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[0:00] Luke chapter 1, and we'll pick up our reading in verse 38. You'll remember that the angel Gabriel had come and appeared to Mary and had told her that she would be a favored one and that she would bear the holy son of God.

[0:21] The angel also said, Elizabeth is also pregnant, and Mary said, how can this be? And then we were left with these encouraging words, for nothing is impossible with God.

[0:33] Let's pick up our reading in verse 38 of Luke chapter 1. Mary speaking, I am the Lord's servant, Mary answered. May it be to me as you have said.

[0:45] Then the angel left her. At that time, Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, where she entered Zachariah's home and greeted Elizabeth.

[0:56] When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. In a loud voice, she exclaimed, blessed are you among women, and blessed is a child you will bear.

[1:11] But why am I so favored that the mother of my Lord should come to me? As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.

[1:22] Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished. And Mary said, my soul glorifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.

[1:36] For he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on, all generations will call me blessed. For the mighty one has done great things for me.

[1:48] Holy is his name. His mercy extends to those who fear him from generation to generation. He has performed mighty deeds with his arm.

[1:59] He has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. He has brought down rulers from their thrones, but has lifted up the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things, but has sent the rich away empty.

[2:14] He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants forever, even as he said to our fathers. Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months and then returned home.

[2:31] It's often sung in Latin or some other language. You may not know that it quotes these very words of Elizabeth to Mary found in verse 42 of our text.

[2:44] Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. It's about a third of the song. But the song goes on further and calls on Mary to, quote, pray for us sinners now and in the day of our death.

[3:02] As if you and I are dependent for salvation somehow upon the prayers of Mary. What a crime that a tune so beautiful would be hijacked and made to carry the freight of such blasphemous words.

[3:21] And we look forward to one day when all music will be redeemed and we'll carry the freight of praises to our God and King alone.

[3:31] Now this is just one of many ways that Roman Catholicism has elevated Mary far beyond the blessing given to her here in the Scriptures.

[3:42] They've made her a mediator between Jesus and man. They've made her a co-redeemer with Christ to save us. They've said she's worthy of our worship to be prayed to.

[3:53] They've taught her immaculate conception that she, like Jesus, was born without sin and remained all of her life then without sin. And to top it off, Rome teaches the assumption of Mary that soon after her death she was raised from the dead and ascended body and soul so that today she is enthroned in heaven as the queen of heaven with a reservoir of grace to dispense to all who seek it from her.

[4:20] And so we find honors that are reserved for the Lord Jesus Christ alone being given to Mary. A sinless birth, a sinless life, a bodily resurrection, ascension to heaven, a reign now enthroned above and intercession for all who need help.

[4:45] And all of that's given to Mary. I assure you that none would be protesting more loudly than Mary herself. You say, how do you know that, John?

[4:57] Well, I have her song right here in front of me. And such heresy as we've just rehearsed ought to anger us. It ought to make us jealous for the glory of Christ's honor.

[5:10] But you know, it may also cause us to slight Mary somehow because of this. It's not her fault what men have done with her. She would protest. The real Mary is being lost in such honors that are placed upon her.

[5:25] And I just want to remind us this morning that Protestants are not Mary bashers. We too call her blessed. But the challenge before us is to give to Mary no more and no less than the honor that scriptures themselves give to her.

[5:45] And Mary's own song will help us to sort that out this morning. So we come to Luke 1 and Mary's song. And we noticed that her song comes right after receiving this double blessing.

[5:59] Elizabeth, her relative, under the influence of the Spirit of Christ, has just said, blessed are you among women and blessed is the child you will bear. And again in verse 45, blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished.

[6:17] And those words of blessing are no sooner out of Elizabeth's mouth concerning Mary than we hear Mary saying, verse 46, My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.

[6:39] So, picture what we have here. Elizabeth blesses Mary and Mary blesses God.

[6:53] Mary blesses God. She casts her crowns before Him to whom they alone are worthy. She sings His praises, not her own.

[7:03] And these opening words then set the tone for the entire song that we have here in Luke 1. She magnifies the Lord. Indeed, this song has been called the Magnificate.

[7:15] It's because the first word in the Latin version of this verse has the word for magnify. Magnificate.

[7:27] And indeed, our NIV says glorified. It could be translated magnified. It means to enlarge, to make great, to declare the greatness of another. We think when we hear the word magnify of a magnifying glass.

[7:41] And we use it to make a small splinter look big, don't we? Well, that's not the meaning here.

[7:53] It's not that God is small and Mary is somehow making Him look big when He's really not. No, it's rather that God is big and Mary, by her praise, wants us to see Him as such.

[8:07] She magnifies the Lord. She declares His praises, His greatness. You remember the movie, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids? And somehow that strange machine shrunk those children, life-sized children, down so small that ants look like devouring dinosaurs and a bowl of Cheerios look like a tempestuous sea.

[8:28] Well, our minds are always doing that sort of thing with God. We are shrinking Him down. We are diminishing His glory.

[8:40] We are thinking less of Him than what He really is. And Mary's praise is calculated to put things right. To magnify Him for us.

[8:52] To put things back into perspective. So that we'll be in touch with the reality of God's greatness. He is great and therefore He is to be greatly praised. So she magnifies the Lord.

[9:07] It's not so much as a magnifying glass, as a telescope. As a telescope magnifies far off objects and brings them near to show us just how big they are and how wonderful they are.

[9:21] The pistol star is big. You say, is it bigger than our sun? Oh, yes. Here's our sun.

[9:33] And here's the earth. 93 million miles away. And we're orbiting this big star, the sun. And the pistol star would fill in the whole orbit.

[9:48] It's bigger than the sun. It's a big star. But you know, you can't see it as you go out with the naked eye. So it's big, but it doesn't appear big.

[9:59] That's our problem with God. He's big, but He doesn't appear big to man. Due to our fallen nature, we have this tendency to think less of Him.

[10:10] And so the Hubble Space Telescope focused its lens upon that pistol star. That big star.

[10:20] And it brought it to us so we could see just how big it was and wonder in amazement over it. That's what Mary's doing here. He's saying, let my words be the telescope to bring God up close and just to show you how wonderful, how magnificent He is.

[10:40] And notice she's doing it with all of her heart. My soul magnifies the Lord. My spirit rejoices in God my Savior. It's her inmost being that here magnifies the Lord.

[10:52] It's not that it's time to turn to 294 and sing a song of praise to God. Not at all. No, her heart is in this. With all of her heart, she rejoices and magnifies the Lord.

[11:05] Her cup is full and running over. It's joyful praise. It's the joyful business of heaven that she enters into as her spirit rejoices in God.

[11:15] And notice it's God my Savior. She rejoices and magnifies the Lord God my Savior. So she's not the one to call on to save us.

[11:28] She's in need along with us of a Savior. She stands in line side by side with all sinners and says, Oh magnify my Lord God my Savior.

[11:40] So she knows this God as her Savior. Notice, my Savior.

[11:51] My Savior. Do you know this God as my Savior? The God who created the pistol star with a word. Do you know Him as my Savior? may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may the Psalms often do, they call on us to praise the Lord and then they give us reasons for doing so.

[12:35] Mary follows suit. She calls on us to magnify the Lord and says, my soul magnifies. Now let me give you some reasons. Let me tell you why he's worthy of being praised. And she starts in the first place with personal mercies received. A very natural way to begin. She's in essence saying, come and listen. Come and listen, all you who fear God, and let me tell you what he's done for me.

[12:58] It's a personal word of testimony. And so in verses 48 and 49, she says, here's why I praise him for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on, all generations will call me blessed for the mighty one has done great things for me. Holy is his name.

[13:20] Mary is floored to think that the high and holy one would choose the likes of her to be the mother of Messiah.

[13:37] She can't get over that. That he has been mindful, not of her supreme holiness and worthiness, but he has been mindful of her humble state.

[13:53] She's genuinely shocked that she of all women should be chosen. Her and a most unlikely candidate. I mean, little me, maiden of lowly birth, not royalty.

[14:05] One of such humble circumstances. A nobody from nowheresville, Nazareth. Betrothed. Betrothed to a poor village carpenter. Isn't God great?

[14:18] She's saying that God would stoop so low to one so so low and humble as me in such a lowly condition as I. And that he would raise me up so high as to be Messiah's mother.

[14:30] He's been mindful of me, she says. He's he's he's thought of me. He's looked with favor on me. He's he's turned his thoughts my way. No, to marry God is big.

[14:45] And to marry Mary is small. And when the great big God is mindful of we little me, it's cause for wonder and praise and magnifying his greatness.

[14:59] Isn't that what David said in Psalm 8? Oh, Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth. You have set your glory above the heavens.

[15:11] And when I consider the heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon, the stars, which you have set in place. What is man? What is man? That you are mindful of him.

[15:25] That you should care for him. That you should think upon me. That you should choose me. That you should save me. Who am I? And so there's lowly Mephibosheth.

[15:38] And he's lame on both feet. And he's down in Lodibar. And King David showed kindness to him for Jonathan's sake. And says that from now on, you'll eat the rest of your days at the king's table.

[15:52] And Mephibosheth bows down and says, what is your servant? That you should notice. That you should even notice a dead dog like me.

[16:05] And that's Mary here. She can't get over this fact that the wonderful God of all glory, the high and holy one, had been mindful of her, had noticed her, had blessed her, had chosen her to be Messiah's mother.

[16:18] Now I say that's a sign of spiritual health. When we're amazed. That God, the great God would do things like that for us. How's your amazement factor?

[16:33] Are you still amazed that the holy God of highest heaven was mindful of you? That he saw you plunged in deep despair in your sin. Unable to save yourself. That he chose to save you before the creation of the world.

[16:45] That he sent his son to save you by dying on the cross in your place. That he sent his spirit to your heart. Does that still amaze you? That he would do that for you. Amazing love.

[16:56] How can it be? That thou my God should die for me. How big is that chasm from thou my God to me? For Mary it was infinite.

[17:06] And that's why your soul magnifies the Lord. And that's a sign of good spiritual health. But when our amazement factor is low, our pride factor is high.

[17:19] We're thinking too highly of ourselves and too lowly of God. And there's not much room to be amazed, is there? Here we have Mary. Magnifying God her Savior for his great mercy to her.

[17:33] And of all people and of all women. That he should place such an honor upon her. So that from now on, she says, all generations will call me blessed. You talk about raising me high.

[17:46] To go from a nobody to being blessed by all generations. Being called blessed by everyone. And why will they call her blessed?

[17:57] Look at verse 49. Because the mighty one has done great things for me. Holy is his name. Not because of who I am and what I've done. But because of who he is. The mighty one.

[18:08] The holy one. And what he's done. He's done great things for me. And because of what he's done. All generations will call me blessed. In other words, all my blessedness is based entirely on what great things the mighty one has done for me.

[18:28] He chose me to be the mother of Messiah. He sent his angel to tell me about it. And he overshadowed me with his powerful Holy Spirit.

[18:39] And caused me a virgin to become pregnant with the Son of God. He has done great things for me. Do you sense what Mary's saying? Do you sense why she's floored?

[18:51] It's such honor. Such privilege that it's been dumped in her lap. By this great God. He's given me everlasting honor. So this morning, wherever the Bible is read.

[19:03] Mary is receiving honor. As people recognize the wonderful things that God did for her. You know, there were many other wealthy and noble virgins in the first century.

[19:17] And we don't have a clue what their names were. But we know Mary. Why do we know Mary? Not because of something unique about her from herself's perspective.

[19:32] We know about Mary because God has done wonderful things for her. Amazing things. Glory be to His name. That's what Mary is doing. She's stirring up the choir to magnify Him.

[19:43] Not her. Him. Him. Notice she is blessed by God. Now in all generations, we'll call me blessed.

[19:55] She's the recipient then. She's on the receiving end. And God's on the throwing end. God's throwing blessing her ways. She's simply receiving. She's not the giver of blessings from heaven.

[20:09] She's the receiver of blessings from heaven. And being blessed by God does not prove how worthy she is, but how amazingly gracious God is. Isn't it something how men are ever turning things upside down?

[20:25] Mary's blessed by God. So we worship Mary. We pray to Mary. Did you hear what it says? Mary is blessed.

[20:36] She's received blessing from God. And so we bless the God of all grace. She is not the one who is full of all grace. Her son is the one who is full of grace and truth.

[20:49] And from His fullness have all we receive grace upon grace. And Mary would grow to receive from Him grace upon grace. Oh, it's one thing.

[21:00] So we're not saying that Mary is not blessed. We're not bashing Mary this morning. No, she is blessed. Scripture says it three times in our text. Mary is blessed. But it is one thing to call her blessed by God.

[21:14] And it's another thing altogether. Indeed, it's a blasphemous thing to call her a dispenser of blessing upon the church. That's reserved for her son alone.

[21:29] So we call her blessed by God, pointing out the great things God has done for her. Not the great things she can do for us if we just pray for her and get her praying for us and sending us grace.

[21:41] There's not a shred of that in this passage or in any other passage in Scripture. She doesn't say to us, from now on, all generations will be praying for my blessing. No, she just says, from now on, all generations will recognize the reality that I am one blessed woman from God.

[22:01] Glory be to His name. But as blessed as she is, there's an even greater blessing to receive. One day Jesus was preaching and as He was, a woman in the crowd was in awe of Him.

[22:17] And she cried out, Blessed is the mother who gave you birth and nursed you. Blessed is the mother who gave you birth and nursed you.

[22:38] It got quiet in the crowd and Jesus says, no. Listen. Blessed rather. There is a greater blessing than being the mother of Messiah.

[22:54] Are you ready for it, crowd? Blessed is the one who hears the word of God and obeys it. Obeys it. I would rather be spiritually related to Christ than to be physically related to Christ.

[23:13] That's what He's telling us. It's a greater blessing. To belong to Jesus and to show that by a life that is surrendered to God's word and obeys it.

[23:24] Than to be the mother of Jesus. Wow. This blessing is available to you all. The other is something that was only true of one woman ever in all of history.

[23:38] Do you know this greater blessedness? What place does the word of God have in your life? That's the key to it. Oh, if this is you. What is your privilege, dear Christian?

[23:50] That you would have a heart to hear and obey God's word. God has been dumping grace on you big time. Even more than upon Mary in choosing her to be Jesus' mother.

[24:03] So Mary magnifies the Lord first for personal mercies. But then she goes on to magnify the Lord for His mercies. She's done for all of His people in all ages.

[24:15] So there's a widening out of her praise. She starts with the way God has blessed her with mercy. And now she spreads it out to His mercy to all of His people. Verse 50. His mercy extends.

[24:27] It reaches to those who fear Him from generation to generation. So she's telling us, God showing mercy to me is not something strange.

[24:39] It's not some isolated event. It's not a unique deal struck with me alone. Rather, His mercy extends to all. To all who stand in awe of Him.

[24:49] Who are afraid to sin against Him because they love Him so much. And He's so great and powerful. And His wrath is so terrible. And His love is so amazing. That they fear Him.

[25:01] God has mercy for all who fear Him. In every generation. Now she wants to camp on that. And stir up praise for God because of His mercy.

[25:13] To all His God-fearing people. What God's done for me is not the exception to the rule. It's His usual way. With His people. It's the way God works in every age.

[25:24] From generation to generation. You see His works. What He's done in me. It reveals His character. It's the way He works. This is Him. He is high. He looks low.

[25:35] That's not just true of me. Mary. It is true of me. But it's true of all who fear Him. People act in line with their character. And when we do, we just say something like, Well, that's the way.

[25:52] That's just the way He is. That's just the way she is. Don't we? So we're told of something they do. And we say, Well, that's just like Him. We're told Barney Fife has arrested Aunt V for jaywalking in Mayberry.

[26:06] And we say, Isn't that just like Him? He's acting in line with His character. And Mary is saying, God has poured out blessing upon me, one so lowly, and He's lifted me up so high.

[26:20] But isn't that just like Him? I mean, that's just the way He is. He does it to all His God-fearing people down through all generations. So she praises God for the way He reaches so low and lifts people so high.

[26:37] She's just a sample. She's just a page on a whole book of ways that God has done this very thing.

[26:47] Not that He's often performed virgin births for multiple Messiahs, but this thing of doing great things to exalt and to bless those of a very low condition.

[27:00] So she praises God for this. But as she turns her thoughts to the way God has blessed His people down through the ages, she contrasts it with what He's done to His enemies.

[27:14] Because what He does for His God-fearing people will appear all the brighter when you see how He treats those who are not His God-fearing people. And so that's the tact that she takes in this song.

[27:25] On the one side, she puts the proud and the rich and the oppressive, the rulers of the day. And on the other side, she puts the humble and the hungry and the poor.

[27:38] Verses 51 to 53. Here's her church history. He, God, has performed mighty deeds with His arm. He has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.

[27:52] He has brought down rulers from their thrones. But He has lifted up the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things. But has sent the rich away empty.

[28:04] So the same arm of power that she glorifies, that same arm that performed mighty deeds for the good of His people, is the same arm that has performed mighty deeds for the punishment of those who are not His people.

[28:19] You see that? His arm has scattered and brought down the proud and lifted up the humble. That hand has filled the hungry with good things, but it sent the rich away empty.

[28:36] Now isn't that what we find in the Scripture? There's a proud Pharaoh and his army, and they're pursuing a bunch of helpless Hebrew slaves through the desert, and they're boasting as they ride their chariots after them.

[28:53] I will pursue. I will overtake them. I will divide the spoils. I will gorge myself on them. I will draw my sword, and my hand will destroy them. And then the Lord did this.

[29:07] He blew with His mouth, and the sea covered them. It filled their boasting mouths with water. And they sank like lead in the mighty waters, and His people were spared.

[29:23] Yes, because He brings down rulers from their thrones, but lifts up the humble. That's just the way God is, Mary says. And so there's Nebuchadnezzar.

[29:35] And he has conquered the world and expanded his great empire to include the Hebrew nation. They're now under his thumb, and he's walking on the roof of his royal palace boasting, Is this not the great Babylon I have built by my mighty power and for the glory of my majesty?

[29:52] And while the words were still on his lips, God brought him down from his throne and sent him away empty. Without his kingdom, without his sanity, without his friends, he is scattered to go eat grass with the cattle.

[30:11] Because that's the way God is. He scatters those who are proud in their unmost thoughts. And so there's proud and powerful Haman building his gallows to hang righteous, helpless Mordecai, the Jew.

[30:26] But before his plot can be hatched, Mordecai is elevated, and Haman is hanged on his own gallows. That's just the way God is. And Mary magnifies him because of it.

[30:41] He's brought down rulers from their thrones, but has lifted up the humble. Down goes the mighty Pharaoh, and up goes the lowly little Moses. He's just a little baby in a basket floating in the Nile River.

[30:53] And God lifts him up to be the leader of his people and bring them out of Egypt. Down comes the mighty, arrogant King Saul, who's too important to obey things like God's commandments.

[31:07] And up comes the little shepherd boy, David, to be the ruler over God's people. He's brought down rulers from their thrones, but lifted up the humble.

[31:22] He opposes the proud, but he gives grace to the humble. That's just the way he is. He can't do otherwise. That's who he is. And so he gives grace and lifts up the humble, the Hannahs, the Marys, the nobodies of the earth.

[31:38] And Mary's not the only one to notice this about her God. She's not the first one to have figured this out. It wasn't one day that she said, wow, God's merciful to me, and wow, as I look in the Bible, I see he's been merciful to others who are as lowly as I am.

[31:53] And he's brought down the mighty that he might lift up the lowly. Now, Isaiah saw it. He brings princes to naught, Isaiah 40. To naught.

[32:03] That means nothing. He reduces the rulers of this world to nothing. All these somebodies reduced to nobodies. No sooner are they planted, no sooner are they sown, no sooner do they take root in the ground, then he blows on them.

[32:19] And they wither, and a whirlwind sweeps them away like chaff. You see, they're scattered and sent away empty.

[32:31] And so they leave the world empty. Oh, in life they were rich. In life they lived in luxury. But now, the rich man is scattered with nothing.

[32:47] And Lazarus, who in his lifetime had nothing, now has good things given to him. Because that's the way God is. He sends the rich away empty, and he fills the hungry with good things.

[32:58] Psalmists are full of it. Many of the psalms. Hannah saw the same thing and celebrates it in her song. He brings down to the grave and raises up. He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap.

[33:11] He seats them with princes. With princes of their people. He has them inherit a throne of honor. Who? Those that he finds on the ash heap. This is Cinderella.

[33:25] And what makes that story sing is how low she was and how high she was lifted. But it's found all through the Bible.

[33:37] It's found in Mary. Exalted to such heights. And so God brings down the high and mighty, the movers and shakers of this world, the power brokers, the rich and the famous, those who are so wise in their own eyes, those who are self-sufficient, proud, with no fear of God before their eyes, who spurn God's commands, he brings them down, the big shots, the somebodies, brought to nothing.

[34:02] And he lifts up and he blesses and he exalts. Poor and weak, nobodies, because that's the way God is. The Apostle Paul would see it later.

[34:13] And he wanted the church at Corinth and he wanted you and I to see it as well. 1 Corinthians 1, brothers, think what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards.

[34:27] Not many of you were influential. Not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things. The foolish things of the world to shame the wise.

[34:38] And God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. And he chose the lowly things of the world and the despised things and the things that are not. That's the nothings. The nobodies.

[34:49] To nullify the things that are. Why? Why does God do that? So that no one may boast before him. That's why he chooses dead wombs To bring his deliverers into this world.

[35:05] That's why he chooses virgin wombs to raise up the mighty Savior. So that no flesh will boast in his presence.

[35:18] Do you see how criminal it is then to boast of the flesh? Mary? The very reason he acted in the way he did toward her was that no flesh would boast.

[35:32] This is our God and that's the way he works. And all in order that he might receive all the glory. So God's glorified for the way he lifts up the lowly not only Mary but all throughout history.

[35:47] And this is what God was going to do to the ultimate degree in that son of Mary. Alright? Same pattern. God has been merciful to me.

[35:59] Amazing. God's been merciful to all of his God-fearing people. And what God has done in this great reversal is going to be seen in his son.

[36:12] Mary's son. Because the man from Nazareth would be the despised and rejected one by men. The one that men despised and rejected as a nobody.

[36:25] Who's Jesus of Nazareth? They would say with disgust. The world would not esteem him as God's son but rather hate and mock and crucify him as a blasphemer.

[36:37] A common criminal. And yet it's that meek and lowly servant of the Lord Jesus that God would lift up and exalt.

[36:50] He would raise him from the dead on the third day. He would lift him up to the heavens and seat him at his own right hand on the throne and say here you sit here and reign until I make all your enemies a footstool for your feet and in that day every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that you are Lord to the glory of God the Father.

[37:10] That's what he's going to do. He's going to bring down the proud. They're going to bow at his feet. He's going to exalt this baby in Mary's womb to receive the worship the homage of all who've ever lived.

[37:27] They will confess him and his worth and for all eternity he the only savior of his people will receive all honor and glory and blessing not Mary but Mary's son.

[37:42] And that's just the way God is. And you know he's still that way today. He doesn't change. I the Lord do not change he says. So if this is the way God is I've got to ask you are you acting in line with the way he is?

[37:56] He exalts and lifts up the humble the poor and he puts down the proud the self-sufficient the rebellious.

[38:11] You see what you see here in Mary's song is what you can expect from God in any generation. This one the next one indeed you can expect this of God when he returns in final judgment you will find that it is the poor in spirit who are the blessed ones to inherit the kingdom of heaven.

[38:34] You will find it is those who are mourning over their sin that are the ones who are blessed to be comforted in that day. You'll find it's the meek ones not the pushy ones pushing their own way in life that will inherit the earth.

[38:50] and you'll find it's those who hunger and thirst after righteousness that are the ones who will be filled with good things in that day while the rich and the proud of the world will be sent away empty for the arrogance of man will be brought low and the pride of man humbled the Lord alone will be exalted in that day and with him will be his called and chosen and faithful ones you see Mary's son is going to bring about this great reversal the high and mighty are going to be brought low and those who are lowly and humble are going to be lifted high so do you see yourself in this unfolding drama which are you are you one of the high and proud ones that will be humbled are you one of the lowly ones that will be exalted because everyone who exalts himself will be humbled and he who humbles himself will be exalted

[39:52] Jesus says and the birth of Mary's son sets this whole thing into motion this ultimate reversal that will be completed at Jesus' second coming the high brought low the low brought high because that's our God now though that was a current event in Mary's life the birth of the son of God lifting up of Mary with honor that she should be called the Messiah's mother yet she sees it as a fulfillment of an old old promise verses 54 and 55 he has helped his servant Israel remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants forever even as he said to our fathers you see Israel was that poor and needy group of people Israel is the nation without strength of their own and the only reason that they had survived throughout history was because the

[40:54] Lord had in mercy helped them over and over in every crisis the high and holy one had stooped so low to help such wicked sinners as Israelites in famine in bondage in Egypt at the Red Sea in the desert entering the promised land fighting in all their battles and all their sinfulness and captivity and beyond God had helped his servant Israel that's the summary of Israel's history God had helped them and he had done so Mary says because he remembered his covenant promise to be merciful to Abraham and to his descendants forever why did God help Israel why did he stoop so low to lift them high because he promised Abraham he would he promised he would do that for Abraham and his descendants forever so Mary's praising God for his faithful mercies and helping his people down through history but there's more here because she sees the son in her womb as

[41:54] God's ultimate help of his people his ultimate mercy shown to his wicked people his love and action to those in misery we're the sinners deserving to be down for our sins there is no way for us to save ourselves yet he has helped us by sending us the ultimate help from heaven the Lord Jesus Christ to die in our place to save us from our sins and he did so because he promised Abraham he would do so promised him he'd do that for Abraham and his descendants forever you say I'm not a Jew well hold on God promised Abraham that through his offspring all nations of the world should be blessed now that's talking about us Gentiles this promise that God made to

[43:00] Abraham to bless him and his descendants it includes all the nations all those from the nations that will repent of their sins and believe on Messiah they become the descendants of Abraham the people of God the Israel of God and they inherit all the blessings of salvation that have been promised Galatians 3 7 this is the gospel announced in advance to Abraham understand then that those who believe are children of Abraham no matter whether you're Jew or Gentile those who believe are children of Abraham the scriptures foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith and announce the gospel in advance to Abraham here it is the gospel in advance to Abraham all nations will be blessed through you so those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham the man of faith there would come one from Abraham's loins who would bring salvation blessings to all the nations of the earth and Mary knows that the one in her womb is that offspring of

[44:09] Abraham who is no provincial savior of the people of Israel but is a savior of all the world and will gather a people from every language tribe and nation to sing the praises of her son father Abraham had many sons many sons had father Abraham and I am one of them are you one too who are the children of Abraham Galatians 3 29 if you belong to Christ then you are Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise so Mary sees her Messiah son as God coming to help and save his people as he promised to Abraham and his seed forever and Zechariah said the same thing in his song that follows here after after hers that God was doing what he said he would do through his holy prophets of long ago bringing salvation from our enemies and from the hands of all who hate us to show mercy to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant the oath he swore to our father

[45:25] Abraham to rescue us from the hand of our enemy and to enable us to serve him without fear in holiness and righteousness before him all our days so praise God from whom all blessings flow whether it be the blessing of being chosen to be the mother of Messiah praise God from whom that blessing flowed or whether it be the blessing to be one of those saved by Mary's son who hears and obeys God's word praise God from whom all blessings flow I assure you that Mary is not singing Ave Maria this morning but rather worthy is the lamb that was slain to receive all honor and all glory and all blessing and you know what she would be shouting to us as she's shouting from her song oh magnify the Lord with me let us exalt his name together he's Jesus

[46:36] God my Savior what mercies for the undeserving what help for the miserable what power for the weak what lifting up for the lowly what faithfulness to his word what mighty deeds done for the children of men oh that men would praise him for his so great salvation so choir are you ready to sing Mary's song a song of praise to the Lord even to God our Savior let's do so from the overhead stand as we sing how great thou art there are no words to give you the adequate praise for your greatness oh God how great you are how great you are to have done what you did in Mary's womb to have sent your son to be our Savior how great you are that you have sent this Savior to our hearts in power to wake us up from our death and from our love of sin and our bondage to it how great you are how great you are to have gathered us together as your people those who are the covenant people of God sealed with the blood of Jesus that you can never stop doing us good that you do us good with all your heart and soul how great you are how great you are that we could be here this morning and sing your praises how great you are to have given us

[48:06]  Mary's song that points away from herself to her great saving God how great you are to one day come for us and to take us to be with you where in a new way we'll sing how great you are with eyes that can see without hindrance your majesty and your glory open our eyes to see more of it now open the eyes of some who are still blind and dead in sin that they would see it for the first time and even this day and in this hour bow the knee and confess Jesus Christ as Lord so we leave as your blessed people let your blessing rest upon your people and may the name of Jesus forever be praised we pray in his name amen may the may the may may the may may may may may may