The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Samuel — Section 35

11 my Saviour." But the relationship to his chosen One grows closer and dearer 11s the uges roll on. What shall it be at laBt l And what joy will it awaken l Also, the condition of sharing in this joy is twofold, being personally a saved one, and cherishing full sympathy with "his King." Hannah, blesAed with a great deliver- ance from sorrow and desolation, could sing and, laying all at the feet of God in holy sympathy with the coming kingdom, she found inspiration for song beyond the rnnge of her own experience. A "new song" is learnt on earth, in so far as its first notes, by all who have known in their personal experience the salvation of God ; and j it becomes sweeter and more inspired 3,f! the freed spirit sees by faith the blessed day when the ends of the earth shall also see the King in his beauty. III. REVELATION OF DIVINE PERFECTIONS. In some sense all God's acts are revelations. Nature, as we call the beautiful system around us, is but the shadow of the Eternal Presence. The Eternal Power :md Godhead are clearly seen through the visible creation. In the Incarnation of God in Christ we have, therefore, a higher expression of a general truth ; so that in one respect the most stupendous and mysterious of all supernatural facts is in keeping with Nature. Especially is every instance of salvation, whether typical or antitypical, individual or national, a revela- tion to the universe of the ever-blessed One. From Hannah's deliverance from sorrow and desolation, on through the ages of mercy, to Christ's final victory over death and sin, the same attributes are revealed in the deeds and processes by which the salvation in each instance is effected. 1. Mercy, as seen in compassion shown to the sorrowful and helpless. 2. Holiness, inasmuch as the salvation is wrought out against evil powers and persons, for only good and pure issues, by exacting and nourishing into maturity holy, unselfish motives, and ordaining suffering and deferred good only for pure and blissful ends. 3. Power, demonstrating that '' beside " him "there is none," as seen in complete control over the hidden forces of Nature, and full realisation of all that is promised. 4. Wisdom, counteracting the devices of the proud, and causing the bitterest grief and protracted suffering to contribute at last to depth and fulness of joy. 5. Faithfulness, unshaken and firm as a "rock," insuring that all the strength and wisdom of the Divine nature shall be exercised for the final bestowment of the covenanted blessings. The retrospect of et personal histor.lJ was to Hannah the means of reading the outlines of tl!e manifesta- tion of the Divine glory, especially in the salvation of the Church. She, like us, saw only the beginnings of things. The remote glory shone through a glass darkly. It was for St. Paul and St. John to declare the same truth in fuller and more precise terms, as the one tells of the "manifold wisdom of God" being made known " by the Church" unto "principalities and puwers 'in heavenly places," and the other, of him who by virtue of what he has wrought out for his redeemed is " worthy " of all that is due to the only Lord of glory. Men are now intent on studying the material framework of the universe; the day will comP. when the best minds will study with unbounded delight the perfections of God as seen in the restoration of spiritual order, beauty, and joy out of the chaos of sin and sorrow. IV. INSTRUCTIVE TO THE WICKED. There wa~ a time when the jealous and cruel Peninnah was proud in her strength and ubiwdance. Also Pharaoh, and other ?Ppressors of Israel, could boast of their power and resources. The infant (.,hurch m primitive times was as nothing in comparison with the numerical and social power of her enemy. The exceeding proud talk nnd arrogancy of men who proclaim their vast superiority in secular knowledge to the mass of Christians, is in keeping with ~e conduct of the kings and princes who" take counsel against the Lord and against his Anointed." But as Hannah's fear nnd trembling yielded to confidence and joy, consequent on the casting down of her proud enemy and the lifting up of the sorrow- ful spirit, so the same ever-recurring triumphs of the Redeemer, awakening in his people the song of salvation, reads out in cltJar and forcible terms the instructive lesson to the proud to "talk" no more, and to the arrogant to "shut their mouth," and to the seemingly prosperous that all "actions are weighed" by him who is a "God of knowledge." It is ever true that no weapon formed against God's children can p~osper. In what God has effected for the lowly pious in time past, the proud, 1.Le wise, the strong may find instruction; and, if they will, learn both how vain it is to curse in heart or mouth whom God hns blessed, and how importaut for them-  80 THE FIRST BOOK OF SAMUEL. [cH. II. 1-10.