We have been discussing Mary’s divine joy and rejoicing. Her
joy was spiritual as she experienced the presence of Jesus and the Holy Spirit
in her body and life. Her joy was in God (v. 47). She knew she had a Savior (v.
47), so she had salvation joy. She had praiseful joy and “magnified the
Lord” (v. 46). She had grateful joy because she knew didn’t deserve or
merit this honor (v. 48). And she had hopeful joy because she knew her
experience with Jesus would bless generations to come (v. 48). Yesterday we
talked about Mary’s reasonable joy! (v. 49).
Today we want to get excited about Mary’s joy that constrained
her to testify of the goodness of God, the power of God, and the grace of God. When
you read the above verses (vv. 46-56) carefully, you can’t help but notice that
the phrase, “He has…” is repeated at least eight times! Mary
described and recounted what God had done for three recipients of His blessing.
Mary testified what God did for her (vv. 46-49). To
begin with, God had saved her (Luke 1:47), which indicates that Mary was a
sinner like all of us and needed to trust the Lord for her eternal salvation.
Not only had He saved her, but He had also chosen her to be the mother of the
Messiah (Luke 1:48). He had "regarded" her, which means He was
mindful of her and looked with favor on her. No doubt there were others who
could have been chosen, but God chose her! The Lord had indeed showered His
grace on her (see 1 Cor. 1:26-28).
Not only was God mindful of her, but He was also mighty for
her, working on her behalf (Luke 1:49). Mary would have no problem singing
"Great Things He Hath Done!" (see Luke 8:39; 1 Sam. 12:24; 2 Sam.
7:21-23; and Ps. 126:2-3) Because she believed God and yielded to His will, He
performed a miracle in her life and used her to bring the Savior into the
world.
Mary testified what God did for us (vv. 50-53). In
the second stanza of her song, Mary included all of God's people who fear Him
from generation to generation. We have all received His mercy and experienced
His help. Mary named three specific groups to whom God had been merciful: the
helpless (Luke 1:51), the humble (Luke 1:52), and the hungry (Luke 1:53). The
common people of that day were almost helpless when it came to justice and
civil rights. They were often hungry, downtrodden, and discouraged (Luke
4:16-19), and there was no way for them to "fight the system." A
secret society of patriotic Jewish extremists called "the zealots"
used violent means to oppose Rome, but their activities made matters only
worse.
Mary saw the Lord turning everything upside down: the weak
dethrone the mighty, the humble scatter the proud, the nobodies are exalted,
the hungry are filled, and the rich end up poor! The grace of God works
contrary to the thoughts and ways of this world system (1 Cor. 1:26-28). The
church is something like that band of men that gathered around David (1 Sam.
22:2). And through us God changes the world! (Acts 17:6).
Finally, Mary testified what God did for Israel (vv.
54-55). "He shall save His people from their sins"
(Matt. 1:21). In spite of Israel's destitute condition, the nation was still
God's servant, and He would help the people fulfill His purposes. God was on
Israel's side! He would remember His mercy and keep His promises (Ps. 98:1-3;
also see Gen. 12:1-3; 17:19; 22:18; 26:4; 28:14). Were it not for Israel, Jesus
Christ could not have been born into the world. And God is still on their side
today!!!!
My friend, our great and gracious God never changes and is
still at work to do great and powerful things for you today! By faith believe
and trust Him and then like Mary, give testimony to the world around you! “The LORD has done great things for us, And
we are glad” (Psalm 126:3).
God bless!
