The bows of the mighty men are broken
Hannah, from relating gracious experiences, and celebrating, the
divine perfections of holiness, omniscience, and sovereignty,
passes on to take notice of the dealings of God with men in
providence and grace; bows are here put for all military arms,
which men of might and war make use of, and which God can easily
break in pieces, and so make war to cease in the earth, and
hinder warlike men from doing what they design and attempt; they
are enfeebled and weakened by him, and their hands cannot perform
their enterprises: so the bows of Satan, and his principalities
and powers, are broken, and his fiery darts are quenched, and the
people of the Lord enabled to stand against him, and wrestle with
him and them, being strong in the Lord, and in the power of his
might, as it follows:
and they that stumbled are girt with strength;
who, through weakness, are ready to stumble at everything they
meet with in the way; yet, being girded with strength by the
Lord, are able to do great exploits, as David did, that being his
case, ( Psalms 18:29
Psalms
18:32 ) , so such as are weak in grace, in faith, in
knowledge, and ready to stumble at every trial and exercise, let
it come from what quarter it will; yet being girded by the Lord
with strength, are able to exercise grace, perform duty, go
through every service they are called to, whether in a way of
doing or suffering, to bear the yoke and cross of Christ, to
oppose every enemy, to walk on in the ways of God, and to
persevere in faith and holiness to the end.