Luke 1:46-56
Worship is what we were created to do. There are many ways that we worship, in fact
most everything that we do is some kind of an act of worship. Mary demonstrates one form of worship in
today’s passage as she describes the greatness of God. Starting with herself she reviews the
wonderful works of God to those who desperately need it. Many people think that God is only a friend
to the rich and powerful and that He has forgotten those who are
suffering. Nothing could be further from
the truth. We must never confuse current
circumstances with the approval or blessings of God. Just because someone is powerful and
prosperous does not mean he is being blessed by God. Those who suffer are not under some sort of a
curse from God. God’s promises are not
all about the here and now. We can only
be assured of the fact that justice will be reveled in eternity. Mary’s song of praise points to four ways
that God has favored those who might least expect it.
THE BLESSINGS OF GOD FOR HERSELF: Mary begins by praising
God for the blessings that He had bestowed on her. Mary recognized herself as completely
unworthy of the honor of giving birth to Messiah. She praises God for choosing a handmaid such
as herself for such and amazing mission.
Mary knows that as a result of this grace from God her name will be
known for all generations. There is
nothing wrong with being pleased that God will use us in a way that others will
recognize. I don’t think that Mary ever
dreamed that she would become an object of worship for many and in a sense take
the place of Jesus in the hearts of men.
This tendency to worship the created instead of the Creator is a part of
the curse of our fallen nature. All
praise for anything that we might accomplish through the power and by the grace
of God belongs only to God. We should
raise our voices in praise to God for the privilege of serving Him. It should astound us that God would choose to
use sinners like us to accomplish His mission in the world. God’s work in and through us will often cause
people to thank and recognize us. This
is a natural and even an enjoyable response for us but we must never allow the
praise of men to become our motivation or a form of idolatry in our
hearts. We can all magnify the Lord
together for His amazing grace demonstrated in His including us in His mission
of redemption.
THE STRENGTH OF GOD FOR THE HUMBLE: This world is full of
people who are humble in heart because of their status in life, lack of
opportunities and visibility. Few people
know of their existence and they are just fine with that. They have no fame, no power and in the eyes
of many they have no hope. God does not
see them in that same way. God delights
is lifting up and using these humble servants for His own glory. These people would never be tempted to claim
God’s glory for their own. God takes
great delight in giving strength to the humble.
He chooses children, young people, poor people, weak people, sick
people, obscure people, old people, rejected people and all kinds of other
people that most of us would never choose.
He empowers them with His super-natural abilities and He uses them to
accomplish His purposes in the world. At
the same time He takes the people who are filled with pride and breaks them
down. The proud seek to rob glory that
belongs to God for themselves. God makes
the proud humble so they can come to Him as He intends. There is no way for the proud to come to God
or be used by God; they must be humbled first.
God is to be praised and glorified for His love, mercy and grace. He gives strength to the humble and that
strength is available to each one of us when we humble ourselves before
Him. We must vigilantly protect our
hearts from the pride that naturally grows in them.
THE PROVISION OF GOD FOR THE HUNGRY: Mary worships and
praises God because of His care for the hungry.
This continues the same theme of humility that Mary has been emphasizing
all throughout her song. Poverty and
hunger are not things that we normally consider to be means of gaining God’s
blessing. Many would consider them to be
some sort of a curse from God. In
reality, they are a result of the fall and man’s sinful nature. God created the earth to be able to supply
all of man’s basic needs. When man
sinned, his heart was hardened before God but the ground was also cursed so
that it requires much more work to make it produce the food we require. The result of this curse and the sinfulness
in the hearts of men is hunger. The
hungry are not cursed by God; but hunger is a result of sin. God is to be praised because He provides for
the hungry. Jesus taught that those who
hunger and thirst after righteousness were blessed. He was clearly talking about a spiritual
hunger while Mary is speaking of physical hunger. However, the reality is that those who live
with plenty have a tendency to think that they are sufficient in and of
themselves. Those who experience
physical hunger tend to cry out to God and place their dependence on Him. God delights in providing for those who call
to Him in faith. God’s mercy and
gracious provision for the hungry should be an example for every believer and
fill our hearts with worship.
THE FAITHFULNESS OF GOD FOR HER NATION: Mary’s final
declaration of praise was for God’s faithfulness to the nation of Israel. God had made many promises to Abraham, Moses
and David. However, due to the
unfaithfulness of the nation and its leaders; Israel had been taken captive and
suffered under cruel oppression. In
Mary’s day Israel was under the harsh rule of Rome. The promise of Messiah who was growing in her
womb was a clear demonstration of the faithfulness of God to keep His promises
to Israel. Mary and the followers of
Jesus thought that He would liberate the nation from Rome and establish His
kingdom. Her heart was full of praise to
the Lord for His faithfulness. Jesus did
not do what Mary and the disciples thought He would do. His plan was and is far grander than they
could imagine. God had promised to bless
all the nations of the world through Abraham.
Jesus came to die for the sins of the world that all men might be
liberated from sin. That is not to say
that He will not liberate Israel form oppression. Messiah is coming back and still has a plan
to liberate Israel and use Israel as a means of blessing and liberating all the
nations. God’s love for Israel and all
nations should fill our hearts with gratitude.
His faithfulness to His Word should cause us all to lift our voices in
praise as we join Mary in worshiping our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
APPLICATION: God’s blessings on us should lead us to a life
of worship. Humility of heart should be
the virtue after which our heart longs.
Our lives should be marked by compassion for the hungry and we must seek
our satisfaction in Him.
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