_HANNAH'S SONG OF THANKSGIVING._
1 SAMUEL ii. 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
that her thoughts took a more definite form? 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"? 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 God's service in a higher sense, to fulfil 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 up even 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 (vv.
2-3); 2. His providential government (vv. 4-8); 3. His most gracious
treatment of His saints (v. 9); 4. The glorious destiny of the kingdom
of His anointed.
1. 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 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! 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 (vv. 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,
fulness, 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 evangelising 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 civilisation 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 fulness 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 trifling
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" (v. 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 fulfilment 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 thanksgiving. 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."