1 Samuel 2:3, commentary and pictures

It was sung by Hannah in grateful praise after the Lord heard her prayer in distress and gave her a son, rebuking the proud boasting of her rival and reaching to all who glory in themselves against the children of faith.
In its plain sense it forbids proud and arrogant speech because the Lord knows all things and weighs human actions.
As the God of knowledge He is acquainted with hearts and lives, reading every purpose, thought, and hidden motive so that pride cannot deceive Him.
By Him actions are weighed means He distinguishes character and weighs motives, words, deeds, and purposes in the balances of the sanctuary, placing His holy immutable law requiring supreme love to God and love to neighbor in one scale and each individual character in the opposite scale so that every person's doom is fixed.
Therefore motives and actions must be closely examined by that law, every transgression repented of with restitution made, and the deficiency supplied by laying hold of the merits and blood of Christ in steadfast cooperation with Him to form a Christlike character, lest the verdict be found wanting.

Hannah's Song Setting

The verse belongs to Hannah's song of praise after the Lord heard her prayer in her distress and gave her a son. It was uttered under the spirit of inspiration in the assembly of the people, after God granted the desire of her heart in giving her a child, as a public acknowledgment of divine mercy and loving-kindness, sounding forth the praise of God by a woman naturally retiring and timid who had been highly favored of Heaven and felt she could do no less in token of her gratitude. It was spoken as a triumphant burst of praise when she left the child Samuel to minister in the house of God under the care and instruction of Eli the high priest, after which she quietly returned to her home at Ramah.

It first rebukes the proud boastings of an insolent and contentious woman, Peninnah's boastful and insolent conduct. Beyond her it addresses all enemies of true godliness who glory in themselves and insult and despise the children of faith. Its meaning reaches beyond her to the humiliation of the proud and the exaltation of the humble.

God Knows and Weighs

The verse forbids proud and arrogant speech because the Lord knows all things and weighs human actions. As the God of knowledge He is acquainted with the hearts and lives of all, so pride and boasting cannot deceive Him. He reads every purpose and thought, and no motive or hidden plan escapes His understanding, seeing all as clearly as if registered in living characters.

By Him actions are weighed means He distinguishes characters and weighs motives in the balance. His weighing covers people, their words, deeds, motives, purposes, character and character development, whether good or evil. All are weighed in the balances of the sanctuary, described as golden balances, a fact all are to realize.

The weighing is done by placing His holy immutable law, which requires supreme love to God and love to neighbor with all heart, mind, soul, and strength, in one scale and each individual character in the opposite scale. By that just comparison every person's doom is fixed, for He searches the heart, tests inner motives, thoughts, and desires that shape outward conduct, and judges each person according to ways and deeds. Actions are weighed from the records in the books of heaven and moral worth is measured. Angels in the heavenly courts watch the development of character with deepest interest, the development is watched closely and carried to heaven, and every day the record of life is passed to God just as it is, whether of merit or of demerit.

Unlike human observers, He sifts everything to the bottom, examines motives, methods, plans, and secret actions, looks to the very heart, and tests the quality of character even when a person appears honest before others. As a glass shows defects on the face that must be washed away, His great moral mirror, His holy law, exposes defects in moral character. He is not unaware or careless about conduct and no wrongdoer can assume He overlooks daily transgression. He searches out hidden wrongdoing, brings every work including what is secret into judgment, gives each person according to ways and deeds, sees each deed and its outcome including wrongful use of means or influence that leads others astray, and deeds that obstruct the work of salvation are weighed and found wanting.

People cannot make their own judgment of their ways the final measure of character. Human beings lack true elevation and nobility of soul and no one can supply the needed character, and learning, influence, and mental strength cannot secure eternal life. Therefore motives and actions must be closely examined by the holy law, every transgression repented of, and wrongs repented of with restitution made. As sinners people must lay hold of the merits and blood of Christ to supply the deficiency, depend upon Christ and cooperate with Him in steadfast, earnest, determined purpose to attain the standard of moral worth, forming a Christlike character with conscience taught by God and conduct governed by righteousness in obedience and loyalty to His unalterable law, lest the verdict be found wanting.

Prophecy and Accountability

With the rest of Hannah's song the warning is a prophecy of the destruction of God's enemies and the complete and final triumph of His faithful servants, prophetic both of David who should reign as king of Israel and of Christ the Messiah, the Lord's anointed. He will interpose in behalf of His people when He sees it will be for the good of man and for His own glory, and in due time He will reward the righteous and punish the wicked. By Him actions are weighed means He distinguishes characters and weighs motives in the balance, and actions will be shown as they are when people are judged by the record of their deeds.

Because the Lord knows all and weighs people, their character development, motives, and actions, whether good or evil, each person should examine the heart and improve every faculty given. Trust in His wisdom is required rather than reliance on human knowledge and influence. The warning applies to the motives and conduct of people in positions of responsibility, whose decisions and dealings God observes and judges. It exposes leaders who rely on their own wisdom, seek to exalt themselves, and try to find salvation through their own works. Those responsible for important work, including in committee meetings, should act reverently remembering that God witnesses what they do.

Hidden wrongdoing does not escape Him, for He searches it out, and left uncorrected it brings His displeasure on the church. The account of Eli and his sons illustrates this accountability, for Eli was held responsible for failing to remove his sons from office, while God honors those who honor Him and lightly esteems those who despise Him. His judgment takes account of every transaction, including injustice toward the weak, the poor, the needy, and one's own relatives. People should leave matters with Him and wait patiently, refusing to take part in or support what He condemns.

Those with the privileges of enlightenment, light, and education, especially in missionary lines, must feel deepest humility rather than pride and neglect, and serve with purity and steadfast principle. He looks upon thousands of destitute neighbors perishing in sin, ignorant of purity and godliness and elevation, yet including men and women of quick perception and excellent talents that will be revealed when the Spirit turns their attention to the Word. Those who would do God service must therefore go among the people in personal ministry and not in the Word alone. The hollow-hearted courtesy of the fashionable world has no value in His sight when outward courtesy is hollow or hypocritical. He values conduct shaped by truth and Christlike love, which joins unselfishness with firmness and builds others up.

Workers in institutions for the sick must therefore be living examples with a right spirit and holy life, with no partiality and no hypocrisy, the physician being ready for every good work. His approval depends on acting unselfishly and treating others as one would wish to be treated, as shown when withholding from Sister Lunt money that rightly belonged to her failed the test. He evaluates all human work, especially of those self-sufficient and full of self-esteem, sifting everything to the bottom, examining motives, looking to the very heart, and testing the quality of character even when a person appears honest before others. As a glass shows defects on the face that must be washed away, His great moral mirror, His holy law, exposes defects in moral character, and life places people where proud self-esteem, if present, will be revealed, so the heart must be humbled and kept from separating from Jesus.

He is weighing moral worth and watching the spirit brought into His work, testing unselfishness, earnestness, thoroughness, and faithfulness. The verse condemns workers who measure out just the jot and tittle they suppose is their part and do nothing else although abundance needs to be done, and those who wait to be carried instead of laboring faithfully. Such self-measuring, selfish workers belong to the class excused from His enterprise, and He cannot put His seal upon work done in selfishness, especially when means are hard to obtain for erecting school buildings and meetinghouses. His weighing of actions applied to those who ignored His instruction to leave Battle Creek and build elsewhere, whose decision to add school buildings while the college was already heavily in debt brought an oppressive debt and worsened the situation.