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"Their sword shall enter into their own heart, and their bows shall be broken . . . . . . .
for the arms of the wicked shall be broken: but the Lord upholdeth the righteous"
(Psalm 37: 15, 17).
"He breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder; He burneth the chariot in the
fire. Be still, and know that I am God" (Psa. 46: 9, 10).
Verses 5 to 8 of I Samuel 2: speak of the manner in which the Lord reverses the
estate and condition of men, despite all their endeavours. The poor man can be raised up
overnight to sit among princes, while the riches of another disappear overnight.
Luke.xii.16-21 is an example of this: the rich man with much abundance of wealth said
to himself, "This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater", but God has
the final word:
"Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things
be, which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich
toward God" (Luke 12: 20, 21).
Here, in Hannah's hymn of praise, the Lord is dealing with earthly riches. On the
other hand the apostle Paul, as the prisoner of Christ for we Gentiles, in his letter
addressed to the Ephesians, speaks of riches that are not earthly, but heavenly; of the
"glory of the inheritance" which is to be seated with Christ at the right hand of God in
heavenly places (Eph. 1: 18-20; 2: 6). Is there anything this world can offer us today
that can compare with such riches, remembering that He Who was rich, yet for our sakes
became poor, that we through His poverty might become rich. Moreover, from Eph. 2: 7
we learn that it is His intention to shew "the exceeding riches of His grace in His
kindness toward us through Christ Jesus". These riches can never be earned or worked
for, for they are beyond price:
"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of
God: not of works, lest any man should boast" (Eph. 2: 8 & 9).
Incredibly as it may seem, they are the gift of God to His children that are members of
that church which is the Body of Christ. No wonder the apostle Paul prays:
"That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the
spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge (acknowledgement) of Him: the eyes
of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of His
calling, and what the riches of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding
greatness of His power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of His mighty
power, which He wrought in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead, and set Him at
His own right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality, and power, and
might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in
that which is to come" (Eph. 1: 17-21),
and again in chapter 3::
"For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the
whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the
riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man; that
Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may
be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and