Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 1 Samuel 2:1
And Hannah prayed, and said, My heart rejoiceth in the LORD, mine horn is exalted in the LORD: my mouth is enlarged over mine enemies; because I rejoice in thy salvation.
1. And Hannah prayed ] This description of the Psalm is not inappropriate, for prayer includes thanksgiving and praise. Cp. the “prayer of Habakkuk” (Hab 3:1): and the “prayers of David” as a general designation of his psalms (Psa 72:20).
rejoiceth ] Exulteth or triumpheth, a strong word.
mine horn is exalted in the Lord] = ‘I am brought to great honour, and the author of that honour is Jehovah.’ The horn is frequently used as a symbol ( a) of strength (Deu 33:17): ( b) of honour Job 16:15). “To exalt the horn” signifies “to raise to a position of power or dignity.” Cp. Psa 89:17; Psa 148:14. The figure is probably derived from horned animals, tossing their heads in the air, and there is no allusion to the horns worn by women in the East at the present day. It is found in Latin poets, e.g. Ov. A. A. 1. 239, “Tum pauper cornua sumit” = “plucks up courage.”
my mouth is enlarged over mine enemies ] “My mouth is opened wide against mine enemies;” I am no longer put to silence in their presence. Cp. Psa 38:13-14. In ch. 1Sa 1:7-8 it is implied that Hannah made no answer to Peninnah’s taunts.
thy salvation ] Cp. Luk 1:47. “Salvation” in the O. T. means ( a) deliverance, rescue from dangers or adversities of all kinds (ch. 1Sa 14:45); ( b) help, the power by which the deliverance is effected, whether divine or human (Psa 35:3).
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Ch. 1Sa 2:1-11. The Song of Hannah
Hannah’s song is a true prophecy. She is inspired “to discern in her own individual experience the universal laws of the divine economy, and to recognise its significance for the whole course of the Kingdom of God.” The deliverance from her proud adversary which had just been vouchsafed to her was but one instance of the great principles of Jehovah’s moral government of the world, principles which receive their fullest illustration in the exaltation of the Lord’s Christ through humiliation to victory, and which will only he fully realised when “the kingdoms of this world shall have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ.” Hence it is that her own peculiar circumstances are so soon lost sight of in the wider view of the dealings of God’s Providence. The failure to recognise this has led critics to deny the authenticity of the song, and to conjecture that some ancient triumphal war-pan has been erroneously placed in Hannah’s month by the compiler of the book.
A brief analysis will help to explain the connexion of thought.
“Jehovah is the sole author of my deliverance. He shall be the theme of my song.
There is none to be compared with Him for holiness, power, faithfulness: be silent before him, all ye proud boasters! He knows your thoughts and weighs your actions.
Observe the vicissitudes of human fortune: the haughty are humbled, the humble exalted: this is Jehovah’s doing: for He is the Almighty Governor of the universe. He guides and guards His saints, and destroys the wicked.
May He finally discomfit his adversaries, judge the world, and establish the kingdom of His Anointed One!”
The Magnificat (Luk 1:46-55) should be carefully compared with Hannah’s song, of which it is an echo rather than an imitation. The resemblance lies in thought and tone more than in actual language, and supplies a most delicate and valuable testimony to the appropriateness of this hymn to Hannah’s circumstances. The 113th Psalm forms a connecting link between the two.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
The song of Hannah is a prophetic Psalm. It is poetry. and it is prophecy. It takes its place by the side of the songs of Miriam, Deborah, and the Virgin Mary, as well as those of Moses, David, Hezekiah, and other Psalmists and prophets whose inspired odes have been preserved in the Bible. The special feature which these songs have in common is, that springing from, and in their first conception relating to, incidents in the lives of the individuals who composed them, they branch out into magnificent descriptions of the Kingdom and glory of Christ, and the triumphs of the Church, of which those incidents were providentially designed to be the types. The perception of this is essential to the understanding of Hannahs song. Compare the marginal references throughout.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
1Sa 2:1-10
And Hannah prayed, and said, My heart rejoiceth in the Lord.
Hannahs song
Modern criticism has decided, to its own satisfaction, that the noble hymn here attributed to Hannah, cannot possibly have been uttered by her lips as a thanksgiving for the birth of Samuel. It breaks the obvious connexion of the narrative: its real theme is the rout of the nations enemies, and the triumph of the national armies: above all, the concluding words, which speak of Jehovahs King, and pray that He may exalt the horn of His anointed, unmistakably stamp it as a product of the regal period, when the kingdom was already established. Some critics, of no mean reputation, go so far as to name David as the true author, and assign the slaughter of Goliath, and subsequent defeat of the Philistines, as the real occasion. Let us examine the hymn in detail. It is called a prayer; yet, with the exception of the concluding words, which should be rendered as a petition, it is wholly occupied with praise and thanksgiving. Prayer is not limited to supplication. It embraces all address of the human soul to the Most High: it includes all forms of worship. Praise and thanksgiving are true and necessary parts of prayer. And what are the thoughts which fill Hannahs heart, and will not be repressed? A deep and holy joy for the salvation which Jehovah has wrought for her. Her reproach of barrenness is taken away. She is now a mother in Israel: and mother of what a child! She is exultant; yet in the midst of triumph there is no vindictiveness, no uncharitable recollection of the taunts and unkindness which she had had to endure. Her heart is full, not of herself, but of God. He alone is holy: He alone is self-existent: He alone is the Rock of Israel, secure, unchanging, faithful in His covenant. From contemplating the character of Jehovah she passes to a survey of His dealings with men. In her own individual experience she sees an illustration of the laws which regulate the Divine economy. The most casual observer cannot fail to notice sudden vicissitudes of fortune in the lives of individuals and the history of nations. Whence these sharp contrasts? It is Jehovah who is the God of life and death and all things thereto pertaining; poverty and wealth, promotion and degradation, proceed from Him. The vicissitudes of humanity are not fortuitous; Jehovah created the world; Jehovah sustains the world; Jehovah governs the world and all that is therein in righteousness. He defends His saints: He silences the wicked: and who can resist His will? By strength shall no man prevail. Her prophetic vision grows clearer as she proceeds. We are now in a better position to estimate the worth of the hostile criticisms.
I. Can it be seriously maintained for a moment that this hymn interrupts the narrative and is obviously out of place? What could be more natural than that Hannah should join in her husbands worship, and pour out her full heart in the energy of a prophetic inspiration? What place could be more fitting for this than the tabernacle where Jehovah had fixed His visible dwelling place? What moment more appropriate than that of which she restored to Jehovah the gift she had received from His hands for His service?
II. Nor, secondly, can we agree with the assertion that the tone and contents of the hymn mark it to be an old war song, a thanksgiving for victory over enemies. There is no direct mention of an Israelite victory: the defeat of the mighty warriors is but an incidental illustration: it is but one of the contrasts introduced to show how Jehovahs government is exercised in the world.
III. The third objection is at first sight more forcible. The mention of a king might seem to argue a later date. But even this difficulty is only superficial. Why should not Hannah have spoken of a king, the anointed of Jehovah? The promises made to Abraham pointed to the eventual establishment of a kingdom for the chosen people. I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee. I will bless Sarah, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of people shall be of her. And at this period the desire for a king was manifestly stirring in the national mind. Already the men of Israel bad proposed a hereditary monarchy when they said to Gideon, Rule thou over us, both thou, and thy son, and thy sons son; and though he refused, saying, The Lord shall rule over you, it must have been felt that the establishment of a monarchy could not be far distant. A monarchy, indeed, was not the ideal form of government for the chosen people. In demanding it they were actuated by unbelief and mistrust of Jehovah, and therefore it was displeasing to Him, for it was a rejection of Him. Yet it bore its part in the preparation for Messiahs coming; it was incorporated as an element in the evolution of the divine purposes. And why should not Hannah be inspired with a prophetic foresight to see that at length the king was inevitable, and to pray that Jehovah would make his rule effectual? The review of the Divine character, and the Divine government of the world is a theme which would most naturally suggest itself to one who felt that she had just experienced a manifestation of those principles in her own case. Let us turn to a consideration of the leading idea of the hymn. The problem of the mysterious and incalculable vicissitudes of fortune is one which has presented itself to all ages. What is the cause of them? It is the , said the Greek. The Envy of the Gods, drags the over-prosperous down to the abyss of ruin, and smites down the pride of man in middle course. He counted the Gods to be beings of like passions with himself, slaves of jealousy and spitefulness. Some, in the spirit of a truer creed, denied such a degrading hypothesis: and saw Nemesis, the goddess of vengeance, dogging the footsteps of the sinner, and exacting from him to the utmost the penalty of his transgression. It is Necessity, answered the ancient Roman, stern, inexorable, heartless Necessity, before whose fiat we must bow, whose decisions we cannot investigate. It is Fortune, laughed the sceptical Horace: Fortune exulting in her cruel task, And bent on playing out her heartless game. But centuries before Greek or Roman faced the problem, its solution had been revealed to the Hebrew mind. The Hebrew prophetess sees no angry, spiteful deity, jealous of mans prosperity: no stern and pitiless fate: no fickle and capricious Fortune at the helm of the universe; but a personal Ruler, holy, just, omniscient, almighty, governing in truth and righteousness. It was a truth which had an especial value for the Israelite of that age. He had no clear revelation of a future life: and without the knowledge of a future life the mystery of human existence is a thousandfold more perplexing. His faith was often sorely tried, because he saw the wicked in such prosperity. The unmerited chastisement of righteous men like Job seemed almost like a flaw in the justice of the Almighty: and he had need to brace his moral consciousness by recourse to a confession such as this, declaring in no equivocal terms the universal rule of Jehovah, founded in righteousness and truth. For us the reiteration of this truth is valuable for a widely different reason. The study of second causes, the formation of laws, physical, social, moral, tend to obscure our view of the Great First Cause, and to obliterate our conception of the direct personal control exercised by the ruler of the universe. Jehovah bringeth low and lifteth up. By strength shall no man prevail. There is a personal and a national lesson in this. We are forced, all of us, some time in our lives, to learn our own impotence, our littleness, our dependence on a power not our own. There is a lesson for nations here too. It is God who lifteth up, it is God who gives national prosperity; the continuance of that prosperity is surely conditional upon the observance of His laws, and those laws will be best observed when the national conscience acknowledges that its prosperity springs ultimately from a higher source than its own genius or industry. Pride and self-confidence have ever been the parents of corruption and degeneracy. (A. F. Kirkpatrick, D. D.)
Hannahs song of thanksgiving
The emotion that filled Hannahs breast after she had granted Samuel to the Lord, and left him settled at Shiloh, was one of triumphant joy. In her song we see no trace of depression, like that of a bereaved and desolate mother. Some may be disposed to think less of Hannah on this account; they may think she would have been more of a true mother if something of human regret had been apparent in her song. But surely we ought not to blame her if the Divine emotion that so completely filled her soul excluded for the time every ordinary feeling. This was Hannahs feeling, as it afterwards was that of Elizabeth, and still more of the Virgin Mary, and it is no wonder that their songs, which bear a close resemblance to each other, should have been used by the Christian Church to express the very highest degree of thankfulness. Hannahs heart was enlarged as she thought how many lowly souls that brought their burden to Him were to be relieved; and how many empty and hungry hearts, pining for food and rest, were to find how He satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness. But it would seem that her thoughts took a still wider sweep. Looking on herself as representing the nation of Israel, she seems to have felt that what had happened to her on a small scale was to happen to the nation on a large. May not the Holy Spirit have given her a glimpse of the great truth–Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given? And may not this high theme have been the cause of that utter absence of human regret, that apparent want of motherly heart stoking, which we mark in the song? When we examine the substance of the song more carefully, we find that Hannah derives her joy from four things about God:–
I. His nature (vv. 2-3). In the second and third verses we find comfort derived from
(1) Gods holiness,
(2) His unity,
(3) His strength,
(4) His knowledge, and
(5) His justice.
(1) The holiness, the spotlessness of God is a source of comfort, There is none holy as the Lord. To the wicked this attribute is no comfort, but only a terror. Left to themselves, men take away this attribute, and, like the Greeks and Romans and other pagans, ascribe to their gods the lusts and passions of poor human creatures. Yet to those who can appreciate it, how blessed a thing is the holiness of God!
(2) His unity gives comfort–There is none beside Thee.
(3) His strength gives comfort–Neither is there any rock like our God.
(4) His knowledge gives comforts–The Lord is a God of knowledge. He sees all secret wickedness, and knows how to deal with it. His eye is on every plot hatched in the darkness. He knows His faithful servants, what they aim at, what they suffer, what a strain is often put on their fidelity
(5) His justice gives comfort. By Him actions are weighed. Their true quality is ascertained; what is done for mean, selfish ends stands out before Him in all its native ugliness, and draws down the retribution that is meet.
II. Gods holy government (verses 3-8). The main feature of Gods providence dwelt on here is the changes that occur in the lot of certain classes. And these changes are the doing of God. If nothing were taught here but that there are great vicissitudes of fortune among men, then a lesson would come from it alike to high and low–let the high beware lest they glory in their fortune, let the low not sink into dejection and despair. If it be further borne in mind that these changes of fortune are all in the hands of God, a further lesson arises, to beware how we offend God, and to live in the earnest desire to enjoy His favour. But there is a further lesson. The class of qualities that are here marked as offensive to God are pride, self-seeking, self-sufficiency both in ordinary matters and in their spiritual development.
III. His most gracious treatment of his saints.
IV. Hannah rejoices in that dispensation of mercy that was coming in connection with Gods king, His anointed (5:10). Guided by the Spirit, she sees that a king is coming, that a kingdom is to be set up, and ruled over by the Lords anointed. Did she catch a glimpse of what was to happen under such kings as David, Jehoshaphat, Hezekiah, and Josiah? Did she see in prophetic vision the loving care of such kings for the welfare of the people, their holy zeal for God, their activity and earnestness in doing good? And did the glimpse of these coming benefits suggest to her the thought of what was to be achieved by Him who was to be the anointed one, the Messiah in a higher sense? We can hardly avoid giving this scope to her song. What is the great lesson of this song? That for the answer to prayer, for deliverance from trial, for the fulfilment of hopes, for the glorious things yet spoken of the city of our God, our most cordial thanksgivings are due to God. (W. G. Blaikie.)
Spiritual gladness
As the odours and sweet smells of Arabia are carried by the winds and air into the neighbouring provinces, so that before travellers come thither they have the scent of that aromatic country; so the joys of heaven are by the sweet breathings and gales of the Holy Ghost blown into the hearts of believers, and the sweet smells of the upper paradise are conveyed into the gardens of the churches. Those joys which are stirred up in us by the Spirit before we get to heaven are a pledge of what we may expect hereafter. (T. Manton, D. D.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
CHAPTER II
Hannah’s prophetic hymn, 1-10.
Samuel ministers to the Lord, 11.
The abominable conduct of Eli’s sons, 12-17.
Farther account of Samuel, and of the Divine blessing on
Elkanah and Hannah, 18-21.
Eli’s reprehensible remissness towards his sons in not
restraining them in their great profligacy, 22-26.
The message of God to Eli, and the prophecy of the downfall of
his family, and slaughter of his wicked sons Hophni and
Phinehas, 27-36.
NOTES ON CHAP. II
Verse 1. And Hannah prayed, and said] The Chaldee very properly says, And Hannah prayed in the spirit of prophecy; for indeed the whole of this prayer, or as it may be properly called oracular declaration, is a piece of regular prophecy, every part of it having respect to the future, and perhaps not a little of it declaratory of the Messiah’s kingdom.
Dr. Hales has some very good observations on this prophetic song.
“This admirable hymn excels in simplicity of composition, closeness of connection, and uniformity of sentiment; breathing the pious effusions of a devout mind, deeply impressed with a conviction of God’s mercies to herself in particular, and of his providential government of the world in general; exalting the poor in spirit or the humble-minded, and abasing the rich and the arrogant; rewarding the righteous, and punishing the wicked. Hannah was also a prophetess of the first class, besides predicting her own fruitfulness, 1Sa 2:5, (for she bore six children in all, 1Sa 2:21,) she foretold not only the more immediate judgments of God upon the Philistines during her son’s administration, 1Sa 2:10, but his remoter judgments ‘upon the ends of the earth,’ 1Sa 2:10, in the true spirit of the prophecies of Jacob, Balaam, and Moses. Like them, she describes the promised Saviour of the world as a KING, before there was any king in Israel; and she first applied to him the remarkable epithet MESSIAH in Hebrew, CHRIST in Greek, and ANOINTED in English, which was adopted by David, Nathan, Ethan, Isaiah, Daniel, and the succeeding prophets of the Old Testament; and by the apostles and inspired writers of the New. And the allusion thereto by Zacharias, the father of the Baptist, in his hymn, Lu 1:69, where he calls Christ a ‘horn of salvation,’ and the beautiful imitation of it by the blessed Virgin throughout in her hymn, Lu 1:46-55, furnishing the finest commentary thereon, clearly prove that Hannah in her rejoicing had respect to something higher than Peninnah her rival, or to the triumphs of Samuel, or even of David himself; the expressions are too magnificent and sublime to be confined to such objects. Indeed the learned rabbi, David Kimchi, was so struck with them that he ingenuously confessed that ‘the King of whom Hannah speaks is the MESSIAH,’ of whom she spake either by prophecy or tradition; for, continues he, ‘there was a tradition among the Israelites, that a great King should arise in Israel; and she seals up her song with celebrating this King who was to deliver them from all their enemies.’ The tradition, as we have seen, was founded principally on Balaam’s second and third prophecies, Nu 24:7-17; and we cannot but admire that gracious dispensation of spiritual gifts to Hannah (whose name signifies grace) in ranking her among the prophets who should first unfold a leading title of the blessed Seed of the woman.”
In the best MSS. the whole of this hymn is written in hemistich or poetic lines. I shall here produce it in this order, following the plan as exhibited in Kennicott’s Bible, with some trifling alterations of our present version: –
Ver. 1. My heart exulteth in Jehovah;
My horn is exalted in Jehovah.
My mouth is incited over mine enemies,
For I have rejoiced in thy salvation.
Ver. 2. There is none holy like Jehovah,
For there is none besides thee;
There is no rock like our God.
Ver. 3. Do not magnify yourselves, speak not proudly, proudly.
Let not prevarication come out of your mouth;
For the God of knowledge is Jehovah,
And by him actions are directed.
Ver. 4. The bows of the heroes are broken,
And the tottering are girded with strength.
Ver. 5. The full have hired out themselves for bread,
And the famished cease for ever.
The barren hath borne seven,
And she who had many children is greatly enfeebled.
Ver. 6. Jehovah killeth, and maketh alive;
He bringeth down to the grave, and bringeth up.
Ver. 7. Jehovah maketh poor, and maketh rich;
He bringeth down, and he even exalteth.
Ver. 8. He lifteth up the poor from the dust;
From the dunghill he exalteth the beggar,
To make him sit with the nobles,
And inherit the throne of glory.
For to Jehovah belong the pillars of the earth,
And upon them he hath placed the globe.
Ver. 9. The foot of his saints he shall keep,
And the wicked shall be silent in darkness;
For by strength shall no man prevail.
Ver. 10. Jehovah shall bruise them who contend with him;
Upon them shall be thunder in the heavens.
Jehovah shall judge the ends of the earth;
And he shall give strength to his King.
And shall exalt the horn of his Messiah.
It is not particularly stated here when Hannah composed or delivered this hymn; it appears from the connection to have been at the very time in which she dedicated her son to God at the tabernacle, though some think that she composed it immediately on the birth of Samuel. The former sentiment is probably the most correct.
Mine horn is exalted in the Lord] We have often seen that horn signifies power, might, and dominion. It is thus constantly used in the Bible, and was so used among the heathens. The following words of Horace to his jar are well known, and speak a sentiment very similar to that above: –
Tu spem reducis mentibus anxiis,
Viresque et addis CORNUA pauperi.
Hor. Odar. lib. iii., Od. 21, v. 18.
Thou bringest back hope to desponding minds; And thou addest strength and horns to the poor man.
Paraphrastically expressed by Mr. Francis: –
“Hope, by thee, fair fugitive,
Bids the wretched strive to live.
To the beggar you dispense
Heart and brow of confidence.”
In which scarcely any thing of the meaning is preserved.
My mouth is enlarged] My faculty of speech is incited, stirred up, to express God’s disapprobation against my adversaries.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Hannah prayed, i.e. praised God; which is a part of prayer, Col 4:2; 1Ti 2:1; so it is a synecdochical expression. My heart rejoiceth, or, leapeth for joy; for the words note not only inward joy, but also the outward demonstrations of it.
In the Lord, as the author and the master of my joy, that he hath heard my prayer, and accepted my son for his service.
Mine horn is exalted; my strength and glory (which are oft signified by a horn, as Psa 89:17,24; 92:10) are advanced and manifested to my vindication, and the confusion of mine enemies.
My mouth is enlarged, i.e. opened wide, to pour forth abundant praises to God, and to give a full answer to all the reproaches of mine adversaries; whereas before it was shut through grief and confusion.
Over mine enemies, i.e. more than theirs, or so as to get the victory over them, as she saith afterwards. Here she manifests her great prudence, and piety, and modesty, that she doth not name Peninnah, but only her enemies in the general.
Because I rejoice in thy salvation; because the matter of my joy is no trivial or worldly thing, but that strange and glorious salvation or deliverance which thou hast given me from my own oppressing care and grief, and from the insolencies and reproaches of mine enemies, in giving me a son, and such a son as this, who shall be serviceable to God, and to his people, in helping them against their enemies, which she presaged, as may be guessed from 1Sa 2:10.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
1. Hannah prayed, and saidPraiseand prayer are inseparably conjoined in Scripture (Col 4:2;1Ti 2:1). This beautiful song washer tribute of thanks for the divine goodness in answering herpetition.
mine horn is exalted in theLordAllusion is here made to a peculiarity in the dress ofEastern women about Lebanon, which seems to have obtained ancientlyamong the Israelite women, that of wearing a tin or silver horn onthe forehead, on which their veil is suspended. Wives, who have nochildren, wear it projecting in an oblique direction, while those whobecome mothers forthwith raise it a few inches higher, incliningtowards the perpendicular, and by this slight but observable changein their headdress, make known, wherever they go, the maternalcharacter which they now bear.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And Hannah prayed and said,…. She had prayed before, but that was mental, this vocal; she had prayed and was answered, and had what she prayed for, and now she gives thanks for it; and thanksgiving is one kind of prayer, or a part of it; see 1Ti 2:1, wherefore though what follows is a song, it was expressed in prayer; and therefore it is said she prayed, and that by a spirit of prophecy, as the Targum; hence she is by the Jews h reckoned one of the seven prophetesses; and indeed in this song she not only relates the gracious experiences of divine goodness she had been favoured with, and celebrates the divine perfections, and treats of the dealings of God with men, both in a way of providence and grace; but prophesies of things that should be done hereafter in Israel, and particularly of the Messiah and of his kingdom. There is a great likeness in this song to the song of the Virgin Mary; compare 1Sa 2:1 with Lu 1:46 and 1Sa 2:2 with Lu 1:49 and 1Sa 2:4 with Lu 1:51,
my heart rejoiceth in the Lord: not in her son the Lord had given her, but in the goodness and kindness of the Lord in bestowing him on her, as an answer of prayer; which showed great condescension to her, the notice he took of her, the love he had to her, and his well pleasedness in her, and his acceptance of her prayer through Christ; she rejoiced not in her husband, nor in the wealth and riches they were possessed of, nor in any creature enjoyments, but in the Lord, the giver of all; nor in her religious services and sacrifices, but in the Lord Christ, through whom her duties were acceptable to God, and who was the antitype of the sacrifices offered; and it is in the person, offices, and grace of Christ, that we should alone rejoice: see Php 4:4 this joy of Hannah’s was not worldly, but spiritual; not outward, but inward; not hypocritical, but real and hearty:
mine horn is exalted in the Lord: which supposes that she had been in a low estate, was crest fallen, and her horn was defiled in the dust, as Job says was his case, Job 16:15, when God had shut up her womb, and her adversary upbraided her with it, and provoked and fretted her; and when she was so full of grief, that she could not eat her food, and prayed in the bitterness of her soul; but now she could lift up her horn and her head, as horned creatures, to whom the allusion is, do, when they are lively and strong; now she could look pleasant and cheerful, and even triumph, being raised to an high estate, and greatly favoured of the Lord, to whom she ascribes this change of her state and circumstances: it was owing to his power and grace that she was thus strengthened and exalted; as it is owing to the same, that the people of God, who are in a low estate by nature, are raised out of it in conversion, and brought into an open state of grace and favour with God, and put into the possession of rich blessings and mercies, and have hope of eternal glory, on account of which they can exult and triumph:
my mouth is enlarged over mine enemies; meaning Peninnah, and those that provoked her, and upbraided her with her barrenness, to whom she was not able to make any reply; but now her mouth was opened, and she could speak largely, and did; not in a way of reproach and reviling, in retaliation for what she had met with from others; but in prayer to God, to whom she could come with open mouth, and use freedom and boldness, and plead with importunity, fervency, and in faith, and in praise and thanksgiving to him for the great and good things he had done for her, and would now freely and largely speak of them to others; to some, her friends, to their joy and pleasure; and to others, her enemies, to their grief and confusion:
because I rejoice in thy salvation; not only in temporal salvation wrought by the Lord for her, whereby she was delivered from the reproach of barrenness, through a son being given unto her; but in spiritual and eternal salvation, through the Messiah, she had knowledge of, and faith in, as appears from 1Sa 2:10, as all believers in him do, as it is contrived by the wisdom of God, wrought out by Christ, and applied by his Spirit; it being so great, so suitable, so perfect and complete, entirely free, and of an everlasting duration; see
Ps 20:5.
h T. Megillah, fol. 14. 1.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Hannah’s song of praise. – The prayer in which Hannah poured out the feelings of her heart, after the dedication of her son to the Lord, is a song of praise of a prophetic and Messianic character. After giving utterance in the introduction to the rejoicing and exulting of her soul at the salvation that had reached her (1Sa 2:1), she praises the Lord as the only holy One, the only rock of the righteous, who rules on earth with omniscience and righteousness, brings down the proud and lofty, kills and makes alive, maketh poor and maketh rich (1Sa 2:2-8). She then closes with the confident assurance that He will keep His saints, and cast down the rebellious, and will judge the ends of the earth, and exalt the power of His king (1Sa 2:9, 1Sa 2:10).
This psalm is the mature fruit of the Spirit of God. The pious woman, who had gone with all the earnest longings of a mother’s heart to pray to the Lord God of Israel for a son, that she might consecrate him to the lifelong service of the Lord, “discerned in her own individual experience the general laws of the divine economy, and its signification in relation to the whole history of the kingdom of God” (Auberlen, p. 564). The experience which she, bowed down and oppressed as she was, had had of the gracious government of the omniscient and holy covenant God, was a pledge to her of the gracious way in which the nation itself was led by God, and a sign by which she discerned how God not only delivered at all times the poor and wretched who trusted in Him out of their poverty and distress, and set them up, but would also lift up and glorify His whole nation, which was at that time so deeply bowed down and oppressed by its foes. Acquainted as she was with the destination of Israel to be a kingdom, from the promises which God had given to the patriarchs, and filled as she was with the longing that had been awakened in the nation for the realization of these promises, she could see in spirit, and through the inspiration of God, the king whom the Lord was about to give to His people, and through whom He would raise it up to might and dominion.
The refusal of modern critics to admit the genuineness of this song is founded upon an a priori and utter denial of the supernatural saving revelations of God, and upon a consequent inability to discern the prophetic illumination of the pious Hannah, and a complete misinterpretation of the contents of her song of praise. The “proud and lofty,” whom God humbles and casts down, are not the heathen or the national foes of Israel, and the “poor and wretched” whom He exalts and makes rich are not the Israelites as such; but the former are the ungodly, and the latter the pious, in Israel itself. And the description is so well sustained throughout, that it is only by the most arbitrary criticism that it can be interpreted as referring to definite historical events, such as the victory of David over Goliath (Thenius), or a victory of the Israelites over heathen nations ( Ewald and others). Still less can any argument be drawn from the words of the song in support of its later origin, or its composition by David or one of the earliest of the kings of Israel. On the contrary, not only is its genuineness supported by the general consideration that the author of these books would never have ascribed a song to Hannah, if he had not found it in the sources he employed; but still more decisively by the circumstance that the songs of praise of Mary and Zechariah, in Luk 1:46. and Luk 1:68., show, through the manner in which they rest upon this ode, in what way it was understood by the pious Israelites of every age, and how, like the pious Hannah, they recognised and praised in their own individual experience the government of the holy God in the midst of His kingdom.
1Sa 2:1 The first verse forms the introduction to the song. Holy joy in the Lord at the blessing which she had received impelled the favoured mother to the praise of God:
1 My heart is joyful in the Lord,
My horn is exalted in the Lord,
My mouth is opened wide over mine enemies:
For I rejoice in Thy salvation.
Of the four members of this verse, the first answers to the third, and the second to the fourth. The heart rejoices at the lifting up of her horn, the mouth opens wide to proclaim the salvation before which the enemies would be dumb. “ My horn is high ” does not mean ‘I am proud’ ( Ewald), but “my power is great in the Lord.” The horn is the symbol of strength, and is taken from oxen whose strength is in their horns (vid., Deu 33:17; Psa 75:5, etc.). The power was high or exalted by the salvation which the Lord had manifested to her. To Him all the glory was due, because He had proved himself to be the holy One, and a rock upon which a man could rest his confidence.
1Sa 2:2-3 2 None is holy as the Lord; for there is none beside Thee;
And no rock is as our God.
3 Speak ye not much lofty, lofty;
Let (not) insolence go out of thy mouth!
For the Lord is an omniscient God,
And with Him deeds are weighed.
God manifests himself as holy in the government of the kingdom of His grace by His guidance of the righteous to salvation (see at Exo 19:6). But holiness is simply the moral reflection of the glory of the one absolute God. This explains the reason given for His holiness, viz., “there is not one (a God) beside thee” (cf. 2Sa 22:32). As the holy and only One, God is the rock (vid., Deu 32:4, Deu 32:15; Psa 18:3) in which the righteous can always trust. The wicked therefore should tremble before His holiness, and not talk in their pride of the lofty things which they have accomplished or intend to perform. is defined more precisely in the following clause, which is also dependent upon by the word , as insolent words spoken by the wicked against the righteous (see Psa 31:19). For Jehovah hears such words; He is “ a God of knowledge ” ( Deus scientiarum ), a God who sees and knows every single thing. The plural has an intensive signification. might be rendered “deeds are not weighed, or equal” (cf. Eze 18:25-26; Eze 33:17). But this would only apply to the actions of men; for the acts of God are always just, or weighed. But an assertion respecting the actions of men does not suit the context. Hence this clause is reckoned in the Masora as one of the passages in which stands for (see at Exo 21:8). “ To Him (with Him) deeds are weighed:” that is to say, the acts of God are weighed, i.e., equal or just. This is the real meaning according to the passages in Ezekiel, and not “the actions of men are weighed by Him” (De Wette, Maurer, Ewald, etc.): for God weighs the minds and hearts of men (Pro 16:2; Pro 21:2; Pro 24:12), not their actions. This expression never occurs. The weighed or righteous acts of God are described in 1Sa 2:4-8 in great and general traits, as displayed in the government of His kingdom through the marvellous changes which occur in the circumstances connected with the lives of the righteous and the wicked.
1Sa 2:4-8 4 Bow-heroes are confounded,
And stumbling ones gird themselves with strength;
5 Full ones hire themselves out for bread,
And hungry ones cease to be.
Yea, the barren beareth seven (children),
And she that is rich in children pines away.
6 The Lord kills and makes alive;
Leads down into hell, and leads up.
7 The Lord makes poor and makes rich,
Humbles and also exalts.
8 He raises mean ones out of the dust,
He lifts up poor ones out of the dunghill,
To set them beside the noble;
And He apportions to them the seat of glory:
For the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s,
And He sets the earth upon them.
In 1Sa 2:4, the predicate is construed with the nomen rectum , not with the nomen regens , because the former is the leading term (vid., Ges. 148, 1, and Ewald, 317, d.). The thought to be expressed is, not that the bow itself is to be broken, but that the heroes who carry the bow are to be confounded or broken inwardly. “ Bows of the heroes ” stands for heroes carrying bows. For this reason the verb is to be taken in the sense of confounded, not broken, especially as, apart from Jer 51:56, is not used to denote the breaking of outward things, but the breaking of men.
1Sa 2:5-8 are the rich and well to do; these would become so poor as to be obliged to hire themselves out for bread. , to cease to be what they were before. The use of as a conjunction, in the sense of “yea” or “in fact,” may be explained as an elliptical expression, signifying “it comes to this, that.” “ Seven children ” are mentioned as the full number of the divine blessing in children (see Rth 4:15). “The mother of many children” pines away, because she has lost all her sons, and with them her support in her old age (see Jer 15:9). This comes from the Lord, who kills, etc. (cf. Deu 32:39). The words of 1Sa 2:6 are figurative. God hurls down into death and the danger of death, and also rescues therefrom (see Psa 30:3-4). The first three clauses of 1Sa 2:8 are repeated verbatim in Psa 113:7-8. Dust and the dunghill are figures used to denote the deepest degradation and ignominy. The antithesis to this is, sitting upon the chair or throne of glory, the seat occupied by noble princes. The Lord does all this, for He is the creator and upholder of the world. The pillars ( , from = ) of the earth are the Lord’s; i.e., they were created or set up by Him, and by Him they are sustained. Now as Jehovah, the God of Israel, the Holy One, governs the world with His almighty power, the righteous have nothing to fear. With this thought the last strophe of the song begins:
1Sa 2:9-10 9 The feet of His saints He will keep,
And the wicked perish in darkness;
For by power no one becomes strong.
10 The Lord – those who contend against Him are confounded.
He thunders above him in the heavens;
The Lord will judge the ends of the earth,
That He may lend might to His king, And exalt the horn of His anointed.
The Lord keeps the feet of the righteous, so that they do not tremble and stumble, i.e., so that the righteous do not fall into adversity and perish therein (vid., Ps. 56:14; Psa 116:8; Psa 121:3). But the wicked, who oppress and persecute the righteous, will perish in darkness, i.e., in adversity, when God withdraws the light of His grace, so that they fall into distress and calamity. For no man can be strong through his own power, so as to meet the storms of life. All who fight against the Lord are destroyed. To bring out the antithesis between man and God, “Jehovah” is written absolutely at the commencement of the sentence in 1Sa 2:10: “ As for Jehovah, those who contend against Him are broken,” both inwardly and outwardly ( , as in 1Sa 2:4). The word , which follows, is not to be changed into . There is simply a rapid alternation of the numbers, such as we frequently meet with in excited language. “ Above him,” i.e., above every one who contends against God, He thunders. Thunder is a premonitory sign of the approach of the Lord to judgment. In the thunder, man is made to feel in an alarming way the presence of the omnipotent God. In the words, “ The Lord will judge the ends of the earth,” i.e., the earth to its utmost extremities, or the whole world, Hannah’s prayer rises up to a prophetic glance at the consummation of the kingdom of God. As certainly as the Lord God keeps the righteous at all times, and casts down the wicked, so certainly will He judge the whole world, to hurl down all His foes, and perfect His kingdom which He has founded in Israel. And as every kingdom culminates in its throne, or in the full might and government of a king, so the kingdom of God can only attain its full perfection in the king whom the Lord will give to His people, and endow with His might. The king, or the anointed of the Lord, of whom Hannah prophesies in the spirit, is not one single king of Israel, either David or Christ, but an ideal king, though not a mere personification of the throne about to be established, but the actual king whom Israel received in David and his race, which culminated in the Messiah. The exaltation of the horn of the anointed to Jehovah commenced with the victorious and splendid expansion of the power of David, was repeated with every victory over the enemies of God and His kingdom gained by the successive kings of David’s house, goes on in the advancing spread of the kingdom of Christ, and will eventually attain to its eternal consummation in the judgment of the last day, through which all the enemies of Christ will be made His footstool.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
| Hannah’s Song. | B. C. 1137. |
1 And Hannah prayed, and said, My heart rejoiceth in the LORD, mine horn is exalted in the LORD: my mouth is enlarged over mine enemies; because I rejoice in thy salvation. 2 There is none holy as the LORD: for there is none beside thee: neither is there any rock like our God. 3 Talk no more so exceeding proudly; let not arrogancy come out of your mouth: for the LORD is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed. 4 The bows of the mighty men are broken, and they that stumbled are girded with strength. 5 They that were full have hired out themselves for bread; and they that were hungry ceased: so that the barren hath born seven; and she that hath many children is waxed feeble. 6 The LORD killeth, and maketh alive: he bringeth down to the grave, and bringeth up. 7 The LORD maketh poor, and maketh rich: he bringeth low, and lifteth up. 8 He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill, to set them among princes, and to make them inherit the throne of glory: for the pillars of the earth are the LORD‘s, and he hath set the world upon them. 9 He will keep the feet of his saints, and the wicked shall be silent in darkness; for by strength shall no man prevail. 10 The adversaries of the LORD shall be broken to pieces; out of heaven shall he thunder upon them: the LORD shall judge the ends of the earth; and he shall give strength unto his king, and exalt the horn of his anointed.
We have here Hannah’s thanksgiving, dictated, not only by the spirit of prayer, but by the spirit of prophecy. Her petition for the mercy she desired we had before (ch. i. 11), and here we have her return of praise; in both out of the abundance of a heart deeply affected (in the former with her own wants, and in the latter with God’s goodness) her mouth spoke. Observe in general, 1. When she had received mercy from God she owned it, with thankfulness to his praise. Not like the nine lepers, Luke xvii. 17. Praise is our rent, our tribute. We are unjust if we do not pay it. 2. The mercy she had received was an answer to prayer, and therefore she thought herself especially obliged to give thanks for it. What we win by prayer we may wear with comfort, and must wear with praise. 3. Her thanksgiving is here called a prayer: Hannah prayed; for thanksgiving is an essential part of prayer. In every address to God we must express a grateful regard to him as our benefactor. Nay, and thanksgiving for mercies received shall be accepted as a petition for further mercy. 4. From this particular mercy which she had received from God she takes occasion, with an elevated and enlarged heart, to speak glorious things of God and of his government of the world for the good of his church. Whatever at any time gives rise to our praises in this manner they should be raised. 5. Her prayer was mental. Her voice was not heard; but in her thanksgiving she spoke, that all might hear her. She made her supplication with groanings that could not be uttered, but now her lips were opened to show forth God’s praise. 6. This thanksgiving is here left upon record for the encouragement of those of the weaker sex to attend the throne of grace. God will regard their prayers and praises. The virgin Mary’s song has great affinity with this of Hannah, Luke i. 46. Three things we have in this thanksgiving:–
I. Hannah’s triumph in God, in his glorious perfections, and the great things he had done for her, v. 1-3. Observe,
1. What great things she says of God. She takes little notice of the particular mercy she was now rejoicing in, does not commend Samuel for the prettiest child, the most toward and sensible for his age that she ever saw, as fond parents are too apt to do. No, she overlooks the gift, and praises the giver; whereas most forget the giver and fasten only on the gift. Every stream should lead us to the fountain; and the favours we receive from God should raise our admiration of the infinite perfections there are in God. There may be other Samuels, but no other Jehovah. There is none beside thee. Note, God is to be praised as a peerless being, and of unparalleled perfection. This glory is due unto his name, to own not only that there is none like him, but that there is none besides him. All others were pretenders, Ps. xviii. 31. Four of God’s glorious attributes Hannah here celebrates the glory of:– (1.) His unspotted purity. This is that attribute which is most praised in the upper world, by those that always behold his face, Isa 6:3; Rev 4:8. When Israel triumphed over the Egyptians God was praised as glorious in holiness, Exod. xv. 11. So here, in Hannah’s triumph, There is none holy as the Lord. It is the rectitude of his nature, his infinite agreement with himself, and the equity of his government and judgment in all the administrations of both. At the remembrance of this we ought to give thanks. (2.) His almighty power: Neither is there any rock (or any strength, for so the word is sometimes rendered) like our God. Hannah had experienced a mighty support by staying herself upon him, and therefore speaks as she had found, and seems to refer to that of Moses, Deut. xxxii. 31. (3.) His unsearchable wisdom: The Lord, the Judge of all, is a God of knowledge; he clearly and perfectly sees into the character of every person and the merits of every cause, and he gives knowledge and understanding to those that seek them of him. (4.) His unerring justice: By him actions are weighed. His own are so, in his eternal counsels; the actions of the children of men are so, in the balances of his judgment, so that he will render to every man according to his work, and is not mistaken in what any man is or does.
2. How she solaces herself in these things. What we give God the glory of we may take the comfort of. Hannah does so, (1.) In holy joy: My heart rejoiceth in the Lord; not so much in her son as in her God; he is to be the gladness of our joy (Ps. xliii. 4), and our joy must not terminate in any thing short of him: “I rejoice in thy salvation; not only in this particular favour to me, but in the salvation of thy people Israel, those salvations especially which this child will be an instrument of, and that, above all, by Christ, which those are but the types of.” (2.) In holy triumph: “My horn is exalted; not only is my reputation saved by my having a son, but greatly raised by having such a son.” We read of some of the singers whom David appointed to lift up the horn, an instrument of music, in praising God (1 Chron. xxv. 5), so that, My horn is exalted means this, “My praises are very much elevated to an unusual strain.” Exalted in the Lord; God is to have the honour of all our exaltations, and in him must we triumph. My mouth is enlarged, that is, “Now I have wherewith to answer those that reproached me.” He that has his quiver full of arrows, his house full of children, shall not be ashamed to speak with the enemy in the gate, Ps. cxxvii. 5.
3. How she herewith silences those that set up themselves as rivals with God and rebels against him (v. 3): Talk no more so exceedingly proudly. Let not Peninnah and her children upbraid her any more with her confidence in God and praying to him: at length she found it not in vain. See Mic. vii. 10, Then she that is my enemy shall see it, and shame shall cover her that said, Where is thy God? Or perhaps it was below her to take so much notice of Peninnah, and her malice, in this song; but this is intended as a check to the insolence of the Philistines, and other enemies of God and Israel, that set their mouth against the heavens, Ps. lxxiii. 9. “Let this put them to silence and shame; he that has thus judged for me against my adversary will judge for his people against all theirs.”
II. The notice she takes of the wisdom and sovereignty of the divine providence, in its disposals of the affairs of the children of men; such are the vicissitudes of them, and such the strange and sudden turns and revolutions of them, that it is often found a very short step between the height of prosperity and the depth of adversity. God has not only set the one over against the other (Eccl. vii. 14), but the one very near the other, and no gulf fixed between them, that we may rejoice as though we rejoiced not and weep as though we wept not.
1. The strong are soon weakened and the weak are soon strengthened, when God pleases, v. 4. On the one hand, if he speak the word, the bows of the mighty men are broken; they are disarmed, disabled to do as they have before done and as they have designed to do. Those have been worsted in battle who seemed upon all accounts to have the advantage on their side, and thought themselves sure of victory. See Psa 46:9; Psa 37:15; Psa 37:17. Particular persons are soon weakened by sickness and age, and they find that the bow does not long abide in strength; many a mighty man who has gloried in his might has found it a deceitful bow, that failed him when he trusted to it. On the other hand, if the Lord speak the word, those who stumble through weakness, who were so feeble that they could not go straight or steady, are girded with strength, in body and mind, and are able to bring great things to pass. Those who were weakened by sickness return to their vigour (Job xxxiii. 25), and those who were brought down by sorrow shall recover their comfort, which will confirm the weak hands and the feeble knees, Isa. xxxv. 3. Victory turns in favour of that side that was given up for gone, and even the lame take the prey, Isa. xxxiii. 23.
2. The rich are soon impoverished and the poor strangely enriched on a sudden, v. 5. Providence sometimes does so blast men’s estates and cross their endeavours, and with a fire not blown consume their increase, that those who were full (their barns full, and their bags full, their houses full of good things, Job xxii. 18, and their bellies full of these hidden treasures, Ps. xvii. 14) have been reduced to such straits and extremities as to want the necessary supports of life, and to hire out themselves for bread, and they must dig, since to beg they are ashamed. Riches flee away (Prov. xxiii. 5), and leave those miserable who, when they had them, placed their happiness in them. To those that have been full and free poverty must needs be doubly grievous. But, on the other hand, sometimes Providence so orders it that those who are hungry cease, that is, cease to hire out themselves for bread as they have done. Having, by God’s blessing on their industry, got beforehand in the world, and enough to live upon at ease, they shall hunger no more, not thirst any more. This is not to be ascribed to fortune, nor merely to men’s wisdom or folly. Riches are not to men of understanding, nor favour to men of skill (Eccl. ix. 11), nor is it always men’s own fault that they become poor, but (v. 7) the Lord maketh some poor and maketh others rich; the impoverishing of one is the enriching of another, and it is God’s doing. To some he gives power to get wealth, from others he takes away power to keep the wealth they have. Are we poor? God made us poor, which is a good reason why we should be content, and reconcile ourselves to our condition. Are we rich? God made us rich, which is a good reason why we should be thankful, and serve him cheerfully in the abundance of good things he gives us. It may be understood of the same person; those that were rich God makes poor, and after awhile makes rich again, as Job; he gave, he takes away, and then gives again. Let not the rich be proud and secure, for God can soon make them poor; let not the poor despond and despair, for God can in due time enrich them again.
3. Empty families are replenished and numerous families diminished and made few. This is the instance that comes close to the occasion of the thanksgiving: The barren hath borne seven, meaning herself, for, though at present she had but one son, yet that one being a Nazarite, devoted to God and employed in his immediate service, he was to her as good as seven. Or it is the language of her faith. Now that she had one she hoped for more, and was not disappointed; she had five more (v. 21), so that if we reckon Samuel but for two, as we well may, she has the number she promised herself: the barren hath borne seven, while, on the other hand, she that hath many children has waxed feeble, and hath left bearing. She says no more. Peninnah is now mortified and crest-fallen. The tradition of the Jews is that when Hannah bore one child Peninnah buried two. There are many instances both of the increase of families that were inconsiderable and the extinguishing of families that made a figure, Job 22:23; Psa 107:38, c.
4. God is the sovereign Lord of life and death (<i>v. 6): The Lord killeth and maketh alive. Understand it, (1.) Of God’s sovereign dominion and universal agency, in the lives and deaths of the children of men. He presides in births and burials. Whenever any die it is God that directs the arrows of death. The Lord killeth. Death is his messenger, strikes whom and when he bids; none are brought to the dust but it is he that brings them down, for in his hand are the keys of death and the grave, Rev. i. 18. Whenever any are born it is he that makes them alive. None knows what is the way of the spirit, but this we know, that it comes from the Father of spirits. Whenever any are recovered from sickness, and delivered from imminent perils, it is God that bringeth up; for to him belong the issues from death. (2.) Of the distinction he makes between some and others: He killeth some, and maketh, that is, keepeth, others alive that were in the same danger (in war, suppose, or pestilence), two in a bed together, it may be, one taken by death and the other left alive. Even so, Father, because it seemed good in thy eyes. Some that were most likely to live are brought down to the grave, and others that were as likely to die are brought up; for living and dying do not go by likelihoods. God’s providences towards some are killing, ruining to their comforts, and towards others at the same time reviving. (3.) Of the change he makes with one and the same person: He killeth and bringeth down to the grave, that is, he brings even to death’s door, and then revives and raises up, when even life was despaired of and a sentence of death received, 2Co 1:8; 2Co 1:9. He turns to destruction, and then says, Return, Ps. cx. 3. Nothing is too hard for God to do, no, not the quickening of the dead, and putting life into dry bones.
5. Advancement and abasement are both from him. He brings some low and lifts up others (v. 7), humbles the proud and gives grace and honour to the lowly, lays those in the dust that would vie with the God above them and trample upon all about them (Job xl. 12, 13), but lifts up those with his salvation that humble themselves before him, Jam. iv. 10. Or it may be understood of the same persons: those whom he had brought low, when they are sufficiently humbled, he lifteth up. This is enlarged upon, v. 8. He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, a low and mean condition, nay, from the dunghill, a base and servile condition, loathed, and despised, to set them among princes. See Psa 113:7; Psa 113:8. Promotion comes not by chance, but from the counsel of God, which often prefers those that were very unlikely and that men thought very unworthy. Joseph and Daniel, Moses and David, were thus strangely advanced, from a prison to a palace, from a sheep-hook to a sceptre. The princes they are set among may be tempted to disdain them, but God can establish the honour which he gives thus surprisingly, and make them even to inherit the throne of glory. Let not those whom Providence has thus preferred be upbraided with the dust and dunghill they are raised out of, for the meaner their beginnings were the more they are favoured, and God is glorified, in their advancement, if it be by lawful and honourable means.
6. A reason is given for all these dispensations which obliges us to acquiesce in them, how surprising soever they are: For the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s. (1.) If we understand this literally, it intimates God’s almighty power, which cannot be controlled. He upholds the whole creation, founded the earth, and still sustains it by the word of his power. What cannot he do in the affairs of families and kingdoms, far beyond our conception and expectation, who hangs the earth upon nothing? Job xxvi. 7. But, (2.) If we understand it figuratively, it intimates his incontestable sovereignty, which cannot be disputed. The princes and great ones of the earth, the directors of states and governments, are the pillars of the earth, Ps. lxxv. 3. On these hinges the affairs of the world seem to turn, but they are the Lord’s, Ps. xlvii. 9. From him they have their power, and therefore he may advance whom he pleases; and who may say, What doest thou?
III. A prediction of the preservation and advancement of all God’s faithful friends, and the destruction of all his and their enemies. Having testified her joyful triumph in what God had done, and is doing, she concludes with joyful hopes of what he would do, 1Sa 2:9; 1Sa 2:10. Pious affections (says bishop Patrick) in those days rose many times to the height of prophecy, whereby God continued in that nation his true religion, in the midst of their idolatrous inclinations. This prophecy may refer, 1. More immediately to the government of Israel by Samuel, and by David whom he was employed to anoint. The Israelites, God’s saints, should be protected and delivered; the Philistines, their enemies, should be conquered and subdued, and particularly by thunder, ch. vii. 10. Their dominions should be enlarged, king David strengthened and greatly exalted, and Israel (that in the time of the judges had made so small a figure and had much ado to subsist) should now shortly become great and considerable, and give law to all its neighbours. An extraordinary change that was; and the birth of Samuel was, as it were, the dawning of that day. But, 2. We have reason to think that this prophecy looks further, to the kingdom of Christ, and the administration of that kingdom of grace, of which she now comes to speak, having spoken so largely of the kingdom of providence. And here is the first time that we meet with the name Messiah, or his Anointed. The ancient expositors, both Jewish and Christian, make it to look beyond David, to the Son of David. Glorious things are here spoken of the kingdom of the Mediator, both before and since his incarnation; for the method of the administration of it, both by the eternal Word and by that Word made flesh, is much the same. Concerning that kingdom we are here assured, (1.) That all the loyal subjects of it shall be carefully and powerfully protected (v. 9): He will keep the feet of his saints. There are a people in the world that are God’s saints, his select and sanctified ones; and he will keep their feet, that is, all that belongs to them shall be under his protection, down to their very feet, the lowest part of the body. If he will keep their feet, much more their head and hearts. Or he will keep their feet, that is, he will secure the ground they stand on, and establish their goings; he will set a guard of grace upon their affections and actions, that their feet may neither wander out of the way nor stumble in the way. When their feet are ready to slip (Ps. lxxiii. 2) his mercy holdeth them up (Ps. xciv. 18) and keepeth them from falling, Jude 24. While we keep God’s ways he will keep our feet. See Psa 37:23; Psa 37:24. (2.) That all the powers engaged against it shall not be able to effect the ruin of it. By strength shall no man prevail. God’s strength is engaged for the church; and, while it is so, man’s strength shall not prevail against it. The church seems destitute of strength, her friends few and feeble, but prevalency does not go by human strength, Ps. xxxiii. 16. God neither needs it for him (Ps. cxlvii. 10) nor dreads it against him. (3.) That all the enemies of it will certainly be broken and brought down: The wicked shall be silent in darkness, v. 9. They shall be struck both blind and dumb, not be able to see their way nor have any thing to say for themselves. Damned sinners are sentenced to utter darkness, and in it they will be for ever speechless, Mat 22:12; Mat 22:13. The wicked are called the adversaries of the Lord, and it is foretold (v. 10) that they shall be broken to pieces. Their designs against his kingdom among men will all be dashed, and they themselves destroyed; how can those speed better that are in arms against Omnipotence? See Luke xix. 27. God has many ways of doing it, and, rather than fail, from heaven shall he thunder upon them, and so, not only put them in terror and consternation, but bring them to destruction. Who can stand before God’s thunderbolts? (4.) That the conquests of this kingdom shall extend themselves to distant regions: The Lord shall judge the ends of the earth. David’s victories and dominions reached far, but the uttermost parts of the earth are promised to the Messiah for his possession (Ps. ii. 8), to be either reduced to his golden sceptre or ruined by his iron rod. God is Judge of all, and he will judge for his people against his and their enemies, Psa 110:5; Psa 110:6. (5.) That the power and honour of Messiah the prince shall grow and increase more and more: He shall give strength unto his king, for the accomplishing of his great undertaking (Ps. lxxxix. 21, and see Luke xxii. 43), strengthen him to go through the difficulties of his humiliation, and in his exaltation he will lift up the head (Ps. cx. 7), lift up the horn, the power and honour, of his anointed, and make him higher than the kings of the earth, Ps. lxxxix. 27. This crowns the triumph, and is, more than any thing, the matter of her exultation. Her horn is exalted (v. 1) because she foresees the horn of the Messiah will be so. This secures the hope. The subjects of Christ’s kingdom will be safe, and the enemies of it will be ruined, for the anointed, the Lord Christ, is girded with strength, and is able to save and destroy unto the uttermost.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
First Samuel – Chapter 2
Hannah’s Prayer-Song, vs. 1-10
This prophetic prayer-song of Hannah is far-reaching in scope, with more than one Messianic reference. Though it would be presumptuous to speculate on the knowledge of Hannah relative to the Messianic promise, His reign, etc., it is apparent that she was very much conscious of such a promise. It is a song of joy in realization of her blessing in the Lord. Her personal exultation over her blessing has undertones which suggest that she may be thinking of her triumph over Peninnah Yet they are analogous to the triumph of Christ over His persecutors. The horn is the symbol of power, which Hannah ascribes to the Lord, and the enlarging of her mouth is for the purpose of rejoicing in His salvation. She continues, to ascribe to the Lord holiness, uniqueness, and trustworthiness. The figure of the rock for the Lord’s steadfastness goes back to Moses (De 32:4, 15, 18, 30, 31) and is used throughout the Bible in like manner (e.g., Isa 32:2; Mat 16:18; 1Co 10:4). The arrogant are rebuked for their words against the Lord, for He weighs actions, and causes His will to tome to pass.
Those who depend on the might of men are broken; they stumble and fall. They were once full, but become needy. Those who were considered barren and empty produce seven, symbolic of a full return for their reliance on the Lord. The omnipotence of the Lord is excelling and irresistible. He kills and makes alive, brings down and raises up, makes poor and makes rich, humbles and exalts. It is the Lord who will lift the poor from the dust and take the beggar from the dunghill to place them among princes on thrones of glory. For the Lord controls all; and His will prevails. All these things are illustrative of His spiritual rescue of men who turn to Him in repentance and faith.
The Lord is lauded as the Creator ifs verse 8, as the Keeper of the saved (vs. 9), as Judge of the wicked (vs. 9, 10). The song ends with a preview of Armageddon and Millennium, when adversaries are broken to pieces, the world is judged, the King is enthroned, and the Horn of the Anointed is exalted..
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
CRITICAL AND EXPOSITORY NOTES
1Sa. 2:1. And Hannah prayed. Hymns are wont to be comprehended under the name of prayers (Psa. 71:20). It was the most ancient way of preserving the memory of things to posterity, poets being more ancient than historians or orators. (Patrick.) Mine Horn. There is no reason for supposing here a reference to the custom among Oriental women (Druses and others) of wearing silver horns on the head to which the veil is attached, and which, by their position, indicate the womans position as maiden, wife, or mother. There is no trace of such a custom among the ancient Hebrews. The word translated horn is used of the horns of beasts, of horns for blowing and drinking, or for any horn-shaped vessel, and of a mountain peak. It is the symbol derived from horned beasts, which carry the head high in vigorous courage and consciousness of power. (Langes Commentary.) Mine horn is exalted does not mean, I am proud, but my power is great in the Lord. (Keil.) This figure appears first here, and connects this song with that of David, in 2Sa. 22:3, and is adopted in the Gospel, and applied to Christ in the song of Zacharias (Luk. 1:69). (Wordsworth.) The mouth is enlarged, or opened wide, to proclaim the salvation before which the enemies would be dumb. (Keil.)
1Sa. 2:2. Rock. This figure is another connecting link which joins this song with that of Moses (Deu. 32:4) with David, and all with Christ. (Wordsworth.) (See on this subject in Comments.) The symbolical designation of the covenant-God by Rock, which occurs frequently, was suggested naturally by the configuration of the ground in Palestine, where masses of rock, surrounded by steep precipices, offered an image of solid and sure protection. (Langes Commentary.)
1Sa. 2:3. By Him actions are weighed. Keil translates, To Him deeds are weighed, that is to say, the acts of God are weighed, i.e., are equal or just. Many expositors agree with him, and about an equal number understand it to signify that God weighs, or rightly estimates the actions of men.
1Sa. 2:4. The bows of the mighty, etc. Bows were a principal part of warriors weapons and their girdles a principal part of their military habit (Patrick).
1Sa. 2:5. They that were full, etc. See an instance in 1Sa. 2:36 (Biblical Commentary). Ceased either to be hungry or to work for bread. The barren hath borne seven, i.e. many. Seven children are mentioned as the full number of the Divine blessing in children (Rth. 4:15).(Keil.) Here prophecy concerning the Church mingles with her hymn of praise.(Patrick.) (On this subject see Comments on the Song.)
1Sa. 2:6. The Lord killeth, etc. Killing denotes (with a departure from the ordinary sense) bringing into the extremest misfortune and suffering, which oppresses the soul like the gloom of death, or brings it near to deathmaking alive is extricating from deadly sorrow and introducing into safety and joy.See Deu. 32:39; Psa. 30:3, etc. (Langes Commentary).
1Sa. 2:8. The beggar from the dunghill. This alludes to a form of wretchedness known in the East, and indicating the lowest degree of poverty and humiliation. The dunghilla pile of horse, cow, or camel offal, heaped up to dry in the sun and serve as fuelwas and is piled up in the huts of the poor; and sometimes, from necessity, is the haunt of wandering mendicants, who, finding it in some outhouse outside the city, lodge there for want of better accommodation: so that the change that had been made in the social position of Hannah appeared to her grateful heart as auspicious and as great as the elevation of a poor despised beggar to the highest and most dignified rank (Fausset.) The pillars of the earth. There is no need to find a geographical theory in a poetical statement. And even if it expresses the authors geographical views, it is not the thought of the passage, but only the framework of the thought; the real thought here is solely religious, and has nothing to do with physical science (Translator of Langes Commentary). Wordsworth calls it a figurative expression derived from a palace or temple. Some understand by the pillars, the rulers of the earth.
1Sa. 2:9. Keep the feet, etc. Either from error and sin (Fausset) or from misfortune (Langes Commentary). Darkness. Symbolic of misfortune.
1Sa. 2:10. Thunder. Thunder is a premonitory sign of the approach of the Lord to judgment (Keil). Literally fulfilled in this history (Wordsworth). The ends of the earth. The object of Gods judicial interposition is not only the members of the chosen people, but the whole world (Langes Commentary). His anointed or Messiah. The first time the word is used in Holy Scripture.
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.1Sa. 2:1-10
HANNAHS SONG
I. The end of a granted desire should be the beginning of praise. The desire of the husbandman ends when the last shock of corn is safely housed in the barn. Then comes the harvest song indicating that desire has been completed by fulfilment. The ploughing and sowing, the bearing of the precious seed, the toil, the hope, the fear, the patience are all things of the past, and the end of all these should be a beginning of something newof a song of thanksgiving. So it will be in the kingdom of God at the end of the present dispensation. The groaning and travailing of the whole creationthe sin, the sorrow, the tears, and struggles of the present will one day be endedthe earnest expectation of the creaturethe desire of the best of the human race in all worldsthe prayer of ageswill end in complete fulfilment: and the end of all the desire and longing of the present will be the beginning of praise. A new song will be sung to celebrate the incoming of the new erathe birth of the new heavens and the new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness (2Pe. 3:13). The beginning of a perpetual thanksgiving will celebrate the end of the present state of things and the incoming of the new. And so it should always be in the life of the individual It was so with Hannah. She had not experienced the consummation of her desire without experiencing deep sorrowwithout long and patient waiting upon God. But the desire, the tears, the hope were behind her. The child had been born, the son had been given. The vow had been paid and the gift of the Lord had been given back to Him. The tide of joy and gratitude had been rising higher and higher in her heart from the hour in which she left her home until she stood in the very same spot where she had stood beforea woman sorrowful and grieved in spirit. And now she was a joyful mother, and gladness flooded her soul and burst forth into a mighty song of exultation and thanksgiving.
II. The experience of one indvidual is often symbolic and prophetic of the experience of many. The light that shone upon Paul on his way to Damascus pained and blinded him at first. And the bodily pain and blindness were symbolic of the pain and darkness of his soul from the light which shined into his soul. But out of the darkness and sorrow came light and joy, such as he had never known before. Of the experience of how many was this experience of Paul symbolic and prophetic! How many through his pain and joy were brought to pass through a like experience! To how many was the soul transition of this man an earnest of the same transition from darkness to light! Hannahs experience was symbolic and prophetic of what was to be the experience of many of her nation. Those who were godly among them had been long grieved at heart because of the persecution of their enemiesbecause it seemed, indeed, as if God had forgotten to be gracious to His own people. Many a time, doubtless, had they asked Gideons questionIf the Lord be with us, why then is all this befallen us? and where be all His miracles which our fathers told us of? (Jdg. 6:13). But a new era was now to begin. Hannahs joy coming after her long sorrow was anticipatory of a time when the garment of praise should take the place of the spirit of heaviness with all true patriots and servants of God in the land of Israel.
III. The language of the human soul in one age is often fitted to express its feelings in all ages. A common life expresses its existence in the same general outward form from age to age. The life of the rose or of the lily finds expression in the same general outward form to-day as it did when God first called it into existence. There are modifications and individual distinctions, but the general outline is the same. So with the life of the human soul. Although time modifies the form in which it gives expression to its thoughts, although each individual has an experience which in some respects differs from that of any other creature, yet the language spoken ages ago finds an echo in the hearts of men and women in each generation, and expresses their feelings as well as it expresses the feelings of the person who first uttered them. How perfectly does the language of some of the Psalms, for instance, fit the experience of many men and women in this nineteenth century. What a close resemblance there is between this song of the happy mother of Israels prophet, and that of the mother of that prophet, priest, and king, who was not the Saviour of Israel merely, but the Saviour of the world. There are slight modifications, but the great backbone of thought running through the one is the same as that in the other. And the same words, with slight changes of expression, might be used by any soul who had emerged from a long night of sorrow and darkness into a new and brighter epoch in its history, and as a matter of fact it has been so used by the Church of God in all ages, and will be until time shall be no longer. These thoughts are suggested by the song as a whole. We will now notice its main subjects.
I. That there is one God in contradistinction to many. There is none beside Thee. The human soul and the world around us speak alike of the oneness of God. The heavens that declare His glory, and the firmament that showeth His handy work speak of One Supreme Ruler who controls all the forces by which the hosts of heaven move in their appointed paths. The vast machine has many complications, but the unity of its movements and operations bear the stamp of one ruling mind. The human soul cries out for One Godfor one distinct and over-ruling power above all the principalities and powers of the universe. The Bible declares unmistakably that there is such a Being. There is one everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the heavens and the earth, who hath meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales and the hills in a balance, and none instructed Him, or taught Him knowledge, or showed to Him the way of understanding (Isaiah 60). He alone is the King eternal, immortal, invisible (1Ti. 1:17), who doeth according to His will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth (Dan. 4:35). The human soul may well rejoice in the knowledge that its destinies and the destinies of all the creatures of the universe are in the hands of a distinct identity like itself, yet so much greater and more powerful as to be able to control all the apparently conflicting forces which are at work into a complete and perfect harmony for the good of His creatures. The Israel of Jehovah in all ages have reason to rejoice in the knowledge that the Lord our God is one Lord (Deu. 6:4).
II. That this one God is pure in His character. There is none holy as the Lord. If a human creature who holds in his hands the earthly destinies of other creatures (who are inferior to him in power) is lawless and wicked, of what misery may he be the cause! When an earthly judge, although skilful and learned, is known to be morally bad, we feel that his want of purity is not only injurious to himself, but may affect the destinies of those upon whom he is called to pass sentence. So with any ruler or judge of men in any capacity: purity of character, perfect integrity (so far as a human creature can be pure and upright), is felt to be indispensable to the well-being of those whom they govern or whom they judge. If this be so in the case of a human and finite being, how much more so is it in the case of the Almighty and Infinite God? If such a thing as a moral flaw in His character could be conceived, how terrible would be the issue! He who is to judge the world must be perfectly righteous. There must be nothing in His feelings and disposition that would tend to influence Him to do anything but the strictest justice. Seeing that the destinies of untold millions are in His hands, He must be absolutely without spot in His moral character. Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right? (Gen. 18:25) But in order to do right at all times He must be absolutely incorruptible and un-defiled. And this He is declared to be, this He has shown Himself to be. He has shown it in His hatred to sin. A mans moral purity, his holiness, may be estimated by the abhorrence in which he holds all moral impurityanything which can defile his own soul and the souls of others. That God hates sin may be seen in the searching and binding character of His law. Human lawgivers make laws which deal with mans outward lifewhich have to do with him as a citizen rather than as a man. If he abstains from certain outward actions, the law allows him to live unmolested. But Gods law is so holy that it penetrates into the spirit, legislates concerning thoughts and feelings, passes sentence upon hidden motives as well as upon visible actions. The exceeding broadness (Psa. 119:96) of the law reveals the Lawgivers hatred to sin, and His consequent moral purity. And Gods hatred to sin, and, therefore, His holiness is seen in in the extent of the sacrifice He has made to put away sin. A human rulers abhorrence of any evil law or custom may be estimated by the efforts he makes to abolish it; by the self-sacrifice he is willing to undergo to rid his country of the curse. In nothing is the absolute holiness of God seen so plainly as in the fact that He gave His only-begotten Son to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself (Heb. 9:26). Those who sing the song of the Lamb slain glorify the name of the Lord for His holiness (Rev. 15:3-4). And the contemplation of His work of redemption gives His saints on earth the most assuring proof of that holiness at the remembrance of which they join the first singer of this song in giving thanks (Psa. 30:4).
III. That immutability is a necessary consequence of Gods absolute purity. Neither is there any rock like our God. The unchangeableness of any human being depends upon his goodness and upon the length of time he has been good. He will be unchangeable in his feelings and actions in proportion to his moral purity, and the longer he has lived a holy life the more fixed and rock-like will be his character. If a man has pursued a line of righteous conduct for half-a-centuryif in all that time he has been a man of unblemished integrityeveryone will feel that he is less likely to change now than he was fifty years ago. Every year that has passed over his headevery step that he has taken in the path of uprightnesshas added something to the immutability of his character. God has ever been perfectly holyholiness is His most important attributethe one which forms the most weighty theme of the adoration of those of His creatures who are nearest to Him in moral character (Isa. 6:3). And because He is so holy He must be unchangeable in His character. His everlasting holiness is a guarantee that He will always be the same in thought, and word, and deed; while He remains the Holy One of Eternity, He must continue to be the unchangeable God (Mal. 3:6). And that God is thus unchangeable may well furnish men with a theme of song. It is an instinct of humanity to reach out after something less changeable than themselvesto endeavour to lay hold of some object to which, as to a rock, they may anchor for rest and security. All the efforts of men to secure for themselves permanent positions in the worldto ensure to themselves and to their families a source of livelihood which will not fail themare indications of their desire for a rock of some kind upon which they may rest. That upon which they place their dependence may be a very unworthy object of trust for an immortal spirit, yet men will make a rock of any object rather than have none. But those who, like Hannah, know the holy and unchangeable God, make Him, and Him only, the object of their entire trustthe Rock of their souls. They know from joyful experience that in all their need He has been, and ever will be, a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat, when the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall (Isa. 25:4).
IV. God is likewise to be rejoiced in as a God of knowledge. The Lord is a God of knowledge, etc.
1. He knows Himself. This is more than any human creature can assert concerning his own identity. The anatomist who can describe every bone and vein and nerve in the human body is looked upon as a man of knowledge, but when he has done this there are many mysteries connected even with the body that are utterly beyond his grasphe stands before them in absolute ignorance. The student of mans mind is considered to be a man of knowledge if he can say something instructive concerning the world of thought and feeling within manif he can analyse the operations of the mind and classify the mental faculties and throw some light upon the relations of body and soul. Yet when he has said all, how little has he said which can unfold to us the mystery of our own existencehow little does the wisest man know concerning himself. But God has a perfect knowledge of His own nature, He never returns from any reflection upon Himself with any mist of ignorance resting upon HimHe comprehends the whole length and breadth and depth and height of His own Infinite Being.
2. He has a perfect knowledge of His own actions. By Him actions are weighednot only the acts of men but His own. Man cannot pretend to any perfect judgment of his own actions. He knows not the real value of his own deedshe does not know whither they will tendhe can only come to an approximate estimate of his own motives. But God can perfectly weigh His actsHe knows exactly what will be their effectHe has a perfect knowledge of the motives which prompt them.
3. Having this perfect knowledge of Himself and of all that He does, the Divine Being must know man in all the mystery of his complicated being, and must be able perfectly to estimate the worth of every human action. The greater includes the less. He who made man must comprehend the nature of his existence; He knows what constitutes life; He comprehends how mind acts upon matter, and sees the subtle link which unites soul and body. And in the matter of human actions, He is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart, and all things are naked and opened in the eyes of Him with whom we have to do (Heb. 4:12-13). The motives that prompt human deeds, the influence that those deeds will have upon future ages, the nature of the human will which is behind every human deed are all to Him as an open book.
4. The proper condition of heart in the presence of such a God is humility. Talk no more so exceeding proudly; let not arrogancy come out of your mouth. Limited knowledge on any subject should make men humble in the presence of those who are better informed. It ill becomes such to assume to dictate to and instruct those who are far more competent to speak upon the matter. How much more should mans limited knowledge of himself and of his Creatorof his own actions, and of the actions of the All-Wise and All-knowing Godcause him, like Job, to lay his hand upon his mouth (Job. 40:4). Unable as he is rightly to weigh even his own actions, how can he dare to constitute himself a judge in what seems to him dark in the mysteries of the Divine dealings. The only condition of heart proper to finite creatures is that of Him who is of a contrite spirit, and who trembles at the Divine Word (Isa. 66:2). Our own ignorance and our conviction of Gods infinite knowledge should lead us to put unreserved faith in His declarations, and yield uncompromising obedience to His commands. We make the knowledge of a fellow-man a ground of confidence, and we show our confidence by obeying their word. Our narrow outlook around us and beyond us makes safety to be found only in listening to the words of the God of Knowledge, in striving to conform our lives to His revealed will, and leaving the result with confident trust in His hands.
V. This holy immutable God of Knowledge is the author of those inversions of the ordinary course of nature which often occur in a manner totally unforeseen and unexpected. The bows of the mighty are broken. The Lord maketh poor and maketh rich. He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, etc. The natural law of the world is that the strong will hold on their way against what is weak, and that they, being in power, shall remain in possession. It is a foregone conclusion that the warrior who has the greatest force at his command will win the victory. Men expect the race will be won by the swift, and the battle by the strong. But God has other forces which He can bring into the field, and if He is not on the side of the great battalions He will bring about such unlooked for combinations that those who have fallen in the struggle will stand upright, being girded with power, and those who have been mighty will be overthrown, and the lame will take the prey. When the forces of Egypt overtook the Israelites at Pi-hahiroth, the natural conclusion of a looker-on would have been that nothing could prevent the slaves so lately made free from being overmastered and retaken into bondage. But God, being on the side of the weak, brought auxiliaries into the combat such as Pharaoh had never dreamt of having to fight against. The water of the Red Sea was turned into an opposing force on behalf of the oppressed, and the army of Egypt was over thrown by a power against which their horsemen and chariots and their mighty men were utterly powerless. Between Egypt and Israel there was no comparison as to natural strength, but the Lord of nations brought supernatural reinforcements to the aid of the naturally weak, and thus the bows of the mighty were broken, and they that stumbled were girded with strength. The woman who first uttered these words had long been walking through life with a heavy burden of sorrow weighing her to the earth: gladness and exultation seemed to be the portion of her persecutor, but none seemed destined for her. But the Lord who bringeth low and lifteth up, brought laws into operation which entirely changed the colour of her existence, and from being an object of scorn she became most unexpectedly raised to a position of more than ordinary honour.
1. These unseen and unknown laws are generally brought into operation in order to punish the strong for their oppression of the weak. God alone is responsible for these inequalities in national or individual life; and because He is so, He will take account of those who, being endowed with greater physical or mental advantages, use them to lord it over those who have not been so favoured. Hannahs sorrow arose from a cause entirely beyond her own control, and those who oppressed her because of it were guilty of a great sin against God Himself. In the exaltation of her despised rival, Peninnah receives a just punishment for her wickedness; from the birth of Samuel her influence in the family must have declined, and none of her children are even mentioned in the sacred history, while that of Hannahs son was honoured throughout his nation during his life, and is held in honour now that two thousand years have passed away. And so it is with the rise of one nation on the stage of history and the decline and fall of another. Therefore hear now this, thou afflicted and drunken, but not with wine: Thus saith thy Lord, the Lord, and thy God that pleadeth the cause of His people, Behold, I have taken out of thine hand the cup of trembling, even the dregs of the cup of my fury; thou shalt no more drink it again: But I will put it into the hand of them that afflict thee; which have said to thy soul, Bow down, that we may go over (Isa. 51:21-23). Such is the method of the Divine governmentthere is a purpose in this subversion of natural order, and that purpose is retribution to the strong oppressor who has trampled on the rights of the weak.
2. God has a just right and reason so to intervene. For the pillars of the earth are the Lords, and He hath set the world upon them. He is the proprietor of the earththe land upon which the oppressor dwells is His by the most indisputable rightthat of creation. The human proprietor claims a right over that which he has purchasedhe can eject tenants from his property who do not meet his just demands. How much more is it the prerogative of Him who called the earth into being to eject from their dominion over it those who disregard His just demands, and abuse the power and the position which He has entrusted to them? God had a right to call Abraham from Ur of the Chaldees, and to give to his descendants the land of the Canaanite. He had a right to sweep the inhabitants of the cities of the plain from off the face of His earth when they so grossly defiled their fair inheritance. He had a right to call Moses and David from following the sheep, and set them in high places, to fulfil His eternal purposes. He had a right to take Nebuchadnezzar from his throne, and make his dwelling with the beasts of the field, until he knew that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever He will, and until he acknowledged that all His ways are judgment, and those who walk in pride He is able to abase (Dan. 4:25-37). The earth is the Lords, and they that dwell therein (Psa. 24:1), and He, by right of proprietorship, puts in an absolute claim to dispose of that which belongs to Him as He sees best.
VI. God also bestows and takes away human life. He bringeth down to the grave, and bringeth up.
1. He alone can give life. There are many things in which man can imitate God. He can imitate Gods benevolence by bestowing upon his fellow creatures gifts which will sustain and embellish their existence. He can be, to some extent, an imitator of Gods character (Eph. 5:1). But he can in no way imitate Him as the Giver of life. In that the Creator stands absolutely alone in the universethis is His sole prerogative. Human life is continued in the world by the instrumentality of man, but human parents are but instruments. In this respect there can be no likeness between man and God. God is the only Being who has life in Himself (Joh. 5:26). His is the only independent life, the highest archangelhe who is permitted to draw the nearest to the inaccessible light wherein dwells the Divine Majestyis as much dependent for existence upon the only source of life as the tiniest insect that crawls beneath our feet. He was not until God called him into existence, and that existence is sustained only by Him who gave it at the first. Of One alone can it be said that He hath immortality (1Ti. 6:16), because all others receive it as a gift from Him.
2. He only has the power and the right to take life. He who gave has a right to take, and He only does take it. For whatever may be the second cause coming between, it is by Divine appointment that men die. Coming to the grave is not a debt of nature, but a Divine appointment. Nature is inexorable in exacting her debtsshe works always by laws which she cannot set aside. She is strong enough to kill, but not strong enough to make an exception to the ruleshe cannot go out of her destined course to serve the highest purposeto favour the most holy character. But there have been exceptions to the universal law of deathexceptions which have been made by Him who is the Lord of Nature, and who can set aside her claimscan leave her debt unpaid when He sees fit. Nature did not make the law, because she has no power to make exceptions to the rule. It is God alone who bringeth to the grave. Death is not a chance which happens unto us. The arrow that entered between the joints of Ahabs armour came from a bow drawn at a venture, but the arrow winged its way by Divine appointment. And so it is with all deaths arrows, not one but hits the mark to which God has destined it. But it must be remembered that the appointment of death was not part of Gods original plan in relation to men. Although it is now appointed unto men once to die (Heb. 9:27), it was not so from the beginning. Gods purpose concerning man at the first was to give life, and not to take it away; to bestow upon His creature an undying existence, a perfect and unending life of body as well as of soul. It is mans disobedience alone which has brought about the Divine appointment of death. Going to the grave is not the outcome of Gods original purpose concerning man, but an appointed penalty for mans transgression. Death being thus a Divine appointment, dying should be regarded as a duty to be cheerfully discharged. Men face death bravely and cheerfully when they feel that their country or their earthly ruler has appointed them to it. The good man should learn from such examples to die as a duty of Divine appointment. A Christian ought to die cheerfully, seeing he dies by the command of the Lord of life. This thought ought to reconcile him to the inevitable, and help him to meet the last enemy without dismay. In proportion as a fellow-creature is good, we trust him with our lifewith interests that are dearer to us than life. In proportion as he is wise as well as goodespecially if he is powerful in addition to his wisdom and his goodnessour confidence in him is increased, our feeling of security in his hands is strengthened. The claim of the Eternal and Infinite God to kill and to make alive rests not only upon His power, but upon His character. He is not only the Author of life, but He is the King who cannot wrong any of his subjects, the Judge of all the earth who must, from the necessity of his nature, do right at all times to all His creatures. If God kills, it is not only because He takes what is His own, but because He is doing what is the best thing to be done, and in the best manner.
3. The resurrection from the dead depends upon the Giver of life. He not only bringeth down to the grave, but He bringeth up. (a) This we might have regarded as probable if we had no revelation upon the subject. We might have concluded that He who at first breathed into man the breath of life, and thus made him a living soul, could at His pleasure reanimate the dust and bring life again out of death. If God could give life where there was no life, is it not highly probable that He can give it again where it has once existed? (b) That He has done so is a matter of history. We have it upon reliable authority that He has restored dead men to lifethat He has reanimated the lifeless clay, (c) That He must do this for all mankind is certain. Those who make promises ought to perform them if they are able to do so. If a man promises to redeem a pledged garment of his poorer brother, and is able to fulfil his promise, ought he not to do it, knowing as he does that his needy brother is expecting anxiously the promised raiment to cover his scantily clothed body? The raiment of Gods children is held in pledge by deathHe holds the garment until the time of the redemption of the body (Rom. 8:23). God has promised to redeem that raiment, and He holds Himself bound to fulfil His promise, and we hold him bound also. Christ has given His word to bring from the grave both the just and the unjustThe hour is coming when all that are in the graves shall hear His voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good unto the resurrection of life, and they that have done evil unto the resurrection of damnation (Joh. 5:28-29). The vision of the seer has pictured for us that great redemption daythat day of bringing up from the grave of the human race (Rev. 20:12-13).
VII. In all the acts of His providence, in all the unlooked-for changes which He brings to pass, God has a special oversight of His own children. He shall keep the feet of His saints.
1. The character of the persons whose feet are keptSaints. Sainthood implies a soul transition. A man that is known to have been born poor and is found in after life to be living in wealth is known to have experienced a great transition in his outward circumstances. By what means or at what time in his life this change took place may not be revealed, but that it has taken place is a certainty. So with a saint. Such a man is in a condition to which he was not born. Sainthood is not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God (Joh. 1:13). Therefore every human saint has been the subject of a soul-change. He may have been suddenly raised from a state of spiritual poverty to wealth, or he may have acquired his riches by degreesincreasing little by little in his knowledge of God and in confidence in His character.
2. The change has taken place by the consent of his will. Change of will brings about a change of position. If a child who hated his lessons can be made willing to learn, his position in relation to knowledge is at once changed. A sinner passes into a saint by becoming willing to learn of the Holy One how to become holy. Willingness is the bridge by which the sinner passes from a state of opposition to God into a state of reconciliation to Him, and being thus reconciled to God is to be brought into that fellowship with Him which constitutes sainthood. The entire process of the transition is described by the Apostle in 1Jn. 1:5-9. Fellowship with God based upon a knowledge of His character makes a man a saint, but before this knowledge can be attained there must be a willingness to learn.
3. The saint needs a keeper for his feet. The child who has but just learned to walk needs a steady and strong hand to guide his steps. The person who keeps his feet must possess a wisdom and strength superior to that of the childs. God is a guide and an upholder of the steps of His saints. He alone is able to keep them from falling (Jud. 1:24). They cannot see the dangers in the distance coming to meet them, or even those which are now about their path. Hence their need of an eye that can discern them, and a hand that can deliver from them, a God of knowledge, who is perfectly acquainted with every danger to which they can be exposed, and a God of such absolute power as to be able to deliver them. And His word of promise to each one is, Fear thou not, for I am with thee. Be not dismayed, for I am thy God; I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness (Isa. 41:10). Their weakness and their ignorance are both elements of danger, and both are fully met by their All wise and Omnipotent Keeper. The other part of the verse implies that they are surrounded by enemies, both seen and unseen, who do not fail to watch for their halting, and lose no opportunity they can lay hold of to trip them up; but the wicked shall be silent in darkness, and by strength shall no man prevail against the saints of God. They may, and often do, prevail against a saints earthly possessions, and even against his life. Jezebel by strength did prevail against Naboths vineyard, against his life. For the time she was paramount against a good man. Herodias did likewise prevail against the liberty and life of John the Baptist, and her strength was strong enough to silence the voice that had been lifted up against her crimes. And in many like cases the wicked have prevailed against the earthly prosperity and life of the saints of God by His permissive providence. But notwithstanding this permissive clause in the Divine codenotwithstanding the licence that God thus gives to the enemies of His saintsthere is no relaxing of His hold, either of the saint or the sinner. The feet of the saint are still upheld, and when they pass through the waters and the fire of temptation and persecution they shall not be burned, neither shall the flame kindle upon them (Isa. 43:2), their character and all their real interests shall come through the trial without loss or injury.
4. The keeping of the saints feet arise from Gods special inheritance in them. They are His saints. The mother watches her childs feet because the child is her own. She may have a general interest in all children, but the feet of her own child are the objects of her most watchful love. If she is a godly mother, she not only keeps the feet of her childs body, but she cares unceasingly for the feet of the moral nature. She lays herself out to guide and to guard the spiritual as well as the natural life. All who are saints are Gods purchased possession, and His special relation to them, and theirs to Him, makes sure an unceasing care on His part for all their real interests.
VIII. The inference to be drawn from a contemplation of Gods character and government is, that contention against Him is vain.
1. He can overcome His adversaries by His physical omnipotence. Out of heaven He shall thunder upon them. Gods manifestations of power in the material world are sometimes of such a nature as to make men feel their utter powerlessness in His hands. When the seaman finds that all his efforts to guide his vessel are as useless as the dashing of the sea-spray against the rock, he becomes conscious of a power which is far beyond that of human skill and science. When the lightnings flash through the heavens and the thunder shakes the earth, we feel most deeply how passive we are in the hands of the Almighty Being, who can thus hold back and roll up the clouds of heaven. At such times we not only know how useless it is to contend with God, but we are made to feel it; we are conscious that to contend with One who has such powerful physical forces at His beck is as vain as it is wicked. The voice of Gods thunder made even the heart of the hardened Pharaoh to quake and to acknowledge himself defeated (Exo. 9:27-28), and all Gods mighty manifestations in the natural world should lead His creatures to humble themselves before Him. 2 He can confound them by His superior wisdom and goodness. The Lord shall judge the ends of the earth. The opponent in military warfare who can use the movements of his adversary to work his defeat and can carry the battle into his very camp and overthrow him on his own ground, is not one whom an enemy cares to meet. Neither is the opponent in argument to be despised who can turn a mans own reasonings against him and confound him by his own words. God has done this with His adversaries over and over again. He has made the plans of the wicked instrumental in carrying out His own purposes and in working out their own destruction. Men ought by this time to have learned how useless it is to contend with One who taketh the wise in their own craftiness: so that the counsel of the froward is carried headlong (Job. 5:13). The imperfect knowledge of a human judge may enable men successfully to contend against him. The fact that he is ignorant of many things that he ought to know may defeat the ends of justice, and lead him to an erroneous decision. But God is a perfect judgeHis decisions are always perfectly just and equitable, because he lacks neither the perfect knowledge nor the perfect righteousness, out of which must come a perfect ruler. When the final judgment comeswhen the Son of man shall sit upon the throne of His glory, and before Him shall be gathered all nations (Mat. 25:31-32), all men will feel that it is utterly useless to seek to evade His searching scrutinythat His holiness and His omniscience make certain the overthrow of all that is opposed to Him. The Lord cometh with ten thousand of his saints, to execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him (Jud. 1:14; Jud. 1:15).
IX. The end of confounding the wicked and the end of all Gods dealings with men is the establishment of a kingdom of righteousness. He shall give strength unto His King, and exalt the horn of His Anointed. In nature all change tends to the development of perfection. The blade and the green ear are but stepping-stones to the fully ripened grain. The bud unfolds into the perfect flower, the flower is followed by the fruit. So is it in Gods kingdom. All the overturnings and changes, all the judgments upon the ungodly, are but stepping-stones to the establishment of the kingdom of righteousness. All the kings who have ever sat upon the thrones of the world have been preparing the way for the rule of His King, who is one day to rule all the nations. Looking away into the future under the influence of the Spirit of God, Hannah foretells the advent of a king who should reign in righteousness, and anticipates the Psalmist King of Israel when he sang of Him who should judge the poor of the people and save the children of the needy, and break in pieces the oppressor; who shall have dominion also from sea and to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth; whose name shall endure for ever, and be continued as long as the sun; and whom all nations shall call blessed. (Psalms 76) To the undisputed reign of this King all the present dealings of God with men and nations are tending.
OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS
1Sa. 2:1. The repetition of in the Lord emphasises the fact that the joyous frame of mind and lofty consciousness of power has its root in the Lord, and pre-supposes the most intimate communion with the living God. The mouth opened wide over mine enemies intimates that the joy and courage that filled her soul had found utterance.Langes Commentary.
Hannahs song of praise compared with her former prayer.
1. She was then in bitterness of soul (1Sa. 1:10); now her heart rejoiceth.
2. Then she was humiliated (1Sa. 1:5; 1Sa. 1:8; 1Sa. 1:11); now she is exalted.
3. Then her adversary provoked her (1Sa. 1:6); now her mouth is opened wide over her enemies.
4. Then she poured out her soul before the Lord (1Sa. 1:15); now she rejoices in His salvation. Often we remember to pray, and then forget to praise.Translator of Langes Commentary.
There is not one petition in all this holy hymn, but thanksgiving is a principal part of prayer; it is also an artificial begging.Trapp.
How has Hannahs glory been exalted? In the Lord, saith she. The elevation is no more dangerous, for it has a solid foundation, a root that cannot be shaken. The glory that comes from men is accompanied by the feebleness of those who give it, so that it is easily overthrown, but it is not so with the glory which comes from God. It is the glory of which the prophet speaks (Isa. 40:6-8). Hannah is a remarkable example of this truth. Kings, generals, great men, are forgotten, notwithstanding all their efforts to make their names immortal, notwithstanding the magnificent tombs that they build, the statues that they erect, the monuments they leave as tokens of their success, their very names are forgotten. But Hannah is celebrated to-day throughout all the world, her glory is celebrated wherever the sun sheds its light. For, when God glorifies anyone, death comes in vain, time passes on in vain, the glory of the mortal survives, and its flowers are kept unfading: nothing can throw a shadow upon that brightness.Chrysostom.
1Sa. 2:2. God manifests Himself as holy in the government of the kingdom of His grace by His guidance of the righteous to salvation.Keil.
Two characteristics of the life of Gods children in their relation to the living God:
1. The humble reverence before Him, in view of His holiness.
2. The heartiest confidence in Him, in view of His unchangeable faithfulness.Langes Commentary.
Holiness is a chief and super-eminent perfection of God, that wherein the Divine excellence doth chiefly consist. Therefore it is the most frequent epithet given to His name in Scripture. We never read mighty name or wise name, but frequently holy name. The holiness of God is His glory and beauty. Therefore He is said to be glorious in holiness. He is mighty in power, and rich in grace, and glorious in holiness.Wisheart.
1Sa. 2:3. The manner of Gods weighing actions.
1. With perfect knowledge.
2. With absolute rectitude (1Sa. 2:2).
3. With immutable justice (1Sa. 2:2).Langes Commentary.
The weighed or righteous acts of God (see Keils rendering in Critical Notes) are described in 1Sa. 2:4-8 in great and general traits, as displayed in the government of His kingdom, through the marvellous changes which occur in the circumstances connected with the lives of the righteous and the wicked.Keil.
I. The perfection of Gods knowledge.
1. It is present and actual; His eye is always open, and everything is in the view of it. The knowledge of the creature is more power than act; it is not much that we are capable of knowing, but there is very little that we actually know, and tis but one thing that we can fix our thoughts upon at once. But the knowledge of God is an actual and steady comprehension of things, all objects are at once in the view of the Divine understanding.
2. It is intimate and thorough. Our knowledge glides upon the superficies of things; we do not know things in their realities, but as they appear and are represented to us in all their masks and disguises: but God knows things throughout, all that can be known of them.
3. It is clear and distinct. We are often deceived with the near likeness and resemblance of things, and mistake one thing for another; our knowledge is but a twilight, we see things many times together and in a heap, and do but know them in gross. But those things which are of the least consideration, and have the greatest likeness to one another, the very hairs of your head, are severally and distinctly known to God.
4. It is certain and infallible. Everything almost imposes upon our understandings, and tinctures our minds; our temper and complexion, our education and prejudice, our interest and advantage, our humours and distempers, these all misrepresent things and betray us into error: but the Divine understanding is a clear, fixed, constant, and undisturbed light, a pure mirror that receives no stain from affection, or interest, or any such thing.
5. It is easy and without difficulty. We must dig deep for knowledge and take a great deal of pains to know a little; we strive to comprehend some things, but they are so vast that we cannot; other things are at such a distance, that our understanding is too weak to discern them; others so little, so small and nice, that our understanding cannot lay hold of them; but Gods understanding being infinite, it is a vast comprehension of all things without difficulty or pain.
II. Gods knowledge of the heart teaches
1. The folly of hypocrisy. If we deal with men this is not a very wise way, for there is danger of discovery even from them, therefore the best way for a man to seem to be anything is really to be what he would appear; but having to deal with God, to whom all our disguises are apparent, tis a madness to hide our iniquity in our bosoms.
2. Charge yourselves with inward purity and holiness, because of the pure eyes which behold the most secret motions of your souls. Fear and shame from men lay a great restraint upon our outward actions, but what a strange freedom do we take within our own breasts! This is an argument of the secret atheism that lies at the bottom of our hearts.
3. This is a matter of encouragement to us in many casesWhen my heart is overwhelmed within me, then Thou knowest my path (Psa. 143:3)in cases of difficulty which depend upon the hearts of other men, which, though we do not know, yet God knows them. But especially is this a matter of comfort to us when we suffer by the calumnies and reproaches of men, when the world chargeth us with crimes, then to be able to appeal to the Searcher of hearts.
4. This renders all deep and profound policies of the wicked a vain thing. God sees those cobwebs which they are spinning, and can blow them away at a breath.
5. If God only knows the hearts of men, then what art thou, O man, that judgest anothers heart? Will thou assume to thyself the prerogative of God?Tillotson.
1Sa. 2:4-5. Every power which will be something in itself is destroyed by the Lord; every weakness, which despairs of itself, is transformed into power.Von Gerlach.
1Sa. 2:4-8. The unity amid change of the opposite ways which the pious and the ungodly must go.
1. One starting point, the Lords inscrutable will, which determines them.
2. One hand, the Almighty hand of the Lord which leads them.
3. One goal at which they end, humble submission under that hand. The wonderful guidance of the children of men in quite opposite ways.
1. The opposite direction in which they go, (a) from the height to the depth, (b) from the depth to the height.
2. The opposite design which the Lord has therein with men, (a) to lead them from the heights of pride and haughty self-complacency to humble submission under His unlimited power, (b) to exalt them from the depths of humble self-renunciation to a blessed life in the enjoyment of His free grace.
3. The opposite end, according as men cause the divine design to be fulfilled or defeated in them: (a) everlasting destruction without God, (b) everlasting salvation and life in, and with God.Langes Commentary.
1Sa. 2:3-10. The contrasts which the change in the relations of human life presents to us in the light of Divine truth.
1. Gods holiness and mans sin.
2. Gods almightiness and mans powerlessness.
3. Gods gracious design and mans destruction.Langes Commentary.
1Sa. 2:5. The view held by some, that in Hannahs barrenness and subsequent fruitfulness there is a mystical or typical meaning, deserves consideration. Hannah is said to be the type of the Christian Church, at first barren and reviled, afterwards fruitful and rejoicing. As to such typical character we must be guided, not by outward resemblances, but by fixed principles of Biblical interpretation. These facts may guide us to a decision
1. Gods relation to His people is set forth under the figure of marriage (Isaiah 54; Jeremiah 3; Hosea 1-3.)
2. Isaiah (Isa. 54:1) describes Gods spiritual people as barren, yet with the promise of many children.
3. Paul (Gal. 4:27) quotes this passage of Isaiah, refers it to the Church of Christ as distinguished from the Jewish dispensation, and declares that this antithesis is given in Sarah and Hagar. What he declares is that Sarah is the mother of the child of promise, while Hagars child is the product of natural fruitfulness. Throughout his argument it is the spiritual element of promise and faith on which Sarahs typical position is based. Only, therefore, where we can show such spiritual element are we justified in supposing a typical character. There must be involved the truth that the origination and maintenance of Gods people depend on His promise, and not on human strength. This is not necessarily involved in the history of every barren woman who becomes fruitful. Hannah seems to be simply a pious mother, whose prayer for a son, contrary to human probabilities, is granted.Translator of Langes Commentary.
1Sa. 2:6. He layeth men for dead, and then reviveth them, as 2Co. 1:9-10. That great apostle was in deaths often; and those ancient confessors cry out, for Thy sake are we killed all the day long (Rom. 8:36).Trapp.
Hannah asserts that supreme sovereignty of God, of which the boasting, arrogant spirit, whether found in Peninnahs pride of fecundity, or in Sennacheribs pride of conquest, or in Nebuchadnezzars pride of empire, or in Antichrists pride of rebellion, is a blasphemous denial.Biblical Commentary.
The word sheol signifieth
(1) The grave, the place of dead bodies;
(2) by a metaphor, a state of adversity in this world;
(3) the forlorn estate of those who are deprived of Gods favour and inward comfort, whether for a time and when they are utterly cast off.Willet.
The Lord bringeth down to the grave by the terror which He awakens in the soul of justly merited punishment, and He bringeth up by humble faith that He grants in His infinite mercy and in the merits of the blood of His Son.De Sacy.
1Sa. 2:8. These words contain the reason of all that precedes in the five foregoing verses: for the very earth being founded, upheld, and supported by the Lord, no wonder that all the inhabiters of it are in His power, to dispose of them as He thinks good.Patrick.
The plans of the Most High are very different from mens expectations. In order to execute them He rejects the great. While He allowed kings upon the throne to ignore His greatest miracle, He drew from the dust twelve disciples, and made them the masters of the nations, the judges of the world, the instruments of the greatest event which has ever taken place, the pillars of His Church, and partakers of His eternal empire. And He takes from the obscurity of a peasants home a poor, unknown girl, and makes her the mother of the Highest.Duguet.
1Sa. 2:9. This is a lower love and courtesy than to keep their hands (Joh. 13:5-6). He keepeth them from utter prolapsion, from devoratory evils, as Tertullian saith, so as that either they fall not at allstumble they may, but they get ground by their stumblingor if they fall, they shall arise; for the Lord putteth under His hand (Psa. 37:24). There is still a supporting grace, below which they cannot possibly fall. Augustine, striving against his headstrong corruptions in his own strength, heard a voice saying, Thou wouldst stand by thyself, and therefore fallest.Trapp.
As Jehovah, the God of Israel, the Holy One governs the world with His almighty power, the righteous have nothing to fear. But the wicked will perish in darknessi.e., in adversity, when God withdraws the light of His grace, so that they fall into distress and calamity. For no man can be strong through his own power so as to meet the storms of life.Keil.
God keeps the feet of His people.
1. By the prevention of sinful and evil occasions, so in that He does not so easily suffer them to come within the compass of ruin and spiritual destruction.
2. By fortifying and strengthening the heart and mind against closing with them, so that though occasions be administered, yet they shall have no power or efficacy upon them. He does this both by the grace of fear and by the grace of faith. God, by stirring up in His servants a holy tenderness and jealousy over themselves, does by this means very much scare them, who, by fearing lest they should sin, do come to avoid sinning itself. And faith is another supporter likewise. It lays hold upon all the promises of assistance and strengthening which God has made to His servants, such as this now here in the text, therefore it is said, We are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation (1Pe. 1:5). By the power of God as the principal. And by faith as the instrumental. We may likewise take the words in reference to temporal things.
1. God will bless His saints in their ways, not only for the preserving of their souls from sin, but the preserving of their bodies from destruction. He that will keep the feet certainly will not be wanting to the breast and head. He names the feet, that from them we might rise higher to all the rest.
2. He will bless them in regard to their works. There is a blessing upon a righteous hand whatsoever it be that he undertakes. As a blessing of protection upon his person, so a blessing of success upon his labour and constant employment. As there is a difference between the wicked and the godly, in regard of their disposition, so is there likewise in regard of their condition.
1. It is a state of darkness. (a). In the ignorance of their minds, (b). In the inordinancy of their affectionsmalice shades the mind, and so any other unruly passion. (c). In the practice of all other sins whatsoever, forasmuch as they seek the dark for the commission of them. (d). In that spiritual blindness to which they are delivered and given up. This is the darkness of the way, there is also the darkness of the endthe darkness of death, which is common to all, and the darkness of judgment.
2. It is a state of silence. (a). Grief, horror, and perplexity shall seize upon them. Silence is an attendant upon grief and astonishment in their extremities. (b). It is a note of conviction, they shall have nothing to say for themselves. (c). It is a note of abode and continuance. It does denote the immovableness and irrecoverableness of their miserable condition.Horton.
The title, saints, is of all names the most honourable. It literally signifies the holy ones. It associates the servant of God with his Maker, whose name is holy, with his Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, and with the Holy Ghost, not to mention those holy ones who veil their faces before His throne.Jowett.
1Sa. 2:10. Here Hannah casts a prophetic glance at the consummation of the kingdom of God. As certainly as the Lord God keeps the righteous at all times, and casts down the wicked, so certainly will He judge the whole world, to hurl down all His foes and perfect His kingdom which He has founded in Israel. And as every kingdom culminates in its throne, or in the full might and government of a king, so the kingdom of God can only attain its full perfection in the king whom the Lord will give to His people and endow with His might. The Anointed of the Lord, of whom Hannah prophesies in the spirit, is not one single king of Israel, either David or Christ, but an ideal king, though not a mere personification of the throne about to be established, but the actual king whom Israel received in David and his race, which culminated in the Messiah. The exaltation of the horn of the Anointed of Jehovah commenced with the victorious and splendid expansion of the power of David, was repeated with every victory over the enemies of God and His kingdom gained by the successive kings of Davids house, goes on in the advancing spread of the kingdom of Christ, and will eventually attain to its eternal consummation in the judgment of the last day, through which all the enemies of Christ will be made His footstool.Keil.
Hannahs devout acknowledgment that God only is the Rock, and that it is the sole prerogative of God to raise up princes and to give them strength, stands in striking contrast to the people of Israel, who impatiently asked for a king to judge them like the nations, and to go out before them, and to fight their battles (1Sa. 8:5-20), instead of waiting patiently Gods time, and instead of rejoicing in their privilege in not being like the nations, but in being the special people of God, and instead of relying upon His Almighty arm to save them from their enemies. She is the first who addresses God as the Lord of Hosts (see 1Sa. 1:11), a title which emphatically declares the sovereignty of the Unseen Ruler of the world; and in this also, by her faith in Him, she stands in contrast with the faithless impatience of the people of Israel who asked Samuel to make them a visible head. The king of whom Hannah prophesies is His king, a king by whom the Lord shall judge the ends of the earth, not the king craved by the people on mere worldly considerations, but the King to be appointed by God, in His own time, and a figure of Christ of whom Jehovah speaks by David (Psa. 2:6; Psa. 72:1) to whom all judgment is given, and who will put all enemies under His feet (Joh. 5:22-27; 1Co. 15:25-28).Wordsworth.
The judgment of Gods primitive justice.
1. Whom it threatensthe ungodly, adversaries.
2. How God makes it approach with warning signs, out of heaven shall He thunder.
3. How it discharges itself against all the world that is opposed to God. The Lord shall judge the ends of the earth.
4. How it promotes the perfecting of His kingdom. He shall give strength unto His king.Langes Commentary.
1Sa. 2:1-10. The Magnificat of Hannah is an evangelical song, chanted by the spirit of prophecy under the Levitical Law. It is a prelude and overture to the Gospel. It is a connection of sweet and sacred melody between the Magnificat of Miriam after the passage of the Red Seasymbolising the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ,and the Magnificat of Mary after the annunciation of His birth. Let this song of Hannah be read in the Septuagint, and then the Magnificat in St. Lukes original, and the connection of the two will be more clearly recognised. The true characteristic of sacred poetry is that it is not egotistical. It merges the individual in the nation and in the Church universal. It looks forward from the special occasion that prompts the utterance of thanksgiving, and extends and expands itself, with a loving power and holy energy, into a large and sympathetic outburst of praise to God for His love to all mankind in Christ. The Magnificat of Hannah is conceived in this spirit. It is not only a song of thanksgiving, it is also a prophecy. It is an utterance of the Holy Ghost moving within her, and making her maternal joy on the birth of Samuel to overflow in outpourings of thankfulness to God for those greater blessings in Christ, of which that birth was an earnest and a pledge. In this respect it may be compared to the Song of Moses (Deuteronomy 32) and the Song of David (2 Samuel 22)Wordsworth.
The history leaves us no room to doubt that the immediate occasion of this song was the birth of Samuel; yet, if viewed in reference to this occasion alone, how comparatively trifling is the theme! How strained and magniloquent the expressions! Hannah speaks of her mouth being enlarged over her enemies, of the bows of the mighty men being broken, of the barren bearing seven, of the full hiring themselves for bread, and other things of a like nature,all how far exceeding, and we might even say caricaturing the occasion, if it has respect merely to the fact of a woman, hitherto reputed barren, becoming at length the joyful mother of a child. Were the song an example of the inflated style not uncommon in Eastern poetry, we might not be greatly startled at such grotesque exaggerations; but being a portion of that Word which is all given by inspiration of God, and is as silver tried in a furnace, we must banish from our mind any idea of extravagance and conceit. Indeed, from the whole strain and character of the song, it is evident that, though occasioned by the birth of Samuel, it was so far from having exclusive reference to that event, that the things concerning it formed one only of a numerous and important class pervading the providence of God, and closely connected with His highest purposes. In a spiritual respect it was a time of mournful barrenness and desolation in Israel: the word of the Lord was precious, there was no open vision, and iniquity was so rampant as even to be lifting up its insolent front, and practising its foul abominations in the very precincts of the sanctuary. How natural, then, for Hannah, when she had got that child of desire and hope, which she had devoted from his birth as a Nazarite to the Lords service, and feeling her soul moved by a prophetic impulse to regard herself as specially raised up to be a sign and a wonder in Israel, and to do so particularly in respect to that principle in the Divine government which had so strikingly developed itself in her experience, but which was destined to receive its grandest manifestation in the work and kingdom which were to be more peculiarly the Lords. Hence, instead of looking exclusively at her individual case, and marking the operation of the Lords hand in what simply concerned her personal history, she wings her flight aloft, and takes a comprehensive survey of the general scheme of God; noting especially, as she proceeds, the workings of that pure and gracious sovereignty which delights to exalt a humble piety, while it pours contempt on the proud and rebellious. And as every exercise of this principle is but part of a grand series which culminates in the dispensation of Christ, her song runs out at the close into the sublime and glowing delineation of the final results to be achieved by it in connection with His righteous administration. This song, then, plainly consists of two parts, in the one of which onlythe concluding portionit is properly prophetical. The preceding stanzas are taken up with unfolding from past and current events, the grand spiritual idea; the closing ones carry it forward in beautiful and striking application to the affairs of Messiahs kingdom.Fairbairn.
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Hannahs Son. 2:1-11
And Hannah prayed, and said,
My heart rejoiceth in the Lord,
mine horn is exalted in the Lord;
my mouth is enlarged over mine enemies:
because I rejoice in thy salvation.
2
There is none holy as the Lord:
for there is none besides thee:
neither is there any rock like our God
3
Talk no more so exceeding proudly;
let not arrogancy come out of your mouth:
for the Lord is a God of knowledge,
and by him actions are weighed.
4
The bows of the mighty men are broken,
and they that stumbled are girded with strength.
5
They that were full have hired out themselves for bread;
and they that were hungry ceased:
so that the barren hath borne seven;
and she that hath many children is waxed feeble.
6
The Lord killeth, and maketh alive:
he bringeth down to the grave, and bringeth up.
7
The Lord maketh poor, and maketh rich:
he bringeth low, and lifeth up.
8
He raiseth up the poor out of the dust,
and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill,
to set them among princes,
and to make them inherit the throne of glory:
for the pillars of the earth are the Lords,
and he hath set the world upon them.
9
He will keep the feet of his saints,
and the wicked shall be silent in darkness;
for by strength shall no man prevail.
10
The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken to pieces;
out of heaven shall he thunder upon them:
the Lord shall judge the ends of the earth;
and he shall give strength unto his king,
and exalt the horn of his anointed.
11 And Elkanah went to Ramah to his house. And the child did minister unto the Lord before Eli the priest.
1.
What was Hannahs born? 1Sa. 2:1
Perhaps the figure is taken from the life of animals. An animal with a large horn is thought to be powerful. It is also a mark of full development and beauty. Deer, for example, are prized for their antlers. Other animals use their horns as they fight with others. If this is the meaning Hannah had in mind, she is saying that God has given her a mark of strength and excellence.
2.
Why did Hannah refer to God as a rock? 1Sa. 2:2
Moses spoke of the Lord as the Rock of his salvation (Deu. 32:15 b). Isaiah chided Israel saying that they had . . . forgotten the God of thy salvation, and hast not been mindful of the rock of thy strength (1Sa. 17:10). The steadfastness of God is like a rock to a soul tossed to and fro in the stormy seas of life. This conception of God has been constant among those who have feared Him in all ages. Moses also challenged the heathen nations saying, Where are their gods, their rock in whom they trusted (Deu. 32:37). The Israelites knew that the Lord was not just one god among many. He was the one true and living God. Hannah thus could say: . . . neither is there any rock like our God (1Sa. 2:2 b). There was no god like Jehovah, the God of Israel. There was no anchor for the soul like the Lord.
3.
Whom was Hannah warning against arrogancy? 1Sa. 2:3
No doubt Hannah was remembering Peninnahs arrogant speeches against her personally, but her warning is always meaningful and timely for Gods people. Too much proud talk is found among the servants of God as they take credit for what is achieved in Christian work. Too much arrogancy is found among those whom God has blessed abundantly. All should remember that they will eventually be judged by God, and God knows their weaknesses.
4.
What is the meaning of the bows of the mighty men being broken? 1Sa. 2:4
Hannah is simply suggesting that the first are now last. The last are therefore first. Underneath all this is her great joy over being blessed of God. Before she had been reviled by Peninnah because she had no children. Peninnah thought that she was one of the mighty men. Hannah would consider herself as being among them that stumbled. Now Hannah was girded with strength.
5.
Did Hannah have seven children? 1Sa. 2:5
Personal references seem to abound through this poem of thanksgiving, but we have little evidence of Hannahs having seven children. In verse twenty-one of this chapter, we learn that Hannah did have three sons and two daughters. This would make a total of five children and lead us to believe that she uses the number seven in this reference as an indication that she had received an abundant blessing. The number seven is sometimes used to indicate fullness or completeness. What Hannah says may not only be applied to her own abundant blessing, but it is always true for all those who fully trust the Lord.
6.
What powers did Hannah attribute to God? 1Sa. 2:6-10
Hannah attributed all power to God. She regarded the Lord as the one who gave life in the first place. She also believed that life ended at His command. Life and death are in His hands. In addition, by His providences man is made poor or rich. He is exalted or abased. Those of low estate are often made to sit in high places. Even the very foundations of the earth were laid by God. The paths of Gods saints are directed by God Himself, and no man prevails by his own strength alone. Eventually the voice of the wicked will be silenced, and the Lords adversaries will be destroyed. Once again Hannah returns to the figure of the horn as she speaks of the way in which God will give strength to His chosen leaders. She attributed the following traits to God:
1.
The power over life and death
2.
The control of wealth
3.
Providences that either bring fame or disgrace
4.
The rendering of fair judgments on rich and poor alike
5.
The direction of the work of His people
6.
The eventual judgment of the wicked
7.
The creation of the physical universe
7.
In what way did Samuel minister before Eli? 1Sa. 2:11
A lad like Samuel could perform many menial tasks about the Tabernacle. The priests and their Levites had their assigned duties, but others might also be of service. Mention is made in this same chapter of women who assembled at the door of the Tabernacle (1Sa. 2:22; cf. Exo. 38:8). A part of the ministry might also have been in worship; such as a part of the way Gods people minister unto the Lord. Since mention is made of the lamp of God (1Sa. 3:3), we are left to wonder if this might not have been a part of Samuels service. He may have tended this lamp, lighting it when it was to be lit; and extinguishing it when it was to be put out.
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
(1) And Hannah prayed, and said.Prayed, not quite in the sense in which we generally understand prayer. Her prayer here asks for nothing; it is rather a song of thanksgiving for the past, a song which passes into expressions of sure confidence for the future. She had been an unhappy woman; her life had been, she thought, a failure; her dearest hopes had been baffled; vexed, tormented, utterly cast down, she had fled to the Rock of Israel for help, and in the eternal pity of the Divine Friend of her people she had found rest, and then joy; out of her own individual experience the Spirit of the Lord taught her to discern the general laws of the Divine economy; she had had personal experience of the gracious government of the kind, all-pitiful God; her own mercies were a pledge to her of the gracious way in which the nation itself was led by Jehovahwere a sign by which she discerned how the Eternal not only always delivered the individual sufferer who turned to Him, but would also at all times be ever ready to succour and deliver His people.
These true, beautiful thoughts the Spirit of the Lord first planted in Hannahs heart, and then gave her lips grace and power to utter them in the sublime language of her hymn, which became one of the loved songs of the people, and as such was handed down from father to son, from generation to generation, in Israel, in the very words which first fell from the blessed mother of the child-prophet in her quiet home of Ramah of the Watchers.
My heart rejoiceth.The first verse of four lines is the introduction to the Divine song. She would give utterance to her holy joy. Had she not received the blessing at last which all mothers in Israel so longed for?
Mine horn is exalted.She does not mean by this, I am proud, but I am strongmighty now in the gift I have received from the Lord: glorious in the consciousness I have a God-Friend who hears me. The image horn is taken from oxen and those animals whose strength lies in their horns. It is a favourite Hebrew symbol, and one that had become familiar to them from their long experiencedating from far-back patriarchal timesas a shepherd-people.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
HANNAH’S SONG, 1Sa 2:1-10.
“This prayer and song of Hannah,” says Wordsworth, “is one of the golden links which connect the song of Sarah on the birth of Isaac (Gen 21:6-7) with the Magnificat of the Blessed Virgin. Luk 1:46-55. Another link is the triumphal song of Miriam, after the passage of the Red Sea. Exo 15:20-21. Another is the song of Deborah, praising the Lord for delivering his people by the hand of a woman. Judges 5. All these poetic hymns of thanksgiving, uttered by women, are celebrations of joyful events, which are prophetic foreshadowings of the universal deliverance and victory achieved by the Promised Seed of the woman.”
The subject-matter of this song seems not, at first sight, fully to accord with the occasion that called it forth. It is professedly a psalm of thanksgiving by which Hannah glorifies God for having given her a child, but, with the exception of a part of 1Sa 2:5, it reads more like a war song of triumph than the rejoicing of a barren woman over the birth of a child. Hence certain modern critics have not hesitated to declare that it was composed for some other occasion, such as the victory of David over Goliath, or some other instance of Israelitish triumph, and that the compiler of the books of Samuel inserted it here in a wrong place. The mention of a king as the anointed of Jehovah, in 1Sa 2:10, has also been used as an argument to prove that this song must be the production of an age at least as late as that of the Kings. But if we view this song as a prophetic utterance, spoken by inspiration from the Almighty, these difficulties vanish; and if, by comparing the similar songs of Mary and Zacharias, (Luke 1,) we learn to appreciate the spiritual side of the prophecy, we shall see that, while this context acquaints us with the immediate occasion of this song, the song itself rises above the mere occasion, and, in the true spirit of prophecy, grasps a wider range of circumstances. And it was, doubtless, the high prophetic character of these songs that entitled them to a record in the sacred canon. The prophetic songs of Zacharias and Mary were occasioned by the birth of John Baptist and Jesus Christ, but their subject-matter has far more to do with the glorious results of John and Jesus’ coming into the world. “The true characteristic of sacred poetry,” says Wordsworth, “is that it is not egotistical. It merges the individual in the nation and in the church universal. Like a pebble cast into a clear and calm lake, it sends forth concentric rings of waves, ever enlarging towards the margin, so that the particular mercy to the individual produces ever-expanding undulations of praise.” So with this prophetic song of Hannah. Samuel is the great historic character during whose ministry the government of Israel took the form of a monarchy, and it is fitting that this inspired song should rise above the immediate occasion of its first utterance, and in its prophetic vision celebrate the triumphs of the coming kingdom. The Targum goes so far in its explanation of this passage as to regard each separate verse as a distinct prophecy against some enemy of Israel. Thus the first verse indicates a triumph over the Philistines; the second alludes to the Assyrian army under Sennacherib; the third is against the Chaldeans under king Nebuchadnezzar; the fourth against the Greeks, etc. It is possible, indeed, that this may have been used as a triumphal song on great occasions of victory, such as occurred in the later history of Israel, and possibly a later hand may have added somewhat to it; but no less comprehensive a composition than this, which celebrates throughout the signal providences of God, could satisfy the demands of the spirit of prophecy over the birth of Samuel. When, therefore, we view it as an inspired psalm, whose prophetic range takes in the triumphs of that monarchy which was inaugurated by the ministry of Samuel, and found its culmination in the personal Messiah, the difficulties suggested above disappear. As a part of the interpretation of this magnificent ode, we give, in connexion with the text, perhaps as literal a version of the Hebrew as our language will permit.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
1. Hannah prayed As the lyric psalm of Habakkuk is called a prayer, (Hab 3:1,) although its language is that of adoration and as some of David’s psalms, which are really songs of praise, are called prayers, (Psa 72:20,) so this song of praise, in which Hannah pours out the strong feelings of her heart before God, is spoken of as an example of prayer. Adoration and praise are both, according to the Scriptures, legitimate parts of prayer.
My horn The horn is the weapon of those animals that bear it, and the symbol of strength, honour, and glory. See Deu 33:17; Psa 75:4-5.
Exalted in Jehovah For he is the source of all strength and joy. Psa 92:10.
Opened is my mouth over my enemies I can now exult and sing in triumph over the jeers of Peninnah, and all who, like her, were wont to vex me, for it is more honourable to have one son consecrated to the service of the tabernacle than many living in comparative obscurity. This honourable triumph is a manifestation of thy salvation, O Jehovah.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
The Prayer-Prophecy of Hannah ( 1Sa 2:1-10 ).
This prayer-prophecy should be seen as continuing the thought of 1 Samuel 1. It does, however, summarise the message of the whole book, leading up to the exaltation of His righteous king, and the promise of an everlasting king arising from David’s house. In it Hannah prophesies concerning the greatness of YHWH, and of his dealings with the righteous as against the unrighteous, and then she gazes ahead to the establishment of the glorious, ideal kingship which past prophecy had led true believers to anticipate. This kingship had been prophesied in Gen 17:6; Gen 17:16; Gen 35:11; Gen 49:10; Num 25:17; Deu 18:14-20. Once the king came all their problems would be solved. So God had from the beginning led His people to anticipate the coming one day of a great king who would do all His will (Gen 49:10; Deu 18:14-20), and, as we know, the people had already experimented with kingship (Jdg 8:22-23; Jdg 8:29-32). Now as she dedicates her son to YHWH Hannah looks ahead to this greater gift that YHWH will one day give to His people. In view of what follows it is clear that this dream of a coming king was something that was in the minds of all God’s people, as it had also been in Jdg 8:22, and it was in the light of this desire that we must see the later request for a king (1Sa 8:5). God’s disapproval would not be of their desire for a king, but of the kind of king that they had in mind, one who essentially displaced YHWH and was like the kings of all the nations.
Hannah had been preparing for this moment for three years and may well have spent considerable time thinking over what she would say when it came, and to that end her mind had clearly ranged far and wide. We must see her words in that light, and not just as the inspiration of the moment. To us the prayer might not seem personal enough for the occasion. But in those days individualism was not emphasised and each Israelite saw himself/herself as a part of a whole rather than as an individual. Their own futures were therefore seen by them as very much tied up in the future of the whole people. If blessing was to come, therefore, it would come upon all who were righteous. And to that end it was her prayer that her gift of her son might contribute to the good of the nation. It is clear that the greatness of her sacrifice had given her great expectations. Surely, she had thought, this must aid in the bringing about of God’s ultimate purposes, and even in the coming of the hoped for Shiloh (Gen 49:10)?
We can divide her prayer up as follows:
1). The Greatness And Saving Power Of YHWH. She exults in the deliverance and security that she anticipates for herself and her people from YHWH. They lived in dangerous days and none were more aware than she was of how much they needed God’s continued deliverance and protection. It was this confidence that would sustain the godly in Israel in the dark days that were to come. But it also indicated her own triumph in her deliverance as something accomplished by God in the face of her own adversary (1Sa 2:1-2).
2). A Warning To The Proud And Arrogant. She warns of the need of all men for humility before YHWH in the light of the fact that He knows all things and weighs their actions. She may especially have had in mind here the well publicised behaviour of the priests. But she no doubt also had in mind her own persecution at the hands of Peninnah. As readers we may also see it as pertinent to the behaviour of Saul throughout the first half of the book. It was his arrogance that led to his downfall. If anyone needed this advice, he did (1Sa 2:3).
3). God Humbles The Proud And Raises Up The Humble And Needy. Hannah was very much aware that this was what YHWH had done for her and she emphasises YHWH’s continual care for the weak, hungry and barren, in contrast with His dealings with the powerful, rich and seemingly well-blessed. Here she has in mind her own experience, as seen in the light of God’s continuously revealed concern for the poor, the widow, the fatherless and the needy (e.g. Deu 10:18; Exo 22:22; Deu 14:29 and often). Her own experience of barrenness had given her a realisation of the heartfelt needs of the people (1Sa 2:4-5). She had become one with them in their need. It also, however, depicts the vicissitudes through which David would go in his conflict with Saul.
4). YHWH’s Sovereignty Over Humanity As Giver Of Life And As Their Creator. In these verses she beautifully expresses YHWH’s control over life and death as Creator, (death was ever close in those days), and over people’s future prospects and destinies, having special reference to his love for the downtrodden and His readiness to exalt them. She especially felt that this applied to her because YHWH had given life to her in the giving of her child. But these things were all her people’s everyday concerns and this also reflected her compassion and hopes for her people (1Sa 2:6-8). That indeed was why she had given her child to YHWH, so that he might be a blessing to the whole people. But also reflected in these words we can see David’s rise to power out of seeming death.
5). She Glories In The Power Of YHWH And In His Coming King. In closing she emphasises YHWH’s care for ‘His holy ones’ (including herself) and warns those who vaunt themselves against Him of the consequences. And all this is in the light of the future glorious day when YHWH will rule over the whole earth (‘judge the ends of the earth’) through His coming anointed king. The hoped for Shiloh will come, and to Him will the gathering of the people be (Gen 49:10). See also Num 23:21; Num 24:17; Deu 17:14-20. It was her dream that her child might have his part to play in this glorious scenario (as indeed he would). This found partial fulfilment in the enthroning of David, but the ending of 2 Samuel in a plague caused by the king’s disobedience (2 Samuel 22) demonstrates quite clearly that even to the writer he was only to be seen as a prototype and not as the real thing. The real thing would lie in the final everlasting king from David’s house described in 2Sa 7:13; 2Sa 7:16.
The Greatness And Saving Power Of YHWH.
1Sa 2:1-2
‘ And Hannah prayed, and said:
“My heart exults in YHWH,
My horn is exalted in YHWH,
My mouth is enlarged over my enemies,
Because I rejoice in your salvation.
There is none holy as YHWH,
For there is none besides you,
Neither is there any rock like our God.”
Hannah exults in YHWH Who has given her a son, and even more over her great privilege of giving him to YHWH. This has raised her status above all women in Israel (her horn is exalted in YHWH, i.e. she can now toss her head like the horned stag in his triumph). At the same time she no longer has to keep silent in humiliation in the face of her adversaries because she has borne a son to the discomfiture of all her enemies who had criticised her. For God has saved her from her humiliation and proved that none is holy like Him (compare Exo 15:11), none can be compared with Him, none is so firm a foundation as He is. The idea of God as her rock comes from Deu 32:4; Deu 32:15; Deu 32:18; Deu 32:30.
A Warning To The Proud And Arrogant.
1Sa 2:3
“Talk no more so exceeding proudly,
Let not arrogance come out of your mouth,
For YHWH is a God of knowledge,
And by him actions are weighed.”
Hannah may have had in mind here her treatment by Peninnah and other spiteful women of her acquaintance who had expressed their own pride and had given her a hard time. But in mind also may have been the behaviour of the current priesthood as soon to be described. It is, however, a general warning to all. She wants all to humble themselves before YHWH as she has, so that they may also enjoy similar blessings to the ones which she has received from the One Who has weighed her actions and responded accordingly. If only Saul had heeded these words, what a difference it might have made to him.
Her point is not that she has been blessed because her good actions have outweighed the bad, but that God has weighed up the longing of her heart and the purity of her purpose. That is why He has blessed her.
God Humbles The Proud And Raises Up The Humble And Needy.
1Sa 2:4-5
“The bows of the mighty men are broken,
And those who stumbled are girded with strength.
Those who were full have hired out themselves for bread,
And those who were hungry have ceased to hunger.
Yes, the barren has borne seven,
And she who has many children languishes.”
Hannah here contrasts the proud, self-sufficient warriors with those who stumble on their way, and is pointing out that it is God Who brings down and disarms the one while giving strength to the other. That is what He has done for her. In her weakness He has girded her with strength. (We can compare here also the contrast between Saul and David). She then contrasts the rich with their high standard of living with those who go hungry, and warns that God will cause the rich to have to fend for bread, while the hungry will cease being hungry because their needs will be supplied, in the same way as God has fed her own hungry soul. This is also relevant to Saul and David. In both cases the warning is to the proud and arrogant of what God does to those who are so proud unless they consider their ways, while at the same time being gracious to the weak and helpless, something that she has now experienced for herself. She lived at a time when such vicissitudes of life were constantly being revealed. They were turbulent times.
The third example of the three is especially pertinent to her own case, and again warns against arrogance in the face of other people’s sufferings. She who was barren has borne a child who has fulfilled her desire. To her he is the equivalent of seven children the divinely perfect number (compare 1Sa 4:15). In contrast the one who has many children will languish (either because of her pride and unkindness to those less fortunate than herself, with Peninnah in mind, or because she loses her children and is left bereft – Jer 15:9).
The overall point is that all such people should take into account God and His ways so that they are not caught out. For she has learned through her own experience what matters most is not to trust in one’s own strength and resources, but to trust in YHWH.
YHWH’s Sovereignty Over Humanity As Their Creator.
1Sa 2:6-8
“YHWH kills, and makes alive,
He brings down to Sheol, and brings up.
YHWH makes poor, and makes rich,
He brings low, he also lifts up.
He raises up the poor out of the dust,
He lifts up the needy from the dunghill,
To make them sit with princes,
And inherit the throne of glory.
For the pillars of the earth are YHWH’s,
And he has set the world upon them.”
This now turns her thoughts to YHWH’s overall sovereignty both in life and death, and in regard to wealth and poverty. She is very much aware of this because of the life that God has given her in her son. There is no reference here to resurrection. The thought is rather that life and death are in His hands. Some die, others are ‘given life’, or revive after illness. But all depend on YHWH. Some are brought down to the grave world (Sheol), others are raised up from their beds of sickness. And in the same way it is He Who makes men poor or rich, Who brings men low, or raises them up. This indeed is what has happened to her, She herself feels that she has been lifted out of a living death, and has been made rich and exalted in her bearing of a son.
For she has come by it to recognise that YHWH is the One Who lifts the poor and needy from the dust and from the dunghill (the place of misery and humiliation. See Isa 47:1; Lam 4:5), and makes them enjoy the privilege of being princes, and of sitting on a glorious throne (a total contrast to the dust and the dunghill). No doubt at that moment she felt that she, who had spiritually been mourning on a dunghill, was indeed now enthroned in glory at her joy over Samuel’s birth. The picture in general is, of course, idealistic, although examples can certainly be found from history. Perhaps Jephthah sprang to mind. And it would certainly be true of David. But she has in mind what will happen ultimately when the ideal king who has been promised has come. And all this will be so because YHWH controls creation itself and is Lord over it all. Its very continuance is dependent on His provision, as is demonstrated by the fact that ‘the pillars of the earth are YHWH’s, and He has set the world upon them’. This vivid description pictures the world as being like a house or temple (see Jdg 16:26). If He were to pull the pillars away the house would come crashing down.
We gain from this some understanding of how Hannah’s soul is exalted, for in her eyes all these descriptions bring out what YHWH has done for her. He has turned her world upside down. And her point is that He not only does it for her, but will do it for others. David will be a prime example.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
1Sa 2:1-10 Hannah’s Prophesy 1Sa 2:1-10 records Hannah’s prophecy of her son’s purpose and ministry as being lent unto the Lord. More importantly, it reflects the prophetic destiny of the Messiah, to which Samuel served as a type and figure in some aspects of his ministry.
Within the prophecy of Hannah recorded in 1Sa 2:1-10 we find a theme that is woven throughout the books of Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles. It states that God lifts up the humble men or humble nations and brings the proud low.
This prophecy opens (1Sa 2:1) and closes (1Sa 2:10) with the phrase “exalting the horn.” It practically speaks of God exalting her above her enemies, but predicts the exaltation and victory that Christ Jesus will accomplish in His redemptive work on Calvary.
1Sa 2:3 Talk no more so exceeding proudly; let not arrogancy come out of your mouth: for the LORD is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed.
1Sa 2:3
1Sa 2:5 They that were full have hired out themselves for bread; and they that were hungry ceased: so that the barren hath born seven; and she that hath many children is waxed feeble.
1Sa 2:5
[21] Billye Brim, interviewed by Gloria Copeland, Believer’s Voice of Victory (Kenneth Copeland Ministries, Fort Worth, Texas), on Trinity Broadcasting Network (Santa Ana, California), television program.
1Sa 2:21, “And the LORD visited Hannah, so that she conceived, and bare three sons and two daughters. And the child Samuel grew before the LORD.”
1Sa 2:18 But Samuel ministered before the LORD, being a child, girded with a linen ephod.
1Sa 2:18
1Sa 22:18, “And the king said to Doeg, Turn thou, and fall upon the priests. And Doeg the Edomite turned, and he fell upon the priests, and slew on that day fourscore and five persons that did wear a linen ephod .”
1Sa 2:20-21 Comments The Principle of Sowing and Reaping – Hannah sowed a child to the Lord and reaped five-fold from the Lord in the same area.
1Sa 2:25 If one man sin against another, the judge shall judge him: but if a man sin against the LORD, who shall intreat for him? Notwithstanding they hearkened not unto the voice of their father, because the LORD would slay them.
1Sa 2:25
Pro 29:1, “He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.”
1Sa 2:27 And there came a man of God unto Eli, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Did I plainly appear unto the house of thy father, when they were in Egypt in Pharaoh’s house?
1Sa 2:27
1Sa 2:29 Wherefore kick ye at my sacrifice and at mine offering, which I have commanded in my habitation; and honourest thy sons above me, to make yourselves fat with the chiefest of all the offerings of Israel my people?
1Sa 2:29
1Sa 3:13, “For I have told him that I will judge his house for ever for the iniquity which he knoweth; because his sons made themselves vile, and he restrained them not .”
1Sa 2:35 And I will raise me up a faithful priest, that shall do according to that which is in mine heart and in my mind: and I will build him a sure house; and he shall walk before mine anointed for ever.
1Sa 2:35
Heb 3:1, “Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus;”
1Sa 2:36 And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left in thine house shall come and crouch to him for a piece of silver and a morsel of bread, and shall say, Put me, I pray thee, into one of the priests’ offices, that I may eat a piece of bread.
1Sa 2:30-36
1Sa 4:11, “And the ark of God was taken; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were slain .”
1Sa 22:16-18, “And the king said, Thou shalt surely die, Ahimelech, thou, and all thy father’s house . And the king said unto the footmen that stood about him, Turn, and slay the priests of the LORD; because their hand also is with David, and because they knew when he fled, and did not shew it to me. But the servants of the king would not put forth their hand to fall upon the priests of the LORD. And the king said to Doeg, Turn thou, and fall upon the priests. And Doeg the Edomite turned, and he fell upon the priests, and slew on that day fourscore and five persons that did wear a linen ephod.”
1Ki 2:27, “So Solomon thrust out Abiathar from being priest unto the LORD ; that he might fulfil the word of the LORD, which he spake concerning the house of Eli in Shiloh.”
Eli was of the lineage of Aaron through Ithamar, Aaron’s son:
1Ch 24:3, “And David distributed them, both Zadok of the sons of Eleazar, and Ahimelech of the sons of Ithamar , according to their offices in their service.”
Aaron Ithamar Eli
Eli Hophni
Phinehas Ichabod
Ahitub Ahiah
Zadok
Ahimelech Abiathar Jonathan
Ahimelech
Eli’s two sons were Hophni and Phinehas:
1Sa 1:3, “And this man went up out of his city yearly to worship and to sacrifice unto the LORD of hosts in Shiloh. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, the priests of the LORD, were there.”
Phinehas had two sons, Ichabod and Ahitub:
1Sa 4:19-22 – Ichabod
1Sa 14:3, “And Ahiah, the son of Ahitub, Ichabod’s brother, the son of Phinehas , the son of Eli, the LORD’S priest in Shiloh, wearing an ephod. And the people knew not that Jonathan was gone.”
Ahitub’s sons were Ahiah, Zadok and Ahimelech:
1Sa 14:3, “And Ahiah, the son of Ahitub , Ichabod’s brother, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eli, the LORD’S priest in Shiloh, wearing an ephod. And the people knew not that Jonathan was gone.”
2Sa 8:17, “And Zadok the son of Ahitub , and Ahimelech the son of Abiathar, were the priests; and Seraiah was the scribe;”
1Sa 22:20, “And one of the sons of Ahimelech the son of Ahitub , named Abiathar, escaped, and fled after David.”
The son of Ahimelech was Abiathar:
1Sa 22:20, “And one of the sons of Ahimelech the son of Ahitub, named Abiathar , escaped, and fled after David.”
The sons of Abiathar were Jonathan and Ahimelech:
2Sa 15:27, “The king said also unto Zadok the priest, Art not thou a seer? return into the city in peace, and your two sons with you, Ahimaaz thy son, and Jonathan the son of Abiathar .”
1Ch 24:6, “And Shemaiah the son of Nethaneel the scribe, one of the Levites, wrote them before the king, and the princes, and Zadok the priest, and Ahimelech the son of Abiathar , and before the chief of the fathers of the priests and Levites: one principal household being taken for Eleazar, and one taken for Ithamar.”
Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures
Hannah’s Song of Thankfulness
v. 1. And Hannah prayed and said, v. 2. There is none holy as the Lord; for there is none beside Thee, v. 3. Talk no more so exceeding proudly, v. 4. The bows of the mighty men are broken, v. 5. They that were full have hired out themselves for bread, v. 6. The Lord killeth and maketh alive, v. 7. The Lord maketh poor and maketh rich, v. 8. He raiseth up the poor out of the dust and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill, v. 9. He will keep the feet of His saints, v. 10. The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken to pieces v. 11. And Elkanah, with his household, went to Ramah to his house. And the child,
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
EXPOSITION
HANNAH‘S SONG OF PRAISE (1Sa 2:1-10).
1Sa 2:1
And Hannah prayed and said. Like the Magnificat, Hannah’s hymn of thanksgiving begins with the temporal mercies accorded to herself, but rises immediately into the realms of prophecy, foretelling Christ’s kingdom and the triumphs of the Church. From this prophetic element, common more or less to all the hymns of the Bible, most of them have been used in Christian worship, and still merit a place in it, though we in the liturgy of the Church of England now use only two, taken both from the New Testament. In 1Sa 2:1, in four strophes of equal length, Hannah declares how, first, her heart, the centre with the Hebrews, not merely of the physical, but also of the moral and intellectual life, rejoices in Jehovah; while the exaltation of her horn, the symbol of strength and vigour, signifies that this inward joy is accompanied, or even occasioned, by the changed circumstances of her outward lot. Her mouth, therefore, is opened wide over her enemies, yet not for cursing and in bitterness, but for joyful praise of the God who has answered her prayers. It is his salvation, the being delivered by him, that makes her thus burst forth into thanksgiving. It is a proof too of her faith and spirituality that she thus refers all to Jehovah.
In 1Sa 2:2 she gives her reasons for this holy joy. The first is God’s absolute holiness; the second his absolute existence, in which she finds the proof of his holiness. Hannah may have meant to express only the language of piety, but she also stated a primary philosophical truth, which was early grasped by the deeply religious instinct of the Hebrews, that outside of God is no existence. Many necessary deductions follow from this fundamental truth, that God alone absolutely exists, and that all other existence is secondary and derived; but no deduction is more certain than Hannah’s own, that such a Being must be absolutely holy. In calling him a rock she assigns to him strength, calm, immovable, enduring, but a strength which avails for the safety of his people (comp. Deu 32:4, Deu 32:15; Psa 18:2). For rocks, as being capable of easy defence, formed the nucleus of most ancient towns, and continued to serve as their citadels.
In 1Sa 2:3 she appeals to God’s omniscience, “for Jehovah is a God of knowledges,” the pl. being intensive, and signifying every kind of knowledge. As too he weighs and judges human actions, how can men venture to talk so arrogantly before him, lit. so proudly, proudly. The last clause is one of those numerous places in which there is a doubt whether the Hebrew word lo means not, or by him. If the negative sense be taken, which the Hebrew spelling favours, the rendering will be “though actions be not weighed.” Though wicked actions be not immediately punished, yet Jehovah is cognisant of them, and in due time will requite.
In 1Sa 2:4-8 Hannah illustrates the working of this attribute of the Deity by enumerating the vicissitudes of human events, which are not the result of chance, but of that omniscience combined with holiness which she has claimed for Jehovah in 1Sa 2:2, 1Sa 2:3. She begins with the vicissitudes of war; but these are not more remarkable than those of peace, by which the full, the rich and wealthy, have to descend to the position of a hireling; while those previously hungry have ceased, i.e. from labour, and keep holiday. In a nation of small proprietors, where the land was tilled by the owner and those “born in his house,” the position of the hireling, the “mean white” of the southern States of America, was lower than that of the slave, especially in Judaea, where the slave was more in the position of a vassal than of a serf or forced labourer. In the next clause the translation may either be, “She that was long barren hath borne seven,” or, “Until the barren” etc.; i.e. these vicissitudes may even reach so far as to make a barren woman the mother of seven, i.e. of a perfect number of children, happily generalised in Psa 113:9 into “a joyful mother of children.” But see Rth 4:15; Jer 15:9. In this there is also a typical reference to the long barrenness of the Gentile world, to be followed by a fruitfulness far exceeding that of the Jewish Church, while it, prolific once in patriarchs, and prophets, and saints, is now comparatively sterile. In Jer 15:6 “the grave, Hebrews Sheol, is “the pit,” the hollow vault underground, which is the dwelling of the dead. Lit; therefore, Hannah’s words might seem to imply a belief in the resurrection; but her meaning rather was that God brings a man to the very brink of the grave, and then, when all hope seems past, raises him up again. In verse 8 beggar is simply needy, but the expressions dust and dunghill add dishonour to his poverty. To set might more correctly be translated to make them sit; sitting, especially on a raised seat, being a mark of honour among Orientals, who generally squat on mats on the ground. In the next clause the A.V. particularises what in the Hebrews is quite general. “He will make them possess (or enjoy) a glorious throne.” Their seat among the princes is not inherited, but acquired; and though promoted thus to a place among men of hereditary rank, and given an honourable position among them, yet it was not necessarily “the throne of glory,” the highest seat. Still even this was quite possible; for while the tribal chiefs and heads of fathers’ houses obtained their rank by inheritance, nevertheless, in early days the judges, and among them Eli and Samuel, acquired rank and power for themselves. Subsequently, under the kings, the great officers of state took their place along with the hereditary princes, but were dependent upon royal favour. In the last clause the word rendered pillars is rare, being found only here and in 1Sa 14:4. In both places the ancient versions are uncertain as to its signification, but in the latter it can only mean a crag, or mass of rock. If then the rock masses of the earth are Jehovah’s, and he can lift up and poise upon them the inhabited world (Hebrews rebel), how much more easily can he raise up a man!
1Sa 2:9
The feet of his saints. The Hebrews written text (ch’tib) has his saint, sing.; but the word really means not saint, i.e. one sanctified and holy, but pious, i.e. one lovingly disposed towards God. The sense, therefore, is not affected by the number, but the sing. is more forcible “He will guard the steps, the earthly course, of each one that loveth him;” while over against this watchful providence, ever exerted for the safe keeping of all who love the light, stands God’s punitive justice, whereby the wicked are finally brought down to the dark silence of the grave. For they had only human strength and prowess upon which to depend, and no man can sustain himself in the manifold conflict of life without help from above.
1Sa 2:10
The adversaries. In the Hebrews the nouns are again sing; though the verb is pl; showing that they are to be taken collectively. Lit. the translation is, “Jehovah they shall be broken in pieces, whoever it be that contendeth with him;” the word having reference to contentions in a court of law, and the whole verse keeping the administration of justice in view. It proceeds, “Upon him he shall thunder in heaven;” i.e. Jehovah, seated on his throne in heaven, shall, as the supreme Judge, utter the sentence; and thunder was to the Hebrew God’s voice. He shall judge the ends of the earth, i.e. the whole earth up to its remotest quarters. The last distich is remarkable. It is a distinct prophecy of David’s kingdom, and of the king as the anointed one, but looking onwards to the Messiah, David’s greater Son. So distinct a reference to a king before a king existed has made Ewald and others regard the whole hymn as an interpolation of later times. But already Hannah’s thoughts had risen to a higher level than the fortunes of the literal Israel. In claiming for Jehovah, her covenant God, the righteous government of the whole world, she prepares our minds for the corresponding thought of Jehovah being the universal Saviour. Very probably the whole national mind was set upon having a king to enable them to make head against the Philistines long before, under Samuel, the desire became so strong as to be irresistible. The thought of a king was in no respect alien from the Jewish commonwealth (Deu 17:14). They had wished Gideon to hold this office (Jdg 8:22); Jotham’s parable in Jdg 9:1-57. described the nation as eager to be thus governed, but the better minds as bent on declining so dangerous a preeminence. There is very much to prove that the nation had come to regard the appointment of a king as an eventual necessity, however long delayed. But not here only, but everywhere, the Jewish mind was constantly brooding upon the future. Hannah does no more than every patriarch and saint and prophet of the old dispensation. Prophecies such as that in Gen 49:10 filled the hearts of all alike. And though the present longings of the nation for a king make Hannah’s words not unnatural even in their lower sense, yet the truer exposition is that which acknowledges in Israel a people raised up for a special purpose, and the bestowal by God upon its seers for the carrying out of this purpose of the gift of prophecy. And it was this extraordinary gift which bent and shaped the mind of the nation, and filled it with future aspirations; and not a causeless state of the national mind which, excited by vague hopes, made men from time to time give utterance to anticipations which by some strange coincidence always came true.
HOMILETICS
1Sa 2:1-10
Salvation.
The facts implied and indicated in the song are
1. Hannah’s deliverance from grief and realisation of desire are perfected.
2. God is recognised as the author of the great salvation.
3. Under Divine inspiration Hannah sees in her own personal experience a type of various triumphs which God achieves for his people.
4. She is conscious of an overwhelming joy in her own deliverance, and in the prevision of future triumphs of the Church.
5. A clear and joyous recognition of Christ’s final triumph as the climax of all. The burden of this glorious song is the salvation wrought by God, and this may be considered as
I. TYPICAL. The term “salvation” is very common in the Old Testament, and its application is “exceeding broad,” being inclusive of deliverance from evils and a realisation of positive good. It may be applied to an episode in personal experience, as in the case of Hannah, David, and others; a soul’s restoration to God through Christ; a nation’s rescue from calamity and elevation to relative influence, as when Israel was delivered from the waters of the Red Sea, and later, from the Assyrian hosts; the deliverance of the Church from persecution, as in apostolic days and subsequently; and especially the completion of Christ’s triumph over all enemies and the gathering into one of the redeemed children of God (Tit 2:13; Heb 9:28; Rev 7:9-17). The episode in the life of Hannah was typical of all other salvations to be wrought by the same merciful God. As in the physical world the trained eye can detect what are called “typical forms,” so in the records of God’s dealings with the saints the spiritually enlightened can see in the personal experience of individuals a foreshadowing of numerous instances yet to occur in human experience. Omnia in Uno will hold true here. The elements of all salvations are found in the blessing vouchsafed to the “woman of sorrowful spirit.” For there is in her case, as in all, a deep human need, arising from a pressure of a heavy burden, and the non-realisation of the very end for which life was supposed to be given; utter despair of human resources for the removal of the evil and the acquisition of the good; Divine energy graciously acting directly on the hidden forces by which sorrow or joy are governed and produced; Divine patience in working out the processes by which the want and sorrow shall be made to pass away; completeness of result in the bestowment of the very boon so long desired and waited for; connection of the result attained with some ulterior issue of still wider blessing; and employment throughout of visible and invisible second causes in working out the purposes of mercy. Each item found reality in Hannah’s experience, and has its counterpart in our deliverance from trouble; in the restoration of the lost soul; in the rescue of a nation or Church from destruction; and in the completion of the desire of him who from the travail of his soul looked on through the ages, saw, and was satisfied. Every deliverance of every saint now is a shadowing forth and a prediction sure and certain of the great salvation, in the bliss of which Christ, and angels, and men shall share.
II. OCCASION OF JOY. Naturally salvation in every form brings joy. It is the great event of the life. It means freedom, rest, enrichment, full, sunny favour of God. Hannah could not but sing. Moses led the joy of Israel on the shores of the Red Sea. When Saul became Paul the Churches enjoyed “comfort of the Holy Ghost.” The fatted calf and dance awaited the restored prodigal son. The very advent of the one true Saviour awoke the chorus of the skies, and heaven will resound with the joyous acclaim of innumerable hosts when the woes of earth are past, and all power submits to Christ (Rev 19:1). It is noteworthy that the joy awakened by accomplished salvation is not a mere selfish delight in one’s own happiness. It is joy in God. In “thy salvation” do I rejoice. “In the Lord” is my “horn exalted.” “The heart” is not set on the bliss of a Samuel’s love, it “rejoiceth in the Lord.” Again, it is joy in God saving through his Anointed. The “promised seed,” the foreordained Messiah, was the spring of all inspired Hebrew expectation of blessing. The birth of a son called forth Hannah’s song. It is curiously sweet to notice how like the echo of some distant melody is this song, reminding us of a Child more holy than even Samuel. Surely in the invisible spheres angels recognised here the substance of that hymn they on a later day sang over the plains of Bethlehem. In that severe but blessed discipline of years the spirit of Hannah had been trained to pass over in vision to a salvation more perfect than what Samuel would effect for Israel, and by a Child more truly given of God. The songs of faith and of fulfilment find alike their inspiration in “his King” and “my Saviour.” But the relationship to his chosen One grows closer and dearer as the ages roll on. What shall it be at last! And what joy will it awaken! Also, the condition of sharing in this joy is twofold, being personally a saved one, and cherishing full sympathy with “his King.” Hannah, blessed with a great deliverance from sorrow and desolation, could sing and, laying all at the feet of God in holy sympathy with the coming kingdom, she found inspiration for song beyond the range of her own experience. A “new song” is learnt on earth, in so far as its first notes, by all who have known in their personal experience the salvation of God; and it becomes sweeter and more inspired as the freed spirit sees by faith the blessed day when the ends of the earth shall also see the King in his beauty.
III. REVELATION OF DIVINE PERFECTIONS. In some sense all God’s acts are revelations. Nature, as we call the beautiful system around us, is but the shadow of the Eternal Presence. The Eternal Power and Godhead are clearly seen through the visible creation. In the Incarnation of God in Christ we have, therefore, a higher expression of a general truth; so that in one respect the most stupendous and mysterious of all supernatural facts is in keeping with Nature. Especially is every instance of salvation, whether typical or antitypical, individual or national, a revelation to the universe of the ever blessed One. From Hannah’s deliverance from sorrow and desolation, on through the ages of mercy, to Christ’s final victory over death and sin, the same attributes are revealed in the deeds and processes by which the salvation in each instance is effected.
1. Mercy, as seen in compassion shown to the sorrowful and helpless.
2. Holiness, inasmuch as the salvation is wrought out against evil powers and persons, for only good and pure issues, by exacting and nourishing into maturity holy, unselfish motives, and ordaining suffering and deferred good only for pure and blissful ends.
3. Power, demonstrating that “beside” him “there is none,” as seen in complete control over the hidden forces of Nature, and full realisation of all that is promised.
4. Wisdom, counteracting the devices of the proud, and causing the bitterest grief and protracted suffering to contribute at last to depth and fulness of joy.
5. Faithfulness, unshaken and firm as a “rock,” insuring that all the strength and wisdom of the Divine nature shall be exercised for the final bestowment of the covenanted blessings. The retrospect of a personal history was to Hannah the means of reading the outlines of the manifestation of the Divine glory, especially in the salvation of the Church. She, like us, saw only the beginnings of things. The remote glory shone through a glass darkly. It was for St. Paul and St. John to declare the same truth in fuller and more precise terms, as the one tells of the “manifold wisdom of God” being made known “by the Church” unto “principalities and powers in heavenly places,” and the other, of him who by virtue of what he has wrought out for his redeemed is “worthy” of all that is due to the only Lord of glory. Men are now intent on studying the material framework of the universe; the day will come when the best minds will study with unbounded delight the perfections of God as seen in the restoration of spiritual order, beauty, and joy out of the chaos of sin and sorrow.
IV. INSTRUCTIVE TO THE WICKED. There was a time when the jealous and cruel Peninnah was proud in her strength and abundance. Also Pharaoh, and other oppressors of Israel, could boast of their power and resources. The infant Church in primitive times was as nothing in comparison with the numerical and social power of her enemy. The exceeding proud talk and arrogancy of men who proclaim their vast superiority in secular knowledge to the mass of Christians, is in keeping with the conduct of the kings and princes who “take counsel against the Lord and against his Anointed.” But as Hannah’s fear and trembling yielded to confidence and joy, consequent on the casting down of her proud enemy and the lifting up of the sorrowful spirit, so the same ever recurring triumphs of the Redeemer, awakening in his people the song of salvation, reads out in clear and forcible terms the instructive lesson to the proud to “talk” no more, and to the arrogant to “shut their mouth,” and to the seemingly prosperous that all “actions are weighed” by him who is a “God of knowledge.” It is ever true that no weapon formed against God’s children can prosper. In what God has effected for the lowly pious in time past, the proud, the wise, the strong may find instruction; and, if they will, learn both how vain it is to curse in heart or mouth whom God has blessed, and how important for themselves that they “kiss the Son,” lest they perish, “while his wrath is kindled but a little.”
V. INVOLVING GREAT REVERSIONS. Providence vindicated itself for former apparently unequal and undesirable distributions of favour by breaking the bows of the strong and giving strength to the feeble; by causing the self-satisfied Peninnah to feel the lack of a satisfaction not to be obtained by the cruel, and the yearning Hannah to want for nothing more. The once proud mother of many children, from causes in the home life, fails in her joys, while the unfruitful attains to the perfection of earthly bliss. In the one case hopes and joys are smitten; in the other, created. The rich in home delights becomes poor, by possibly erring sons, or enfeebled health; the poor and sorrowful is enriched with a treasure for the use of all ages. Thus does Hannah see in outline the reversions ever occurring in the working out of God’s salvation in the individual, the nation, or the Church.
1. In the human soul saved by Christ, forces of evil once strong and self-satisfied, lacking nothing, and usurping authority, are brought low, enfeebled, made conscious of their impotence, and finally killed; while the poor, faint, struggling spirit of love and faith is, when once “made alive,” girded with strength, satisfied with good, and made finally dominant over the entire nature. Doubts, fears, and mighty temptations are laid low. Hopes, joys, and victories of faith are called forth; and, as a final issue, the once outcast, unhappy soul is enriched with the full bliss of a child of God.
2. In national affairs. The strength of Egypt sinks in the sea; the helplessness of Israel puts on the strength of God. The boastful nations that in pride of their resources set aside the practice of righteousness, one by one are brought low by the corruption concealed beneath their material splendour; while the feeble people who live in the fear of God go from strength to strength, and “delight themselves in the abundance of peace.”
3. In the Church. The wealth, power, and wisdom of Rome and Greece fell before the rising power and spiritual know]edge of poor fishermen. The mighty evils of an age are at length brought down, and the despised “things that are not” are caused to be the most potent and blessed of all agencies.
VI. TRACEABLE TO GOD. Well did Hannah know that her deliverance was of God, and not of man. In all the second causes cooperating towards the completion of her desire she, with true spiritual instinct, saw the work of the First Cause. “The Lord” it was who “killed and made alive.” “The Lord” “brought low” the proud rival, and “lifted up” “the woman of sorrowful spirit.” He it is who “keeps the feet of his saints,” and causes the wicked at length “to be silent.” So through the unfolding ages it is “the Lord” who works to destroy the evils of the soul, and to create and nourish the good. All the triumphs of the Church over political scheming, pseudo-learning, violent persecution, and satanic opposition are by the might and power of him who raiseth up the wise and good, checks the rage of man, and in the invisible sphere frustrates the “gates of hell.” All things are of God, who worketh all and in all. It is not crude anthropomorphism that refers all the processes of individual, national, and Church salvation to the energy of God. It is the most penetrating philosophy, born of the inspiring Spirit of God. There are “pillars”‘ or foundations, or bases, of all terrestrial things. We may call this a cause, and that an effect. We may clothe matter with qualities, and point out their uniform and necessary interaction. But still they are all traceable down to some original constitution inherent in the elemental forces and materials; and that constitution, that firm and grand arrangement of invisible “pillars” or bases, is what it is because God made it so, and for no other reason. Wisely and beautifully, therefore, does the prophetess anticipate the philosophies of the coming ages by referring all the agencies and powers involved in the accomplishing of salvation for men to “the Lord.” Not unto us, but to thy name be the glory.
VII. CULMINATING IN CHRIST‘S PERFECT REIGN. The prophetic eye looks on through the material disorder of Eli’s day to a typical King in Zion. The order and prosperity of a David’s reign are but the temporal shadow of the enduring order and unfading prosperity of the “Anointed,” who is in the highest spiritual sense to “exalt” his “horn,” and “judge the ends of the earth.” What though, meanwhile, “adversaries” may combine, and the occasional “strength” of the wicked threaten to cast down “the saints;” he that sitteth in the heavens has in reserve his swift and awe inspiring forces (Psa 2:1-12) to shatter all opposition, and ultimately insure a peaceful reign over mankind. It was some years before Peninnah s ground of annoyance to Hannah was removed, and the lowly one was raised to joy and full satisfaction; so, proportionately to the vaster deliverance to be wrought out for mankind, it may require many centuries to cast down all foes and create and perfect the bliss of the redeemed. But the” strength” of the “King” will bring it to pass by a combination of invisible and visible forces more subtle and intricate, but not less obedient to his will, than those which brought a mother’s joy to Hannah. Here we see the beautiful unity of all Scripture reference to the final triumph of Messiah. The “serpent’s head” is to be “bruised” was consolation to our weeping ancestors, bereft of Eden. In him “all nations shall be blessed” was the grand assurance that made Abraham’s life one of large sympathy with the future. “To him shall the gathering of the people be” was the solace of Jacob’s dying hour. And thus, aided by Hannah’s joyous song of victory, as though already real, the holy, blessed succession ran on, telling of the “kingdom” that “shall have no end,” and the day when to the Name that is “above every name” every knee shall bow, and every tongue confess that he is Lord and Christ.
From this survey of truth concerning “salvation” note a few important Practical truths:
1. See here a beautiful instance of how a single life’s experience, when under the holy discipline of God, may be rich in instruction and inspiration for men in all ages. This is brought about not by mere natural genius, but by a woman’s pure and full consecration to Christ, and passionate desire to accelerate the advent of his kingdom. Happy they who can live so as to inspire and help posterity! Let our life become a song of thanksgiving to our successors. This is possible to all in some degree.
2. An underlying current of faith in Christ’s complete triumph runs through the ancient Church, and this should embolden us. True saints live much in the future, while not careless of present duties. There may be much inspiration for work from the prospect of what is to be.
3. The effect of true faith is to enlarge the vision and broaden the sympathies. Hannah’s faith in a coming Christ caused her spirit to be open to those inspirations which carried the vision over the weary ages to the true golden age, and she felt with all the saints in all time. Religion of this kind becomes an expansive power in whatever nature it dwells.
4. The proper unity of the Church lies in the one faith which holds the life to Christ, whether to come, or having come; and this will insure sympathy with his kingdom and with purity of life, as well as consecration of what is most precious to its realisation.
HOMILIES BY B. DALE
1Sa 2:1-10. (SHILOH)
Rejoicing in the Lord.
“My heart rejoiceth in the Lord.” The song of Hannah, “the Magnificat of the Old Testament Church,” was the outburst of her deep and holy joy in the Lord. Whilst watching over the infant Samuel at Ramah, she had silently pondered the ways of God, and the condition and prospects of his people and kingdom. After several years of absence from the central sanctuary at Shiloh, she appears once more at its entrance; and, standing on the well remembered spot where she had prayed in her distress, she fulfils her vow, and gives back to God the sacred treasure intrusted to her care. The trouble of former years recalled, provocations and inward conflicts ended, the sunshine of Divine favour experienced, cause her full heart to “bubble up like a fountain,” and pour itself out in lofty poetic strains (1Sa 2:1). What a contrast does this language indicate between her condition at the time of the previous visit and her condition now!
1. Then her heart was full of grief; now it “rejoiceth in the Lord.”
2. Then her “horn” (strength, a figure taken from animals whose strength is in their horns, and here first employed. 2Sa 22:3; Luk 1:69) was trampled in the dust; now it is “exalted,” and she is endued with strength and honour “by the Lord.”
3. Then her mouth was shut, in silent endurance, beneath the provocation of her adversary (1Sa 1:6); now it is “enlarged,” or opened in holy exultation, “above her enemies.”
4. Then she was petitioning for the help of the Lord now she “rejoices in his salvation,” or the deliverance which he has wrought on her behalf; and it is “because” of this that she utters aloud her thanksgiving and praise. Her soul with all its powers, like a harp of many strings, touched by the Divine Spirit, gives forth exquisite music. “The Divinely inspired song of Hannah is like a golden key for the interpretation of the whole book” (Wordsworth’s ‘Com.’). Compare this song with the song of Miriam and of Deborah. “Those compositions are grand, indeed, and elevated, and worthy of that inspiration which produced them; but they have not that tenderness of spirit, that personality of devotion, and that eucharistic anticipation of good things to come which characterise the hymn of Hannah”. It is the model after which the song of the Virgin Mary was formed, though there are notable points of difference between them. Considered in relation to the circumstances, and in its general nature, her song was a song of
1. Gratitude. Her prayer had been answered in the gift of a son; and, unlike those who look no further than the blessings bestowed upon them, she looked from the gift to the Giver, and praised him with joyful lips. Her heart rejoiced not in Samuel, but in the Lord.
2. Dedication. She had given back her child to God, and with him herself afresh. The more we give to God, the more our heart is enlarged, by the shedding abroad of his love therein, and filled with exceeding joy.
3. Triumph; remembering how she had been delivered from her adversaries in the past.
4. Faith in his continued help.
5. Patriotism. She sympathised with her people in their oppression by the Philistines; and, identifying herself with them, she almost lost sight of what God had done for her in the contemplation of what he would do for them. “From this particular mercy she had received from God she takes occasion, with an elevated and enlarged heart, to speak of the glorious things of God, and of his government of the world for the good of the Church.” “She discerned in her own individual experience the general laws of the Divine economy, and its signification in relation to the whole history of the kingdom of God” (Anberlen).
6. Prophetic hope. She beheld the dawn of a new day, and was glad. In all and above all
7. Joy in the Lord. “My heart rejoiceth in the Lord;” not merely before him (Deu 12:12); but in him, as the Object and Source of its joy; in communion with and contemplation of him, and in the admiration, affection, and delight thereby excited. “My meditation of him shall be sweet: I will be glad in the Lord” (Psa 104:34). “When I think of God,” said Haydn (on being asked the reason why the style of his music was so cheerful), “my soul is so full of joy that the notes come leaping and dancing from my pen.” More especially observe that Hannah rejoiced in
I. THE PERFECTIONS OF HIS CHARACTER (1Sa 2:2, 1Sa 2:3). Such perfections must not, indeed, be thought of as existing in God separate and distinct from each other; they are essential attributes of his living personality, and are all really present in his every purpose and act. What is here declared of God is, that
1. He alone is “holy.”
(1) Supremely excellent; whatever excellence exists in any other being falls infinitely short of his (Isa 6:3).
(2) Morally perfect; invariably willing what is right and good; transcendently glorious in the view of conscience (Le 11:44).
(3) Absolutely existent, which is the ground of his excellence and perfection. “For there is none except thee.” “God is the most perfect Being, and the cause of all other beings.” His moral perfection is a peculiar distinction of the revelation which he made to his chosen people, needs to be specially magnified in times of corruption, and can only be rejoiced in by his saints. The conception which men form of God is an evidence of their own character, and exerts a powerful influence upon it (Luk 1:49).
2. He alone is strong. “A Rock.”
(1) Firm, unchanging, enduring; a sure foundation for confidence.
(2) None can be compared unto him. They may not be trusted in, and they need not be feared.
(3) Happy are those who can say, He is “our God.” That which is a terror to others is a consolation to them. “The children of a king do not fear what their father has in his arsenal.” “Let the inhabitant of the rock sing.” But men often speak proudly and arrogantly (1Sa 2:3), as if they were independent of him, and could do whatever they pleased. Let them not boast any more; for
3. He is the All-wise; a “God of knowledge” (lit; knowledges) of all knowledge. “The Lord knoweth the thoughts of man, that they are vanity” (Psa 94:11; Psa 138:6). His knowledge is
(1) immediate,
(2) perfect, and
(3) universal. And,
4. He is the Judge of human actions. He determines how far they may go before they are effectually checked by the manifestation of his power and wisdom (Thenius). “By strength shall no man prevail.” He also forms a just estimate of their moral worth, and gives to every man his due reward. His righteousness and justice, as well as his strength and wisdom, when contemplated by the good, fill them with great joy.
II. THE OPERATIONS OF HIS PROVIDENCE (1Sa 2:4-8). The operations of Providence are the operations of God in the natural world, the laws of which are the uniform methods of his activity, and more especially in human affairs; wherein, whilst there is room for human freedom and prudence, and the use of means, his will encircles and overrules all things, and his hand moves in and through those events which are commonly attributed to chance or accident, and directs and controls them for the good of those who love him (Rom 8:28). In and by these operations
1. He manifests the perfections of his character: his holiness, power, wisdom, and justice. “The Lord is righteous in all his ways (Psa 97:2 Psa 145:17).
2. He apportions the different conditions of men, and accomplishes the varied changes of their condition.
(1) Makes the strong weak and the weak strong (1Sa 2:4).
(2) The full empty and the empty full (1Sa 2:5).
(3) Increases the lonely and diminishes the numerous family.
(4) Brings into great distress, even to the verge of the grave, and again restores to health and prosperity (1Sa 2:6).
(5) Makes poor and makes rich.
(6) Brings low and raises up. Prosperity and adversity alike, when received from the hand of God and used aright, become occasions of joy; and the changes of life are morally beneficial (Psa 55:19; Jer 48:11; Jas 1:9, Jas 1:10).
3. He does great things, especially for the lowly (1Sa 2:8). Stooping to them in their utmost need and shame (Psa 113:7, Psa 113:8), and raising them to the highest honour and glory. “God does nothing else,” said an ancient philosopher, “but humble the proud and exalt the lowly.” “Set thyself in the lowest place, and the highest shall be given thee; for the more elevated the building is designed to be, the deeper must the foundations be laid. The greatest saints in the sight of God are the least in their own esteem; and the height of their glory is always in proportion to the depth of their humility” (Thomas a Kempis).
4. He supports the earth and all that is upon it. His dominion is supreme; and he has therefore the power, as he has the right, to do whatever may please him. An unfaltering trust in Providence is a cure of undue anxiety and a cause of abounding peace and joy. “Certainly it is heaven on earth to have a man’s mind move in charity, rest in Providence, and turn upon the poles of truth” (Bacon). “The prophets of the Old Testament inculcate with a remarkable perspicuity and decision the overruling agency of God’s providence in the affairs of the world. Their whole prophecy is more or less a commentary on this doctrine What a basis is laid by it of peace and tranquillity to every thoughtful and most feeling mind; and how different the aspect of the world becomes when we have reason to know that all things in it, and every combination of them, whether in the fortunes of kingdoms or in a more private state, are under the control of an intelligent and gracious Ruler. Were we in the chains of chance, how gloomy would our case be. Were we in the hands of men, too often how fearful, how humiliating, how conflicting. But the impression of the scene is changed when we admit into it the direction of an all-wise and perfect Being, in whose rectitude and goodness we may acquiesce through the whole course of his providential dispensation”.
“One adequate support
For the calamities of mortal life
Exists, one only;an assured belief
That the procession of our fate, howe’er
Sad or disturb’d, is order’d by a Being
Of infinite benevolence and power,
Whose everlasting purposes embrace
All accidents, converting them to good”
(Wordsworth).
III. THE ESTABLISHMENT OF HIS KINGDOM (1Sa 2:9, 1Sa 2:10). God is a moral governor, and directs his providential operations with a view to the setting up of a kingdom of righteousness upon earth. This kingdom existed from the first, was more fully exhibited in the theocracy of Israel, and culminated in the rule of Christ, who “must reign until he hath put all enemies under his feet.” In every stage of development it involves conflict. But
1. He will protect, its subjects; his saints (lit; pious, those who love God), against whom the wicked will contend in vain (1Sa 2:9).
2. He will overthrow its adversaries (1Sa 2:10); their overthrow being
(1) certain,
(2) unexpected,
(3) complete”broken to pieces,”and
(4) signally indicative of the interposition of heaven (1Sa 7:10).
3. He will extend its borders to the ends of the earth.
4. And he will clothe with strength, honour, and majesty the king whom he appoints and anoints for the accomplishment of his purposes. Hannah commenced her song with rejoicing on account of the strength and honour conferred upon herself, and she closes it with rejoicing on account of the strength and honour which would be conferred on him who should be “higher than the kings of the earth.” “Let the children of Zion be joyful in their king.” “The anointed of the Lord, of whom Hannah prophesies in the spirit, is not one single king in Israel, either David or Christ, but an ideal king, though not a mere personification of the throne about to be established, but the actual king whom Israel received in David and the race, which culminated in the Messiah. The exaltation of the horn of the anointed of Jehovah commenced with the victorious and splendid expansion of the power of David, was repeated with every victory over the enemies of God and his kingdom gained by the successive kings of David’s house, goes on in the advancing spread of the kingdom of Christ, and will eventually attain to its eternal consummation in the judgment of the last day, through which all the enemies of Christ will be made his footstool” (Keil).D.
HOMILIES BY D. FRASER
1Sa 2:1-10
The prayer song of Hannah.
In her prayer of asking Hannah was intent not merely on having a child, but on giving to the service of God a priest, and to the government of Israel a judge, very different from the sons of Elia Nazarite, a second and a better Samson. No wonder, then, that when she brought her son to the sanctuary, her prayer of thanksgiving took a large scope, and revealed even a prophetic fervour. What religious poetess has made such an impression as Hannah with one ode? Reproduced in Psa 113:1-9; and yet again in the song of the blessed Virgin Mary, commonly called the Magnificat, it may be said to have continued in devout minds, Hebrew and Gentile, for about 3000 years. The first verse is the introduction, and strikes the key in which all that follows is pitcheda tone of warm and grateful confidence in God. Then follow the praises of the Lord, with some anticipation of better days to come.
I. PRAISE OF JEHOVAH (Psa 113:2-8).
1. Because of his sublime attributes (Psa 113:2, Psa 113:3). “There is none holy as Jehovah.” The root idea of holiness is always that of separateness from what is evil or profane. The God of Israel was the Holy One, absolutely unique, immaculate, inviolate, and inviolable. None among the gods of the nations might be likened to him. So he called and required Israel to be a holy nation, i.e. separate from the nations of the world, who are idolatrous and unclean. So under the New Testament the saints are the separated ones who touch not the unclean thing. “Neither any rock like our God.” His protection cannot be invaded. His purpose does not vacillate. His power does not fail. He is the Rock of Ages. This was what made Israel unconquerable so long as faithful to God. The “rocks” of the nations, i.e. the gods in whom they trusted, were not as Israel’s Rock. “Jehovah is a God of knowledge.” Let not the wicked boast proudly. No word of scorn cast at the humble, no haughty glance of the eye, is unobserved by the Lord; and nothing is more certain than that, sooner or later, he will abase the proud. “And by him actions are weighed.” In his estimate of human conduct he holds the balances of a perfect equity.
2. Because of his mighty works (Psa 113:4-8). Ruling in holy sovereignty, God often reverses the conditions of men, lowering the exalted and exalting the lowly. He even kills and makes alive, leads down into Hades, and leads up from it again. Sheol or Hades was no mere pit of extinction from which there could be no uprising. God was able to raise even the dead. Such being his power, what could the boastful effect against Jehovah? What might not the humble hope from him? This is the central thought of Hannah’s song, and it is still more finely expressed in that of the blessed Virgin. “He hath showed strength,” etc. (Luk 1:51-53). Of the elevation of the despised, celebrated here and in Psa 113:1-9; how many illustrations in sacred story! Joseph, Moses, Gideon, before the time of Hannah; and afterwards, David, and the great Son of David, the Man Christ Jesus, and his Galilean apostles. This fact is not to encourage contempt of, or impatience under, earthly dignities; but it is to cheer those who are or may be depressed by worldly disadvantage of poverty or obscurity. God’s grace is no appanage of the rich or powerful. Was not Martin Luther a poor miner’s son? David Brainerd a small farmer’s son? John Bunyan a tinker’s son, brought up to follow the same craft? Were not the good missionaries Carey and Knibb apprentices, the one bound to a cobbler, the other to a printer? And are not such men among the princes of God’s people? The house of Elkanah was of no eminence in Israel; but thence God was raising up this child Samuel, whom Hannah brought to his courts, to be, if not king, king maker, and to stand at the head of a line of prophets who should be the guides of the kings and the people so long as the kingdom stood.
II. ANTICIPATION Of BETTER THINGS TO COME. The end of this prayer song has a prophetic strain (verses 9, 10). Hannah was confident of God’s preservation of his saints, and of the correlative truth of the perdition of ungodly men. Not that he has any pleasure in their death; but that if men will fight against eternal order and righteousness, they must fail in the struggle, they must perish. “As for Jehovah, those who contend against him are broken.” The prophetic element shows itself in the closing expressions of the song. The government of Israel at the time may be described as that of a commonwealth, so far as concerns human administration. It was a theocracy, as it had been from the time of the exodus; but the actual administration was carried on through leaders, or judges. The eye of Hannah opened on a new epoch, foresaw a king to whom Jehovah would give strength as his Anointed. It is the first mention of a Messiah in Holy Writ. No doubt Hannah’s words are a prediction of David, whose horn of power the Lord was to exalt, giving him a career of victory over all his enemies. But whether or not it was clear to Hannah’s mind, the Spirit who rested on her signified a King greater than David, and a more illustrious kingdom. It is he of whom the angel said to Mary, “He shall be great,” etc. (Luk 1:32, Luk 1:33). We see not yet his kingdom. We see not all things put under him. But we see Jesus crowned with glory and honour; and we wait for his appearing and his kingdom. The longings of many generations, the hopes of many Hannahs, the visions of many seers and prophets, O may they come to pass speedily!F.
HOMILIES BY B. DALE
1Sa 2:2. (SHILOH.)
The Rock of Israel.
“Neither is there any rock like our God.” The figurative representations of God which are given in his word enable us to attain exalted, varied, and most impressive views of his character. They are derived from objects with which the lands of the Bible abounded; and no other lands on earth were equally adapted to be the theatre of a Divine revelation for men universally. Of these representations, this is one of the most common. It was first employed by Jacob (Gen 49:24stone, eben, or rock), with allusion, perhaps, to Gen 28:11, Gen 28:22; afterwards by Moses (Deu 32:4, Deu 32:18, etc.rock, tzur = what is solid, firm, enduring; a support, foundation, as in the text), who was so familiar with the rocks and mountains of Sinai; frequently by David (2Sa 22:3rock, sela = height, cliff or crag, resorted to as a refuge) and the prophets. Notice
I. HIS CHARACTER IS ITSELF.
1. His power. “To know thy power is the root of immortality.”
2. His unchangeableness and faithfulness. “I change not” (Mal 3:6), with reference to his merciful covenant.
3. His eternity. “From everlasting to everlasting.” These attributes are ascribed to Christ: “all power” (Mat 28:18); “the same yesterday, and today, and forever” (Heb 1:8-12; Heb 13:8). “That Rock was Christ” (1Co 10:4). He is the highest and the only perfect manifestation of God. “Jesus is that Divine Being to whom we can draw near without pride, and before whom we can be abased without despair” (Pascal).
II. HIS SUPERIORITY TO OTHERS. They are
1. Weak. Their very strength is weakness compared with His infinite power.
2. Changeable. “All men are liars,” false, unworthy, and disappointing objects of trust.
3. Transitory. They and their works pass away, whilst the rock endures forever (see Swinnock,”the incomparableness of God,’Works,’ vol. 4.). Expect not true or lasting satisfaction from any created object. “Cease ye from man” (Isa 2:22). Fear him not (Isa 51:12, Isa 51:13).
III. HIS RELATION TO HIS PEOPLE. “Our God.” His people are those who live in direct fellowship with him, and show the reality of their fellowship by walking in the light and keeping his commandments. To them he has promised to be all that their true welfare requires.
1. A support; “the immovable foundation on which they may stand firm, impregnable, secure.”
2. A defence, protecting them against their enemies; “a shadow from the heat, a refuge from the storm;” bearing on himself the tempest that would have fallen on them. “He that believeth shall not make haste,” or be terrified.
3. A source of strength, of peace, and of consolation. “Rabbi Maimon has observed that the word tzur, which we translate rock, signifies, when applied to Jehovah, fountain, source, spring. There is no source whence continual help and salvation can arise but our God” (A. Clarke).
IV. HIS CLAIMS UPON ALL.
1. To trust in him.
2. Abide in him; not merely fleeing to him in a time of trouble and danger, but making him our habitation and home.
3. To make him our portion and “exceeding joy.” “Trust ye in the Lord forever; for the Lord Jehovah is the Rock of Ages” (Isa 26:4).
“Rock of Ages, cleft for me;
Let me hide myself in thee.”D.
1Sa 2:3
The Divine judgment of human actions.
“By him actions are weighed.” It is customary to determine the worth of many things by weighing them. For this purpose a fixed standard is used, and a comparison is made with it by means of a balance and scales or other instrument. Nothing can be more natural than to speak of determining the moral worth of actions in the same manner, and Justice is commonly represented as a woman holding in her hand a pair of scales in which “actions are weighed.” In this sense the above expression is employed; not, however, of men, whose judgment is often mistaken or unjust; but of “God, the Judge of all.” His judgment is
I. A PRESENT JUDGMENT. They are (now) weighed. According to the ancient Egyptians, there was erected at the entrance of the unseen world a balance or scales, over which the Judge of the dead presided, and by it the character of every man was tested as soon as he died. In one of the scales the figure or emblem of truth was placed, and in the other the heart of the deceased; and the result determined his destiny. This is not an unworthy conception of the judgment to come. But their religion pertained chiefly to what would be in the future, rather than to what exists in the present. And there are many at the present day who never think that they have anything to do with God or his judgment except when they come to die. They forget that the living and all-seeing God “pondereth their goings” (Pro 5:21), “judgeth according to every man’s work” (1Pe 1:17), and that to him they stand responsible (Heb 4:13“with whom is the account”).
II. ACCORDING TO A PERFECT STANDARD. The estimate which men form of themselves and others is often false, because it is not formed by means of such a standard. As “weights and measures” need to be examined and to be rectified by an imperial standard, so the human judgment and conscience need to be examined and to be rectified by the righteousness of God as declared in the Law and the Prophets and the Gospel of Christ. What is our relation to this standard?
III. ACCORDING TO MOTIVES. The moral worth of actions does not depend upon their “outward appearance,” but upon the heart. In the sight of God, who sees hearts as we see faces, the inward motives, principles, and intentions are in reality the actions which are weighed (Pro 16:2; Pro 21:2; Pro 24:11, Pro 24:12; Isa 26:7). Our ignorance of these necessarily makes our judgment imperfect, even in relation to ourselves. But “he is a God of knowledge,” “searches the heart,” and perceives the motives which underlie all actions, and which are often so different from what they are thought to be (Psa 139:1-24 :33).
IV. UNIVERSAL. “The Judge of all the earth.” It pertains to all actions that have in them a moral element; to the actions of every individual soul; and to every one of its actions, however apparently insignificant, though it cannot be really such because of its relation to God, and its bearing upon character and destiny.
V. EXERCISED WITH A VIEW TO REWARDING EVERY MAN ACCORDING TO HIS WORKS. It is not useless and ineffective; but is attended with important consequences (Jer 17:10). This life is not simply one of probation; it is also, in part, one of retribution. The approbation or disapprobation of God is always followed by corresponding effects in the mind and heart and conscience of men, and often by startling providential occurrences; as when it was said, “Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting” (Dan 5:27, Dan 5:30); “The world’s history is the world’s judgment;” and, “We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ” (Rom 14:12; 2Co 5:10). Application:
1. “Let a man examine himself.”
2. Seek forgiveness of the sins that are past.
3. “Walk before me, and be thou perfect.”D.
1Sa 2:9. (SHILOH.)
God’s guardianship of his saints.
“He will keep the feet of his saints.” Who are his saints?
1. The term is sometimes used as one of reproach, by persons who are destitute of religious life, concerning those who bear the Christian name. Pointing to the inconsistency of some of the latter, they would thereby fain persuade themselves and others that there is no such thing as true godliness to be found in the world. There are, doubtless, many who “profess to know God, but in works deny him.” But there would be no counterfeit money unless there were some genuine coin
2. The word is also used to designate those who have been “canonised;” and who, having gone into heaven, are supposed to have influence with God in the granting of petitions presented on earth. But such a use of it is unscriptural, and the doctrine is false and injurious.
3. The saints of God are those who have been accepted by him through faith in Christ, who do his will and walk in the way to heaven. Their way, indeed, is often difficult and painful, like the uneven, intricate, and stony paths of Palestine, and beset by numerous dangers. But, for their consolation and encouragement, it is promised that “he that keepeth Israel” will “keep their feet” firm and safe, so that they may not fall and perish. The promise is directly of preservation from temporal calamity, but it may be regarded as including also preservation from spiritual failure and destruction. Consider
I. THE DANGER FROM WHICH HE WILL KEEP THEM.
1. From wandering out of the way. Obscurity may gather over it. Other ways may appear plainer, easier, and more pleasant, and tempt them to leave it. Or they may seem more direct and shorter than the circuitous and wearisome path they have to pursue. But kept by him they will not go astray.
2. From stumbling in the way. “It must needs be that offences (or occasions of stumbling) come.” Some of them consist of
(1) The difficulties of Divine revelation: “things hard to be understood.”
(2) The mysteries of Divine providence, which have led many to say, “As for me,” etc. (Psa 73:2).
(3) Direct solicitations to evil.
(4) “Afflictions and persecutions that arise for the word, whereby many are offended.” But “great peace have they that love thy law, and nothing shall cause them to stumble” (Psa 119:165)
3. From failing to reach the end of the way. Some start with bright hopes which are not afterwards altogether fulfilled in their experience: storms gather, enemies threaten, severe conflict must be waged; and they become weary and desponding, and ready to halt. “But the righteous shall hold on his way” (Job 17:1-16 :19; Isa 40:31).
II. THE MANNER IN WHICH HE WILL KEEP THEM. By
1. Providing means of help for them: the word, which is an instrument of guidance, refreshment, and defence; prayer; the fellowship of those who are travelling in the same way; the ministration of angels (Psa 91:11; Heb 1:14).
2. Watching over them at every step. They are not alone; but he is with them; and they are kept by the power of God” (1Pe 1:5).
3. Imparting grace and strength to them according to their need. “As thy day,” etc. It matters not how great the need if “the supply of the Spirit” (Php 1:19) be equal to it. And, “My grace,” he says, “is sufficient for thee.”
III. THE CERTAINTY WITH WHICH HE WILL KEEP THEM.
1. He has a special interest in them, for they are “his saints,” “the portion of his inheritance.”
2. He has already done much for them, which is an earnest of continued preservation.
3. He has high purposes to accomplish in them and through them. And,
4. He has solemnly promised “never to leave them” (Heb 13:5),
and “he is faithful that promised (Heb 10:23).
1. Rely upon the promise.
2. Presume not upon your security, nor think that without fulfilling his commandments you can receive his promises.
3. Use the appointed means of grace with all diligence.D.
1Sa 2:10. (SHILOH.)
The King Messiah.
The last word of the song of Hannah is the first mention of the Lord’s Anointed, Messiah, Christ.
1. Her language was a direct prediction of the appointment of a theocratic king, for which Samuel prepared the way, and which, under Divine direction, he was the chief agent in effecting.
2. It was an indirect prediction of One who had been long expected (Gen 3:14, Gen 3:15; Gen 12:1-3; Gen 22:17, Gen 22:18; Gen 49:10; Num 24:17-19; Deu 18:15-19), and in whom the idea of such a king would be completely realised.
3. It marks the dawn of a splendid series of prophecies founded on the reign of David, and ever brightening to the perfect day. Consider
I. HIS REGAL OFFICE. Its general purpose was
1. To unite a divided people (Gen 49:10). Nothing was more needed in the days of the judges.
2. To save them from their enemies. “Thy salvation” (1Sa 2:1; Psa 18:50; Psa 95:1; Mat 1:21).
3. To rule over them, judge them in righteousness, and establish among them order peace, and happiness. “The regal office of our Saviour consisteth partly in the ruling, protecting, and rewarding of his people; partly in the coercing, condemning, and destroying of his enemies” (Pearson ‘on the Creed,’ Art. 2.). It was the fatal mistake of Israel in all ages to look for an outward, worldly, and imposing, rather than an inward, moral, and spiritual fulfilment of this purpose. The same mistake has, to some extent, pervaded Christendom. “My kingdom is not of this world.” “The kingdom of God is righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.” “Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne, and myself have founded empires. But upon what did we rest the creations of our genius? Upon force. Jesus Christ alone founded his empire upon love; and at this moment millions would die for him” (‘Table Talk and Opinions of Napoleon Buonaparte’).
II. HIS DIVINE APPOINTMENT. “His King.” “His Anointed” (Psa 2:6; Psa 18:50).
1. The choice was of God. “Chosen out of the people” (Psa 89:19). Even Saul, a man after the people’s heart rather than after God’s heart, was selected and appointed by him. The invisible King of Israel did not relinquish his authority.
2. Founded on personal eminence. David. The ancient Persians believed that their ruler was an incarnation of the eternal light, the object of their worship, and therefore rendered him Divine honour. This was a reality in Christ.
3. Confirmed and manifested by the anointing of his Spirit (1Sa 10:1; 1Sa 16:13; 2Sa 2:4); the outward act being a symbol of the inward endowment (Mat 3:16; Luk 4:18). “God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him” (Joh 3:34; Heb 1:9).
III. HIS GLORIOUS EXALTATION.
1. After a state of humiliation; implied in the language here used; also indicated in 1Sa 2:8; and typified by the lowly origin of David and his course to the throne.
2. By the right hand of God. “He will give strength;” “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth” (Mat 28:18); exhibited in his resurrection, ascension, and possession of supreme honour, authority, and power.
3. To a kingdom universal and eternal. “The Lord shall judge the ends of the earth” (Psa 2:8; Psa 72:2-5; Psa 132:18; Luk 1:31-33, Luk 1:69). Whilst Jesus lives and reigns in heaven, he also lives and reigns on earth. He does so by the continued and ever increasing power of his example and teachings, his wondrous life, and still more wondrous death. The truths and principles which he declared and embodied are, at this moment, accepted by the loftiest intellects, the purest consciences, and the tenderest hearts amongst men. Who now reverses a single judgment which he pronounced upon men or things? Who can conceive any character more worthy of reverence and affection than his? The lapse of time has only served to invest his words and character with fresh interest and power. Other kings and conquerors are fading away amidst the shadows of the past; but he is ever rising before the view of mankind more distinctly, and living in their thoughts, their consciences, and their hearts more mightily. Yea, more, he lives and reigns on earth by his Divine presence, his providential working, and the power of his Spirit. Just as the sun, shining in mid-heaven, sheds down his rays upon the earth; so Christ, the Sun of righteousness (though no longer seen by mortal eye), pours down the beams of his influence upon us continually, and rules over all things for the complete establishment of his kingdom.D.
Fuente: The Complete Pulpit Commentary
1Sa 2:1. And Hannah prayed This might be rendered with greater propriety, and Hannah sang praise. See Psa 15:5.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
THIRD SECTION
Hannahs Song of Praise
1Sa 2:1-10
1And Hannah prayed, and said:
My heart rejoiceth in the Lord [Jehovah1],
My horn is exalted in the Lord [ Jehovah];
My mouth is enlarged [opened wide] over mine enemies,
Because2 I rejoice in thy salvation.
2There is none holy as the Lord [Jehovah],
For there is none beside thee,
Neither is there any [And there is no] rock like our God.
3Talk no more so exceeding3 proudly;
Let not arrogancy come out of your mouth;
For the Lord [Jehovah] is a God of knowledge,4
And by him5 actions are weighed.
4The bows of the mighty men are broken,
And they that stumbled are girded with strength.
5They that were full have hired themselves out for bread,
And they that were hungry ceased [ins. to hunger6];
So that [Even6] the barren hath borne seven,
And she that hath many children hath waxed feeble.
6The Lord [Jehovah] killeth and maketh alive,
He [om. He] bringeth down to the grave (underworld7) and bringeth up.
7The Lord [Jehovah] maketh poor and maketh rich,
He (om. He) bringeth low and lifteth up.
8He raiseth up the poor out of the dust,
And [om. And] lifteth up the beggar [needy] from the dunghill,
To set them8 among princes,
And to make [And he makes] them to inherit the [a] throne of glory:
For the pillars of the earth are the Lords [Jehovahs],
And he hath set the world upon them.
9He will keep the feet of his saints,9
And the wicked shall be silent9 in darkness;
For by strength shall no man [not by strength shall a man] prevail.
10The adversaries10 of the Lord [Jehovah] shall be broken to pieces;
Out of heaven shall [will] he thunder upon them.
The Lord [Jehovah] shall [will] judge the ends of the earth,
And he shall [will] give strength unto his king,
And exalt the horn of his anointed.
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
1Sa 2:1. The superscription, and Hannah prayed, does not suit precisely the contents of the following Song, which is not exactly a prayer () but a thanksgiving-testimony to the Lord and the revelation of His glory. Clericus: Hannah rather sings praises to God than asks anything of Him. So the word prayers () in Psa 72:20, includes all the Pss. from 1 to 72, in the broad sense of thinking and speaking of God and in Gods presence, when the heart is most thoroughly concentrated and deeply immersed in Him, though the form of thinking and speaking to God may be lacking. The thou, however, referring to God, appears in two places (1Sa 2:1-2). [Chald.: H. prayed in the spirit of prophecy.Tr.].
The content of the Song is: 1) The manifestation of deep joy in the Lord at the deliverance vouchsafed by Him over against enemies (1Sa 2:1). With lofty flight the four-membered strophe rises from the depth of the hearts joyful emotion on high, where the source of salvation and help in the living God is seen and praised. The heart (as elsewhere the soul) is the central organ of all painful and joyful feelings. The horn is the symbolderived from horned beasts, which carry the head high in consciousness of powerof vigorous courage and consciousness of power, of which the Lord is the source, (comp. Deu 33:17; Psa 75:5; Psa 89:18; Psa 89:25).11 The repetition of the in the Lord emphasizes the fact that the joyous frame of mind and lofty consciousness of power has its root in the Lord, and presupposes the most intimate communion with the living God. The mouth opened wide over my enemies, intimates that the joy and courage that filled her soul had found utterance, partly in exulting over adversaries, as contrasted with the silence of subjection to them, partly in proclaiming the glory of the Lord in thanks and praise for the help received from Him in the attacks of foes. The ground of her joy in the Lord is His salvation, His help against enemies. 2) The praise of the majesty of God in His holiness and His faithfulness, which is as firm as a rock (1Sa 2:2). The holy indicates here in the broad sense the infinite superiority of God to everything earthly and human, His isolation from the world, but at the same time His absolute completeness of life in contrast with the nothingness and perishableness of everything in the sphere of the creaturely, as in Psa 99:2-5; comp. 1Ki 8:27. This is evident from the double negation: none is holy as the Lord; for there is none beside thee. The ground of this exclusive holiness is the aloneness and absoluteness of God; there is no God beside Him, He shares the divine being [Germ. Sein und Wesen] with none; therefore He is apart from everything human and earthly, and lifted up above it.12The words there is no rock like our God, express the aloneness and exclusiveness of Gods character as set forth by the name rock. This superiority of God to all earthly and worldly being, this absolute glory beyond everything finite and human does not exclude, but is the ground of His self-revelation as the Fixed, Unchangeable, Immovable amid everything earthly and human. The our God presupposes the revelation of God by which He, as the Holy One, has chosen His people to be His possession, announced Himself to this people as their God, and made a covenant with them. The symbolical designation of this covenant-God by Rock, which occurs frequently, was suggested naturally by the configuration of the ground in Palestine, where masses of rock surrounded by steep precipices offered an image of solid and sure protection. God is a rock in His firm unshakable faithfulness; and it is the more necessary to suppose this attribute to be here set forth, because His relation to His people as covenant-God is assumed in the words our God. This term has the signification of faithfulness and indestructible trustworthiness in Deu 32:4, also; where it is clearly the same as faithfulness, Psa 18:3, (2) sq.; Psa 92:16.13The presupposition is the declaration there is none beside Thee. Jehovah, as the Holy One who has revealed Himself to His people as their God in His lofty elevation above the earthly and human, and is alone the truly existing living God, is for this very reason the Rock also in the absolute sense, the unchangeable, unshakably faithful, trustworthy God, and therefore claims from men, to whom He has revealed Himself as their God, and is known as such, unconditioned complete confidence, as it is expressed in this brief sentence, none is a rock like our God.14
3) The manifestations of the holy and faithful God in His conduct, as it is determined by His omniscience and omnipotence, partly towards the ungodly, partly towards the godly, 1Sa 2:3; 1Sa 2:8).
1Sa 2:3. The negative particle is omitted before come out () as before speak15 (), and the sense requires that it be supplied (Gesenius, 152, 3). Partly by the more, [Heb. literally, do not increase to speak.Tr.], partly by the doubling of the noun [ pride; in Eng. A. V. the intensive doubling is rendered by exceeding,TR.], the boastful vaunting character, the haughty soul of the ungodly is characterized, showing itself, as it often does, in arrogant words, and becoming, as it were, a second nature. The warning, talk not so proudly, proudly, stands in contrast with the praise of Gods grandeur in His holiness, and brings out the more sharply the contrast between human pride and the humility which is appropriate towards the holy God. Herders reference of the word (Geist d. ebrisch. Poesie 2, 282) to the heights, which were used for defence, and in which pride was felt is untenable, the Heb. not permitting it. The talking with so many proud and arrogant words stands in contrast with the expression of humility and gratitude in 1Sa 2:2 : My mouth is opened wide, etc., there is none holy…….. arrogance specially marks the haughty talk as the expression of a bold defiant soul, which will not bend, and manifests itself particularly towards the pious and God fearing by bold words, comp. Psa 75:6; Psa 94:4; Psa 31:19. Sins of word, corresponding to the proud nature, are here emphasized, because what the heart is full of the mouth will speak.
His warning is supported by pointing to Gods omniscience and omnipotence, in which the relation of His holiness to earthly and human things is shown. For Jehovah is a God of omniscience. The plu. knowledges () indicates that God knows and is acquainted with every individual thing, that, as He is raised above every created thing, and thus present with all things and creatures, so they are present and known to Him; and thus it expresses the thought that the concrete content of Gods omniscience is everything finite and created.16 The proud and bold men, who speak so haughtily, must recollect that God knows all their deeds and hears their words, that therefore they cannot withdraw from His rule.Secondly, reference is made to Gods power, which controls all things according to a fixed unchangeable plan. We must first inquire whether the actions () is to be understood of human or divine deeds, and then whether we are to read not () or the Qeri by him (). The first question can be decided only by the connection. The preceding context speaks not of the deeds, but of the words of ungodly men. In what follows it is similarly not works and deeds of men that are treated of, but the conditions and relations of human life, with which divine agency has to do; in 1Sa 2:4, sq., the thought expressly confines itself to divine deeds. We cannot therefore with Bttcher (Aehrenlese, in loco) suppose a question, and, retaining the Kethib, render, and are not deeds measured? that is, is not care taken that human deeds shall not become immoderate, insolent? nor, with Thenius, adopting the Qeri, and by Him actions are measured, that is, He determines how far human doing may go; nor, with Luther, paraphrase the Lord does not suffer such conduct to prosper. But, if we have to suppose only divine deeds, then the translation to him or by him actions are weighed or measured is certainly to be preferred to the otherare not actions weighed or measured, that is, determined?because of the vagueness of the thought in the latter. The thought, then, is this: Gods actions are weighed, measured, fixed; He proceeds, in His working, by unchangeable paths established by Himself, so that none can free himself from His omnipotence, as none can withdraw from His all-pervading omniscience. Against the explanation by Him the actions of men are weighed (Bunsen: according to their essential worth), Keil properly urges: God weighs the spirits, the hearts of men indeed (Pro 16:2; Pro 21:2; Pro 24:12), but not their deeds. This expression is never found. It is without ground, however, that he introduces the idea of righteousness, since we have here to do with nothing but the free, unrestricted activity of the divine omnipotence, to which, as to His omniscience, men are absolutely subject. [The correctness of this interpretation is open to doubt. The conception of God weighing His own actions, acting with prudence and forecast, is not, I believe, found elsewhere in the Bible; the higher conception of immutable wisdom is every where presented. On the other hand, that God weighs the actions of men, if not (as Keil says) explicitly stated, is yet involved in many passages, in all, for example, which set forth His righteous retribution; as, Thou renderest to every man according to his work (Psa 62:12); God shall bring every work into judgment (Ecc 12:14); and comp. Psa 10:18; Psa 11:5; Psa 14:2; Pro 15:3; Job 34:21; Job 34:23; Jer 9:23-24; Joe 3:12. And this interpretation agrees very well with the context. The word actions may well include all exhibitions of human character, and the antithesis throughout the Song is between the wicked and the righteous. The thought, therefore, may be: Jehovah is holy and immutable. Give ho exhibition of pride, for He knows and weighs your actions. He reverses human conditions, bringing down (i. e. the wicked), and setting up (i. e. the righteous). Expositors are about equally divided between these interpretations. With Erdmann are Targum, Sept., Theodoret, Patrick, Keil; in favor of the other, Syr., Clarke, Henry, Ewald; doubtful, Vulg., Synop. Crit., Gill, Wordsworth. Deu 32:4 does not seem to bear on the decision, for it is Jehovahs righteousness that is there emphasized.Tr.]
1Sa 2:4-8 further carry out the thought of Gods almighty working in human life by a series of sharply contrasted changes of fortune. In this it is assumed that Gods omnipotent working is just, but it is not explicitly declared till afterwards. The preceding thought is carried further: Every power which will be something in itself is destroyed by the Lord; every weakness, which despairs of itself, is transformed into power (O. v. Gerlach).
1Sa 2:4. As in Isa 21:17 we have bows of heroes instead of heroes of the bow, so here the symbol of human power and might is poetically put first instead of the personal subject. [Dr. Erdmann translates: the heroes of the bow are cast down, which is, however, giving up the poetical form. Better: the bows of heroes are broken. So in Isa 21:17 : the residue of the bows of the heroes shall become small.Tr.] The broken () refers, according to the sense, to the latter (since heroes is the logical subject) instead of to bows, the breaking of which indicates the broken power of those who, like heroes of the bow, trust to their might. The strong are overcome by God, as a hero loses his power when his bow is broken. The antithesis: And they that stumbled [or, stumble] are girded with strength. As stumbling, tottering indicates weakness and powerlessness, so being girded with strength denotes fitness for battle, power prepared for battle. The strong He deprives of strength, the powerless He makes strongaccording to the free working of His power.
1Sa 2:5. The full, who in the abundance of their wealth had no need, have hired themselves out for bread, that is, must earn their bread in order to appease their hunger. On the other hand, the hungry cease () either to be hungry, or, to work for bread. The latter is preferable on account of the contrast with hire themselves out for bread in the first clause; so Herder (they now have holiday) and Bunsen (they no longer need work for bread). Clericus: Hannah here rightly attributes to divine providence what the heathen wrongly attribute to fortune, of whose instabilitv they speak ad nauseam. See J. Stobi, florileg. tit. 10517 The [till, rendered in Eng. A.V. so that] is taken by some expositors in the sense even [Germ. sogar]. Clericus explains it as a sort of ellipsis as if she said that all experienced the vicissitudes of human affairs, even to the barren woman, who, etc. Similarly Keil explains it as a brachylogy: it goes so far that.. This adverbial construction, with the presupposed logical zeugma, would have as much in its favor as the view of Thenius, who asks: Might not be an adverb: the long barren? But there are passages in which , from its sense of continuance, must be taken simply as a conjunction, meaning in that or while (Jon 4:2; Job 1:18; 1Sa 14:19); in the two last passages it is followed as here by [and], and introduces an occurrence contemporaneously with which, or following on which, something else occurred. Here then: while the barren bears seven. Seven children is, according to Rth 4:15, the complete number of the divine blessing in children (Keil). Comp. Psa 113:9 : he makes the barren woman dwell in the house, the joyful mother of children. [Erdmann translates: he makes the barren woman of the house dwell as a joyful mother of children.Tr.] [Psa 113:7-9 resembles 1Sa 2:5; 1Sa 2:7-8 so closely as to suggest an imitation. It would be very natural in a later writer, in composing a Psalm celebrating Jehovahs majesty and power, to take such general expressions from a well-known song, which we may suppose was committed to writing by Hannah herself, and through Samuel transmitted to the prophetic students, among whom, no doubt, were many psalmists. The Book of Samuel itself was probably in circulation soon after Rehoboams time.Tr.] And she who had many children languishes away. Clericus remarks: being exhausted before the end of the, usual bearing-time of women, and perhaps left solitary by the death of her children. As to this last point comp. Jer 15:9.18 [The view held by some that in Hannahs barrenness and subsequent fruitfulness there is a mystical or typical meaning, deserves consideration. It is advocated by Jerome, Augustine, Patrick, Gill, Wordsworth, and the Bib. Comm. Hannah is said to be the type of the Christian Church, at first barren and reviled, afterwards fruitful and rejoicing. As to such a typical character we must be guided, not by outward resemblances, but by fixed principles of biblical interpretation. If Hannahs late fruitfulness is typical, it must be because it sets forth a spiritual element of the spiritual kingdom of God. These facts may guide us to a decision: 1) Gods relation to His people is set forth under the figure of marriage; He is the husband, His people the wife (Isaiah 54; Jeremiah 3; Hosea 1-3); 2) Isaiah (1Sa 54:1) describes Gods spiritual people as barren, yet with the promise of many children; 3) Paul (Gal 4:27) quotes this passage of Isaiah, refers it to the Church of Christ as distinguished from the Jewish dispensation, and declares that this antithesis is given in Sarah and Hagar. The barren Sarah is the new dispensation, the fruitful Hagar the old. Besides Sarah, other barren women in the Bible become the mothers of remarkable sons: Rebecca, Rachel, Samsons mother, Hannah, Elizabeth. Are these all typical of the new dispensation or the Church of Christ? The answer is to be found in Pauls treatment of Sarahs history. What he declares is, that Sarah is the mother of the child of promise, while Hagars child was the product of natural fruitfulness. Thus Sarah sets forth the dispensation which is based on promise or free grace and faith; Hagar represents the dispensation of works. Paul quotes Isa 54:1, to show simply that the spiritual Jerusalem, the Church of Christ, is our mother. Throughout his argument it is the spiritual element of promise and faith on which Sarahs typical position is based. Only, therefore, where we can show such spiritual element are we justified in supposing a typical character. There must be involved the truth that the origination and maintenance of Gods people depend on His promise and not on human strength. This is not necessarily involved in the history of every barren woman who becomes fruitfulcertainly not in that of Rachel, probably in that of Rebecca, probably not in the others. These histories teach indeed that fruitfulness is the gift of God; and, as an encouragement to faith, He has in some instances granted to the barren to be the mothers of sons to whom He has assigned important positions in the development of His kingdom. But this fact does not in itself show that these mothers sustained to the kingdom of God the relation which Sarah sustained. Hannah seems to be simply a pious mother whose prayer for a son, contrary to human probabilities, is granted.Tr.].
1Sa 2:6. This Keil connects with the preceding, explaining: This comes from the Lord, who kills, etc. But here, as in the remaining members of the Song, we must suppose a logical asyndeton. The contrast of death and life, killing and making alive demands even a wider extension of these conceptions than is indicated in the last clause of 1Sa 2:5. Killing denotes (with a departure from the ordinary sense) bringing into the extremest misfortune and suffering, which oppresses the soul like the gloom of death, or brings it near to deathmaking alive is extricating from deadly sorrow and introducing into safety and joy. This is confirmed by the second member: He brings down to Sheol and brings up. The same contrast is found in Deu 32:39, I kill and I make alive; I wound and I heal; Psa 30:4 (3), Thou hast brought up my soul from Sheol, Thou hast made me alive, etc.; Psa 71:20, Thou, who hast showed us great and sore trouble, wilt quicken us again, and wilt bring us up again from the depths of the earth, [Eng. A. V. reads, with Qeri, me; Kethib, us.Tr.]. Psa 86:13 : Great is Thy mercy towards me, and Thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest Sheol, (comp. Job 5:18, and Psa 88:4-6). So also in Psa 66:9, misfortune is conceived of as death, salvation as revival. Calvin: in the word death Hannah properly embraces everything injurious, and whatever leads step by step to death, as, on the other hand, the word life includes everything happy and prosperous, and whatever can make a fortunate man contented with his lot. [As is apparent from the above exposition, there is no reference in this verse to the doctrine of the resurrection. The word Sheol, improperly rendered in Eng. A. V. hell and the grave, means the underworld, (Erdmann, the same, unterwelt), the gloomy abode of all the dead, conceived of by the Hebrews as the negation of all earthly activity. It thus became an image of darkness and suffering, only here and there illumined and soothed (as in Psalms 16) by the conviction that Gods love would maintain and develop into fulness of joy the life which He had bestowed on His servants.The word is usually supposed to mean a hole, cleft like, Eng. hell (=hole, hollow, German hlle.Tr.].
1Sa 2:7. By His power the Lord determines the contrast of rich and poor, high and low; comp. Psa 75:8 (7). The thought of the second clause is developed in 1Sa 2:8, with the first half of which Psa 113:7-8 agrees almost Word for word. Being low is here regarded as being despised, for dust and dunghill indicate a condition of deepest dishonor and disgrace, in which one is, as it were, trodden under foot; comp. Psa 44:26 (25). The raising and lifting denotes the divine government, by which shame and contempt are changed into honor and glory. The contrast to the dust and the dunghill is the sitting in the company of nobles and princes, on the throne of honor. Calvin: Hannah goes on to say the same thing of honors and dignities as of fortunes, namely, that, when we behold in this world so many and so great vicissitudes, we should lift up our gaze to the providence of God, who rules all things in heaven and earth by His will, not imagining that there is anything fortuitous in our lives, ( but knowing that Gods providence controls everything).The two last clauses point to the foundation of the Lords determination and arrangement of the contrasted relations of life and fates of men: for the pillars of the earth are Jehovahs, and He hath set the earth upon them.19 The control and government of God here portrayed is founded on the fact that He is the creator and sustainer of the earth, and therefore by His omnipotence exercises unrestricted rule over the earth-world. Here we have clear and plain the highest point of view, from which all that is said from 1Sa 2:4 on is to be looked at: the all-embracing power of the Lord. Clericus: Hannah, therefore, means to say that God easily effects any change in human affairs, since He is creator and lord of the earth itself.
4. The Song culminates (1Sa 2:9-10) in the prophetic testimony to the omnipotent rule of the holy God in the manifestation of His justice towards the godly and the ungodly, and in conducting His kingdom to glorious victory over the world, a) To the godly the Lord will grant His protection and salvation, and will guard them from misfortune, comp. Psa 56:13 (14): Wilt Thou not deliver my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of life [Germ, as Eng. A. V.: the living]? So Psa 116:8; Psa 121:3; he suffers not thy foot to fall. The tottering [or falling] of the feet is not to be taken here in an ethical sense; the preservation of the feet from slipping, tottering, stumbling, often denotes deliverance from long-continued misfortune and suffering, so Psa 15:5; Psa 55:23; Psa 66:9. His saints points to the intimate association between God and His people, and its correlative is my God, our God. b) The godless will be the objects of His punitive justice. They will perish in darkness. The darkness is the symbol of misfortune and misery, as light of safety and life, Job 15:22; Psa 107:14. Godlessness is voluntary remoteness from the light of salvation, which God sheds abroad; and so its walking in darkness must end in destruction. For, not by strength, that is, by his own strength, shall a man prevail; shall a man be strong () is an allusion perhaps to the mighty men () in 1Sa 2:4. The godless rely on their own strength with which to help themselves in the darkness. But it is universally true that we do nothing by our own strength. Psa 33:16-17. He who leans on his own strength (which cannot be without turning away from the Lord, who alone can help) will receive his just reward, he will perish in darkness. Clericus: No one can avoid calamity by his own strength, unhelped by divine providence.Human weakness is here specially brought out by the order of the words; on man [Heb. last word in 1Sa 2:9] follows immediately Jehovah [in the Heb., first word in 1Sa 2:10], which further stands as absolute subject (comp. Psa 11:4) and thus in sharper contrast. As prevail in 1Sa 2:9 alludes to 1Sa 2:4, so here the broken to the broken in that verse.The thought, that Gods justice is shown in the punishment of the godless, is first very strongly and sharply expressed by the immediate collocation of the two verbs after Jehovah: broken are his opposers,20 and then illustrated by the allusion to a judicial process which ends with the carrying out of the sentence. The ungodly strive with God as in a judicial contest ( [Qeri]), but they are confounded in the presence of the process of law to which the Lord comes. The thunder, the sign of His fear-inspiring and destructive power, is the announcement of His proximity lo the tribunal. The judge () denotes the holding of the court. The judicial work of God is the outflow of His holiness, justice and almightiness, which three attributes of God have been celebrated up to this point. The object of the judicial interposition of God is not only the members of the chosen people, but the ends of the earth, that is, all peoples, the whole world. As before the whole earthly creation, founded and maintained by Gods power, was brought before us in order to establish Gods almighty control over the earth, so here our view is extended from punitive justice as it shows itself in the sphere of Gods people to Gods judgment as it stretches over the whole earth, to the all-embracing world-judgment. The prophetic view often rises to this universality of Gods judicial control as the judge of the whole world (Gen 18:25), which corresponds to the idea of the universal salvation embracing all the nations of the earth; so, for example, Mic 1:2 sq.; Isa 2:9 sq.; 1Sa 3:13; Psa 7:8 sq.; 1Sa 9:8. The conception of this general judgment over all the peoples of the earth, and that of the special judgment over Israel and every individual member of Israel are closely connected. The aim of both is to lead Gods kingdom to victory and glory. The broad glance at the ends of the earth filled with the judicial glory of King Jehovah fixes itself in the concluding words on the highest aim and end to be reached by the exercise of Gods judicial justice, namely, the unfolding of Gods power and dominion in the kingdom in Israel and in the person of His anointed. And He will give strength to His king, and exalt the horn of His anointed.
HISTORICAL AND THEOLOGICAL
After the explanation of the content of this Song of praise of Hannah, we must in the first place consider the question of its origin. The answer to this question is inseparable from our historical conception and estimate of the content of the Song, and is therefore connected with the historical and theological remarks. The question is: whether, as the author obviously assumes, Hannah herself sang it from her heart, or, whether it owed its origin to a totally different occasion, and was put into Hannahs mouth by the author.
According to Ewald, this Song is an interpolation by a later hand, because 1Sa 2:1 is the immediate continuation of the concluding words of the first chapter, and is therefore a proper ending like 1Sa 1:19, ( they worshipped and returned); but we reply that the words, 1Sa 1:28, they worshipped the Lord there, form an appropriate introduction to the following prayer, and that the latter contains nothing out of keeping with the continuity of the narrativerather its content quite suits the situation, and therefore from this point of view there is no necessity for regarding it (from its content) as a later insertion which breaks the connection.But particularly two things in the content have been adduced against the ascription of the Song to Hannah or to Hannahs time: the celebration of a glorious victory over foreign enemies, and the assumption of the existence of the theocratic kingdom in the conclusion.But, as to the first, where in the Song is there the mention of a victory gained in war with foreign enemies? The only passage in which warriors are spoken of contrasts the mighty bowmen with the stumbling who are girded with the strength, not to portray heroes of war, but to show how this contrast also (which is parallel with others, none of which have anything to do with war) is brought about by the Lords omnipotent rule. The description of these contrasts and of the power of God which reveals itself in them is so general that it is impossible to discover here the character of a Song of victory which presupposes a war. The enemies against whom the Song is directed are not the national enemies of the people of Israel, the heathen nations with whom they had to fight, but the ungodly within the chosen people as opposed to the truly pious and God-fearing. The contrasts which are introduced have their root in the fundamental view of the religious-moral opposition of pride and humility in reference to the holy God (1Sa 2:3, a), culminate in the testimony to Gods righteous judgment on godly and ungodly, and in their movement between these poles exhibit only the religious-moral condition of the people of Israel as the historical background. Nothing is said of opposition to external national enemies. Hence it is just as unfounded to regard David as the author of the Song (Bertholdt, Einl. III. 915), especially to suppose it a Song of praise for his victory over Goliath and the resulting defeat of the Philistines, (Thenius 1 ed., Bttcher), as it is arbitrary to suppose one of the oldest Kings of Judah its author.21 Neither one nor the other can be demonstrated, or even shown to be probable.The second argument against the ascription of the Song to Hannah, and for referring it to the period of the Kings seems weightier; for the words of 1Sa 2:10, He will give strength to his king, and exalt the horn of His anointed, seem to assume the existence of a king. But nothing obliges us so to understand it. If we put ourselves in the period of Samuels early life, the fact is incontestable that in the consciousness of the people, and the noblest part of them too, the idea of a monarchy had then become a power, which quickened more and more the hope of a realization of the old promises that there should be a royal dominion in Israel, till it took shape in the express demand which the people made of Samuel. The divine promise that the people should be a kingdom is given as early as the patriarchal period, comp. Gen 17:6; Gen 17:16. The idea of the kingdom as bringing prosperity to the whole people connects itself with the Tribe of Judah, Gen 49:10. Judah will come forth victorious from the battle which awaits him, will remain in possession of everlasting imperishable dominion, and will never lose the sceptre. The period of the Law further develops the idea of this kingdom. The whole people is to be a priestly kingdom (Exo 20:6). In Balaams prophecy the royal power and dominion to which Israel would attain is celebrated under the figure of the Star which rises on Jacob, and in their victory over their enemies, Num 24:17; Num 24:19. This old prophecy is altogether unintelligible if the consciousness of the people did not attach the hope of future development and prosperity to the idea of the kingdom. That the law of the king in Deuteronomy 17 belongs to the legal period has been improperly doubted, (comp. Oehler in Herzogs R.-E. s. v. Knigthum). The proposition made to Gideon to be king (Jdg 8:23), though rejected by him, shows how in the period of the Judges the felt national disintegration brought out more strongly the desire for a single government which should embrace the whole people and protect them against external enemies. The phrase of refusal Jehovah shall rule over you, is based on the external non-theocratic conception of the kingdom which underlay that application, and at the same time expresses in the clearest manner the consciousness of the divine rule of which the kingly rule was to be the organ. At the close of the period of the Judges the need of such a theocratic kingdom was felt the more strongly, because the office which was entrusted with the duty of forming and guiding the theocratic life of the nation, namely, the high-priestly office, was itself with the people involved in the deepest degradation. The hope thereon based, that the Lord would set up a kingdom as the instrument of saving the people from their deep corruption, is expressed in our Song in the concluding mention of the anointed of the Lord, who would receive his power from Him, whose horn would be exalted by the hand of the Lord. The same thought is expressed by that man of God (1Sa 2:35), who announces to the High-priest Eli the judgment of his house and the raising up of a faithful priest who will walk before the anointed of the Lord; that is, he indicates a direct interposition by God in the fortunes of His people, by which a new order of things will be brought about under the guidance of a true theocratic priesthood in connection with a divinely established kingdom.
This was a testimony of the prophetical spirit which animated that man of God, that spirit of the prophecy and announcement of divine truth and promise, which had by no means completely died out in the time of the Judges. When God introduced the new era of Israels fortunes, the elevation of the theocratic development of His peoples life to a new plane by the prophet Samuel as instrument of His revelation, and first of the continuous theocratic line of prophets, He selected persons in the border-time between the old and the new in whom theocratic hopes dwelt in living power, informed them by direct influence of His Spirit of the approaching fulfillment of this hope, and prepared and impelled them to announce and to celebrate by prophetic testimony Gods new revelations of salvation. The man of God made such an announcement to Eli, who, according to the divine counsel, was to fall together with his house, that a new true priesthood might arise, which should be closely connected with the anointed of the Lord, the theocratic kingdom, in its effort to attain its end and aim, namely, Gods dominion over His people. Hannah made such an announcement respecting her child Samuel, she knowing by divine revelation that he was to be Gods instrument for great things, the renewer and restorer of the theocratic life under the God-given kingdom. She, like that man of God, is filled with the spirit of prophecy, whose representative and instrument she was the more fitted to be, as she belonged to the pious class of the people, and walked before God. Her song is a product of this prophetic spirit, which lifts her far above the joy (felt in her heart, and uttered at the outset) of her heard prayer and Gods acceptance of her child to be His possession, and above her personal experience of the might of the living God, and makes her see and celebrate His manifestations of might in his kingdom, which he has established in his people, and will develop in new glory by the revelation of His power and justice. From the depths of humble piety she looks up away from her poor self to the height of the holiness and faithfulness of the living God. The foundations on which rests all Gods revelation to His people, as well as His dominion over them, are His holiness and rock-firm faithfulness. On them is built Gods government in His kingdom and people, to which Hannah is led by the divine providence in her own life to look up. As she looks, her experience of her adversaries and of their pride and presumption is broadened and generalized into a view of Gods absolute government and dominion which brings to shame all the pride and insolence of the ungodly, and which is revealed, partly in the unlimited, unconditioned rule of His might, which accomplishes the life-changes of godly and ungodly in the extremest contrasts, contradicting all human calculation (1Sa 2:4-8), partly in the government of His justice, in which He shows Himself as the unchangeable rock of the godly, and gives the ungodly over to destruction (1Sa 2:9-10). From the idea of this government of justice the song rises finally with rapid flight to the conception of a judgment which the living, just God stretches with His dominion over the ends of the earth, and to the idea of a kingdom, which, in this divine domain, and by this ruling and governing of God, develops its power beyond the limits of Israel, and in the possession of this God-given power is the instrument of the divine dominiona wide extension of the prophetic view, under the guidance of the divine Spirit, beyond the present which is the foundation of the word of the prophetic testimony. Thus the prophetic-historical description of the establishment of the kingdom in Israel is introduced by this lyric-prophetic witness of the God-ordained and God-serving power of the theocratic kingdom; and on this follows soon the prophetic announcement of the intimate relation in which the renovated priesthood is to stand to the anointed of the Lord. Hannah beholds in her individual experience the general laws of the divine economy, and divines its significance for the whole history of the kingdom of God (Auberlen, Stud. u. Krit., 1860, p. 564).
In this songuttered, in the spirit of prophecy, in the beginning of the development of the theocratic life, in so far as that development was determined by the kingdom which the people hoped for and God gaveHannah passes unconsciously, impelled by the divine Spirit, over all the intermediate steps of the development of the kingdom of God, and points to the final goal, at which the divinely established, divinely equipped, royal dominion extends itself over the ends of the earth. To this answers, on the one hand, the idea of a universal revelation of salvation, which appears in that tribe-promise of the Shiloh, to whom the obedience of the nations belongs, and farther back in the patriarchal promises; and, on the other hand, there is connected with it the prophetic content of the songs of praise of Mary and Zachariah (Luk 1:46 sq. and 68 sq.), where there is express reference to the words of Hannah in view of the approaching final fulfillment of the idea, contained in her prophetic announcement, of the dominion of the anointed of the Lord which in divine power is to extend over the ends of the earth.
[Wordsworth: The Magnificat of Hannah is an evangelical song, chanted by the spirit of Prophecy under the Levitical Law. It is a prelude and overture to the Gospel. It is a connecting link of sweet and sacred melody between the Magnificat of Miriam after the passage of the Red Seasymbolizing the Death, Burial and Resurrection of Christand the Magnificat of Mary, after the Annunciation of His Birth.. Let this Song of Hannah be read in the Septuagint, and then the Magnificat in St. Lukes original, and the connection of the two will be more clearly recognized. The true characteristic of Sacred Poetry is, that it is not egotistical. It merges the individual in the nation, and in the Church Universal. It looks forward from the special occasion which prompts the utterance of thanksgiving, and extends and expands itself, with a loving power and holy energy, into a large and sympathetic outburst of praise to God for His love to all mankind in Christ. The Magnificat of Hannah is conceived in this spirit. It is not only a song of thanksgiving; it is also a prophecy. It is an utterance of the Holy Ghost moving within her, and making her maternal joy on the birth of Samuel to overflow in outpourings of thankfulness to God for those greater blessings in Christ, of which that birth was an earnest and a pledge. In this respect it may be compared with the Song of Moses (Deuteronomy 32) and the Song of David (2 Samuel 22).Augustine, in his comment on this Song (De Civ. Dei, 17, 4), follows the translation of the Sept. (which is often incorrect), and, along with some good thoughts, has much wrong exegesis and unfounded spiritualizing.Tr.]
HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL
1Sa 2:1. The joy in the Lord, to which faith attains amid sore conflicts: 1) Its sourcenot our own heart with its frowardness and its despondency, not help and consolation from men, but only the Lords grace and compassion, which make the heart joyous again, lifting up with mighty power the mind that has been stricken down; 2) Its object: the fulness of the salvation which the Lord dispenses, and faith ever more richly appropriates: 3) Its expression: an open testimony to the salvation experiencedbefore God in praise, (I rejoice in thy salvation), before menin confessing and celebrating our experience of salvation, to our companions in the faith that they may unite with us in joy and praise, so that their faith may be strengthened, to the adversaries of the faith that they may be ashamed, may be warned, may repent.[Hannahs song of praise compared with her former prayer. 1) She was then in bitterness of soul (1Sa 1:10); now her heart rejoiceth. 2) Then she was humiliated (1Sa 1:5; 1Sa 1:8; 1Sa 1:11); now she is exalted. 3) Then her adversary provoked her (1Sa 1:6); now her mouth is opened wide over her enemies. 4) Then she poured out her soul before the Lord (1Sa 1:15); now she rejoices in His salvation. Often we remember to pray, and then forget to praise.Tr.].
1Sa 2:2. The two characteristics of the life of Gods children in their relation to the living God: 1) The humble reverence before Him, in view of His holiness; 2) The heartiest confidence in Him, in view of His unchangeable faithfulness.
1Sa 2:3. The humbling of the natural mans pride through the testimony concerning the living God: 1) Concerning his universal knowledge; 2) His universal wisdom which determines and regulates all the details of His action (1Sa 2:3); 3) His universal power which determines every change in the fortunes of human life, (1Sa 2:4-8). [The division 2) must be modified if the view of Tr. be adopted as to the reference of the term actions. See Exegetical on 1Sa 2:3.Tr.]
[1Sa 2:3. By Him actions are weighed. I. The manner of His weighingwith perfect knowledge (1Sa 2:3), with absolute rectitude (1Sa 2:2), with immutable justice (1Sa 2:2).II. The result of His weighing is often a total reversal of mens fortunes (1Sa 2:4-8). Application: Be not proud of present prosperity, but look well to the way in which you enjoy and use it (1Sa 2:3).Tr.].
[Henry: 1Sa 2:1-3. Hannahs triumph in Gods perfections, and in His blessings to her. I. She celebrates His glorious attributes: (1) His purity. (2) His power. (3) His wisdom. (4) His justice. II. She solaces herself in these things. III. She silences those who are enemies to her and to God.
1Sa 2:4-8. Providence in the changes of human life: 1) The strong are weakened and the weak strengthened, when God pleases (1Sa 2:4). 2) The rich are impoverished and the poor enriched (1Sa 2:5). 3) God is the Lord of life and death (1Sa 2:6). 4) He advances and He abases (1Sa 2:7-8). 5) And in all this we must acquiesce, for God is sovereign. The pillars of the earth are the Lords.Tr.]
1Sa 2:4-8. The unity amid change of the opposite ways which the pious and the ungodly must go: 1) One starting-point, the Lords inscrutable will, which determines them; 2) One hand, the almighty hand of the Lord, which leads them; 3) One goal at which they end, humble submission under that hand.The wonderful guidance of the children of men upon quite opposite ways: 1) The opposite direction in which they go, (a) from the height to the depth, (b) from the depth to the height; 2) The opposite design which the Lord has therein with men, (a) to lead them from the heights of pride and haughty self-complacency to humble submission under His unlimited power,(b) to exalt them from the depths of humble self-renunciation to a blessed life in the enjoyment of His free grace; 3) The opposite end, according as men cause the divine design to be fulfilled or defeated in them: (a) everlasting destruction without God, (b) everlasting salvation and life in and with God.
1Sa 2:3-10. The contrasts which the change in the relations of human life presents to us in the light of divine truth: 1) Gods holiness and mans sin; 2) Gods almightiness and mans powerlessness; 3) Gods gracious design and mans destruction.
1Sa 2:4. Weakness and strength come from the Lord: 1) He makes the strong weak; 2) He makes the weak strong.
1Sa 2:5. The Lord alone gives full satisfaction: 1) He leads from false contentment in carnal fulness to wholesome destitution; 2) He changes hunger into blessed fulness with true contentment. [Fanciful and strained.Tr.]Blessed are they that hunger: 1) Because the Lord brings them from full to hungry, 2) From hungry to full.
1Sa 2:6. How the living God shows Himself as the Lord of life and of death: 1) In that He leads from life into death, 2) From death into life.
1Sa 2:7-8. The sovereign rule of the grace of God: 1) It makes poor, in order to make rich; 2) It humbles, in order to exalt.
1Sa 2:9-10. The Lord our God is a just God: 1) Upon the pious He bestows salvation in His light; 2) The ungodly he causes to perish in darkness.As man with his whole life places himself towards God, so will God in the judgment place Himself towards him as a just Judge: 1) Either in the severity of His punitive justice; 2) Or in the kindness of His saving grace.The great EitherOrwhich Gods word writes over every human life: 1) Either with the pious for the Lord, or with the ungodly against Him; 2) Either trusting alone in the saving might of divine grace, or wishing to be strong by ones own power; 3) Either preserved by the Lord with the pious to everlasting life, or banished with the ungodly to everlasting condemnation.
1Sa 2:10. The judgment of Gods punitive justice (The Lord will judge): 1) Whom it threatensthe ungodly, adversaries. 2) How God makes it approach with warning signs (out of heaven shall be thunder). 3) How it discharges itself against all the world that is opposed to God ( The Lord shall judge the ends of the earth). 4) How it promotes the perfecting of His Kingdom.
[Providence in the national government of Israel. Not only was the secular spirit in the nation beginning to desire a king (1Sa 8:5), but the inspired Hannah here predicts it with devout hope. Theocracy, Monarchy and Hierarchy each contributed in turn to the welfare of Israel, and each helped to prepare the way for the great Anointed, at once Prophet, King, and Priest, who should reign over the spiritual Israel.Interesting lectures might be made on Psalms outside of the Book of Psalms. (See above, additions to Historical and Theological.)Tr.]
Footnotes:
[1][Instead of Jehovah, 28 MSS., 3 printed copies, LXX. and Vulg., read my God, which some prefer as a variation; Syr. and Ar. omit the word. It is better to keep the Heb. text.Tr.]
[2][Because is omitted in Vat. LXX. (probably by clerical error), retained in Chald. and Syr.Tr.]
[3][The Heb. here repeats the subst. , pride, pride, in a superl. sense. Wellhausen takes these words as a quotation, and the as He local, do not say, high up! high up! but this rendering has little in its favor.Tr.]
[4][Lit. knowledges. Ewald and Erdmann render an omniscient God.
[5][Kethib is , not, and so Syr. and Ar.; the Qeri , by him, is found in many MSS., and LXX., Chald. and Vulg. See Dr. Erdmanns note.Tr.]
[6][On these interpretations of and see exegetical note.Tr.]
[7][Heb. , Sheol. See exeget. note.Tr.]
[8][The Heb. has no pronoun here. Some MSS. have a Yod paragog. which may represent an original Waw in the text. The sense is not affected.Tr.]
[9][Heb. has the sing. in Kethib, but the plur. of Qeri suits the connection better. (So Vulg.) The Kethib may be only a scriptio defectiva. (In Psa 16:10 Kethib is plur.; Qeri, not so well, sing.) is literally a favored one, beloved, rendered by Erdmann fromm (pious).Erdmann renders shall perish. The word means first be silent, and then perish,silence being a sign of destruction.Tr.]
[10][Here again Kethib is sing., and Qeri plur., and the verb is plur. Lit. Jehovahhis adversaries shall be broken. LXX.: the Lord will make his adversary weak; Vulg.: dominum formidabunt adversarii ejus; Chald.: Jehovah will destroy the enemies who rise up to hurt his people. This simpler construction (reading the verb as sing.) is adopted by Wellhausen and the Bible Commentarybut there is not sufficient ground for changing the existing Hebrew text.*Tr.]
[11][There is no reason for supposing here a reference to the eastern custom among Oriental women, (Druses and others), of wearing silver-horns on the head to which the vail is attached, and which by their position indicate the womans position as maiden, wife, or mother. There is no trace of such a custom among the ancient Hebrews. The word qeren horn, is used of the horns of beasts, of horns for blowing and drinking, or for any horn-shaped vessel, (so, the name of Jobs daughter Qeren-happuk paint-horn, eyepigment-horn), and of a mountain-peak. It signifies also ray of light, and the derived verb to emit rays of light, as of Moses, Exo 34:29. From the incorrect translation of the Vulg., horned probably came (as Gesenius suggests) the custom of the early painters of representing Moses with horns.Tr.].
[12][These ideas are not properly indicated by the word holy, but may be said to be connected with and suggested by the lofty Heb. conception of the holiness of God.Tr.]
[13][Bible-Commentary: That the name was commonly applied to God so early as the time of Moses, we may conclude from the names Zurishaddai, my Rock is the Almighty, (Num 1:6; Num 2:12), and Zuriel, my Rock is God, (Num 3:35).Tr.].
[14][More literally there is not a rock like our God.Tr.].
[15][This is not correct. The neg. is not omitted before which is, according to the Heb. syntax, merely an appendage of , forming with it a compound notion.This paragraph is improperly assigned in the Germ. to 1Sa 2:4.Tr.].
[16][The Heb. plu. means not more than great knowledge; our authors exposition cannot be gotten from the simple Heb. word, but is an interpretation into the word (here probably warranted) of ideas gotten from the Scriptures in general.Tr.].
[17][The word is used in the Bible either absolutely =cease to exist (Jdg 5:6-7; Psa 49:8 (9); Deu 15:11), or with an explanatory word (Job 3:17; Pro 10:9), or its complement is suggested by the immediate action or context (Amo 7:5; Zec 11:12). Here the statement is the hungry ceased to exist as such. as in Jdg 5:6; Deu 15:11Tr.]
[18][Dr. Erdmanns translation of this clause (1Sa 2:5) is hardly satisfactory. The word (lit.continuance) is used in the senses while, until, so that, and the question is, which is the appropriate sense here. Erdmann renders: while the barren bears, the fruitful waxes feeble,that is, the clause, according to him, affirms the contemporaneousness of the two things. This would be appropriate in a narration, but is inappropriate and feeble here. To judge from the passages cited, he supposes the sense to be: and while the barren is still bearing (that is, in the midst of her bearing), the fruitful languishes, which is plainly out of keeping with the context. Rather we are to take in its well-sustained sense of tillas marking the limit of the action involved in the preceding context. The mutations in human life, brought about by God, reach to this astonishing point, namely, that the barren becomes fruitful and the fruitful barren. So Vulg. (donec) and Sept. (). The other versions do not translate the . Gesenius and Frst take the word as a preposition: even the barren, she bears. But it may also be a conjunction. It sometimes by suggestion (though not properly) includes the fact which it introduces.Tr.]
[19][It is not necessary to find a geographical theory in this poetical statement. And, even if it expresses the authors geographical views, it is not the thought of the passage, but only the framework of the thought; the real thought here is solely religious, and has nothing to do with physical science.Tr.].
[20][Heb. literally: Jehovah, broken are His opposers. Some render, Jehovah will break His opposers.Tr.].
[21][Equally arbitrary is the procedure of Geiger (Urschrift u. Ueberselzungen der Bibel, page 27), who makes Hannahs Song an imitation of Psalms 113, and refers the latter to the postexilian period, explaining as foreign princes reigning over Israel!Tr.].
Fuente: A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical by Lange
DISCOURSE: 282
HANNAHS SONG OF THANKSGIVING
1Sa 2:1-10. And Hannah prayed, and said, My heart rejoiceth in the Lord, mine horn is exalted in the Lord; my mouth is enlarged over mine enemies; because I rejoice in thy salvation. There is none holy as the Lord: for there is none beside thee: neither is there any rock like our God. Talk no more so exceeding proudly; let not arrogancy come out of your mouth: for the Lord is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed. The bows of the mighty men are broken, and they that stumbled are girded with strength. They that were full have hired out themselves for bread; and they that were hungry ceased: so that the barren hath born seven; and she that hath many children is waxed feeble. The Lord killeth, and maketh alive; he bringeth down to the grave, and bringeth up. The Lord maketh poor, and maketh rich: he bringeth low, and lifteth up. He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill, to set them among princes, and to make them inherit the throne of glory: for the pillars of the earth are the Lords, and he hath set the world upon them. He will keep the feet of his saints, and the wicked shall be silent in darkness; for by strength shall no man prevail. The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken to pieces; out of heaven shall he thunder upon them: the Lord shall judge the ends of the earth; and he shall give strength unto his King, and exalt the horn of his Anointed.
THE return which mankind in general make to God for his mercies is, to idolize the gift, and forget the Giver. Directly opposite to this is the conduct of those who are truly pious: they value the gift only in proportion to its real worth, and rise in heavenly contemplations to the Donor himself; thus making the creature an occasion of exalting and magnifying the Creator. We observe this particularly in the history of Hannah, whose devout acknowledgments we have just recited. She had been greatly afflicted on account of her not bearing any child to her husband Elkanah, whilst Peninnah, who was his other wife, had borne several. Her grief was daily augmented by the unkind behaviour of Peninnah; nor could all the kindness and love that she experienced from her husband, remove it. She carried her complaints therefore to the Lord, who alone was able to relieve them: unto him she vowed, that if he would grant her a son, she would dedicate him to the service of the sanctuary, and that he should be a Nazarite from the womb. Having obtained her request from God, she now came to perform her vow: as soon as the child could with any propriety be separated from her, it is thought at three or four years old, she took him with her to the tabernacle at Shiloh, and there, for the whole remainder of his days, lent him to the Lord. At the time of surrendering him up, she burst forth in this song of praise and thanksgiving, in which she takes occasion, from the mercy vouchsafed to her, to adore the goodness of God as manifested towards the whole creation. She mentions,
I.
The perfections of his nature
Unless we are fully aware of the desire which the Jewish women felt to have the Messiah spring from them, we shall not be able to account for the extreme grief occasioned by barrenness, or for the exultation arising from the birth of a child. But to all the common grounds of joy which Hannah had in the birth of Samuel, that of her deliverance from the taunts and insults of her rival was a great addition: and to that she had especial respect in the opening of this song But, after this slight mention of her own particular case, she proceeds to celebrate,
1.
The power and holiness of God
[God does not always interpose in this world to display his hatred of sin, or to vindicate the oppressed; because there is a day coming, when he will rectify all the present inequalities of his moral government: but he does not leave himself altogether without witness, that he is a righteous Governor, and a powerful Avenger. His effectual interposition on this occasion was, in Hannahs eyes, a decisive proof, yea and a glorious exhibition too, of his holiness and power; and gave her an assurance, that as these perfections were essential to his nature, and unbounded in their extent, so they should ever be called forth into activity in behalf of all who should trust in him ]
2.
His wisdom and equity
[Great was her consolation, that whilst she was judged uncharitably by her fellow-creatures, she had One to whom she could commit her cause; One who was privy to every thought of her heart, and would put a just construction upon the whole of her conduct: and, in the contemplation of this truth, she exulted over those who had so proudly and so arrogantly condemned her. And truly this is one of the richest sources of consolation that any person can have, when suffering under misrepresentations or calumnies of whatever kind: yea, it is quite sufficient to tranquillize the mind, and to raise it above all those feelings which oppression is calculated to produce [Note: 1Co 4:3-5.] ]
II.
The dispensations of his providence
[Here the pious Hannah extends her views from herself to the world at large; and declares, that the change thus produced in her state, is illustrative of what is done by God throughout the whole creation. In the events of war in the enjoyment of plenty in the increase of families in the continuance of life in the possession of wealth and in advancement to honour who does not see that the greatest changes take place, even when least expected [Note: ver. 48.]? and who therefore must not be convinced of the folly of indulging either presumptuous confidence, on the one hand, or desponding fears on the other? None can say, I am so strong, I shall never be moved; nor ought any one to say, There is no hope; the afflicted should weep, as though they wept not; and the prosperous rejoice, as though they rejoiced not; each being aware that their condition may soon be altered, and shall be, if God see it on the whole conducive to their good.]
III.
The purposes of his grace
From a view of temporal concerns, she rises to those which are spiritual and eternal: indeed here her words are evidently prophetic, and relate,
1.
To the Church
[She had found to her joy what care God takes of his people: and she confidently declared, that that care should be extended to all his saints, even to the end of time. Their adversaries might lay snares for their feet; but he would keep their feet; he would keep them from falling, and present them faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy [Note: Jude, ver. 24.] On the other hand, his adversaries should assuredly be confounded by him: however they might vindicate themselves now, they should soon be silent in darkness; and though now they might defy him, as it were, to his face, he would thunder upon them out of heaven, and utterly, yea eternally, destroy them ]
2.
To the Churchs King, the Messiah himself
[As yet there had been no king in Israel; nor was there for fifty years afterwards: and therefore it is reasonable to think that she spake of Him, whose throne was in due time to be erected in the hearts of men, even the Lord Jesus Christ. This further appears from her characterising him by the very name Messiah, a name never before assigned to the king of Israel, but henceforth intended to designate him before all others; the Messiah, the Anointed, and the Christ, being all terms of precisely the same import. That she spake of Him, yet further appears by the marked resemblance between this song, and that which the blessed Virgin poured forth at the prospect of the Saviours birth [Note: Luk 1:46-55.]. His triumph then she firmly predicts; and declares that his kingdom shall be extended even to the ends of the earth. Many efforts will be made to prevent its establishment in the world; but none shall prevail: his horn shall be exalted, and all his enemies shall perish.
It may be asked, What had this to do with the particular occasion of Hannahs thanksgiving? I answer, It is this very thing which constitutes in a very great degree the beauty of this song, and that marks the effects of ardent piety upon the soul: a single mercy, like a stream, leads the soul up to the Fountain-head: and it is then only improved aright, when we take occasion from it to contemplate the fulness that is treasured up there, and that is diffusing all possible blessings, temporal and spiritual, throughout the world: and, inasmuch as the universal reign of Christ is that which will bring most glory to God and most good to men, it ought ever to be uppermost in our minds; and every mercy we enjoy should lead us ultimately to the contemplation of it.]
We may learn then from hence,
1.
The benefit of prayer
[See how successful she was, though she uttered no words, but only importuned God in her heart [Note: 1Sa 1:10; 1Sa 1:12-13.]! And what will God refuse to those who seek him in sincerity and truth? The Saviours promise to us all is this, Whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, I will do it; Ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.
Let all the sons and daughters of affliction bear this in mind. Here is a sure remedy for all their griefs, and an infallible supply for all their wants [Note: Psa 40:1-3.].]
2.
The blessedness of true religion
[Exceeding heavy were Hannahs trials [Note: 1Sa 1:6-7.]: and they were not a little aggravated by the uncharitable surmises of Eli himself [Note: 1Sa 1:13-16.]. But into what holy joy were they turned at last! Thus, when true religion occupies the soul, will even the most afflictive dispensations be overruled for good: our night of sorrow may appear long; but the morning of joy shall soon arise: our seed-time of tears shall be followed with a blessed harvest. Only let us delight in heavenly contemplations, and every perfection of Gods nature, every dispensation of his providence, and every purpose of his grace, shall swell, as it were, our tide of joy, till it becomes unspeakable and glorified.]
Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)
CONTENTS
We have in this Chapter, the song of Hannah in her devout thanksgivings to the Lord, for her Samuel. She had dedicated the child to the Lord’s service, and then closes the subject with praise. Besides this, the Chapter contains an account of the increase of Elkanah’s family: of the sin of Eli’s family; a man of God sent to reprove Eli: the threatened death of Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, in one day: the gracious promise of God’s raising up to himself, a faithful Priest, and the degraded state of the house of Eli.
1Sa 2:1
(1) And Hannah prayed, and said, My heart rejoiceth in the LORD, mine horn is exalted in the LORD: my mouth is enlarged over mine enemies; because I rejoice in thy salvation.
There is a great deal of the spirit of prophecy, as well as the spirit of prayer and praise, in this hymn of Hannah’s, and therefore demands our attention the more. Though it is called a prayer, yet it contains subject also of information to the Church. The special mercy Hannah had received, gives occasion to her, to comfort the people of God in all ages with an assurance of the Lord’s mercies to others. But principally I would call upon the Reader to observe, how much gospel is contained in it, and how evidently the Holy Ghost must have been shedding his sweet influences upon the mind of Hannah, when speaking as she doth in this verse, of rejoicing in God’s salvation. Is not this plainly referring to the Lord Jesus? Did not the dying patriarch say the same? Gen 49:18 . And is not Jesus expressly called, Jehovah’s salvation? Isa 49:6 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
The Unrecognized Voices of God
1Sa 2:7
We turn to the revelation in Christ for comfort, only to realize how long the silence has been since God spoke to men in Him. What we long for is to hear God for ourselves, to hear Him speak today.
I. God speaks to men today. Unless God speaks now we cannot really believe that He ever spoke to men. It is absurd to imagine that a revelation was made to men through long centuries and closed in the year, say, a.d. 70, and no voice from the great Unseen has come since. He does speak, and it is by the Bible that we test the voice and know the voice of God from other voices.
II. God speaks to men now, but we often do not recognize His voice. In so saying I do not deny that God speaks to men through audible means, and comes to men in dreams and visions, impressions and appearances. But God does not speak to all of us in visions and voices and impressions.
III. How, then, may we recognize the voice of God when He speaks today? ( a ) God speaks to men in the highest conscience of the time. ( b ) God speaks to men when men’s thoughts are stirred to higher conceptions of truth. ( c ) God speaks to men through our fellow-men.
IV. Let us each listen for God’s voice in our individual lives. For if God speaks to nations and generations, He will speak to individuals. How shall I know, then, that God speaks to me? We speak to Him in prayer, but there comes no audible answer, and we often wonder whether, after all, God hears. How shall we know? When prayer makes us better men He has spoken. Whenever our conscience is touched, whenever our souls are stirred, whenever there comes the inspiration to a new, better life, that good and perfect gift has come down from above, and if we reject it we have rejected God Himself.
E. Aldom French, God’s Message to Modern Doubt, p. 75.
Reference. II. 9. G. Brooks, Outlines of Sermons, p. 176.
Sons of Eli, Yet Sons of Belial
1Sa 2:12
We are always coming upon these conflicts, ironies, impossible lies. There is no smooth reading in history. I. But we see this not only religiously in the distinctive sense of that term. We see this inversion and perversion of heredity along all the lines of life, and in all the spheres of human experience.
( a ) A civilized man, a son of civilization, may be one of the most barbarous men upon the face of the earth. Civilization has in its power, by the very necessity of its being civilization, to go deeper than ever poor ignorant barbarism could do.
( b ) Who can be so ignorant as a soul who has given himself up to the service of evil? It is not ignorance of the base and vulgar type that can be excused on the ground of want of privilege and want of opportunity, but it is that peculiar ignorance which, having the light hides it, knowing the right does the wrong.
( c ) Sometimes we may say, ‘the sons of refinement are the sons of vulgarity’. Is there any refinement so vulgar as the refinement which gives itself up to work all manner of evil criticism with greediness and with diabolical delight in the torture and humiliation of others?
II. We hold nothing by right of ancestry. You cannot hand down a good character to others. Whatever we have we can only have by right of labour, thought, watchfulness, and conducting the whole economy of life in the spirit of stewardship. Do not, therefore, on the one hand, presume upon your parentage and say, ‘My father was good, and therefore I cannot be bad’; and, do not on the other hand, be discouraged and say, ‘I come from so low a beginning that it is impossible for me to do anything’. There is nothing impossible to courage, to faith, to reverence, to prayer.
J. Parker, British Weekly Pulpit, 1890, p. 88.
References. II. 18. C. Bosanquet, Tender Grass for the Lambs, p. 128. W. S. Pearse, Sermons for Children, p. 56. R. D. B. Rawnsley, Village Sermons (1st Series), p. 299. II. 18, 19. W. H. Hutchings, Sermon Sketches, p. 174. II. 22. J. Bainton, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xxii. p. 150. II. 25. T. Arnold, Sermons, vol. iii. p. 218.
The Child Samuel
1Sa 2:26
These words will arouse our attention not merely on account of what they tell us about the character of Samuel, but also because they are the same words which are used to describe the character of our Lord. Samuel was, in his young days, apparently, the same sort of child as was our Lord. Each was in favour with the Lord.
I. Naturalness in Children. He was a child just of the kind that God would have him be. How often children, through their surroundings, are very much warped from their childhood. The little affectations, curious phrases, little methods of raillery or contempt these certainly do not belong to the child, but have plainly been picked up elsewhere. I am sure that there is one thing God likes to see in a child, that it should be in every sense, on its religious and all other sides, perfectly natural.
II. Trustfulness in Children. Children being so quick in a simple way, if they are wisely tended and directed to recognize the Unseen, we notice next, how wonderfully they trust unless their sense of faith has been trifled with. Have we not at times, perhaps, when we have told children some little anecdote, been astonished at the way in which they accepted it as true? Samuel was a child of this kind. He had that quick, ready recognition that there was something beyond the world we see which is implanted in every child. He was ready to trust his God, he was ready to try and obey. How did this come about? The times were very broken and very strange ones. The book of Samuel follows hard upon the book of Judges, and, as you know, the times of the Judges might be summed up in that phrase, ‘There was no King in Israel, no distinct ruler,’ and in such a time there are continually cast up two types of character, and these are strongly marked. It was so in the Middle Ages. There were comparatively few people of the intermediate kind; people were either very good according to their opportunities, or they were very bad. Now we see something like this in the time of Samuel. On the one hand at Shiloh there were the two sons of Eli, breaking the law of God in various ways, and in some of them the very worst ways, and then there, too, we have the sight of this family of Elkanah. He was a religious man, and he was accustomed to go up and worship God. We are told specially that he went up, and his household went up every year. We see that he was an earnest-hearted, religious man, a lover of God, and loving very much his own household too. And still more remarkable is his wife, Hannah. She is in every sense a saint of the Most High. See how she comes and pleads for the child, see how, when the child is given her, she vows it to the Lord, and how year after year she comes up to look after its well-being, having placed it where she thought it was most fitted for its spiritual good, in the courts of the Tabernacle with Eli. Are your children the children of many prayers? Do you bring their names constantly before God?
III. Children’s Work for God. Samuel was connected with useful religious work. We are told that he ministered to the Lord before Eli; we are told that on an eventful occasion, and no doubt it was like other occasions, he opened the doors of the temple of the Lord. As a boy he would not do anything very extraordinary, but there were little, simple things which a child could do, and these his mother through Eli put him in the way of doing. Do we take sufficient care to teach our children that they can in their way bless men and work for God?
IV. The Opportunities of Children. If we parents were quicker to recognize that we need not wait for children to come to old age, or middle age, or even maturity, but that much before that they really have a true place in God’s kingdom, and a true service to do for God, how much happier parents would be! How exhilarating it would be to say, ‘I have the child, and I can even now make it a servant of God!’ The teaching of Scripture surely is this, that God makes different calls upon different persons, and that the little child, the young man or the young woman, the middle-aged and the old person, each has a special degree of holiness, each has a special way of serving God, and if only they serve God in that way He will bless them perpetually, and ever more and more.
References. II. 26. J. Edmunds, Sermons in a Village Church, p. 178. R. D. B. Rawnsley, Village Sermons (3rd Series), p. 130.
God’s Promises Conditional
1Sa 2:30
God’s promises are conditional. This is a point which is often overlooked. We are somewhat apt to look upon God’s promises as absolute, and to insist strongly on our security, forgetting that they imply reciprocity on our part. We shall find, if we search the Scriptures, that in all cases God’s promises are in the nature of covenants or agreements. There are two parties to them God and man, and when God’s promises have failed it is because the conditions on which they were made had not been fulfilled by man, although these conditions, perhaps, were not expressed but understood.
We may briefly examine one or two cases where the promise seems to be absolute, but we shall still find that it is conditional.
I. The Case of Eli. God had said, ‘And did I choose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be My priest, to offer upon Mine altar, to burn incense, to wear an ephod before Me?… I said indeed that thy house, and the house of thy father, should walk before Me for ever.’ And we hear that Eli sinned by his indulgence to his sons. He indulged them, and they indulged in grievous sins, so that they brought the priestly order into ill-repute, and caused the people to sin and were a stumbling-block. And so we see the result in the words of our text, ‘but now the Lord saith, Be it far from Me’. This change was because the sons of Eli made themselves vile, and Eli restrained them not. Accordingly the priesthood, which had been promised to the house of Eli, passed to the house of another. Here we have an instance of the promise of God, seemingly without condition, nevertheless depending on a condition. Eli broke the law, and therefore the promise remained unfulfilled.
II. The Case of Moses. Moses was called to lead the people out of Egypt, and the word of God came that God had come down to deliver the people out of the hands of the Egyptians. From this the promise went on to say that He would lead them into a land flowing with milk and honey. From these words we seem to gather that there was no condition attached to the promise. But what was the sequel? Neither Moses nor the people from Egypt entered into the land, and this because they did not fulfil the conditions which, though unexpressed, were understood. Moses spoke unadvisedly with his lips, and God withdrew the promise He gave unto him. In the same way the people sinned. They came to the borders of the land, but when reports came back of mighty cities and men like giants, then they were terrified, and they had no trust in God that He could perform the promise He had made. They murmured against God, and God withdrew from them the promise. And all who left Egypt, except two men, left their bones to whiten in the wilderness, because they did not fulfil the conditions of the promise which, though not expressed, were understood.
III. The Case of the Shipwrecked Crew. We may take one other instance from the New Testament. You will remember that St. Paul journeyed from Judaea to the Imperial Court at Rome. When the vessel was off the island of Clauda a tempest arose, and it looked as if the vessel would be overwhelmed by the waters. They lightened the ship by casting away the tackling, but they had little hope of saving their lives. In the middle of the night a message came from God to Paul, saying that he was to take heart he should not lose his life, and that God had given him the lives of all those with him in the vessel. The sailors seemed to have lost heart, and paid little attention to what Paul said to them. They devised a scheme to leave the vessel, and listened to St. Paul a little to deceive him. But he knew of their intention, and told the centurion, ‘Unless these abide in the ship ye cannot be saved’. And so the soldiers cut the ropes, and prevented the work of embarking. They remained in the ship to work her, and all came safely to land at last. Thus, although the promise that the sailors’ lives should be saved had apparently been made without condition, yet when they were about to leave the vessel St. Paul said, ‘Except these abide in the ship ye cannot be saved’. Evidently he thought there was a condition, although none had been stated. It really amounted to this: ‘I will save you from the deep if you will do what you can to save yourselves. If you will make the effort, I will bless it and make it successful.’
IV. God Helps Those who Help Themselves. It is universally true that God helps those who help themselves. Man has his part to play. The Christian man who is not in earnest will often find himself discouraged. He will find himself falling far short of his ideals. But if that man is really in earnest, if he makes his efforts the subject of prayer and works together with God, then he will advance in his spiritual life. God’s arms are always open to receive him; God never sends men away.
References. II. 30. M. Briggs, Practical Sermons on Old Testament Subjects, p. 143. W. Brock, Midsummer Morning Sermons, p. 37. H. Alford, Quebec Chapel Sermons, vol. iii. p. 357. III. 9. Sadler, Sermons for Children, p. 19. Sunday Thoughts, p. 1. A. P. Stanley, Sermons on Special Occasions, p. 64. F. D. Maurice, Sermons, vol. vi. p. 163.
Fuente: Expositor’s Dictionary of Text by Robertson
The Sons of Eli
1Sa 2:17
ELI was high-priest of the Jews when the ark of the Lord was in Shiloh. His two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were priests of the Lord. Their office was holy, but their character was corrupt. They touched sacred things with unworthy hands. “The sons of Eli were sons of Belial; they knew not the Lord.” Their administration of the priestly office was characterised by the most rapacious selfishness. Hence we read “the sin of the young men was very great before the Lord.” Their evil dealings were the subject of public remark and censure. Eli himself heard of these evil dealings on every hand.
“And he said unto them, Why do ye such things? for I hear of your evil dealings by all this people. Nay, my sons; for it is no good report that I hear: ye make the Lord’s people to transgress” ( 1Sa 2:23-24 ).
The incident shows but too plainly the vital difference between the spiritual and the official. Hophni and Phinehas were officially amongst the highest men of their day. They bore a holy name, they pronounced holy words, they were clothed in emblematic robes. Yet Hophni and Phinehas were men of Belial. The outside was beautiful; the inside was full of corruption and death. “This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.”
Is there not a lesson here to teachers of Christian truth? It is possible for a man to have a pulpit, and to have no God; to have a Bible, and no Holy Ghost; to be employing his lips in uttering the eloquence of truth, when his heart has gone astray from all that is true and beautiful and good; at the very moment his lips are fired by the words that ought to have converted himself, his heart is not in his work, it is wandering far off yonder, buying and selling and getting gain, sucking in poison where it ought to have extracted honey, making the word of God of none effect, and causing the people to blaspheme and alienate themselves from the Most High!
Is there not a lesson here to professors of Christ? We bear the holy name, and men have a right to expect the holy deed. We are to know a discipline that is more than decent, more than socially irreproachable. We need instruction upon the great question of spiritual discipline. When a man who professes to know Christ is found drunk in the streets, we expel him from the Church, and call that discipline; when a man is convicted of some heinous crime, we cut him off from the fellowship of the Church, and call that the discipline of Christian fellowship. It is nothing of the kind; that is mere decency. There is not a club in the world that cares one iota for its own respectability that would not do the same thing. Ours is to be Christian discipline. When Christian discipline comes into play amongst the priests and the professors of Christ, when the covetous man shall be blown away by a whirlwind of righteous indignation; and the man who spoke but one unkind word shall be seen to be a murderer, and shall be driven from the circle of God’s people who then can stand? Where are Christians, if such be the rule? If an unholy thought be lust, if the turn of an eye may be practical blasphemy, if the momentary entertainment of an evil thought, the flash of an evil passion, if that be held before God to be crime incipient, crime in the germ, crime in reality who then can stand?
The accusation does not come from an enemy. We are not entitled to say, “It is a foe who speaks, therefore we heed not his calumnious words.” God himself brings charges against his nominal Church. “They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate;” “having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof.” Unto the wicked God saith, “What hast thou to do to declare my statutes, or that thou shouldest take my covenant in thy mouth?” So the indictment comes with irresistible force, and we who best know ourselves are dumb before God.
Yet even here is a mystery, a strange and wondrous thing. Hophni and Phinehas, officially great and spiritually corrupt; minister after minister falling, defiling his garments, and debasing his name; professor after professor pronouncing the right word with the lips, but never realising it in the life. Such is the history of the Church. In the face of all this, God still employs men to reveal the truth to other men, to enforce his claims upon their attention. Instead of in a moment of righteous anger sweeping the Church floor, so that not a footstep of man might remain upon it, and then calling the world around him, and speaking personally face to face, he still employs men to teach men, to “allure to brighter worlds and lead the way.” We have this treasure in earthen vessels. We are called upon to bear testimony concerning truth, though we are weak, blundering, incomplete, and very foolish, though we hardly ever say one sentence as we ought to say it, though we preach a noble doctrine and then throw it down by an ignoble life. Yet God hath not withdrawn that comfort from us. He still says, “Son, go work today in my vineyard.” He still says to Peter with the scars all upon him, unhealed, and never to be taken away, memorials of a great apostasy “Feed my lambs, feed my sheep.” He still says to the men who forsook him and fled, “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” It is not an indication of our weakness when we are called to that daily continual trust, without which neither high-priest nor doorkeeper is safe, the fervent eternal prayer, “Hold thou me up, and I shall be safe.”
The incident shows the deadly result of corruptness in influential quarters. All quarters, indeed, are influential; yet some are known to be more influential than others, therefore we adopt this form of expression. The priests were sons of Belial. What was the consequence? The people abhorred the offering of the Lord. The minister is a bad man. What is the consequence? His character is felt through all the congregation. Men laugh at his speech, jeer at his arguments, and return his persuasions to his own hollow heart. We are commonly advised to consider what is said, rather than look at the person who says it. We should ask, What is the doctrine? not, Who is the preacher? This advice is partly sound, and partly fallacious, fallacious because superficial and incomplete.
We should remember three things in connection with this advice. First: The natural tendency of men to religious laxity and indifference. This makes us glad of any excuse to move further in that direction. Men are not naturally looking out for spurs and encouragements in the way of righteousness, self-crucifixion, and self-discipline. Their nature rather seems to say, “Eat, drink, and be merry, for to-morrow we die.” We eagerly snatch at anything that will afford us a momentary though we know it to be unsound justification of laxness, indifference, and even contempt of religious duty and service.
We should remember secondly: The effect of insincerity upon doctrine. Sincerity is itself an argument. Men who hear us, look for sincerity in us; otherwise, they have a right to say, “This man cannot teach the true doctrine, if in teaching it day by day he is continually hypocritical, insincere, unaffected by his own speech.” Take some very high theory about the business, and we may be contradicted. But remember what Christian doctrine is; then you will see that the moment it enters into the hearer’s mind that the speaker is insincere, that consideration has of necessity a powerful and legitimate influence upon the doctrine. Is it possible to speak the truth with a liar’s heart? We know that we are to hear what men say who are in Moses’ seat, yet not to do as they do. We know that, speaking ideally and abstractly, we ought continually to distinguish between truth and the speaker of truth, when his character is corrupt and inconsistent with his speech. At the same time there is a sense, profound and terrible, in which a man may be answering his own doctrine, overturning his own argument, and writing folly upon his own philosophy. If his lips pronounce the truth, if his heart contradict it, and his life blaspheme it, what wonder if men who have a natural tendency towards religious indifference should believe the life and deny the teaching!
Then we should remember thirdly: The peculiarity of moral teaching in requiring personal illustration. Men cannot understand merely theoretic morals; they must have them personified; they must have them taught by incarnation; and be illustrated in daily life. The artist may teach you to. paint a beautiful picture; yet he may have no regard for moral truth. His non-regard for moral truth may not interfere, so far as you can see, with his ability and earnestness as a mere artist. You may go to learn a trade, and your chief in business may be able to teach you so completely as to give you a position in the commercial world, useful, influential, and profitable; yet that man may tell lies every hour of his life, may break all the commandments of God, and in doing so he may not affect his ability to teach your trade, or artifice, or profession. It is not so in the Church of God. A man’s character is his eloquence; a man’s spiritual reality is the argument that wins in the long run; the soul afire with God’s love; the life that brings out in their beautiful and impressive relief God’s exhortations, these are the things that are most logical, most poetical, most pathetic, most persuasive.
The lesson is to Churches. What are we in our corporate capacity? Are we holy? If not we are helping to debase and ruin the world; we have taken God’s leverage to help to undo God’s work! The lesson also applies to heads of houses. If the father be the only bad character in the family, how then? It is hard work for the sons to be fighting always against the supreme influence of the house. How if the father of the family be continually sending out of him vicious, blighting influences, corrupting young life and chilling young hope? It applies to principals in business; it applies to leaders of all kinds. In proportion to the volume of our being and the elevation of our position is our power to extend hurtful influences upon the circles that are round about us. The terribleness of a moral leader falling! The awfulness of a standard-bearer dropping down! Well may men cry, “Howl, fir tree; for the cedar is fallen.” Is there no solemn call to preachers, teachers, heads of families, principals in business, leaders of circles, great or small? When one man falls he may jeopardise a whole community. There are men who can fall, and their falling seems to produce but very little vicious influence upon society. There are other men so eminent in position, so established in reputation, whose falling would seem to bring down the pillars of civilisation, would seem to bring down the very fabric of God’s Church! Herein is another mystery. When priests fall, and ministers play the coward and the liar, and heads of houses eat of the forbidden tree, and influential men go astray, yet even then God interposes for the truth; he saves in society the redeeming element, hands it on from the unworthy to the successor who may be more worthy. Thus he preserves the light of the world and the salt of the earth. So God never wants a generation to bless him; the Redeemer has always near him some who hold his name dearest of all!
On the other hand, we cannot admit the plea that bad leaders are excuse enough for bad followers, when that plea is urged in relation to Christian teaching and life. Nor can we allow that exceptional inconsistency should vitiate the whole Church. There are some persons who are only too glad to avail themselves of this plea. The bad man will say, “Why should I care about religious truth or religious observance, when ministers themselves are false to their own doctrine? Why should I call upon myself to be consistent and true?” First, such a theory is inadmissible everywhere else. Why, then, should we allow it to affect the Church? There is not a circle in the world where such a theory would be thought tenable for a moment. Why then should we apply it in the highest spiritual relations? We go into an orchard and point to one piece of blemished fruit, and say, “Because there is a blemish upon that piece of fruit the whole orchard is decayed and corrupt.” Who would believe it? There can be found a light coin in every currency in civilisation. Suppose we took up a standard coin under weight and said, “Because this is not of the standard weight, your whole currency is defective, and, as a nation of financiers, you are not worthy of trust.” Who would believe it? We find a man who turns commerce into a species of gambling, and because so found gambling, we say, “The commerce of Britain is founded upon an illegitimate basis, and is not worthy of a moment’s consideration.” Would you think that sound reasoning, or a fair and noble method of dealing with such questions? Yet this is exactly how many persons deal with the Church of God. They say, “Look at Hophni and Phinehas; look at the minister who fell; look at the Church officer who was expelled from Church fellowship because of his dishonourableness and untruthfulness.” Because of these exceptional cases they argue that the doctrine is wrong, that every Christian exhortation is a word that ought to be unheeded.
Secondly, such a theory is instantly destroyed by the fact that Jesus Christ is the Head of the Church. We do not say, “Look at Christians.” We say, “Look at Christ.” It is to Christ that we appeal continually; and in that appeal is our strength as Christian advocates or expounders of Christian truth. When a man says, “Look at the minister,” we say, “Look at the Master!” When a man says, “What do you call this? “we say, “We call it a copy: yonder is the original look at that!” When we are told that Christian professors are very unstable and inconsistent, we say, “True; but they are not bad because of their Christianity, but because of their want of it.” Find in Jesus Christ one instance of selfishness; find in him one moment’s wandering from the right way; point out in his speech one unhallowed word or one ungenerous dishonourable expression. His life is before you! Be just and true and manly and right! Find in Christ’s life one thing upon which you can lay your finger and say, “This is unholy,” then you may pray God’s lightnings to strike his Church and consume that which bears his name. When will men look at Christ, and not at Christians; at the sun, and not at the little taper? When will they look at the Redeemer, and not at the half-educated, incomplete, struggling, and oft-blundering Church?
Then, thirdly, such a theory is never urged but by men who are in search of excuses for their own corruptness. Who will undertake to repeat that on ‘Change, and in the warehouse? That is a sermon in a sentence. Such a theory is never urged but by men who are in search of excuses for their own corruptness. A man says, “When that one who professed so much Christianity failed in business, I was on the point of giving up churches and chapels altogether.” Doubtless that would be virtuous on his part O fool, and slow of heart to believe the truth of God! When a man who is all skin and bone, who never felt volcanic fire in his heart, never was led away by any dominating tyrannic passion, hears of another kind of man straying from the right way, he instantly almost makes up his mind what he is pleased to call his mind to leave the Church. O fool, and slow of heart! Didst thou profess the name of the servant or the name of the Master? Didst thou enter the Church because of the high and illustrious example of the members of the Christian community, or because, convicted of sin, thou didst crawl to the cross and feel the healing effect of that falling blood? Where is reasoning where is common-sense when men say they have given up their Christian profession because some Christian professors are fickle, untrue, and inconsistent? We never yet knew a man who made much ado about Christian people’s inconsistency who was not more or less subtly, it might be, with more or less of self-concealment of purpose in the matter seeking excuses for his own deficiencies, or seeking from his criticism of other people’s vice to make his own virtue the more conspicuous.
It were nothing to kill a man, stab him right through his heart and let him die. But when he is struggling towards light, towards God, and has to fight with all these demoniacal passions and influences round about, over which he seems to have little or no control, when he just stumbles on the road and they point at him and say, “Ha, ha! that is your Christianity, is it?” that is thrice dying, that is intolerable pain! We know we are inconsistent, we know we are selfish, we cannot boast of ourselves. Yet it hath pleased God to be more merciful to us than men are. It is better to fall into the hands of God than into the hands of men. When he smites it is that he may recover; when he puts his sword through a man it is that he may slay, not the man, but the disease that is in him; when he is sharpest with us there are tears in his eyes; when he punishes us most terribly, when he takes away the one ewe lamb, and barks the fig tree, and sends a blight on the wheat-field, and turns our purposes upside down, it is that he may save the man. When men criticise us and are harsh with us, by reason of their incompleteness, their criticism often degenerates into malice. When they point a finger at us, it does not always indicate a fault, but oftentimes a triumph over an inconsistency.
We are not to be followers of Hophni and Phinehas. The priest is not God; the minister is not Jesus Christ; the professor is not the Redeemer of the world. We must, therefore, insist upon the honest investigation of great principles on the one hand, and specially insist upon the calm, severe scrutiny and study of our Saviour’s own personal life and ministry. We have a written revelation. To that revelation our appeal must be made; to the law and to the testimony must be our challenge. As for those whose satire is so keen, and whose wit is so fluent when it is employed in criticism upon Christian character, wherein they do it and are able to point out something in us that is wrong, let us receive the lesson with all meekness; they may be right, and we may learn something from an enemy. It is lawful, according to an ancient maxim, to learn even from a foe. Wherein their criticism is the result of malice, or brief acquaintance with our character seeing only edges and glints of us and not the whole nature let us remember that our sufferings are not to be compared with the sufferings of Jesus Christ. When he was reviled he reviled not again, when he suffered he threatened not; he gave his back to the smiters and his cheek to them that plucked off the hair. “Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.” “If any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf.” “If we suffer, we shall also reign with him.” What have we suffered? Who can show one blemish for Christ? We may think a great deal of our little sufferings when we view them in themselves; but when we write them out and put them in parallel columns with the sufferings of our Lord Jesus Christ, we shall be glad to draw them back again and put them away, and look upon ourselves as spoiled children. We may try them again in another parallel column with the sufferings of the apostle Paul, and the same feeling will return, and we shall desire to change the subject.
Blessed are they that are reviled for the sake of their goodness. Not many have attained that high nobility. We say the age of persecution is now gone. Alas, all ages seem to have gone; there is nothing left but insipidity. The age of miracles gone: the age of persecution gone: the age of speaking with unknown tongues gone: the age of the devil gone! It seems that we ought to be going too. Presently we shall be dying of weariness, we shall be overcome by this intolerable insipidity. The age of persecution has gone, has it? Why? Perhaps because the age of godliness has gone!
Prayer
Almighty God, it is a fearful thing to fall into thy hands! Thy throne is established in righteousness and judgment. The liar and the evil person shall not live in thy sight; thou art angry with the wicked every day; thou givest no peace unto them; thou withholdest all enduring blessings from those whose hearts go astray from righteousness. Thou dost drive the priest from priesthood, the minister from his pulpit, the head of the house from his family circle. Thou drivest out the evil-minded man, thou scourgest those who know not thy purity and thy love, thou vindicatest the righteousness of thy name by terrible judgments in the earth. We come to thee as the God of mercy as well as of judgment. We are now on praying ground; we may now plead mightily with thee for the exercise of thy pardoning mercy, lest we too be condemned and carried in the whirlwind of thy just anger; God be merciful unto us, sinners! save us in the hour of temptation; deliver us when the enemy would carry us away captive at his will; and when the great enemy of souls would come in as a flood, do thou lift up thy Spirit as a standard against him. If thou dost hold us up we shall be safe; if thou dost loose thine hand from ours, behold, we cannot stand! Have us in thy holy keeping; establish our hearts in the precepts and statutes of all thy will, and grant that, having served our day and generation with all simplicity, trust, meekness, and strength, we may be called to enter into the rest eternal as thine own being! Amen.
Fuente: The People’s Bible by Joseph Parker
II
THE EARLY LIFE OF SAMUEL
1Sa 1:1-4:1
We omit Part I of the textbook, since that first part is devoted to genealogical tables taken from 1 Chronicles. That part of Chronicles is not an introduction to Samuel or Kings, but an introduction to the Old Testament books written after the Babylonian captivity. To put that in now would be out of place.
We need to emphasize the supplemental character of Chronicles. Our Harmony indeed will show from time to time in successive details the very important contributions of that nature in Chronicles not found in any form in the histories of Samuel and Kings, nor elsewhere in the Old Testament; but to appreciate the magnitude of this new matter we need to glance at it in bulk, not in detail, as its parts will come up later.
There are twenty whole chapters and parts of twenty-four other chapters in Chronicles occupied with matter not found in other books of the Bible. This is a considerable amount of new material, and is valuable on that account but it is still more valuable because it presents a new aspect of Hebrew history after the captivity. The following passages in Chronicles contain new matter: 1Ch 2:18-55 ; 1Ch 3:19-24 ; 1Ch 4:9 ; 1Ch 11:41-47 ; 1Ch 11:12 ; 1Ch 15:1-26 ; 2Ch 6:40-42 ; 2Ch 11:5-23 ; 2Ch 12:4-8 ; 2Ch 13:3-21 ; 2Ch 14:3-15 ; Ch_15:1-15; 2Ch 16:7-10 ; 2Ch 2 Chronicles 17-19; 2Ch 20:1-30 ; 2Ch 21:2-4 ; 2Ch 21:11-19 ; 2Ch 24:15-22 ; 2Ch 25:5-10 ; 2Ch 25:12-16 ; 2Ch 26:5-20 ; 2Ch 27:4-6 ; 2Ch 28:5-25 ; 2Ch 29:3-36 ; 2Ch 29:30-31 ; 2Ch 32:22-23 ; 2Ch 32:26-31 ; 2Ch 33:11-19 ; 2Ch 34:3-7 ; 2Ch 35:2-17 ; 2Ch 35:25 ; 2Ch 36:11-23 .
Whoever supposed that there was that much material in the book of Chronicles that could not be found anywhere else? One can study Chronicles as a part of a Harmony with Samuel and Kings, but if that were the only way it could be studied he would never get the true significance of it, as it is an introduction to all of the later Old Testament books. In the light of these important new additions, we not only see the introduction of all subsequent Old Testament books and also inter-Biblical books by Jews, but must note the transition in thought from a secular Jewish kingdom to an approaching spiritual messianic kingdom.
We thus learn that Old Testament prophecy is not limited to distinct utterances foretelling future events, but that the whole history of the Jewish people is prophetic; not merely in its narrative, but in its legislation, in its types, feasts, sabbaths, sacrifices, offerings; in its tabernacle and Temple, with all of their divinely appointed worship and ritual, and this explains why the historical books are classed as prophetic, not merely because prophets wrote them, which is true, but also because the history is prophetic.
In this fact lies one of the strongest proofs of the inspiration of the Old Testament books in all of their parts. The things selected for record, and the things not recorded, are equally forcible. The silence equals the utterance. This is characteristic of no other literature, and shows divine supervision which not only makes necessary every part recorded, but so correlates and adapts the parts as to make perfect literary and spiritual structure which demands a New Testament as a culmination.
Moreover, we are blind if we cannot see a special Providence preparing a leader for every transition in Jewish history. Just as Moses was prepared for deliverance from Egypt, and for the disposition of the law, so Samuel is prepared, not only to guide from a government by judges to a government by kings, but, what is very much more important, to establish a School of the Prophets a theological seminary.
These prophets were to be the mouthpieces of God in speaking to kingly and national conscience, and for 500 years afterward, become the orators, poets, historians, and reformers of the nation, and so, for centuries, avert, postpone, or remedy, national disasters provoked by public corruption of morals and religion.
Counting great men as peaks of a mountain range, and sighting backward from Samuel to Abraham, only one peak, Moses, comes into the line of vision.
There are other peaks, but they don’t come up high enough to rank with Abraham, Moses, and Samuel. A list of the twelve best and greatest men in the world’s history must include the name of Samuel. When we come, at his death, to analyze his character and posit him among the great, other things will be said. Just now we are to find in his early life that such a man did not merely happen; that neither heredity, environment, nor chance produced him.
Samuel was born at Ramah, lived at Ramah, died at Ramah, and was buried at Ramah. Ramah is a little village in the mountains of Ephraim, somewhat north of the city of Jerusalem. It is right hard to locate Ramah on any present map of the Holy Land. Some would put it south, some north. It is not easy to locate like Bethlehem and Shiloh.
Samuel belonged to the tribe of Levi, but was not a descendant of Aaron. If he had been he would have been either a high priest or a priest. Only Aaron’s descendants could be high priests, or priests, but Samuel belonged to the tribe of Levi, and from 1Ch 6 we may trace his descent. The tribe of Levi had no continuous landed territory like the other tribes, but was distributed among the other tribes. That tribe belonged to God, and they had no land assigned them except the villages in which they lived and the cities of the refuge, of which they had charge, and so Samuel’s father could be called an Ephrathite and yet be a descendant of the tribe of Levi that is, he was a Levite living in the territory of Ephraim.
The bigamy of Samuel’s father produced the usual bitter fruit. The first and favorite wife had no children, so in order to perpetuate his name he took a second wife, and when that second wife bore him a large brood of children she gloried over the first wife, and provoked her and mocked at her for having no children, and it produced a great bitterness in Hannah’s soul. The history of the Mormons demonstrates that bitterness always accompanies a plurality of wives. I don’t see bow a woman can share a home or husband with any other woman.
We will now consider the attitude of the Mosaic law toward a plurality of wives, divorce, etc. In Deu 21:15-17 we see that the Mosaic law did permit an existing custom. It did not originate it nor command it, but it tolerated the universal custom of the times, a plurality of wives. From Deu 24:1-4 , we learn that the law permitted a husband to get rid of a wife, but commanded him to give her a bill of divorcement. That law was not made to encourage divorcement, but to limit the evil and to protect the woman who would suffer under divorce. Why the law even permitted these things we see from Mat 19:7-8 . Our Saviour there tells us that Moses, on account of the hardness of their hearts, permitted a man to put away his wife. That is to say, that nation had just emerged from slavery, and the prevalent custom all around them permitted something like that, and because they were not prepared for an ideal law on the subject on account of the hardness of their hearts, Moses tolerated, without commending a plurality of wives or commanding divorce both in a way to mitigate the evil, but when Jesus comes to give his statute on the subject he speaks out and says, “Whosoever shall put away his wife except for marital infidelity and marries again committeth adultery, and whosoever shall marry her that is put away committeth adultery.” A preacher in a recent sermon, as reported, discredited that part of Matthew because not found also in Mark. I have no respect for the radical criticism which makes Mark the only credible Gospel, or even the norm of the others. Nor can any man show one shred of evidence that it is so. I have a facsimile of the three oldest New Testament manuscripts. What Matthew says is there, and may not be eliminated on such principles of criticism.
The radical critics say that the Levitical part of the Mosaic law was not written by Moses, but by a priest in Ezekiel’s time, and that Israel had no central place of worship in the period of the judges, but this section shows that they did have a central place of worship at Shiloh, and the book of Joshua shows when Shiloh became the central place of worship. The text shows that they did come up yearly to this central place of worship, and that they did offer, as in the case of Hannah and Elkanah, the sacrifices required in Leviticus.
In Jos 18:1 we learn that when the conquest was finished Joshua, himself, placed the ark of the covenant and the tabernacle at Shiloh, and constituted it the central place of worship. In this section we learn what disaster ended Shiloh as the central place of worship. The ark was captured, and subsequently the tabernacle was removed, and that ark and that tabernacle never got together again. In Jer 7:12 we read: “But go ye now unto my place which was in Shiloh, where I caused my name to dwell at the first, and see what I did to it for the wickedness of my people Israel.” Jeremiah is using that history as a threat against Jerusalem, which in Jeremiah’s time was the central place of worship. His lesson was, “If you repeat the wickedness done in Samuel’s time God will do to your city and your home what he did to Shiloh.” It is important to know the subsequent separate history of the ark and the tabernacle, and when and where another permanent central place and house of worship were established. The Bible tells us every move that ark and that tabernacle made, and when, where, and by whom the permanent central place and house of worship were established.
Eli was high priest at Samuel’s birth. In those genealogical tables that we omitted from 1 Chronicles we see that Eli was a descendant of Aaron, but not of Eleazar, the eldest son; therefore, according to the Mosaic law, he ought never to have been high priest, but he was, and I will have something to say about that when the true line is established later. 1Sa 4 , which comes in the next chapter, distinctly states that Eli judged Israel forty years, and he was likely a contemporary of Samson. But Eli, at the time we know him, is ninety-eight years old, and nearly blind. He was what we call a goodhearted man, but weak. That combination in a ruler makes him a curse. Diplomats tell us “a blunder is worse than a crime,” in a ruler. He shows his weakness in allowing his sons, Hophni and Phinehas, to degrade the worship of God. They were acting for him, as he was too old for active service. The most awful reports came to him about the infamous character of these sons, who occupied the highest and holiest office in a nation that belonged to God.
This section tells us that he only remonstrated in his weak way: “My sons, it is not a good report that I hear about you,” but that is all he did. As he was judge and high priest, why should he prefer his sons to the honor of God? Why did he not remove them from positions of trust and influence? His doom is announced in this section, and it is an awful one. God sent a special prophet to him and this is the doom. You will find it in 1Sa 2 , commencing at 1Sa 2:30 : “Wherefore the Lord, the God of Israel, saith, I said indeed that thy house, and the house of thy father, should walk before me forever: but now the Lord saith, Be it far from me; for them that honor me I will honor, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed. Behold, the days come, that I will cut off thine arm, and the arm of thy father’s house, that there shall not be an old man in thine house. And thou shalt see an enemy in my habitation (Shiloh), in all the wealth which God shall give Israel: and there shall not be an old man among thy descendants forever. And the descendants of thine, whom I do not cut off from mine altar, shall live to consume thine eyes and grieve thine heart: and all the increase of thine house shall die in the flower of their age.”
Or as Samuel puts it to him, we read in 1Sa 3 , commencing at verse 1Sa 3:11 : “And the Lord said unto Samuel, Behold I will do a thing in Israel, at which both the ears of every one that heareth it shall tingle. In that day I shall perform against Eli all things that I have spoken against his house: when I begin I will also make an end. For I have told him that I will judge his house forever for the iniquity which he knoweth, because his sons made themselves vile and he restrained them not; therefore I have sworn unto the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be purged with sacrifice nor offering forever.”
What was the sign of his doom? The same passage answers: “And this shall be a sign unto thee, that shall come upon thy two sons, on Hophni and Phinehas: in one day they shall die both of them. And I will raise me up a faithful priest, that shall do according to that which is in my heart and in my mind: and I will build him a sure house; and he shall walk before mine anointed forever. And it shall come to pass, that everyone that is left in thy house shall come and bow down to him for a piece of silver and a loaf of bread.” That was the sign. In the time of Solomon the priesthood goes back to the true line, in fulfilment of the declaration in that sign. The priesthood passes away from Eli’s descendants and goes back where it belongs, to Zadok who is a descendant of Aaron’s eldest son.
The Philistine nation at this time dominated Israel. The word, “Philistines,” means emigrant people that go out from their native land, and it is of the same derivation as the word “Palestine.” That Holy Land, strangely enough, takes its name from the Philistines. The Philistines were descended from Mizraim, a child of Ham, and their place was in Egypt.
Leaving Egypt they became “Philistines,” that is, emigrants, and occupied all of that splendid lowland on the western and southwestern part of the Jewish territory, next to the Mediterranean Sea, which was as level as a plain, and as fertile as the Nile Valley. There they established five independent cities, which, like the Swiss Cantons, formed a confederacy. While each was independent for local affairs, they united in offensive and defensive alliances against other nations, and they had complete control of Southern Judea at this time. Joshua had overpowered them, but the conquest was not complete. They rose up from under his power, even in his time, and in the time of Samson and Eli they brought Israel into a pitiable subjection. They were not allowed to have even a grindstone. If they wanted to sharpen an ax they had to go and borrow a Philistine’s grindstone, and what a good text for a sermon! Woe to the man that has to sharpen the implement with which he works in the shop of an enemy! Woe to the Southern preacher that goes to a radical critic’s Seminary in order to sharpen his theological ax!
Speaking of the evils of a plurality of wives, we found Hannah in great bitterness of heart because she had no child, and we saw her lingering at the central place of worship, and without saying words out loud, her lips were moving, and her face was as one entranced, so that Eli thinks she is drunk. The New Testament tells us of a certain likeness between intoxication with ardent spirits and intoxication of the Holy Spirit. She told him that she was praying. When her child was born she came back and said to him, “I am the woman that you thought was drunk, but I was praying,” and then she uses this language: “I prayed for this child,” holding the little fellow up in her hands, “and I vowed that if God would give him to me I would lend him to the Lord all the days of his life,” and therefore she brings him to be consecrated perpetually to God’s service. The scripture brings all that out beautifully.
So the text speaks of the woes pronounced on a parent who put off praying for and restraining his children until they were grown. Like Hannah we should commence praying for them before they are born; pray for them in the cradle, and if we make any promise or vow to God for them, we should keep the vow.
I know a woman who had many children and kept praying that God would send her one preacher child, promising to do everything in her power to make him a great preacher. The Lord gave her two. One of my deacons used to send for me when a new baby was born, to pray for it. Oliver Wendell Holmes says a child’s education should commence with his grandmother. Paul tells us that this was so with Timothy. The Mosaic law required every male to appear before the Lord at the central place of worship three times a year. The text says that Elkanah went up yearly, but does not state how many times a year. The inference is fairly drawn that he strictly kept the Mosaic law.
Samuel had certain duties in the tabernacle. He slept in the Lord’s house and tended to the lights. It is a great pity when a child of darkness attends to the lights in God’s house. I heard a preacher say to a sexton, “How is it that you ring the bell to call others to heaven and you, yourself, seem going right down to hell?” And that same preacher said to a surveyor, “You survey land for other people to have a home, and have no home yourself.” So some preachers point out the boundaries of the home in heaven and make their own bed in hell.
Samuel’s call from God, his first prophecy, and his recognition by the people as a prophet are facts of great interest, and the lesson from his own failure to recognize at once the call is of great value. In the night he heard a voice saying, “Samuel! Samuel!” He thought it was Eli, and he went to Eli and said, “Here I am. You called me.” “No, I didn’t call you, my son; go back to bed.” The voice came again, “Samuel, Samuel,” and he got up and went to Eli and said, “You did call me. What do you want with me?” “No, my son, I did not call you; go back and lie down,” and the third time the voice came, “Samuel, Samuel,” and he went again to Eli. Then Eli knew that it was God who called him, and he said, “My son, it is the Lord. You go back and when the voice comes again, say, Speak, Lord; for thy servant heareth,” and so God spoke and the first burden of prophecy that he put upon the boy’s heart was to tell the doom of the house of Eli. Very soon after that all Israel recognized Samuel as a prophet of God.
The value of the lesson is this: We don’t always recognize the divine touch at first. Many a man under conviction does not at first understand its source and nature. Others, even after they are converted, are not sure they are converted. It is like the mover’s chickens that, after their legs were untied, would lie still, not realizing that they were free. The ligatures around their legs had cut off the circulation, and they felt as if they were tied after they were loose. There is always an interval between an event and the cognition of it. For example, when a shot is fired it precedes our recognition of it by either the sight of smoke or the sound of the explosion, for it takes both sound and sight some time to travel over the intervening space. I heard Major Penn say that the worst puzzle in his life was the experiences whereby God called him to quit his law work and become an evangelist. He didn’t understand it. It was like Samuel going to Eli.
I now will give an analysis of that gem of Hebrew poetry, Hannah’s song, showing its conception of God, and the reason of its imitation in the New Testament. The idea of Hannah’s conception of God thus appears:
There is none besides God; he stands alone. There is none holy but God. There is none that abaseth the proud and exalteth the lowly, feedeth the hungry, and maketh the full hungry, except God; and there is none but God that killeth and maketh alive. There is none but God who establisheth this earth; none but God who keepeth the feet of his saints; none but God that has true strength; none but God that judgeth the ends of the earth, and the chief excellency of it is the last: “He shall give strength unto his king and exalt the horn of His Anointed.” That is the first place in the Bible where the kingly office is mentioned in connection with the name “Anointed.” The name, “Anointed,” means Christ, the Messiah.
It is true that it was prophesied to Abraham that kings should be his descendants. It is true that Moses made provision for a king. It is true that in the book of Judges anointing is shown to be the method of setting apart to kingly office, but this is the first place in the Bible where the one anointed gets the name of the “Anointed One,” a king. Because of this messianic characteristic, Mary, when it was announced to her that she should be the mother of the Anointed King, pours out her soul in the Magnificat, imitating Hannah’s song.
The state of religion at this time was very low. We see from the closing of the book of Judges that at the feast of Shiloh they had irreligious dances. We see from the text here that Hophni and Phinehas, the priests of religion, were not only as corrupt as anybody, but leaders in corruption. We see it declared that there is no open vision, and it is further declared that the Word of God was precious rare.
I will now explain these two phrases in the texts, 1Sa 1:16 (A. V.), where Hannah says, “Count not thine handmaid for a daughter of Belial,” and in 1Sa 2:12 (A. V.), where Hophni and Phinehas are said to be the “sons of Belial.” The common version makes Belial a proper name; the revised version does not, and the revised version is at fault. If you will turn to 2Co 6:15 , you will see that Belial is shown to be the name of Satan: “What concord hath Christ with Belial?” Get Milton’s Paradise Lost, First Book, and read the reference to Hophni and Phinehas as sons of Belial, and see that he correctly makes it a proper name.
Samuel was not a descendant of Aaron. He was merely a Levite, but he subsequently, as we shall learn, officiated in sacrifices as if he were a priest or high priest. It will be remember-ed that the priesthood was under the curse pronounced on Eli, and Samuel was a special exceptional appointee of God, as Moses was.
Dr. Burleson, a great Texas preacher, and a president of Baylor University, preached all over Texas a sermon on family government, taking his text from 1Sa 2:31 .
There are some passages and quotations from Geikie’s Hours With the Bible on the evils of a plurality of wives that are pertinent. Commenting on Elkanah’s double marriage he says, “But, as might have been expected, this double marriage a thing even then uncommon did not add to his happiness, for even among the Orientals the misery of polygamy is proverbial. ‘From what I know,’ says one, ‘it is easier to live with two tigresses than with two wives.’ And a Persian poet is of well-nigh the same opinion: “Be that man’s life immersed in gloom Who needs more wives than one: With one his cheeks retain their bloom, His voice a cheerful tone: These speak his honest heart at rest, And he and she are always blest. But when with two he seeks for joy, Together they his soul annoy; With two no sunbeam of delight Can make his day of misery bright.” An old Eastern Drama is no less explicit: “Wretch I would’st thou have another wedded slave? Another? What? Another? At thy peril Presume to try the experiment: would’st thou not For that unconscionable, foul desire Be linked to misery? Sleepless nights, and days Of endless torment still recurring sorrow Would be thy lot. Two wives! O never! Never! Thou hast not power to please two rival queens; Their tempers would destroy thee; sear thy brain; Thou canst not, Sultan, manage more than one. Even one may be beyond thy government!”
QUESTIONS
1. Why omit Part I of the textbook?
2. What, in bulk, is the supplemental matter in Chronicles, and what its importance?
3. What and where is the place of Samuel’s birth, residence, and burial?
4. What is his ancestry and tribe?
5. If he belonged to the tribe of Levi, why then is he called an Ephraimite, or Ephrathite, which in this place is equivalent?
6. Show that the bigamy of Samuel’s father produced the usual bitter fruit.
7. What was the attitude of the Mosaic law toward a plurality of wives, and divorce, and why?
8. Why did the law ever permit these things?
9. What is the bearing of this section of the contention of the radical critics that the Levitical part of the Mosaic law was not written by Moses, but by a priest in Ezekiel’s time, and that Israel had no central place of worship in the period of the Judges?
10. When did Shiloh become the central place of worship, how long did it so remain, and what use did Jeremiah make of its desolation?
11. Trace the subsequent and separate history of the ark of the covenant and the tabernacle, and show when and where another permanent central place and house of worship were established.
12. Who was high priest at Samuel’s birth, how was he descended from Aaron, and what the proof that he also judged Israel?
13. With which of the judges named in the book of Judges was he likely a contemporary?
14. What was Eli’s character, sin, doom, sign of the doom, and who announced it to him?
15. What nation at this time dominated Israel?
16. Give a brief and clear account of these people.
17. Show how Samuel was a child of prayer, the subject of a vow, a Nazarite, how consecrated to service, and the lessons therefrom.
18. How often did the Mosaic law require every male to appear before the Lord at the central place of worship, and to what extent was this law fulfilled by Samuel’s father and mother?
19. What were the duties of the child Samuel in the tabernacle?
20. Give an account of Samuel’s call from God, his first prophecy, his recognition by the people as a prophet, and the lesson from his own failure, for a while, to recognize the call.
21. Analyze that gem of Hebrew poetry, Hannah’s song, showing its conception of God, and give the reason of its imitation in the New Testament.
22. What was the state of religion at this time?
23. Explain the references to Belial in 1Sa 1:16 ; 1Sa 2:12 .
24. As Samuel was not a descendant of Aaron, but merely a Levite, why does he subsequently, as we shall learn, officiate in sacrifices as if he were a priest or high priest?
25. What great Texas preacher preached all over Texas a sermon on family government, taking his text from 1Sa 2:31 ?
26. Cite the passages and quotations from Geikie’s Hours With the Bible on the evils of a plurality of wives.
Fuente: B.H. Carroll’s An Interpretation of the English Bible
1Sa 2:1 And Hannah prayed, and said, My heart rejoiceth in the LORD, mine horn is exalted in the LORD: my mouth is enlarged over mine enemies; because I rejoice in thy salvation.
Ver. 1. And Hannah prayed, and said, ] i.e., She praised God, and said; for there is not one petition in all this holy hymn: but thanksgiving is a principal part of prayer; it is also an artificial begging.
My heart rejoiceth in the Lord.
My horn is exalted in the Lord.
My mouth is enlarged over mine enemies.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
the LORD. Hebrew. Jehovah. App-4.
Mine horn. First occurrence. Part ofhead-dress over which the veil is thrown hanging over the shoulders; mothers making it more perpendicular. This is now fast becoming extinct. Compare 2Sa 22:3. Psa 75:4. Luk 1:69.
the LORD. Hebrew. Jehovah (App-4.). Some codices, with two early printed editions, read “My God”. App-4. Compare 1Sa 2:17.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
This book presents the history, the personal history of Samuel who was the last of the Judges. It ushers in the beginning of the period of the kings in the children of Israel, or among the children of Israel.
There’s a certain man of Ramathaimzophim, of mount Ephraim, and his name was Elkanah. He had two wives; one was Hannah, the other Peninnah: Peninnah had children, Hannah had no children. This man went out of the city yearly to worship and to sacrifice unto the Lord of hosts in Shiloh. [Which at that time was the religious center of the nation.] And the two sons of Eli, [Who was the high priest at that time] Hophni and Phinehas, the priests of the Lord, were there. And it came when the time was that Elkanah offered, he gave to Peninnah, and her children portions: But unto Hannah he gave a goodly [or an extra] portion; because he loved Hannah very much: but God had shut up her womb [and that she was barren] ( 1Sa 1:1-5 ).
So the scene is set the man living in polygamy, two wives. One he loved more than the other. One had many children, but the one he really loved could not have any children.
And so her adversary ( 1Sa 1:6 ),
That is Hannah’s adversary, or the other wife. So there was friction in the house between the two wives as they bide for the attention and the love of the one man. As I said this morning, any man’s a fool who thinks that he can satisfy all of the needs of two women. You’re bound to have problems. So they did.
The inner strife within the house as
Peninnah provoked Hannah, made her fret, because that she was barren ( 1Sa 1:6 ).
Really pressed the issue, really taunted her over her inability to have children. So Elkanah was heading for Shiloh, vacation time, feast time. Time of celebration, it’s to be a time of merriment and rejoicing as you go up to the house of God to worship. It’s interesting to me that God wants the rejoicing to, or the worship of Him to be a rejoicing, happy experience. They called them the “feasts” and they were just feasts. People would go up and just have a great feast. It was a holiday, a time in which they worshiped God and gathered before Him, a time of rejoicing and happiness. So Elkanah was heading up for this time and taking his wife Hannah with him. She was weeping all the time and wouldn’t eat.
So Elkanah said to her, Why do you weep? why aren’t you eating? why is your heart so grieved? am I not better to you than ten sons? [“Can’t you be happy with me?”] So Hannah rose up after they had eaten in Shiloh, and after they had drunk. And Eli the priest sat upon a seat by a post of the temple of the Lord. And she was in bitterness of soul, and she prayed unto the Lord, and she wept sore. And during this period she vowed a vow unto the Lord, and she said, Lord if you will indeed look upon the affliction of your handmaid, and remember me, and not forget me, but if you will give unto me a man child, [“Give me a boy”] I will give him unto the Lord all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head ( 1Sa 1:8-11 ).
“Lord if you’ll just give me a son, I’ll give him back to You, but I want a son, I’ll give him back to You all the days of his life.”
Now there are many times when we pray and we wonder why our prayers are not answered immediately. There are some times in which God delays the answer to our prayers. Here’s the case now Hannah no doubt had been praying about a son for a long time. Cursed with barrenness she had no doubt brought it before the Lord many times in prayer. “Oh God give me a son. Lord I want a son. God why haven’t You given me a son?” Yet there seemingly was no answer to her prayer. God delayed the answer.
Now with Hannah there was a reason why God delayed the answer, and with us. If God delays the answer of our prayers there’s a reason for His delay. Often times, with Hannah, the reason being that God is seeking to bring us around to His purposes. The Bible says, “The eyes of the Lord go to and fro throughout the entire earth to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose hearts are completely towards Him” ( 2Ch 16:9 ). So God was waiting, bringing Hannah around to where her heart was completely towards God, and the things of God, and that which God wanted.
God was needing a man to lead Israel during these desperate days of transition. He needed a man that He could speak to, and that would speak to the people for Him. For during this period of their history, they had not really heard from God. It says, “The word of the Lord was precious”, it means it was scarce. God wasn’t speaking to men. There were no men whose ears were really open to God.
So Hannah finally out of the desperation of her soul said, “Lord, if You will just give to me a son, I will give him back to You all the days of his life.” This is what God was desiring, this is what God was looking for, and so when God brought her around to this place of that commitment to God. “Lord, if You’ll just give me a son, I’ll give him back to You.” Then the Lord answered her prayer.
When God now gives, He many times delays giving, in order that He might give more, or in order that what is given is used for His purposes. I feel that many times when we are praying, the Bible says, “We don’t always know how to pray as we ought” ( Rom 8:26 ), and this is very true. We oftentimes pray for things that in our initial prayer, we’re thinking about ourselves. James says, “You haven’t received naught because you asked amiss that you might consume it upon your own lusts” ( Jas 4:3 ). Much of our prayer is that of personal kind of requests to God, as we almost look at God as a Santa Claus kind of “I want this. I want that. I want this.” We’re thinking not really of God, but we are thinking of ourselves. What I want, rather than what does God want.
Now the Bible says, “If we ask anything according to His will, He hears us, and if He hears us, then we have received the petitions that we have asked of Him.” Much of what we ask is not really according to God’s will, it’s according to my own desires. I’m thinking of myself, how I can use it for me.
Hannah no doubt was for a long time just thinking, “Lord, I want a son so that other wife will shut her mouth”, tired of this business of being chided all the time. “Lord, I want a son that I can nurse. I want a son that I can take care of.” She was thinking of herself. Now through the processes of God’s working in her life, she was a godly woman, it is expressed as we get into the next chapter and we read of her rejoicing when God answered her prayer. We see that in the praise of Hannah, there are earmarks of a depth of spirituality. Now she’s brought into harmony with the purposes of God. “God just give me a son, and I will give him back to You all the days of his life.”
Now it came to pass, as she was continuing to pray before the Lord, that Eli the priest sitting there on the post was watching her. [He saw the grimaces on her face, and] he saw her mouth moving [and he listened], but he couldn’t hear any words: and so he just concluded that she was drunk. And he said unto her, Hey woman why are you so drunk? put away your wine. And she answered, No, my lord, I am a woman of a sorrowful spirit: I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I have poured out my soul before the Lord ( 1Sa 1:12-15 ).
Denied the accusations of the priest and just said, “I am a woman of a sorrowful spirit. I poured out my soul to the Lord.”
Don’t count your handmaid for a daughter of Belial: for out of the abundance of my complaint and grief have I spoken unto the Lord. Then Eli answered and said, Go in peace: and the God of Israel grant thee thy petition that you have asked of him. And she said, Let your handmaid find grace in thy sight. So the woman went her way, did eat, her countenance was no more sad ( 1Sa 1:16-18 ).
She believed the word of the Lord. Change of attitude. She didn’t go around looking sad anymore. She didn’t go around not eating. Her husband probably wondered the change in her whole attitude. But it was faith, believing the word of God through the priest. Believing that God was now gonna give her a son. It would be actually contrary to fact for her to go on with sadness and grieving, not eating. God has promised. He’s going to answer.
Herein is of course one of the marks of faith, acting as though you have it, before you actually have it. It’s an attitude. If God has promised to give it to me, why should I go around just moping, and sad, and sorrowful? Why should I go around worried and concerned if God has promised to give it to me? If I really believe the promises of God, I’m gonna start rejoicing. I’m gonna start, actually, my attitude, and my actions are gonna be in harmony with what I actually believe. So because she believed the promise of God, her countenance would change.
She started eating.
And so they rose up in the morning early, and after worship they headed back to their house at Ramah: [Which is just north of Jerusalem, the modern city of Ram Allah.] and Hannah became pregnant; the Lord remembered her. Therefore it came to pass, when the time was come after Hannah had conceived, that she bare a son, and called his name Samuel, [Which means “asked of God”.] Because I asked him of the Lord. [So Samuel means “asked of God”.] And the man Elkanah, and all of his house, went up to offer to the Lord yearly the sacrifice, and to make his vow. But Hannah did not go up; for she said to her husband, I will not go up until I have weaned the child, and then I will take him to the house of God that he may abide there. So Elkanah her husband said unto her, Do what seems good; wait until you’ve weaned him; only the Lord establish his word. So the woman abode, and gave, and nursed her son [actually] until she had weaned him. And after Samuel had been weaned, she took him up with her, with three bullocks, a bushel of flour, a bottle of wine, and brought him 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 was here, [I’m the woman if you’ll remember that was lying there, and you thought I was drunk.] and I told you I was asking God for a son. And this is the son for whom I prayed ( 1Sa 1:19-27 ).
“Here he is, here’s the proof, here’s my little boy.”
There have been many occasions here at Calvary Chapel where young couples have come up and have expressed their desire to have a child. Maybe they’ve been married four, or five, six years, some of them married ten, twelve years, and they come up and they express their desire for a child. “We’ve been married this long, and we’ve never been able to have a child. Oh, we’re thinking about adopting, but we’d love to have a child.” We have laid hands on them, and prayed for them, and a year or two later, they come up and say, “This is the baby that we prayed for. This is the child.” We have these same kinds of experiences. A lot of little miracle babies around here. Where God has answered the prayer and has blessed the home with children.
She was excited, she said, “Oh my lord, I’m the woman. I’m the one that was here. It was for this child that I prayed. The Lord has given me my petition that I’ve asked of Him.”
Therefore I am giving him back to the Lord; as long as he lives he shall be the Lord’s. And he worshiped the Lord there ( 1Sa 1:28 ).
Now this is where we get the dedication of babies on Sunday morning. It is more or less following this same pattern of Hannah. We’ve asked God to bless, to give us children, recognizing that these children are gifts from God, we bring them back to God and say “God, you have given us this child, but we want to give this child to You, for Your purposes that the child might serve You all the days of their life. That Your purposes and Your will might be accomplished within the child.” So the dedication of our babies unto the Lord.
Now I do not know of any scriptural basis for baptizing babies. I do not know of a single scriptural proof for the baptism of babies. I really believe that baptism is more the act of a conscious adult. There are two scriptures really that deal with baptism. The one is, “Repent and be baptized”. Now I have yet to meet one of these little babies that has repented. In Mark’s gospel it says, “He that believeth and is baptized,” and they really don’t have enough intelligence yet to believe.
Now it doesn’t mean that the child would be lost if it dies. I believe that a child within a Christian home is saved if it dies before an age of accountability. I believe that I Corinthians, the second chapter teaches this. That, “The believing wife, or husband, either of them being a believer, the child is covered by the believing parents, else would your children be unclean. But now,” Paul said, “they are holy.” So the faith of a believing parent covers for that child. You say, “But what about an unbelieving parent?” That I don’t know, the Bible is silent. I must be silent.
You say, “But would it be fair,” well, God will do whatever’s fair. But the Bible doesn’t say specifically, I can’t say specifically. I believe that God will be fair. I’m sure that He’ll be fair. I know He’ll be fair and I rest my case there in the righteousness and the fairness of God. God will be absolutely fair in all His judgments. There’s not one person gonna get a bad deal before the judgment bar of God. There’s not one person’s gonna be a walk away, gonna be able to walk away and say, “That isn’t fair”. God will deal justly with every case and every extenuation in each case. The justice of God is something that I am absolutely convinced of. The absolute righteousness of the judgments of God.
The justice of man is something I have little belief in. I cry with the crowd, “There ain’t no justice,” but that’s only speaking from a human standpoint. But from the divine standpoint the absolute righteousness of the judgment of God is something that I have no question about whatsoever. Thus, I’m not really worried about those people that have never heard of Jesus Christ or the babies who die, or whatever. I know that God is gonna be absolutely righteous and fair in His judgments. So I just rest it there. But babies can be scripturally, can be dedicated or presented to God.
Now in the New Testament when Jesus was born, they came and offered the sacrifices for the firstborn child and they presented Him unto the Lord. The priests lifted Him up in his hands and blessed Him, and said, “Now Lord let thy servant die in peace for You’ve allowed me to see Your salvation.” But again the idea of, “Here’s my child Lord. I present it to You that You might use this life for whatever purposes, that Your influences might come upon this child and lead and guide him as he grows, and develops. And Lord, I give him back to You all the days of his life.” I think that it’s a marvelous gesture on the part of a parent. We dedicated all of our children to the Lord, actually between us dedicated them to the Lord before they were ever born.
Now it is true that when they’re old enough they’ve got to make their own commitments, and their own decisions. The fact that we dedicated them to the Lord doesn’t follow that they are going to consent to that dedication when they get old enough to do what they want. But hopefully by that time we will have given enough spiritual input and all that when they are older, they will not depart from that faith that they have gained while growing up under our tutorage. So it is more than just dedicating; there is a responsibility as parents to train up the child, or to catechize the child in the ways of the Lord. To teach them, to instruct them in the ways of the Lord, so that as they grow older these will be things that have been planted in their hearts and minds deeply, become a very part of their very thinking processes. Chapter 8
Now it came to pass, when Samuel was old, he made his sons the judges over Israel. And the name of his firstborn was Joel; the second was Abiah: and they were judges in Beersheba. [Which is in the south.] But his sons did not walk in his ways, but they turned aside after lucre, they took bribes, and perverted judgment ( 1Sa 8:1-3 ).
So here’s an unfortunate thing. A godly man Samuel, and yet his sons were crooked. These guys were taking bribes, they had coveted after money, they would pervert judgment for bribes.
So all the elders of Israel came to Samuel there at Ramah, And they said, Behold, you are old, but your sons are not walking in your ways: so make us a king to judge us like all the nations. [So now the demand of all of the elders of Israel in order that they might have a king like the rest of the nations.] The thing displeased Samuel, when they said, Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed unto the Lord. The Lord said to Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people: for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me, from being king over them ( 1Sa 8:4-7 ).
Now a nation that is governed by God is a theocracy. These people were rejecting now a theocratic form of government and they were demanding now a monarchy. “We want a king like the other nations.” It is a sad step down in their history when they rejected God from being king. However it was because God was not being faithfully represented to them by their rulers, that they were demanding a king like the other nations. The Lord said, “You tell them what a monarchy is going to entail.”
So Samuel told the people all the words of the Lord. When you have a king that reign over you: He’s gonna take your sons, he’s gonna draft them, and appoint them for himself, and for his chariots, that they might be his horsemen; some shall run before his chariots. He’s gonna appoint captains over the thousands, and over the fifties; and he will set them to ear his ground, or to till his soil, to reap his harvest, to make him instruments of war, and instruments of his chariots. And he will take your daughters that they might be his bakers, and cooks, and confectionaries. And he will take your fields, your vineyards, your oliveyards, and the best of them, and he will give them to his servants. You’ll have to start paying taxes of ten percent. [They had it pretty good.] And he will take your menservants, and your maidservants, and your finest young men, your donkeys, and put them to his work. And he’ll take a tenth of your sheep: you’ll be his servants. And ye shall cry out in that day because of your king which ye shall have chosen; and the Lord will not hear you in that day. Nevertheless the people said, Fine we want a king that we might be like all the nations; that our king might judge us, go out before us, and fight our battles. So Samuel heard the people, he went back and he said, Lord they still want a king. So the Lord said, Hearken to their voice, and make them a king. And Samuel said to the men of Israel, Go your way every man to his own city ( 1Sa 8:10-22 ).
Chapter 9
Now there was a man of the tribe of Benjamin, whose name was Kish, he was the son of Abiel,… and he had a son, whose name was Saul, a choice young man, and [the word] goodly: [is handsome] and there was not among the children of Israel a more handsome person than he: he was head and shoulders taller than anyone else ( 1Sa 9:1-2 ).
Just a big, handsome fellow, Saul the son of Kish. In fact, he was just the most good-looking guy in all of Israel, big, handsome, natural benefits and characteristics.
Now Kish’s donkeys were lost. And he said to Saul, Take one of the servants, and go and look for the donkeys. And so Saul passed through mount Ephraim, passed through the land of Shalisha, but they did not find them: they passed through the land of Shalim, and they did not find them there: so they passed through the land of the Benjamites, they did not find them. When they were come to the land of Zuph, Saul said to his servant that was with him, We better get back home, because my father is gonna quit worrying about the donkeys, he’s gonna start worrying about us. So they said, How in the world do we get home from here? we’re lost. [More or less.] So he said, I hear that there is an honourable man; a prophet in this city; let’s go; maybe he can shew us the way we should go. Then Saul said to the servant, But, look, if we go to the prophet we don’t have anything to give him. We’ve spent everything that we have and we have no present to give to the man of God. And the servant answered Saul, and he said, I have here a fourth part of a shekel of silver: and we’ll give that to the man of God, to tell us our way. Now (Beforetime in Israel, when a man went to inquire of God, thus he spake, Come, and let us go to the seer: they called the Prophets in those days Seers ( 1Sa 9:3-9 ).
The word “seer” is that which it implies it’s a man that is able to see into the spiritual things, or a man who has spiritual perception, and they were called “seers”, that was the original word for the prophets. Later on they called them prophets. But in the earlier days they were called seers.
Then Saul said to his servant,
Come on that’s good enough, let’s go. So they went to the city where the man of God was. And they went up to the hill to the city, and they found some young maidens going out to draw water, and they said, Is the seer here ( 1Sa 9:10-11 )?
Now can you picture this handsome Saul, big, nobody is more handsome than he and he’s asking these young maidens where the seer is. They are careful to answer him.
And they answered and said, He is; behold, he’s before you: make haste now, for he came today to the city; for there’s a sacrifice of the people today in the high place: As soon as you come into the city, you shall straightway find him, behold he goes up to the high place to eat: for the people will not eat until he comes, for he doth bless the sacrifice; and afterwards they eat those that are bidden. Now if you’ll get up; for about this time you’ll find him. [Hurry.] And so they went up into the city: and when they were come to the city, behold, Samuel came out against them, to go up to the high place. Now the Lord had told Samuel in his ear a day before Saul came, [Isn’t that neat the Lord’s able to talk to Samuel like that? He spoke in his ear.] and said, Hey tomorrow about this time I’m gonna send you a man out of the land of Benjamin, and you are to anoint him to be captain over my people Israel, that he may save my people out of the hand of the Philistines: for I have looked upon my people, because their cry has come up to me. And so when Samuel saw Saul, the Lord said unto him, Behold the man whom I spake to thee of. this same shall reign over my people. Then Saul drew near to Samuel in the gate, and he said, Tell me, I pray thee, where the seer’s house is. And Samuel answered Saul, and said, I am the seer: go up before me to the high place; for ye shall eat with me today, and tomorrow I will let thee go, and tell thee all that is in thy heart. And as for the donkeys that were lost three days ago, don’t worry about them; they’ve already been found. And on whom is all the desire of Israel? Is it not on thee, and on your father’s house ( 1Sa 9:12-20 )?
Now he finds the prophet, and the prophet starts saying some weird things. He says, “Now don’t worry about those donkeys, they’ve already been found. But upon whom is the desire of all Israel?” Israel is desiring a king. “Upon whom is the desire of all Israel, is it not upon you and your father’s house?”
And Saul said, Hey wait a minute don’t lay that on me, I’m a Benjamite, we’re the smallest tribe in Israel? my family is the least of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin. What are you saying to me man? And Samuel took Saul and his servant, and brought them into the parlour, and made them sit in the chiefest place among those that were bidden, which were about thirty persons. And Samuel said to the cook, Bring the portions that I gave thee, of which I said unto thee, Set it by thee. And the cook took up the shoulder, and that which was upon it, and set it before Saul. And Samuel said, Behold that which is left. set it before thee, and eat: for unto this time hath it been kept for thee since I’ve invited the people. So Saul did eat with Samuel that day. And when they were come down from the high place into that city, Samuel communed with Saul upon the top of the house. And they arose early: and it came to pass about the spring of that day, that Samuel called Saul to the top of the house, saying, Up, that I may send thee away. Saul arose, and went both of them, and Samuel, abroad. And as they went down to the end of the city, Samuel said to Saul, Bid your servant to go on in front of us, and stand here for awhile, that I might shew you the word of the Lord ( 1Sa 9:21-27 ).
So Samuel now is getting ready to reveal to Saul the things of God. “Send your servant away.”
Chapter 10
Samuel took a vial of oil, and he poured it over Saul, over his head, and he kissed him, and he said, Is it not because the Lord has anointed thee to be captain over his inheritance? Now when you depart from me today, when you get by Rachel’s tomb, you’re going to see two men; and they will say to you, The donkeys that you were looking for have been found: and, your father’s no longer worried about the donkeys, but he’s worried about you. Then as you go on forward from there, you’re gonna come to the plain of Tabor, and there you’re gonna meet three men that are going up to God to Bethel, and one is carrying three kids, and another’s carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a bottle of wine: They’re gonna greet you, they’re gonna give you to loaves of bread; which you shall receive. And then when you come to the hill of God, where the garrison of the Philistines are: it shall come to pass, that when you’re come near the city, that you shall meet a company of prophets coming down from the high place with a psaltery, and a harp, and a pipe, and a harp, before them; and they shall prophesy: And the spirit of the Lord will come upon thee, and thou shalt prophesy with them, and shall be turned into another man. And so let it be, when these signs are come to thee, that you do as occasion serve thee; for God is with thee ( 1Sa 10:1-7 ).
So here the prophet is laying out, it’s the trip for him. “When you go out, when you get to Rachel’s tomb, there will be a couple fellows there that are gonna tell you, ‘Hey man the donkeys that you’re looking for were found. Your dad’s really worried about you. He doesn’t know what’s happened to you.’ As you go on a little further, you’re gonna meet three men that are going up to Bethel to worship God. One will have three goats, one will have three loaves of bread, and the other will have a jug of wine. They’re gonna offer you a couple loaves of bread, take them. Then when you go just a little further, when you get near the city, there’s gonna be a bunch of prophets coming down. They’re gonna have some instruments, they’re gonna be playing and singing. As you join them God’s Spirit is going to come upon you. You’re gonna be changed into another man. So at that time do as the occasion seems best, for the Lord is with you.”
And you will go down before me to Gilgal; to offer the burnt offerings, and to sacrifice offerings and the peace offerings: and seven days shalt you wait, till I come to thee, and shew thee what you’re to do. And so it was, that when he had turned his from Samuel, God gave him another heart: and all of those signs came to pass that day. And when they came near the hill, behold, a company of prophets met him; and the spirit of God came upon him, and he prophesied among them. And it came to pass, when all that knew him beforetime saw that, behold, he was prophesying before the prophets, the people said one to another, What is this that’s come to the son of Kish? is Saul among the prophets? And one of the same place answered and said, But who is their father? Therefore it became proverb, Is Saul among the prophets? And when he had made an end of prophesying, he came to the high place. And Saul’s uncle said to him, and to his servant, Where in the world did you go? And he said, To seek the donkeys: and when we saw that they were no where, we came to Samuel. And Saul’s uncle said, Tell me, what did Samuel say to you. And Saul said to his uncle, He told us plainly that the donkeys had been found. But Saul didn’t reveal to his uncle the other things that Samuel had said about him being the choice of God and the people, to be the king. And so Samuel called the people together before the Lord there at Mizpeh; And he said to the children of Israel, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, I brought up Israel out of Egypt, delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, out of the hand of all of the kingdoms, of those that oppressed you: And you have this day rejected your God, who himself saved you out of all your adversities and your tribulations; and you have said unto him, Nay, but set a king over us. Now therefore present yourselves before the Lord by your tribes, and by your thousands. And when Samuel had caused all the tribes of Israel to come near, the tribe of Benjamin was taken. When he caused the tribe of Benjamin to come near by their families, the families of Matri were taken, and Saul the son of Kish was taken: and when they sought him, he could not be found. Therefore he inquired of the Lord further, if the man should yet come thither. And the Lord answered, Behold, he’s hid himself over there in the stuff ( 1Sa 10:8-22 ).
Now the time has come to present to Israel their king. All of the children of Israel are gathered at Mizpeh, this great day, the coronation of the king. And so Samuel is out there, big ceremonies, and he has the various tribes pass forth. And he takes the tribe of Benjamin. He has the families of Benjamin pass forth. He takes the family of Matri. Then out of the family of Matri, he takes Saul, and he says, “All right you’re king. Where is he?”
So he says, “Lord what’s going on here? What’s happening?”
Lord said, “Oh the guy’s hid himself over there in the stuff.”
So they went over there in the stuff and they got Saul out: and they fetched him: and when he stood among the people, he was higher than any of the people from his shoulders upward. [He just stood out in the crowd.] And Samuel said to all the people, See ye him whom the Lord hath chosen, that there is none like unto him among all the people? And the people shouted, and said, God save the king. Then Samuel told the people the manner of the kingdom, and wrote it in a book, and laid it up before the Lord. And Samuel sent all the people away every man to his house. And Saul went home to Gibeah; and there went with him a band of men, whose hearts God had touched. But the children of Belial said, How shall this man save us? And they despised him, and did not bring him any presents. But he held his peace ( 1Sa 10:23-27 ).
Now there are a couple of things here in this latter portion that interest me and fascinate me. Number one is that anointing of Saul where the Spirit of God came upon him, and he turned into another man, a real kind of conversion kind of an experience. God’s Spirit upon him, and his prophesying, and the heart was changed, a real work of God within his life.
The second thing that interests me is that there went with him a band of men whose hearts God had touched. This scripture always excites me because of its potential. Not that I’m a chauvinist, but I think that there’s nothing more exciting and fraught with possibility than to get a bunch of men whose hearts have been touched by God. To me the potential of a band of men, hearts touched by God, is just incomprehensible. What God can do when He touches the hearts of men!
Now for a long time, Christianity was looked on as almost a sissy, effeminate thing. The women were usually those who were committed to the Lord and trying to drag their husbands along. But that isn’t God’s order. God intended that the man be the head and spiritual leader in the house, of spiritual things. Now if the man isn’t then I believe that the woman needs to take that place. But that is not God’s divine order. It is God’s divine order that the man lead the house in spiritual things. How strong and how blessed is the house where the man assumes the spiritual role of leadership.
But with the church there was sort of an effeminate idea involved in Christianity. Even the ministers talked and acted like a bunch of sissies. You know they sought to be so proper and sweet, and sissified, that it gave Christianity sort of an effeminate kind of a feel to it.
I believe that Jesus Christ challenges the manhood of a man. I think that one of the greatest challenges to any man to really assert the fullness of his manhood is to commit your life completely and fully to following Jesus Christ. I think that’s one of the most manly things you can do. I think it’s powerful. I think it’s dynamic. When you get a bunch of fellows together, who have really committed their lives to Jesus Christ, whose hearts have really been touched by God, you’ve got a potential of turning the world upside down. Men fully committed unto the Lord, unto Jesus Christ, what an exciting potential.
Thus, we see that Saul has many advantages. Comes from a good home, security, love, he knows his dad’s gonna be worried about him when he doesn’t show up. The natural physique, handsome, big all means nothing compared with the Spirit of God coming upon his life, and anointing him, changing his heart, turning him into another man. Then God puts around him a bunch of fellows who are just turned on for God. A band of men whose hearts God had touched. You have now here the potential of marvelous things for God. You’ve got all the ingredients that you need for a real spiritual explosion. But we’ll go on and see how it fizzled and why it fizzled.
When we were kids it used to be we could have legalized firecrackers here in California. We used to light the Black Panthers because they were good loud ones. But every once in awhile, you know, you set the firecracker in the tin can, and you light the fuse, and you go back and you’d wait, and you’d wait, and you’d wait, no explosion, a fizzler. Course we learned when we were kids that you can take the fizzler, break it in two, pour the powder out, light the powder and as it starts to shoot out, if you stop it, gets your foot ajar, but you can really make the thing explode. But we used to always be disappointed with those fizzlers, had the potential, they’d blow and that tin can didn’t do anything, fizzled out.
I look at some people’s lives again, and you see that potential. You see all the ingredients are there, fizzlers. They never make it. What a disappointment the fizzlers are. God help us not to be fizzlers. That’s your lesson for tonight.
Shall we stand?
I pray that God will be with you this week, bless you at your work, that He’ll give you wisdom and guidance. That His love will just really flow through your life in those difficult and adverse circumstances. May the Spirit of God rest upon you, the anointing of His Spirit and power. May you become the man God wants you to be, doing the work God wants you to do for the glory of Jesus Christ. “
Fuente: Through the Bible Commentary
We shall read two portions of Holy Scripture, and may God the Holy Spirit bless us in the reading of his own Words. We shall first read, in the first Book of Samuel, the second chapter, the song of Hannah. You remember that Hannah was a woman of a sorrowful spirit. A womanly sorrow preyed upon her heart, and brought her very low; not so low, however, as to prevent her from constantly praying to God. Her prayers were heard, and when she came up to the Lords house, the joyful mother of son, he took care to remember her former supplication, and to offer unto God thanksgiving. Hannah was a woman of great ability, perhaps the chief poetess of either the Old or the New Testament. I expect that Mary borrowed not of her Magnificat from the song of Hannah, at least, the recollection of that song must have been strong upon her when she sang what we shall presently read.
2:1. And Hannah prayed, and said, My heart rejoiceth in the LORD mine horn is exalted in the LORD: my mouth is enlarged over mine enemies; because I rejoice in thy salvation.
Her deliverance seemed to her to be a type and symbol of the way in which God delivers all his people, so she rejoiced in that great salvation which he works out for his people as a whole.
1Sa 2:2-7. There is none holy as the LORD: for there is none beside thee: neither is there any rock like our God. Talk no more so exceeding proudly; let not arrogancy come out of your mouth: for the LORD is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed. The bows of the mighty men are broken, and they that stumbled are girded with strength. They that were full have hired out themselves for bread; and they that were hungry ceased: so that the barren hath born seven; and she that hath many children is waxed feeble. The LORD killeth, and maketh alive: he bringeth down to the grave, and bringeth up. The LORD maketh poor, and maketh rich: he bringeth low, and lifteth up.
With what jubilation she sings of the way in which God deals with men, putting down the mighty, and lifting up the lowly!
1Sa 2:8. He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill, to set them among princes, and to make them inherit the throne of glory: for the pillars of the earth are the LORDS, and he hath set the world upon them.
Whatever solid thing it is that bears up the frame of this natural world, it is Gods power that doth support it. He hath made all things that are, and he upholds them with the world of his power.
1Sa 2:9. He will keep the feet of his saints, and the wicked shall be silent in darkness;
What an awful picture that is of the doom of the wicked, Silent in darkness. We read of the one, in the parable of our Lord, who had not on the wedding garment, that he was speechless; and, at the last the wicked will have nothing to say, nothing with which to excuse themselves, nothing with which to comfort themselves, and all around them will be- Darkness, death, and long despair. Vanquished in their fight with God, conquered for ever, the wicked shall be silent in darkness. I hardly know of a more dreadful picture than that of a spirit sitting amidst the clammy damps of the thick darkness of desolation, for ever silent.
1Sa 2:9-10. For by strength shall no man prevail. The adversaries of the LORD shall be broken to pieces; out of heaven shall he thunder upon them: the LORD shall judge the ends of the earth; and he shall give strength unto his king, and exalt the horn of his anointed.
That is the song of this happy woman; and if we read the last three verses of Psalms 113, we shall see that the writer seems to have studied Hannahs song, and to have molded his Psalm upon it: He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth the needy out of the dunghill, that he may set him with princes, even with the princes of his people. He maketh the barren woman to keep house, and to be a joyful mother of children. Praise ye the Lord. Now let us read Marys song in the first chapter of the Gospel according to Luke. You remember, dear friends, how the Lord Jesus said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hath revealed them unto babes. Even so, Father: for so it seemed good in thy sight. The Saviours heart found a sacred satisfaction in the execution of his Fathers sovereign will in revealing to babes what he had hid from the wise and prudent; and it is remarkable that both Hannah and Mary sang upon that very theme which made the heart of the Saviour leap for joy. We might have expected to find an abundance of affection in a womans song rather than a depth of doctrine, but both Hannah and Mary make the sovereignty of God the strain of their songs.
This exposition consisted of readings from 1Sa 2:1-10; and Luk 1:46-55.
Fuente: Spurgeon’s Verse Expositions of the Bible
We have the record of the song of triumph sung by Hannah, in which she set forth the might and justice of Jehovah. Thus, in the dark and troublous times, Jehovah is seen acting toward deliverance, by answering the prayer of faith as faith operated in the heart of a simple and trusting woman. There is much human passion manifest in her desire, but the fact that she turned to Jehovah is evidence of her trust in Him; and on the basis of that confidence she prepared a way for the future guidance of His people.
The latter part of the chapter gives a vivid picture of two simultaneous movements of degeneration and regeneration in Israel. The condition of the people was waxing worse and worse, but all the while Jehovah is enthroned, and without let or hindrance moving forward in His work of deliverance.
The corruption of the priesthood was appalling. The sons of Eli were securing their own selfish ends in the most terrible fashion. Moreover, they were polluting the very courts of the house of God by the grossest immorality.
Meanwhile, the boy Samuel dwelt in the precincts of the Tabernacle, and in obedience to the instructions of Eli, ministered to the Lord.
It was during this time that a prophetic messenger came to Eli with a word of stern rebuke. While Eli had been loyal to God in his personal life and action, he had not exercised discipline in his own family; and out of a false pity for his sons had tolerated their evil courses. To him, then, were uttered the solemn words, “Them that honour Me I will honour, and they that despise Me shall be lightly esteemed.” These words should be pondered in this connection, for they teach us that no human affection must be permitted to intervene between the soul and its absolute loyalty to God.
Fuente: An Exposition on the Whole Bible
the God of the Lowly
1Sa 2:1-11
Hannahs song was to inspire David, the Virgin-Mother, and countless others to sing hymns of praise. So the song of a bird will set the whole woodland ringing with the minstrelsy of a feathered chorus. We, too, shall sing someday! God will turn the waters of our tears, which fill the jars to their brim, into the wine of joy. You, also, my friend, shall someday take your harp from the willows and get from it music which will go through the world to stir mens sad hearts.
How full of the Lord the song is! The overflowing heart ascribes its rapture to the Rock of Ages. He saves; He is holy; He knows; He weighs; He kills and makes alive; He brings down to the grave and up; He will vindicate our trust. We do not prevail by strength, but by yielding ourselves into His hands. God answers our prayers thoroughly. The gifts that come from above are good and perfect. Bereaved mother, your little child is yours still, though hidden from your eyes! Try to think of your beloved one as ministering to the Lord in the eternal temple!
Fuente: F.B. Meyer’s Through the Bible Commentary
1Sa 2:3
In all God’s dealings with us there is one thing of which we may be perfectly sure,-they will be done deliberately; delicately, by measurement, with accuracy, in proportion. We are quite safe there from all hastiness and inconsideration-those two banes of human judgment. Job’s prayer is always answered, “Let me be weighed in the balance.” Alike the greatest and the least-from those giants of nature, the everlasting hills, down to the dust of the earth, and to the smallest thought which ever flashed through a man’s mind-all are weighed.
I. Let us be sure that we give actions their proper place in the plan of our salvation. Actions never save a man. Actions have, strictly speaking, nothing to do with our salvation. But actions occupy four parts in the great scheme of our redemption. (1) They are the tests of life-“He that abideth in Me, the same bringeth forth much fruit.” (2) They are the language of love-“If ye love Me, keep My commandments.” (3) They glorify God before men-“Let your light so shine before men that they, seeing your good works, may glorify your Father which is in Heaven.” (4) And although they are not the meritorious causes of our final rewards, yet they determine the degrees and proportions of our final state-“He will reward every man according as his work shall be.”
II. It would be the greatest presumption on our part to say how God weighs our actions. It is sufficient to know that He does weigh them. That hand cannot err. But we may carry out God’s own metaphor a little way and conceive it thus: (1) On the one hand is the action; on the other, what that action might have been, and ought to have been, and, but for our sin, would have been. (2) On the one side the action we did; on the other, the action we meant to do, and promised to do. (3) On the one side, what we have received; on the other, what we have rendered.
III. When God holds the scales of His children’s actions. He puts in something of His own over and above, and when He puts that in, the beam that had preponderated against us, turns the other way, and “mercy rejoiceth against judgment.” We should be careful not to usurp an office which only Omniscience can rightly exercise.
IV We must all feel that when we are weighed in these holy scales the verdict can only be, “Tekel; thou art weighed in the balances and found wanting.” But the Lord Jesus Christ died upon the cross. That death is on the one side, and the whole world’s guilt is on the other. God is “weighing them”-the blood of Christ and the sins of all mankind. God has balanced you and your substitute, and God is satisfied for His sake for ever and ever.
J. Vaughan, Sermons, 15th series, p. 189.
References: 1Sa 2:3.-Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xxix., No. 1736. 1Sa 2:6.-Ibid., vol. ix., No. 523. 1Sa 2:8.-J. H. Evans, Thursday Penny Pulpit, vol. iii., p. 387. 1Sa 2:9.-G. Brooks, Outlines of Sermons, p. 176.
1Sa 2:12, 1Sa 2:26
The sacred historian dwells with evident pleasure on the beautiful, holy boyhood of the child who served before the Lord, wearing a linen ephod, and who in the visitations of the night, thrilling to the Divine voice which called him by his name, answered fearlessly, “Speak, Lord; for Thy servant heareth.” Yet from the same tabernacle, from the same tutelage, from the same influences, came forth also the sons of Eli; and the sons of Eli were men of Belial; they knew not the Lord.
I. The training the same, the product how different; the school the same, the boys whom it educated so fearfully contrasted. Such contrasts seem strange, but they are in reality matters of daily experience. Daily from the same home we see boys go forth, some to live noble, self-denying lives, others to live lives that come to nothing, and do deeds as well undone. So too, often, from happy conditions come base characters, from degraded environments strong, sweet natures struggle into the light.
II. Our inference from this is, that the personal devotion of the heart, the personal surrender of the individual will, can alone save a man or make him holy A man’s life may be influenced, but it is not determined by his circumstances. No aid, save that which comes from above to every man, can help him to climb the mountain-path of life, or enter the wicket-gate of righteousness. Nor, on the other hand, can any will or power except his own retard his ascent or forbid his ingress. On ourselves, on the conscious exercise of our own free will, depends our eternal salvation or ruin.
F. W. Farrar, In the Days of the Youth, p. 99.
References: 1Sa 2:12.-Parker, vol. vii., p. 57. 1Sa 2:17.-Ibid., vol. vi., p. 228, and vol. vii., p. 58,
1Sa 2:18
Samuel was a child-prophet, and that fact is pregnant with the deepest signification. That a child should have any interest in God’s temple, and especially that a child should hold office in that temple, is a circumstance which should arrest our attention.
I. God’s interest in human life begins at the earliest possible period. This is an argument for infant baptism which I have never known to be touched, much less shaken.
II. In Hannah’s making Samuel a coat every year, we see how age must work for childhood, strength must toil lovingly and helpfully for weakness. The resources of life must be expended on the children of need.
III. Looking at the call of Samuel we see: (1) Almighty God calling man at an unlikely time. In the pomp of mid-day He comes to us, blazing with all effulgence of glory, and addresses us with majesty and overwhelming force; in the hour of midnight He approaches His sleeping ones, and by dream or vision or still small voice, would hold intercourse with His saints. (2) We see Almighty God calling an unlikely person. We should have thought it more probable that God would call the aged prophet, rather than the ministering child. But the first shall be last and the last first. We may enlarge this incident so as to find in it a great principle of exquisite beauty and of worldwide application; that principle is that Almighty God is constantly sending messages by children. (3) In this scene we have also the revelation of the true state of man for receiving God’s message-“Speak, Lord; for Thy servant heareth.” It is the place of the creature to listen to the Creator. Good listening is one condition of progress.
Parker, Wednesday Evenings in Cavendish Chapel, p. 28.
I. The first notice we have of Samuel’s ministering before the Lord reminds us of the decency and gravity necessary at all times and in all persons, in approaching Him. As Samuel is an example of reverence in worship, so in Saul we have an example of irreverence. There have ever been these two kinds of Christians-those who belonged to the Church, and those who did not. And while, on the one hand, reverence for sacred things has been a characteristic of Church Christians on the whole, so want of reverence has been characteristic of Christians not of the Church. The one have prophesied after the figure of Samuel, the other after the figure of Saul.
II. So natural is the connection between reverence and faith that the only wonder is, how any one can for a moment imagine he has faith in God, and yet allow himself to be irreverent towards Him. Hence even heathen religions have considered faith and reverence identical. Those who have separated from the Church of Christ have in this respect fallen into greater than pagan error. They have learned to be familiar and free with sacred things, as it were, on principle. They have considered awe to be superstition and reverence to be slavery.
III. Those who worship in a humble and reverent way will find the effect of it, through God’s mercy, in their heavenly walk. If we honestly strive to obey God, then our outward manner will be reverent also. This is the true way of doing devotional service, not to have feelings without acts, or acts without feelings, but both to do and to feel-to see that our hearts and bodies are both sanctified together and become one.
Plain Sermons by Contributors to “Tracts for the Times” vol. v., p. 167 (see also J. H. Newman, Parochial and Plain Sermons, vol. viii., p. 1).
References: 1Sa 2:18.-M. G. Pearse, Sermons for Children, p. 56; Outline Sermons for Children, p. 28; J. Reid Howatt, The Churchette, p. 120; R. D. B. Rawnsley, Village Sermons, 1st series, p. 299.
1Sa 2:21
(with 1Sa 2:26)
Early growth in grace and knowledge, the training up of a child in the fear and nurture of the Lord and in the praise of His holy name; this is the great lesson which is exemplified in the early life of Samuel.
I. Let us first recall who Samuel was. (1) He was the child of Hannah, given in answer to her fervent prayer. (2) His very name “Samuel,” which means “asked of God,” reminds us of his mother’s piety and his own. (3) From his birth he was dedicated to God’s service.
II. Observe further, how God communicated with Samuel. Three several times did the Lord call Samuel by name. It was a terrible message that God gave the young child to deliver, but he told it, every whit. Those who have the care of children should early impress them with the thought that God sees them, that He is about their bed and about their path. Teach them to hear God’s voice betimes, and to obey His movement in their souls.
R. D. B. Rawnsley, Village Sermons, 3rd series, p. 130.
One of the most beautiful things that God has made in the world is growth, and the world is full of it. God did not make a great Samuel at once, but a little child Samuel, who grew before Him. I will speak of four thoughts as included in growing before the Lord.
I. Samuel grew at the Lord’s House. At this time there was no temple. There was the tabernacle, with the court round about, where the burnt offerings were consumed on the altar. But, also, there must have been chambers for the priests, and their servants, the Levites. In one of these Samuel lived. Eli’s dwelling must have been close beside the sacred court with its altar and holy places of the Lord’s tabernacle.
II. Samuel grew in the Lord’s sight. This means that the Lord was pleased to see Samuel grow as he did. “Grow in grace” is the Apostle’s word. Growth in love is the true progress; for love is holiness, and holiness is light, and light is God.
III. Samuel grew by the Lord’s grace. His mother had lent him to the Lord, and the Lord saw to his growing.
IV. Samuel grew for the Lord’s service. (1) Little services from little people are acceptable to God. (2) The little grows by and by to the great.
J. Edmond, Sermons Preached at the Dedication of Union Chapel, Islington, p. 68 (C.S.)
Reference: 1Sa 2:22.-J. Bainton, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xxii., p. 150.
1Sa 2:25
I. The lesson of the text is that there were some on whom advice was wasted, for the law of God’s providence was that they must perish; that they had neglected such great means of grace so long and so obstinately, as to have hardened their hearts beyond repentance. There was a time, even with Hophni and Phinehas, there was a time with all the souls who who may since have been equally lost, when God willed not to slay them; when His words to them were thus recorded by the prophet Ezekiel: “Why will ye die? Turn yourselves and live ye.” God does speak to us now in the words of Ezekiel; He may and will, if we are obstinately careless, speak to us hereafter in the words of Samuel; we shall not listen to the voice of God’s word, because we have sinned beyond repentance.
II. Nor will it avail to complain that we should not have been so fatally hardened had the means of good been more sparingly given us; that we should have loved the service of the tabernacle more had we been less familiar with it. The same page of Scripture which tells us of the sons of Eli tells us of Samuel also; not born indeed, but brought by his mother, at his earliest years, to be in that same place, and to draw grace and strength from those very ministrations which, to the sons of Eli, had been the savour of death unto death. It is for us to determine whether we will be as Samuel or as Hophni and Phinehas; whether we will gain the habit of profiting by holy things or of despising them.
T. Arnold, Sermons, vol. iii., p. 218.
References: 1Sa 2:26.-F W Farrar, In the Days of thy Youth, p. 99; J. Edmunds, Sermons in a Village Church, p. 178; R. D. B. Rawnsley, Village Sermons, 3rd series, p. 130. 1Sa 2:30.-W. Landels, Christian World Pulpit, vol xxi., p. 2; Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xxx., No. 1811; A. W. Hare, Sermons to a Country Congregation, vol. ii., p. 35; C. J. Vaughan, Lessons of Life and Godliness, p. 131; H. Alford, Quebec Chapel Sermons, vol. iii., p. 357; J. Burns, Sketches of Sermons on Special Occasions, p. 157; Homiletic Magazine, vol. xii., p. 75 1Sa 2:33.-Parker, vol. vi., p. 238. 1Sa 2:1.-F. W. Robertson, Sermons, 4th series, p. 1; G. Brooks, Outlines of Sermons, p. 194; Parker, vol. vii., p. 58.
Fuente: The Sermon Bible
2. Hannahs Prophetic Song
CHAPTER 2:1 – 10
1. The praise of Jehovah-God (1Sa 2:1-3)
2. Jehovahs power and grace in deliverance (1Sa 2:4-8)
3. The prophetic outlook (1Sa 2:9-10)
Hannahs heart filled with the Holy Spirit overflows with a marvellous utterance. Higher criticism claims that this beautiful sacred lyric could not have been sung by Hannah in the circumstances as described. The words of verse 5 alone approach her situation, and doubtless led to the insertion of the psalm in its present context. They also say that the Virgins song (Luk 1:46-55) is largely modeled on the song of Hannah (Prof. A.R.S. Kennedy). Such statements deny inspiration. Hannahs and Marys songs are so much alike because the same Spirit spoke through both. Why should it be thought impossible for pious Hannah to give forth such sublime and far reaching words which stand so closely related to all subsequent prophecy, if we believe that the Holy Spirit inspired her as He did Isaiah and other prophets?
As every other song given by the Spirit of God, so her song begins with extolling the Lord, glorifying His name. The first four stanzas give her own experience. She knows Jehovah and rejoices in His salvation. Especially beautiful are the utterances the Spirit of God makes through her in describing Jehovahs power and grace in deliverance. We must think here first of all of our Lord Jesus Christ. He went down into the dust of death and was raised from the dead. He was brought down to the grave and brought up; He became poor and is made rich; He was made low and is lifted up (verses 6-7). And therefore He reaches down to our misery and raiseth the poor out of the dust, and lifteth the beggar from the dunghill to set them among princes to inherit the throne of glory. What a glimpse she, whose name means grace, had of grace which stoops so low and lifts so high! Her words came nearest in the Old Testament to the gospel of grace as revealed in the New. With the middle of the eighth verse she speaks of the future. The day of the Lord with its judgment bursts into view. The feet of His Saints will be kept; the wicked will be in darkness; the adversaries broken to pieces. Then heaven is no longer silent. The Lord judges. The King, Israels true and once rejected King, our Lord Jesus Christ, will be exalted. In the beginning of the books of Kingdoms heavens true King is seen in prophetic vision.
The ministering child Samuel before the Lord is a most beautiful and sweet picture. Faithfully his little hands did whatever they could do, and Jehovah was well pleased with it.
Fuente: Gaebelein’s Annotated Bible (Commentary)
prayed: Neh 11:17, Hab 3:1, Phi 4:6
My heart: Luk 1:46, Luk 1:47-56, Rom 5:11, Phi 3:3, Phi 4:4, 1Pe 1:8
mine horn: Psa 18:2, Psa 89:17, Psa 92:10, Psa 112:8, Psa 112:9, Luk 1:69
my mouth: Exo 15:1, Exo 15:21, Jdg 5:1, Jdg 5:2, Psa 51:15, Psa 71:8, Rev 18:20
I rejoice: Psa 9:14, Psa 13:5, Psa 20:5, Psa 35:9, Psa 118:14, Isa 12:2, Isa 12:3, Hab 3:18
Reciprocal: Gen 21:6 – God 2Sa 22:3 – the horn 2Ch 20:27 – the Lord Psa 18:1 – in the day Psa 28:7 – with Psa 32:11 – Be glad Psa 89:24 – in my Psa 148:14 – exalteth Isa 38:9 – writing Isa 41:16 – thou shalt rejoice Isa 60:5 – be enlarged Isa 61:10 – will greatly Zec 10:7 – their heart 2Co 6:11 – our mouth Phi 3:1 – rejoice 1Pe 1:6 – ye greatly 1Pe 3:5 – who Rev 19:7 – be glad
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Faith as Exemplified in Hannah
1Sa 2:1-10
INTRODUCTORY WORDS
There are two prayers which fell from the lips of Hannah. The first is described in chapter 1, of I Samuel. It was a prayer full of weeping, of confession and of tears.
It was following the birth of her son, and his weaning, that Hannah’s second recorded prayer was given. The prayer was offered when the child was brought to the Temple and dedicated to God.
With her gift made, and her son offered to God as a willing sacrifice, Hannah could not stay her prayer, nor her song.
Sometimes we vainly imagine that joy comes through selfishness, from holding back from God our most cherished possessions; such is never the case. Joy comes when all is placed upon the altar. We wish to mention the four opening statements of Hannah’s prayer. You will find them in 1Sa 2:1.
1. “My heart rejoiceth in the Lord.” Would that more prayers were prayers of praise; would that Christians had more of joy, and less of tears. “The joy of the Lord is your strength.” When we think of the Apostle Paul, we think of one who suffered, perhaps more than any other, for Christ’s sake; but we also think of one who rejoiced more. In the Book of Philippians it is “joy” and “rejoice” all the way through.
2. “Mine horn is exalted in the Lord.” This is Hannah’s second statement. Her horn was exalted; that is, a new power had come into her life. She had been lifted out of weakness, far above the infirmities of her flesh, and now she exulted in a new strength in the Lord. When we have placed our all on the altar God will be sure to put a new power into our lives.
3. “My mouth is enlarged over mine enemies.” In the 1st chapter we read of the adversaries who had provoked her; now her adversaries are overcome. When we get into a large place in the Lord, we will have perfect victory over all our foes.
4. “I rejoice in Thy salvation.” Hannah took nothing of credit to herself. She knew where she dwelt-in the place of victory-in the place of rejoicing-in the place of power. To Him she gave the glory.
I. DIVINE ADORATION (1Sa 2:2)
Our verse pulls us right down to our knees in Divine worship; it breathes the spirit of adoration and acclamation to the Lord. She said:
1. “There is none holy as the Lord.” We may boast of our holiness, but we boast of it only when we are walking apart from His presence; when we come into the halo of His glory and holiness, we are sure to cry out, “Woe is me.” There is nothing that shows us our own sins so much as the brightness of His holiness. God has said, “Be ye holy; for I am holy.” He was holy in His birth, even as it is written, “Therefore also that Holy Thing which shall be born of thee.” He was holy in life: He knew no sin, did no sin, and in Him there was no sin.
2. “There is none beside thee.” Oh, yes, there are many others besides God, but there is none other god, besides Him, and none other like unto Him.
There is another truth: of all the gods worshiped by the heathen, there is none like unto our God. Their gods are not gods, for God is One and the only One.
3. “Neither is there any rock like our God.” This is Hannah’s third statement. A rock is a wonderful possession when the winds blow, and the rains fall, and the floods come. Our God is a Rock upon which we can build every hope, and place every trust. When we were sinners we were building on the sands; but when we were saved, He took our feet up out of the miry clay, and placed them on a Rock.
II. A CALL TO HUMILITY (1Sa 2:3)
After Hannah, had ascribed glory and power unto God, then she began to speak against the proud and the arrogant who would lift themselves up against God. Thank God the time is coming that every high thing that exalts itself against the Lord will be put down. Here are Hannah’s words, as found in 1Sa 2:3 : “Talk no more so exceeding proudly; let not arrogancy come out of your mouth.”
1. A merited rebuke. This is our conclusion as we think over the words we have just quoted from Hannah’s lips. From babyhood, almost, the spirit of pride and selfish arrogancy prevails. It is only when we come to know God in His glory, and might, and power, that we lose all confidence in the flesh. God forbid that we should be proud of anything.
The spirit of arrogancy is a spirit of domineering pride. Not only is “self” proud; but selfish arrogancy wants to rule everybody else out as an underling. Arrogancy demands obeisance, and recognition, and ofttimes worship.
2. A sacred warning. “By Him actions are weighed.” After Hannah rebukes the proud and arrogant, she tells them that the Lord is a God of knowledge, and by Him actions are weighed. To proud Belshazzar the finger of God wrote upon the wall, above the candlesticks of the king’s palace, “TEKEL”: “Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting.” God judges men by what they are, and not by what they claim.
III. A VISION OF CONTRASTS (1Sa 2:4-5)
We do not think that Hannah realized how marvelously she was praying. First of all she praised the Lord, then she worshiped Him, and ascribed unto Him holiness. Then she called upon the proud and arrogant, and shamed them, and told them that their actions would be weighed by Him. Now she is presenting two kinds of men and making a contrast which is worthy of our thought.
1. “The bows of the mighty men are broken, and they that stumbled are girded with strength.” This is true. Have we not read that not many mighty, or noble are called? If our God is going to use men, He must break them. Many a Goliath has fallen before a David. “They that stumbled are girded with strength.” It is a wonderful thing to be clothed with the power of His might.
2. “They that were full have hired out themselves for bread; and they that were hungry ceased.” Have you not read, “Woe unto you that are full! for ye shall hunger.” “Woe unto you that are rich! for ye have received your consolation.” But God also has said just what Hannah said, “Blessed are ye that hunger now: for ye shall be filled.” “Blessed be ye poor: for yours is the Kingdom of God.” Hannah was praying in the Spirit; and truth is always the same. The mighty are broken, the weak are given strength; the full cry out for bread, and the hungry are satisfied.
IV. THE POWER OF THE LIVING GOD (1Sa 2:6-7)
Here we have a marvelous theological and homiletical demonstration. After Hannah in her prayer describes the weakness of the mighty, and the poverty of the rich, she says: “The Lord killeth, and maketh alive: He bringeth down to the grave, and bringeth up. The Lord maketh poor, and maketh rich: He bringeth low, and lifteth up.” If you ever saw a verse which taught the sovereignty of God, here is one. Let us observe it.
1. “The Lord killeth, and maketh alive.” Think you that the wicked shall always prevail? Think you that the Lord shall always be repudiated, trampled beneath their feet, and cast out of the city to die? Nay, when the Lord shall arise, His arrows will be hot in the hearts of the king’s enemies, whereby the people fall under Him.
2. “He bringeth down to the grave, and bringeth up.” Sin brings us all down to the grave, but Christ can break the power of sin, and the power of the grave. He can turn the wicked into hell and destroy them. He can also carry the righteous into Heaven, and enthrone them.
3. “The Lord maketh poor, and maketh rich.” The Lord can send famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, and a sword. All that we have, He has given us. However, if we refuse to recognize Him and honor Him, with the breath of His lips He can bring us down.
Read the Book of Job and see how easy it is for God to make a rich man poor; read also the last chapter of the Book of Job, and see how easy it is for God to make a poor man seven times richer than he was in the days of his riches. He who taketh away, can also give back.
4. “He bringeth low, and lifteth up.” The same Christ who throws down the proud, can lift up the humble. Somehow or other we are perfectly willing that He should bring us low; for we have learned the truth of the statement that “He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the Cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted Him, and given Him a Name which is above every name: that at the Name of Jesus every knee should bow * * and that every tongue should confess.”
What is true of our Lord, however, is true of us. If we are willing to go with Him in His degradation, desolation, and death, we may also be permitted to come up with Him, in His exaltation and glorification. Have we not read that we, “through His poverty,” may be made rich?
V. THE ENRICHMENTS OF GOD (1Sa 2:8)
We are now coming to a climactic part of Hannah’s prayer. She says:
1. “He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the begger from the dunghill, to set them among princes, and to make them inherit the throne of glory.”
We cannot help but think of Joseph. We remember how he was cast into prison, but the Lord lifted him up and set him among princes. Yea, he was even made next to the king of Egypt. Unto him the king gave complete charge of all of Egypt’s affairs.
We cannot but think of David, who minded the sheep. The youth was disdained by his brothers, and yet, did not the Lord lift him up, and place him upon a throne?
There is another thing, however, in all of this. “To make them inherit the throne of Glory.” Those of us who suffer with Him here, shall reign with Him there. Those of us who have borne His cross, shall share, with Him, His crown.
2. “For the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s, and He hath set the world upon them.” Here is a wonderful statement which should encourage the hearts of the needy and the poor. They are reminded that the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s. Did not the Lord remind His servant in the hour of need that the silver and the gold were His, and that the cattle upon a thousand hills were His? Why should we draw so little upon the riches of God? God did not, through Hannah, present a God impoverished; but a God who possessed the pillars of the earth, and “set the world upon them.” Her God was the God of all things.
VI. THE LORD KEEPETH HIS SAINTS (1Sa 2:9)
Hannah takes still another upward step. She not only teaches that the Lord will supply our needs, making the poor rich, and so forth, but she also says that the Lord will keep the feet of His saints.
1. Our God is a God who gives guidance to His own. When we think of pur feet, we think of the pathway we tread; of the way we go. God will keep our pathway, and show us the way in which we should go. Nor do we have to think that this “keeping of our feet” means only the great trend of our life; that is, that God will guide us only in the big things. It is written “The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord.”
Is it not wonderful to have some One go before us to point out the way? Is it not blessed to have some One saying to us.” “This is the way, walk ye in it”?
2. Our God is a God who puts the wicked into darkness. How striking is the expression “And the wicked shall be silent in darkness.” When it was light in Israel it was dark in Egypt.
The true saint is treading a path which groweth brighter and brighter unto perfect day. The wicked are walking a path which groweth darker and darker, until at last the wicked enter into the “blackness of darkness for ever.”
3. Our God is a God of victory. The last statement of our verse is: “For by strength shall no man prevail.”
When the kings of the earth set themselves together against the Lord, and against His Anointed; when they say: “Let us break Their bands asunder; and cast away Their cords from us,” think you that they shall prevail?
When, as described in the Book of Revelation, the antichrist shall curse those that dwell in the Heavens, think you that he shall prevail?
It does not matter what strength the world may have; strength of money, for money is power; strength of armies, for armies stand for force; all will be as chaff before the wind on a summer threshing floor, when the Lord ariseth.
VII. THE OVERTHROW OF THE ADVERSARIES (1Sa 2:10)
Hannah, no doubt, was offering praise to God because those adversaries, which seemed to beset her, and to make it impossible for her to have a son, had been overthrown.
She was exulting in God, because of her own personal deliverance. Hannah, however, whether she knew it or not, was speaking in no uncertain way about the final overthrow of all the adversaries of our Lord.
Read what she says in 1Sa 2:10.
Once it was said: “Is Saul also among the Prophets?” As we read this verse in Samuel, we were overwhelmed with Hannah’s vision, and we said: “Is Hannah also among the Prophets?”
What is it that Hannah said? There are four things in her words, four things which cover the Corning of our Lord Jesus Christ.
1. “The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken to pieces.” We all will agree to this. The Second Psalm, in speaking of the end of times, and of Christ’s Advent, said, “Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; Thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.”
Surely the Lord Jesus Christ will overthrow the wicked one and all his followers.
Over in the Book of Revelation we read, “And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, * * And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.” Read also Rev 6:14-17.
2. “Out of Heaven shall He thunder upon them.” We all know that the Lord will descend from Heaven, and that, with the breath of His lips, and the forth-shining of His countenance He will slay the wicked one. Beloved, this very thing which Hannah speaks, will be fulfilled when Christ comes in flaming fire, taking vengeance upon all those who know not God, and that obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.
3. “The Lord shall judge the ends of the earth.” Why, certainly, this is exactly what will happen at the Second Coming, The adversaries will be broken, the Lord thunders upon them from Heaven, and then He will set up His throne, and rule the earth in righteousness. Read Psa 46:1-11, and you will think that you have the counterpart of Hannah’s words. In the next Psalm we read, “For God is the King of all the earth * * God reigneth over the heathen: God sitteth upon the throne of His holiness.” In the Book of Acts it is said that the Lord will judge the earth in righteousness. He has given us a proof of this, in that He has raised up Christ from the dead.
4. “He shall give strength unto His King, and exalt the horn of His Anointed.” It is in the day when Christ shall return to sit upon the throne of David, that His Name and His glory shall cover the earth, as the waters cover the sea. Men will come from the ends of the earth as the representatives of nations, to worship the Lord of Hosts.
In the Book of Isaiah this exaltation of Christ among men is set forth (Isa 33:5-22).
AN ILLUSTRATION
“I once heard of a case in which the goodman of the house was stricken low by disease, and the physician insisted that no one should see him, as his life hung upon a thread. One day the doctor came and was met at the door by the nurse. The doctor heard a voice within. Turning sternly to the nurse, he said: “I told you to admit no one!”
“There is no one there but the sick man,” she replied confidently.
“Listen, then,” he said. And this is what they heard:
“Tossed with rough winds and faint with fear,
Above the tempest loud and clear
Immanuel’s sweet voice! hear!
‘ ‘Tis I. Be not afraid.'”
“Oh! That’s who it is!” said the physician, with a smile, as he opened the door and saw the peaceful face of the invalid on which the glory shone.
Ay, the hills of God protect us on every side. Our help comes down, and the very coming down means force and power.”
Fuente: Neighbour’s Wells of Living Water
1Sa 2:1. Hannah prayed That is, praised God. Hymns of praise are frequently comprehended under the name of prayers. To utter this hymn Hannah was raised by divine inspiration, while she was engaged in devout meditation on the extraordinary goodness of God to her. My heart rejoiceth Or, leapeth for joy; for the words signify, not only inward joy, but also the outward demonstration of it. She was influenced by the same spirit which moved St. James to say, Is any afflicted? Let him pray, as she did, 1Sa 1:10. Is any merry? Let him sing psalms, as she now does. In the Lord As the author of my joy, that he hath heard my prayer, and accepted my son for his service. My horn is exalted My strength and glory (which are often signified by a horn) are advanced, and manifested to my vindication, and the confusion of my enemies. She who was bowed down and dejected, now lifts up her head and triumphs. My mouth is enlarged, &c. That is, opened wide to pour forth abundant praises to God, and to give a full answer to all the reproaches of my adversaries. Enemies So she manifests her prudence and modesty in not naming Peninnah, but only her enemies in general. I rejoice in thy salvation The matter of my joy is no trivial thing, but that strange and glorious deliverance thou hast given me from my oppressing grief and care, and from the insolent reproaches of my enemies.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
1Sa 2:1. Hannah said, my heart rejoiceth. This song is much admired: the lines form a constellation of appropriate beauties. The composition is perfect in its kind. The phrases are short, and the sentiments brilliant. The soul of the poetess was full of her subject.
1Sa 2:12. Sons of Belial, as in Deu 13:13. They committed sacrilege; they committed adulteries on a notorious scale; they despised their father, and all judicial reproof; they filled up their measure, and sinned unto death. Solomon might refer to this, in Pro 29:1.
1Sa 2:18. Samuelgirded with a linen ephod. From infancy the Lord apparently raised him to the rank of priest and prince. What other levite ever wore an ephod? David wore it, for the day, when he danced before the ark. 2Sa 6:14.
1Sa 2:22. Women that assembled, is a correct reading of the Hebrew. Women congregated from different places for devotion: yet some versions would turn the word for women that served, virgins and matrons. If so, the crime of the priests was double. Many vestal virgins in the temples of the heathens have been put to death on violating their vows, by proving pregnant.
1Sa 2:25. Because the Lord would slay them. The Hebrew particle vau, neither designates the cause of their destruction, nor the direct and absolute intention of God to cut them off in their sins; it is used to declare the conditional intention of God, in case of their final impenitency. So also is the plain comment of Jerome. Epis. ad Hedib. tom. 1Sa 3:9-10. So likewise is the gloss of Augustine. Tom. 10. ser. 88, De Temp. The gloss therefore of Calvin, which imputes their destruction to the decrees of God, is unsupported by ancient authority.
1Sa 2:27. A man of God; and truly so, for all his words came to pass. God mostly warns before he strikes, though sometimes the lightning kills before the thunder is heard. Aarons race in the line of Phinehas had now held the priesthood for seven generations.
1Sa 2:30. I said indeed that thy house and the house of thy father should walk before me for ever; but now the Lord saith, Be it far from me. This text is very important, as it throws light on the nature of the covenant, and in conjunction with many other passages of similar import. Hence when once perfectly understood, it will be a key to all those passages. It is the basis of that great and most sanctifying truth, that every covenant of God has its CONDITIONS. On this passage, our Poole quotes R. Lipsom to the same effect: Omnia pacta, quibus paciscitur Deus, cum adversa, tum prospera, omnia ista sub conditione decernit. Syn. Crit. Because Phinehas boldly purged the camp of Israel from idolatry and fornication, God gave to him and his seed the covenant of an everlasting priesthood. Num 25:10-13. But his children proving unfaithful, as is supposed, forfeited the privileges and blessings of the pontificate. And when Eli was pious in his youth, and called in a divine manner to be judge of Israel, God conferred on him the blessings forfeited by the children of Phinehas. So the promise of an everlasting priesthood passed from Eliezars line to Elis, who, according to Josephus, was descended from Ithamar, Aarons youngest son. God promised and sware to Abraham, that his seed should possess the gates of their enemies; yet, awful to say, when Israel had revolted against him, and worshipped the calf, he tempted Moses not to pray for them, saying, Let me alone that I may consume them in a moment, and I will make of thee a greater nation than they. The promise and oath of God are the two immutable things in which it was not possible for him to lie; therefore he would have raised up of Moses the Messiah to fulfil his word. Just so he reprobated all Israel for rejecting the Messiah, except a small converted remnant, and he elected the gentiles in their place. Rom 9:10-11.
Saul, we find also, and his posterity were fully elected to the throne; but on account of his repeated acts of disobedience, Samuel said to him, Thou hast done foolishly: thou hast not kept the commandment of the Lord thy God, which he commanded thee; for now the Lord [stabiliveret] had established thy kingdom upon Israel for ever. But now thy kingdom shall not continue. 1Sa 13:13-14. Against these conditions it will be objected, that God says, though the mountains depart, and the hills be removed, my kindness shall not depart from thee; neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed. Isa 54:10. Jer 31:35-36. St. Paul also says, that the gifts and callings of God are without repentance. Rom 11:29. The plain answers to these are to be found in the writings of the same prophets and apostles; viz. that the conditions of the covenant are sometimes expressed, and sometimes omitted; and it is evident that where they are not expressed, they are implied. This will fully appear, if the reader will have the goodness to consult the following passages. Jer 23:7-9. Eze 18:24-26. 2Co 6:2. Heb 3:12; Heb 4:1. Rom 11:20-22. 2Ti 2:12. Rev 2:4-5. To this it will be farther objected, that the Jewish covenant had its conditions; but that the gospel covenant has no conditions. But this objection is completely done away by the proofs which are adduced. The Jewish and the Christian covenants are in fact both one; the gospel was mixed in all the promises made to Israel, and in all their worship. To them was the gospel preached as well as unto us. Hence, it is well said, so run that ye may obtain: let no man take thy crown. And again, giving all diligence to make your calling and election sure. If God spared not Phinehas, Eli, and Saul; if he spared not the natural branches, all the unbelieving Jews, take heed lest he spare not thee.
1Sa 2:31. I will cut off thine arm. The LXX, thy seed. Abiathar, who conspired against Solomon, was the last. We afterwards find Azariah executing the priests office. 1Ch 6:7-10.
REFLECTIONS.
Hannah, now so distinguished by her faith and prayer, after a space of eight or ten years, brought her devoted son, that she might pay her vows in Shiloh. The last time she bowed in the sanctuary of God, it was all weeping and tears, now it was all songs and rejoicing. Her horn being exalted above her enemy, she magnified the salvation of God, who has no equal in holiness and strength. She put to silence the tongue of the arrogant, and associated herself with the warriors and the princes, who had risen from obscurity to splendour. In the transports of sacred song she saw her son presiding over Israel, and extricating them from all their miseries: for by living to anoint Saul, and David, he laid the foundation of glory to Israel. So shall the poor despised and afflicted believer, if he continue faithful to his God, triumph over all his foes. He shall return to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be on his head; and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
From Hannahs joy we come to Elis tears. This old man lived, in a manner to adopt a son, designated to eclipse his lustre, and bear away the laurels of his house. And mark; yes, mark well, oh my soul, the cause of so great a fall. The sons of Eli were sons of Belial, lawless, wicked men. Being proud and voluptuous, they robbed God of the fat, and the people of the flesh. Rioting in wine instead of weeping for Israel, they filled their own hearts with lawless lusts, and the foul stains of adultery could never be washed out of their white and sacred robes. Good men abhorred the offering of the Lord, and we afterwards find, God himself abhorred his own altar, and ceased to protect his ark. When ministers damn, instead of saving the souls of the people; when they are guilty of a whole trinity of crimes, voluptuousness, sacrilege, and adultery, the glory will depart from the sanctuary, and all the curses of a forfeited covenant will roll upon them in the full tide of overwhelming vengeance.
What is still worse, Eli completed the ruin of his house, and inflicted ten thousand wounds on Israel by making himself a partaker of the sins of his sons. Reprove them he did, and fairly too; but that was all. They would retire from so mild a reproof, winking the eye, and lolling the tongue, fully resolved never to bear the smallest restraint of passion. And what had they to fear from either Eli, or the elders? God had promised them a priesthood for ever; nor had he, as also in the promise of Phinehas, expressed the smallest condition. Thus Eli by a criminal supineness became a partaker of the iniquity of his sons; for had the elders made the same complaints of the sons of any poor levite, the old man would have answered in the language of justice, Bring them forth, that they may die. Hence, let all fathers take warning, if it be their sad case to have a prodigal son, never to support him by connivance and money in a course of crimes which must in the issue be productive of destruction.
When admonitions are despised, vengeance must ensue. But mark, before the Lord executed the blow, he sent a man of God to warn this exalted family; and such a sermon, Eli and his sons had never heard before. And had they repented, per-adventure the Lord would have repented of the punishment, for he is slow to anger and of great compassion. But ah, those sons who are deaf to a father, seldom yield to sermons, how close soever they may press the conscience, and denounce the judgments of heaven against the guilty.
In the fall of this family we see that the Lord will honour and glorify all those who honour him. The scripture characters glorified God in their trying situations, and God has honoured them with glory in return. They have been honoured with a large share of the graces and gifts of the Holy Spirit; they have been honoured in the church by the most signal acts of faith, and blessings of providence; they were honoured also in the hour of death with a special confidence; and they shall be honoured for ever with the glory, and vast rewards of eternal life. But all they who have despised his word shall be lightly esteemed as chaff, as brands, and as stubble, reserved to eternal burning. This is the ministers portion who knows not God.
Fuente: Sutcliffe’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
1Sa 2:1-10. Song of Hannah.This poem is quite unsuited to Hannahs circumstances; its theology is too advanced for primitive times (1Sa 2:2; 1Sa 2:6; 1Sa 2:8), and the reference to the king (1Sa 2:10) either implies an actual king and indicates the period of the Monarchy, or is Messianic, i.e. connected with the hope of an ideal king, and implies a post-exilic date. The natural occasion of the poem would be a victory which delivered Israel from distress and danger. The ascription to Hannah is due to 1Sa 2:5 b, the barren hath borne seven.
The Song praises Yahweh for help given to Israel, whose horn is exaltedGod has given him power and glory; his mouth is enlargedhe can speak big words against his enemies (cf. Psa 35:21). Yahweh is unique, a firm strong refuge, the Rock of Israel. His impartial justice humiliates the proud and exalts the lowly; He protects His own people and punishes the wicked.
1Sa 2:3. by him actions are weighed: better than RVm though actions be not weighed; the difference in the Heb. is very slight.
1Sa 2:5. have ceased: i.e. to hunger; better, by a slight alteration of the text, have ceased to labour.
1Sa 2:6. maketh alive: perhaps literally referring to resuscitation or resurrection; if so, an indication of late post-exilic date (Isa 26:19*, Dan 12:2*); it may, however, mean keepeth alive.grave: rather Sheol (see Isa 14:9-15*).
1Sa 2:10. anointed: Mshia, Messiah, originally a title of the kings of Israel.
1Sa 2:11. Originally the immediate sequel of 1Sa 1:28. Read instead of the last sentence of 1Sa 1:28 and the first of 1Sa 2:11, And she left him there before Yahweh and went to Ramah to her house, partly on the authority of LXX.
Fuente: Peake’s Commentary on the Bible
The rejoicing prayer of Hannah is now uttered AFTER she has given up her child. The prayer of Mary, the mother of the Lord Jesus, reminds us of this one, though hers was spoken before he child was born. Samuel, the first of the prophets, is surely typical of Christ, and Hannah’s prayer implies the intervention of the Messiah in man’s affairs, as verse 10 shows. The language is therefore that which the godly remnant of Israel will use following the suffering of the tribulation when the “the Sun of righteousness” arises “with healing in His wings” (Mal 4:1).
First, her heart rejoices in the Lord; and secondly, her horn is exalted in the Lord. The horn speaks of potential power in place of years of humiliation. Her mouth is opened in triumph, following all the hostile, overbearing words of her enemies, because it is in God’s salvation that she rejoices. Also, when His salvation is known, the heart is drawn to Him personally, so that verse 2 gives Him the place of great dignity, set apart from all others in sublime holiness, and the place of absolute stability, the Rock of eternal, solid strength, upon whom all the universe depends. What are men in the face of such glory as this? Their exceeding pride and arrogance is soundly reproved, for the Lord is a God of knowledge also. He is omniscient as well as omnipotent. He sees and weighs every activity in the scale of pure righteousness, understanding every motive.
Verses 4 and 5 show that God’s intervention puts the first last and the last first. The strength of the mighty is reduced to nothing before Him, while His power is exercised in tender goodness toward the weak, whom He girds with strength. Those who have had more than heart could wish become hired servants in order to have even bread to eat, while the hungry become hungry no more. The barren woman unexpectedly bears a full number of children, while the one who had many children becomes feeble. For the new creation reverses the order of the natural creation. How much superior to natural strength is that which is spiritual!
For it is the Lord Himself who is able to kill, and able to make alive: He knows how to bring one down even to the grave; but is no less able to bring up. Hannah had learnt something of this resurrection power of God in her own body, and she recognizes that it is only God’s work that accomplishes anything. Some He makes poor, others He makes rich. He will often bring one down with the object of later lifting him up.
How consistent is verse 8 with the gospel of the grace of God! — grace that reaches down to the poorest of the poor, raising him out of the dust of his broken, sinful state; lifting the beggar from the dunghill of a corrupted life, to set him among princes, in dignity above the level of the world; and greater still, to make him inherit the throne of glory. This reminds us of the words of the Lord Jesus in Rev 3:21. . . “To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in His throne.”
Verse 8 speaks of the Lord’s lifting up the poor and the beggar from the lowest degradation to make them inherit the throne of glory, for the pillars of the earth are established by the Lord alone, the world being upheld by the might of His power. He can do as He pleases, and He pleases to exalt the humble. But as well as saving by His matchless grace, He also keeps the feet of His saints (v.9) preserving them from the snares that worldlings cannot avoid. In fact, the wicked, who loudly now proclaim their own honor, will be utterly silenced in darkness, for the strength of human flesh cannot prevail, but will be totally reduced to weakness. Nor will this be all when the judgment of the Lord falls, it will break His adversaries to pieces, His voice thundering out of heaven to strike terror in their hearts. Neither will there be any isolationism at that time: the whole earth, to its limits, will be affected.
Then Hannah’s prayer ends on a wonderful note of supreme victory on the part of God’s King, the Lord Jesus Christ, He being given the strength of God above all others, He, the anointed Messiah of Israel, exalted in glory. His horn exalted speaks of His sovereign authority finally taking its rightful place after long patience. Notice in Hannah’s prayer that the name of the Lord is mentioned seven times. In all of this too, though Hannah was a woman, only the first verse is subjective, speaking of her joy in the Lord and in His salvation: the rest is beautifully objective, dwelling on the greatness of the Lord’s person and of His work.
Samuel then did not have the childhood of a normal child. Not having the care of father and mother, or the company of other children, he was left with the aged priest Eli, to minister to the Lord. For this he certainly needed, and received, special grace from God, and particularly so when he witnessed daily the wicked practices of the sons of Eli in their pretense of serving God.
They had initiated the custom, totally foreign to scripture, of having their servant come with a three pronged fleshhook to take from the offerings of the people all that the fleshhook would take up from the boiling pot. God had stipulated what part of the peace offerings the priest was to have – “the wave breast and the heaven shoulder” (Lev 7:34), but the greed of the priests moved them to haughtily defy His word and take all they pleased.
Another method they had, before the sacrifice had been actually made, and therefore before the fat was burned, was to require raw flesh from the offerer. If the offerer would speak for God on this occasion, urging that the fat should first be burned (for it was to be entirely devoted to God and burned on the altar — Lev 7:31), the priests’ servant would reject the very suggestion, and threaten to take it by force with the fat. In this way, not only did the priests cruelly oppress the people, but they treated the commandment of God with contempt. Certainly this sin was great in the eyes of God, for it led men to abhor the offerings of the Lord.
“But Samuel,” though not even a priest, “ministered before the Lord, being a child, girded with a linen ephod.” His ministry is mentioned both before and after the notice of the wickedness of Eli’s sons. Thus does God value the simple service of a little child. The linen ephod speaks of moral righteousness: how much more appropriate for Samuel than for the priests!
Samuel’s mother was able to see him only once a year at the time of the yearly sacrifice, but certainly she did not forget him, each year bringing him a new coat which she had made. We may be sure her mother’s heart was genuinely glad that her son was doing the work of the Lord. Eli, in spite of his general lethargy, had some spiritual sense left, for he blessed Elkanah and Hannah for their having offered Samuel to serve the Lord. By now at least he had found it was worth while having a boy such as Samuel with him. He expressed the desire also that the Lord would give Hannah more children. The Lord graciously answered this too, giving her three more sons and two daughters. Thus her faith was richly rewarded. In verse 18 we have read that Samuel “ministered before the Lord.” In verse 21 it is added “the child Samuel grew before the Lord.” No doubt this growing was more than physically, for when it is said, “before the Lord,” God was observing his spiritual growth.
While we are told that Samuel “grew before the Lord,” this is followed by the sad report of Eli’s sons growing in evil. Eli, at this time very aged, heard the report of his sons’ gross corruption, but had no spiritual energy to do anything more than mildly reprove them. “Why do ye such things? for I hear of your evil report by all this people.” The people were evidently all protesting to Eli and he knew that his sons were actually making the people transgress against the Lord. If it were a matter of only one man wronging another, this could be settled by a judge; but sin against God was a more dreadful matter. Who would entreat for the guilty in this case? But Eli went no further than this. Being high priest he was responsible to see that the priests did not abuse their position. He ought to have expelled them entirely from the priesthood. He speaks of a judge rightly judging between people; but it was his duty to act for God. However, he had weakly ignored this with his sons, no doubt from their youth, and they took full advantage of his weakness. His words to them took no effect because they were not backed up by action. Too many parents follow in his tracks.
In contrast, as the child Samuel grows he is found in favor both with God and with men. This will remind us of a far greater than Samuel, as we read in Luk 2:52. “And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.” The prophet was being prepared of God for most serious and exacting work.
Meanwhile, God will use an unnamed “man of God” to bear witness to Eli that ought to have so penetrated his soul as to move him to act with firm decision. This message from God was one of most solemn reproof to Eli himself, beginning in a questioning way. Did Eli not consider that God Himself had plainly appeared to Aaron, his father, even before Israel’s deliverance from Egypt? and that He had chosen him specifically to be His priest, to be privileged to offer sacrifice on His altar, to burn incense, to wear a distinctive ephod that gave him a sanctified place of dignity in Israel? Did Eli remember that it was God who had given to his father (and by implication to his sons) the privilege of offering all the offerings of the children of Israel?
Then God blames Eli, not his sons, for kicking at His sacrifice, as to which He had given express commandments. This kicking is of course showing contempt for God’s rights by rebelling against His authority. We may ask, was it not his sons who had done this, not Eli? But Eli was guilty of allowing his sons to do it, for he was in the chief place of authority. God blames him for honoring his sons above God. Solemn indictment indeed for a priest! Eli’s selfishness is included with that of his sons, as God says they had made themselves fat with the chiefest of all the offerings of Israel. How sadly and dreadfully one may abuse the great privileges that God has given Him!
Though under the covenant of law it had been proposed by God that Eli’s house and the house of his father would walk before Him forever, yet the glaring failure of the priesthood changed this completely, for such a promise was contingent upon their faithfulness. God therefore presses upon Eli the unchanging principle, “them that honor me I will honor, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed.” This history of the priesthood plainly illustrates the vanity of natural succession.
Therefore God pronounces a solemn judgment: the days were coming when Eli’s arm and the arm of his father’s house would be cut off. Of course God speaks figuratively. The arm is that which accomplishes work, the strength behind work that may be done. Nothing of this would be left: the priesthood would be reduced to impotence. An oppressor or adversary would gain some prominence in God’s habitation. Israel’s history has surely proven this, for the priesthood never regained its proper dignity, and priests have been notorious for their oppression of the people. God would do good to His people in spite of this, but would take away the priests in their youth. Eli was to be the last of the old men among the priests. All his sons would die in the flower of their age. A sign to confirm the reality of this was given. His two sons would die the same day. God did not add what was also true, that Eli himself would die that day.
Verse 35 looks far beyond the time of Eli and his sons and all the priests who have come and gone down through the centuries. God Himself would raise up a faithful priest — not one of the natural succession of the line of Aaron. Certainly it can be said only of the Lord Jesus Christ that He would do according to that which is in God’s heart and mind. God would build Him a sure house. This Priest was of the order of Melchisedec (Heb 5:9-10), not of Aaron, and as such He is a priest forever (Heb 5:6). He would walk before God’s anointed forever (or continually). Though the language here is veiled, does it not imply that His priesthood would be consistent with His kingly dignity as Messiah (the anointed)? Just as God promised a sure house to Christ as the Son of David, the King (2Sa 7:16), so He promises a house to Him as High Priest.
The pathetic condition of Eli’s house, on the other hand, would be such that it would be reduced to the status of beggars, having no heart of a priest, but asking for a priest’s office just to relieve their hunger. The sadness of this should surely have reached the conscience of Eli, but exercise of soul seems to be foreign to formalism. Compare chapter 3:18.
Fuente: Grant’s Commentary on the Bible
2:1 And Hannah {a} prayed, and said, My heart rejoiceth in the LORD, mine {b} horn is exalted in the LORD: my mouth is {c} enlarged over mine enemies; because I rejoice in thy salvation.
(a) After she had obtained a son by prayer she gave thanks.
(b) I have recovered strength and glory by the benefit of the Lord.
(c) I can answer them that criticize my barrenness.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
2. Hannah’s Song of Solomon 2:1-10
Some commentators have seen Hannah’s prayer as a non-essential song of praise included in the text for sentimental reasons. But this magnificent prayer provides the key to interpreting the rest of 1 and 2 Samuel. In this prayer, which contains no petition, Hannah articulated her belief that God rewards trust with blessing. He turns barrenness into fertility, not just in her case but universally. Mary, the mother of Jesus, incorporated some of Hannah’s song in her own "Magnificat" (Luk 1:46-55).
"The Song of Hannah appears near the beginning of 1 Samuel, and the Song of David appears near the end of 2 Samuel. These two remarkably similar hymns of praise thus constitute a kind of inclusio, framing the main contents of the books and reminding us that the two books were originally one. Both begin by using ’horn’ (1Sa 2:1; 2Sa 22:3) as a metaphor for ’strength,’ referring to God as the ’Rock,’ and reflecting on divine ’deliverance/salvation’ (1Sa 2:1-2; 2Sa 22:2-3). Both end by paralleling ’his king’ with ’his anointed’ (1Sa 2:10; 2Sa 22:51)." [Note: Youngblood, p. 579.]
Hannah praised God because He had provided salvation for His people (1Sa 2:1-2). She had learned that God will humble people who view themselves as self-sufficient (1Sa 2:3-4), but He will help those who cast themselves on Him, asking Him to provide what they need (1Sa 2:5-8). Therefore the godly and the wicked will experience vastly different fates (1Sa 2:9-10). The Old Testament writers spoke of Sheol (1Sa 2:6), the abode of the dead, as though it were a huge underground cave where judgment takes place (cf. Deu 32:22; Psa 88:3-6; et al.). The whole point of this inspired poetic prayer is that people should trust in the Lord. Hannah had done this, and God had blessed her miraculously.
Hannah’s song contains a reference to a king that God would raise up as His anointed representative to lead Israel (1Sa 2:10). This is one of a few such references made by an ordinary Israelite that God recorded in Scripture (cf. Jdg 8:22-23). God had revealed through Moses that in the future He would provide a king for His people (Deuteronomy 17). God revealed His purpose to set up a king over His people as early as Genesis (Gen 17:6; Gen 17:16; Gen 35:11; Gen 49:10; cf. Gen 1:26-28). Hannah’s reference to this king shows that the people of Israel looked forward to the fulfillment of that promise. Shortly after this the people demanded a king from God (1Sa 8:4-7).
"This is the first reference in the OT to the king as the anointed of the Lord. Later, in the eschatological thought of Judaism, this expression became the characteristic title of the expected Deliverer, the Messiah or the Christ, who would alleviate world troubles in a Messianic era." [Note: Fred E. Young, "First and Second Samuel," in The Wycliffe Bible Commentary, p. 276.]
The motif of God making the barren fertile in response to their trust and obedience runs through the rest of 1 and 2 Samuel (cf. Samuel). So does the corollary truth that God will make the "powerful," who are not trusting and obedient, infertile and ultimately dead (cf. Saul). Likewise the motif of the Lord’s anointed king is a major one in 1 and 2 Samuel (cf. David). Thus this prayer prepares the reader for the rest of the book.
In 1Sa 1:1 to 1Sa 2:10 we also find for the first time the reversal of fortune motif that is a major theme in 1 and 2 Samuel. [Note: Longman and Dillard, p. 159.] People apparently unimportant become important, and those who appear to be important become unimportant (cf. Mat 19:30). The crucial factor for them as Israelites was their response to the will of God as contained in the Mosaic Covenant.
God will bless people who want to further His program in the world by making it possible for them to do that. He may even do supernatural things to enable them to do so. Natural limitations do not limit God. Knowledge of what God has revealed about Himself and His program is what God uses to inspire trust in Himself and interest in His program. God may even reverse the fortunes of people in response to their response to His will.
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
CHAPTER III.
HANNAH’S SONG OF THANKSGIVING.
1Sa 2:1-10.
THE emotion that filled Hannah’s breast after she had granted Samuel to the Lord, and left him settled at Shiloh, was one of triumphant joy. In her song we see no trace of depression, like that of a bereaved and desolate mother. Some may be disposed to think less of Hannah on this account; they may think she would have been more of a true mother if something of human regret had been apparent in her song. But surely we ought not to blame her if the Divine emotion that so completely filled her soul excluded for the time every ordinary feeling. In the very first words of her song we see how closely God was connected with the emotions that swelled in her breast. “My heart rejoiceth in the Lord, mine horn is exalted in the Lord” The feeling that was so rapturous was the sense of God’s gracious owning of her; His taking her into partnership, so to speak, with Himself; His accepting of her son as an instrument for carrying out His gracious purposes to Israel and the world. Only those who have experienced it can understand the overwhelming blessedness of this feeling. That the infinite God should draw near to His sinful creature, and not only accept him, but identify Himself with him, as it were, taking him and those dearest to him into His confidence; and using them to carry out His plans, is something almost too wonderful for the human spirit to bear. This was Hannah’s feeling, as it afterwards was that of Elizabeth, and still more of the Virgin Mary, and it is no wonder that their songs, which bear a close resemblance to each other, should have been used by the Christian Church to express the very highest degree of thankfulness.
The emotion of Hannah was intensified by another consideration. What had taken place in her experience was not the only thing of this kind that had ever happened or that ever was to happen. On the contrary, it was the outcome of a great law of God’s kingdom, which law regulated the ordinary procedure of His providence. Hannah’s heart was enlarged as she thought how many others had shared or would share what had befallen her; as she thought how such pride and arrogance as that which had tormented her was doomed to be rebuked and brought low under God’s government; how many lowly souls that brought their burden to Him were to be relieved; and how many empty and hungry hearts, pining for food and rest, were to find how He “satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness.”
But it would seem that her thoughts took a still wider sweep. Looking on herself as representing the nation of Israel, she seems to have felt that what had happened to her on a small scale was to happen to the nation on a large; for God would draw nigh to Israel as He had to her, make him His friend and confidential servant, humble the proud and malignant nations around him, and exalt him, if only he endeavoured humbly and thankfully to comply with the Divine will. Is it possible the Holy Spirit have given her a glimpse of the great truth – “Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given? May she not have surmised that it was to be through one born in the same land that the great redemption was to be achieved? May she not have seen in her little Samuel the type and symbol of another Child to be more wonderfully born than hers, to be dedicated to Gods service in a higher sense, to fulfill all righteousness far beyond anything in Samuel’s power? And may not this high theme, carrying her far into future times, carrying her on to the end of the world’s history bearing her uneven to eternity and infinity, have been the cause of that utter absence of human regret that apparent want of motherly heart-sinking, which we mark in the song?
When we examine the substance of the song more carefully, we find that Hannah derives her joy from four things about God: – 1. His nature, (1Sa 2:2-3); 2. His providential government, (1Sa 2:4-8); 3. His most gracious treatment of His saints, (1Sa 2:9); 4. The glorious destiny of the kingdom of His anointed.
I. In the second and third verses we find comfort derived from (1) God’s holiness, (2) His unity, (3) His strength, (4) His knowledge, and (5) His justice.
(1) The holiness, the spotlessness of God is a source of Comfort, – “There is none holy as the Lord. To the wicked his attribute is no comfort, but only a terror. Left to themselves, men take away this attribute and like the Greeks and Romans and other pagans, ascribe to their gods the lusts and passions of poor human creatures. Yet to those who can appreciate it, how blessed a thing is the holiness of God! No darkness in Him. no corruption, no infirmity; absolutely pure. He governs all on the principles of absolute purity; He keeps all up, even in a sinful, crumbling world, to that high standard; and when His schemes are completed, the blessed outcome will be “the new heavens and the new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.”
(2) His unity gives comfort, – “There is none besides Thee.” None to thwart His righteous and gracious plans, or make those to tremble whose trust is placed in Him. He doeth according to His will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay His hand, or say unto Him, “What doest Thou?”
(3) His strength gives comfort, – “Neither is there any rock like our God.” ”If God be for us, who can be against us?” “Hast thou not known, hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, nor is weary? There is no searching of His understanding? He giveth power to the faint, and to them that have no might He increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall; but they that wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary, and they shall walk and not faint.”
(4) His knowledge gives comfort, – “The Lord is a God of knowledge.” He sees all secret wickedness, and knows how to deal with it. His eye is on every plot hatched in the darkness. He knows His faithful servants, what they aim at, what they suffer, what a strain is often put on their fidelity. And He never can forget them, and never can desert them, for “the angel of the Lord encampeth about them that fear Him, and delivereth them.”
(5) His justice gives comfort. ”By Him actions are weighed.” Their true quality is ascertained; what is done for mean, selfish ends stands out before Him in all its native ugliness, and draws down the retribution that is meet. Men may perform the outward services of religion with great regularity and apparent zeal, while their hearts are full of all uncleanness and wickedness. The hypocrite may rise to honour, the thief may become rich, men that prey upon the infirmities or the simplicity of their fellows may prosper; but there is a God in heaven by Whom all evil devices are weighed, and Who in His own time will effectually checkmate all that either deny His existence or fancy they can elude His righteous judgment.
2. These views of God’s holy government are more fully enlarged on in the second part of the song (1Sa 2:3-8). The main feature of God’s providence dwelt on here is the changes that occur in the lot of certain classes. The class against whom God’s providence bears chiefly is the haughty, the self-sufficient, the men of physical might who are ready to use that might to the injury of others. Those again who lie in the path of God’s mercies are the weak, the hungry, the childless, the beggar. Hannah uses a variety of figures. Now it is from the profession of soldiers – “the bows of the mighty are broken”; and on the other hand they that for very weakness were stumbling and staggering are girded with strength. Now it is from the appetite for food – they that were full have had to hire out themselves for bread, and they that were hungry are hungry no more. Now it is from family life, and from a feature of family life that came home to Hannah – “the barren hath borne seven, and she that had many children is waxed feeble.” And these changes are the doing of God, “The Lord killeth and maketh alive; He bringeth down to the grave and bringeth up. The Lord maketh poor and maketh rich, He bringeth low and lifteth up. He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill, to set them among princes, and to make them inherit the throne of glory; for the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s, and He hath set the world upon them.” If nothing were taught here but that there are great vicissitudes of fortune among men, then a lesson would come from it alike to high and low – let the high beware lest they glory in their fortune, let the low not sink into dejection and despair. If it be further borne in mind that these changes of fortune are all in the hands of God, a further lesson arises, to beware how we offend God, and to live in the earnest desire to enjoy His favour. But there is a further lesson. The class of qualities that are here marked as offensive to God are pride, self-seeking, self- sufficiency both in ordinary matters and in their spiritual development. Your tyrannical and haughty Pharaohs, your high-vaunting Sennacheribs, your pride-intoxicated Nebuchadnezzars, are objects of special dislike to God. So is your proud Pharisee, who goes up to the temple thanking God that he is not as other men, no, nor like that poor publican, who is smiting on his breast, as well such a sinner may. It is the lowly in heart that God takes pleasure in. “Thus saith the high and lofty One, that inhabiteth eternity, and whose name is Holy: I dwell in the high and in the holy place, but with him also that is of a humble and contrite heart; to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite one.”
When we turn to the song of the Virgin we find the same strain – “He hath showed strength with His arm, He hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree. He hath filled the hungry with good things, and the rich He hath sent empty away.” Undoubtedly these words have primary reference to the social conditions of men. Thanks are given that the highest privilege that God could bestow on a creature had been conferred not on any one rolling in luxury, but on a maiden of the lowest class. This meaning does not exhaust the scope of the thanksgiving, which doubtless embraces that law of the spiritual kingdom to which Christ gave expression in the opening words of the Sermon on the Mount, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Yet it is plain that both the song of Hannah and the song of Mary dwell with complacency on that feature of providence by which men of low degree are sometimes exalted, by which the beggar is sometimes lifted from the dunghill, and set among princes to inherit the throne of glory. Why is this? Can God have any sympathy with the spirit which often prevails in the bosom of the poor towards the rich, which rejoices in their downfall just because they are rich, and in the elevation of others simply because they belong to the same class with themselves? The thought is not to be entertained for a moment. In God’s government there is nothing partial or capricious. But the principle is this. Riches, fullness, luxury are apt to breed pride and contempt of the poor; and it pleases God at times, when such evil fruits appear, to bring down these worthless rich men to the dust, in order to give a conspicuous rebuke to the vanity, the ambition, the remorseless selfishness which were so conspicuous in their character. What but this was the lesson from the sudden fall of Cardinal Wolsey? Men, and even the best of men, thanked God for that fall. Not that it gave them pleasure to see a poor wretch who had been clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day, reduced to so pitiful a plight; but because they felt it a righteous thing and a wholesome thing that so proud and so wicked a career should be terminated by a conspicuous manifestation of the displeasure of God. The best instincts of men’s nature longed for a check to the monstrous pride and wicked avarice of that man; and when that check was given, and given with such tremendous emphasis, there was not an honest man or woman in all England who did not utter a hearty “Praise God!” when they heard the terrible news.
So also it pleases God to give conspicuous proofs from time to time that qualities that in poor men are often associated with a hard-working, humble career are well-pleasing in His sight. For what qualities on the part of the poor are so valuable, in a social point of view, as industry, self-denying diligence, systematic, unwearying devotion even to work which brings them such scanty remuneration? By far the greater part of such men and women are called to work on, unnoticed and unrewarded, and when their day is over to sink into an undistinguished grave. But from time to time some such persons rise to distinction. The class to which they belong is ennobled by their achievements. When God wished in the sixteenth century to achieve the great object of punishing the Church which had fallen into such miserable inefficiency and immorality, and wrenching half of Europe from its grasp, he found his principal agent in a poor miner’s cottage in Saxony. When he desired to summon a sleeping Church to the great work of evangelizing India, the man he called to the front was Carey, a poor cobbler of Northampton. When it was his purpose to present His Church with an unrivalled picture of the Christian pilgrimage, its dangers and trials, its joys, its sorrows, and its triumphs, the artist appointed to the task was John Bunyan, the tinker of Elstow. When the object was to provide a man that would open the great continent of Africa to civilization and Christianity, and who needed, in order to do this, to face dangers and trials before which all ordinary men had shrunk, he found his agent in a poor spinner-boy, who was working twelve hours a day in a cotton mill on the banks of the Clyde. In all such matters, in humbling the rich and exalting the poor, God’s object is not to punish the one because they are rich, or to exalt the other because they are poor. In the one case it is to punish vices bred from an improper use of wealth, and in the other to reward virtues that have sprung from the soil of poverty. ”Poor and pious parents,” wrote David Livingstone on the tombstone of his parents at Hamilton, when he wished to record the grounds of his thankfulness for the position in life which they held. “I would not exchange my peasant father for any king,” said Thomas Carlyle, when he thought of the gems of Christian worth that had shone out all the brighter amid the hard conditions of his father’s life. Riches are no reproach, and poverty is no merit; but the pride so apt to be bred of riches, the idleness, the injustice, the selfishness so often associated with them, is what God likes to reprove; and the graces that may be found in the poor man’s home, the unwearied devotion to duty, the neighbourliness and brotherly love, and above all the faith, the hope, and the charity are what He delights to honour.
In the spiritual sense there is no more important ingredient of character in God’s sight than the sense of emptiness, and the conviction that all goodness, all strength, all blessing must come from God. The heart, thus emptied, is prepared to welcome the grace that is offered to supply its needs. Air rushes into an exhausted receiver. Where the idea prevails either that we are possessed of considerable native goodness, or that we have only to take pains with ourselves to get it, there is no welcome for the truth that “by grace are ye saved.” Whoever says, “I am rich and increased in goods, and have need of nothing,” knows not that “he is wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked.” Miserable they who live and die in this delusion! Happy they who have been taught, “In me dwelleth no good thing.” “All my springs are in Thee.” Jesus Christ “is made to us of God wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption.” “Out of His fullness have we all received, and grace for grace.”
3. The third topic in Hannah’s song is God’s very gracious treatment of His saints. “He will keep the feet of His saints.” The term “feet” shows the reference to be to their earthly life, their steps, their course through the world. It is a promise which others would care for but little, but which is very precious to all believers. To know the way in which God would have one to go is of prime importance to every godly heart. To be kept from wandering into unblest ways, kept from trilling with temptation, and dallying with sin is an infinite blessing. “Oh that my ways were directed to keep Thy statutes! Then shall I not be ashamed when I have respect unto all Thy commandments.” “He will keep the feet of His saints.”
4. And lastly, Hannah rejoices in that dispensation of mercy that was coming in connection with God’s “king, His anointed” (1Sa 2:10). Guided by the Spirit, she sees that a king is coming, that a kingdom is to be set up, and ruled over by the Lord’s anointed. She sees that God’s blessing is to come down on the king, the anointed, and that under him the kingdom is to prosper and to spread. Did she catch a glimpse of what was to happen under such kings as David, Jehoshaphat, Hezekiah, and Josiah? Did she see in prophetic vision the loving care of such kings for the welfare of the people, their holy zeal for God, their activity and earnestness in doing good? And did the glimpse of these coming benefits suggest to her the thought of what was to be achieved by Him who was to be the anointed one, the Messiah in a higher sense? We can hardly avoid giving this scope to her song. It was but a small measure of these blessings that her son personally could bring about. Her son seems to give place to a higher Son, through whom the land would be blessed as no one else could have blessed it, and all hungry and thirsty souls would be guided to that living bread and living water of which whosoever ate and drank should never hunger or thirst again.
What is the great lesson of this song? That for the answer to prayer, for deliverance from trial, for the fulfillment of hopes, for the glorious things yet spoken of the city of our God, our most cordial thanksgivings are due to God. Every Christian life presents numberless occasions that very specially call for such thanks- giving. But there is one thanksgiving that must take precedence of all – ”Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable gift.” “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a living hope, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last day.”