“Mary’s Song of Praise”

Good Morning, turn with me today to Luke chapter 1. Today’s message is a message or a song of praise. There have been many songs written recently about praising God and I am thankful for that. There are many rich hymns that help us to see how important our worship and praise of God truly is. We should give our praise to God today church. As we come to our text today we see that Mary is giving praise to God. What is so remarkable about this passage is that many scholars believe that Mary was around the age of 13 when all this took place, and she knew so much of the Scriptures. She was familiar with God’s Word. No one during this time had a bible app on their phone that could read them a passage. Nope! Mary and her family actually had to go down to the synagogue and hear the reading of Scripture. My point here is that there is no way Mary could have sang or written this without a knowledge of God and His Word. This should be a great challenge for you and I today. We so desperately need God’s Word pouring into our hearts and minds daily. God’s Word is a light unto our path and shows us where to go and also where not to go. It helps us to see who and what we should worship. Scripture helps us to see just how important the worship of God truly is.

We worship many things today.

-We worship our jobs.

-We worship money.

-We worship football teams.

-We worship stuff.

-But what about the Lord?

Last week we learned that after Mary visited with the angel Gabriel she was told some shocking news. What news was that you ask? That she was having a baby even though she was still a virgin and that baby would be the Messiah. Mary upon receiving this news leaves to visit her older relative Elizabeth, who was now six months pregnant. It would be there, spending time with Elizabeth that Mary would fully see how God had confirmed His promise to her, that this miraculous birth of Christ would come to happen. God’s confirmation truly helps Mary with any doubt, confusion or questions she might have had, but also gives her the strength she needs to fully trust the Lord.

Here in our text today, we see that Mary’s song isn’t just lip service to God. Her words are not just empty or vain words, but her heart is behind everything as she sings this wonderful praise song to her Mighty God.

I think that it is easy for us today to come in and confess Jesus with our mouths and words and yet so often our hearts and minds remain far from Christ.

When we praise God, we take time to adore Him and to give God the reverence, trust and love that He deserves. Adoration through prayer and worship is the proper response among all moral beings. And we do this because we truly delight in God.

Richard Sibbes a Puritan Theologian and Pastor said, “The whole life of a Christian should be nothing but praises to God.” Have you taken time lately to give God praise?

We constantly see throughout the Psalms the phrase, “Bless the Lord.” This is a statement or phrase of adoration which means to acknowledge God and too bless Him. Psalm 103 is a wonderful hymn of adoration.

As Mary begins this song of praise here in Luke, not only do we see the similarities from Psalms like this one in 103 but we also see how Mary’s song is similar to Hannah’s in the Old Testament when she was told of the birth of her son Samuel in 1 Samuel 2:1-10.

Today we come to 5 things we see in Mary’s song that draw our attention to who God is. These attributes help us to learn more about God as we worship Him. Let us take note of these 5 truths.

1. God is our Savior.

Luke 1:46–48 ESV

46 And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, 47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, 48 for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed;

Mary’s worship of the Lord came from within. It came from her soul and her spirit. Mary’s praise was an expression of her love for God. Her worship was not self-focused. It was not all about Mary, or based on her emotions like we see in so many services today. Her worship was God-centered and because of that we see her humility here.

However, my point here is all about the object of Mary’s worship. Her focus here was that the Lord was her Savior. If you are a believer today than you need to understand that our God is the true Savior of this world and He has come to save us from sin and judgment.

If God were not a saving, redeeming and forgiving God there would be no way people would worship God. However, we know as believers that these attributes are true of God and so we can come to a place where we worship God because He is our Savior.

Mary had come to understand that her Son Jesus would come to be the Messiah, and that the whole reason for His coming was to save His people from their sin, and to seek and save that which was lost. Because of this wonderful news that Mary now understood she could praise and worship her Redeemer.

Remember how God Redeemed Israel in the days of Moses. He actually passed over all the homes that had blood on their door frames and door posts. Eventually God sent His Son to be our Redeemer. Think about the high price that Jesus paid for our sin. He is truly the Savior for those who place their trust in Him.

2. God is Merciful.

Luke 1:49–50 ESV

49 for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name. 50 And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation.

Mary can praise God because the Mighty one has done great things for her. Things surrounding Mary’s life were so wonderful that for generations people would count her blessed. No other woman who has walked on this earth can say that they were the mother of the Messiah. Mary knew that she was an unworthy sinner, saved only by the Grace of God, and so she sees just how merciful the Lord was too her.

Because the Lord is great and He is holy Mary gives God praise. But what about you? Are you able to give God praise today? There are many days where we affirm and even praise God because of the good things that have happened in our lives, but what about the problems and suffering and afflictions? What happens when God allows suffering and afflictions to happen in our lives? Is God good then? Is He a God of mercy during the difficult times as well? God is the same God who is holy and merciful.

My point here is that Mary’s praise went beyond herself and helps us to see all that God would do for the future generations. Yes, there would come difficult days, persecution for the early church, many injustices and of course doubt. But through all of this Mary quotes Psalm 103 verse 17.

Psalm 103:17 ESV

17 But the steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him, and his righteousness to children’s children,

Mary was able to give God praise for the mercy of God, for the common salvation offered to all those who fear the Lord. Believers who are saved are filled with a deep reverence for God and are commited to live in obedience to Him.

3. God is Strong.

Luke 1:51–52 ESV

51 He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts; 52 he has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate;

I think that it is interesting that Mary mentions this characteristic about the Lord in the middle of her song. Here we see an image of God in the sense of a human form. God’s arm is a symbol of His strength. How many times do we see the Mighty strength of God throughout the Scriptures?

-When God pulled back the waters of the Red Sea in order for His people to move into the Promised Land we see His mighty strength.

-When God provided bread, meat, and water in the wilderness we see His mighty strength.

-Every time God helped Israel defeat the enemy including Gideon with only a few hundred men against a huge Midianite army.

-When God delivered his men from the fiery furnace and spared Daniel from the lion’s, we see God’s mighty strength.

Mary focuses her attention on the power of God and on the providence of God. When we think about the providence of God, we look to the fact that God is in control and He governs His entire creation. God does not just wind up this universe like a clock and let it all play out however the chips may fall. Because there is only One Lord, One Creator, this means that God sustains what He has made every moment and second of this universe. God raises kings and kingdoms up and He also brings them down. There is no one who exercises power in this world apart from the sovereign government of God. When we come to understand this it helps us not to fret and worry about our day to day problems, and it reminds us of the mighty and strong God who has got everything under control even when our lives seem not to be. Think about when Mary found out that she was pregnant. “Nothing is impossible with God.” What one thing in your life today do you need to be reminded of, that the strong arm of the Lord is there for you in? May we too remember the mighty arm and strength of our Lord.

4. God is Caring.

It is tremendously important that we take time throughout our lives to see just how much God loves us by His provisions. He also shows us His love through His discipline, but here in our text we see the Lord’s care in His mercy for the poor. We see this very clearly as we come to verse 53.

Luke 1:53 ESV

53 he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty.

When we come to the sixth chapter of Luke we see that Jesus himself speaks about the poor.

Luke 6:20–21 ESV

20 And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said: “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. 21 “Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you shall be satisfied. “Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh.

It’s not that the Lord does not care for those who are rich and that having money is wrong. The problem however is when we become so self-sufficient that we think we don’t need any assistance from God. I accomplished this through my own hard work and we forget that God gave us the strength and wisdom to do those things. James tells us this.

James 4:6 ESV

6 But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

When the judgment of God come against the rich in Scripture it is not against the middle class of people. The rich that are in view here are the rulers or kings who used their seats of authority like wicked King Ahab to exploit the people. Mary says here, “he has filled the hungry with good things.” God knows all that we need and He will take care of us even by providing the food that we need to sustain us.

In contrast too this, God looks to those who are self-sufficient and say I don’t need the Lord, and those who are arrogant and rich He sends away empty. May we keep in mind the words that Job himself spoke about this when he said.

Job 1:21 ESV

21 And he said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.”

Mary’s view of Israel’s history shows us just how God helped and provided for His people. Mary understood the Lord’s provision and care not only for her people but also for her personally. She knew that through all her ups and downs she had a God who cared deeply for her.

5. God is Faithful.

Mary bring her song to a finish by reminding us of the Lord’s faithfulness. Notice these words.

Luke 1:54–55 ESV

54 He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, 55 as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring forever.”

I don’t know about you, but in my own life I often have the tendency to forget things not just in the past few years but sometimes in the past few weeks. We can so easily forget the wonderful benefits that God has poured out to us in this life. We can quickly be reminded of the difficult days, but so easily forget the goodness and faithfulness of God. Here we see that once God makes a promise, it is a sure promise. God will not and cannot forget His promise. I am sure that during this time of 400 years of silence there were many of God’s people who had thought God had forgotten about them. In fact, they may have even wondered, “Where is God?” But now in Mary’s Song of Praise she reminds us that God is a God who remembers. He remembers the covenant that He has made with Abraham and with the fathers down through Israel’s history. God eventually gave us His Son Jesus who would be our Redeemer and Save us from our Sin. This is truly why Mary could give her praise and adoration to God.

Each Sunday Morning as we get up out of bed may we too be reminded of God’s faithfulness and of His goodness and promises.