Hannah’s Song – 1 Samuel 1

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Reading from verses 1 to verses 10. Then Hannah prayed and said, my heart rejoices in the Lord. In the Lord my horn is lifted high. My mouth boasts over my enemies for I delight in your deliverance. There is no one holy like the Lord.

There is no one besides you. There is no rock like our God. Do not keep talking so proudly or let your mouth speak such arrogance. For the Lord is a God who knows, and by him deeds are weighed. The bows of the warriors are broken.

But those who stumbled are armed with strength. Those who were full hire themselves out for food. But those who were hungry are hungry no more. She who was barren has borne seven children. But she who has had many sons pines away.

The Lord brings death and makes alive. He brings down to the grave and raises up. The Lord sends poverty and wealth. He humbles and he exalts. He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap.

He seats them with princes and has them inherit a throne of honour. For the foundations of the earth are the Lord's on them he has set the world. He will guard the feet of his faithful servants. But the wicked will be silenced in the place of darkness. It is not by strength that one prevails.

Those who oppose the Lord will be broken. The Most High will thunder from heaven. The Lord will judge the ends of the earth. He will give strength to his King. King.

And exalt the horn of his anointed. This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.

That should be working loud and clear. Great. Good morning. It's lovely to be with you. I want to tell you first of all about Lucy.

She was five and she came bursting with excitement into school. She was just so much on edge. And her teacher said, lucy, what's making you so excited? And Lucy said, my dad has said I can have a pony when I'm 35.

Bit of waiting required there. When Barclaycard was first introduced, there was a rival credit card called Access. I don't know if you remember that. And the slogan for that was Access takes the waiting out of wanting. And this story of Hannah is a story to do with waiting for Hannah.

It was a desperately long wait. Our reading that Fiona read for us was from chapter two of the first book of Samuel. The lead up to that, of course, is in chapter one, and it's about Elkanah, who had two wives, one called Peninnah, who had loads of children, and the other one, Hannah, who apparently Elkanah loved even more than Peninnah. But Hannah had no children and of Course, Peninnah taunted Hannah because Hannah was childless. And every year they went up to the temple at Shiloh to worship and to present their sacrifices.

And the whole family went. And of course, Peninnah kept on taunting Hannah, and it made Hannah's life unbearable on one occasion. We've got this in 1 Samuel, chapter 1 and verse 13. Hannah was praying in the tabernacle, was praying in her heart, and her lips were moving, but her voice was not heard. And Eli, the priest, thought she was drunk, but she was just pouring out her desperation to the Lord.

And Hannah replied, not so, my Lord. I'm a woman who is deeply troubled. I was pouring out my soul to the Lord. I've been praying here out of my great anguish and grief. I wonder if you've ever prayed a prayer of desperation like that.

Maybe you're in the middle of praying that kind of prayer about some situation right now.

But we read in chapter 1:20, in the course of time, Hannah conceived and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel, saying, because I asked the Lord for him. The name Samuel sounds like heard of God. The El bit on the end of Samuel, El is God. And the Samu bit, Shmu, sham, shma.

All of those bits are the Hebrew for hearing. So that's what Samuel was. And a few things to notice before we get into the actual text. First thing is that Hannah kept on worshipping. She kept going with her family, year by year, she kept on worshipping God.

And that's pretty important because there are times when we're so desperate, we're so worried about the situation, or we think, what's the point? You know, you say, God, I would like you to deal with this. And by the way, I've mentioned it before a few times, but Hannah kept on worshipping. The second thing, Hannah described her situation as misery.

Maybe you know, of people who are in that kind of situation, too. But the next important thing to notice, in God's good time, her prayer was answered with a yes, it's that waiting thing that we commented on at the very beginning. There's a thing that we want, maybe for ourselves, maybe for our family, maybe for our situation, maybe for our street, whatever. But in God's good time, he'll answer. And then, last thing, as a preliminary, Hannah went back to the tabernacle and to Eli, the priest, to pray.

So have you ever been so desperate that you just didn't know where to turn? You've wondered why you've prayed and your prayers haven't been answered? I don't know if you've ever come across this book, God On Mute. It's an amazing book. I was given a copy for my birthday a couple of years ago and it really is a powerful book.

The subtitle is Engaging the Silence of Unanswered Prayer.

I don't know if you know about Pete Gregg, the author. He is at the heart of the 247 prayer movement. And it's a movement that started in Guildford in Surrey, but has spread far and wide. And as a result of that, many, many miracles have happened. Miraculous healings, utterly changed lives.

Drug addicts set free from their addictions. The 247 movement is powerful, but at the same time, Pete Gregg's wife has epilepsy.

It's not as bad as it was, but she still gets attacks. Epileptic fits.

Engaging the silence of unanswered prayer. Sometimes the whole business of prayer is a bit of a mystery.

So let's have a look at a bit of Hannah's prayer. Where does she start? Well, not with complaints, but with praise. And that's important.

Hannah prayed and said, my heart rejoices in the Lord. My heart rejoices in the Lord. The new American Standard Bible calls it, my heart exults in the Lord. Have you done any exulting lately? Not a word we use all that much, but that's what it is.

The message translation, which always puts neon lights on whatever it says. I'm bursting with God news, I'm walking on air.

How about that?

Yes, I will say, one of the translations of the French Bible that I've got at home says, joy fills my heart. Thanks to the Almighty. Joy fills my heart. Joy. Now, those of you who are members of the choir that's going to be leading our carols by candlelight in two weeks time will know that the word joy is pretty important.

In fact, it's the very first word we're going to sing. So in our practises, I've asked the choir to turn to another and say to the person next to them, joy with a smile on your face. Now, it's possible that one or two of the choir may not be able to be there and you might be drafted in. So can I ask you to turn to your neighbour and say, joy?

Yeah, that's good. And that's where Hannah starts. Joy fills my heart Joy to the world. So this is heartfelt praise. There is a difference between praise and thanks.

In the past months, we've been looking at a series about what ways God is different from you and me. He is so special. And so we praise him for who he is. I was at a prayer meeting where the leader said, let's start off with prayers of praise. And the first person to pray said, we praise you for the National Health Service.

That's not what praise is about, that's thanks. But there's a serious difference between thanks. Yet we are thankful for the National Health Service, but praise is different.

So joy fills my heart. Did you ever sing? Probably you're not old enough to have sung. Joy, joy, joy with joy my heart is ringing Joy, joy, joy his love to me is known My sins are all forgiven I'm on my way to heaven My heart is bubbling over with its joy, joy, joy Just turn to your neighbour and say, you can sing better than that, but it's the truth. With joy my heart is ringing.

And the next thing that Hannah says in her prayer is, there is no one holy like the Lord. There is no one holy like the Lord.

What is holiness?

Sometimes people refer to God as him upstairs. You know, I'll have a word with him upstairs. I don't feel that treats God with the holiness that he deserves.

He might well be your best mate, but there's something special about God's holiness.

I know what I want to say. There we are. Yeah. In the Old Testament and the New Testament we read, you are to be holy as I, the Lord am holy. You are to be holy as I, the Lord am holy.

Those words are repeated in the New Testament in 1 Peter, 1, 15, 16, and in the Sermon on the Mount. We've got a parallel thing. Be perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect. In Southport, there used to be an annual Methodist holiness convention. I don't know whether the word holiness strikes you with a bit of fear, what picture you have of holiness.

Dark suits, long faces, Thou shalt not at all under any circumstances.

But every year, people used to go to a convention at Southport just to explore what holiness is all about. It's being as close to what our Lord Jesus is as we possibly can.

There was a man driving along the road through a town and he noticed that the car in front was stopping on double yellow lines and there was a lady traffic warden just alongside. And there was obviously a conversation going on between the two of them. And the driver said, you know, I'm only staying a moment or two. And the traffic ward said, no, you can't. The double yellow lines, no stopping.

So reluctantly, the driver moved on. And the person behind watching this happen said to the traffic warden, you really get some awkward customers. I guess. And the traffic warden said, well, that one ought to know better. He's my husband.

So where do you. How do you choose whether or not to be holy? Do we have any choice? How does being holy relate to your approach to speed limits? In town, on the motorway, wherever do you think?

Oh, well, I'm in a 30 limit, but it's an empty road. There's no traffic at all. I may as well get up to 40. Well, that's not being holy. Somebody said, the angels drop off your car if you go over 70 on a motorway.

What about when you fill in your tax returns, Holiness? Well, they won't know, will they? But he knows we are to be holy. And Hannah, at the beginning of her prayer of praise, says, there is no one holy like the Lord.

And the very next thing she says in the same verse, there is no rock like our God. Lots of parallels in Scripture about the rock. Lots of Psalms, Psalm 18, Psalm 62, Psalm 89. I love Hannah's. I love Psalm 40, which could have been Hannah's psalm.

I waited patiently for the Lord. Well, yes, waited patiently for the Lord. He turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire. He set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.

He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. What a wonderful testimony Hannah could have given up. But no, she waited patiently for the Lord. And in his good time she was given her son Samuel, who, incidentally, was to be the last of the judges that we've been looking at in our previous sermon series. Here he was to be a priest, and he was a prophet.

In due course, Samuel came and she acknowledged that God was her rock. One foggy night at sea, the captain of a ship saw what looked like the lights of another ship heading towards him. So he got his signalman to contact the ship by light. The message was, Change your course 10 degrees to the south. The reply came back, Change your course 10 degrees to the north.

Then the captain answered, I am a captain. So you Change your course 10 degrees to the south. Reply, I am a Seaman First Class. Change your course 10 degrees to the north. This really infuriated the captain, so he signalled back, I am a battleship.

Change your course 10 degrees to the south. Back came the reply, and I am a lighthouse. Change your course 10 degrees to the north.

Ascribe greatness to our God, the rock. Do you know that in times of trouble you can be firmly upon the Rock. In a moment or two, we're going to be singing a song that we have sung in the past during communion services. Faithful one, so unchanging, ageless one, you're my rock of peace. Lord of all, I depend on you.

I call out to you again and again. You are my rock in times of trouble. You lift me up when I fall down. So I want to ask you, are you going through a time of difficulty? Are you living a life of quiet desperation?

As I look at you from here, you all look pretty serene, and that's good. But I don't know what's going on in your life, in your surroundings, in your circumstances, but God knows, and he wants to lift you out of the mud and the mire.

Rick Warren, who wrote a book called the Purpose Driven Life, which many of you will have read. Apparently it's an absolute world bestseller, an amazing Christian book, and it's a world bestseller. Rick Warren, the pastor who wrote that book, said that for him, life is like going on train rails. They run in parallel. And the one on the left is good times, but equally the one on the right is bad times, great things and troubles.

And I want to pray, as Hannah prays, that we may know first of all that God is praiseworthy and is able to give Joseph. I want to pray. And I have been praying and I continue to pray that where you are going through really tough times, you may know the joy, the joy of God. There was another old song that we used to sing. If you want joy, real joy, wonderful joy, let Jesus come into your heart.

Yeah, that's my prayer. And the second thing I want to pray is that you will be set free to be holy, because sometimes temptation just gets its grip on us and we don't know how to step away from that. And so I want to pray that the Holy Spirit will just take over your day by day living, that you may have that longing to be holy and the experience that where there are wrong choices to be made, you will actually make the right choice. And finally, that God may guide you through His Holy Spirit to trust in God, our rock.

Little Lucy said, my dad's promised me I can have a pony when I'm 35. You may be waiting, but God has got your best interests at heart, and he knows. And as you confidently put your trust in him, you can know that he will walk with you hand in hand. He will lift you out of your desperation, out of the mud and the mire, and will set your feet upon a rock if you need somebody to pray. With you for that experience, for that certainty, for that assurance.

Maybe during the time of our taking Holy Communion, you will receive prayer. Or maybe after the service is over, you would like to have a word with those who are ready to pray. Ben would be happy to pray with you. Phil and Nicky would be happy to pray with you. I would be happy to pray with you, as would my wife Margaret, and members of the developing and growing prayer ministry team.

But if you have that desperate need, don't take it away unprayed for in Jesus name, amen.