Luke 1:46-80

There are few things that any of us enjoy more than praise. As children we loved to be praised by our parents and teachers. Employee's love to receive praise from their employer especially if it involves a raise. Spouses like to be praised by their spouses. Being praised by men is a dangerous thing because God has told us that we must not do our deeds to be seen by men but I think that in some ways, our desire for praise reflect the fact that we are made in the image of God. God too desires our praise and that is what this chapter is all about.

MARY'S SONG: Mary sings a song of praise beginning with the personal blessings that she had received from God. I think that it is vital for us to take note of and praise God for the multitude of blessings with which He showers us. We have a tendency to always want more and set our sights on the things that we don't have, but God calls us to rejoice in Him and all that He has done for us. Mary praises the Lord for His mercy and power. Besides praising God for what he does for us, God wants us to praise Him for who He is. He is the great God and creator of the universe and is worthy of all our praise. Mary praises God for the way that He is just in His dealings with men. Too often, in our world we suffer under the prejudice judgment of men. God is not impressed by men's riches or positions He judges all men by the truth. The humble can have hope in God and for that we must praise Him faithfully. Mary also praises God for His faithfulness to the nation Israel. Christ is the fulfillment of every promise made to the nation Israel. God keeps His promises and for that we must praise Him. We can rest and rejoice in the knowledge that God is faithful to His Word.

JOHN'S BIRTH: Just as God had promised, John was born. It was a time of rejoicing for Zechariah and Elizabeth. This couple who had given up hope of ever having a child are now holding the prophet that God had promised to prepare the way for Messiah. It was also a time of obedience. Zechariah names his only son according to the message He received from Gabriel and not after himself. As soon as he confirms the name John his tongue is loosed and he can speak. John's birth was a time of hope. It became clear that God was at work in this family and it brought hope to all who heard and saw what happened. God brings hope to the lives of men. No matter how dark things might get. No matter how difficult our circumstances. We serve a God of hope!

ZECHARIAH'S SONG: He begins by praising God for salvation. God was at work to accomplish His plan of salvation and Zechariah new it. Praise for salvation ought always to be on the tips of our tongues. It is so easy, as time goes by, to begin to take God's gift of salvation for granted and fail to praise Him for it. He praises God for fulfilled prophecy. All that God had promised was coming true and Zechariah praises Him for it. Again we see that God keeps His Word and all that He has promised to us will also come true. He praises God for the freedom that God is providing for the people to serve God and worship Him in holiness. We often think that freedom to worship God is natural. This could not be further from the truth. May of our brothers and sisters in Christ fear for their lives because the serve and worship God. How often do we remember to praise God we we enjoy this freedom? He concludes his song by blessing his son John and thanking God for having His hand on his son. I fear that we do not bless our children like we should nor do we thank God for the way that He blesses our children. May we be found faithful to stand in the company of Mary and Zechariah and lift our voices in praise.