In the sermon 'A Prayer Answered and a Promise Kept' by Mike Davenport, the narrative of Hannah from 1 Samuel chapters 1 and 2 is explored. The sermon emphasizes the profound theme of God's providence and faithfulness in answering prayers. Hannah's earnest plea for a child is met with God's remembrance, leading to the birth of Samuel. The sermon highlights how Hannah's faith and dedication to God were evident in her willingness to fulfill her vow by dedicating Samuel to the Lord's service. Elkanah's support of Hannah's vow shows his faithfulness and understanding of God's providence. The sermon draws parallels between Hannah's story and other biblical figures who sought God's remembrance, illustrating a recurring theme in scripture of God's faithfulness and the power of prayer. The sermon concludes by encouraging believers to trust in God's unchanging nature and to remain faithful in their prayers and promises, drawing inspiration from Hannah's example.

What a delight again to open up our word and hear from our never changing God. First Samuel chapter 1, I'm going to be reading verses 19 through the end of the chapter and then we'll look at the very last verse of chapter 2 that comes after Hannah's prayer. Then they rose early in the morning and worshiped the Lord and returned and came to their house at Ramah. And Elkanah knew Hannah his wife and the Lord remembered her. So it came to pass in the process of time that Hannah conceived and bore a son and called his name Samuel, saying, because I have asked for him from the Lord.

Now the man Elkanah in all his house went up to offer to the Lord the yearly sacrifice and his vow. But Hannah did not go up, for she said to her husband, not until the child is weaned, then I will take him, that he may appear before the Lord and remain there forever. So Elkanah, her husband, said to her, do what seems best to you. Wait until you have weaned him. Only let the Lord establish his word.

Then the woman stayed and nursed her son until she had weaned him. Now when she had weaned him, she took him up with her with three bulls, one ephah of flour and a skin of wine and brought him to the house of the Lord in Shiloh. And the child was young. Then they slaughtered a bull and brought the child to Eli. And she said, Oh, my Lord, as your soul lives, my Lord, I am the woman who stood by you here praying to the Lord.

For this child I prayed and the Lord has granted me my petition which I asked of him. Therefore I also have lent him to the Lord. As long as he lives he shall be lent to the Lord So they worshiped the Lord there and then chapter 2 verse 11 then Elkanah went to his house at Rama But the child minister to the Lord before Eli the priest. Let us pray. Great God, we thank you and praise you for your goodness to us.

And Lord, we thank you that even as we just sang a few minutes ago, Lord, you do not change. Those mercies which we experienced yesterday are ours today in Christ Jesus, who is to us, yes and amen to every promise from you. We thank you for your son, Jesus Christ. We thank you for he, the promised one, who came and took away our sins to give us new life. And Lord, you gave us that without our even requesting.

So gracious are you. And Lord we thank you. And we pray that each and every soul here would know the goodness found in Jesus Christ. That they would trust him today as their only savior. In his name we pray, amen.

Well, you may be seated. Well, we opened up this study a couple of weeks ago with a consideration of the mystery of God's providence. Among the verses of the beautiful hymn written by William Cooper are the following. God moves in a mysterious way, his wonders to perform. He plants his footsteps in the sea down deep where you can't see them and Then rides upon the storm Judge not the Lord by feeble sense but trust him for his grace.

Behind a frowning providence he hides a smiling face. His purposes will ripen fast unfolding every hour. The bud may have a bitter taste but sweet will be the flower well in the text before us Today we see the bright designs of God's providence. We see His smiling face emerging from that seemingly frowning providence. And we see the bitter taste give way to the sweet flower.

Well the two points that I hope to cover they actually form the title of the sermon. So the title as well as the two points are this a prayer answered and a promise kept. A prayer answered and a promise kept. A prayer answered and a promise kept. So first consider with me a prayer answered.

Verses 19B and 20. And Elkanah knew Hannah his wife, and the Lord remembered her. So it came to pass in the process of time that Hannah conceived and bore a son and called his name Samuel saying because I have asked for him from the Lord. The Lord remembered Hannah, the Lord sabbath, the Lord of hosts, the God of all the earth, the creator and sustainer of all things, he who is the blessed and only potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, dwelling in inapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honor and everlasting power. This one, this one remembered Hannah, a self-proclaimed maidservant of this great and awesome God.

Dear ones, could sweeter words ever be spoken. The Lord remembered her. The Lord remembered her. When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you, oh Lord, have ordained, what is man that you were mindful of him and the son of man that you visit him? But the God-inspired text plainly says the Lord remembered Hannah.

You see, God would have us impressed with the fact that he remembered her. He did not forget. He did not answer her with, am I not better to you than ten sons? He had pity on her. He gave her the desire of her heart.

He opened the womb that he himself had closed. The burden she had placed at his feet, He took care of it and in his time and in his way. And you dear sisters especially, let this be an encouragement to you. Our God is the God of the ordinary. He's the God of the mundane.

Hannah, she wasn't asking for some great thing. She was, this is the time of the judges, the end of the time of the judges. She was not asking to be the next Deborah in the land of Israel. Her desire was simply to be a life-giving, character-shaping mother in the home. And in this matter, in this matter, the Lord remembered her.

He remembered her. And dear ones, this should give us all great encouragement and hope. Was not this the very essence of what she had prayed. In verse 11 we find this simple plea, remember me, remember me, that was her plea and this has been the plea of many saints throughout biblical history. This was the prayer of Samson as he was under the cruel treatment of the Philistines.

He had lost his eyes and been chained to the pillars in the temple and he cried out, Oh Lord God, remember me, I pray. Strengthen me, I pray, just this once, oh God. This was the constant prayer of Nehemiah. Remember me, my God, for good according to all that I have done for this people. Nehemiah 5.19.

Remember me, oh my God, concerning this and do not wipe out my good deeds that I have done for the house of my God and for its services. 13.14. Remember me, oh my God, concerning this also and spare me according to the greatness of your mercy. 1322. And then in 1331, Remember me, oh my God, for good.

This was part of the prayer of Job in the midst of his suffering. He cried out in Job 14, 13 and 14, oh, That you would hide me in the grave and that you would conceal me until your wrath is passed That you would appoint me a set time and remember me All the days of my hard service. I will wait Till my change comes We find it in the prayer of David as well in Psalm 25, six and seven. Remember, oh Lord, your tender mercies and your loving kindness, The very thing that we just sang about a few minutes ago for they are from of old Do not remember the sins of my youth nor my transgressions according to your mercy remember me for your goodness sake Oh Lord And then the writer also of Psalm 106, he prays in verse 14, remember me, oh Lord, with the favor you have toward your people. The prophet Jeremiah persecuted for bringing the word of God to that stiff-necked people.

He cried out in Jeremiah 15, 15, Oh Lord, you know, remember me and visit me and take vengeance for me all my persecutors in your enduring patience. Do not take me away." And who can forget those precious words of that thief on the cross as he turns and looks to his now Lord suffering there beside him for his sins he cried out Lord remember me when you come into your kingdom. Dear brothers and sisters, have you been in a place or circumstances that give voice to that cry? Oh Lord, remember me. For providence in the life of our family has given fresh voice to that cry in our hearts, oh Lord.

Remember me, remember me. And dear ones, God delights in the expression of our dependence upon him. He delights in that. And you fathers and mothers, you know that, right? Sometimes we as fathers give our sons and daughters, especially at their younger age, things they can't handle.

And we love to see them strive with all of their might to please us and to do it. And sometimes our little faces turn to us and I can't do it. And it delights our heart to come and to do it for them. That's the heart of our God who remembers that we are dust. And those mercies he brings to us fresh every morning.

He delights to demonstrate to his people that indeed he has not forgotten but does indeed remember them and that remembrance it's often tangible as it was in this instance. And so it came to pass in the process of time that Hannah conceived and bore a son and called his name Samuel, saying, because I have asked for him from the Lord. Now do not forget the fact that the reason Hannah had for weeping was the very reason for her praying and dear ones we soon Forget our previous circumstances We forget From whence the Lord the pit from whence he dug us out. We tend to forget. We were as apt to forget as that chief butler in Pharaoh's court was to forget his time in prison and his own promise to the plea of Joseph which was what?

Remember me. When you get back into the court, remember me. He forgot. William Blakey, commentator, would have us remember that if Penina had been kind to Hannah, Samuel might never have been born. It was the unbearable harshness of Penina that drove Hannah to the throne of grace and brought to her wrestling faith the blessing she so eagerly pleaded for.

What must have seemed to Hannah at the time a most painful dispensation became the occasion of a glorious rejoicing. The very element that aggravated her trial was that which led to her triumph. And dear was this answer to prayer it was no small answer. It was no small answer. The God of heaven and earth who does exceedingly abundantly above what we could ever ask or think.

This God was answering in ways beyond simply giving her a male child. As this book of first Samuel unfolds we shall see what God intended to do with this answer of prayer. You see God had an extraordinary task in place for the fulfillment of his promises and his purposes. This task was a task beyond any ordinary man. Do you recall from the first message the instances of barrenness that we considered.

It's no coincidence, as Blakey points out, that very often the finger of God is seen very clearly in connection with the birth and early training of those who are to become his greatest agents. And then he goes on to point out the instances surrounding the birth and the calling of Moses, the birth and the calling of Moses, the birth and the calling of Samson, of John the Baptist, and even of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ himself. We'll reread here that the child was given the name Samuel. Samuel. Now because of Hannah's comment here recorded, many have taken the name to mean asked of the Lord.

However, in the original, the more literal meaning is heard of the Lord. One commentator has pointed out that Hannah's words asked of the Lord are not to be considered an etymological explanation of the name, but simply an exposition founded upon the facts. You see, in reality, the actual name of Samuel emphasizes more that he was the token of God's hearing than of Hannah's asking. Now, obviously, the fact that the Lord heard, what did he hear? He heard her asking.

That's obvious. But the emphasis in the naming is placed on what the Lord did. And I would beg to argue that to put the emphasis on Hannah's asking to the point of missing out on the Lord's hearing that that would undermine the focus even of this dear saint of God who actually did the asking. Simply read ahead in chapter two, read her prayer, and you will come away convinced of her persuasion and of her focus that the Lord has heard and answered. Blakey says this of Samuel's name, the name was designed to be a perpetual memorial of the circumstances of his birth.

For the good of the child himself and for the instruction of all that might come in contact with him, it was designed to perpetuate the fact that before his birth A solemn transaction in prayer took place between his mother and the Almighty. The very existence of this child was a perpetual witness, first of all, of the truth that God exists and then of the truth that he is a prayer-hearing God. The very name of this child is a rebuke to those parents who never think of God in connection with their children, who never thank God for giving them, nor think of what he would like in their education and training. So that is the focus of the first part of our text. A prayer answered.

Now consider with me the second point, a promise kept. You see a vow had been made, a promise had been uttered, and it was this, O Lord of hosts, if you will give your maidservant a male child, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life and no razor shall come upon his head. If you will give, then I will give. And as we have already noted, Hannah's prayer was answered. God gave her the desire of her heart.

The if you will give, O Lord, was now complete. Now it is time for Hannah to fulfill the then I will give part. We are not told how much time passed, but we read in verse 21 that Elkanah and his family returned to Shiloh to keep the yearly sacrifice. Verse 21, now the man Elkanah and all his house went up to offer to the Lord the yearly sacrifice and his vow. Again we are met by the faithfulness of this man and his family in regard to the prescribed worship of God.

The vow referred to here could be in reference to the fulfilling of his vow as a Levite in reference to his own duties, but it also may entail a vow he himself took that is not recorded for us. And we'll touch upon the possibility of this other vowel as we come to the latter part of our text but but as we read on we actually see that not all of the family makes this trip. We read in verses 22 and 23, but Hannah did not go up, for she said to her husband, not until the child is weaned, then I will take him, that he may appear before the Lord and remain there forever. So Elkanah, her husband, said to her, do what seems best to you. Wait until you have weaned him.

Only let the Lord establish his word. Then the woman stayed and nursed her son until she had weaned him. Now Hannah had already decided how she intends to fulfill this vow she has made. She intends to nurse the top child until he is weaned and then and only then to make the trip to Shiloh. She had evidently proposed and purposed in her heart that the very next time that she should go to Shiloh to worship to this holy place, she would do so in order to pay her vow.

She had no willingness to destroy the solemnity of her vow to seem as though she was as Ecclesiastes 5 terms that deferring or delaying to pay that vow. She desired that her good intention and purpose should not be questioned or spoken evil of. Now it would seem that Elkanah was comfortable with Hannah's decision to remain at home and to nurse the child and for the plans that she had in regard to how her vow would be carried out. Would be carried out. Now under the law as stated in Numbers 30 verses 10 through 14, Elkanah could have made void the vow that Hannah had initially made, but that annulling of her vow would have had to have happened on the day, that very day that he first was made aware of it.

Well, this lawful right for him to annul it, evidently he did not choose to exercise that. And not only was that right not exercised, I propose to you that we see the curtains pulled back on the heart of this man Elkanah, which we're not given much to go by about this man. We've seen his faithfulness. We haven't seen him speak a whole lot, but here we we get a peek behind the scenes into this man's heart. You see Samuel was his son as much as it was Hannah's son.

But such was his heart for God and God's kingdom. He was content that his son Samuel should be dedicated to God and his service for all his days. It seems Elkanah's last words on the matter are maybe something of a prayer or at least the breathings of a heart that was given to such prayer. Only let the Lord establish his word." Now since there seems to be no direct word from the Lord in regard to a promise or a prophecy of a son, at least not that we see in Scripture, I propose that this was an indication of Elkanah's proper view of God's providence, that he saw the birth of Samuel, that answer to prayer to indeed be a word from the Lord an indication that God was answering not only Hannah's plan for a male child but also answering her desire that God would use this child for the good of his kingdom all the days of his life. This was the desire of this godly man that God would indeed make it to be so.

Well put yourself in the shoes of Hannah. God has given this dear saint her desire. He's given her her desire. He's given her what she has longed for for many years. She is now holding in her arms the answer to her prayers.

I fear that many of us, We would go and seek counsel in such a situation in an effort to determine if we really had to, if we really ought to follow through with what we said we would do. We would be looking for the loophole. We would try to excuse ourselves, saying we could not or should not fulfill our end of the bargain. We may even be godly enough to seek scripture, to let us out, to give us that excuse that would bolster the idea that maybe this child would be better off and maybe he would actually fulfill those purposes better here in the house, to remain with us. She does not look for counter counsel.

She does not look for loopholes. She always intended to keep this vow. And now that the answer of God is in her very arms, she does not retreat from her promise. She does not get cold feet. She does not show even signs of regret.

The apostle James admonished his readers concerning their lack of prayer on one hand and their selfish prayer on the other. He writes in chapter four, yet you do not have because you do not ask. And then you can hear someone, he's anticipating the argument. But I have prayed, okay? You ask and do not receive because you ask amiss that you may spend it on your pleasures.

Well, Hannah certainly did not fit in either of these categories. Hannah prayed and her heart was set on the good pleasure of God, even in the answer to her prayer. Here we would do well to consider our own prayers. Although God is not bound, nor has he promised to answer every one of our requests. Yet could it be that we do not have simply because we do not ask?

Or could it be that we do not have because we have not asked with the pleasure of God in view? Certainly, This humble woman gives us reason to pause and to consider Well verses 24 and 25 say now when she had weaned him She took him up with her with three bulls one ifa of flour and a skin of wine and brought him to the house of the Lord in Shiloh. And the child was young. Then they slaughtered a bull and brought the child to Eli. Now in these verses, promise made has now become promise kept.

Intentions have given way to actions. Plans have been carried out. The vow has been fulfilled. And once again, the whole family makes their way to Shiloh. And Hannah this time does not come empty handed.

Samuel is with her. And not only that, she has brought something for sacrifice as well. Now, based on what we understand of the custom of the day, Samuel may have been three years old at this time, but she comes bringing this sacrifice. What sort of sacrifice? Well, most likely it is the sacrifice in recognition of the fulfillment of her vow.

In Numbers 15, 8 through 10, we read, and when you prepare a young bull as a burnt offering or as a sacrifice to fulfill a vow or as a peace offering to the Lord then shall be offered with the young bull a grain offering a three-tenths of an ephah a fine flour mixed with half a hen of oil, and you shall bring as the drink offering half a hen of wine as an offering made by fire, a sweet aroma to the Lord. The psalmist speaks of such a sacrifice in Psalm 66 13 to 15. We had it read earlier. I will go into your house with burnt offerings. I will pay you my vows which my lips have uttered and my mouth has spoken when I was in trouble.

I will offer you burnt sacrifices of fat animals with the sweet aroma of rams. I will offer bulls with goats." Now some translators have taken what we have in the New King James Version, this wording three bulls, and they've replaced it with a three-year-old bull. In their reasoning for that translation, it may rest on the fact that we read a little later that one bull was sacrificed however, some scholars have pointed out the fact that the grain offering is approximately three times the amount that was required for this sacrifice of the fulfillment of the vow and If that's the case it would suggest that there would indeed be three bulls even though only one would have been for the actual sacrifice of Samuel, the fulfillment of this vow. This explanation would seem to suggest the largeness of heart exhibited by the parents on this occasion, that such an answer from God deserved more than simply what was required. Others have concluded that The other two bulls mentioned are what was typically brought by the family each year for the yearly sacrifice, one for burnt offering, the other for a thank offering, and the text is simply making note of an additional bull required for this particular trip to Shiloh.

Regardless, regardless of what was actually brought and why, there was definitely a sacrifice made in regards to the fulfillment of this vow in the dedication of Samuel. Note the order in the text. Then they slaughtered a bull and brought the child to Eli. Now in regards to the sacrifice, Blakey states the following, even a newborn infant could not be presented to the Lord without some symbol of expiation. There is such a virus of corruption in every human soul that not even infants can be brought to God for acceptance and blessing without a token of atonement.

And so what a solemn truth for all who desire to be employed in the public service of Jesus Christ. Remember how unworthy you are to stand before Him. Remember how stained your garments are with sin and worldliness. How distracted your heart is with other thoughts and feelings, how poor the service is, you are capable of rendering. Remember how gloriously Jesus is served by the angels that excel in strength, that do his commandments, hearkening to the voice of his word.

And when you give yourselves to him, or ask to be allowed to take your place among his servants, seek as you do so to be sprinkled with the blood of cleansing. Own your personal unworthiness and pray to be accepted through the merit of Christ's sacrifice. Samuel was being dedicated to the Lord. Such a dedication required the blood of another. It required the blood of this bull.

And so The bull was offered, he was slaughtered, and Samuel is brought to Eli. Verses 26 to 28a, we read, and Hannah said to Eli, Oh, my Lord, as your soul lives, my Lord, I am the woman who stood by you here praying to the Lord. For this child I prayed, and the Lord has granted me my petition which I asked of him. Therefore, I also have lent him to the Lord. As long as he lives, he shall be lent to the Lord." There's no room For bitterness in the heart of this woman Which heart is full of gratefulness and thankfulness?

To God Hannah does not remind Eli of his gross accusation You probably remember me. Yeah, you know the one you said was drunk. You remember? She simply draws attention to the prayer that was answered and the promise now being kept. As we have seen from the text, this is the first time that she's been back in Shiloh since that first encounter with Eli.

This is the first time she has seen Eli since that day. This is the first time Eli has laid eyes on this young boy Samuel, this answer to the prayer. It's first time. Now there is, as one commentator described it, unsuitableness in the two uses of the word lent in this text. An unsuitableness that ushers in questions that actually take us further away from the richness of what is being communicated.

Dale Ralph Davis helps us to wring out the depths of Hannah's words by pointing out that four times Hannah uses a form of the Hebrew root meaning to ask. Remember that was goes back to what she had said before that the exposition of why she had given him the name Samuel because she had asked of the Lord. Well here he says we have four uses of this root meaning to ask a fact he says which English translations obscure because it is difficult to translate it into English fluently. He writes if we tolerate a rougher rendering we could read it like this. For this child I prayed and Yahweh gave me my asking which I asked from him and I also have given back what was Asked to Yahweh all the days he lives.

He is one that is asked for Yahweh Now if you are anything like me Such a scene stirs up the emotions of a parent's heart. It puts a lump in the throat. It makes it hard to swallow. This was no easy thing to do However We don't take this as a means given to us as a standard The point of the text is not go and do thou likewise The prayer was not in and of itself, the prayer for this child was not in and of itself extraordinary, but the circumstances and the purposes of the Lord were indeed extraordinary. At the same time, let's stay balanced.

At the same time, can we not to some extent be moved by this narrative to a willingness and an eagerness as parents for God to use the children he has given us for his own glory. Can we not see in this our duty to bring them up in the fear and the admonition of the Lord? Can we not see in this our duty to not only bring the means of grace to bear upon their daily lives, but to pray that God would bless those means to the good of their everlasting soul. And shall we not come away bringing our wills, even as they involve the lives of our children, shall we not bring our wills under the will of the Lord and how he would desire to use our children? Well, I've taken the liberty to now couple the latter part of the last verse along with chapter two and verse 11, skipping over Hannah's prayer for today.

We'll come to that the next time we're in 1 Samuel. But it completes the picture of this trip to Shiloh. So they worshiped the Lord there. Then Elkanah went to his house at Rama, but the child ministered to the Lord before Eli the priest. Now, many translations, maybe the one you have open in front of you, many translations and many commentators lean on the singular third person pronoun he and not the plural third person they that we have in the New King James Version.

The reading would be that he worshiped the Lord there. And with that singular use, most of these commentators attribute the act of worship to Eli, or to Elkanah, rather, and not to Samuel. Some even suggest that this phrase, that he worshiped the Lord there, points to the fulfilling of his own vow that we mentioned, that was mentioned back in verse 21, believing that he himself had evidently made his own separate vow, a vow that found its roots in the vow made by his wife Hannah. Now taken this way there's a flow in the text though interrupted by Hannah's prayer in chapter 2. So you have him going to worship the Lord and to sacrifice and to pay his vow.

And then we read, then he worshiped the Lord there and then Elkanah went to his house at Rama. Whether it be Elkanah, whether it be Samuel at that young age, fully capable of being able to worship God, Or the whole family, if we take the word they, what we should be impressed with again is the consistent act of worship that's highlighted in this chapter in verses 3, 19, and again here in 28. This was a family that worshiped God. Public worship was important to them. Their attitude was that shared by David in the opening line of Psalm 122, a Psalm that was to be sung while the congregation made their way to the house of the Lord.

I was glad when they said to me, let us go into the house of the Lord. Was that how you came this morning? Did you come that way? Hannah did. Hannah came that way when she was barren and God had closed her womb.

She said, I was glad when they said to me, let us go into the house of the Lord. I carry my burden there, but I'm going to worship. She worshiped when she didn't have a promise. She just had this priestly blessing that God had told the line of Aaron to give to the people. And she worshiped the Lord there.

And then here again, we find worship going on in the midst of a husband and a wife, a mom and a dad that are getting ready to head home without their young child. They worshiped the Lord. If they can do that, can we not come to this place with a heart that says, I was glad when they said to me, let us go to the house of the Lord. And so Elkanah, along with his family, returned to Ramah, but Samuel remained in Shiloh, there to serve the Lord under the oversight of Eli the priest. Once again We must emphasize the uniqueness of the circumstances as well as the uniqueness of the purposes of God that are made known to us in the narrative of this book.

There are always principles to learn though even when there may be no practices to necessarily follow. But does it not remind you of that great prophet to come, that last one that in various times God spoke in the past through the prophets, but has in these last days spoken by his son. Do you remember him on a trip that they made to Shiloh? They didn't go to drop him off, to dedicate him. They simply went, fulfilled their duties in worshiping God and were headed back home.

Where's Jesus? Oh, he must be with some of the relatives. And then at a stop along the way, they're checking with the relatives. There's no Jesus. Where is he?

Where did they find him? In the house of the Lord. In the house of the Lord. And his answer, I must be about my Father's business. We have here this picture early on of this one that God raised up to be that first prophet and the one who was to come, the last prophet, the priest and the sacrifice.

Well, we should come away marveling at the faith of Elkanah and Hannah. This was a faith granted to them by God, a faith that was to be exercised, a faith that was to be tested, a faith that was to grow in strength. Hannah had faith in God to grant her a son. Now that same faith must be exercised I would say in greater measure in regard to the future of that child. Blakey reminds us of the circumstances and we'll see it unfold in times ahead, in the chapters ahead.

Shiloh was not a very attractive place. Eli was old and feeble. Haphni and Phineas were beasts. The atmosphere was offensive and pernicious. Nevertheless, it was God's house.

And if a little child should be brought to it, capable of rendering to God real service, God would take care of the child. Already, he was God's child, asked of God, and heard of God. He bore already the mark of his master. God would be with him. Noble in her spirit of endurance in the time of trial, Hannah is still more noble in the spirit of self-denial in the time of prosperity.

It was no common grace that could so completely sacrifice all her personal feelings and so thoroughly honor God. Brothers and sisters, we should praise God for circumstances that test our faith. Circumstances that cause our faith to not grow flabby and weak. Circumstances that cause us to cry out like the psalmist in Psalm 121. I will lift up my eyes to the hills.

From whence comes my help? My help comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth. He will not allow your foot to be moved. He who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, he who keeps Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.

The Lord is your keeper. The Lord is your shade at your right hand The sun shall not strike you by day nor the moon by night the Lord shall preserve you from all evil. He shall preserve your soul. The Lord shall preserve your going out and your coming in from this time, forth and even forevermore. And as we shall see as we work our way through this book, God was faithful in the keeping of this young boy, even until old age.

Samuel was a faithful minister in God's house. He was a faithful mouthpiece of all that God had directed him to say. He was a faithful compass during the reign of a king who all his life was guided by circumstances and feelings. And he was a faithful follower of the commands of God, even on one occasion, taking up the sword and hacking a king to pieces in order to obey the command of God. Well, we have seen today that the prayer answered and a promise kept.

And as we move forward from these two points, we shall see a prophet raised up, raised up for the glory of God and for the good of God's kingdom. Let's pray. Oh gracious God, we Thank you and we praise you for your goodness poured out to you in that greater prophet, that greater priest, that greater king. Lord, as we compare him to the kings that will arise, David's greater son, a priesthood after the order of Melchizedek, a prophet who unlike Moses could not be ignored. And Lord we thank you for our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

And Lord, we thank you for this time that we have to remember him. Lord, we have thought about our asking for you, oh Lord, to remember us, and indeed you have remembered us. And now may we be faithful to heed those words of Christ to remember him help us in Christ's name amen Thanks for watching!