be brought nigh by the blood of Jesus, and " sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of God."]
4. The procedure of God in the day of judgment —
[Rewards do not always accompany virtue in tliis world, because God has appointed a day wherein he will judge the world in righteousness, and reward every one according to his works. But there are some instances wherein God appears for his people now, in order that he may give a specimen, as it were, of what he will do hereafter : and such an instance is exliibited in the history before us : Ruth's love to Naomi, and her confidence in the God of Israel, were richly recompensed. And who shall ever fail of recompence, that devotes himself unfeignedly to the God of Israel, and surrenders for him all his worldly prospects and comforts? We must indeed bear in mind the diflTerence between the conduct of Orpah and of Ruth: it is not by a profession of love, but by the actual manifestation of it, that we must approve ourselves to God : we must not be contended with sakiting his people, but must adhere to them, deliberately braving all difficulties and trials, and determinately adhering to his sacred cause. Let us only act in this manner; and the whole universe, like the Betli- lehemites on that occasion, shall soon witness our reward^.]
q Matt. xix. 29. with Ps. xlv. 10.
Hannah's song of thanksgiving.
1 Sam. ii. 1 — 10. 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. There is none holy as the Lord : for there is none beside thee : neither is there any rock like our God. Talk no more so exceeding proudly ; let not arrogancy come out of your mouth: for the Lord is a God of knoivledge, and by him actions are iveighed. The bows of the mighty men are broken, and they that stumbled are girded with strength. They that ivere full have hired out themselves for bread; and they that loere hungry ceased : so that the barren hath born seven; and she that hath many children is waxed feeble. The Lord killeth, and maketh alive : he bringeth down to the grave, and bringeth up. The Lord maketh poor, and maketh rich : he bringeth loiv, 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 upo7i them. He will keep the feet of his sai7its, and the wicked shall be sileiit in darkness ; for by strength shall no man prevail. The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken to pieces; out of heaven shall he thunder upon them: the Lord shall judge the ends of the earth; and he shall give strength unto his King, and exalt the horn of his Anointed.
THE return which mankind in general make to God for his mercies is, to idohze the gift, and forget the Giver. Directly opposite to this is the conduct of those who are truly pious : they value the gift only in proportion to its real worth, and rise in hea- venly contemplations to the Donor himself; thus making the creature an occasion of exalting and
no 1 SAMUEL, II. 1—10. [282.
magnifying the Creator. We observe this particu- larly in the history of Hannah, whose devout ac- knowledgments we have just recited. She had been greatly afflicted on account of her not bearing any child to her husband Elkanah, whilst Peninnah, who was his other wife, had borne several. Her grief was daily augmented by the unkind behaviour of Peninnah ; nor could all the kindness and love that she experienced from her husband, remove it. She carried her complaints therefore to the Lord, who alone was able to relieve them : unto him she vowed, that if he would grant her a son^ she would dedicate him to the service of the sanctuary, and that he should be a Nazarite from the womb. Having obtained her request from God, she now came to perform her vow : as soon as the child could with any propriety be separated from her, it is thought at three or four years old, she took him with her to the tabernacle at Shiloh, and there, for the whole remainder of his days, " lent him to the Lord." At the time of surrendering him up, she burst forth in this song of praise and thanksgiving, in which she takes occasion, from the mercy vouchsafed to her, to adore the goodness of God as manifested towards the whole creation. She mentions,