If you would turn with me to
the Old Testament book of 1 Samuel, right after Ruth, right before
2 Samuel. 1 Samuel. While you're turning, I know
that most of you are familiar with a woman in the Bible by
the name of Hannah. Many of you are familiar with
Hannah's prayer. Some call it Hannah's song. It's
one of the most referenced passages in all the scripture that have
to do in proving the sovereignty of God. Yet I'm telling you that
Hannah in her prayer reveals much, much more than just proof
of God's sovereignty. So the first question I'd like
to ask you is, who was Hannah? She was a barren woman. Look at verse two here of 1 Samuel
chapter one. 1 Samuel chapter one, verse two.
She was a barren woman. And he, Elkanah, had two wives. The name of the one was Hannah,
and the name of the other was Peninnah. And Peninnah had children,
but Hannah had no children. Hannah was barren. There was
no life in her womb. Her womb was dead. She was incapable
of producing life. If you're without Christ, dear
friend, you're spiritually barren. You're spiritually dead. There's
no life within you. You're incapable of producing
life in you. The womb of your soul is dead. Hannah was a barren woman. To be spiritually barren is to
be dead in sin. To be spiritually barren is to
be without Christ. It's to have no hope. It's to
be without God in this world. Hannah was the barren wife. but second point she was loved
by her husband look at verse four and when the time was that
Elkanah offered he gave Peninnah his wife and all her sons and
her daughters portions now what this is talking about this was
a time of the reaping of the fruits of the earth. It was harvest
time, the gathering of their crops. And this man who was a
godly man and his family every year would go to Shiloh. You
can read these and read this account here in this chapter.
They would go to Shiloh. Shiloh was where the temple of
God was. Shiloh was where the priest of
God was, and they would come and they would offer their bounty
to God as a peace offering. And Elkanai, God, his name means
God the zealous. It means the zeal of God. I think
he very could in this passage of scripture picture God, picture
our God and Savior. He owned it all. It all belonged
to him. And he gave, it says, Peninnah,
his wife, a portion. He gave his sons and daughters
a portion. But to Hannah, he gave a double
portion. And that's the third point. Her
husband gave her a double portion. Look at verse 5. But unto Hannah
he gave a worthy, and that word simply means double, portion,
for he loved Hannah. But the Lord had shut up her
womb. Now, who was Hannah? Well, we've seen she's a barren
woman. She's a barren bride. She was
loved by her husband. He gave her a double portion.
Child of God, does that sound like someone you know? The one
thing in life that Hannah wanted most, she couldn't produce. She wanted life within her. She
wanted a son. Spiritually speaking, I ask you,
is that what you want? Do you want life within you?
Do you want God's son? He is a double portion, I can
assure you that. Because in Him, our sin is taken
and His righteousness is given. Only God, the zealous one, can
give Christ to you. Fourth thing I want you to see
here is that Hannah had a great adversary. Look at verse six.
And her adversary, which just so happens to be Peninnah, the
other wife, also provoked, and that word, that's a strong word.
It means troubled and grieved and teased and taunted. Peninnah
provoked Hannah to make her fret because the Lord had shut up
her womb. Her adversary troubled her grieved
her, teased and tormented her. Child of God, this world will
hate you. If the world hates you, you know
that it hated me before it hated you, the Lord Jesus said. Friends,
Satan seeks to devour you. The Lord Jesus told Peter, he
said, Satan has desired to sift you as wheat. But I pray that
your faith Fail you not. The scripture tells us to be
sober, to be vigilant, because your adversary, the devil, has
a roaring line, walketh about, seeketh whom he may devour. We've got adversaries. Your sin,
your sin seeks to forever damn you, for the wages of sin is
death, Romans 6.23. Now, in verse 7, we see that
year after year, Elkanah went up to Shiloh. He took his family
with him. He gave a portion to them all,
and he gave a double portion to Hannah. And in jealousy, Peninnah
provoked Hannah, and Hannah wept and did not eat. She was heartbroken. For time's sake, let me move
you quickly through what happened next. Elkaniah asked Hannah why
she cried, asked her why she didn't eat. He asked her why
her heart was great. Heartbroken, Hannah wept as she
prayed. What was Hannah's greatest desire?
It was that the Lord would give her life within. It was that
God would give her a son. She vowed that if God gave her
a son, that she would dedicate him to the Lord. That she would
see to it that he would serve the Lord all the days of his
life. And in verse 13, we see that
Hannah spoke these things in her heart. You know, that's the
kind of prayers God answers. Those from the heart. In the
heart. from the heart to the heart of
God. Those are the prayers that God
answers. Only her lips moved, we see. Sinners don't have to
holler and hoop to get God's attention. God hears the words
of the sinner's heart that cry out unto Him. And Eli the priest
saw Hannah, and he thought she was drunk. Look at verse 14.
And Eli said unto her, how long wilt thou be drunken? Put away
thy wine from thee. And Hannah answered and said,
no, my lord, I'm a woman of a sorrowful spirit. I have drunk neither
wine nor strong drink, but have poured out my soul before the
Lord. Oh, friends, if you ever see
your need of Christ, if you ever see that you're barren, that
there's no life within, if God ever gives you the desire for
His Son, you'll cry from your heart. Look at verse 17, then
Eli answered and said, go in peace, and the God of Israel
grant thee thy petition that thou hast asked of him. And she
said, let thine handmaid find grace in thy sight. So the woman
went on her way and did eat, and her countenance was no more
sad. And do you know what? The Lord
heard her prayer. Isn't that wonderful? God hears
the prayers of penitent sinners. The Lord hears prayers that come
from heart and God granted her life within. She conceived and
gave birth to a son and she called his name Samuel. That means asked
of the Lord. Lost sinner, this is the way
to Christ. Those who seek Him this way find
Him. And they brought the child Samuel
to Eli the priest, and in verse 27, Hannah said, for this child
I prayed, and the Lord hath given him my petition, which I asked
of him. Therefore also I have lent him
to the Lord. As long as he liveth, he shall
be lent to the Lord. And Eli worshiped the Lord there. It says here that Eli worshiped
the Lord there. Did you notice that? You know,
this was an answer to his prayer too. He had said, may the God
of Israel grant thee thy petition that thou hast asked of him.
Oh, I'm telling you, if you desire Christ, if you desire him as
your substitute, your savior, I pray that the Lord grant you
your petition. And if he does, I'll rejoice
with you." And it was then, after all these things, that Hannah
sung that glorifying song to her great God. And this is what
I want you to see for just a few minutes this morning. When God
gives the life of the Son within, The safe sinner's gonna learn
some things about God. They're gonna learn some things
that Hannah knew. They're gonna learn what Hannah
learned. Now, Hannah was a woman who knew
God. She was one who knew who God was. He's the almighty God. She knew how God was. He's sovereign
and he's omnipotent. She knew these things because
God had revealed them to her. If you and I ever realized these
things, it'd be because God revealed them. So for a few minutes, let's
look closely and see what Hannah knew. Let's see if we know the
same things. Let's look closely and see how
Hannah felt. Maybe you have experienced the
same grace Hannah did. Let's look closely and see what
Hannah said. When we're finished, I want you
to ask yourself, is this your profession of God and Christ? Is it the same as hers? So 1
Samuel chapter 2 verse 1, this is the song, this is the prayer. 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." Now once sorrowful
and sad, now Hannah says, my heart rejoices in the Lord. Does your heart rejoice in the
Lord Jesus Christ? Hannah says, my horn is exalted
in the Lord. Once her head hung low. Now her
head's raised to blow the trumpet of praise once she was crying
in quiet. Now her mouth is enlarged over
her enemies. Now her mouth is not loud against
her enemies. Her rejoicing and praise is heard
over her enemies. Why is she rejoicing? The same
reason that every believer does. She said, Lord, I rejoice in
Thy salvation. Do you rejoice in the salvation
of God? Oh, if you're one of His, you
will. Hannah knew that salvation was of the Lord. Do you know
that salvation is of the Lord? If God saved you, you know it
to be true. How did Hannah know this? Well,
Hannah was taught of God. All the elect are taught of God.
That's what the scriptures say. It's written in the prophets,
and they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that
hath heard and hath learned of the Father cometh unto me. What does God teach saved sinners? That's a good question. Look
at verse two. The first thing God teaches a
believing sinner is this, there's none holy as the Lord. God's gonna show the saved sinner
that he's holy. There's none holy as the Lord.
Who is like unto thee, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like thee,
glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders? Exodus
15, 11. What else was Hannah taught?
She was taught that there's none beside Him. She said, there's
none beside Him. He's the only holy and true God. God says, I am the Lord and there
is none else. There is no God beside me, Isaiah
45. There is no rock like our God. Do you see that? The Lord is
upright, He is my rock, and there's no unrighteousness in Him, Psalm
92, 15. Look at verse three. The true
child of God will say, talk no more exceeding proudly. When
you see who God is, when you see how holy He is, when you
see how unholy you are, you won't talk proudly. Child of God don't
talk proudly. If he does, he changes his tune
real quick. You see, for God resisted the
proud, Peter said. And a proud look tops the list
of the seven things that God hates, Proverbs 6, 17. Look what
else she says. Let not arrogancy come out of
your mouth. Hannah says, for the Lord is
a God of knowledge. How did she know that? The Lord
revealed it to her. Now, how do believers grow? They grow in grace and in the
knowledge of the Lord. Our Lord is the God of knowledge
that causes us to grow in grace. Notice what else she says. She
says, by Him, actions are weighed. They're measured, they're judged.
Christ Jesus is the judge of all things, for He hath committed
all judgment unto His Son, John 5.22. Look at verse 4. Hannah was taught that salvation
is by grace and not by works. Have you been taught that? Hannah
says the bowls of mighty men are broken. Friends, we are broken
men and women with broken weapons. Paul said in 2 Corinthians 10
that the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, they're not fleshly,
but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds.
We're born not of blood, nor the will of the flesh, nor the
will of man, but of God. Fallen man thanks himself to
be mighty, but he's nothing but a broken sinner with a broken
bow. One who must depend totally on
God for everything that he needs to be saved, to provide everything
that God requires of him. And that's why we read next here,
and they that stumbled are girded with strength. Why? Because it's
not by works of righteousness that you or I have done, but
according to his mercy, he saved us. We stumble in our self-righteousness
but were girded with strength according to his mercy. Isn't
that beautiful? Look at verse five. Now I'm telling
you, this woman knew God. Do you know this God? She said,
those that are full, hire out themselves for bread. But I'm
telling you, this is talking about much more than just a rich
man being brought into poverty. This is talking about those who
think themselves to be rich spiritually. Rich, this is speaking of those
who are trusting in a work of righteousness that they do in
order to be saved. Don't do that. Don't do that. Don't trust in a work of righteousness
you do because your righteousness is filthy rags. Those who are
full of themselves, hire themselves out for bread, they've sold themselves
out. They're having to now work for
their bread, but it's not the living bread. Are you working
for the bread of life? It can't be obtained by working. It's given by grace and the mercy
of God. In Malachi chapter 1 verse 7,
we looked at it not long ago, God says you have offered polluted
bread upon my altar. Any work of ours that we offer
is polluted bread. Read on, verse 5, those that
were hungry ceased to be hungry. My dad knew a man that had nothing,
just dirt poor. Lived that way all of his life.
And my dad was a welder, and they built drag lines for surface
mining. And this guy came up with something. I don't remember now what it
was, but it was something used on a drag line. Overnight, he
became a millionaire. I mean, just like that. My dad
said that he was lucky, but God was behind it all. Hannah's talking
about much, much more here than just a poor man becoming rich.
This is talking about those who are poor in spirit. Are you poor
in spirit? They shall cease to be hungry. You know why? For theirs is the
kingdom of God. We saw that in our study of the
Beatitudes. Those who are hungry. Do you
hunger and thirst after righteousness? Do you? You're blessed if you
do, or you shall be filled. Your hunger will cease. That's
what Hannah's talking about. Read on. So that the barren hath
born seven, the first thing that came to my mind is he that hath
the son hath life. And then she said, she that hath
many children is wife's feeble. And the first thing that came
to my mind was he that hath not the son hath not life. Hannah
knew who had made her barren, and Hannah knew who had made
her fruitful. Do you know? Do you know who
gives sinners life? Look at verse 6. Hannah said,
the Lord killeth and maketh alive. There'd be some that disagree
with that. Satan kills, God makes alive. God gives life, Satan
destroys men's life. No. God gives life, and God takes
life. God ordains our birth and it's
by His appointment that death comes. God fills our lungs, He
gives us breath, and when He gives us the last breath, we're
done breathing. The Lord kills and the Lord makes
alive. Life and death is His prerogative.
The scriptures say the King's heart is in the hand of the Lord. He turns the heart However He
wills. I'm telling you, if the heart
beats in rhythm, it's God's doing. A few years ago, I was diagnosed
with something called AFib. It's an irregular heartbeat.
But I'm telling you, if a heart beats out of rhythm, it's God's
doing. Why? Because even the king's
heart's in the hand of the Lord. He turns it how He wills and
pleases. And if the heart stops beating,
It's God's doing. The Lord kills and makes alive.
Is that something you know? But hear me when I say that this
also applies in a spiritual sense. The Lord kills men and women
by bringing them to the end of themselves. Wasn't that the case
with you who believe? Paul said, for I was alive without
the law once, but the commandment came, sin revived, and I died. When Paul saw the law at a distance,
he thought that he kept it. But it had not yet been revealed
in his heart. And when the commandment came
in power, when God showed him that he was guilty. Paul, do
you remember when God showed you you were guilty? He said
sin revived and I died. The law showed him that he was
dead in trespasses and sin. Has the law shown you that? God
showed him that he was guilty. The Lord showed him he was dead.
And I'm telling you, He's going to kill you before He makes you
alive. You're not going to trust in anything that you do. You're
going to die to that. And that's the Gospel. He'll
make you dead indeed unto sin so that you can see that you're
alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Romans 6.11. Read on. The Lord bringeth down
to the grave. Lord brought Lazarus down to
the grave, didn't he? Martha said, Lord, if you'd been
here, my brother would not have died. If he'd been here, he would
still be alive. Since you weren't here, he's
dead. The Lord bring it down to the grave. And the Lord Jesus
looked at her and he said, your brother will live again. And
she said, I know, Lord. I know that He'll rise again
in the resurrection at the last day. And He looked in her eyes
and He said, Martha, do you know who's standing before you? He
said, I am the resurrection and the life. And He that believeth
in Me, though He were dead, yet shall He live. It's the Lord
that bringeth down to the grave. And it's the Lord that bringeth
up. Concerning Lazarus, our Lord asked a simple question. He said,
where have you laid him? And when our Lord got to that
tomb, he made a simple request. He said, take away the stone.
Martha said, Lord, don't do that. He's been dead four days. By
now, he stinks. And Jesus said unto her, he said,
didn't I tell you that if you would just believe that you'd
see the glory of God? Oh, the only smell that came
from Lazarus' tomb was that sweet-smelling savor of life unto life. And who's sufficient for these
things? The apostle asked after that statement. Who's sufficient
for these things? Oh, I'm telling you, friends.
Let me ask you a question. Do you ever thank the Lord for
something before He does it for you? Most of the time we thank
Him afterwards, but our Lord did. He said there before He
called Lazarus from the tomb, He said, Father, I thank Thee
that Thou hast heard Me. I know You always hear Me. Friends,
if you belong to Christ, God always hears you. He always hears
you. And the Lord Jesus cried with
a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth! And the Scriptures say, He that
was dead came forth immediately. Do you know why Lazarus came
forth? Because the Lord brings down
to the grave, and the Lord lifted up. That's why. That's why. No other reason. And I'm telling
you, when the day comes when they lay me in the grave, know
that I was buried believing that He would raise me up again. Because my hope is not in anything
that I've done, but in what Christ did for me. And I have a good
hope because of that. Don't you have a good hope, child
of God? Our hope's in Christ, not in
works of righteousness that we do. Oh my, verse seven, the Lord
maketh poor and maketh rich. The Lord bringeth low and lifteth
up. Who does? The Lord does. Do you believe that? Hannah knew
the God of this Bible. Hannah knew who was in charge
of this world. Hannah knew who was working all
things together for her good. Do you? Do you? Is this the God you know? Look
at verse eight, it doesn't stop here. The Lord raiseth up the
poor out of the dust and he 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 them. How is a
bankrupt sinner raised out of the dust? God raised him. How's a mercy beggar lifted out
of the dunghill? God lifted him. How is a peasant
set among princes? God sets him there. How do sinners
inherit the throne of glory? They're made to. Made to. God made them to. Oh, the salvations
of the Lord. How do all these things come
to pass? She tells us right here, the
pillars of the earth are the Lord's. And He has set the world
upon them. God works all things after the
counsel of His own will. All things. All things. How far can you take that? Just
as far as you can. All things. All things. Hannah
knew who God was. She knew that God made all things
come to pass. She knew that God was the one
who saved sinners. She knew that God was the one
that kept sinners. Look at verse nine. Hannah said,
God will keep the feet of his saints. She knew some things,
didn't she? Do you know these things? We're
kept by the power of God. That's what the Scriptures teach
us. Through faith unto salvation. That's how believers are kept.
By the power of God. If God saves you, can you be
lost? Not if I'm kept by the power
of God. If I'm not kept, then I was never saved. because God
cannot fail. Those saved are those kept. Don't you find comfort in that?
Look what else she says. God will cause the wicked to
be silent in darkness. God's gonna stop every mouth
so that all the world becomes guilty before him, Romans 3.19. Hannah said, for by man's strength
shall no man prevail. Hannah knew that men are not
saved, kept, and preserved by their own strength. Do you know
what Hannah knew? And then look at verse 10. The
adversaries of the Lord shall be broken to pieces. Did you
know that the Lord has adversaries? You know, everybody, everyone
that is not a believer is an enemy of the Lord. If you do
not believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, you're an enemy of God.
That's what God says. And if you do not repent and
trust in Christ alone, you'll be broken to pieces. Out of heaven
shall He thunder upon them. The Lord shall judge. That word
means rule. He shall rule the ends of the
earth. And He shall give strength unto His King. and exalt the
horn of His anointed. God's in control, friends. Is
that the God that you trust? Is that the God that you rest
your soul upon? Who's the King that the Lord
will exalt? Well, we know who that is. It's
the Lord Jesus Christ. God's given Him power over all
flesh that He should give eternal life to as many as thou hast
given Him. Do you know the God that Hannah
knew? Do you believe the things that Hannah believed? Do you
trust the Christ that Hannah trusted? Well, if you do, know
this. He is the rock. His work is perfect. That's what you have to have
before God, perfection. His work is perfect. For all
His ways are judgment. A God of truth and without iniquity,
just and right is He. Amen. May God teach us what He
taught Hannah. I pray that He will. I'll rejoice
with you if He does. Okay.