Come Let Us Adore Him | The Magnificat
Come Let Us Adore Him: (Part II)
THE MAGNIFICAT
Luke 1:46-56 (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; 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.
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;
53 he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty.
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.”
56 And Mary remained with her about three months and returned to her home.
In Psalm 95:1, King David has urged all of God's people to sing their praises to God, saying:
1 Oh come, let us sing to the LORD; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!
Then, when you go to the New Testament, we find in Ephesians 5: 18-19 that singing Psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs is one of the key manifestations of a spirit-filled life:
18 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit,
19 addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart,
So, how many of you really enjoy singing praise songs to the Lord? Well, if you do, you are certainly in good company because great Bible heroes did the same things:
1. Moses (Exodus 15:1)
2. Miriam (Exodus 15:21)
3. Deborah and Barak (Judges 5:1)
4. David (2 Samuel 22:1)
5. Angels (Job 38:7)
6. Jesus and His disciples (Matthew 26:30)
7. Paul and Silas (Acts 16:25)
Have you ever thought of these people as worship singers? The truth is that God truly enjoys songs of praises that come from people who want to exalt and honor Him because of all His goodness to them.
This morning, as we continue with our Christmas theme this month – "Come, Let Us Adore Him." I would like us to specifically study together one of the original Christmas songs recorded in the Gospels and sang by the human mother of Jesus Christ, Mary. The background of the text we read earlier was Mary's visit to her cousin, Elizabeth, after God revealed to her through the angel Gabriel that she will be pregnant with Jesus Christ. According to the passage, as soon as Elizabeth heard Mary's voice, the baby in her womb jumped. Then, Elizabeth congratulated her because God has tremendously blessed her by choosing her to bring the Messiah into the world. Now, hearing those greetings from Elizabeth and being overwhelmed with her great privilege, Mary would express her joy and praises to God through this praise song called, The Magnificat. This title came from the Latin version, which suggests, "Magnifying the Almighty God." To appreciate better this song of praise, we will divide the passage into three stanzas:
I MARY MAGNIFIED GOD'S FAVORS TO HER
For the first stanza of this song, we will specifically focus on verses 46 to 49. As Mary begins to express her gratitude to God, she immediately acknowledges two personal favors she received from the Lord. Here are they:
A. Her Salvation – "my spirit rejoices in God my Savior"
The most prominent blessing that Mary praises God for was not the privilege of becoming the mother of the Messiah; it was the willingness of God to forgive her sins.
There are two essential comments that I want to make concerning this truth. First, one of the common misunderstandings about Mary is that she had to be sinless to be the human mother of Jesus Christ. Well, Mary herself disputed this truth by declaring that she was a sinner who needed a Savior. Of course, the Bible is quite clear that all humanity has sinned against the Lord:
Romans 3:23 (ESV)
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
Second, our salvation is still our most important blessing because it becomes the entry point to God's abundant life. It is almost like having paid to enter an amusement park. Once you get in, you get to enjoy all the attractions and rides in the park. The only difference is that it was not you who paid the entrance fee. Jesus paid the price for you.
John 10:10 (ESV)
10 . . . I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.
B. Her Motherhood – "for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant"
The next personal praise comes from God's willingness to specially favor her even though she was not a person of importance. I want to highlight the phrase, "the humble estate of his servant." This phrase shows Mary's deep humility because she was grateful that although she was a nobody, God still chose to use her and favor her. One thing great about our God is that He loves to use nobodies!
Another essential truth coming from the phrase in verse 48, "from now on all generations will call me blessed." Mary testified that she would not be the one bestowing blessings to others, but that others through all generations will regard her as someone who had been a recipient of great blessings. There's a big difference between the two.
II MARY MAGNIFIED GOD'S FAVORS TO THOSE WHO FEAR HIM (vv. 50 – 53)
The second stanza expands the perspective of Mary with regards to God's favors. From her personal blessings, now, she moves to God's goodness to "those who fear him from generation to generation (v.50)."
Indeed, we all know that God is good to all. However, the Bible is quite clear that He has particular regard for those who fear Him. The Psalmist declares in Psalm 128:1-4 (ESV):
1 Blessed is everyone who fears the LORD, who walks in his ways!
2 You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands; you shall be blessed, and it shall be well with you.
3 Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house; your children will be like olive shoots around your table. 4 Behold, thus shall the man be blessed who fears the LORD.
Imagine the extent of blessings that the Psalmist mentions in these verses. Everyone who fears the Lord will be productive in their source of livelihood (v.2), in bearing children, and in the future of their children (v.3). Let me also clarify that "fearing the Lord," in the Bible means living an obedient life and avoiding living in sin. So, it is definitely to our advantage when we always seek to fear Him.
Going back to our text, as Mary magnifies the Lord for His favors to those who fear Him, she did not fail to categorize three kinds of people who maintain their fear of God. Without a doubt, these are the people who see more of God's activity in their lives:
• The Helpless (v.51) – "He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts."
• The Humble (v. 52) – "He has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate."
• The Hungry (v. 53) – "He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty."
Indeed, these people are often perceived in our society as "the underprivileged ones." However, when they are close to God and maintain fear towards Him, we cannot count them out. God can find a way to uplift their lives or exalt them. Have you ever felt being oppressed or looked down by other people? My encouragement to you is to keep your faith and obey God because He will undoubtedly intervene in your situation.
III MARY MAGNIFIED GOD'S FAITHFULNESS TO HIS PROMISES TO ISRAEL (vv. 54-55)
Lastly, Mary concludes her praises to God by saying these words - "He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring forever."
When you carefully examine this passage, Mary magnifies the Lord for His faithfulness in keeping the promises He made to Abraham and his descendants. To understand the basis of praise, we have to review Genesis 12:1-3 (ESV):
1 Now the LORD said to Abram, "Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. 2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed."
If you carefully breakdown these verses, you will find three essential promises:
A. Promised Land (v.1) – "Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you."
B. Promised Seed (vv. 2-3a) - And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse."
C. Promised Messiah (v.3b) – "and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed."
Of course, the main question that comes out of this is: Did God fulfilled these promises? Definitely! In Mary's reflections on the history of her nation, she saw the faithfulness of God in remembering every promise that He made to Abraham and His seed, including the Promised Messiah, which was about to be fulfilled through her.
I am even amazed how Mary as a young girl, perhaps around 14 or 15 years old at this time, would have an excellent grasp of God's promises starting from Abraham and the nation of Israel as a whole. John MacArthur gave his comment about this truth:
"Mary's Magnificat (the first word in the Latin translation; see notes on vv. 68-79; 2:29-32) is filled with OT allusions and quotations. It reveals that Mary's heart and mind were saturated with the Word of God. It contains repeated echoes of Hannah's prayers, e.g., 1 Sam. 1:11; 2:1-10. These verses also contain numerous allusions to the law, the psalms, and the prophets. The entire passage is a point-by-point reciting of the covenant promises of God." (The MacArthur Bible Commentary)
You see, Mary's love for God's Word expanded her praises and appreciations of God and His works. But the truth that we should not miss from this last section is that, although Israel has disobeyed and drifted away from the Lord, God has never abandoned them. Indeed, their departure from Him even led to their judgment, like being devastated by the Assyrians, Babylonians, Mead-Persians, and Romans. Yet, He steadfastly has loved them as His "servant" (v.54) and kept all the promises He gave to Abraham and His seed.
God is truly worthy to be praised! I know that if we only open our spiritual eyes today, I'm pretty sure that we, too, can see how God has been good and merciful to us as individuals and our families. Time and again, it brings us so much benefit to pause and reflect on how God has been good to us.
Last Sunday, we as a church had the privilege to host the Market Street Missions for their graduation of eight men who went through the 12 Steps of Recovery Programs. During their program, we listened to powerful testimonies of how God saved and transformed the lives of those who graduated. When it was my turn to share a short message, my heart was overwhelmed with God's goodness because, just like those men, I knew how God has tremendously blessed me and gave me ample opportunities to serve Him! My prayer for all of us is that even as we approach Christmas this year, we will not fail to see how God has been so good to all of us and our families.
-Dr. Jeremiah Lepasana