Living in the Spirit
November 13, 2018
Scripture Reading: 1 Samuel 2:1-10
‘There is no Holy One like the Lord,
no one besides you;
there is no Rock like our God.
Talk no more so very proudly,
let not arrogance come from your mouth;
for the Lord is a God of knowledge,
and by him actions are weighed.
The bows of the mighty are broken,
but the feeble gird on strength.
Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread,
but those who were hungry are fat with spoil.
The barren has borne seven,
but she who has many children is forlorn.
The Lord kills and brings to life;
he brings down to Sheol and raises up.
The Lord makes poor and makes rich;
he brings low, he also exalts.
He raises up the poor from the dust;
he lifts the needy from the ash heap,
to make them sit with princes
and inherit a seat of honor.
For the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s,
and on them he has set the world. –1 Samuel 2:2-8
This song above from 1 Samuel reflects the reaction of a barren woman made whole, gifted with the child for which she longed. Having children in Hannah’s time went beyond the natural desires to have a child but defined a woman’s self-worth. We may cringe at the spite or revenge it echoes but we cannot question the sincerity of its statement.
Beyond the personal story it tells, it introduces the Israelite journey from being ruled by judges to becoming a great kingdom. The people of Israel felt the same sting that Hannah the barren woman felt. There were unrest and a feeling that they were not where they needed to be. I thought of the old hymn Come, Ye Disconsolate when I read this, and I thought that we in the USA are caught in a similar snare.
Come, ye disconsolate, where’er ye languish;
Come to the mercy-seat, fervently kneel;
Here bring your wounded hearts, here tell your anguish,
Earth has no sorrow that heaven cannot heal*.
Disconsolate**: deeply dejected and dispirited: hopelessly sad: being beyond consolation
There is a dis-ease among our citizens that results in some feeling that the world has passed them by as they seek meaning. We search often in all the wrong places among many lesser gods for answers to our deepest needs and we find empty even dangerous responses. I love the final sentence in each verse of this old hymn.
Here bring your wounded hearts, here tell your anguish,
Earth has no sorrow that heaven cannot heal*.
Prayer: Lord, help us to always remember that
There is no Holy One like the Lord,
no one besides you;
there is no Rock like our God. Amen.
*First verse of Come, Ye Disconsolate by Robert Moore. See at **https://www.hymnal.net/en/hymn/h/684