This God of Ours: the Magnificat
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Introduction
Introduction
Last week we saw three testimonies as a result of Mary’s faith. The first was Mary’s herself, though she initially hardly made a peep. Her testimony was her leaving Nazareth and traveling to Judah to see Elizabeth in her sixth month of pregnancy. The second was the testimony of John the Baptist still in the womb of Elizabeth—he expressed an eschatological joy as the Messiah was in his presence. Finally, we saw Elizabeth’s testimony expressing Mary and Jesus’s blessings from God and that Jesus was her Lord.
This morning, we see Mary finally speaking. She has more to say than anyone else. The passage this morning is known as the Magnificat, which is Latin for “magnify” taken directly out of the text. But here is the interesting part of this passage, Mary’s focus is not on herself; it’s on God. Even when she mentions herself, it is in relation to who God is and what God does. It’s as if Mary testifies about this God of ours—that he is magnificent and is to be magnified. This morning, we are looking at four categories as to whom she says he is, what she said he has done and for (or against) whom he does it. So the first category we will look at is God’s character. The second is God’s Conduct. The third category is God’s Clients. And the Forth is God’s Challengers.
God’s Character
God’s Conduct
God’s Clients
God’s Challengers
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.
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.
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.
God’s Character
God’s Character
The first category that I want us to look at this morning is God’s character. Everything that God does is based in his character or we could say that it is based in his being. And Mary presents us with three aspects of God’s character.
God is Mighty
God is Holy
God is Merciful
So let’s spend a few moments looking at these characteristics of God.
God is Mighty
God is Mighty
The first characteristic that Mary presents us with is that God is Mighty.
Luke 1:49 (ESV)
for he who is mighty has done great things for me,
One could translate this as powerful or strong, but the idea is still the same. This is God and he is not weak. Why is this important? Because we need to understand that God does not simply have muscles. One of my favorite lines in The Never-Ending Story movie is when “The Nothing” has taken the rock-biter’s friends, and Atreyu finds him sitting alone in sadness. The rock-biter says, “They look like big, good, strong hands, don’t they? That’s what I always thought that’s what they were. My little friends; the little man with his racing snail, the night hob, even the stupid bat. I couldn’t hold on to them. The Nothing pulled them right out of my hands. I failed.” And then he repeats himself, “They look like good, strong hands, don’t they?”
God is more than just big, good, strong hands. Though certainly, no one can snatch us from the Father’s hands. God himself, his being, his character, his attribute is one of might—of power. Stephen Charnock wrote, “The power of God is that ability and strength, whereby he can bring to pass whatever he please; whatsoever his infinite wisdom can direct, and whatsoever the infinite purity of his will can resolve.” In essence, God’s might is what puts God’s will into action. To paraphrase Charnock: there are things that we want to do but have no power to do. We have the will to bring about world peace. We have the will to end all suffering. We have the will to make a delicious and juicy beef wellington. But do we have the power? No. Our wills outrun our power. But not with God.
Which then sounds like an indictment against God. So God has the power to bring peace and end suffering, but is not willing to do so? And the answer is: yes, he has the power and yes, he is willing to do so. But he is not willing to do so because we simply think he should do it now. There is a time, at the final redemption when he will utilize his power according to his will to bring it all about.
Humanity’s misunderstanding is that we believe our greatest need is for peace and safety when in reality our greatest need is for God himself. It is when we are peaceful and safe that God is so often ignored and blasphemed. Until all is made right—including our souls and minds—we will continue to treat God with contempt in peace and safety.
God is Holy
God is Holy
Which leads us to the second characteristic: God is holy.
for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name.
This does not mean that God’s first name is Holy. It means that his identity is wrapped in his holiness. Holiness is purity. But what does that mean? It probably can be explained in the negative: Charnock again wrote, “The holiness of God negatively, is a perfect and unpolluted freedom from all evil.” He then compares it to pure gold, meaning there is no dross left or a pure garment having no spot or stain.
We may want to accuse God of evil based on our faulty thinking and impure/unholy imagination of what we want to see happen. But God is holy. He is pure in his very nature. He cannot do evil. Thus every decision he makes, every act he takes, every word he speaks is holy. It is perfect and pure. I truly think that holiness is nearly an impossible characteristic for unholy creatures to fully grasp. Hence, it is one of many ways, we find God incomprehensible. And yet, in Christ, that unholiness and incomprehension is not held against us. It is God’s holiness that ensures our hope in him. Because he is free from evil, he cannot lie. Thus every word he speaks is a word of complete truth. Thus his promises are true always!
God is Merciful
God is Merciful
Including his promise of mercy for all who are in Christ. God is merciful.
And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation.
He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy,
God’s mercy is wrapped in his holiness. It is how we can be assured that he will not double back and get us in some technicality. His character of mercy is distributed by his power. He has the power to show his mercy. But what is mercy exactly? It is often described as not getting what we deserve. But what does it mean when we say that God is merciful as it is part of his being—his character? We mean that it is part of his nature to forgive. It is within him to pardon.
God is so often thought of as angry. He is just looking for us to slip up, make a mistake, say something wrong. Yet his nature is mercy. His nature is faithfulness to his people.
Thomas Goodwin, a Puritan spoke of God’s mercy.
God has a multitude of all kinds of mercies. As our hearts and the devil are the father of variety of sins, so God is the father of variety of mercies. There is no sin or misery but God has a mercy for it. He has a multitude of mercies of every kind.
As there are variety of miseries which the creature is subject unto, so he has in himself a shop, a treasury of all sorts of mercies, divided into several promises in the Scripture, which are but as so many boxes of this treasure, the caskets of variety of mercies.
If your heart be hard, his mercies are tender.
If your heart be dead, he has mercies to liven it.
If you be sick, he has mercy to heal you.
If you be sinful, he has mercies to sanctify and cleanse you.
As large and as various as our our wants, so large and various are his mercies. So we may come boldly to find grace and mercy to help us in time of need, a mercy for every need. All the mercies that are in his own heart he has transplanted to several beds in the garden of the promises, where they grow, and he has abundance of variety of them, suited to all the variety of the diseases of the soul.
God’s Conduct
God’s Conduct
This leads us to the second category that we see in Mary’s Magnificat. The first was God’s character and the second is God’s conduct. And what we will see is that what God does is always in accord with who God is. We are not always that way. As humans we may be one thing and act out of step with that thing we are. It’s what we call hypocrisy. But God is no hypocrite. He always acts in accord with who he is.
Mary reveals three distinct actions that God takes in accordance with his might, his holiness, and his mercy. We see in this Magnificat that God:
Looks/Remembers
Shows Strength
Speaks
I promise that this point and the subsequent ones will not be nearly as long as the first. I wanted to get a firm idea into every one of us as to who God is in the first point so that the rest of the points are easily understood as they flow from his character.
God Looks/Remembers
God Looks/Remembers
Let’s look at his look and remembrance. These are two ways of saying the same thing. God looks upon his people; he remembers his people. The idea in both of these is that God looks or remembers so as to act. His mercy moves him to action. His might allows him to act. His holiness causes his actions to be right always.
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.
God looked upon the humble estate of Mary and what happens? He has done great things for me. It is because of what God has done (not what Mary has done) that all generations will call her blessed. And incidentally, that word “blessed” is the term in which we would think of happiness. God is the one who has brought this happiness into Mary’s life. How? By doing great things for her, in particularly calling upon her to carry in her womb his beloved Son. He supernaturally placed the child in her womb.
He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy,
Notice here that Mary states that the help—the very action of God—comes only because of his remembrance of his mercy. Back in
And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob.
God saw the people of Israel—and God knew.
Notice again that God remembered and God saw. Both of these have the intention of God’s moving into action. And notice the way verse 25 ends. It seems peculiar to end it with “And God knew.” But I think that is in contrast with Pharaoh. Pharaoh was said not to have known Joseph and so his actions were to enslave and kill the Israelites. But God knew—and God would act in his mercy.
God Shows Strength
God Shows Strength
Mary goes on to say that God would show his strength.
He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts;
Within this, Mary shows various ways God conducts himself. He scatters, he brings down and exalts, he fills and empties, and he helps. When we see his strength revealed, we need to know that again, this is not because God has the muscles to do these things. It is because God has the authority because God is mighty. This word for strength is a completely different word from verse 49 that tells us God is mighty. This word is kratos (the other is dynamos). We get the word the word democrat from this word (along we demos, which means people). Thus democrat technically means the power, authority, or strength of the people. Here though, God is the one with the authority.
In God’s might, he shows his strength—his authority. We could certainly say that God shows his sovereignty. How? By scattering, by bringing down and exalting, by filling and emptying, and by helping.
In Genesis 11, we see that God told Noah and so those after him to fill the earth, but instead they grew proud and decided to stay in one place: Babel/Babylon. They built a tower to themselves to make a name for themselves and to show their power. God scattered them by giving them new languages.
In Daniel 4, Nebuchadnezzar looked out at his kingdom and gloated at all he had done. God brought him down. We read,
and you shall be driven from among men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. And you shall be made to eat grass like an ox, and seven periods of time shall pass over you, until you know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will.”
Immediately the word was fulfilled against Nebuchadnezzar. He was driven from among men and ate grass like an ox, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven till his hair grew as long as eagles’ feathers, and his nails were like birds’ claws.
It wasn’t until Nebuchadnezzar accepted God’s sovereignty—seven years later—that God exalted him back to his position.
At the beginning of Ruth, we see two statements. The first was that this took place during the time of the Judges (hence everyone did what was right in their own eyes) and that God by his authority, brought famine to the land of Judah, particularly to Bethlehem, which literally means “the house of bread.” Yet later, God graciously brought “bread” back into the land by his authority.
And of course, by his authority he helped Israel out, more times than we can count, just about.
God Spoke
God Spoke
Finally, we see that God has spoken.
as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring forever.”
There is nothing that says God had to reveal himself, and yet he did. By his mercy, he did not leave us in the dark. By his holiness, he did not lie about who he was. By his might, he condescended (as theologians would say) to us so that we could understand. God spoke directly to some. He spoke indirectly, through angels, to others. And soon, the very Word of God, in the flesh, would speak to his people. Have you ever thought what life would be like if he had stayed silent?
God’s Clients and Challengers
God’s Clients and Challengers
Which leads us to the third and fourth categories. You’ll notice that there are positive actions and negative actions that God takes. He scatters, brings down, empties are all negative while his exalting, filling, helping, and speaking are positive. So then let’s take a few minutes to notice to whom the positive conduct goes—those whom I say are God’s Clients (those whom he blesses) and to whom the negative conduct goes—those whom I say are God’s Challengers (those who seek to take his place).
If you look at verse 48 and 52, you’ll see that Mary states that God has mercy and exalts those of “humble estate.” That is a euphemism for saying the poor or weak.
In v. 50, his mercy is for those who fear his name. In other words, those who revere him—those who bow before him. He is merciful to those who understand who he is—he is the maker of heaven and earth and all that is in them. Thus, he is not only Creator, but he is Master of things. Those who will live accordingly receive mercy.
In 53, He fills the hungry. Luke will later reiterate this sentiment when he wrote,
Luke 6:21 (ESV)
“Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you shall be satisfied. . .
He helps Israel, in verse 54, as he remembers his mercy. Israel was guilty (even as we are) on so many levels, yet God in his mercy helped them. He gave them victory. He gave them food. He gave them water. He gave them healing.
And then in verse 55, he spoke to his people. Abraham, the patriarchs, David, the prophets. Those who would listen to him.
Do you see what all these have in common? These were people who could not help themselves and they knew it. They were too weak, too poor, too hungry, too desperate.
Notice those who are his challengers—those whom he works against.
He works against the proud, the mighty, and the rich. I call these challengers because they seek to challenge God’s place in our hearts and minds. Those who think they are god will see no need for God. Pride causes each person to sit on the throne of their own lives. They tend to want others to see them as god as well. So God brings down the proud but exalts the humble. Those who are mighty—politically speaking (those on the throne) are so enamored by their own power that they don’t see their need for God’s power. As Lord Acton stated, “Power tends to corrupt; and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” In their corruption, they want their subjects and citizens to see them as the answer. We see this easily in the response to the mass shootings. Those who are proud and those in power mock the Christian’s devotion to prayer. They have the answers. They have the power. Not this God of ours. While it is true that we ought to put prayer into action, we cannot change the heart of a person; that is something only God can do. The rich are too wealthy and can buy anything. They need no God; their wealth is there God.
Conclusion
Conclusion
As we close out this Magnificat, I want to leave you with four take-aways. This has been a lengthy sermon and one that may have been heavy on teaching and light on application. I want to try and give you some application, one from each of the three/four points this morning, and one which I think is the overall point of the Magnificat itself.
Rejoice over God’s Character. Mary’s entire song is a song of joy—exultation (same word as John the Baptist’s leaping in joy)—over God’s character which directs his conduct. You may not like what God is doing in your life at this moment, but you can rest assured that whatever it is, it is in accordance with his might, holiness, and mercy.
Reassess your view of God’s Conduct. It is human nature to charge God with wrongdoing. He never takes counsel outside of his own will. He does not ask us our thoughts or feelings. And so we can feel and believe that God is behaving badly toward us. It’s time to stop accusing and start reassessing how what we are going through can be in accordance with his character.
Reflect on God’s Clients and Challengers. Specifically reflect on which one you are. James 4:6
But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”
Do you find yourself as needy or self-sufficient?
Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you,
4. Revive your faith by remembering God’s past mercies. Notice that Mary started the Magnificat by speaking about what God was doing for her, but immediately remembers what God had done in the past. As Piper would say (and I paraphrase), God’s past graces are indicative of his future graces. God’s past fulfillments of his promises, shows us that he will always fulfill his promises. Because he is mighty to do so. He is merciful to do so. And he is holy to do so.