1 Samuel 2:1

1 Samuel 2:1 . Hannah prayed — That is, praised God. Hymns of praise are frequently comprehended under the name of prayers. To utter this hymn Hannah was raised by divine inspiration, while she was engaged in devout meditation on the extraordinary goodness of God to her. My heart rejoiceth — Or, leapeth for joy; for the words signify, not only inward joy, but also the outward demonstration of it. She was influenced by the same spirit which moved St. James to say, Is any afflicted? Let him pray, as she did, 1 Samuel 1:10 . Is any merry? Let him sing psalms, as she now does. In the Lord — As the author of my joy, that he hath heard my prayer, and accepted my son for his service. My horn is exalted — My strength and glory (which are often signified by a horn) are advanced, and manifested to my vindication, and the confusion of my enemies. She who was bowed down and dejected, now lifts up her head and triumphs. My mouth is enlarged, &c. — That is, opened wide to pour forth abundant praises to God, and to give a full answer to all the reproaches of my adversaries. Enemies — So she manifests her prudence and modesty in not naming Peninnah, but only her enemies in general. I rejoice in thy salvation — The matter of my joy is no trivial thing, but that strange and glorious deliverance thou hast given me from my oppressing grief and care, and from the insolent reproaches of my enemies.

Verse 1. - And Hannah prayed and said. Like the Magnificat, Hannah's hymn of thanksgiving begins with the temporal mercies accorded to herself, but rises immediately into the realms of prophecy, foretelling Christ's kingdom and the triumphs of the Church. From this prophetic element, common more or less to all the hymns of the Bible, most of them have been used in Christian worship, and still merit a place in it, though we in the liturgy of the Church of England now use only two, taken both from the New Testament. In ver. 1, in four strophes of equal length, Hannah declares how, first, her heart , the centre with the Hebrews, not merely of the physical, but also of the moral and intellectual life, rejoices in Jehovah; while the exaltation of her horn , the symbol of strength and vigour, signifies that this inward joy is accompanied, or even occasioned, by the changed circumstances of her outward lot. Her mouth , therefore, is opened wide over her enemies, yet not for cursing and in bitterness, but for joyful praise of the God who has answered her prayers. It is his salvation , the being delivered by him, that makes her thus burst forth into thanksgiving. It is a proof too of her faith and spirituality that she thus refers all to Jehovah. In ver. 2 she gives her reasons for this holy joy. The first is God's absolute holiness; the second his absolute existence, in which she finds the proof of his holiness.

Hannah may have meant to express only the language of piety, but she also stated a primary philosophical truth, which was early grasped by the deeply religious instinct of the Hebrews, that outside of God is no existence. Many necessary deductions follow from this fundamental truth, that God alone absolutely exists, and that all other existence is secondary and derived; but no deduction is more certain than Hannah's own, that such a Being must be absolutely holy. In calling him a rock she assigns to him strength, calm, immovable, enduring, but a strength which avails for the safety of his people (comp. Deuteronomy 32:4, 15 ; Psalm 18:2 ). For rocks, as being capable of easy defence, formed the nucleus of most ancient towns, and continued to serve as their citadels. In ver. 3 she appeals to God's omniscience, "for Jehovah is a God of knowledges," the pl. being intensive, and signifying every kind of knowledge. As too he weighs and judges human actions, how can men venture to talk so arrogantly before him, lit. so proudly, proudly. The last clause is one of those numerous places in which there is a doubt whether the Hebrew word lo means not , or by him. If the negative sense be taken, which the Hebrew spelling favours, the rendering will be "though actions be not weighed." Though wicked actions be not immediately punished, yet Jehovah is cognisant of them, and in due time will requite.

1 . And Hannah prayed ] This description of the Psalm is not inappropriate, for prayer includes thanksgiving and praise. Cp. the “prayer of Habakkuk” ( Habakkuk 3:1 ): and the “prayers of David” as a general designation of his psalms ( Psalm 72:20 ). rejoiceth ] Exulteth or triumpheth , a strong word. mine horn is exalted in the Lord] = ‘I am brought to great honour, and the author of that honour is Jehovah.’ The horn is frequently used as a symbol ( a ) of strength ( Deuteronomy 33:17 ): ( b ) of honour Job 16:15 ). “To exalt the horn” signifies “to raise to a position of power or dignity.” Cp. Psalm 89:17 ; Psalm 148:14 . The figure is probably derived from horned animals, tossing their heads in the air, and there is no allusion to the horns worn by women in the East at the present day. It is found in Latin poets, e.g. Ov. A. A . 1. 239, “Tum pauper cornua sumit” = “plucks up courage.” my mouth is enlarged over mine enemies ] “My mouth is opened wide against mine enemies ;” I am no longer put to silence in their presence. Cp. Psalm 38:13-14 . In ch. 1 Samuel 1:7-8 it is implied that Hannah made no answer to Peninnah’s taunts. thy salvation ] Cp. Luke 1:47 . “Salvation” in the O. T. means ( a ) deliverance , rescue from dangers or adversities of all kinds (ch. 1 Samuel 14:45 ); ( b ) help , the power by which the deliverance is effected, whether divine or human ( Psalm 35:3 ). Ch. 1 Samuel 2:1-11 . The Song of Hannah Hannah’s song is a true prophecy.

She is inspired “to discern in her own individual experience the universal laws of the divine economy, and to recognise its significance for the whole course of the Kingdom of God.” The deliverance from her proud adversary which had just been vouchsafed to her was but one instance of the great principles of Jehovah’s moral government of the world, principles which receive their fullest illustration in the exaltation of the Lord’s Christ through humiliation to victory, and which will only he fully realised when “the kingdoms of this world shall have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ.” Hence it is that her own peculiar circumstances are so soon lost sight of in the wider view of the dealings of God’s Providence. The failure to recognise this has led critics to deny the authenticity of the song, and to conjecture that some ancient triumphal war-pæan has been erroneously placed in Hannah’s month by the compiler of the book. A brief analysis will help to explain the connexion of thought. “Jehovah is the sole author of my deliverance. He shall be the theme of my song. There is none to be compared with Him for holiness, power, faithfulness: be silent before him, all ye proud boasters! He knows your thoughts and weighs your actions. Observe the vicissitudes of human fortune: the haughty are humbled, the humble exalted: this is Jehovah’s doing: for He is the Almighty Governor of the universe. He guides and guards His saints, and destroys the wicked.

And Hannah {a} prayed, and said, My heart rejoiceth in the LORD, mine {b} horn is exalted in the LORD: my mouth is {c} enlarged over mine enemies; because I rejoice in thy salvation. (a) After she had obtained a son by prayer she gave thanks. (b) I have recovered strength and glory by the benefit of the Lord. (c) I can answer them that criticize my barrenness.

The song of Hannah is a prophetic Psalm. It is poetry. and it is prophecy. It takes its place by the side of the songs of Miriam, Deborah, and the Virgin Mary, as well as those of Moses, David, Hezekiah, and other Psalmists and prophets whose inspired odes have been preserved in the Bible. The special feature which these songs have in common is, that springing from, and in their first conception relating to, incidents in the lives of the individuals who composed them, they branch out into magnificent descriptions of the Kingdom and glory of Christ, and the triumphs of the Church, of which those incidents were providentially designed to be the types. The perception of this is essential to the understanding of Hannah's song. Compare the marginal references throughout.

(1) And Hannah prayed, and said. —“Prayed,” not quite in the sense in which we generally understand prayer. Her prayer here asks for nothing; it is rather a song of thanksgiving for the past, a song which passes into expressions of sure confidence for the future. She had been an unhappy woman; her life had been, she thought, a failure; her dearest hopes had been baffled; vexed, tormented, utterly cast down, she had fled to the Rock of Israel for help, and in the eternal pity of the Divine Friend of her people she had found rest, and then joy; out of her own individual experience the Spirit of the Lord taught her to discern the general laws of the Divine economy; she had had personal experience of the gracious government of the kind, all-pitiful God; her own mercies were a pledge to her of the gracious way in which the nation itself was led by Jehovah—were a sign by which she discerned how the Eternal not only always delivered the individual sufferer who turned to Him, but would also at all times be ever ready to succour and deliver His people.