Taking It All In
Luke 1:46-56
“My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.” vss. 46-47
“Your Messiah”
Most of you might remember this tune: Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Yes, that is Handel’s Messiah.
I did a little research on it and found out some interesting things. George Frideric Handel, a German, lived in from (1685-1759) and loved to write operas. Handel was the king of opera and had made most of his money from opera. Handel was hesitant to give up Italian opera even when he began to lose money on writing them. His opera company suffered great financial loses but he hoped the public would have a change of heart. When it didn’t, he gradually became depressed and reclusive. Eventually his health began to suffer. After a minor stroke and a mental collapse, he took a short leave of absence and traveled to a French spa and that revitalized him. Handel returned with renewed energy but went right back to opera. His last two operas had only three performances and he them up. Now in his 50s, Handel began to think more about working in other forms-especially the English oratorio(at that time, oratorios were often biblically based.) Handel’s decision to write oratorios came in part from an invitation from the Duke of Devonshire who was the King’s representative in Ireland. The Duke asked Handel to compose something for Dublin for a benefit for the poor. The assignment was just what Handel needed to bring him out of his depression. Handel said the oratorio would be called Messiah. He already had the idea for Messiah because his friend Charles Jennens had given him the script for it. Now he would create the music. Most of Handel’s oratorios were based on stories from the Bible, Messiah is an exception. It was based solely on Biblical quotations. These quotes were gathered from the Bible by Handel’s friend, Jennens, and then Handel chose the ones that worked best with the music. Messiah contains no story or dramatic action, only Biblical quotes. He said it was easy since Jennens had put them in such an order that they were musical to begin with. In his future correspondence with Jennens, Handel always referred to his masterpiece as “Your Messiah.’ I always assumed the Handel was a Christian. It turns out, he believed there was a God but some questioned if he believed in Jesus Christ. He did write many other hymns do seem to indicate he believed in Jesus.
Music holds a special place in our lives, no matter what genre you refer. Let’s look at a song from Mary that we find in Luke 1.
Read Passage – Luke 1:46-56
46 And Mary said: “My soul glorifies the Lord 47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, 48 for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, 49for the Mighty One has done great things for me—holy is his name. 50 His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation. 51 He has performed mighty deeds with his arm; he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. 52 He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble. 53 He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty. 54 He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful 55 to Abraham and his descendants forever, even as he said to our fathers.”
The Response To Seeing Christ
There is an important exchange that takes place just before we read this song of Mary. To remind you, Mary is pregnant out of wedlock. Joseph doesn’t divorce her, but somehow it was decided between Mary’s parents and Joseph that Mary needs to get a way for a while so she goes to visit her cousin. This is their first encounter. Listen to what happens when they see each other; verse 41
“When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb…” Luke 1:41
It’s an incredible scene where this baby inside Elizabeth recognizes he is in the presence of Jesus. Note: John’s purpose in life was to announce Christ. Here, even in the womb, he is announcing the arrival of Christ. That causes me to ask a question: What is our reaction to seeing Christ? John leaps in Elizabeth’s womb. When was the last time you got excited about being in the presence of Christ? Has it become too commonplace for us? We seem to expect it more than be amazed by it. We sometimes miss the amazement of seeing Jesus.
Ex. Claudia’s experience backpacking and not being able to take a shower and the joy that came when she finally was able to shower. We take our everyday showers for granted.
Receiving A Blessing
But something else of great importance takes place, it happens in verse 42:
“In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear!” Luke 1:42
Let me put this a little different light for you. Mary has been sent away in disgrace. Even though she has done nothing wrong, it’s better for the family and for Joseph that she go away. She might be feeling a bot down or even confused and here, when she sees Elizabeth, she greets her with a blessing. And a loud one at that. Mary is probably used to people whispering around her. “Psst! She’s pregnant. She’s not married.” Maybe even scowls and sneers. But here, Elizabeth isn’t quiet at all. She’s loud. She’s happy. She’s ready to affirm Mary.” I think that we almost always feel better and more at ease when we receive a blessing and this one is an enthusiastic one. It’s joyful, affirming, and must have been so reassuring.
Mary’s Song of Praise
From that encounter between Mary and Elizabeth, and the encouraging and affirming words of Elizabeth, we see this beautiful song of Mary emerge. Many know it as Mary’s Magnificant. I believe we learn a great deal from these deeply moving words. Let’s look at a few things I picked out from it.
- Embraces God Using Her
First, we see that Mary recognizes the position she is in and embraces God’s work in her; vs 46-48:
“My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant.” vss. 46-48
Mary uses some familiar words here, they are words that were spoken by Hannah of the Old Testament. Hannah was a woman who trusted and waited on God and is a testament to the strong character of a woman. She said in 1 Samuel 2:1:
“My heart rejoices in the Lord; in the Lord my horn is lifted high.” 1 Samuel 2:1
The word rejoices here points back to the fulfillment of God’s promises. It’s the same term the angel uses in 1:14 when he is talking to Elizabeth to announce the coming of John. It’s a confirmation that God is doing just what he said he would do.
An important reminder that comes from this first part of Mary’s song is that she remembers that God is God and that she is willingly being used by him and humbles herself before him. Note this: if we are not willing to humble ourselves before God, he really can’t use us. Mary is a wonderful example of allowing God to use her despite the difficulty of what that entails. Think of how difficult it would be to convince people you are pregnant without having sex and the public disgrace in her community of that. She now praises God for that. Wow!
- Notes God’s Activity In Her Life
Second, we see that God was active in her life and he was working in many ways. This is important because it means she is keenly tied into what God was doing. Note verse 51:
“He has performed mighty deeds with his arm…” vs. 51
Now you might say, “Of course she notes that God is working, she is pregnant.” True. Sometimes we only note the big things. Sometimes we note what God is doing at the beginning and then we get comfortable. Think about her situation. As her body changed, as things become more uncomfortable through pregnancy (women, you can probably identify with that) she continues to give him the glory.
Ex. Thanksgiving – we get into the mode of being thankful for all we have and just a few days later we are making lists of things we want and don’t have, and thanks is a thing of the past.
In Ephesians 2:10 we are reminded:
“For we are God’s workmanship…” Eph. 2:10
You and I are a masterpiece; God’s masterpiece. He is working in me and you. It’s important to note that.
- Lives In God’s Promises
And finally, Mary chooses to live in God’s promises. Listen to her words from vss. 46-48:
“He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants forever, even as he said to our fathers.” vss. 54-55
There is something amazing happening here and Mary acknowledges that. The amazing thing is that she is seeing and being a part of God’ fulfilling his promises. She must have been thrilled in many ways just to understand that God was working and using her.
Ex. When I took this position and understood God was using me here. I told a friend and felt so blessed to see God choose to use us here.
Now all the promises made to the people of Israel, all the prophecies of the Old testament prophets, all the things that they had waited for were now happening right before her eyes. Her pregnancy was part of that confirmation. Paul states thins in Romans 15:8:
“For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the Jews on behalf of God’s truth, to confirm the promises made to the patriarchs.” Romans 15:8
Jesus was the confirmation of God’s truth, God’s promises.
God’s Promises To You
A promise from God is a statement we can depend on with absolute confidence. I am not sure what you might need right now when it comes to the the things that God has promised for you, but here are 12 promises for the Christian to claim.
- God’s presence— “I will never leave thee” (Heb. 13:5)
- God’s protection—”I am thy shield” (Gen. 15:1)
- God’s power—”I will strengthen thee” (Isa. 41:10)
- God’s provision—”I will help thee” (Isa. 41:10)
- God’s leading—”And when He putteth forth His own sheep, He goeth before them” (John 10:4)
- God’s purposes— “I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil” (Jer. 29:11)
- God’s rest—”Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matt. 11:28)
- God’s cleansing— “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9)
- God’s goodness— “No good thing will He withhold from them that work uprightly” (Psalm 84:11)
- God’s faithfulness—”The Lord will not forsake His people for His great name’s sake” (1 Sam. 12:22)
- God’s guidance—”The meek will He guide” (Psalm 25:9)
- God’s wise plan—”All things work together for good to them that love God” (Rom. 8:28)
