Before the lamp of God went out. —There is a Talmud comment here of singular interest and beauty: “On the day that Rabbi Akiva die…

And the child Samuel ministered unto the LORD before Eli.

And the word of the LORD was precious in those days; there was no ope…

That the Lord called Samuel
By a voice which came forth from the most holy place, from between the cherubim, the sea…

The call that Divine grace intends to make effectual will be repeated until it succeeds, until we heed the call. Eli, perceiving that it was the vo…