The Song of Mary

Introduction

What does it mean for you to celebrate Christmas?

Do you think of toys and extra money?

Do you think of squeals and giggles in the morning?

Maybe you think of all the trash you have to clean up when the presents are done, dad.

Mom, you think of all the string you have to tie just right for the bows to look pretty but not be too difficult to open.

How many of us think of victory over our enemies?

Does Christmas mean for you the defeat of God’s adversaries? The conquering of all forces? The exaltation of the lowly?

There is a fundamental reason to celebrate Christmas.

FCF: Celebrate Christmas because a baby conquered the world.

God Saw the Lowly

Luke 1:46–50 (KJV 1900)

46 And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord,

47 And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.

48 For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: For, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.

49 For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; And holy is his name.

50 And his mercy is on them that fear him From generation to generation.

Savior—Marry is here rejoicing as a redeemed sinner. She is magnifying her God as the God who saved her. This means that she needed saving.

This is one reason why non-Roman Catholics reject the idea that Mary was sinless. Immaculate conception no sin = no savior.

Low estate of his handmaiden—she is by all outward standards a no one. She has no money or fame.

She is not someone who is highly influential. She would have had no tick-tock following. God has regarded her in such a way that every generation of humans would call her blessed. Why?

49—how she summarizes what will happen to her. She expresses it all by saying “holy is his name.”

He is so much beyond us, He is on a different level of comprehension and existence, his plans are different from ours, we must confess that He is holy.

50—this mercy that Mary experienced, the favor of God that was shown to her in a unique way, goes to all without distinction and without drying out.

Phrase calls back to the covenant with Abraham (?)

Commentary on a Harmony of the Evangelists Matthew, Mark, and Luke Luke 1:46–50

Till God has been recognised as a Saviour, the minds of men are not free to indulge in true and full joy, but will remain in doubt and anxiety. It is God’s fatherly kindness alone, and the salvation flowing from it, that fill the soul with joy. In a word, the first thing necessary for believers is, to be able to rejoice that they have their salvation in God.

God Conquered the Proud

Luke 1:51–53 KJV 1900

51 He hath shewed strength with his arm; He hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. 52 He hath put down the mighty from their seats, And exalted them of low degree. 53 He hath filled the hungry with good things; And the rich he hath sent empty away.

Notice how all of these are in the past tense.

God has shown strength with his arm. God has scattered the proud.

God has put down the mighty. God has exalted the lowly.

God has filled the hungry and sent away the rich.

If you heard Mary, you would have looked around and said, “um…no, he hasn’t.”

Hebrews 2:6–9 “6 But one in a certain place testified, saying, What is man, that thou art mindful of him? or the son of man, that thou visitest him? 7 Thou madest him a little lower than the angels; thou crownedst him with glory and honour, and didst set him over the works of thy hands: 8 Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that he put all in subjection under him, he left nothing that is not put under him. But now we see not yet all things put under him. 9 But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.”

The Now and the Not yet.

When Mary sees her conception and views it, she affirms that it is the defeat of God’s enemies.

Are the still alive? Yes.

Will many be born to come? Yes.

Will they fight against God and Christ? Yes.

Are they already defeated? Yes.

This is also how God’s kingdom works. He takes the poor and lowly and flips our expectation.

Hobbits in LOTR and Children in Narnia.

God delights in raising up those that sinful man despises. In fact, he already did that through the cross.

The cross is the promise of everything else.

Romans 8:32 KJV 1900

32 He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?

God Kept His Promise

Luke 1:54–55 KJV 1900

54 He hath holpen his servant Israel, In remembrance of his mercy; 55 As he spake to our fathers, To Abraham, and to his seed for ever.

A Walk with God: Luke 4. Mary Visits Elizabeth (Luke 1:39–56)

Some Christian people seem only as zealous as the strength of the memory of their last religious experience. But there are times when we are called upon to live for Christ when we don’t feel like it, when we don’t have an overwhelming sense of his presence. Every Christian knows what it means to go through the ‘dark night of the soul’. That is when we discover what our faith and memories are made of.

Even if you never experienced another blessing from God or sensed his presence again as long as you lived, you would have no justification to do anything but live each day in praise. You could do nothing but live in gratitude to God for what he has already done in your life. We easily forget, but we are fortunate that God does not forget. When he makes a promise, he keeps it. Mary understood that as she sang.