The adversaries of the Lord shall fear him: and upon them shall he thunder in the heavens. The Lord shall judge the ends of the earth, and he shall give empire to his king, and shall exalt the horn of his Christ.

“These words refer to the return of Christ or to the return of God to heaven. His teaching [will be] heard like thunder by all, and holy Scripture foretells his future judgment of all afterwards. And after this it is said that the Lord will give strength to our kings. And these would be the apostles of Christ, of whom it is written in Psalm 67: "The Lord will give a word to the preachers of the gospel with much power." Here, also, he mentions Christ by name, humanly known as our Savior, whose horn he says shall be exalted, meaning his invisible power and kingdom. For it is usual for Scripture to call a kingdom a "horn." It is found also in Psalm 88: "And in my name shall his horn be exalted."”

“Are these words going to be regarded as simply the words of one mere woman giving thanks for the birth of her son? Are people's minds so turned away from the light of truth that they do not feel that the words poured out by this woman transcend the limit of her own thoughts? Surely, anyone who is appropriately moved by the events whose fulfillment has already begun, even in this earthly pilgrimage, must listen to these words and observe and recognize that through this woman (whose very name, Hannah, means "God's grace"), there speaks, by the spirit of prophecy, the Christian religion itself, the City of God itself, whose king and founder is Christ. There speaks, in fact, the grace of God itself, from which the proud are estranged so that they fall, with which the humble are filled so that they rise up, which was in fact the chief theme that rang out in her hymn of praise. Now it may be that someone will be ready to say that the woman didn't utter a prophecy but merely praised God in an outburst of exultation for the son who was granted in answer to her prayer. If so, what is the meaning of this passage, "He has made weak the bow of the mighty ones, and the weak have girded themselves with strength. Those who were full of bread have been reduced to want, and the hungry have passed over the earth. Because the barren woman has given birth to seven, while she who has many children has become weak." Had Hannah herself really borne seven children, although she was barren? She had only one son when she spoke these words; and even afterwards she did not give birth to seven, or to six, which would have made Samuel the seventh. She had in fact three male and two female children. And then observe her concluding words, spoken among that people at a time when no one had yet been king over them: "He gives strength to our kings and will exalt the horn of his anointed." How is it that she said this, if she was not uttering a prophecy? Therefore, let the church of Christ speak, the "city of the great king," the church that is "full of grace," fruitful in children. Let it speak the words that it recognizes as spoken prophetically about itself, so long ago, by the lips of this devout mother, "My heart is strengthened in the Lord; my horn is exalted in my God." Her heart is truly strengthened and her horn truly exalted, because it is "in the Lord her God," not in herself, that she finds strength and exaltation.”

“And Elkanah went to Ramah to his house,.... Of which see Sa1 1:19. This was after he had offered the sacrifices at the feast, worshipped the Lord, and Hannah had delivered her prayer or song of praise, and both had committed Samuel to the care of Eli, and left him with him: and the child did minister unto the Lord before Eli the priest; he not only read in the book of the law, but learned to sing the praises of God vocally, and to play upon an instrument of music used in the service of God in those times, and to light the lamps in the tabernacle, and open and shut the doors of it, and the like; which were suitable to his age, and which might not be quite so tender as some have thought; or this may respect some small beginnings in the ministry of the sanctuary, in which he gradually increased under the inspection, guidance, and instruction of Eli, which is meant by ministering before him; the Targum is,"in the life of Eli the priest;''he began his ministration before his death.”

“The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken - Those who contend with him, מריביו meribaiu, by sinning against his laws, opposing the progress of his word, or persecuting his people. Shall judge the ends on the earth - His empire shall be extended over all mankind by the preaching of the everlasting Gospel, for to this the afterpart of the verse seems to apply: He shall give strength unto his king, and shall exalt the horn of his Christ, or, as the Targum says, וירבי מלכות משיחיה viribbey malcuth Meshicheyh, "he shall multiply the kingdom of the Messiah." Here the horn means spiritual as well as secular dominion. After the clause, The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken to pieces, the Septuagint add the following words: Μη καυχασθω ὁ φρονιμος εν τῃ φρονησει αυτου, κ. τ. λ. Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom and let not the rich man glory in his riches; but let him who glorieth rather glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth the Lord; and that he executeth judgment and righteousness in the midst of the earth. This is a very long addition, and appears to be taken from Jer 9:23, but on collating the two places the reader will find the words to be materially different. This clause is wanting in the Complutensian Polyglot, but it is in the edition of Aldus, in that of Cardinal Caroffa, and in the Codex Alexandrinus.”

“Him. Septuagint, “The Lord will render his adversary weak. The holy Lord. Let not the prudent boast of his prudence,” &c. (Haydock; which seems to be added from Jeremias ix. 23., Calmet) “The Lord has mounted the heavens, and thundered. He judges the ends of the earth, and gives power to those who rule, as kings, over us,” &c. (Haydock) — Heavens. This prediction against the Philistines was exactly verified, chap. vii. 10. It denotes the protection which God grants to his servants, Psalm xvii. 8, 14. — Christ. Chaldean, and the best interpreters, understand this of the Messias: “He will multiply the kingdom of his Messias.” (Jonathan) — Anna might also have David in view, who was one of his most express figures. (Calmet) — But neither he, nor Solomon, ever ruled over all the earth, as Christ will, Psalm ii. 18. (Worthington) — Zachary seems to allude to this text, Luke i. 69. (Calmet) — The empire of Christ rose from the smallest beginnings. (Menochius)”

“the Lord shall judge the ends of the earth . . . exalt the horn of his anointed--This is the first place in Scripture where the word "anointed," or Messiah, occurs; and as there was no king in Israel at the time, it seems the best interpretation to refer it to Christ. There is, indeed, a remarkable resemblance between the song of Hannah and that of Mary (Luk 1:46).”