Mary's Hymn of Praise
Notes
Transcript
Opening Illustration
Opening Illustration
Man is so lost that he can never save himself.
But God has done through Jesus Christ what no man can do for himself.
In a world infested with sin, Christ reached down and rescued sinners who had no hope.
This is the glorious message of the gospel.
Once the believer understands all that God has done for him, a sincere gratitude is the only appropriate response.
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The following was originally reported in the October 1987 edition of Reader’s Digest:
Normally the flight from Nassau to Miami took Walter Wyatt, Jr., only sixty-five minutes.
But on December 5, 1986, he attempted it after thieves had looted the navigational equipment in his Beechcraft.
With only a compass and a hand-held radio, Walter flew into skies blackened by storm clouds.
When his compass began to gyrate, Walter concluded he was headed in the wrong direction.
He flew his plane below the clouds, hoping to spot something, but soon he knew he was lost.
He put out a mayday call, which brought a Coast Guard Falcon search plane to lead him to an emergency landing strip only six miles away.
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Suddenly Wyatt’s right engine coughed its last and died.
The fuel tank had run dry.
Around 8 pm Wyatt could do little more than glide the plane into the water.
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Wyatt survived the crash, but his plane disappeared quickly, leaving him bobbing on the water in a leaky life vest.
With blood on his forehead, Wyatt floated on his back.
Suddenly he felt a hard bump against his body.
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A shark had found him.
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Wyatt kicked the intruder and wondered if he would survive the night.
He managed to stay afloat for the next ten hours.
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In the next morning, Wyatt saw no airplanes, but in the water a dorsal fin was headed for him.
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Twisting, he felt the hide of a shark brush against him.
In a moment, two more bull sharks sliced through the water toward him.
Again he kicked the sharks, and they veered away, but he was nearing exhaustion.
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Then he heard the hum of a distant aircraft.
When it was within a half mile, he waved his orange vest.
The pilot dropped a smoke canister and radioed the cutter Cape York, which was twelve minutes away:
“Get moving, cutter!
There’s a shark targeting this guy!”
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As the Cape York pulled alongside Wyatt, a Jacob’s ladder was dropped over the side.
Wyatt climbed wearily out of the water and onto the ship, where he fell to his knees and kissed the deck.
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He’d been saved.
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He didn’t need encouragement or better techniques.
Nothing less than outside intervention could have rescued him from sure death.
How much we are like Walter Wyatt!
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What else can you do but praise God’s Holy Name for saving you?
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So, please turn your Bibles to the Gospel of Luke.
We will conduct our study in Chapter 1 and focus on verses 46 through 56.
Our message this morning is called, “Mary’s Hymn of Praise”
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As you are finding your place in God’s Word...
I want to share that this message this morning will focus on a song of praise...
It is a song that is rich in Scriptural truth...
And properly brings our attention to our might and awesome God.
This hymn will focus on...
Our God who blesses...
And who rules...
And who helps.
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Opening Prayer
Opening Prayer
Before we consider our text, please join me in prayer...
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Thank you Heavenly Father for sending your Son to this sin infested world...
You knew what would happen to Him...
You knew the sacrifice that would be needed...
And you sent Him anyways.
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We praise you and bless you our sovereign God...
For you are compassionate...
Slow to anger...
Pure and perfect in every way...
The very definition of love.
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Forgive us Father for we are often like unruly hardheaded sheep...
We trust in our own abilities...
When we should be trusting in you.
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Help us to lean on you more each day...
For you are our daily bread we need to consume...
And you are our daily water we need to drink.
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Thank you for your past faithfulness...
Your current faithfulness...
An future faithfulness.
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In your precious Son’s name...
In Jesus name...
Amen.
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Let’s turn to our text for today:
Reading of the Text
Reading of the Text
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.
So, let’s look at our first point...
1) The God Who Blesses
1) The God Who Blesses
Verses 46-49: 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, and holy is his name.
So, we pick up our study right after Mary and Elizabeth first greeted each other.
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Remember...
The baby John the Baptist...
Still in his mother’s womb....
And is already filled with the Holy Spirit...
Leap for joy...
Starting his Forerunner ministry...
By indicating that Mary’s child is indeed the long promised Messiah.
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Elizabeth is able to understand the significance of John’s leap as she too at this moment is filled with the Holy Spirit...
And she is also able to make a bold confession that the Messiah is also the Lord!
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It is after all this that our study resumes.
As we get started...
Let us take a look at this great insight by the MacArthur Study Bible about this hymn of praise from Mary:
“Mary’s Magnificat (the first word in the Latin translation) is filled with Old Testament 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.
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.”
Additionally...
“Mary referred to God as ‘Savior,’ indicating both that she recognized her own need of a Savior, and that she knew the true God as her Savior.
Nothing here or anywhere else in Scripture indicates Mary thought of herself as ‘immaculate’ (free from the taint of original sin [or sinless]).
Quite the opposite is true; she employed language typical of someone whose only hope for salvation is divine grace.
Nothing in this passage lends support to the notion that Mary herself ought to be an object of adoration.”
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These truths and takeaways are items we need to keep in mind when we are going through this hymn.
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So, this song of praise that Mary is offering up to God is richly drenched in Scripture...
Especially 1 Samuel 2:1-10.
You see, Beloved...
Mary’s prayer is an allusion of, the mother of the prophet Samuel’s prayer:
1 And Hannah prayed and said, “My heart exults in the Lord; my horn is exalted in the Lord. My mouth derides my enemies, because I rejoice in your salvation.
2 “There is none holy like the Lord: for there is none besides you; there is no rock like our God.
3 Talk no more so very proudly, let not arrogance come from your mouth; for the Lord is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed.
4 The bows of the mighty are broken, but the feeble bind on strength.
5 Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread, but those who were hungry have ceased to hunger. The barren has borne seven, but she who has many children is forlorn.
6 The Lord kills and brings to life; he brings down to Sheol and raises up.
7 The Lord makes poor and makes rich; he brings low and he exalts.
8 He raises up the poor from the dust; he lifts the needy from the ash heap to make them sit with princes and inherit a seat of honor. For the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s, and on them he has set the world.
9 “He will guard the feet of his faithful ones, but the wicked shall be cut off in darkness, for not by might shall a man prevail.
10 The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken to pieces; against them he will thunder in heaven. The Lord will judge the ends of the earth; he will give strength to his king and exalt the horn of his anointed.”
In Hannah’s prayer we see her thanksgiving and praise for what God has done miraculously in her life.
We see that she describes the awesomeness that is our God...
And how the only hope one can ever have is to trust in the Lord.
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These are the same elements we see in Mary’s prayer.
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Mary’s prayer is not only influenced by Hannah’s prayer...
But also many Psalms, Prophets and other Old Testament Scripture...
So much so in fact that those who do not believe in the infallibility and inerrancy of the Word of God question how Mary could reference all this Scripture without a Bible in her hands...
The New International Commentary on the New Testament (NICNT) on the Gospel of Luke has this helpful note in response to this unfounded critic:
“In discussing this hymn of praise, some critics have asked whether Mary had her Old Testament open before her when she uttered the song.
They forget that all pious Israelites from their childhood days knew by heart songs from the Old Testament and often sang them in the home circle and at celebrations.
Mary was steeped in the poetical literature of her nation, and accordingly her hymn also bears the unmistakable signs of it.”
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Church, I pray each and everyone of you will know the Scriptures so well that when you speak to others...
They will start looking for a hidden ear piece thinking there is no way that person can know the Scriptures that well..
Somebody has got to be feeding them the answers!
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Mary starts of with praising God...
Saying, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior”...
Her praise reminds us of Psalm 35:9 which says:
9 Then my soul will rejoice in the Lord, exulting in his salvation.
We also see similarities to Isaiah 12:2:
2 “Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the Lord God is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation.”
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Now I want to teach you something if you don’e already know it...
Especially, whenever you are reading Scripture…
Pay attention to the “for”s...
Not “four” as in the number four...
But “for” as in “F” “O” “R”...
You see, Beloved...
When you see a “For” like the one in verse 48 it indicates the reason for the previous statement...
And in this case the “for” indicates that what follows will be the grounds for Mary’s praise of God.
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So, Mary says the reason for her praise is due to the fact that God “has looked on the humble estate of his servant”...
Again Mar’s words are very reminiscent of other parts of Scripture...
One of those passages is Psalm 31:7 which says:
7 I will rejoice and be glad in your steadfast love, because you have seen my affliction; you have known the distress of my soul,
Next in Verse 49 in which Mary says, “for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name”...
We see a direct echo of Psalm 111:9:
9 He sent redemption to his people; he has commanded his covenant forever. Holy and awesome is his name!
After this verse the song of praise starts to shift its focus from what God has individually done for Mary...
To what God has done for the faithful remnant of Isreal...
And this takes us to our next point.
2) The God Who Rules
2) The God Who Rules
Verses 50-53: 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.
In verse 50, the hymn now moves from Mary to believing Israel...
That is the ones in Isreal who have real genuine faith...
The remnant of Isreal.
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We know this to be true based on the change of pronouns from the first person singular to the third person plural.
Such transitions, like this one, from the individual in the first-person singular to the community in the third-person plural are common in the Psalms...
And Mary’s words in here prayer are based as we have already seen on plenty of them.
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In fact, verse 50, which says, “and his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation”...
Is a direct echo of Psalm 103:13 which reads:
13 As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him.
Verse 50 is also an echo of Psalm 103:17:
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 is very intentional here with her words...
This is a reminder that it is a good practice to pray the psalms...
And sing the psalms...
When we praise God.
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Verses 51 & 52 record Mary saying, “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”...
Psalm 75:6–7 also reflects this reality that God and God alone who rises up and brings down:
6 For not from the east or from the west and not from the wilderness comes lifting up,
7 but it is God who executes judgment, putting down one and lifting up another.
Mary then says in Verse 53, “He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty” which in actuality is an allusion of Psalm 107:9:
9 For he satisfies the longing soul, and the hungry soul he fills with good things.
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The Baker Exegetical Commentary on The New Testament on Luke has this to say about the content of the words Mary is saying that we are seeing are all based on the Old Testament:
“Often the social circumstances of the powerful make them independent of and insensitive to God or to their fellow humans, while the poor often are more dependent on God.”
Additionally...
“Luke’s point is that one should keep material things in perspective and use them generously to serve one’s neighbor.
Two errors of interpretation must be avoided.
One is to spiritualize the material references to the point where the warning about excessive attachment to riches and the dangers it can hold is ignored.
On the other side, one can ignore the hymn’s covenant background and context to such an extent that the spiritual element in the context is lost.
The hymn exalts God-fearers.
When one ignores this background, the temptation is to make the hymn a manifesto for political action, devoid of any spiritual content.
This empties the teaching of its central thrust, the need to turn to God.
The context requires that both extremes be avoided.
Luke 1:53 looks to the ultimate eschatological reversal that God will bring in the end-time.
But care with regard to material things and power is what his followers ought to pursue with good spiritual balance.
Such an attitude reflects what God desires in light of what he will judge.”
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Consider for example what it says in 1 Corinthians 1:26–29:
26 For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth.
27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong;
28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are,
29 so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.
It is not about how the world sees you...
It is about how God sees you!
It is better to be lowly in the world...
And blessed by God in eternity.
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Remember, Church...
It our God keeps His promises...
He remembers us...
And like He helps the remnant of Isreal...
He will help us who are faithful to Him...
And this takes us to our third and final point.
3) The God who Helps
3) The God who Helps
Verses 54-56: He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring forever.” And Mary remained with her about three months and returned to her home.
Verse 54 in which Mary says, “He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy” is an echo of Psalm 98:3:
3 He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness to the house of Israel. All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.
Verse 55 is regarding the Abrahamic Covenant as found in Genesis 17:4–8:
4 “Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations.
5 No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations.
6 I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make you into nations, and kings shall come from you.
7 And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you.
8 And I will give to you and to your offspring after you the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession, and I will be their God.”
And Mary in this final part of her Hymn of praise has confidence...
Due to the past faithfulness of God in what he has done for Isreal...
And the past faithfulness that he has already done for her...
He will also be faithful in the future for all that follow Him.
I would not be surprised at all if Jeremiah 31:31–34 was not on the mind of Mary as she finished her song:
31 “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah,
32 not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the Lord.
33 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
34 And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”
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After this biblically rich song of praise...
Luke ends our passage with, “And Mary remained with her about three months and returned to her home”...
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So, at see that Mary stayed with Elizabeth for three month and left right before John the Baptist was born.
This is an important note as in factors into our upcoming messages on the Gospel of Luke.
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The NICNT on the Gospel of Luke has yet another useful note for our study:
“After spending about three months with Elizabeth and Zechariah, Mary returned to Nazareth.
She and Elisabeth had naturally during this period been meditating together and discussing and rejoicing in the miraculous things promised to them and already in the course of fulfilment.
Undoubtedly they also communicated to Zacharias in writing, because he was still deaf and dumb, the essentials of Mary’s experience.
This would explain how he was able to sing the words of verses 67–79 immediately after regaining his speech—he had for several months already meditated over all the wonderful things communicated to him and Mary.
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That Mary did not wait before returning until after the birth of John may partly be explained by the fact that she knew that this event would cause a huge concourse of people, and she would naturally prefer not to be there then”
Closing Illustration
Closing Illustration
As this message comes to a close...
I would like to share this from an article about a man named Samuel S. Scull who settled on a farm in the Arizona desert with his wife and children:
One night a fierce desert storm struck with rain, hail, and high wind. At daybreak, feeling sick and fearing what he might find, Samuel went to survey their loss.
The hail had beaten the garden and truck patch into the ground; the house was partially unroofed; the hen house had blown away, and dead chickens were scattered about.
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Destruction and devastation were everywhere.
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While standing dazed, evaluating the mess and wondering about the future, he heard a stirring in the lumber pile that was the remains of the hen house.
A rooster was climbing up through the debris, and he didn’t stop climbing until he had mounted the highest board in the pile.
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That old rooster was dripping wet, and most of his feathers were blown away.
But as the sun came over the eastern horizon, he flapped his bony wings and proudly crowed.
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That old, wet, bare rooster could still crow when he saw the morning sun.
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And like that rooster, our world may be falling apart, we may have lost everything, but if we trust in God, we’ll be able to see the light of God’s goodness, pick ourselves out of the rubble, and sing the Lord’s praise.
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Beloved, praise Him...
In times of joy like when Mary sang her Magnificat...
And in times of heartache and pain like when the Apostles...
Imprisoned for their faith sang while in chains as we see in Acts 16:25:
25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them,
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So, praise Him.
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Praise Him for who He is...
Praise Him for what He has done for you...
Praise Him for what He has done for His followers...
And Praise Him for what He will do!
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To God be all the glory.
Amen.
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Please join us for one more song from the Praise Band.
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