Hannah’s Psalm (1 Samuel 2:1-10) • My Heart Trusts in My God

Though not in the book of Psalms, the psalm that Hannah wrote and prayed as recorded in the book of 1 Samuel is a psalm recorded in the Bible for us to know. Her heart rejoices because she cried out to God, and He answered her. Like those in various troubling situations in Psalm 107, Hannah needed her God to show His love for her by delivering her from the pain of barrenness she was experiencing. Our faithful God did that. Her psalm reveals how much she trusted in God and encourages us to do the same. 

Hannah’s Story

Hannah’s story took place a few decades before David was born and began to write any of his psalms. While at one of the annual religious festivals, Hannah poured out her heart to God, in deep anguish and weeping bitterly. The Lord had closed her womb, yet she was not embittered against Him, Her husband was helpless to change her barrenness. So she turned to the only one who could—God. 

In her prayer, Hannah asked for a son and promised her son for a lifetime of service to God. That is similar today to wanting your children to dedicate themselves to serve God. God heard Hannah’s plea and acted on her behalf. She had a son the next year whom she named Samuel. Samuel’s name means “God hears.” He does! You can see that clearly declared in Psalm 34 and Psalm 107.

When Samuel was 3-4 years old, Hannah fulfilled her vow to God, bringing her son to the Tabernacle to serve the Lord there under the mentorship of the High Priest Eli. God blessed Israel with a spiritual leader. We know from history that Samuel became a godly leader for Israel throughout his lifetime. And God blessed Hannah with more children.

Read more about Hannah’s story and trust in God in this article, “Hannah • Believe That You Are Dearly Loved.”

Hannah’s Psalm

Once she fulfilled the vow she made to God, Hannah prayed a psalm recorded in the Bible (1 Samuel 2) for us to know. 

What Hannah thinks about God (vv. 1-2)

My heart rejoices in the Lord; in the Lord my horn is lifted high. My mouth boasts over my enemies, for I delight in your deliverance. There is no one holy like the Lord; there is no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God. (1 Samuel 2:1-2)

Hannah was feeling grateful and confident. She was rejoicing in her heart and delighting in the way her God had delivered her from the pain she experienced. She believed that her God is holy, the only God there is, and as solid as a rock. Her God is someone she could trust. He is also someone you can trust. 

Scoffers have no reason for boasting (v. 3)

Do not keep talking so proudly or let your mouth speak such arrogance, for the Lord is a God who knows, and by him deeds are weighed. (1 Samuel 2:3)

Between verses 1 and 3, Hannah contrasted boasting in the Lord versus boasting in one’s own life with arrogance. That is a continual theme in the Bible. God will humble people who view themselves as self-sufficient. As we learn in Psalm 139, our God is one who knows what people are doing and saying. Their “deeds are weighed” (judged).

God helps those who need Him (vv. 4-5)

The bows of the warriors are broken, but those who stumbled are armed with strength. Those who were full hire themselves out for food, but those who were hungry are hungry no more. She who was barren has borne seven children, but she who has had many sons pines away. (1 Samuel 2:4-5) 

Continuing her knowledge of God, Hannah mentions three contrasts regarding situations in which someone can boast. But at any time, those good situations can be taken away. Don’t get cocky! 

Yet, for the one who casts themselves on Him (stumbles, is hungry, or is barren), the Lord can give them strength, satisfy their hunger, and make them productive.

Read about how God delivers people from difficult situations in this article, “Psalm 107 • My God Is My Redeemer.”

God is good in His sovereignty over everything (vv. 6-9)

The Lord brings death and makes alive; he brings down to the grave and raises up. The Lord sends poverty and wealth; he humbles and he exalts. He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap; he seats them with princes and has them inherit a throne of honor. For the foundations of the earth are the Lord’s; on them he has set the world. He will guard the feet of his faithful servants, but the wicked will be silenced in the place of darkness. (1 Samuel 2:6-9)

Hannah’s prayer is her psalm of praise and thanksgiving. She expresses her emotions and still affirms truth about God that she knows—His holiness and power (v. 2), wisdom and justice (v. 3), and His sovereignty. She has been taught well. 

Our sovereign God is the author of life and determines death. He allows both poverty and wealth in our lives. He can raise the poor and needy to the place He wants for them. When He chooses to exalt someone, no one can stop Him. Creation is His to rule, yet He gives humans dominion over it under His rule (Psalm 8 and Psalm 19). God acts on behalf of His faithful servants to guard their ways. But He silences the wicked in His own way (eventually their death). God is sovereign. 

Anticipation of a coming “anointed” king (v. 10)

It is not by strength that one prevails; those who oppose the Lord will be broken. The Most High will thunder from heaven; the Lord will judge the ends of the earth. He will give strength to his king and exalt the horn of his anointed. (1 Samuel 2:10)

Hannah’s psalm is prophetic, anticipating the establishment of kingship in Israel. Hannah lives in the time of the judges when there was no king. In fact, her son Samuel crowns the first king, Saul, as well as the second king, David. 

Her words at the end of verse 10 are the first reference in the Bible to the Lord’s anointed. “Anointed” is the Hebrew word mashiyach, translated into our English word “Messiah.” The Greek translation of this Hebrew term is Christos, translated into our English word “Christ.”

God Rewards Trust with Blessing

Did you notice that this psalm, like Psalm 103, contains no petition? But it definitely articulates Hannah’s belief that God rewards trust with blessing. Hannah believed and expressed that people should trust the Lord like she had done. God will bless those who want to further His purposes in the world. He does that by making it possible for them to do that. Natural limitations do not limit God. 

More than 1000 years later, another woman sang a psalm to God, showing that she had also been taught well and likely knew Hannah’s psalm.

Read the article, “Luke 1-2 • Mary, Jesus satisfies your heart with GRACE.”

Our God understands women. As Creator, He designed us with a mind to know God, emotions to  love God, and a will to obey God. Our female minds should be filled with the knowledge of Him so that our hearts may respond with great love for Him, and our wills can choose to obey Him. 

Hannah demonstrated those truths in her life. She chose to fill her mind with the knowledge of God. Her heart responded with love for Him. And her will chose to obey Him. May we do likewise!

I love that my heart can trust in my God. Does your heart trust in God as well?

Read all of the articles in our Psalms series.

Study this psalm and others in the short and easy Songs of the Heart That Light My Way Bible Study. Study the life of Hannah in the Everyday Women, Ever-Faithful God Bible Study of Old Testament Women.