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Well, hi, thanks again for joining
me for another edition of From the Pastor's Pen. My name is
Pastor Carl Miller of Heritage Presbyterian Church in New Braunfels,
Texas. And today's edition is entitled,
Hannah's Triumph in God. And our focus text comes from
1 Samuel 2, verses two and three. And there we read, no one is
holy like the Lord, for there is none besides you. nor is there
any rock like our God. Talk no more so very proudly. Let no arrogance come from your
mouth, for the Lord is the God of knowledge, and by Him actions
are weighed." Well, my friends, as you look at others around
you day by day, you may wonder why God's providence appears
to be so good to them, and yet you struggle. In such times,
maybe you've been discouraged, asking him something like, why
are they blessed with that and not me? I've been praying long
for that, Lord, and have not received such blessing from your
hands. Maybe you've fallen into depression
where the darkness seems to surround you and the light of God's smiling
countenance towards you seems so far away. Hannah knew this
struggle well. She had such desire to have a
son. We're told in 1 Samuel 1 verse
5 that her husband, Elkanah, loved her, although the Lord
had closed her womb. Yet her rival, Peniah, Elkanah's
other wife, provoked her severely because she was barren. And so,
year by year, when Hannah went up to the house of the Lord,
Paniah provoked her every time. And therefore, Hannah wept and
didn't eat. We see this in 1 Samuel 1, verse
7. And yet, in God's perfect timing,
and because of his blessing granted to Hannah, the words in our focus
text came from her heart and out of her mouth as she prayed
and sang to the Lord. Her words were prayer and song
of thanksgiving as she had great joy because of God's grace to
her in opening her once barren womb, giving her a son who was
named Samuel. See this in 1 Samuel 1 verse
20. Samuel was a great servant of
the Lord and Hannah also rejoiced because of God's salvation. 1
Samuel 2 verse 1. And in fact, she exclaimed that
she smiled at her enemies because of such rejoicing. And further,
her words were also a psalm of prophecy, as Hannah concludes
in foretelling the coming Messiah as the king God would give strength
to and the anointed that he would exalt the horn of. You see this
in verse 10. This, of course, beautifully
points us to the Lord Jesus Christ. and therefore, springing from
the reason for her rejoicing, note the four divine attributes
that Hannah focuses on as she thinks about God's sovereignty
and grace to the humble. First, Hannah praises his unspotted
purity as she proclaims the holiness of God. He is wonderfully separate
and other. God is magnificent, transcendent,
higher and superior to all that is in all of his creation. Moses
exclaims that God is glorious in holiness. Exodus 15 verse
11. He is perfectly righteous, pure
and true. Praise the Lord that there is
no one like him. Praise God that he is holy like
none other. There is none so perfectly unchangeably
and constantly holy as God showed himself to be by his grace to
Hannah. The same is true of him and his
grace to you and me. Don't forget that. The thrice
holy God both checks the proud and mighty and pleads the cause
of his afflicted servants who trust in him. Hannah also proclaims
there is none besides the Lord. Isaiah 45 verse 5. There are
none equal to Him. There are none so holy as God
is, as He is the one and only Holy One. And therefore, secondly,
God is the only sure rock for His people. He is the only sure
defense and refuge for all who flee to Him and trust in Him,
like Hannah did. Moses again gives us marvelous
words of how God revealed Himself and His attributes to His people.
through what he did for them in bringing them out of Egypt
in Deuteronomy 4, verse 35. To you, it was shown that you
might know that the Lord himself is God. There is none other besides
him. The Egyptians had their gods,
but all of them were dead and lifeless, unlike the powerful,
true and living God. In the Song of Moses in Deuteronomy
32, verse 31, Moses says our enemies even concede to our rock
being unique, saying for their rock is not like our rock, even
our enemies themselves being judges. But thirdly, considering
these things, the enemies of Hannah and the enemies of Christ
need to recognize God's omniscience and unsearchable wisdom. They needed to heed the call
and shut their mouths. They had long uttered arrogant
boasts, Psalm 94 verse 4. Literally, they gave hard speeches,
and particularly here, Paniah did, about Hannah in her barrenness. Paniah, Elkanah's other wife,
was one of these prideful people. for she boasted about having
children when Hannah had none. However, their mouths must stop
in the presence of the holy refuge that is the living sovereign
God. Hannah raises a good reason for
such silence, doesn't she? God knew Peniah's heart, 1 Samuel
16, verse 7. As he knows all of the pride
and envy and contempt the enemies of God have for him, and all
his people. But finally, see how Hannah's
saying of God's unerring justice. God's infinite and complete knowledge
is connected with his justice. The Hebrew communicates that
God both ponders and tries all of men's thoughts and actions
as the just judge. Solomon said it rightly in Proverbs
21, verse 2. Every way of a man is right in
his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the hearts. He will give to everyone
according to their works, Romans 2, 5-11, including Paniah for
hers. And therefore God had pity on
Hannah in her humility and rebuked Paniah's arrogance. Beloved,
never forget and take comfort that God's greatest blessings
often come through difficulty. God has good planned for you
in and through stormy seasons, even the one that you may be
going through now. Hannah and her prayer and song
of thanksgiving should be a good example to you today regarding
your prayers and praise. When God answered her sincere,
heartfelt prayer, she was quick to acknowledge His goodness and
grace and rejoice in Him. Notice that she didn't have a,
well, it's about time attitude. If she did, she would have been
no better than Pania. No, she was humble and thankful
for her Lord's gracious gift. She cherished it and rejoiced
in the Lord. She prays His holiness, solace,
wisdom, and justice. You should do the same. As you
desire God to answer your prayers, be sure to take time to think
about and then give Him your sincere thanks and praise for
those petitions that He has already answered. For it is good to give
thanks to the Lord, and to sing praises to his name." Psalm 92,
verse 1. Well, I hope that you're blessed
by this devotion here today, and I hope that you'll join me
again next time for another edition of From the Pastor's Pen. God
bless you, and I'll see you then.
Hannah's Triumph in God
Series From the Pastor's Pen
| Sermon ID | 10924185502177 |
| Duration | 09:27 |
| Date | |
| Category | Podcast |
| Bible Text | 1 Samuel 2:2-3 |
| Language | English |
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