God was standing beside him. There lies the difference, my friends. And the Lord was with him. If tomorrow we, the ministers, stood in our pulpits with a great impression upon our spirits that the Son of God stood at our right hand. I submit that it would change everything. It would rid us of any arrogance or pride of the flesh. It would make us concentrate on the things that really matter. the things that belong to the soul. And we would preach so earnestly in the knowledge that we would have to account to this listener, who one day would give his assessment of our ministry. And the Lord was with him. There is nothing quite like it. I suppose this is what Sibbes meant when he said, or it was said of him, I think, that heaven was in him before he was in heaven. There's something, there's something common to earth and heaven in spiritual things. On earth, the Lord can be with us. In heaven, we can be with him. Richard Brooks says, Change of place, not change of company. The period I'm quoted is Thomas Brooks, of course. Change of place, not change of company, except that and small compared to the company there, which is entire and eternal. And the Lord was with them. Before I leave this point, let me say that particularly critical need that's pressing upon us. We don't know how to face this trial, but if the Lord gives indication of his presence, then we can press on. For such a friend is he that he will not lead us to a time of need. He will not forsake us when we need Him more than at any other time. He is a friend, oh, such a friend. It may be not so much a need as a great sorrow, but if the Lord is with us, as he was with Martha and with Mary, he will be with us to administer solace to our heart, peace to our soul. There's none like him to cheer us. One smile from Jesus, sweetly given, will lift a poor sad soul to heaven. And what if we are in fear? Fear perhaps of the unknown. Fear of what we cannot see but which we dread. He who is with us is the God who says, I am with thee. When thou passest through the waters, they shall not overflow thee. When passing through the fire, they shall not harm thee. I am with thee." And the poor minister who's so weak in himself and so insufficient and laments the fact that he's so unsuccessful, if he hears the footfall of Christ towards him, if Christ gives him enabling If the Spirit from Him lights upon us, one man will be as David, and he will be as 10,000. Ye shall receive power, Jesus said. And that power from the hand of Christ will make the unsuccessful prosperous. The weak, strong. The depressed, courageous. The Lord was with him. So perhaps we need more of that today. Less concerned to produce a Polish sermon as to walk with God into the pulpit. Remember that Scott who was in his study. The bell had sounded for the church service to begin, but he was nowhere to be seen. And a man was sent to his lodging to see if all was well with him. When he got there, he heard the minister speaking to someone. And the conversation became very earnest. No, I won't go, he said. No, I won't go, unless you accompany me. The man returned to the elders in the church and he said, the minister is in company. And he says he won't go without this friend coming with him. I fear we shall not see him today. It was later discovered that the minister was in prayer. And his words were directed to not another man, but to Almighty God. I will not go unless thou dost go with me. That's what makes a difference. That's what turns the tide. That's what turns the darkness of midnight into the light of dawning. The Lord was with him. And that's what each of us needs. The Lord may be with us. spiritual development, and Samuel grew. Spiritual fellowship, the Lord was with him. Thirdly, spiritual service, and did not let, and let none of his words fall to the ground. I've called it spiritual service because Samuel served the Lord. How did he serve Him? In the ministry of the Word. And the scripture says this. He did not fail. His words did not fall. And in this kind of context, fall means fail. Many commentators think there's an allusion here to an arrow which is put into bow and the arrow is brought back to be shot. But for one reason or another, the arrow goes forth from the bow and falls to the ground and does not reach its target or its objective. That can be true of all of us. What purposes we cherish, what resolve we make, yet so often everything falls to the ground. And with ministers it is particularly true that the word can fail altogether. It doesn't achieve what we hope for. and what is required. So what does it mean? The Lord let none of his words fall to the ground. I think it means in the first place that the word made known through Samuel gave every indication of its absolute veracity. When men listened to this man, they knew that he spoke the truth. There was the ring of truth about what he said, so that his congregation, whether large or small, they knew that this was dependable and that what the prophet said would come to pass. The Lord let none of his words fall to the ground. We minister in holy things in the word of God. This word of God is infallible and inerrant in all respects. It is the word of the living God. Happy it is if we so preach that men are convinced of it. The way a man preaches will often reveal it, whether he really believes it himself, whether he's really able to convince others of it. the Lord did for Samuel was that when he preached, everybody knew that this was the truth. It was the Word. It had the seal upon it of, thus saith the Lord. Secondly, it means, I think, that the declaration of truth by Samuel was clothed with power so that its force was felt and known. The Word of God from the lips of such as Samuel must receive that power which the Lord only can give. To quote the apostle, it must be in demonstration of the Spirit and with power. We must not be afraid of such words. The preaching can come over as true, but it needs to come over as powerfully true, so movingly true. The Lord did let none of his words fall to the ground. I think it means that Samuel's preaching was remembered when he ministered what he said was not forgotten. It was long held in the memory of his people. I can think now of when I was a child, and brought up in the chapel which my parents attended, and I can tell you that the Word of God, when I was eight, nine years of age, came sometimes with such power from that pulpit that I have never forgotten either the text or the sermon that I heard that day. What a rebuke is that to those who keep children out of the sanctuary and away from the ministry of God's Word. As soon as you can, my friends, without disturbing the congregation, bring your children in to make them listen and to help them profit. the Word of God. He that affected my heart when I was eight or nine can affect their hearts. Who knows what grace was given in those early years, perhaps not recognized even by me at the time or since, but God sovereignly at work. God left none of his words fall to the ground. It means surely that Samuel's ministry reached their hearts and it worked in their hearts, just like Paul preached to those women outside of Philippi. And as he preached Lydia's heart the Lord opened that she attended unto the things which were spoken by Paul. It affected her inwardly. By God's grace it opened a closed door to her affections and her desires. Lydia in those moments reached out after and laid hold of them. His words on that occasion did not fall to the ground. Neither do they fall to the ground if a man comes under conviction of sin. As deeply impressed with his bad behavior the fact that he has transgressed the holy law of God. And the word of God brings him, brings him low. And in the preaching of that word, his conscience is alerted, his memory is restored. He examines himself before the judge of all the earth and knows that he's a convicted sinner. The word then does not fall to the ground. And when that same word reveals to that convicted, troubled, despairing man something of the beauty of Christ, the all-sufficiency of Christ, the willingness and the power of Christ to save them that have sinned to the uttermost. And the man who has been brought so low is lifted so high He trembled under the law and then he's comforted under the gospel that God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life. The word did not fall to the ground. In fact, the word changed the man's life. As one of the old Cornish preachers would say, God took a worm of the earth and made it a bird of paradise. He took a rebel and made him an heir. He took a stranger and made him a beloved child. The Word has not fallen to the ground. And this Word, this Gospel Word, was successful. That's what we want. For God's glory's sake and for the good of never-dying souls, we want the Word of God to be successful. We want God to convert the lost before it be too late. We want God to snatch them from the burning before the door is shut. We want them to find life before death. and the Lord can achieve that. So that none of the words fall to the ground. So blessed was Samuel that all Israel from Dan even to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established to be a prophet of the Lord. Within one chapter, a dramatic transformation. The word of the Lord was rare, no longer! There was no open vision, no longer! Through Samuel, God changed the scene. and changed the people. Spiritual development, he grew. Spiritual fellowship, the Lord was with him. And spiritual service, and did let none of his words fall to the ground. As I close, my friends, the sermon today has almost been a failure. If it is not made, you see, and made me see again, wherein we lack. It's a failure unless we have discerned that there's more than formality in the worship of God and in the preaching of the truth. A failure if we've not been enlightened to know that it's possible to grow in the awareness of God, for God to be with us, and for God to bless our weak, unworthy efforts to the salvation of men, to the edification of His people, and to the recovery of His church. I am as hopeful this afternoon as the promises of God, as hopeful as the purposes of God. The day will come when through the preaching of the Word, the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of God as the waters cover the sea. make me like Samuel. O God, stand with me in this holy work. O God, bless thou the preached word, and bring saving good. For thy glory's sake, and in the name of thy dear Son, Amen.