Pouring Out Your Soul To The Lord - 1 Samuel 1:9-20

Minister: Man is humbled, and each one is brought low, and the eyes of the haughty are brought low. But the Lord of hosts is exalted in justice, and the Holy God shows himself holy in righteousness.

Congregation: Forgive us our sins, O Lord. Forgive us the sins of our youth and the sins of our age, the sins of our hearts and the sins of our hands. Forgive our secret sins and our open sins, our careless sins and our deliberate sins. Forgive the sins we have done to please ourselves, and the sins we have done to please others. Forgive us the sins we know and the sins we know not. Forgive them, O Lord. Forgive them all, through the atoning work of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Amen.

Minister: Hear the assurance of the gospel: The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.

He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.

Congregation: Thanks be to God!

CONTINUAL READING OF SCRIPTURE Job 31

Pastor Austin Prince

THE OFFERING OF TITHES AND OUR GIFTS

“Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; bring an offering, and come into his courts!” (Psalm 96:8, ESV)

PASTORAL PRAYER & THE LORD’S PRAYER

Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

†HYMN OF PREPARATION #243

“How Firm a Foundation”

SERMON 1 Samuel 1:9-18 // Pouring Your Soul To The Lord

PRAYER OF ILLUMINATION

Blessed Lord, who caused all Holy scripture to be written for our learning; grant that we may in such a way hear them, read, mark, learn and inwardly digest them, that by patience and comfort of your holy word, we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life, which you have given us in our savior Jesus Christ.

Text 1 Samuel 1:9-18

1 Samuel 1:9–18 ESV

9 After they had eaten and drunk in Shiloh, Hannah rose. Now Eli the priest was sitting on the seat beside the doorpost of the temple of the Lord. 10 She was deeply distressed and prayed to the Lord and wept bitterly. 11 And she vowed a vow and said, “O Lord of hosts, if you will indeed look on the affliction of your servant and remember me and not forget your servant, but will give to your servant a son, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and no razor shall touch his head.” 12 As she continued praying before the Lord, Eli observed her mouth. 13 Hannah was speaking in her heart; only her lips moved, and her voice was not heard. Therefore Eli took her to be a drunken woman. 14 And Eli said to her, “How long will you go on being drunk? Put your wine away from you.” 15 But Hannah answered, “No, my lord, I am a woman troubled in spirit. I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I have been pouring out my soul before the Lord. 16 Do not regard your servant as a worthless woman, for all along I have been speaking out of my great anxiety and vexation.” 17 Then Eli answered, “Go in peace, and the God of Israel grant your petition that you have made to him.” 18 And she said, “Let your servant find favor in your eyes.” Then the woman went her way and ate, and her face was no longer sad.

AFTER SCRIPTURE

The Lord bless to us the reading of His holy word, and to His name be glory and praise.

Hannah Rose and Prayed

1 Samuel 1:9–18

Series: 1 Samuel — Covenant of Grace Presbyterian Church

Introduction

What are we to do when our situation is bleak and barren?

Is the answer endurance and grit — to grin and bear it? What can a Christian do in a situation like Hannah's, when our hopes are unmet and when the path is closed? When even the sacred feast at the tabernacle goes untasted because of grief, like hers?

What was Israel to do when faced with these very same questions?

The answer, to our great comfort — and it must be held before our face —

there is never a providence in which God Himself is closed to His people. There is never a place where prayer is futile. The closed door is not the same thing as a closed heaven.

God can change the barrenness. He may or may not do that. He may do it at a time that isn't of your choosing — and yet there is no category for utter despair.

He may close up all the other fountains, but that is only so that you will go to the one fountain that is always available to you.

And that's what Hannah does in her dead end, in her shame, and in her need.

Notice how alone Hannah has become. Peninnah knows her sorrow and uses it against her. Elkanah loves her, but he cannot fix the problem. And Eli the priest mistakes her for a drunk.

One wounds her. One loves her but cannot heal her. One sees her and misunderstands her.

There are burdens that even the people who love you cannot carry for you. There are sorrows no man can manage. This is what Hannah knew and what Israel as a whole should have learned. We see what Hannah does next, she rose and goes to the Lord. The book will reveal to us if Israel follows this great example or not.

And in Hannah’s worship, this morning we have a remarkable meditation on prayer: what it is, how to do it, and how it changes things.

I. Hannah Rose and Prayed

Verse 9 tells us what she did: she rose. Her need led her to prayer.

She didn't spring up because she had forgotten her quiet time. This is not Hannah remembering a neglected spiritual discipline.

She rose and went to the Father because she saw her need, and saw her situation rightly.

Prayer is not chiefly the Christian proving that he is disciplined. Prayer is the Christian confessing that he is dependent.

We want to be like the apostle Peter, who said, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life."

That is the logic of prayer. Not, "I have finally exhausted all the other options," but, "There never was another Lord to whom I could go."

And yet so often it is the case that we don't pray because we don't see the need for it. We never want to treat prayer as a last-ditch effort — a Hail Mary.

James 4 recently taught us that very often we don't receive because we don't ask. That's a sad and illogical state of affairs, if we think that we can forsake prayer because we can manage things all right on our own.

What can we manage on our own?

How long is that list?

But as Philippians 4 teaches us, we are in everything, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, to let our requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus.

I don’t bring up these cross references to our recent teachings for not purpose.

It demonstrates something about the theology of prayer. The fact is, prayer is everywhere in the Bible. Scripture is constantly teaching us and encouraging us to pray.

In fact, no one in Scripture is more conspicuously shown praying than Jesus.

What does that teach us about prayer's importance? What does that reveal to us about life in His Father's kingdom?

Do we ever consider prayer hopeless, or a wasted effort. Jesus didn’t. And Hannah’s encouragement here is not simply just to pray, but to remember where we can go, at all times, in all circumstances.

II. How Did Hannah Pray?

Verse 10 says she was deeply distressed, and she wept bitterly.

We aren't spared any of the weight and emotion. We're not to believe that the characters in the Bible aren't like us — as though they simply take these things with impressive fortitude.

And we are told in more detail what this prayer looked like. Verse 13 says she spoke in her heart, moving her lips but making no sound. Verse 16 tells us that she was speaking out of great anxiety and vexation of soul.

Verse 15 gives more of the same, but in a phrase that is perhaps one of the best descriptions of prayer that you could ever make. Hannah says that she is troubled in spirit and has been —

"pouring out my soul before the LORD."

Pouring out your soul before the Lord.

There is something wonderfully unpolished about that description. Hannah is not composing herself before she approaches God. She is approaching God because she cannot compose herself. She can’t manage.

In prayer, we are not just bringing our thoughts and our ideas. We are approaching God with all of ourselves.

Biblical prayer is not pretending before God that your theology has made you less human.

Faith is not the absence of anguish. Hannah is full of faith and full of anguish at the same time. She is not faithless because she weeps. She is exercising faith in where she takes the tears.

As the psalmist says in Psalm 31 — and as Jesus declares on the cross — "Into your hand I commit my spirit."

I give all over to You. I trust You.

God allows us to speak this way. God commends Hannah. He commends us in speaking this way.

We come with every fiber of our being, and we must not think that we will bother Him, or that we can only come with the big stuff.

But we must also not think that this is a technique. Hannah's prayer was not answered because she appeased God or ingratiated herself with Him.

We are told what prayer is: she poured out her soul before the Lord.

She demonstrated her theology here: where she would go in her hour of need, how she would be received, what she could bring and pour out.

One commentator I read this week said at this point, "Our best logic is demonstrated in prayer."

I love that thought: our best thinking is done in the heat of prayer. Here she comes in confusion and obvious distress — and the right answer is prayer.

So I wonder: Do you ever hold back from prayer? Do you wait too long? Do you try to manage far too much?

Pour out your soul. It's okay.

We're told that Hannah wept — but we aren't to forget that God says in Psalm 56 that He keeps count of our tossings, puts our tears in His bottle, and records them in His book. And verse 9 of that same psalm says, "This I know, that God is for me."

Hasn't He made this point so clear by giving us Jesus? Hasn't God shown us, far beyond our imaginings, His level of care and concern for us?

And Christian, you have even more reason than Hannah had in this moment to know that you will be received.

Hannah comes to the sanctuary and finds a priest who initially misunderstands her. You come through a High Priest who understands you completely.

As Hebrews says, we do not have a High Priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses. We have Jesus Christ. And because His blood has opened the way, Hebrews tells us to draw near with confidence to the throne of grace.

You can come because you come with Christ, and by His blood you come right before the throne.

You are not coming to an indifferent throne. You are coming through a sympathetic High Priest to a throne of grace.

Pour out all of you.

III. What Was the Content of Hannah's Prayer?

Verse 11 says she addresses her prayer to the LORD of hosts — Lord Sabaoth. The LORD of armies. The sovereign Lord over the hosts of heaven and earth.

Her problem is intensely personal, but the God to whom she brings it is not small. Take the outer limits of your imagination about grandeur and power — and that's what we're talking about here.

She recognizes the powerlessness in herself, but she sees it so rightly in connection to God.

Perhaps she reaches for that high title because of the vow she takes in her prayer. She is invoking His authority. She prays:

"O LORD of hosts, if you will indeed look on the affliction of your servant and remember me and not forget your servant, but will give to your servant a son, then I will give him to the LORD all the days of his life, and no razor shall touch his head."

Notice what she's saying: give me this boy, and I will give him back.

Now, do not misunderstand Hannah here. She really wants this child. Scripture does not require us to pretend that holy people no longer desire good things.

She does not say, "Give me this son, and then he will finally make me whole." She says, in effect, "Give me this son, and he belongs to You." That’s what the razor shall not touch his head means. It’s likened to a Nazarite vow – essentially a permanent dedication to the Lord.

Notice as she prays, the desire remains. The demand does not.

And here James 4 gives us clear language again. Not only do we not receive because we frequently do not ask — but we often ask wrongly, to spend it on our passions. James 4:3.

Prayer is not where we beg for God to be the means of other ends that we desire. Prayer is where our desires are brought underneath the lordship of God.

Prayer does not always mean letting go of the desire. Hannah still desires a son. Prayer means opening the fist with which we demand that God satisfy the desire on our terms.

Monkey fist trap

And prayer opens the fist.

We come to God and we let go of our fears. We come to God and we let go of our lusts. We come to God and surrender the demand that our desires must be fulfilled according to our timing and our terms.

And there is worship. There is freedom.

But there is something even larger happening here.

Hannah thinks she is asking God for a son. And she is. But God is about to give Israel a prophet.

So, it’s not merely a private story about a woman who desperately wants a child. Look at the condition of Israel. In the chapters ahead, the word of the LORD will be described as rare. Eli's sons are wicked men. Israel needs more than relief for one household. Israel needs God. And they need Him to act in their barrenness.

And before Hannah can see any of that, God is working through her sorrow for purposes larger than her own household.

And it does not make her pain unreal. It means that her pain is taking place inside a providence larger than she can see.

We must be careful about interpreting what seems closed to us in our own lives. We usually know what they mean to us. We rarely know all that God means to do through them.

We do not know the secret counsel of God. We should not glibly tell suffering people, "Here is the reason God did this." But we do know that our Father's providence is never as small as our present field of vision.

Hannah asks for a son. God is preparing Samuel for Israel.

IV. What Now?

We've seen that she prayed. We've seen the way she prayed. We've seen the content of her prayer.

So now what?

When Eli first acknowledged Hannah, he thought she was drunk. Verse 14.

And that tells us something about the atmosphere of this place. Drunkenness at worship is at least conceivable to Eli — and this priest is unable, at first, to tell the difference between drunkenness and the silent anguish of a righteous woman praying before the Lord. And in the next chapter we'll meet Eli's worthless sons, and you'll see just how bad the state of things was at the tabernacle.

After Hannah tells Eli what she is doing, he blesses her — or perhaps better, he sends her away with a priestly blessing and prayer.

Now Eli is a man of great faults, but he is speaking here in his office as a priest. There is an analogy here to what happens when a minister gives the benediction. A Christian minister pronounces the revealed blessing of God from His Word; Eli, here, expresses a particular blessing concerning Hannah's petition.

Eli says to her:

"Go in peace, and the God of Israel grant your petition that you have made to him."

Verse 17.

Notice what Eli does and does not say. He does not tell Hannah when God will answer. He does not explain the providence. He does not remove the barrenness. He sends her away in peace and expresses his priestly blessing: may the God of Israel grant your petition.

And then comes one of the most remarkable sentences in the passage. Verse 18 says she went her way and ate, and her face was no longer sad.

Do you see what has happened?

Nothing has happened.

At least, nothing in her circumstances.

She is not pregnant.

Peninnah has not disappeared.

The providence has not changed.

And yet Hannah gets up. Hannah eats. Her face is no longer what it was.

Something has changed before anything has changed.

In Hannah's conflict, she turned to the Lord. She poured out her soul to the Lord in prayer. Prayer has not yet changed Hannah's circumstances. But Hannah has placed her circumstances into the hands of God.

She didn't have to fret and wonder if she had prayed the right way. Scripture tells us that we don't know how to pray as we ought. And yet the efficacy of prayer does not finally depend upon our eloquence, our emotional composure, or our ability to formulate the perfect petition.

We pray to a Father. We pray through a Son. We are helped by the Spirit.

And now we need to be careful. Scripture is not teaching us that every faithful prayer will immediately make you feel better.

Hannah's changed face is not a technique, and it is not a test by which you measure whether you prayed correctly.

Do not hear this text saying, "If you had really trusted God, you would not still be sad." That would be cruel, and it would not be biblical.

The point is that Hannah has handed the burden to the Lord. She is no longer carrying it as though she must carry it alone.

There is a time to stand and to eat and to change your countenance. Not to pretend, no. Not to grin and bear it. Not to put on a brave face. There is simply a time to trust. You have poured out your soul. You have the promises of God. Rise and put your hands to ordinary faithfulness and obedience.

Is that enough to change you today?

Do you know that you can always come in prayer?

Do you know that you can come in some pretty undignified, confusing, and empty ways — pouring out your soul before the Lord?

Do you see how the Word of God and His promises strengthen you as you stand back up?

Conclusion

Are you astounded that Scripture makes so much of prayer, when it often feels so weak, or small, or insignificant?

The disciples watched Jesus pray and said, "Lord, teach us how to do this. Teach us to pray."

What He must have seen in His Kingdom – what He must have known about prayer. Follow Him there.

Christian, the great assurance of prayer is not that God will always give you the thing you ask for.

The assurance is that in Christ, God has given you Himself.

The providence may still be painful.

The answer may still be delayed.

The way you wanted to be opened may remain shut.

But heaven is not shut. It’s never shut.

So rise, and pray. And pray and rise.

Learn to pour out your soul before the Lord.

†HYMN OF RESPONSE #277

“Before the Throne of God Above”

MEMBERSHIP VOWS Jessie Harbin

‌One of the great demonstrations of the gospel before the world is the unity that exists within the church, as we have been studying in Philippians.

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Paul does not tell the church to create that unity. It has already been given. Christ has made a people for himself, and those who belong to him have been brought near to God and therefore near to one another. Our unity is grounded in the love of the Triune God and given to us through our union with Christ by the Spirit.

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The unity of the church is not something we manufacture. It is something we receive and are called to maintain.

And so, we love because we have been loved. We forgive because we have been forgiven. We bear patiently with one another because God has been patient and merciful toward us.

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The church is therefore meant to make something invisible visible.

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Would you like to see a preview of what the kingdom of God will look like when Christ returns and reigns over all things? Look at the church.

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Here is a place where the world ought to be able to look and wonder:

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How can these people sing together?

What do they have in common?

Why do they love one another?

How can people with such dramatic differences bear with one another?

Why do they forgive each other?

Why do they willingly receive correction and care?

Why do they gather so regularly‌?

Why do they live with such hope?

The answer is not that Christians are naturally easier to live with than everyone else.

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The answer is Christ.

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And that means the difficult parts of life together are precisely where the life of the church becomes visible.

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People leave churches less for theological differences and more for social ones: That someone has hurt their feelings. Someone may make an inconsiderate comment. We may feel overlooked. Someone may press us in shepherding when we would rather be left alone. Someone may simply be difficult for us to understand.

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But this is exactly the place for forgiveness.

‌This is exactly the place for patience.‌

This is exactly the place for sharpening and correction.

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The gospel is not merely something we confess together. Here, among the people of God, it is enfleshed and lived out.

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And because this kind of life together requires more than good intentions, Christians have historically been willing to bind themselves with solemn promises before God.

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That is part of the wisdom of church membership.

We need one another, and we need something stronger than preference to hold us together. Membership vows say that because Christ has made us his people, we intend to live faithfully as his people.

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We therefore guard membership in the church carefully. It is not merely a declaration that someone likes this congregation or intends to attend here. These vows express both a profession of faith in Christ and a commitment to live faithfully within his church.

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‌ The first three vows establish the basis for your membership: you join this body of Christ because you, by faith, are already a part of the body of Christ. You believe that you are a sinner deserving of wrath and without hope except for a savior come for you. You believe that Jesus is that savior; the only savior. And you believe that God’s perfect word is the way you come to know him and to walk with him.

The last three vows establish your commitment to live as a faithful member of this community. You, relying on the Holy Spirit, will follow Christ’s obedient example. You will support this congregation in the ways you are able. And you will submit yourself, as you have submitted yourself to Christ, to the under-shepherds he now charges with your care.

Today we rejoice that Jessie Harbin desires to join the fellowship of this body.

Jessie is promising to be faithful to this church, and we are receiving the responsibility to be faithful to her.

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Jessie, please come forward and stand with me.

I will present these vows to Jessie this morning, but I also present them to each of you who are already members of this body. We do well to remember what we ourselves have promised before God.

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As Jessie answers these vows and an “I do”, I encourage the members of Covenant of Grace to listen carefully and to join your voices with hers by saying, “We do.”

1. Do you confess that you are a sinner in the sight of God; that you deserve His punishment; that you are unable to save yourself; and that you are without hope of salvation except for God's love and mercy?

2. Do you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as the Son of God and the Savior of sinners; and do you receive and trust in Him alone for your salvation?

3. Do you accept the Bible, comprised of the Old and New Testaments, as the written Word of God; and that it is the only perfect rule of faith and how to live?

4. Do you promise to trust in the guidance and strength of the Holy Spirit so that you can live all of life as a Christian, following the example set by Jesus Christ?

5. Do you promise to support the Church in its worship and work to the best of your ability?

6. In loving obedience, do you submit yourself to the government and discipline of this church, promising to seek the peace, purity, and prosperity of this congregation as long as you are a member of it?

Jessie, we rejoice to receive you.

And Covenant of Grace, remember what this means for us.

We are the family and household of God, and Jessie has been received among us as a sister. I charge you, therefore, to love her as family is to be loved: with honor, service, patience, compassion, help in times of need, forgiveness, encouragement, and, in all things, prayer.

Prayer

†THE MINISTRY OF THE LORD’S SUPPER

Minister: Lift up your hearts!

Congregation: We lift them up to the Lord.

Minister: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.

Congregation: It is right for us to give thanks and praise!

Congregation is seated. Tell them to turn to The Apostles’ creed (851) in Trinity Hymnal.

INVITATION TO THE LORD’S TABLE

This table welcomes all who belong to Christ through repentance, faith, baptism, and continuing union with his Church. If you do not repent of your sin, you must not come. If you do not trust in Christ alone for your righteousness, you must not come. But if you confess your sin and rest in Christ, this table is for you. Come, taste and see that the Lord is good.

Let's confess that faith together. Christians, what do you believe?

CONFESSION OF FAITH

The Apostles Creed p. 851

THE WORDS OF INSTITUTION 1 Corinthians 11:23–26

For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, "This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me." In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me." For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.

DISTRIBUTION OF THE ELEMENTS

SHARING OF THE LORD’S SUPPER

The body of the Lord, broken for you, take and eat.

The blood of the Lord, shed for the forgiveness of sins. Take and drink.

PRAYER

Benediction:

The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. — Numbers 6:24–26

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