Some beautiful scriptures

Hello all,

Here are some of my new favorite scriptures. They were little gems in my required reading for Old Testament, so I thought I'd share them with you. 1 Samuel 2:


1 And Hannah prayed, and said, My heart rejoiceth in the Lord, mine horn is exalted in the Lord: my mouth is enlarged over mine enemies; because I rejoice in thy salvation.
4 The bows of the mighty men are broken, and they that stumbled are girded with strength.
5 They that were full have hired out themselves for bread; and they that were hungry ceased: so that the barren hath born seven; and she that hath many children is waxed feeble.
6 The Lord killeth, and maketh alive: he bringeth down to the grave, and bringeth up.
7 The Lord maketh, and maketh rich: he bringeth low, and lifteth up.
8 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: for the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s, and he hath set the world upon them.
9 He will keep the feet of his saints, and the wicked shall be silent in darkness; for by strength shall no man prevail.
10 The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken to pieces; out of heaven shall he thunder upon them: the Lord shall judge the ends of the earth; and he shall give strength unto his king, and exalt the horn of his anointed.


I absolutely love these scriptures. A lot of our reading in OT as of late has been about the wars and destruction of the children of Israel, and that very often weighs on my heart. It's hard for me to understand why the Lord would command his people to slay and conquer so many of his children, and then punish the Israelites so harshly when they make a mistake. It's hard to reconcile the justice of God when I so desperately need his mercy.

These verses really stirred my heart. They're the words of a mother, who after so much desperate prayer and pleading, was blessed with her heart's desire--a son. The strength of this woman and her testimony astounds me. She gives thanks to the Lord after the birth of Samuel by praising him and all that He does for His children. This is exactly what I needed to read tonight. I need to remember that the work of the Lord is to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man, and while He can be a mighty warrior at the head of an Israelite army, He can also be our sole comfort in times of distress, wiping away our tears and giving us unconditional love. The Lord works miracles on our behalf, many of which we will probably never recognize or thank Him for. Hannah had a clear understanding of her relationship with the Lord, and her gratitude for all that He does for her and her family is admirable.

I would love to have the faith and gratitude of Hannah. She reminds me of my own mother. Samuel and I are both incredibly blessed to have women of faith raise us in the path of righteousness. I hope I can be that kind of mother someday.