“Mary’s Song”
[Luke 1:46-55]
December 23, 2012 Second Reformed Church
Mary sang a song – which is this
morning’s Scripture. It is called “The
Magnificat” after the Latin rendering of the first phrase. It is a song of Mary’s faith in the God of Israel
– the One True God.
We will remember that Elizabeth,
Mary’s elder sister, was the wife of Zachariah, who was serving as high priest
that year. Zachariah and Elizabeth had
wanted children, but she was barren. And
when an angel told Zachariah that they would bear a son, he laughed and became
mute until the birth of the child, who became John the Baptist.
In the latter months of Elizabeth’s
pregnancy, her virgin sister, who was engaged to Joseph, and was recently
pregnant by a miraculous Work of God, went to visit Elizabeth and support her
as she neared the birth of her child.
When Mary arrived at the home of
Zachariah and Elizabeth, the baby inside Elizabeth was filled with the Holy
Spirit and jumped for joy in the womb, recognizing the Child that Mary was
carrying. And Elizabeth was also filled
with the Holy Spirit and exclaimed with loud joy: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is
the fruit of your womb! And why is this granted to me that the mother of my
Lord should come to me? For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my
ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that
there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord” (Luke
1:42-45, ESV).
Elizabeth confirmed what Mary and Joseph
had been told by the angels: Mary was
blessed by God; the Baby in her womb was blessed by God. And we don’t see it in the English, but
Elizabeth asks why she has been granted the blessing of this visit from the
mother of her Lord – the mother of the Kurios
– the mother of God. Mary was to give
birth to the Incarnate God.
And again, Elizabeth confirmed the
blessing by telling Mary that her unborn child recognized God in the flesh
growing within her and jumped for joy in her womb. And Elizabeth blessed Mary for believing that
the Word of the Lord would be fulfilled – Mary was a woman of faith – and the
song she sang was a song of faith.
First, let us notice that Mary gave
thanksgiving to God for His Mercy to her:
“And
Mary said, ‘My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my
Savior, for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. For behold, from now on all generations will
call me blessed; for he who is mighty has done great things for me,
Mary begins by praising God – by
drawing attention to Him – and recognizing Him as her only Savior. She cries out that He Alone is the One to
rejoice in for this blessing that she has received. And this salvation enables her to rejoice and
give thanks to her Savior. Why? Because she recognized that she was not
chosen to be the mother of our Lord because of who she was or what she
did. Mary recognized that she was a
humble virgin, that she was – in the eyes of the world – lowly – she was a
nobody, she recognized that God chose her for God’s Reasons and not because she
merited special treatment from Him.
Mary does not contradict herself is
saying that all the world from then on would know her and call her blessed –
because God has used her to His Glory. God has used her to bring salvation to God’s
people. Because God showed kindness to
her in this way, she rejoiced and gave thanks to God for Who He is and what He
has done – not because she deserved to be the mother of our Lord.
Here, we see that Mary is our
teacher in humility. Mary had a
realistic understanding of who she was before God. She knew that she was not any great person in
the grand scheme of humanity and, more than that, she recognized that she was a
sinner – underserving of God’s Mercy – surely underserving of being chosen to
be the mother of our Lord.
And yet, she is right and humble in
her assertion that from that day forward everyone would call her blessed. She was not blessed for who she was, per se, but for how God used her to save
His people. That does not mean that we
should look down on Mary or dismiss her – no, God tells us in His Word that we
should hold Mary in high esteem, because she understood herself and submitted
to God in faithfulness and rejoiced and gave thanks to be used by Him.
How humble are we? Would we, like Mary, hear the Word of the
Lord and say, “Yes, Lord”? Would we
submit to whatever God calls us to do – not matter what it is – if it glorified
God? Do we think too highly of ourselves
– even at times – do we know we are better than so and so – more holy than so
and so – do we try to avoid certainly people because they are beneath us? Would we have scoffed and walked away,
shaking our heads, if a young virgin, engaged to a carpenter, told us that God
had blessed her by entering her womb to bring about the salvation of His
people?
In verse 48, Mary calls herself
“humble” and a “servant.” She is using
these words in amazement that God would choose to use a poor woman – women were
– at best – second class citizens at that time – they could not be trusted,
they could not testify in court. She was
engaged to a carpenter, not a prince or a governor. She would have been seen as a “maidservant.” She was a nobody in the world. She was a sinner deserving God’s Wrath. She was a faithful Jewess, who believed the
Word of God and submitted to Him when He called, saying, “Here I am, Lord, do
with Your servant as You will.” It
caused her great joy and thanksgiving to be used by God for His purposes. Are we joy-filled and thankful to God for the
way He has chosen to use us?
Paul explains in Romans that God,
our Creator, choses to save out of humanity those He wills to save, based on
His Own Will and not based on anything anyone does or does not do – we cannot
merit salvation – it is the gift of God.
And then Paul answers an objection:
“You will say to me then, ‘Why does he still find fault? For who can
resist his will?’ But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is
molded say to its molder, ‘Why have you made me like this?’ Has the potter no
right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use
and another for dishonorable use? What if God, desiring to show his wrath and
to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath
prepared for destruction, in order to make known the riches of his glory for
vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory—even us whom he
has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles?” (Romans 9:19-24,
ESV).
Paul explains that God is a potter Who
molds people and uses them according to His Will and for His Glory. Mary recognized that she was a lump of clay
in her God’s Hands – and she rejoiced and gave thanks for the way God chose to
use her. And we ought to look to her and
thank God for her – that God used her to bring salvation to His people – and we
ought to consider our own lives with humble seriousness and find reason to give
thanks in loud joy to God for what He has and is doing with us.
Second, Mary acknowledges that God
is Holy and exercises Sovereign Power and Judgment over all of Creation:
‘and holy is his name. And his mercy is for those who fear him from
generation to generation. He has shown
strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their
hearts; he has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of
humble estate; he has filled the
hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty.
The God Mary knew and believed in is
Holy – He is Purity above Pure. He is
the God Who cannot have sin in His Presence, which is one reason He promised to
send a Savior – that all those who believe in Him would be forgiven for all of
their sins and made righteous and holy through God’s Own Work, that we – and all
those who ever believe – could stand before Him sinless and holy. This is the God Who is incomparably Great and
infinitely Exalted.
God is the God of Mercy to all those
who humble themselves before Him in true, faithful belief. Those who fear Him – who are awestruck by Who
He is – are taken by God to be His Own.
And this is not just for Mary’s day – but for all those who have believed
since the Creation and for every generation that passes until Jesus returns to
restore the Creation. This God has shown
Himself throughout history to be the God of Power and Strength – which is what
the reference to His Arm means – He has fought on the side of His people and He
has victoriously won over the Creation that turned against Him through the
sending of this Baby – God Incarnate – Who lived a holy life under God’s Law,
died for the sins of everyone who would ever believe, and then physically rose
from the dead – victorious over sin and death and hell – to resume His Reign at
the Right Hand of God. All we who believe
have a True Man, Who is also God, sitting on His Throne, Almighty,
Unconquerable, the Great God of Mercy Who understands us and makes the Way for
us to come before Him as children before their Father through this Baby Whose
birth we celebrate.
But not all believe. Some do not fear God, but shake their fists
at Him in cosmic rebellion. They say
that they will not have God as their Sovereign – in their pride they believe
they are the masters of their own fates.
These God will scatter and bring to judgment and punish according to
their crime – infinite rebellion against their God and Creator. These have said in their hearts that they
have no need of a Savior – and on the last day, they will find that they do not
have one.
Some who have ascended to power and
authority think they are above God, but God will bring them down from their
thrones, because every person who has power and authority has the power and
authority they have because God has given it to them to steward and use to His
Glory. Paul reminds us: “Let every person be subject to the governing
authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist
have been instituted by God” (Romans 13:1, ESV). President Bush was put in power by God, and
President Obama was put in power by God, and everyone who has any authority was
put there by God, and they will be judged.
We see this truth in Daniel’s prayer
of thanksgiving to God for allowing him to interpret the dream of King
Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon: “Blessed be
the name of God forever and ever, to whom belong wisdom and might. He changes times and seasons; he removes
kings and sets up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who
have understanding; he reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what is in the darkness,
and the light dwells with him. To you, O
God of my fathers, I give thanks and praise, for you have given me wisdom and
might, and have now made known to me what we asked of you, for you have made
known to us the king's matter” (Daniel 2:20b-23, ESV).
And King Nebuchadnezzar, after God
had humbled him for his sin, came to the same confession: “At the end of the days I, Nebuchadnezzar,
lifted my eyes to heaven, and my reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most
High, and praised and honored him who lives forever, for his dominion is an
everlasting dominion, and his kingdom endures from generation to generation; all
the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, and he does according to
his will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and
none can stay his hand or say to him, ‘What have you done?’” (Daniel 4:34-35,
ESV).
Yet, as Mary sang, those who humble
themselves before God – those who recognize His Sovereignty over Creation and
take faith in the Savior He sent for everyone who will ever believe – those God
exalts because they are made righteous by His Son. He provides for all of the needs of those who
seek Him as their Heavenly and Merciful Father.
God cares for and provides for His people with spiritual and physical
care. All of our needs are met.
Do we recognize God’s
Sovereignty? Do we come before Him
humbly and with thanksgiving for all He has done? Do we recognize that each of us has our needs
met by Him? Do we believe it? Or do we believe we have pulled ourselves up
by our own bootstraps? Do we believe
that we have earned our place in the world and God has done little or nothing
for us? Do we look at the Baby Jesus and
wonder what God has done for us lately?
Third,
Mary rejoices in God for His Faithfulness in bringing to pass the Promised
Salvation:
‘He has helped his servant Israel, in
remembrance of his mercy, as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his
offspring forever.’”
After thanking God for His Mercy and
acknowledging God as the Sovereign Judge over all of Creation, she ends her
song by thanking God, specifically, for what He was doing in and through her –
keeping His Promise to bring the Savior for Israel and all believers throughout
the world.
Our God is a promise-keeping God. He never fails us. He always does exactly what He says He will
do. Our God does not change or make
mistakes. As James reminds us: “Every good gift and every perfect gift is
from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation
or shadow due to change” (James 1:17, ESV).
God does not and cannot change, so He can be trusted to keep every word
He has uttered.
After the Fall in the Garden, God
promised in His Curse to the serpent – the devil: “I will put enmity between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and
you shall bruise his heel” (Genesis 3:15, ESV).
God promised war and hatred between the children of God and those who
choose to follow the devil. God would
allow the devil to deceive and work his evil amongst humanity and in the
Creation for a time – and within the boundaries that God set (cf. Job 1). And God promised that the day would come when
one of the Sons of Eve – even though He would be bruised, even to death – death
on a cross, He would trample on the head of the serpent, saving the people of
God and banishing the devil and all those who follow him to eternal hell.
And God met with Abram and made him
an unconditional promise – that the Savior would come through his line and
bless all the nations of the world – not just Israel: “and in your offspring shall all the nations
of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice”
(Genesis
22:18, ESV).
God is trustworthy and He fulfilled
His Promise to bring a Savior for all those who would believe. That Savior – that Baby – is God Himself,
born of the Virgin Mary.
What do we most enjoy – treasure –
about this time of year? Friends and
family? Music? The tree and the lights? Presents?
Special food? Are we amazed – and
do we rejoice – in the fact that God kept His Promise and sent a Savior for
every one of us who will believe?
Mary was in a very difficult
situation – one that could have had her put to death: she was engaged, a virgin, yet she was with
child. She did not have money and was
not engaged to be married into money.
Even if Joseph consented to be her husband, now that she was with child
– prior to marriage – and still claiming never to have been with a man – there
would always be people who would snicker and made rude comments – there were
likely people who never believed her story – just as many don’t today.
But Mary was a faithful
believer. She knew the Word of God and
the Promise that God would one day send a Savior. She also knew that she was a nobody in the
eyes of the world. So, when the angel
announced to her and God confirmed through the word of her sister that she was
bearing God in the flesh – the Savior Who had come for His people – and their
salvation – Mary gave thanks to God for His Mercy. Mary acknowledged that God is the Sovereign Judge
of the Creation. And she rejoiced in the
fact that God cannot but keep His Promise, because God is God – the One True
God.
Let us humbly rejoice and give
thanks before our God and Savior – let us pray:
Almighty God, help us in this season
of fun, friends, and family, to thank You for Your Mercy, to recognize You as
Sovereign, and to give thanks to You for keeping Your Promise to send the
Savior. For it is in Jesus’ Name we pray,
Amen.
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