1 Sam 2:1, Then Hannah prayed and said, "My heart exults in the Lord; My horn is exalted in the Lord, My mouth speaks boldly against my enemies, Because I rejoice in Thy salvation. 
This morning we are continuing our look into some more of the fullness of what it means for our hearts to exult in the Lord as did Hannah when she honored the Lord with the giving of her first born son, Samuel, into the service of the Lord. I am not sure that she had any concept of what a tremendous prophet Samuel would become, but it was absolutely her love for the Lord that allowed her to so sacrifice her motherly instincts in her dedication to God. 
Accordingly, the whole history of all mankind has been affected by that decision. The prophet, Samuel was so instrumental in his service unto the Lord as following the footsteps of his mother’s dedication to Jehovah. He learned the value and the importance of how much God is to be honored and esteemed above all else. He became the king-maker of sorts, being the one to anoint both of the early kings of Israel, Saul and David. Samuel honored the Lord and he was so saddened when the people chose to have those earthly kings to rule them instead of The Lord God Jehovah. However the Lord had the eternal plan of His Divine Sovereignty in place. Therefore Samuel did as the Lord instructed in the appointment of the kingly lineages.
As we know, the first king, Saul, was not as dedicated to the Lord in his actions as the earthly sovereign of Israel. He had his purpose in the manner in which David was trained and brought into the place where the honor of the Lord would become most primary in the manner in which the nation of God was governed, albeit still imperfectly. The kingship of Saul was not a mistake, but a means of showing what should not be done as an earthly ruler. Those years of Saul’s rule were the opportunity to bring forth one whose heart would be more solidly set on pleasing the Lord in the manner in which the people were governed. 
It was the Prophet Samuel who declared this when the Lord took away the kingdom from Saul, after Saul’s apostasy. Samuel knew that there was one who was being prepared by God to govern over the Lord’s people and made that fully known to Saul in 1 Sam. 13:14. 
1 Sam 13:14, But now your kingdom shall not endure. The Lord has sought out for Himself a man after His own heart, and the Lord has appointed him as ruler over His people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you." 
The Prophet then proceeded on the quest to discover this one whom the Lord had so chosen. He was led by God to the house of Jesse and to the youngest son, David, who he then anointed as the future king over the nation of Israel. This was the one who would become the great king of the whole nation of Israel, uniting the separate tribes to make one people for the Lord. In the course of being brought into this position, the Lord took David through many perilous and treacherous ordeals. This would cause the growth into utter reliance upon the Jehovah to be the guiding light of this man whose heart was after God. 
This heralded another of the Old Testament voices which exulted in the Lord, that of David. He was the writer of so many recorded songs of exultation in the Psalms, a few of which we will read together this morning. However, before we do so, it would be wise to get a sense of the heart of David as he so adamantly proclaimed the glory of Jehovah - the Provider, the Sustainer, the Protector and the Savior. David saw Yahweh as the source of his every moment on this earth. 
We will jump briefly ahead to the New Testament at this point. This is to reinforce what became evident in the heart of this king of Israel as would be perfectly and eternally expressed by the True King of all the nations. This heart of David was reiterated by Paul in Acts 13:21-23, as he was recounting the manner in which God had brought forth His Salvation through Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten of the Father. Although divine in His essential essence, Jesus of Nazareth was in the earthly lineage of the great King David. He was the One Who became the eternal King of all humanity as so promised through the line of David. 
Acts 13:21-23, "And then they asked for a king, and God gave them Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years. "And after He had removed him, He raised up David to be their king, concerning whom He also testified and said, 'I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My heart, who will do all My will.' 
We return, then, to the manner in which the Lord proved Himself as the focal reality of this soon-to-be king of Israel. This was during the period in which David was on the run from Saul who was trying to kill this young man. Saul was in absolute dread of the loss of the kingdom and sought to intervene in the plans and the purposes of what God had declared through the Prophet Samuel. This is the context of the manhunt from which David was holding onto the Lord as his Deliverer.
We all are faced with those times in which God continues to prove Himself as the Rock and the Salvation of all who trust in Him. As Jehovah always does so, there should be the same heart of exultation as was evident in the heart of David. We find an example of this recorded in 2 Sam 22:1-4.
2 Sam 22:1-4, And David spoke the words of this song to the Lord in the day that the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. And he said, "The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge; My savior, Thou dost save me from violence. "I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised; And I am saved from my enemies. 
David’s heart was filled with this desire to give expression to what Jehovah meant to him in the course of his growth into manhood and the responsibility that was put upon him as the leader of the people whom God had rescued from captivity. He did not take his relationship with God in any manner other than that which would bring honor and praise and adoration unto the Lord most High and most Holy. 
David sought after the Lord to be his every source of help and strength and wisdom and understanding and ability to make it through each day. This was as a shepherd in the course of caring for the flocks of sheep, or as a young boy thrust into battle, or as a young man running for his life, or as a sovereign over the nation of God. In every instance, day by day, David sought the protection and the salvation and the wisdom of God. And, as the Lord proved Himself, day after day after day, David gave expression to his heart of gratitude and praise and adoration and honor unto Jehovah, Yahweh, The Lord God Almighty.
Consider Ps 18 for example. We will read the whole of this psalm as it is so wonderfully glorious in the manner in which David poured out his praise and exultation in rejoicing in the goodness of the Lord. We should all seek to have this heart after God in our daily walk with Him. This is the truth of who we now are in Jesus Christ. He is our Righteousness and our Strength and our Provider and our Savior and our Source of Sustenance to get through everything that we face on this earth in our service of love unto Him.
Ps 18, "I love Thee, O Lord, my strength." The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised, And I am saved from my enemies. The cords of death encompassed me, And the torrents of ungodliness terrified me. The cords of Sheol surrounded me; The snares of death confronted me. In my distress I called upon the Lord, And cried to my God for help; He heard my voice out of His temple, And my cry for help before Him came into His ears. Then the earth shook and quaked; And the foundations of the mountains were trembling And were shaken, because He was angry. Smoke went up out of His nostrils, And fire from His mouth devoured; Coals were kindled by it. He bowed the heavens also, and came down With thick darkness under His feet. And He rode upon a cherub and flew; And He sped upon the wings of the wind. He made darkness His hiding place, His canopy around Him, Darkness of waters, thick clouds of the skies. From the brightness before Him passed His thick clouds, Hailstones and coals of fire. The Lord also thundered in the heavens, And the Most High uttered His voice, Hailstones and coals of fire. And He sent out His arrows, and scattered them, And lightning flashes in abundance, and routed them. Then the channels of water appeared, And the foundations of the world were laid bare At Thy rebuke, O Lord, At the blast of the breath of Thy nostrils. He sent from on high, He took me; He drew me out of many waters. He delivered me from my strong enemy, And from those who hated me, for they were too mighty for me. They confronted me in the day of my calamity, But the Lord was my stay. He brought me forth also into a broad place; He rescued me, because He delighted in me. The Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness; According to the cleanness of my hands He has recompensed me. For I have kept the ways of the Lord, And have not wickedly departed from my God. For all His ordinances were before me, And I did not put away His statutes from me. I was also blameless with Him, And I kept myself from my iniquity. Therefore the Lord has recompensed me according to my righteousness, According to the cleanness of my hands in His eyes. With the kind Thou dost show Thyself kind; With the blameless Thou dost show Thyself blameless; With the pure Thou dost show Thyself pure; And with the crooked Thou dost show Thyself astute. For Thou dost save an afflicted people; But haughty eyes Thou dost abase. For Thou dost light my lamp; The Lord my God illumines my darkness. For by Thee I can run upon a troop; And by my God I can leap over a wall. As for God, His way is blameless; The word of the Lord is tried; He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him. For who is God, but the Lord? And who is a rock, except our God, The God who girds me with strength, And makes my way blameless? He makes my feet like hinds' feet, And sets me upon my high places. He trains my hands for battle, So that my arms can bend a bow of bronze. Thou hast also given me the shield of Thy salvation, And Thy right hand upholds me; And Thy gentleness makes me great. Thou dost enlarge my steps under me, And my feet have not slipped. I pursued my enemies and overtook them, And I did not turn back until they were consumed. I shattered them, so that they were not able to rise; They fell under my feet. For Thou hast girded me with strength for battle; Thou hast subdued under me those who rose up against me. Thou hast also made my enemies turn their backs to me, And I destroyed those who hated me. They cried for help, but there was none to save, Even to the Lord, but He did not answer them. Then I beat them fine as the dust before the wind; I emptied them out as the mire of the streets. Thou hast delivered me from the contentions of the people; Thou hast placed me as head of the nations; A people whom I have not known serve me. As soon as they hear, they obey me; Foreigners submit to me. Foreigners fade away, And come trembling out of their fortresses. The Lord lives, and blessed be my rock; And exalted be the God of my salvation, The God who executes vengeance for me, And subdues peoples under me. He delivers me from my enemies; Surely Thou dost lift me above those who rise up against me; Thou dost rescue me from the violent man. Therefore I will give thanks to Thee among the nations, O Lord, And I will sing praises to Thy name. He gives great deliverance to His king, And shows lovingkindness to His anointed, To David and his descendants forever. 
Throughout the Psalms, we have this reality that the Lord is our exultation in the full course of how He is Faithful and He is Just and He is Holy. As His people, we are part of the eternal song of elation in the Lord for Who He is and all that He has done. We are to exult, to be extremely joyful; to REJOICE; to leap for joy as we consider the perfect work of God.
Consider for example the truth of Ps 89:15-18. This is who we now are in Jesus Christ and this is how we are to be characterized. 
Ps 89:15-18, How blessed are the people who know the joyful sound! O Lord, they walk in the light of Thy countenance. In Thy name they rejoice all the day, And by Thy righteousness they are exalted. For Thou art the glory of their strength, And by Thy favor our horn is exalted. For our shield belongs to the Lord, And our king to the Holy One of Israel. 
Now turn to Ps 92. How many of us are the expressions of this psalm, which we often sing. This is to be the witness that is evident in every situation and circumstance of our lives. We give thanks to the Lord as His people, facing everything with the exalted crescendo in the proclamation of Who God is and how wonderful it is to know Him, the Lord God Almighty!
Ps 92, It is good to give thanks to the Lord, And to sing praises to Thy name, O Most High; To declare Thy lovingkindness in the morning, And Thy faithfulness by night, With the ten-stringed lute, and with the harp; With resounding music upon the lyre. For Thou, O Lord, hast made me glad by what Thou hast done, I will sing for joy at the works of Thy hands. How great are Thy works, O Lord! Thy thoughts are very deep. A senseless man has no knowledge; Nor does a stupid man understand this: That when the wicked sprouted up like grass, And all who did iniquity flourished, It was only that they might be destroyed forevermore. But Thou, O Lord, art on high forever. For, behold, Thine enemies, O Lord, For, behold, Thine enemies will perish; All who do iniquity will be scattered. But Thou hast exalted my horn like that of the wild ox; I have been anointed with fresh oil. And my eye has looked exultantly upon my foes, My ears hear of the evildoers who rise up against me. The righteous man will flourish like the palm tree, He will grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Planted in the house of the Lord, They will flourish in the courts of our God. They will still yield fruit in old age; They shall be full of sap and very green, To declare that the Lord is upright; He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him. 
We bring this morning to a close with the encouragement of exultation in the Lord that is contained in Ps 112. To read these psalms of praise and adoration and worship and thanksgiving unto the Lord is a means of honoring Him as the source of our every walk on this earth. There is no way that a born-again believer cannot but give thanks and praise and worship unto the One in Whom we find our every delight and ability to meet the challenges that each day presents. He will see us through it all, as He always has done and will forever continue to do!
Ps 112, Praise the Lord! How blessed is the man who fears the Lord, Who greatly delights in His commandments. His descendants will be mighty on earth; The generation of the upright will be blessed. Wealth and riches are in his house, And his righteousness endures forever. Light arises in the darkness for the upright; He is gracious and compassionate and righteous. It is well with the man who is gracious and lends; He will maintain his cause in judgment. For he will never be shaken; The righteous will be remembered forever. He will not fear evil tidings; His heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord. His heart is upheld, he will not fear, Until he looks with satisfaction on his adversaries. He has given freely to the poor; His righteousness endures forever; His horn will be exalted in honor. The wicked will see it and be vexed; He will gnash his teeth and melt away; The desire of the wicked will perish. So be it!
Then Hannah prayed and said, "My heart exults in the Lord; My horn is exalted in the Lord, My mouth speaks boldly against my enemies, Because I rejoice in Thy salvation. Amen.

This morning’s benediction is Hab 3:3. God comes from Teman, And the Holy One from Mount Paran. Selah. His splendor covers the heavens, And the earth is full of His praise. Amen.