Chapter 4
Anna together with her husband adoring in the tabernacle says a hymn of thanks to the Lord. My heart exulted in the Lord, etc. Once barren, now fertile in God's praise, rejoicing Church, from the change of the Old Testament or priesthood to the New, in which it was consecrated, sounds a triumphant song. But it should be inquired literally, how this Anna praying is remembered to have said, when in her entire song she is not recorded to have prayed at all, nor even addressed words to God, except in only two places, that is: Because I rejoiced in your salvation; and below: For there is no one besides you, and the rest, all seem to be spoken either teaching or prophesying, or praising the Lord. And it should be clearly understood that all her actions, involved in the divine office, and all deeds or words according to God, ought to be considered as prayers. For if prayer is only understood as what we commonly know, neither Anna would be seen to have prayed with these words, nor any of the righteous would pray without interruption, according to the Apostle's command. But if all the righteous man's acts, living according to God, are considered prayers, because the righteous continuously does what is right; the righteous will pray without cessation through this, nor will ever cease from prayer, unless he ceases to be righteous. Therefore the mother of Samuel is not in vain reported to have prayed even in those things which she spoke rightly to men. Let the joyful mother, who previously spoke with a bitter soul in her heart, sing then with a wide-open mouth; and while she narrates her presence, may she also predict the future joys of the whole Church.
[1 Samuel 2:1] -- My heart exulted in the Lord, etc. Truly a heart exulting, truly has the horn of spiritual kingship been exalted, which does not boast in itself, nor in perishable and fragile things, but glories in the Lord its God; according to him who says: Rejoice, O righteous, in the Lord, and I shall break all the horns of sinners, and the horns of the righteous will be exalted (Psalm 75). He does not say, He shall break, He has exalted; but, I shall break, and thus they shall be exalted.
[1 Samuel 2:1] -- My mouth is enlarged over my enemies, etc. While my heart is enlarged to rejoice in Jesus, that is, in your salvation, my mouth is also enlarged over all enemies of faith and truth, to confess and proclaim His name; because even in the tightness of afflictions your word is not bound, nor is it bound in preachers.
[1 Samuel 2:2] -- There is none holy like the Lord, etc. Indeed, we read of holy and strong people and angels; but no matter how much one advances in holiness, however much perfection is acquired, a creature cannot be as holy and strong as the Creator; because He is the bestower of strength and holiness, the other is the recipient. As for what he said, Neither is there any other beside you, and he did not add, Creator, or Lord, or anything specific; it singularly designates His eternal existence, which the Psalmist distinguishes from the frailty of creatures: You will change them, and they will be changed; but you are the same, and your years will have no end (Psalm 102).
[1 Samuel 2:3] -- Do not multiply lofty words, glorying, etc. It is said to the Jews and the Gentiles: Let it suffice to have so far gloried in your almost unique glory, now with the letter of the law transcended by grace, the truth of the Gospel trampling down the errors of the Gentiles, both receive the New Testament of Christ with faith, and the commandment of love. But we are also commanded to speak lofty things, but not to multiply lofty words glorying; that is, to seek and to desire the things above, not those on earth; yet not to think more highly than we ought to think, but to think soberly (Coloss. III; Rom. XII). The Gentiles are instructed to speak lofty things, by proclaiming the mysteries of the one true God, and not to multiply lofty words, by erring through many deceiving names.
[1 Samuel 2:3] -- For the Lord is the God of knowledge, etc. Therefore, it is necessary for you to not seek higher things for yourselves, nor to search into things stronger than yourselves (Eccles. III); for the source and treasure of wisdom and knowledge, who teaches man knowledge: the Lord knows the thoughts of men, that they are vain (Psa. XCIII).
[1 Samuel 2:4] -- The bow of the mighty has been broken, etc. The proud intention of the Jews, by which they always presumed to be saved by the works of the law, has failed; the exercise of dialectical skill, and the loquacity of secular philosophy, as if bent to ridicule the simplicity of faith, has been weakened; finally, all the fiery darts of malignant spirits have been blunted by the weapons of invincible truth; because God has chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God has chosen the weak things of the world to confound the mighty (I Cor. II).
[1 Samuel 2:5] -- Those who were filled have hired themselves out for bread, etc. The Jews, having previously been refreshed by the living bread of Scriptures, now, dissembling within themselves, lack amidst the spiritual feasts of the church at the feast of the good father, who gratefully received the returning younger son, and those who were once guests of the covenants, now taste and see that the Lord is good.
[1 Samuel 2:5] -- The barren has borne many, etc. Isaiah explains that the children of the desolate are many more than of her who has a husband (Isaiah LIV). The translators of the Septuagint wrote, "For the barren has borne seven." Saba, a Hebrew word, indeed designates both seven and many. But even the sense of that version becomes clear to those recognizing the number seven, which signifies the complete perfection of the church. This is why the apostle John writes to the seven churches (Revelation I), showing himself thus writing to the fullness of one; and in the Proverbs of Solomon, prefiguring this before: Wisdom has built a house for herself, she has hewn seven pillars (Proverbs IX).
[1 Samuel 2:6-7] -- The Lord kills and gives life, etc. He kills the Synagogue and gives life to the Church; or He gives life to those whom He kills; so that we might consider that we are indeed dead to sin, but living to God in Christ Jesus (Eph. II). Or certainly, we should understand according to what the Apostle said: For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our mortal flesh (II Cor. IV). But better, and without any controversy, we confess this fulfillment in the Lord, who died and came to life again, descending to the dead and resurrecting.
[1 Samuel 2:7] -- The Lord makes poor and makes rich, etc. Those whom He makes poor and humble in spirit for their own sake in the present, He makes rich in Himself in the future and exalts.
[1 Samuel 2:8] -- He raises the needy from the dust, etc. He raises Christ from the dead, so that His flesh may not see corruption; and He lifts Him to the heavens, that He may not be overcome by the persecutors, the Jews, whose traditions the Apostle considers as dung (Colossians III). For He Himself became needy, He Himself became poor for our sakes, that by His poverty we might be made rich (II Cor. VIII).
[1 Samuel 2:8] -- To sit with princes, etc. He himself explains this verse, when questioned by those whom he made poor so that he might enrich them; he humbled them on earth so that he might exalt them in heaven; when asked what reward they would have in the future; he responded: When the Son of Man will sit on the throne of his majesty, you also will sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel (Matt. XIX). And Solomon, in praise of a strong woman, that is, the Church, or any chosen soul: Noble, he says, is her husband in the gates, when he sits with the elders of the land (Proverbs XXXI).
[1 Samuel 2:8] -- For the foundations of the earth are the Lord's, etc. He has not only set up high promontories and cliffs as defenses against the heat of marine tempests for the earthly world but much more so, to maintain the state of his Church, so that no wave of turbulent persecution might throw it down, he has placed the steadfast and strong hearts of his faithful. He therefore calls these foundations of the earth, the supports of the world, upon which the princes sit on thrones. And rightly so; because the more humbly they now bear, and defend more fervently, the more exalted they will be in judgment then. Blessed Job also remembers who the lords of these foundations are, and that they are not fortified by their own strength, saying of the Lord: Under whom bend those who bear the world. So that they may firmly support the burdens of the weak, they continually submit humble necks to invincible strength (Job IX).
[1 Samuel 2:9] -- He has kept the feet of His saints, etc. He has defended the actions and minds of the pious, by which they advance towards perfection as though by steps, from the snares of the impious; and these same impious people, in the dark devices which they set for the good, will perish. Therefore, one of the saints, giving thanks to the Savior for the safety of his feet, sings: I will exult in your salvation; the nations are sunk down in the pit that they made, etc. (Psalm IX.)
[1 Samuel 2:9] -- For a man will not be strengthened by his own strength. He looks up. Therefore, the impious who, trusting in their own strength, despise seeking divine help, should finally be silent in darkness, that is, condemned at last to cease from blind impiety; because whoever rightly desires to be called a true man will be strengthened not in his own strength but in the grace of his Creator.
[1 Samuel 2:10] -- His adversaries will fear the Lord, etc. He openly predicts the terrible day of the strict and final judgment; on that day, since His adversaries will fear the Lord, it is necessary now for us who do not yet see Him to humbly fear Him, so that then we may rejoice at His sight in majesty. But even today, the Lord thunders from the lofty and luminous pages of Holy Scripture, which His Spirit enriched, to chide the stubbornness of the wicked.
[1 Samuel 2:10] -- The Lord will judge the ends of the earth. It is certain that the Lord will judge not only the ends of the earth but also the inland regions. Thus it is said: He will judge the ends of the earth; as if it were said, He will also judge the ends of the earth; because no one can hide from His heat (Psalm XVIII). But it is better understood to say the ends of the earth signify the end times or the final moments of every person or the whole world; because as someone departs from the body, so will he be presented to the examination of the strict judge.
[1 Samuel 2:10] -- And He will give power to His king, etc. After the trial of the final examination, the kingdom of Christ, which unbelievers now despise, will be elevated and shown gloriously with the revelation of His divine majesty. But the horn of Christ is fittingly understood not only of the only-begotten Son of God but also of each of His chosen ones. Hence at the very beginning of this hymn, in which throughout she marvelously commends the grace of God, she says: My horn is exalted in my God. For we rightly call all His anointed ones christs, that nevertheless with their head they are one body, one Christ; now in part as strangers on earth, but then to be wholly exalted in the heavenly homeland. Recall the hymn of blessed Mary (Luke I), and see how the prophetess, mother, and Lord, both woman and virgin, felt similarly about God's judgments and grace.