Praising God for His Mercy and Deliverance: Mary's Magnificent Song

Luke 1:46-56

L/W—We looked back on the Mary’s visit to Elizabeth, how it was encouragment to both Mary and Elizabeth, bringing joy into not just the household of Elizabeth, but more so to the hearts of both Mary and Elizabeth. In this, we were (hopefully) reminded of the joy we can have in knowing that the Baby Mary carried was the Messiah who carried a cross---a cross we were meant to carry, b/c He was the one of whom the angel said, “would save man from their sins.”

Today, we read and learn of the expression of Mary’s joy. In everything that was told to her by Gabriel and the affirmation/confirmation/ and encouragment she received through Elizabeth’s confession/proclamation, Mary had every reason to be full of joy and hope.

(READ Luke 1:46-56)

Mary’s song in known as the, “Magnificant,” or song of “great things and wonderful works.” Mary’s “song” is a song about God, His divine and glorious mercy towards man, and a song of salvation--through the promised Messiah—her Savior. It is a song of how the Savior would be welcomed by those who reverenced Him, yet would be rejected by the proud, the powerful, and the rich.

It also serves (for us) as (1) a testimony and witness of God to the lost and (2) what ought to be the reflection of believer’s hearts. Within Mary’s song we must learn and see how:

(1) God is to be the source of our praise,

(2) God is to be the source of our salvation,

(3) God is to be Who is proclaimed,

(4) God has reversed the order of things on earth in sending His Son, and

(5) God has helped His people.

While we should praise God and rejoice in how He triumphs over our enemies—we should always possess hearts that praise Him, rejoice in Him, and worship Him

For who He is (God, the Lord)

For what He has given us (divine mercy and grace)

For what He has accomplished for us (salvation through His Son, Jesus Christ)

This is what we will focus on in our time today; how our praise & worship on God should be as Mary’s, centered on God, His attributes, and what He’s accomplished for us

I. (v.46) God was the subject/focus/topic of Mary’s song

Luke 1:46 “And Mary said: “My soul magnifies the Lord,”

As God was the subject of Mary’s praise, so to must He be the focus of our praise

II. (v.47-48) God was Mary’s Savior

Luke 1:47–48 “And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior. For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant; For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed.”

(CONTEXT)

God saw her need for a Savior and Mary recognized her need of a Savior

Mary knew she was a sinner and needed a Savior just like anyone else

Mary, just as anyone else, made a personal confession: “God is my Savior

Mary was stating that God saw her need—and in her profession—saved her

God saw her low estate (lowly) and Mary recognized where she came from—just how lowly a person she was—that in the eyes of the world,

She was a nobody

She was poor & obscure

She was unknown and insignificant

She was little purpose or meaning in life

She was considered the “least within her own household,” based on her statement, “the low estate of His handmaiden.”

(BIBLICAL APPLICATION—YOU and ME)

Right praise of God must be (1) rooted in salvation, (2) endured in sanctification, and (3) involve unhindered fellowship:

Rooted in salvation

True and Biblical praise exists only when a right relationship exists--in other words, salvation is and must be the cornerstone of all our praise

Colossians 2:6–7 “As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.”

1 Peter 1:3–6 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials,”

True and Biblical praise begins when the reality of yourself as a sinner meets the reality of God’s grace as your Savior

The gospel (or good news) has it’s impact on a person’s heart,

When a person realizes they are a sinner in need of a Savior

Matthew 5:3 ““Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

Matthew 5:4 “Blessed are those who mourn, For they shall be comforted.”

When a person realizes the Lord’s salvation is to be of a personal nature (of their heart), thus making their confession to Jesus Christ where He’s both Savior and Lord

Romans 10:10 “For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”

In the heart change—in being born again (John 3), (1) the newness of life that enters a person’s heart and (2) the heavy-laden wage of sin which leave’s person’s heart, and (3) recognition that death no longer has a hold on a person’s heart, ought to cultivate such praise & worship, it’s ripple effect should span the remainder of the believer’s life—and be displayed as the evidence of a right relationship with God.

Endured in santification

True rejoicing should be evident in seasons of sanctification

Philippians 4:4–7 “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

Romans 8:18 “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.”

Involve unhindered fellowship:

Right praise means dealing with unconfessed sin

Contrast Psalm 32:3–4 with Psalm 32:5

“When I kept silent, my bones grew old Through my groaning all the day long. For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; My vitality was turned into the drought of summer. Selah”

“I acknowledged my sin to You, And my iniquity I have not hidden. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” And You forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah”

Right praise means dealing with hearts of unforgiveness

“Forgive” (GRK “aphiemi”) has several definitions, however, in the Greek there’s one specific definition I want to focus on this morning: “to remit.”—to forgive is to remit, which means to surrender the right to punish someone for their crime/offense

The Gospel says and is saturated with the doctrine that “in Christ” there is remission (forgiveness) of sins

Acts 2:38 “Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

Ephesians 1:7 “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace”

Colossians 1:13–14 “He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.”

1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

The Gospel says, in God’s forgiveness of our sin, He surrendered His right to punish us for our sins (i.e. the wages of sin), choosing rather to pour out His wrath (this punishment) on His Son, Jesus Christ—and in doing so, in the remission of our sins, to those who surrender, they would be at peace with Him, no longer under condemnation.

Romans 5:1 “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,”

Romans 8:1 “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.”

In understanding the gospel in our own lives and to the degree our praise be less hindered, our forgiveness of others must be imitative of Christ. This means, when others offend/hurt/sin against us, when others speak ill of us, speak words of condemnation against us, or hurt us in some way…as God has forgiven us our sins through Jesus Christ, we too must:

Surrender the right to punish others for their offenses,

Surrender the anger/bitterness

Surrender the prejudice and partiality

Surrender the contempt and the judgment

Forsake the holding of grudges/criticisms/condemnation,

So that our hearts might give way to the love/grace/mercy God has bestowed on us and the door of reconciliation might stay open

True forgiveness is a Biblical imperative:

Matthew 6:14–15 ““For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”

Ephesians 4:31–32 “Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.”

Colossians 3:13 “bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do.”

Right praise means dealing with any issues which threaten Biblical unity

Disagreements/divisions: which Paul speaks to in Ephesians 4:1–3

“I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”

Prejudices or partialities: which James speaks to in James 2:1-4

James 2:1–4 “My brethren, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with partiality. For if there should come into your assembly a man with gold rings, in fine apparel, and there should also come in a poor man in filthy clothes, and you pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothes and say to him, “You sit here in a good place,” and say to the poor man, “You stand there,” or, “Sit here at my footstool,” have you not shown partiality among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts?”

James 2:8–9“If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you do well; but if you show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors.”

Habitual sin(s)

1 Corinthians 5:11 “But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner—not even to eat with such a person.”

(Matthew 18)

III. (v.49-50) Mary’s proclamation of God

Luke 1:49–50 “For He who is mighty has done great things for me, And holy is His name. And His mercy is on those who fear Him From generation to generation.”

(CONTEXT) Three of God’s attributes in Mary’s confession

God’s power (two specific things were on Mary’s mind here)

The Messiah was now to be born

What was promised to Adam and Eve, what was prophesied throughout the O/T, and after 400 years of God’s “silence”, the Hope of the world was set to come into the world and God’s power was about to be demonstrated in a way never witnessed before

The Messiah was to be born of a virgin (woman of pure character, untouched by a man)

A miracle was to be performed—in God’s might Christ would be conceived in the womb of Mary, through the power of the Holy Spirit

God’s holiness--”Holy is His name” (God is to be “set apart,” as different from ALL else)

“Holy” means to be righteous/pure/sinless and godly; it means to be perfectly complete and completly perfect; to be separated entirely from all other beings/things

God’s nature is divine—completely different from everything else

God’s being is divine—completely different from everything else

God is pure being and pure in being

God is both perfect being and perfect in being

God is both holy in name and holy in being1 Peter 1:15–16 “but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.””

God is “wholly other” than anything else

Emil Brunner in his article, “The Christian Doctrine of God,” says this concerning God’s holiness: “Holiness is the Nature of God, that which distinguishes Him from everything else…Holiness is not a quality which God possesses in common with other beings; on the contrary, it is that which distinguishes Him clearly and absolutely from everything else.”

God’s mercy (again, see two things on Mary’s mind)

God’s mercy towards her

God’s mercy towards Mary was experienced in a personal way—it was personal to Mary

God’s mercy in sending the Messiah (Savior) to those who feared Him (reverenced Him)

(BIBLICAL APPLICATION)

As Mary proclaimed God’s power, believer’s today (whether baby believers or mature believers) should confess/proclaim the power of God. For it is the power of God, through the power of the cross that has brought salvation

1 Corinthians 1:18 “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”

As Mary professed and proclaimed God’s holiness, so we to should profess and proclaim God’s holiness—and not only that, but as believers, dedicate our lives to the diligent pursuit of holiness and godly living

1 Peter 1:13–16 “Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.””

As Mary professed and proclaimed God’s mercy, so we to should declare and proclaim God’s mercy upon our lives

Mercy,

As we’ve mentioned removes the misery brought on by sin/shame

As we’ve discussed is God withholding what we deserve, reserving for us what we don’t (grace); mercy

As Mary understood, so we must understand mercy’s personal application for our lives…without personal application/personal understanding/personal acceptance of God’s mercy upon our lives, our confession is at best superficial and at worse non-existent.

Mercy, also

Be proclaimed to those who are lost and in need of the Savior; in asmuch as we’ve recieved God’s mercy, we should be declaring His mercy to anyone who might lend an ear.

IV. (v.51-53) Mary’s praise included the confession of the results of the Messiah’s coming (God’s reversal of things)

Luke 1:51–53 “He has shown strength with His arm; He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He has put down the mighty from their thrones, And exalted the lowly. He has filled the hungry with good things, And the rich He has sent away empty.”

(CONTEXT) Three results (these are given in the Greek tense “aorist” meaning— “having already happened”)—Mary was proclaiming what the Messiah’s coming had already done---by, “the strength of His arm.” (not by love, but by power)

The Lord scattered the proud—those who are prideful in their thoughts and in the imaginings of their hearts

Pride says “I’m better,” b/c

Of my looks

Of me as a person

Of my position

Of my wealth

Of my ability

Of my heritage

Of my achievements/accomplishments

Of my possessions (“He who has the most toys...”)

Mary’s statement here is that in the end, God will one day scatter the proud

The Lord dethroned the mighty and exalted the humble

Those who sit in positions of power/authority/influence over others and

Seek their own ends

Fail to serve

Deprive others

Push/put others down

Enslave and bypass others

Misuse/mistreat/abuse others

Mary’s statement said at the end of time, the Lord will have dethroned those who have exalted themselves

The Lord had filled the hungry and emptied the rich

Those who are rich according to the world and it’s goods will be stripped of all their earthly goods, b/c they have made these things the treasure(s) of their hearts

(BIBLICAL APPLICATION—You and Me)

Our praise of God must also include rejoicing for what He will accomplish at the return of Christ

Our final victory

1 Corinthians 15:51–52 “Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed—in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.”

1 Corinthians 15:55 ““O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?””

Our sanctification will be perfected

1 Thessalonians 3:13 “so that He may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints.”

Our pain/sufferings will be no more:

Revelation 21:4 “And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.””

V. (v.54-55). In all of this, what can be known is God had helped His people

Luke 1:54–55 “He has helped His servant Israel, In remembrance of His mercy, As He spoke to our fathers, To Abraham and to his seed forever.””

(CONTEXT)

We must understand what is said when Mary says, “remembered.”

God NEVER forgets, NEVER goes back on a promise, ALWAYS fulfills what He says He will, and is ALWAYS faithful to Himself and to act upon His nature/promises/attributes

In “remembering” God is acting upon His promise, acting upon what He’s stated He would do

God “remembered” His mercy

The Hebrew people were enslaved under Roman rule and a frantic search for deliverance had left them

Searching after fasle messiahs

Searching after false gods

Searching after false promises

Searching (for some) in the security of the Roman Empire

The Hebrew people were in desperate need of God’s mercy and in God’s sovereign and omniscience, He acted upon His promise to send His Son-the Messiah into this world (act of mercy)

(BIBLICAL APPLICATION—YOU and ME)

Going back to v.48, Mary states that the Lord “regarded” here lowly state.

“Regarded” in the Greek means— “to gaze upon with favorable regard;” it is a regard for the well-being of another

God sees our need of mercy—He sees your need of mercy:

He has compassion towards us b/c He sees

The oppression and bondage sin has left us in

The yoke and burden sin has laid upon us

The heartbreak addiction has left you and your families in

The loneliness caused by one immoral relationship after another

The acceptance and approval you seek in your compromising of purity/morals/identity

The brokenness caused from sinful choices and sinful living

His compassion towards you is the same compassion Christ possessed

For the son of the widow of Nain Luke 7:13

“When the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep.””

For the woman who washed His feet with her tears (Luke 7:36-50)

For the crowds who were like sheep without a shepherd in Matthew 9:36

“But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd.”

God, not only sees our need of mercy—He has remembered (acted) upon His divine nature and has shown us mercy.

God, in His infinite and divine lovingkindness, forsook His only begotten Son—sent Him to our world, to bear our sin, His wrath, and His judgment—b/c His merciful heart couldn’t stand to see ANY one person separated from Him

Closing/Worship

Mercy is man’s greatest need.

It was David’s prayer in many of the Psalms he wrote

Psalm 25:6–7

“Remember, O Lord, Your tender mercies and Your lovingkindnesses, For they are from of old. Do not remember the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions; According to Your mercy remember me, For Your goodness’ sake, O Lord.”

Psalm 41:4

`“I said, “Lord, be merciful to me; Heal my soul, for I have sinned against You.””

Psalm 51:1

“Have mercy upon me, O God, According to Your lovingkindness; According to the multitude of Your tender mercies, Blot out my transgressions.”

Psalm 86:3 “Be merciful to me, O Lord, For I cry to You all day long.”

It’s was a blind mind cried out to Jesus for in Mark 10:47

“And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!””

It is what the O/T mentions more than 246 times and the N/T speaks of more than 40 times

It is what so many of the author’s wrote about in God’s Word

God’s diving attribute of mercy is what ushers in the remission of sins for man, the glorious doctrine of salvation. Mercy is the unmerited, yet freely given. Mercy is a withholding of wrath. Mercy is compassionate.

And mercy is not a “fall-back to”, a “I guess I ought to bestow this,” or a last ditch effort on God’s part. It’s not an act of weakness nor was/is it by accident.

David Mathis, who contributes as an Editor for “Desiring God,” (an web-based Biblical resource) says this about the mercy of God. “God does not show mercy by accident or weakness, but always with utter intentionality and strength.”

Mary’s praise of God included the praise for who God is—Yahweh & Jehovah (the Redeemer/Savior/Deliverer of man)

Mary’s praise of God included the praise of God’s attributes (His power, holiness, and His mercy)

Mary’s praise of God included the praise for what God would accomplish through the Messiah

Mary’s praise of God included the praise for the mercy which God bestowed on her and to those who reverenced Him

Mary’s praise—and our praise of God—did and ought to include praise for God “acting upon” (remembering) Who He is/His nature/His characteristics/His attributes