There are times that God drops a song of worship in my heart. This does not happen all the time but mostly after a moment of praise and worship. Sometimes, the song would be a Psalm in the Bible and at other times, the song would be words of worship. In such spontaneous worship experiences, I hardly record the lyrics of the songs. I tend to forget the songs after some days. When our inner man is filled with worship, sometimes it comes forth as a new song. The songs that are received directly after a moment of spending quality time with the Lord tend to be an outburst of divine worship. Our worship flows from a heart of gratitude and admiration. We know for sure that only God could have done what He chose to do. The knowledge of that brings us to our knees. Be mindful when you receive spontaneous worship songs. It could be recorded and kept as a memorial of worship. 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. (1 Samuel 2:1) Hannah, our focus of study, had been through the lows and the highs of life. She was so much loved by her husband but she remained a barren woman until she presented her case at Shiloh. The Lord remembered her and gave her a son. Hannah vowed to return the son to the Lord and she did just that as soon as the boy Samuel was weaned (see 1 Samuel 1). The atmosphere at Shiloh wouldn’t have been like previous years. Peninnah had no reason to mock Hannah and Hannah had every reason to worship. Hannah was the woman who had been favoured. She had received mercy and love. She prayed for a son and the Lord gave her just that. Her garment of shame was taken away and a garment of worship was placed on her. Hannah’s attitude was that of gratitude. She had none but received so much. In such an atmosphere of worship, 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 honor. “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 and exalt the horn of his anointed.” (1 Samuel 2:1-10). Hannah’s Psalm gives paradoxical situations such as the ‘barren has borne seven children, but she who has had many sons pines away.’ Hannah understood that God’s power makes human intelligence naught. She understood that it is not by strength that one prevails. Surely, Hannah’s personal experiences point to the fact that “There is no one holy like the Lord; there is no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God.” God humbles and he exalts and as we saw, the pride of Peninnah was broken and Hannah was exalted. Her Samuel was no ordinary child. No one knows the names of Peninnah’s many children. They were so insignificant in history. Hannah’s Samuel was no ordinary son. He was a priest, a prophet, a judge, a kingmaker, and most importantly a man of God. Hannah’s dedication of Samuel to the Lord, opened more doors of motherhood to her. “The Lord was gracious to Hannah; she gave birth to three sons and two daughters. Meanwhile, the boy Samuel grew up in the presence of the Lord.” (1 Samuel 2:21). Hannah gave Samuel to the Lord and worshipped before the Lord in Shiloh. The Lord received one son from Hannah and blessed her with five more children. It was a one for five affair. Imagine if Hannah had just held on to Samuel. Hannah’s Psalm points to the Lord our timeless rock. Yes, He has become our salvation and our song.
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