wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens," "of whom the world was not worthy." M.

SAMUEL.

IN pursuing the scripture history, the example of Hannah next presents itself to our observation, as an instance of the blessing attending maternal devotedness. The story is given in 1 Sam. i. Elkanah and Hannah were both united in the worship and fear of the Lord. (verse 3.) "Elkanah went up out of his city yearly to worship and to sacrifice unto the Lord of hosts in Shiloh." Hannah was childless, which was a cause of great grief to her, so that "she wept and did not eat." (Verse 8-19.) "Then said Elkanah her husband to her, Hannah, why weepest thou? and why eatest thou not? and why is thy heart grieved? am not I better to thee than ten sons? So Hannah rose up after they had eaten in Shiloh, and after they had drunk. (Now Eli the priest sat upon a seat, by a post of the temple of the Lord.) And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed unto the Lord, and wept sore. And she vowed a vow,

and said, O Lord of Hosts, if thou wilt indeed look upon the affliction of thine handmaid, and remember me, and not forget thine handmaid, but wilt give unto thine handmaid a man-child, then I will give him unto the Lord all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head. And it came to pass, as she continued praying before the Lord, that Eli marked her mouth. Now Hannah, she spake in her heart, only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard; therefore Eli thought she had been drunken. And Eli said unto her, How long wilt thou be drunken? put away the wine from thee. And Hannah answered and said, No, my Lord; I am a woman of a sorrowful spirit: I have drunk neither wine, nor strong drink, but have poured out my soul before the Lord; Count not thine handmaid for a daughter of Belial; for out of the abundance of my complaint and grief have I spoken hitherto. Then Eli answered and said, Go in peace: and the God of Israel grant thee thy petition that thou hast asked of him. And she said, Let thine handmaid find grace in thy sight. So the woman went her way, and did eat, and her countenance was no more sad. And they rose up in the morning early, and worshipped before the Lord, and returned, and came to their house to Ramah.

After a time, God granted to Hannah her request; and she bare a son, and called his name Samuel, saying, Because I have asked him of the

M

Lord. And the man Elkanah, and all his house went up to offer unto the Lord the yearly sacrifice, and his vow. But Hannah went not up; for she said unto her husband, I will not go up till the child be weaned, and then I will bring him, that he may appear before the Lord, and there abide for ever."-(Verses 20—23.)

When the child was sufficiently grown, Hannah, according to her vow, brought up her child to the temple, and solemnly dedicated him to God. (Verses 24-28.) " And when she had weaned him, she took him up with her, with three bullocks, and one ephah of flour, and a bottle of wine, and brought him up to the house of the Lord in Shiloh and the child was young. And they slew a bullock, and brought the child to Eli. And she said, Oh, my lord, as thy soul liveth, my lord, I am the woman that stood by thee here, praying unto the Lord. For this child I prayed; and the Lord hath given me my petition which I asked of him: Therefore also I have lent him to the Lord; as long as he liveth he shall be lent to the Lord. And he worshipped the Lord there."

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The following chapter records Hannah's song of praise and thanksgiving, for the Lord's mercies : "and the child Samuel grew before the Lord." Very early in life, God manifested himself to Samuel by his word. "And all Israel, from Dan even unto Beersheba, knew that Samuel was established to be a prophet of the Lord. And the

Lord appeared again in Shiloh, for the Lord revealed himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of the Lord." (Verses 20, 21.)

This child of prayer continued to walk worthy of his high calling; and through a long course of years, though he filled the highest offices amongst the Jewish people, his conduct was so upright and consistent, that when they chose a king, and so deprived him of part of his authority, he was able to appeal to them all, (Chap. xii. 2—5,) and say: "I have walked before you from my childhood unto this day. Behold, here I am: witness against me before the Lord, and before his anointed; whose ox have I taken? or whose ass have I taken? or whom have I defrauded? whom have I oppressed? or of whose hand have I received any bribe 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 ye have not found aught in my hand, and they answered He is witness."

Samuel continued to be their faithful friend and reprover, and acted in the same noble and fearless manner towards their king, so that even he trembled before him. At length, having lived to a good old age, he died. "And all the Israelites were gathered together, and lamented him, and buried him in his house at Ramah."

It would be easy to multiply examples of a similar kind from the Old Testament History: but the foregoing will suffice to prove the fact, that, if we sow the seed in the morning," the early and the latter rains" will descend to water and fructify it. M.

EXAMPLES

FURNISHED BY THE NEW TESTAMENT

OF THE BLESSING ATTENDING THE

RIGHT TRAINING OF CHILDREN.

THE APOSTLES.

Of the twelve men whom our Lord selected for his apostles, while not one of them belonged to Jerusalem, and not one of them, as far we know, was taken from the tribe of Levi, more than the half were under previous connexions amongst themselves. The natural relationship, however, of the apostles to each other, as well as their