1 Samuel 1:15
"No, my lord," Hannah replied. "I am a woman oppressed in spirit. I have not had any wine or strong drink, but I have poured out my soul before the LORD.
Sermons
Christian Charity in Estimating OthersSpurgeon, Charles Haddon1 Samuel 1:13-17
HannahW. Jay.1 Samuel 1:13-17
Mistaken JudgmentHelen Plumptre.1 Samuel 1:13-17
Of the Sinfulness of Rash JudgmentsDean Goulburn.1 Samuel 1:13-17
On Judging OthersJ. Parker, D. D.1 Samuel 1:13-17
Harsh Judgment Meekly AnsweredD. Fraser 1 Samuel 1:13-18
Undeserved RebukeB. Dale 1 Samuel 1:13-18
A Woman of a Sorrowful SpiritSpurgeon, Charles Haddon1 Samuel 1:15-16
Hannah's Gracious DispositionC. Ness.1 Samuel 1:15-16














1 Samuel 1:13-18. (SHILOH.)
The duty of rebuking others when they do evil is often enjoined (Leviticus 19:17; 1 Thessalonians 5:14), and is especially incumbent on those who occupy positions of authority. But how seldom is rebuke given or received aright! Eli, the aged judge and high priest, sitting on the judgment seat, "by a post of the temple of the Lord," and observing a woman exhibiting signs of excited feeling, severely rebuked her for being intoxicated with wine. In his words, and what followed, we have rebuke -

I. UTTERED WITHOUT JUSTICE (vers. 13, 14). There was certainly apparent ground for the judgment he formed; for excitement caused by wine was probably no uncommon thing at the tabernacle in those corrupt times. But he did not "judge righteously" (John 7:24). Learn -

1. That apparent ground for censure is often found on inquiry to be really groundless. Therefore there should be proof before reproof.

2. That the most excellent are often the most misjudged, especially in religious matters. Whilst sensual excitement was often seen, spiritual excitement was rare. Religious services were formal, cold, and dead; and holy fervour was naturally misunderstood and misinterpreted by superficial observers. So they who were filled with the Spirit on the day of Pentecost were accused of being filled with new wine. And men of large views, disinterested motives, and exalted aims are often condemned by the ignorant, selfish, and unspiritual.

3. That the highest in authority are liable to err in judgment. Infallibility belongs to God alone. The assumption of it by men is rebuked by their own manifest mistakes and failings, and is an insult to heaven.

4. That persons who think that they see clearly the faults of others are commonly blind to their own transgressions (Matthew 7:3; Romans 2:1). Eli was unconscious of his own easily besetting sin, which consisted in his indulgent treatment of his children and their vices.

5. That those who censure others should themselves be undeserving of censure.

6. That our own exposure to judgment should make us cautious in passing judgment on others (Matthew 7:1-5).

7. That it is the part of charity to put the best construction on their conduct. "Believeth all things; hopeth all things." Eli exhibited a want of knowledge, consideration, charity, and tenderness. How different the High Priest and Judge "with whom we have to do"!

II. BORNE WITH MEEKNESS. Hannah was not only innocent of the vice for which she was rebuked, but was at the time uttering a vow that if the Lord would give her a son he should be a Nazarite, and a life long protest against that vice and other prevailing evils. Her fervour of spirit was equalled by her calmness, self-control, and discreet answer to the reproach of Eli (vers. 15, 16). Learn -

1. That resentment and retaliation toward unjust accusers afford no evidence of innocence. Some persons when rebuked fly into a passion, and utter worse judgments on others than have been pronounced on themselves.

2. That a good conscience can be calm under accusation.

3. That appearances which seem to justify censure should be as fully as possible explained.

4. That those who say they are not guilty of sin should show their abhorrence of sin. "Call not thine handmaid a daughter of Belial" ('a worthless woman'). In her view intoxication was a great sin, and deserving of severe condemnation.

5. How beautiful is "the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit."

6. To look to Christ as the perfect pattern of the spirit here exhibited, and the source of the grace which is needed for its exercise (1 Peter 2:20-23). "Let me find grace in thy sight."

III. TURNED INTO BENEDICTION (vers. 17, 18). Learn -

1. That those who see that they have erred in judgment should be ready to acknowledge their error.

2. That meekness and patience are adapted to change a severe reprover into a kind friend.

3. That the endurance of rebuke in a right spirit is often a means of obtaining a favourable answer to prayer. God himself spoke through the voice of the high priest (ver. 17; John 11:51).

4. That it also causes perturbation and sorrow to give place to peace and joy (Matthew 5:5, 11). "Strive to rejoice when others use towards thee words of injury or rebuke, or despise thee. For a rich treasure lies hid beneath this dust; and, if thou take it willingly, thou wilt soon find thyself rich unperceived by those who have bestowed this gift upon thee" (Scupoli). - D.

Hannah answered and said, No, my Lord, I am a woman of a sorrowful spirit.
The special cause of Hannah's sorrow arose from the institution of polygamy, which, although it was tolerated under the old law, is always exhibited to us in practical action as a most fruitful source of sorrow and sin. The worse the woman the better she could get on with the system of many wives, but the good woman, the true woman, was sure to smart under it. But enough sources of grief remain; and there is not in any household, however joyous, the utter absence of the cross. The worldling say, "There is a skeleton in every house." I know little about such dead things, but I know that a cross of some sort or other must be borne by every child of God. The smoking furnace is part of the insignia of the heavenly family, without which a man may well question whether he stands in covenant relationship to God at all. MUCH THAT IS PRECIOUS MAY BE CONNECTED WITH A SORROWFUL SPIRIT. Note well the precious things which went in Hannah's case with a sorrowful spirit. She was a godly woman. As we read the chapter, we are thoroughly certified that her heart was right with God. Many of the sweetest flowers in the garden of grace grow in the shade, and flourish in the drip. True, there are children of the tropical sun, whose beauty and fragrance could only be produced by having bathed themselves in the golden flood, and these, in certain respects, must always stand in the forefront, yet are there choice flowerets to whom the unshaded sun would be death. They prefer a sheltered bank, or a ravine in the forest, under the shadow of the thick boughs, where a softened, mellowed light developes them to perfection. I am persuaded that he "who feedeth among the lilies" has rare plants in his flora, fair and fragrant, choice and comely, which are more at home in the damps of mourning than in the glaring sun of joy. I have known such, who have been a living lesson to us all, from their broken-hearted penitence, their solemn earnestness, their jealous watchfulness, their sweet humility, and their gentle love.

2. Hannah was a lovable woman.

3. In Hannah's case, too, the woman of a sorrowful spirit was a very gentle woman.

4. There was more, however, than I have shown you, for Hannah was a thoughtful woman, for her sorrow drove her first within herself, and next into much communion with her God. That she was a highly thoughtful woman appears in everything she says. The product of her mind is evidently that which only a cultivated soul could yield.

5. Remember, also, that though she was a woman of a sorrowful spirit, she was a blessed woman. It is now clear that much that is precious may go with a sorrowful spirit.MUCH THAT IS PRECIOUS MAY COME OUT OF A SORROWFUL SPIRIT: it is not only to be found with it, but may even grow out of it.

1. Observe, first, that through her sorrowful spirit Hannah had learned to pray. In too many cases ease and health bring a chill over supplication, and there is a needs be for a stirring of the fire with the rough iron of trial. Many a flower reserves its odour till the rough wind waves it to and fro, and shakes out its fragrance. As a rule the tried man is the praying man, the angel must wrestle with us in the night before we learn to hold him, and cry, "I will not let thee go."

2. In the next place, Hannah had learned self-denial. This is clear, since the very prayer by which she hoped to escape out of her great grief was a self-denying one. She desired a son, that her reproach might be removed; but if her eyes might be blessed with such a sight she would cheerfully resign her darling to be the Lord's as long as he lived.

3. Another precious thing had come to this woman, and that was, she had learned faith.

4. Still more of preciousness this woman of a sorrowful spirit found growing out of her sorrow: she had evidently learned much of God. Driven from common family joys she had been drawn near to God, and in that heavenly fellowship she had remained a humble waiter and watcher. In seasons of sacred nearness to the Lord she had made many heavenly discoveries of his name and nature, as her song makes us perceive.(1) She now knew that the heart's truest joy is not in children, nor even in mercies given in answer to prayer, for she began to sing, "My heart rejoiceth in the Lord" — not "in Samuel," but in Jehovah her chief delight was found. "Mine horn is exalted in the Lord."(2) Next, she had also discovered the Lord's glorious holiness, for she sang, "There is none holy as the Lord."(3) She had perceived His all-sufficiency; "There is none beside thee; neither is there any rock like our God."(4) She had found out God's method in providence, for how sweetly she sings, "The bows of the mighty men are broken, and they that stumbled are girded with strength."(5) She had also been taught the way and method of his grace as well as of his providence, for never did a woman show more acquaintance with the wonders of divine grace than she did when she sang, "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."(6) She had also seen the Lord's faithfulness to his people.(7) She had foreseen, also, somewhat of His kingdom, and of the glory of it. Her prophetic eye, made brighter and clearer by her holy tears, enabled her to look into the future, and looking, her joyful heart made her sing, "He shall give strength unto his King, and exalt the horn of his Anointed."MUCH THAT IS PRECIOUS WILL YET BE GIVEN TO THOSE WHO ARE TRULY THE LORD'S, EVEN THOUGH THEY HAVE A SORROWFUL SPIRIT.

1. Hannah had her prayers answered.

2. Not only did there come to Hannah after her sorrow an answered prayer, but grace to use that answer.

3. Hannah had acquired another blessing, and that was the power to magnify the Lord.

4. Moreover, her sorrow prepared her to receive further blessings, for after the birth of Samuel she had three more sons and two daughters, God thus giving her five for the one that she had dedicated to him. This was grand interest for her loan: five hundred per cent. Last of all, it was by suffering in patience that she became so brave a witness for the Lord, and could so sweetly sing, "There is none holy as the Lord, neither is there any rock like our God."

( C. H. Spurgeon.)

Hannah still found prayer and patience the best anodynes and antidotes for assuaging her grief; cold patience must quench her corrival's fiery contumely, and hot fervent prayer must quicken and prevail with God to grant her desire; and to animate her devotion the more she adds warm tears thereunto, and, as if all this were not enough, she subjoins likewise her solemn vow to God, saying, If thou wilt give thine hand maid a man child, then will I give him to the Lord all the days of his life. The judge misjudged, and misconstrued her true devotion, as was that of those Primitive Christians (Acts 2:13). Thus also both ancient and modern martyrs have been misjudged in all ages, and if we be so in our age, God is not leading us through any untrodden paths; many better than we have tons before us in that way, but our comfort is the day of judgment will judge over again all that are misjudged. (Psalm 37:6). Hannah is silent, touching the taunts of Peninnah, that was so peevish to her; and though she could not be so to Eli's taunts here, but answers them, yet she setteth not up a loud note at him, calling him a false accuser; nor doth she twit him in the teeth, with bidding him to look better to those drunken whoremasters, his own sons, saying vies corrects sin, as many pert dames would have done in her circumstances; but she gives him a milder answer to his reproaches than the blessed Apostle could scarcely give to the High Priest in his day (Acts 23:5) calling him a whited wall, etc., but she here gives the high priest good words, patiently bearing his unjust censurings of her.

3. Here is her prudence, as well as patience, she seeketh to satisfy him against his false judgment. Saith she, I am a woman, in whom drunkenness is more abominable than in men; and thereupon the Romans punished it with death, as well as adultery, and that she was a woman of a troubled spirit, so more likely to be drunk with her own tears (whereof, good soul, she had drunk abundance) rather than with any intoxicating liquors.

4. Behold here, her humility and modesty together with her patience and prudence, none of which could have shined so forth in her, had she been really drunk according to Eli's over-severe sentence; notwithstanding Eli's rash severity in so misjudging her, yet she useth no railing accusation against him, as is said of Michael against the Devil (Jude ver. 9) in calling him an unjust judge.

(C. Ness.)

People
Eli, Elihu, Elkanah, Ephah, Hannah, Hophni, Jeroham, Peninnah, Phinehas, Samuel, Tohu, Zuph
Places
Ramah, Ramathaim-zophim, Shiloh
Topics
Answereth, Answering, Beer, Broken, Deeply, Drank, Drink, Drinking, Drunk, Hannah, Heart, Opening, Oppressed, Pained, Pour, Poured, Pouring, Replied, Sharply, Sorely, Sorrow, Sorrowful, Soul, Spirit, Strong, Troubled, Wine
Outline
1. Elkanah, a Levite, having two wives, worships yearly at Shiloh
4. He cherishes Hannah, though barren, and provoked by Peninnah
9. Hannah in grief prays for a child
12. Eli first rebuking her, afterwards blesses her
19. Hannah, having born Samuel, stays at home till he is weaned
24. She presents him, according to her vow, to the Lord

Dictionary of Bible Themes
1 Samuel 1:15

     5970   unhappiness

1 Samuel 1:1-20

     5225   barrenness
     5733   pregnancy

1 Samuel 1:6-16

     5559   stress

1 Samuel 1:9-18

     8830   suspicion

1 Samuel 1:9-20

     5744   wife

1 Samuel 1:9-28

     5745   women

1 Samuel 1:10-20

     8614   prayer, answers

1 Samuel 1:11-20

     5468   promises, human

1 Samuel 1:12-16

     8653   importunity, to God

1 Samuel 1:13-15

     4436   drinking, abstention

Library
Of Self-Annihilation
Of Self-Annihilation Supplication and sacrifice are comprehended in prayer, which, according to S. John, is "an incense, the smoke whereof ascendeth unto God;" therefore it is said in the Apocalypse that "unto the Angel was given much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all Saints'' (Chap. viii. 3). Prayer is the effusion of the heart in the Presence of God: "I have poured out my soul before God" saith the mother of Samuel. (1 Sam. i. 15) The prayer of the wise men at the feet of
Madame Guyon—A Short and Easy Method of Prayer

Prayer and Sacrifice Explained by the Similitude of a Perfume --Our Annihilation in this Sacrifice --Solidity and Fruitfulness of this Prayer as Set Forth in The
Prayer ought to be both petition and sacrifice. Prayer, according to the testimony of St John, is an incense, whose perfume rises to God. Therefore it is said in the Revelation (chap. viii. 3), that an angel held a censer, which contained the incense of the prayers of saints. Prayer is an outpouring of the heart in the presence of God. "I have poured out my soul before the Lord," said the mother of Samuel (1 Sam. i. 15). Thus the prayers of the Magi at the feet of the infant Jesus in the stable of
Jeanne Marie Bouvières—A Short Method Of Prayer And Spiritual Torrents

Home Dedication.
"The rose was rich in bloom on Sharon's plain, When a young mother with her first born thence Went up to Zion, for the boy was vowed Unto the Temple-service; by the hand She led him, and her silent soul, the while, Oft as the dewy laughter of his eye Met her sweet serious glance, rejoiced to think That aught so pure, so beautiful, was hers, To bring before her God!" Beautiful thought, and thrice beautiful deed,--fresh from the pure fount of maternal piety! The Hebrew mother consecrating her first-born
Samuel Philips—The Christian Home

John Newton 1Sam 1:10,18

John Newton—Olney Hymns

Hwochow Women's Bible Training School
COURSE OF STUDY FIRST TERM Book of Genesis. Gospel according to St. Luke or St. Mark. Acts of the Apostles, chapters i. to ix. "A Synopsis of the Central Themes of the Holy Bible." Reading Lessons, with necessary Explanation and Writing of Chinese Character. Arithmetic. Singing and Memorisation of Hymns. SECOND TERM Book of Exodus, Numbers, and 1 Samuel i. to xvi. The Gospel according to St. John. The Epistle of St James. "A Synopsis of the Central Themes of the Holy Bible"--(continued). Reading
A. Mildred Cable—The Fulfilment of a Dream of Pastor Hsi's

The Love of the Holy Spirit in Us.
"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not."--Matt. xxvii. 37. The Scripture teaches not only that the Holy Spirit dwells in us, and with Him Love, but also that He sheds abroad that Love in our hearts. This shedding abroad does not refer to the coming of the Holy Spirit's Person, for a person can not be shed abroad. He comes, takes possession, and dwells in us; but that which is shed abroad
Abraham Kuyper—The Work of the Holy Spirit

The Prophet Jonah.
It has been asserted without any sufficient reason, that Jonah is older than Hosea, Joel, Amos, and Obadiah,--that he is the oldest among the prophets whose written monuments have been preserved to us. The passage in 2 Kings xiv. 25, where it is said, that Jonah, the son of Amittai the prophet, prophesied to Jeroboam the happy success of his arms, and the restoration of the ancient boundaries of Israel, and that this prophecy was confirmed by the event, cannot decide in favour of this assertion,
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament

And V the Kingdom Undivided and the Kingdom Divided
THE HISTORICAL BOOKS: I and II Samuel. I and II Kings. I and II Chronicles. NOTE.--As these three pairs of books are so closely related in their historical contents, it is deemed best to study them together, though they overlap the two divisions of IV and V. I. CHARTS Chart A. General Contents +--+ " I AND II SAMUEL " +-------------+-----+------+ "Samuel "Saul "David " +-------------+-----+------+----------+ " " " " I AND II KINGS "NOTE.--Biblical
Frank Nelson Palmer—A Bird's-Eye View of the Bible

Divers Matters.
I. Beth-cerem, Nehemiah 3:14. "The stones, as well of the altar, as of the ascent to the altar, were from the valley of Beth-cerem, which they digged out beneath the barren land. And thence they are wont to bring whole stones, upon which the working iron came not." The fathers of the traditions, treating concerning the blood of women's terms, reckon up five colours of it; among which that, "which is like the water of the earth, out of the valley of Beth-cerem."--Where the Gloss writes thus, "Beth-cerem
John Lightfoot—From the Talmud and Hebraica

Ramah. Ramathaim Zophim. Gibeah.
There was a certain Ramah, in the tribe of Benjamin, Joshua 18:25, and that within sight of Jerusalem, as it seems, Judges 19:13; where it is named with Gibeah:--and elsewhere, Hosea 5:8; which towns were not much distant. See 1 Samuel 22:6; "Saul sat in Gibeah, under a grove in Ramah." Here the Gemarists trifle: "Whence is it (say they) that Ramah is placed near Gibea? To hint to you, that the speech of Samuel of Ramah was the cause, why Saul remained two years and a half in Gibeah." They blindly
John Lightfoot—From the Talmud and Hebraica

The King --Continued.
The years thus well begun are, in the historical books, characterized mainly by three events, namely, the bringing up of the ark to the newly won city of David, Nathan's prophecy of the perpetual dominion of his house, and his victories over the surrounding nations. These three hinges of the narrative are all abundantly illustrated in the psalms. As to the first, we have relics of the joyful ceremonial connected with it in two psalms, the fifteenth and twenty-fourth, which are singularly alike not
Alexander Maclaren—The Life of David

Nature of Covenanting.
A covenant is a mutual voluntary compact between two parties on given terms or conditions. It may be made between superiors and inferiors, or between equals. The sentiment that a covenant can be made only between parties respectively independent of one another is inconsistent with the testimony of Scripture. Parties to covenants in a great variety of relative circumstances, are there introduced. There, covenant relations among men are represented as obtaining not merely between nation and nation,
John Cunningham—The Ordinance of Covenanting

I Will Pray with the Spirit and with the Understanding Also-
OR, A DISCOURSE TOUCHING PRAYER; WHEREIN IS BRIEFLY DISCOVERED, 1. WHAT PRAYER IS. 2. WHAT IT IS TO PRAY WITH THE SPIRIT. 3. WHAT IT IS TO PRAY WITH THE SPIRIT AND WITH THE UNDERSTANDING ALSO. WRITTEN IN PRISON, 1662. PUBLISHED, 1663. "For we know not what we should pray for as we ought:--the Spirit--helpeth our infirmities" (Rom 8:26). ADVERTISEMENT BY THE EDITOR. There is no subject of more solemn importance to human happiness than prayer. It is the only medium of intercourse with heaven. "It is
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

Samuel
Alike from the literary and the historical point of view, the book[1] of Samuel stands midway between the book of Judges and the book of Kings. As we have already seen, the Deuteronomic book of Judges in all probability ran into Samuel and ended in ch. xii.; while the story of David, begun in Samuel, embraces the first two chapters of the first book of Kings. The book of Samuel is not very happily named, as much of it is devoted to Saul and the greater part to David; yet it is not altogether inappropriate,
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

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