Rejoice in the God of Our Salvation
Luke 1:46-56
Introduction:
- This is a day of Thanksgiving, a day to Worship the Lord
- How fitting are the Words and Worship of Mary, this simply, plain, humble sinner, whom God used to bear His Son, and with her song, direct our attention to God
- As we turn to our text, our passage let me remind you of the context in which this text sits
- In Luke 1:1-4, Luke introduces his book and commends it to Theophilus to give him and us an assurance of the things we have heard and been taught
- Luke 1:5-25, Gabriel’s Announce. to Unbelieving Zacharias
- Luke 1:26-38, Gabriel’s Announce. to Submiss., Believ. Mary
- Luke 1:37-45, Mary goes to investigate the words of Gabriel
- She finds elderly Eliz., 6+ months pregnant w/ John,
- John, filled w/ H. Spirit, hearing Mary’s voice, & knowing his Saviour is very close by, he leaps for joy in the womb!
- Eliz, who is also filled with the Holy Spirit, cry’s aloud – lit. she shouts: (vss.42b & 45) “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!
- 45 Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord.”
- Mary having heard Gabriel’s announcement,
- & received it by faith,
- & submitted herself to God’s will,
- and investigated the words, in belief of the truth…
- Now in vss:46-56, she overflows in worship for God.
- Notice that God, Himself is the Clear Subject of her words
- In 47, She declares her glorifying & rejoicing in God
- In 48 she gives explanation of why she magnifies God,
- He has regarded her lowly, humble state
- In 49-50, she states a great principle of God’s Salvation
- 51-55, Mary expounds God’s work towards mankind, in two manners: those God saves and those God will reject.
- And Thru her whole song, God’s Person is Display’d & Glorif’d
But, Listen! the question to answer today, as we work our way thru
- the text is this:
- Is this your song?
- Can these words be your words?
- Can you stand with Mary to glorify God?
- Does your Soul Magnify & Rejoice in God your Saviour?
- My prayer is this that the Spirit of God will move; He will come upon us all, in an unusual way,
- to convict of sin,
- to open eyes to see Christ,
- to awaken saving faith in God
- to make some of us: new creatures in Christ,
- to revive and refresh all who know Him,
- to a greater love for Him, greater joy in Him, and greater devotion to Him.
First) Let’s Behold God’s Person – His attrib. displayed in the text
- I’m going to examine these up in a thematic order, not by vs.
He is the Holy God, vs.49b,
- She’s describing the might of God & the great things he has done for her, & she pauses, in wonder, awe & amazement to cry “Holy Is His Name” – this declaration is pure worship
- She joins w/ seraph in 6 declaring: Holy, Holy, Holy, is the God Almighty, the whole earth is full of His Glory
- Of all the attrib. of God, this one shines the brightest
- He is Holy, mean: He is absol. separate from sin & defilemt
- God is so Holy he cannot tolerate sin in his presence!
- To: forgiven, faithful, believing followers of God: great news
- For we are called to Holiness,
- we will one day be Holy, as He is Holy – great news!
- But to those who continue to live in sin and disobedience to God, this is: terrible news
- To you, who live in pride & selfishness, who slander, who steal, who lust, who love not God but love the things of this world, this is terrible news.
- God is Holy, but we are not!
- God is absolutely Holy, but we’ve all sinned/broken God’s law
- God is so Holy He cannot tolerate sinners: meaning all of us
- God’s Holiness must strike out ag. the sinner for their sin
- Behold! Look, See, Tremble & Rejoice B4 God who is Holy!
He is the God Who Sees All, vs.48
- Mary is describing the grounds for her rejoicing in God her saviour, she says: “He has looked upon the lowly estate of His slave”. God has seen me – God sees all things
- God see the past: every detail, of every event, of every creature, in the entire universe of existence – God sees it!
- God sees the Present and God Knows the future,
- both the actual and the merely possible.
- God sees: greatest events of all the stars in the galaxies
- God sees: action of every sub-atomic particle in our bodies
- God sees: our thoughts as you form them in your mind.
- God sees: our motives, our desires, for good or evil.
- God sees: both our sorrows, and the joys of our heart.
- God sees: our love for Him, our love for neighbour
- To U, who feel overlooked, passed by, neglected: God sees U
- God sees & knows the depths of our sin/sinfulness – But!
- God is not merely an all-knowing, impassive, uncaring observ’r
- Mary’s words reflect that God has seen, in order to act!
- Mary’s words have the sense that God saw her condition and acted in her favour and benefit, to save her, and to use her!
- And God sees you and Me, in order to act towards us.
- Like a skilful surgeon, who needs light, to see & to cut out the cancer, so God sees the condition of our hearts to cut out the sinful flesh and remove it far from us.
- Behold! Look/See & Rejoice B4 God who Sees All things
He is the Mighty God, vs.49,
- “He, who is Mighty, has done great things for me”
- God has accomplished her salvation, by His Mighty strength
- God’s salvation is a mighty work, that only He can do
- The distance bet. Sinful man & Holy God is Infinitely Great
- Nothing we could do, can bridge that distance.
- No amount of religious good works can span the distance
- Even if we could eliminate every sinful habit fr our lives,
- Stop lying, stop lusting, stop pride, stop anger, malice, greed, all of it….
- We’d still have: core sinful nature left, separating us fr. God
- We can do Nothing to Save ourselves, even if we wanted to
- But, We have No desire for God!
- Our Salvation requires the Might of God, the Strength of God, to accomplish it
- God, who spoke all creation into existence
- God, who stilled storms with mere words
- God, whose Mighty Power Overshadowed Mary to create a human baby within her womb…
- God must also overshadows us, with His Mighty Power, to cause us to be Born Again, to make us New Creat. in Christ
- We cannot save ourselves, But God is Mighty to Save!
- Behold! Look/See, Tremble & Rejoice B4 God who is Mighty!
He is the Merciful God, vs.50
- And His Mercy is on those who fear Him.
- If God was Holy, w/o mercy – there would be no hope!
- If God was All-Seeing, w/o Mercy: Terrible News: destruc’n
- If God was Almighty w/o Mercy,
- we’d cry for mtns to fall on us
- But God is Merciful! He does not do to us, as we deserve!
- 2:4–5 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ…
- God is merciful – His Goodness is towards: miserable – Us.
- God is our judge, God knows/sees all the evidence of our sin
- God being Holy & Righteous, never delivers: unjust verdict
- God has already declared us guilty of sin & condemned
- But God has Mercy! But God, in love immeasurable, decided, before we were born, or had done anything, to have mercy on us and to execute His plan to Save the Ungodly – U & I.
- O, my friends Come/See The Great news of the Gospel that
- God is Merciful
5) Come, Behold: God who Saves, vs.47
- Now, Luke is using Mary to portray the ideal believer.
- Like us, She’s a sinner, needing 2B saved
- She’s received the message of God, thru Gabriel
- She’s believed it & submitted to God,
- She’s acted in obedience and faith, and now her spirit/soul worships & rejoices in God, my Saviour”
- God Saves! God Rescues the perishing
- God Saves man from the imminent calamity, we all face,
- which is to fall into the hands of almighty God, still in sin, unforgiven, still facing His Right. Judgement!
- But, God saved her, by sending His Son – her son, into world
- Our Lord Jesus came as truly man and truly God
- Christ came to live sinless, holy & undefiled, being truly God
- He came to live, knowing weakness, pain, suffering, temptation, all without sin, being truly man
- He came as truly man, to represent us to God.
- to bear our punishment on the cross, for our sin, that we might be saved thru Him.
- We’re saved from imminent calamity & destruction by God
Listen, You do not know the day nor hour of your death
- You do not know, if this day, today, you have an appointment to meet with God! Are you ready? Are you prepared?
- By Faith, Look and See God, who promises to save you!
- If you hear His voice within your own heart summoning, beckoning, calling you to come, do not turn away,
- Look with the eyes of Faith.
- Believe the Gospel Message
- Submit yourself to God Almighty,
- If only U would look! U would know joy & peace in believing
Two: Beware, God’s Rejection
- God offers Salvation from His Justice and wrath
- But, God in Righteousness, Justly Condemns all who refuse
- Notice in 51, Mary says: “He has scattered the proud in: imagination of their hearts”
- In sim. language, she says:52 ‘He puts down the mighty’,
- Again in 53, He sends the rich away, empty,
- In Mary’s context, perhaps she thinks of the rich the powerful in Jerusalem & Judaism
- They were not chosen to bear the Messiah
- but she, a poor, humble, Galilean girl was chosen.
- But God rejects the prideful, listen to the verbs Mary uses:
- He scatters, He puts dn (throws dn), He sends away
- Make no mistake: God rejects those who refuse Him
- Why does God deals in this way with them?
- Pride is the problem! God rejects the Prideful!
- Its Pride that relies on my own strength to save me
- Its Pride that relies on my own wealth to save me
- Its Pride that says: I have sufficient in my own doing,
- I don’t need God to save, to rescue me.
- Pride deceives us into thinking: this life is all there is!
- But what about the next life? What about after U die?
- What about the moment you stand before God?
- You cannot buy God’s favour – He owns all the wealth already
- You cannot overpower God – He is the Almighty!
- You’re not greater than God, Bigger, wiser, richer than Him.
- Pride, I say, is the problem!
- Pride was Lucifer’s prob. causing his rebellion & casting down
- Pride was Eve’s problem in the garden:
- She saw the fruit
- good to make her wise,
- good for food,
- pleasing to her eye,
- Her choice & decision was more important than God’s comm’d
- To be Proud is to elevate your opinion of yourself above God’s truth concerning you.
- U say: I’m not so bad, But God says U’re a condemned sinner
- U say: I’ve done many good works, But…
- God says your gd. works are filthy rags of unright.
- U say: I’ve lived a good life, never got into trouble, never hurt anybody, never broken the law…
- But God says, your life is but a walking death, every desire of your heart is only evil continually
- U say: I love my family, friends, community & the poor
- But God says you have not Loved Me w/ all you have, every moment, of every day, for all your life!
- Pride says: I don’t need God to save me
- Pride says, I’m not that bad, My good deeds outweigh: bad
- Pride says, I’m beyond saving, Not even God can reach me, I am so far gone, there is no hope for me
- My dear friend, if that‘s your opinion, I fear greatly for you,
- Pride has blinded you to seeing God as He truly is!
- Pride has blinded you to seeing Y-self as U truly are,
- Pride has blinded you to seeing your desperate need
- If you would continue in pride, Beware!
- The Spirit of God says, thru Mary:
- God Scatters the proud!
- God Throws Down the mighty
- God Sends away empty the rich
- But, In the image of the Christ, the Good Shepherd
- He Gathers His own sheep into His One Fold
- He Calls them by name, They hear His voice; they know Him
- But, He drives away those who do not know Him,
- He scatters those who do not belong to Him.
- He sends away absolutely empty those who will not come in faith, believing in Him.
- To all who come to Him, weary and heavy laden, looking to find rest for their souls, He welcomes them, He fastens them to Himself, under His yoke that He bears
- He walks with them, communing, teaching & cheering
Oh, my friends, listen!
- Beware the pride of your heart, that will keep you fr. God
- Beware, Christian, that pride does not creep in, hindering your walk w/ God, quenching the fire of: indwelling H. Spirit,
- stifling & discouraging the work of God and the fellowship of the Christians in the local church.
- Beware, God Rejects those who’re proud in heart.
- What then is required for those who would stand alongside of Mary & Magnify/Glorify the Lord together, Rejoicing in the God of our salvation?
Three: We must Receive God’s Salvation
- As we come to the close of our time in God’s word and prepare to Remember our Lord Jesus in Communion:
- Lets read again the words of Luke 1
- vss46–48 “My soul magnifies the Lord, 47 And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior. 48 For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant; For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed.
- 50 His mercy is on those who fear Him From generation to generation.
- Luke 1:52–53 He has exalted the lowly. 53 He has filled the hungry with good things…
- Mary is a portrayal of the Ideal Christian,
- She has received the message from God by Faith, vs.38
- She has submitted herself to the Lord, as His slave, vs.38
- She has believed what she was told, and…
- All these we must likewise do:
- Receive the message of who God is
- as being for you, personally, because it is for you!
- Receive the message of what God says about you!
- Receive God’s Salvation – How?
Notice 1stly) vs.48 how she describes herself:
- God has regarded the Humble,
- If you remember, she has humbled herself submitting to God as His Maidservant – lit. His Slave!
- We receive God’s Salvt’n by Humbling ourselves before Him
- To be Humble… to exercise Humility, is to see y-self thru God’s eyes, thru scripture’s descriptions:
- It’s recognising & agreeing with God as to who you truly are,
- Peter could say: Lord, depart from me for I am a sinful man
- Paul could describe H-self as: the chief of sinners
- The repentant tax-collector could beat his breast and confess: God, Have mercy on me, a sinner.
- To stand alongside Mary and 1,000’s of others who truly know God, and glorify & rejoice in God our Saviour,
- It begins by humbling ourselves to admit we’re sinners who need saving.
- In Faith that God will Accept U,
- Humble yourselves Before Him
Notice 2ndly), vs.50, God is merciful to those who fear Him,
- In Coming to know God, there’s a desire to know Him, as He is… and He is Holy.
- That must fill our hearts w/ awe, wonder, amazement
- We come to God, because we’re sinners, who’ve failed to glorify God for His Awesome, Majestic Holiness.
- So we come in the fear of God, who is Holy,
- in the fear of God who is Almighty
- in the fear of God who is All-knowing, All-seeing
- …of God who is Everywhere present
- …of God who is Unchangeable
- We Come, in Faith & Reverent Awe, to God who is Good!!
- God is Good to the Undeserving – U and Me
- God is Good to the Helpless and Hopeless – that’s us!
- By Faith, we come and stand before God, in Awe of Him!
- But wait there is even more!!
Notice, in vs.53, God fills the Hungry.
- Now, in her context that may mean a physical blessing,
- but certainly, infinitely more, in the wider context of scripture, It is a spiritual filling….
- Consider and Be amazed, Christian!
- God not only takes our sin and places it on Christ…
- He not only judged & crushed Christ for your sin & for mine
- God not only applied Christ’s righteous. to each of us…
- He not only declares, that we’re righteous in his judgem’t….
- He not only adopts us,
- calls us His children,
- promising us we will be like Christ our Saviour
- If that wasn’t enough, and it certainly is an over-abundance!
- God fills us, He pours His Holy Spirit into our lives
- By Faith in God we rec’v that Filling, the moment we believe
- God fills us, w/ Himself, to enable us to live pleasing to Him!
- God fills us, to the absolute satisfaction of our souls
- God fills us with His love, to such an overflowing that He must first strengthen & reinforce the capacity of your heart and mine, in order to be able to comprehend the Greatness of His Love for us, in Christ!
Oh what a Saviour that He Loved me… He Loved Us so!
Come, and Behold God in the Glories of His Person!
Come, and Rejoice in the Lord as we remember Him!
Come, and Rejoice and Remember Christ, today, together.
May our hearts magnify the Lord, and rejoice in God our saviour as we partake of the bread and the Grape-juice.
