Worthy of Praise

Who would have to walk through the door of our sanctuary to make you go teenage girl at a boy band concert level crazy? Would it be a celebrity? A politician? A business leader?

Last week, the angel Gabriel visited Mary of Nazareth to announce that she would bear a child as a virgin and this child would be the Son of God who would come to take the throne of his father David and reign forever. Mary knew this child would be the long awaited Jewish Messiah, the chosen one who would bring salvation to Israel and the rest of the world. Mary accepted this calling and responsibility with the words, “Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word.”

Remember that proof of God’s power and ability to do such a feat was the pregnancy of Mary’s relative Elizabeth who has conceived in her old age. Mary now travels to a city in Judah to visit her.

Luke 1:39–45 NASB95

Now at this time Mary arose and went in a hurry to the hill country, to a city of Judah, and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. And she cried out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! “And how has it happened to me, that the mother of my Lord would come to me? “For behold, when the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby leaped in my womb for joy. “And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what had been spoken to her by the Lord.”

Verse 40 says Mary greeted Elizabeth and at the sound of her voice, the baby Elizabeth is carrying leaps inside her womb. It would seem something special is happening here. The baby, having never been in Mary’s presence, responds favorably to the sound of her voice. Could it be that he knows who she is? I believe so.

Elizabeth is then filled with the Holy Spirit. When this happens in the Bible, what comes next is usually profound. It is difficult to tell if Mary announced her coming prior to leaving Nazareth or if she just showed up, making this a surprise visit. It would seem that Elizabeth does not know about Gabriel’s visit to Mary, making this a supernatural revelation of the Holy Spirit to Elizabeth. She recognizes the truth revealed to us in the previous verses as she stands before the mother of Christ. What an honor. Mary is indeed a blessed woman. To be chosen to bring forth the savior of the world must have been incredible. To be Mary must have been indescribable. Elizabeth is praising God for what he has done in Mary’s life and that she gets to be in her presence.

Being in the presence of the mother of Jesus would be a pretty big deal. But here’s the thing: one day you will see her. If you are in Christ, have placed your trust in him for the forgiveness of your sins, you will stand not just see the mother of Jesus, but Jesus himself. What an honor.

Elizabeth praises God and then Mary bursts into song.

Luke 1:46–56 NASB95

And Mary said: “My soul exalts the Lord, And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior. “For He has had regard for the humble state of His bondslave; For behold, from this time on all generations will count me blessed. “For the Mighty One has done great things for me; And holy is His name. “And His mercy is upon generation after generation Toward those who fear Him. “He has done mighty deeds with His arm; He has scattered those who were proud in the thoughts of their heart. “He has brought down rulers from their thrones, And has exalted those who were humble. “He has filled the hungry with good things; And sent away the rich empty-handed. “He has given help to Israel His servant, In remembrance of His mercy, As He spoke to our fathers, To Abraham and his descendants forever.” And Mary stayed with her about three months, and then returned to her home.

This song of praise is known as the Magnificat, which comes from the Latin word meaning, to praise or magnify. Mary bursts forth into song praising God for who he is and the works he has done. This song seems to have three parts to it, all praising God for different things.

First, there is praise for his character. We see Mary recognize God’s faithfulness as he has looked favorably on her in her humble estate. Remember Mary is an unknown girl from an insignificant town. That’s a worldly point of view. It is part of our human nature to attach value to someone based on where they are from or social status, economic status, skin color, and so on. God did not think Mary was insignificant or unimportant. He took notice of her. He had a plan for her. He was going to make sure the whole world knew her name. And now they do.

Checotah is a small town in Oklahoma with a population just above 3,000 in 2021. They do have a Wal-Mart, and it is also home to a museum exhibit and memorial to Marci’s great uncle Paul Henry Carr, who died in World War II. I hear it’s not a bad place to live, but if you ask people where Checotah, Oklahoma is, they probably won’t be able to tell you. But in 2005 everybody learned the name of this little town in Oklahoma because one of its residents went on to win America’s greatest singing competition that year and now everyone knows the name of Carrie Underwood. Now Carrie Underwood is famous, but she’s never going to be Mary the mother of Jesus famous.

Secondly, God is holy. Of all the characteristics of God, this is perhaps the most important. To be holy generally means to be set apart or dedicated to God. When we speak of the holiness of God, we speak of purity and perfection in all aspects. Every other attribute of God stems from his holiness. So he is perfect in love, justice, mercy, grace, might, compassion, and even things like anger and wrath. God is pure and perfect in every way.

He is also merciful from one generation to the next. There has always been a people on the face of the earth who have feared him and he has always been merciful though we don’t deserve his mercy. So,

Because God is merciful when we don’t deserve it, and continues to act in faithfulness when we are faithless, he is worthy of praise.

In the next section of the song, we see a God in action. He has scattered the proud, brought down rulers, sent away the rich, but he has exalted the humble and filled the hungry. Those who are proud often have no need for God. He judges the proud but extends mercy to the humble. The proud seeks to boast about his own deeds while the humble recognizes the work of God in his life and gives God credit where credit is due. There is a contrast here between the ruling rich and the humble poor. What we should not read into this is that those who have are always prideful and those who don’t are always humble. I have met very humble rich people and very prideful poor people. The core of this is a matter of one’s heart. If one is prideful and arrogant, he will be brought down. If one is humble, he will find mercy.

God’s character is the key to God’s actions because they are always in sync. Mercy is found if one is searching. Those who are not searching will not find it. The people who say they do not need God will never have him. Those who do will always find him. God’s care for those who fear him is seen through this section of Mary’s song.

God protects and provides for those who know they need him and will respond to him.

Finally, Mary is praising God for remembering his covenant with Israel. A promise was made to Eve, the first woman who sinned in the garden of Eden that a man would come from her descendants to crush the head of the serpent. That promise was given and expanded upon with Abraham, the father of the Israelites. That promise was then passed down to Jacob, his grandson, whose name was changed to Israel, and was the father of the twelve tribes of Israel. This promise of a deliverer was then given to David in 2 Samuel 7 and the people of Israel waited until this moment in history where the deliverer would come from a virgin woman.

God has always kept his covenant promises throughout history. He never lies. He never forgets. He is the only being in existence who is 100% trustworthy and he sent his son so we might have forgiveness of sin and a restored relationship with him.

Because God has always kept his word, he is worthy of every ounce of devotion.

Because he has always done what he said he will do, we can trust him to do what has yet to be done. We can trust that one day Jesus will return. We can trust that one day he will bring a just end to all the wickedness we see in our world. We can trust that he can transform us by the renewing of our minds. We can trust that if we give our lives to him, he can fulfill every need and desire.

Where are you? Can you honestly say that you have given your life over to Jesus not only for the forgiveness of your sins, but for his leadership in your life? Have you been playing church your whole life, coming and participating, but never surrendering yourself to him? This is step one of the Christian life.

Have you made a commitment to him but have never followed in obedience through baptism? If this is you, what’s the hold up? Come talk to me about that. I encourage you to take the next step in being baptized. Let’s get it on the calendar and get it done.

Have you taken something out of Jesus’ hands that belongs there? It’s time to give it back.

As we go to the Lord in our time of invitation, it is ultimately a time of response.

Thank God for his:

Character

Care

Covenant