Many, many years before Wendell Phillips lived there was another boy.  He worked in the temple.  He was a youthful assistant to the minister.  I suppose he ran errands for him, and performed any and every service about the temple the minister desired.  One night, as usual, the boy went to bed and fell asleep.  As he slept he heard a voice calling him.  Now he was an obedient boy, and though it was hard for him to rouse himself from a sound sleep and leave his comfortable bed he did so.  He ran to the minister saying, “Here I am, you called me, what do you want?” The minister said, “No, my boy, I did not call you, go back to bed.”  The boy returned to his bed and again went to sleep.  A second time, and even a third time he was called.  Each time the faithful, obedient lad leaped from his couch and ran to the minister.  The third time it dawned on the mind of the minister that the voice the lad heard was the voice of God, calling him to himself and to his special service.  Being a wise and loving man he said to the boy, “Return to your bed, and if you hear the call again, say, ‘Speak, Lord, for thy servant heareth.’” The boy did as instructed and that night was forever memorable in his life, for that was the night God called Samuel and Samuel answered.

Memory verse, I Samuel 3:  10

    “And the Lord came, and stood, and called as at other times,
    Samuel, Samuel.  Then Samuel answered, Speak, for thy servant
    heareth.”

Memory hymn [674]

    "Hushed was the evening hymn."

A HAPPY HOME

This morning, the first thing, my boy said to me, “Tell me a story.”  This is the story I told him.  Once upon a time, it was a long, long time ago, so long ago that we can scarcely realize how long, more than twenty-five hundred years ago.  Well, once upon a time there was a home—­homes then were quite the same in most ways as homes are now—­there were children in that home.  They played and were happy.  And too, I suppose they had their misunderstandings, and sometimes the children quarreled.  One day the children heard music.  Looking up the street they saw a great company of men marching right toward them.  They were soldiers.  There were thirty thousand of them.  In the center of the marching army were some oxen.  The oxen were harnessed to a fine, new cart.  On the cart was a chest, most beautifully carved and decorated.  On the soldiers came.  What was the amazement of the boys and girls when they stopped right in front of their house!  Then the king, majestic in his bearing and gorgeously arrayed, came to their father and said, “I want to leave this chest here in your house.  Take good care of it.”  The king’s men brought the wonderful chest within, set it down, went out, and the army marched away.  From that hour the home was a different home.  There was joy, and peace, and an utter absence of quarreling.