Would you take your Bibles and
turn with me to the book of 1 Samuel, chapter 2. 1 Samuel, chapter
2. Before we begin, let's pray together. Our Father, this evening, how
thankful we are Lord, that we have this time together in your
presence to hear your word. We thank you that you have blessed
us to draw our hearts together to worship the Lord Jesus Christ. Father, forgive us where we failed
you. Help us to worship. Help us to
hear. For Christ's sake, amen. There was a woman whose name
was Hannah. And she was married to a man
named Elkanah. And in chapter 1 and in verse
5 of 1 Samuel, the scripture declares that Elkanah loved Hannah. He had another wife. Her name
was Penina. But Elkanah loved Hannah. But the latter part of that fifth
verse, chapter 1, said that the Lord had shut up her womb. She couldn't have kids. Penina
had kids. Verse 2 of chapter 1. said in that latter part, Panina
had children, but Hannah had no children. Panina mocked Hannah, made fun
of her, because the Lord had shut up her womb. And Hannah grieved, chapter 1,
verse 10 and 11, Hannah grieved over this. It says in verse 10,
she was in bitterness of soul and she prayed unto the Lord
and wept sore and she vowed a vow and she said, O Lord of hosts,
if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thine handmaid
and remember me, and not forget thine handmaid, but wilt give
unto thine handmaid a man child, then I will give him unto the
Lord all the days of his life and there shall no raiser come
upon His head. The Lord often, when He's pleased
to bless His people, He sends them through much adversity. We go through these trials and
tribulations, but we have to be reminded it's because of the
Lord's love for us. We have ever been. God's elect.
The bride of Christ has ever been accepted in the Beloved. Ever. He said, I've loved you
with an everlasting love. I love you. I love you. And He
will do that which is best for His people. And what was best
for Hannah? was for the Lord to shut up her
womb, not give her any kids, be made fun of, laughed at, mocked. For Nina, oh, she'll pay. But the Lord used her to chasten
Hannah. Well, Hannah prayed and asked
the Lord, asked the Lord for a man child. And the Scripture
says, chapter 1, latter part of verse 19 and then verse 20,
it says, Elkanah knew Hannah his wife and the Lord remembered
her. Wherefore it came to pass when
the time was come about after Hannah had conceived that she
bear a son, called his name Samuel, saying, Because I have asked
him of the Lord. The Scripture says that Hannah
kept that boy until he was weaned, going up. She didn't go up to
the temple. Verse 22, chapter 1, Hannah went not up, but she
said unto her husband, I will not go up until the child be
weaned, and then I will bring him that he may appear before
the Lord and there abide forever. Now, when we think about a child
being weaned, we think about just being weaned from the breast
only. But this boy right here, Samuel,
Very likely, to the Jews, being weaned was not just from nursing. Possibly, he was 12 years old. I say this because this is just
from what I could find out concerning a child being weaned, but he
could have been up to 12 years old, number one from the breast,
then he would have had a dry nurse until the age of 7, and
then from his childish manners, 12 years old was when a child
was completely weaned. So more than likely Samuel was
about 12 years old whenever he was brought up. And so then she,
verse 24 of chapter 1, then when she had weaned him, she took
him up with her, three bullocks, One ephod flower, a bottle of
wine, brought him unto the house of the Lord in Shiloh, and the
child was young. They slew a bullock, she brought
the child to Eli, and she said, O my Lord, as thy soul liveth,
my Lord, I am the woman that stood by thee here praying unto
the Lord. You remember that was when Eli
thought that she was drunk. She was grieving. Her mouth was
moving. There was no sound coming out.
He thought she was drunk. She said, I'm not drunk. I'm
just broken hearted, asking the Lord. For this child I prayed,
and the Lord hath given me my petition, which I ask of Him.
Therefore also I have lent Him to the Lord as long as He liveth. He shall be lent to the Lord,
and He worshipped the Lord there. Now, here's Hannah. And Hannah is about to give a
prayer of thanksgiving. You know, there's some prayers
that's recorded in the Scriptures. We find the prayer here of Hannah,
the prayer of Daniel, the prayer of David. Psalm 51, that's a
prayer of David's confession. The prayer of the Lord Jesus
Christ, John 17. But these prayers that are recorded,
we would do well to read them. As the Spirit of God has moved
upon this woman to say these things in thanksgiving unto the
Lord, this woman is praying from the heart. I read this prayer
and I thought to myself, I've told you how I feel about me
praying. Embarrassed myself when I think
of how my mind just wanders. But the Spirit of God moved on
Hannah to pray these prayers. Now, let's listen. I'm going
to look at verses 1 to 10. She says, And Hannah prayed and
said, My heart rejoiceth in the Lord. What a blessing. My heart rejoices. You know, before conversion,
we know a lot of things. We know a lot of facts about
the Lord. We know some things that are
recorded. We learn demons. Demons know
that there's a Lord Jesus Christ. Demons know there's a God. They
know that God has a people. But to rejoice in heart, She said, my heart rejoices. That takes a new heart. That
takes a new man, a new creation. This is what Mary said. Look
over in Luke 1.46. Luke, hold your place there,
Luke 1.46. Mary had been informed that she
was going to be the bearer of the Messiah. And look at Luke 1 46, and Mary
said, My soul does magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced
in God my Savior. For he hath regarded the lowest
state of his handmaiden. For behold, from henceforth all
generations shall call me blessed. For he that is mighty hath done
to me great things, and holy is his name. Back in 1 Samuel,
Hannah says, My heart rejoiceth. in the Lord. I'm thankful my
soul praises and blesses His holy name. And then she says,
my horn is exalted in the Lord. Now horn in the scriptures speaks
of strength. It's talking about strength.
And here's the thing that she does. She knows that she doesn't
have any. She doesn't have any. What could
she have ever done to produce a child? if the Lord shut her
womb up? What could she do? How could
she produce life? Mine horn, my strength is exalted
in the Lord. Her strength was the Lord, is
the Lord. And every believer knows that. She said, He's exalted, praised,
uplifted. Psalm, you don't have to turn.
I'll turn to Psalm 18. Psalm 18, verses 1 and 2. The
Lord Himself is exalted. Listen to this, Psalm 18. I will
love Thee, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock, my fortress,
my deliverer, my God, my strength, in whom I will trust, my buckler,
the horn of my salvation, and my high tower. He's everything
to me. That's what Hannah said. He's
my all and in all. And then she says, my mouth is
enlarged, opened wide over my enemies. I'm sure she may have
had Peninnah on her mind, I don't doubt that for a second, and
possibly all of Peninnah's friends who made Hannah to fret, but
as a word to God's people, her mouth as a believer, as all believers,
her mouth of praise was opened, enlarged unto the Lord over the
enemies of God and the enemies of the soul of His people. Before,
she wouldn't even eat. Look at chapter 1 verse 7. She was so grieved. It says,
verse 7, And as he did so year by year, when she went up to
the house of the Lord, so she provoked her. That's Peninnah
doing that. Therefore, Hannah, she wept. And she wouldn't even eat. She
was so grieved in her heart. I'm just not hungry. Yeah, but
Hannah, you haven't eaten anything. I'm not hungry. Just leave me
alone. You know, you just get to a point
where you're so broken hearted and you're just so grieving,
I'm just, you know. She said, my mouth is enlarged
over my enemies because I rejoice. Back in chapter 2 verse 1, I
rejoice in thy salvation. She rejoiced in the Lord Jesus
Christ. She rejoiced in Him. Remember
when old Simeon He was in that temple and he was waiting, he
was waiting. The Lord had told him, he said,
you're not going to die until you see the Lord's Christ. You're
going to see. And you remember Mary brought
in the baby, the Lord himself. And Simeon held that child and
he knew who it was, he knew who it was. And he says, Lord, now
lettest thou thy servant depart in peace according to thy word.
For mine eyes have seen thy salvation." This is what Hannah says. My
mouth is enlarged over mine enemies. It's open wide over my enemies. God is exalted. God is my strength. He is my hope. He is mine. I'm His. And she says, my mouth
is enlarged over mine enemies because I rejoice in thy salvation. Not in an act, in a person. I rejoice in Christ alone. Then she says in verse 2, there's
none holy as the Lord. He is essentially holy. The Scripture speaks of the holy
angels, the holy brethren. We were predestinated that we
should be holy and without blame before Him in love. But our holiness
is derived from being in Him. He is holy. There's none holy
as the Lord. Only of Him can it be said. There's
none beside Thee. Isaiah 6, 3, the seraphim, they
cried, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts. The whole earth
is full of His glory. Hannah says there's none holy
as the Lord. There's none beside Thee, neither
is there any rock like our God." Hold your place there and turn
to Matthew 7. No rock like our God. He's the
one that we are built upon. Listen to this, Matthew 7, verse
24, "'Wherefore, whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth
them, I will liken him unto a wise man which built his house upon
Christ, upon a rock. Everyone that heareth these sayings
of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish
man which built his house upon the sand. The rain descended,
the floods came, the winds blew, and beat upon that house, and
it fell, and great was the fall of it. Rest assured, though the
natural man, the carnal mind, builds his house of hope, of
his salvation, upon the sand of his own will and his own works.
And that's what it's built on. I can tell you from experience,
that's what it's built on. Man, by nature, will build his
salvation on free will. Free will. My works. and his so-called salvation is
going to fall. Hannah says, there's none holy
as the Lord, there's none beside Thee, neither is there any rock
like our God. Verse 3, talk no more exceeding
proudly. Let not arrogancy come out of
your mouth, for the Lord is a God of knowledge, and by Him actions
are weighed. Don't speak of your choice. and your strength, and your ability,
talk no more exceeding proudly, as if you're able to do anything.
Don't speak with arrogancy. Arrogancy there in the marginaries,
don't speak hard, hard against God. Don't speak arrogance, describing
your salvation to yourself. The Lord is a God of knowledge
and by Him, according to His Word, according to His will,
actions are weighed. That is, actions are judged,
weighed in the balances of His purpose. When you speak, don't
speak exceedingly proudly. Brother Wayne Boyd, last night,
he just recently, he's pastoring now in Michigan. And we were
talking about when believers speak. When believers speak. And I said, this is something
I've said many times. A believer talks like a believer.
And somebody would say, well how is that? I said, I can't
tell you. I can't tell you how they talk. But I can tell you
this, when they speak, they speak respectfully of the Lord, of
His will, of His purpose, of His sovereignty, and they speak
lowly of themselves. There's just a spirit. Don't talk proudly. Let not arrogancy come out of
your mouth, for the Lord is a God of knowledge, by Him actions
are weighed. the bows of the mighty men are
broken, and they that stumble are girded with strength." All
that think themselves mighty are going to be brought down.
1 Peter 5, 5, God resisteth the
proud. It's bad enough, man, just being
proud of something he can do, you know, being able to build
something or create something or paint something or whatever,
it's bad enough, but to think himself to establish righteousness
before God. God resisted the proud and giveth
grace to the humble. Verse 5, that they were full,
have hired themselves for bread. They that were full have hired
out themselves for bread. And they that were hungry ceased,
so that the barren had borne seven, and she that hath many
children is waxed feeble." All that are full of themselves. This is what he's talking about.
They that were full. I've got plenty. In fact, I might
tear down my barns. Because not only do I have material
things, but I'm so spiritual. I'm going to have to tear down
my barns and build bigger barns. I've got so many crowns that
are going to be given me in heaven. I heard, I won't even call his
name, he's a false prophet, but he was talking about years ago,
he said that he had opened up an account. a spiritual account
in heaven, and he was just making deposits. I'm telling you. He said, I'm just making deposits
in heaven. And he said, when I need them,
I just kind of draw off of it. All that were full have hired
themselves out. All that were full of self, confident
in their self, and set their confidence in lies that were
being told, going to be stripped of everything. Here again, Matthew
7, 21. I've read this many times, but
this was such a good verse. Now here's, those that were full.
That's what Scripture says. They that were full have hired
themselves out for bread. They're stripped. Now strip. Listen to Matthew 7, 21, 23.
Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into
the kingdom of heaven. Now listen to this. I read this
scripture again. But he that doeth the will of
my Father, which is in heaven. What is the will of the Father?
This is the will of the Father. That you believe on Him whom
God has sent. That's the Father's will. Not
everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into
the kingdom of heaven, but he that doeth the will of my Father.
Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied
in thy name? Now let me ask you something,
just for a second. Didn't the apostles preach in
the Lord's name? Do true preachers of the gospel,
do they preach in the Lord's name now? Yes. And in Thy name
cast out devils. Did not the Lord cast out devils?
Yes, He did. Did the apostles cast out devils?
Yes, they did. Yes, they did. And in Thy name
done many wonderful works, miracles. What's the problem? What is the
problem for the Lord to say? I never knew you, you that work
iniquity. They trusted in these things
that they were righteous. Because we prophesied in thy
name, because we cast out devils, because we've done many wonderful
works in thy name, they trusted in these things for their salvation. These were not just the evidences
of salvation. This was their salvation. Scripture
says, they that were full have hired out themselves for bread.
They that were hungry ceased. They that were hungry ceased.
That is, ceased from being hungry. Now God's people are hungry. They're hungry. Blessed is the
man that Hungers after righteousness. They're hungry. But I'm going
to tell you something. They that were hungry ceased
from being hungry because they were filled. That's what the
Lord said. Look here, let me just read it
to you. Matthew 5, 6. They that were hungry ceased. Matthew 5, 6. Blessed are they which do hunger
and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled." Here's
an amazing thing about a believer. A believer hungers and is filled
all the time. He never ceases being hungry.
I hunger after his righteousness and I'm filled with the knowledge
that my righteousness is that which is imputed to me. I'm convinced
of it. I haven't produced any righteousness.
So that the barren which hath born seven, and she that hath
many children, is waxed feeble. Now, I'm going to do something
here. What I'm actually going to do
is I'm going to... There's a reference. There's a reference in that.
Now, it's a reference so that the barren hath born seven, She
hath many children is wax feeble." There's a reference to Isaiah
54.1. I'm just going to get you to
turn to Isaiah 54.1 and then I'm going to read what Brother
Henry Mahan said. I read it and I thought, you
know what? He's saying just exactly what
I would like to say. So I'm going to read it. But
I'm going to read Isaiah 54.1. This is a reference from that
verse that we just read. Now listen to this, Isaiah 54-1,
Sing, O barren, thou that didst not bear. break forth into singing,
and cry aloud, Thou that didst not travail with child, for more
are the children of the desolate than the children of the married
wife, saith the Lord." Now let me tell you how gracious the
Spirit of God has been to us this evening. He caused the Apostle
Paul to refer to that verse that we just read in Isaiah 54. Verse
1. Paul referenced that and it's
found in Galatians chapter 4. So if you want to know what the
prophet was just saying, you turn to Galatians 4.26. And while
you're turning, I'm going to read again Isaiah 54.1. Sing,
O barren, thou that didst not bear. Break forth into singing,
and cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with child, for more
are the children of the desolate than the children of the married
wife, saith the Lord." Now, Galatians, I read this today and I thought
to myself, oh, how thankful I am that the Lord would cause Paul,
under the inspiration of God's Spirit, to tell us what was being
said in that particular verse. Galatians chapter 4 verse 26
and 27. The apostle under the inspiration
of God's Spirit says, but Jerusalem which is above is free. which
is the mother of all. And then he says in verse 27,
For it is written, Rejoice, thou barren, that bearest not. Break forth and cry, thou that
travailest not. For the desolate hath many more
children than she which hath a husband. Now Paul is, under
the inspiration of God's Spirit, is saying what was said over
in Isaiah 54. And here's what Brother Henry
said. I'm just going to read it. I'm not going to try to get
it. Verse 26 he said, but Jerusalem
which is above is free, which is the mother of us all. He says
here Paul describes the covenant of grace in Christ. Our mediator,
our representative, and our sin offering, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Then he says the messianic kingdom of Christ is from above. He said
it's not from Sinai. The righteousness of God is in
the Lord's obedience and not ours. Redemption is in His sacrifice
and His satisfaction, not in the ordinances of the tabernacle. And access to the throne of God
is through Christ Jesus our Lord, who is our great High Priest,
not through an earthly priest. And then he says, this covenant
is free. That's what he's saying. He's
talking about Jerusalem, heavenly Jerusalem. The church as she's
found in God's covenant of grace. Jerusalem, which is above, is
free. And this is what Brother Henry says. He said, this covenant
is free. Free from the curse and the bondage
of the law. It's the mother of every believer.
He said, we're born by grace. And I thought to myself, I'm
thankful that you said that. I'm thankful that you explained
that. Verse 27, for it's written, Rejoice, thou barren that bearest
not. Break forth and cry, thou that
travailest not. For the desolate hath many more
children than she which hath a husband. He said this prophecy
seems to refer to the church in the early days after the Lord's
death. He said, when there were but
few apparent believers. There were some apostles, a church. He said, but the Lord promised
that the church, heavenly Jerusalem, the one that God Almighty had
entered into by that everlasting covenant, would be a fruitful
mother. The Pentecost. Remember that? 3,000 people saved. Another reference,
5,000 people saved. Almighty God blesses His church. And this is what Hannah says
all the way back in verse 5. They that were fooled hired themselves
for bread, They that were hungry ceased, so that the barren hath
borne seven." That seven there means many. And she that hath
many children is waxed feeble. Alright, verse 6. The Lord killeth
and maketh alive. He bringeth down to the grave
and bringeth up. Physically, the Lord Killeth. Deuteronomy 32, 39, See now that
I, even I, am He. There is no God with me. I kill,
I make alive, I wound, I heal. Neither is there any that can
deliver out of mine hand. If we get sick, if we die, the
Lord did it. The Lord said, I am the one.
Spiritually, the Lord kills. He kills all confidence in His
people. by the law. Now listen to Romans
7, 9. Paul says, for I was alive without
the law once. That is, I thought I was. I mean,
I was a Pharisee of the Pharisees. I was born in the right tribe.
I circumcised the right day. I was alive without the law once. But when the commandment came,
sin revived and I died. This is one thing that I can
truthfully say that I never truly ever remembered heard preached
when I was coming up in false religion. That I had no ability. You remember that Mark? You remember
that? That you had no ability. Nobody ever told me that. Just
go to church, go to confession, just whatever. But that I was
an inadequate, impotent sinner If Almighty God is going to raise
a man up, He's going to kill him first. He's going to show
him what he is. But to those that He has mercifully
killed, to themselves in their own ability, realizing they,
He mercifully makes alive. And you hath He quickened. You hath He quickened. Who were
dead in trespasses and sins. The Lord killeth. and maketh
alive." He bringeth to the grave and bringeth up. Verse 7, the
Lord maketh poor and maketh rich. He bringeth low and lifteth up. He makes his people again, following
after verse 6, to be poor. Poor in spirit, but rich. The Lord maketh poor and maketh
rich, makes them rich. How? In faith. Helpless, needy
beggars. Helpless, needy beggars are in
Christ. When the Lord reveals Himself
to them, they realize this, that they're heirs of the kingdom
which He hath promised to them that love Him. Blessed are the
poor in spirit. That's what Matthew 5, verse
3 says. For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Verse 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 has set the world upon Him." Now you
just muse for just a second where He's brought us from. Think about
what He's called us out of, kept us from, kept us from ourself. Here we are, dead, poor, wretched
sinners, blind to our own need. And He, according to His everlasting
covenant of grace, has lifted the beggar from the dunghill."
Now look at that word, the dunghill, the filth, the filth of sin. man or woman has ever converted,
they don't even realize what they're in. And have no care
for it either. He takes them and sets them among
princes. Princes. Takes a believer, takes
a child, an object of His mercy and regenerates them. Sets them
among princes. I'm sitting here in the presence
of princes. Sinners robed in the righteousness
of Christ. Heirs of God. Joint heirs with
Christ. We just read, heirs of the kingdom.
It just sets us in the midst. In Him, we're in the presence
of royalty. You that believe, you know who
you are. You're sons of God. You're sons of God. Blessed of
the Lord. Washed in His blood. Again, robed
in His righteousness. He sets them among princes. The world looks at a believer
and just scorn and rebuke and hates them, talks about them
and stabs them in the back and stuff like that. Hannah, under
the inspiration of God's Spirit, he raises up the poor out of
the dust, lifts up the beggar from the dunghill, sets them
among princes to make them inherit the throne of glory. The pillars
of the earth are the Lord's. He set the world upon them. The
pillars of the earth. What is that? The pillars of
the earth. That is His power. All power
is given unto man. All power is given unto the Son
that He should give eternal life to as many as God's given Him.
The pillars of the earth, they're the Lord's. What's holding this
up? His Word. He set the world on
them. He does as He willed in the army
of heaven among the inhabitants of the earth. None stays His
hand. None says to Him, What doest
Thou? And verse 9 and 10, 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. Almighty God is righteous. Remember
when the Lord was praying in His high priestly prayer, O righteous
Father. That means you're right. You're
right. Is it right that He show mercy
to one and pass by another one? Yes. He's the righteous God. Righteous Father. Is it right
to raise up one vessel unto honor and another leave him in dishonor? He's right. Is it right that
He should, you know, hide these things from the wise and prudent?
He's righteous. He does it right. According to
His will, His purpose, He does. He's just. And the Lord Jesus
Christ, God's strength, is going to be exalted. He's going to
be appraised. He is right now in the lives
and hearts of His people, but I'll tell you this. In the day
of judgment, he's going to be highly exalted and shown before
heaven and hell. You're the Lord. You're the Lord. The prayer of Hannah. I would
encourage you to go back and read that. Read that prayer again. Ten verses is what it is. The
Lord moved upon this woman to pray in thanksgiving to what
God had done for her. And I pray the Lord bless those
words to our hearts for Christ's sake.