Join me tonight, if you would, in the book of 1 Samuel chapter 2. 1 Samuel chapter 2. We want to spend a little time here looking at Hannah's prayer or Hannah's song. I want to say that this prayer is a poetic song. It was written in verse. And it's in the original form. That's what I've read. And Hannah's prayer was recorded in verse. It's really a song.

We find this happening many times in the Old Testament where something like this is put into verse. And one of the things that I need to remember about verse is that I cannot take the words literally. we sing Rock of Ages, and we're not talking about a piece of rock, we're talking about Christ. He said, I'm the door, and he doesn't mean he's a door like this, he is the door to glory, and we know those words, how they're used in our language, and we just need to remember that when we go through this, by and large, what she had to say in this hymn, this prayer that she brings.

And this passage of Hannah's prayer, Hannah's song, was a private time Hannah had with God. Now the interesting thing for us is, it's been recorded. in the Word for us. And since it's there, and we get to read it, we get to enjoy the blessing that she brings out, the Holy Spirit brought out through her, that has been to the church all through the ages. When we read this, this is just such a blessing to the church, what she has to say. And she reveals through her prayer and the words the Holy Spirit gave her, how God does His business He kills and makes alive. And we'll see that back and forthness in this prayer.

Hannah's prayer, as we bring out, is the wordage, the language in this prayer is so symbolic, and it's much like as we find the I am's of the Lord, I am the bread of life, I am the light of the world, I am the door, the good shepherd, the resurrection, the life, and the true vine. We do not look at these words as literal, but we look at them from a spiritual standpoint.

So let's look at this passage of scripture here in the book of 1 Samuel chapter 2, and I'd like to begin reading with verse 1, and we'll read down through her prayer here. And Hannah prayed. Now remember that she has had a son. The promised son has been given her. She's not been up here for some time until Samuel has been weaned, and now she's going to leave him here. and she may have seen him every year. It doesn't go into that detail, but she's going to leave her son Samuel here as a promise of the Lord to her. She is going to have more children. We find out that Samuel means a gift or a sin of God or given of God.

Here it tells us in this passage, my heart rejoiceth in the Lord, my horn is exalted in the Lord, my mouth is enlarged over my enemies because I rejoice in thy salvation. And we notice that in her prayer she uses the capital letters for Lord which is Jehovah. So in the original, it was Jehovah. Our translators put capital L, capital O, capital R, capital D, which is to us the sign of whose name this is.

There is none holy as Jehovah, 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 borne seven, and she that hath many children is wax feeble.

Now notice beginning with verse 6. 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 bigger from the dunghill, to set them among princes, 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. 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.

That's her prayer. Now, as I read through there, and we've referred to this many times, we've heard it referred to, you probably have referred to it, but it is so filled with blessings for the church. Her prayer was used so long ago as she honored God and she didn't come as we may think, and say, I'm glad, finally, God, you answered my prayer, and now I have these words. I think she could have prayed this prayer before Samuel was born, just as well as she prayed it after he was born. She didn't have a give-take relationship with God. You give me, I take, I give to you, and you take. That's not the kind of prayer.

Now, many people feel that way. I remember my dad telling me one time, You can't out give the Lord. Well, he was basing his economics upon, if I give so much to the Lord, he's going to give so much back to me so I can make my plans for the year. Well, that just doesn't work that way. God is a sovereign God and He rules and reigns over all His house just as He sees fit. So when it comes to our prayer to Him, it's not because we expect a reward. It's because we want to honor God. It's not because we want to change God. It's because we want to honor God. So she's honoring God in her prayer. And it's such an honor that we rejoice in it because I wish I could pray like that. We use it so often to share with people how God does His business. And then we'll get more into that as we look at those words where it goes back and forth between what we are and what God does for us.

All right. Backing up to verse 1, we find here Hannah prayed and said, the special mercy Hannah had received gives an occasion for God to use her to comfort all the church. She's been comforted. She's going to be comforted by the same as you and I are comforted. We're comforted by God and we're comforted by God's word. She was comforted by God's word. She didn't have what we have. She didn't have the Bible as we have it, but God had spoken to her in a very comfortable way and shared with her that she was going to have a son. And then this is the outcome of that. She gives us some of God's word for us. God did not just say, okay, go ahead and pray, and that's the end. For our benefit, we get to read that prayer, hear these thousands of years later. She begins with these, that there is not just some memorized words that she often uses. I had an uncle, and every time he was asked to pray, it was exactly the same words every time. Now that's not what we find here. These are not memorized words, and she didn't have a handful of beads going around them as she was praying. She's praying to someone that is very important to her, her Savior. She's praying to someone that's very important to her, her God, her Lord, her Master, her Blessinger. So it must be that the heart that speaks and not just the voice. And we notice that in verse one, my heart rejoiceth. That word rejoices means to jump for joy. My heart rejoices in the Lord.

A person, and we have to be very clear here, a person must have a new heart in order to do what she said she's doing. Now, if we have a new heart, we're gonna look at prayer totally different because we're looking at God totally different. If we have a new heart, we're looking at his word totally different. Everything has changed when we get his heart. We're not looking at things from a religious viewpoint. We're looking at things from a godly viewpoint.

The heart rejoices, my heart rejoices in the Lord. She has able to rejoice in Jehovah. Jehovah is the God that does all his will. And you know, it takes a changed heart to recognize that and to agree with it, that God does all His will to rejoice in Him. We cannot disagree with His being or purpose or way. Now, our heart does not disagree with Him if we've been given a new heart. We may chafe under His purpose and under His will, but we're not going to disagree with Him. A new heart is in total agreement with Almighty God.

That's why when the Word is given to us and a passage that we'd never seen before stands out, someone reads it to us, makes a comment on it, that we rejoice in it because it speaks highly of God. It puts us in our place and speaks highly of God.

In the book of the Psalms, would you join me over here in the book of the Psalms, Psalm 68. In Psalm 68, as we think that Jehovah is the God that does all His will, To rejoice in Him we cannot disagree with His being, His purpose, or His way. In Psalm 68, Psalm 68, verse 2 and 3, we have this principle delivered unto us as it is throughout the Scriptures. When we read of Hannah's prayer, we're going to find these principles throughout the Scripture. This is just not some hidden incident. We're going to find out what she had to say was given to her by the Holy Spirit, and we have it recorded in our Bible.

And here in Psalm 68, verse 2, it says, As smoke is driven away So drive them away as wax melteth before the fire. So let the wicked perish at the presence of God, but let the righteous be glad. Let them rejoice before God. Yea, let them exceedingly rejoice. So the lost as we find the wicked perish before the presence of God in verse two, but let the righteous be glad. And that's what we find here with Hannah.

To be righteous, you have to have your sin taken care of. To be righteous, you must have the Messiah. You must have Him as your Savior. And we find that the righteous are going to be able to rejoice before God. And that's what God's people are permitted to do, is rejoice, to jump for joy in the presence of the thrice holy God.

In backing up in the Psalms to Psalm 5 for just a moment here, in Psalm 5 we read this about, this great principle that Hannah is bringing out for us, Psalm 5, verse 10 and 11. In Psalm 5, verse 10 and 11, we have some more of the principle that Hannah is bringing out. She's rejoicing, why? Because she's righteous. She's rejoicing in God, not some other being, not some other God, not in herself, not in her husband, but she's rejoicing in God. And here in Psalm 5, verse 10, Destroy thou them, O God, let them fall by their own counsels, cast them out in the multitude of their transgressions, for they have rebelled against thee. But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice." So we can just look at that and say, okay, as we follow Hannah, we find that here's someone that put their trust in thee. How does that happen? God gives us the grace to do that.

But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice. Let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them. Let them also that love thy name be joyful in thee. So the principles that we see in Hannah's life here are the principles that we find in the Bible with regard to God's chosen people, his elect, those he reveals his son to. those He gives a new heart to, those that are born again. We have this principle brought out in them. They rejoice in God. They rejoice in the Lord. Their heart rejoices in Him. They've been given a heart.

Now we look at our old heart and we find out there's not much there that will rejoice in God. There's nothing there that will rejoice in God. We find that mentioned in the scriptures. The heart is very deceitful. And then we find that the heart is away from God, walks not with God, is not blessed by God. The natural heart hides from God, just like our first parents did there in the garden, and lies to God. That's what the original heart does. But this new heart that God gives in regeneration, it is in compliance with God. It is a gift of God, and it has been given that very sense about God, that he is my God, I can rejoice in him. He's brought me out, as we're gonna read here in a little bit, out of a horrible pit.

Going over there to 1 Samuel again, in the next words that, that Hannah uses in 1 Samuel 2, she uses this term, my horn is exalted in the Lord. My horn is exalted in the Lord. Now, this isn't a trumpet. This word has the same meaning as my strength. My strength is in the Lord. My horn is exalted in the Lord. The horn speaks of strength or power. And one of the translations I read, the Lord has made me very strong. And I think that that is a good interpretation of what we find here. The Lord is the one that has made me strong. He's the one that has given me this horn. As we find there, my horn is exalted in the Lord. He's given me the strength. Though we be poor, we've been made strong.

In the book of Romans, chapter 5, we read these words about our strength. In the book of Romans, chapter 5, the Scriptures, again, share with us continuously compounding Scripture upon Scripture shares with us the greatness of our God, the one that we have the privilege of praying to, the one that always deals with our prayers according to His will and purpose. Here in Romans chapter 5, verses 6 through 9, for when we were yet without strength, now her strength rejoiced in the Lord, and our strength by nature we were without strength. In due time, Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die, yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. So he's the one that gives us the strength to raise our voice unto him. He's the one that gives us the strength to look up to him. We find out in our natural state when it comes to spiritual things, we're bent over and stuck in that position. But we find out that when the Lord saves us and gives us that heart in regeneration, we are capable of looking up spiritually and worshiping God. Holy, holy, holy to the Lord God Almighty.

So when our strength is yet, we were without strength, God came along and took care of the problem. We cannot exercise enough. I think sometimes that was the purpose that we went through in our religion. We were trying to exercise enough to have some strength. all the works we went through, and all the bowings, and the prayers that we went through, and trying to get something to happen. But in our deadness, there's no way to exercise the deadness into life. That's given to God.

Put over in the Psalms again, if you'd turn with me there to Psalm 40, When Hannah continues in her prayer, she says, my mouth is enlarged over my enemies. Now, the mouth has become an instrument of the heart. We're going to find a place over here just momentarily that God said, the Lord Jesus Christ said, your mouth honors me, but your heart's far from me. But Hannah's mouth is an instrument of her heart now. It's been completely changed. She no longer has that attitude that I'll honor God with my mouth, but my heart is not in this.

Well, before we get there, turn with me to Psalm 40. In the Psalms, Psalm 40, Beginning with verse 2, we read this. Psalm 40, verse 2. It says here, He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings, and hath put a new song. Now, I used to quote this. Today, I found out I was misquoting it. I said, He hath put a new song in my heart. It's not that. He's put a new song in my mouth. There's had to be a change that's been wrought by God if our mouth is going to honor God sincerely. Only after we've been born again can we do that. The Lord Jesus is going to bring to our attention that we can't do that in a natural state. We will honor Him with our mouth, but our heart is totally different to that.

So, it just cleared up. He hath put a new song in my mouth. even praise unto our God. Many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the Lord."

So, she, like, in her state, is like our state, is like what we find here in the psalm, that there was a place that's described here, as so many times we find different ways God describes the fall, and the condition that we are in the fall.

And this particular place, He says, we're in a horrible pit. in the miry clay, stuck. We can't get out. It's miry. It sucks on your feet when you try. This is just another description that God has given us with the thousands of descriptions, particularly in the Old Testament, of the fall and the condition that we are in the fall.

And it says, he brought me up also out of a horrible pit. And Hannah could confess this just like everybody else confesses it that knows Christ. He brought me up. He's the one that saved me. I had all the trying I could do, but He's the one that lifted me up out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay.

And then He just doesn't say, go to the church or synagogue of your choice. You know what it says right here? He put me on the solid rock. Now that's not the church or the synagogue of the natural man's choice. This is the choice of the church. Upon this rock, Jesus said to Peter, now he's not talking about Peter. He's talking about himself. Upon this rock, I am building my church, I built my church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.

Well, what do we find here? He set my feet upon a rock and established my goings. So he has done everything that can be done, everything that God requires. I love Brother Rupert saying this time and time again, everything that God required, God provides. He's not left anything out. Every ingredient is there. We don't have to go to the store for anything. Everything that we need is provided by God.

And here we have it laid out just as Hannah found out about it.

God saved her by His grace. And then it says He put a new song in my mouth. even praise unto our God." So there was, she didn't have to spend all of her life on her knees praying to God. It was a new reality with her to praise God, to thank God, to be there in His presence. So, He has put a new song in my heart. And what a difference from this position.

Turn with me to the book of Matthew, if you would, chapter 15. In the book of Matthew, chapter 15, the Lord brings out a terrible condition that we are in by nature in the fall. This is just like what we read about being in a horrible pit. Here's another illustration that God gives us. And I'm sure that Hannah could have said, that's where I was. She could have said that about that horrible pit, that's where I was. She could have found out all of the places in the scripture that talks about where the fallen are, that's where I was. But now I've been given a new heart and I can praise God. I have a new song in my mouth. And it's the result of a new heart.

Here in the book of Matthew, Matthew chapter 15, verse 7. We read this, Ye hypocrites, well did Isaiah prophesy of Usain. Matthew chapter 15, verse 7. a prophecy of Isaiah. It's written over there in the book of Isaiah. It was as prominent at that time as it is in Christ's time, or as it is today, or as it was in the days of Hannah. We're going to be introduced to a couple of guys very quickly after this prayer, a couple of guys that are priests. And they are rotten guys. They know nothing about what they're supposed to be talking about and how often that is. You know, I know very, very few people who know the gospel that were not entrapped in religion and set free by Christ.

Here we read in Matthew 15, verse 8, this people draw nigh unto me with their mouth. It was, we can read about Hannah, and with, I can rejoice in the Lord with my mouth, because I have that new heart. This people draweth nigh with me with their mouth, and honoreth me with their lips. And we find that so often. Good master, what was it that, oh, John chapter three, what's his name? came to Jesus by night because he was afraid? Nicodemus. I'm sorry. I had a senior moment there. Nicodemus came. We know that you have to be able to be from God to be able to do these things, but he had no knowledge. Jesus brought out, don't you know these things? How can you be a master in Israel and not know these things? Well, he's doing exactly what God did with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. He's not asking a question for information. He's asking a question to point out a problem. Adam, where art thou? You're a master in Israel and you don't know these things? No, he didn't. Why? He didn't have a new heart. He wasn't regenerated.

Well, let's go on here. This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honeth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. What a difference. We go over here to Hannah, and she's going to bring out the gospel in her prayer. gospel in her song. She's not going to dilly-dally around with the teachings of men, teaching of doctrine, the commandments of men. She's going to spend her time on the doctrines of Christ, the doctrines of God. And that's so important. That's so different than it's been all our life.

All right. Turn with me back to the book of 1 Samuel, if you would, and we'll continue in this great song, this prayer that she brings before the Lord, and God was gracious to record it for us. You know, He was gracious to give us the model prayer, He was gracious to give us His great high priestly prayer. He's gracious to give us the thief on the cross prayer, the prayers of the saints that we overhear them. They were never given but to God, and we get to read Him and thank God and rejoice with those who prayed Him.

Well, here in the book of 1 Samuel 2, there in verse 2 it says, there is none holy as the Lord. What a revelation. A revelation of the Gospel is what produces this kind of language with meaning. We read that over in the book of Isaiah chapter 6. I don't know where Isaiah was before Uzziah died. But I know what happened after Uzziah died. I saw the Lord high and lifted up. And his train filled the temple. And those that were there cried, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty. What do we hear, Hannah? There's none holy as the Lord. There is no one, no God. holy like the Lord. That means that there is not one, let me back up just a moment, in all of the education I ever had about the deities of the Greeks or the Romans, they were nothing more than glorified human beings and were prone to wrong. Oh, you just read, those lives were just, and here we have people bowing down to their altar. They were just nothing more than poor examples of human beings and were called deities. Well, that's one thing we can go to the cross with and say, He is not like them. Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty. There's no error in Him. And because there's no error in Him and He is absolutely holy, He has the right to demand holiness. And He says, Be ye holy as I am holy.

You know, I used to just struggle with that. Oh, it's just a killer. How do you do that? How can you be as holy as God? And then you try. Then you go talk to somebody, and they'll tell you how to do it. Well, then you find out it's only imputed holiness, given holiness. God gives us His holiness. His position is given to us. We have access to the Father because of the righteousness that we have, Christ's righteousness given to us.

There's none holy like the Lord, there's none beside Thee, neither is there any rock like our God. What a statement she makes there. It brings out there in verse 2, there's none holy like the Lord, none beside Thee, And then, there's neither is there any rock like our rock. Now, when I read that, I remembered a message that Brother Rupert preached to us many, many years ago. And the name of it was, their rock is not like our rock. And that's just a quote from a verse of scripture found over in the book of Deuteronomy. Would you join me over there in the book of Deuteronomy chapter 32? In Deuteronomy chapter 32, their rock is not like our rock. Neither is there any rock like our God, no foundation such as God, no stability such as God. Everything has variance, ability to turn, change, except our God. There is no movement with God, no change with God, no dilly-dallying with God. He's eternal, eternal in His thoughts, eternal in His purpose. He is not going to be guided by anything but His purpose. He changes not.

We could just go on and on, and I am convinced that that's where we find Hannah was. She was resting upon this unchanging God.

Here in the book of Deuteronomy chapter 32, we read these words that are brought up, For our benefit, as well as Israel in those days, and as well as Hannah, or as well as anybody, down through time could rejoice in this. Deuteronomy chapter 32 verse 30. How should one chase a thousand? Deuteronomy chapter 32 and verse 30. How should one chase a thousand? And two put ten thousand to flight.

Now this is not the way we find it sometimes happening. This is How can one chase 1,000? How can one enemy man, one enemy chase 1,000 of the Israelites? How can that happen? And then he goes on, or put, two put 10,000 to flight. How can that happen?

No, as we went through the Judges, the book of the Judges, we find out there was a lot of Israelites, and they'd go up against, or they'd have an enemy come in, do nothing. Sit on our backside. Oh, this is just the way it is. We plant, they harvest. Nothing done. That's the way it is. Why? Look at this. Except their rock had sold them and their Lord had shut them up. How can that happen? Here's why.

Now, verse 31, for their rock, small r, is not as our rock. Large r. I love that part of the translation. It really means something to us. Their rock is not as our rock. What did Hannah say there? She says, neither is there any rock like our God. There's no stability like him. There is no foundation like him. There's no movement in the foundation.

For a long, long time people used nails to put siding up on buildings. A number of years, you'd find those nails that were working their way out. Because the earth is in constant motion. Now, thank the Lord for screws and those ring shank nails and things like that, because it stopped that. But this earth is in constant motion, but our God is not. This world moves, sways, goes to this side, that side, back side, and yet God does not move. Our foundation is stable. He is a rock, a rock of Gibraltar, spiritually speaking. Now, I'm not talking about that rock over there. He's the rock.

All right, goes on to say, for their rock is not our rock. Even our enemies themselves be in judges. for their vine is the vine of Sodom, and the fields of Gomorrah. Their grapes are grapes of gall, their clusters are bitter, their wine is the poison of dragons, and cruel venom of asps. Their rock is not like our rock." Their benefits are not like our benefits.

We just continue on through here. We find that as Hannah goes down through this, how she honors God, as we find so often throughout the Scriptures, God is honored.

Now, would you go back with me to the book of 1 Samuel? 1 Samuel here. In 1 Samuel, Chapter 2, verse 3. 1 Samuel 2, verse 3. Talk no more so exceedingly proudly. Let not arrogance come out of your mouth, for the Lord is a God of knowledge." Let not arrogance come out of your mouth. Stop acting so proud and haughty. Don't speak with such arrogance, for the Lord is a God who knows what you have done. This is another translation. The King James says here, "...talk no more so exceedingly proudly." And this translation says, ".. .stop acting so proud and haughty. Don't speak with such arrogance." You know, lost people are very arrogant. Lord, let me tell You what I did for You today. You're going to inform God. I know what it's like. I've been there. Practiced it.

In the book of Galatians, turn over there if you would. This is the guideline. Book of Galatians. This is a believer's mantra. Closing verses of the book of Galatians. We were going over that earlier this evening in a Zoom meeting and I just said I've got to write that down. Galatians 6, verses 14, 15, and 16.

But God forbid that I should glory, accept, or save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. God forbid. Don't speak arrogantly of your works, things you've accomplished. God said glory in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ and not in the piece of wood but in the person, work, and death of our Savior, the Lord Jesus, by whom the world is crucified unto me and I unto the world.

For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth anything nor uncircumcision, but a new creation." That's what avails. And as many as walk according to this rule, peace be unto them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God." You want to know what the real Israel of God is? Paul was used to identify it. That's the church, the real Israel of God. the Believer's Guide here. And so as we go through just a few verses of Hannah's prayer, we find out she had been delivered from so much, and she had been given so much to confess. And we are thankful that that so much was written down so that we can go over it and rejoice in the God of her salvation.

the God of our salvation in the same way. She's going to write what we could write if we know God. Yes, He did kill me that He might make me alive. Yes, He made me poor that He might make me rich. Yes, He made me lay down in a dung heap that He might raise me up and make me a prince. That's God's business. That's how He does it.

Alright, we're going to stop there for tonight and we'll pick this up Lord willing next time.