Let us turn once again to the
Word of God and the portion that we were considering this morning
here in Luke chapter 1 at verse 46 following the words of what
is usually referred to as the Magnificat from those opening
words of verse 46. Let's turn then to this portion
We read again in Luke chapter 1 verse 46, following, And Mary
said, My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced
in God my Saviour. For he hath regarded the lowest
state of his handmaiden. For behold, from henceforth all
generations shall call me blessed. For he that is mighty hath done
to me great things, and holy is his name, and his mercy is
on them that fear him from generation to generation. He has showed
strength with his arm, he has scattered the proud in the imagination
of their hearts, he has put down the mighty from their seats,
and exalted them of low degree. He has filled the hungry with
good things, and the rich he has sent empty away. he hath
opened his servant Israel in remembrance of his mercy as he
spake to our fathers, to Abraham and to his seed forever. We sought to say something this
morning concerning Mary and the confession that she is making
in her song Here is one who clearly felt herself to be a sinner,
a sinner who can rejoice in salvation. Verse 47, my spirit hath rejoiced,
she says, in God, my Saviour. The Romanist might elevate Mary
and make her some sort of mediatrix, one by whom the sinner can approach
unto God. They teach, of course, that she
is full of grace, that she has grace to dispense. We remarked on those words of
verse 28 that the Roman Church makes so much of, when the angel
came unto her and said, Hail thou that art highly favoured. The Lord is with thee, blessed
art thou among women. And now we said that in the translation
of the Vulgate Latin version, highly favoured is rendered full
of grace, as if she's some depository of grace. And she has grace therefore
to dispense. But it is an abuse of the word
because as we said this morning, that verb highly favoured, as
we find it, is in the passive voice. It's not that Mary is
active, she's acted upon. She's a recipient of the grace
of God. In that sense she is favoured
by God and she was one who needed that grace. And it's not so much
that she would speak of her own doings, but she speaks of all
that God had done for her. Look at verse 49. He that is
mighty hath done to me, hath done to me, she says, great things. And so we consider the recognition
of her sins. She had that felt sense of need
before God and she comes and rejoices in Him as her and then
also besides the confession of her sin we observe something
of her faith that her confidence was in God and in his great purpose
that purpose that is revealed in his promise she trusted in
the word of God that the God had spoken, verses 54 and 55,
he hath opened his servant Israel, she says, in remembrance of his
mercy as he spake to our fathers, to Abraham and to his seed forever. For this is why she was once
so blessed of God. She was blessed because she believed
the words of the Lord. The words that Elizabeth speaks. In verse 45 she says to Mary,
Blessed is she that believeth, for there shall be a performance
of those things which were told her from the Lord. She believed
the words that came from God. by the angel Gabriel. And that is why she is blessed. And we're not to be afraid to
speak of her in those terms. She is a blessed believer, is
this woman. Remember again that word of the
angel in verse 28. Blessed art thou among women. And so she recognizes it here
in verse 48, he hath regarded the lowest state of his handmaiden
for behold from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. She is blessed then as one who
knows God, as one whose trust is in God, as one to whom God
was pleased to reveal himself. And we do in the Magnificat,
in this remarkable song we do see something of God's attributes. This is what she is rejoicing
in. She recognises God's omnipotence. There in verse 49 she speaks
of he that is mighty. He that is mighty. Mighty to
say, able to say. All the omnipotence of God. Remember
those words in verse 37 with God, nothing shall be impossible. She rejoices then in the omnipotence
of one who is truly all-powerful. She speaks also of God's holiness. It's in the light of that holiness,
is it not, that she was made to feel a sinner. Verse 49 again, she says, holy,
holy. is his name. He is the holy one
of Israel, of eyes too pure to behold iniquity. A God who cannot
look upon sin. She speaks furthermore of that
attribute of faithfulness. He is the faithful God. He is
not a man that he should lie nor the son of man that he should
repent as he said it. Shall he not do it as he spoken
it? Shall he not make it good? He has hope and we remarked on
how the language throughout is in the past tense, the language
throughout this song is in the past tense. It's indicative of
that way of prophetic language in scripture, what we call the
prophetic perfect. How the things that are to be
done are spoken of as if they were already done. Our God knows
the end, you see, from the beginning. It's all in accordance with his
own eternal purpose. He doesn't say he will help his
servant Israel. He doesn't speak in the future
tense. He has already helped his servant Israel in remembrance
of his mercy as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his
seed forever. He is the faithful God who is
true to his own word. And then of course she speaks
much here of God's grace. All the grace of God that this
woman is brought to rejoice in. She speaks, does she not, of
his mercy? Here in verse Verse 50, His mercy is on them
that fear Him from generation to generation. He is a merciful
God. He is a gracious God. My Spirit
has rejoiced in God my Saviour, for He has regarded the lowest
state of His handmaiden. For behold, from henceforth all
generations shall call Me blessed, for He that is mighty that done
great things and holy is his name and his mercy is on them
that fear him from generation to generation he is a gracious
God who takes account of the poor and the needy and then she
speaks about how God deals with different characters here at verse 51 He has showed strength with his
arm, she says. He has scattered the proud in
the imagination of their hearts. He has put down the mighty from
their seats and exalted them of low degree. He has filled
the hungry with good things and the rich he has sent empty away. And tonight I want to center
your attention more particularly on those three verses 51 and
52 and 53. And here We see how God deals with different
characters. He puts down the haughty. He
puts down the proud. And He exalts the lowly. He exalts the humble. Isn't this the way of God? Remember when Paul writes there
in 1 Corinthians concerning the wisdom of God revealed in the
Gospel. He says, God hath chosen the
foolish things of the world to confound the wise, and God hath
chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things
which are mighty and base things of the world. And things which
are despised hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not,
to bring to pass to bring to naught things that are, that
know flesh and glory in his presence. He puts down the mighty and he
exalts the humble. Now, doubtless, doubtless at
the time of Christ appearing, remember it was in the fullness
of the time, that God sent forth his son made of a woman made
under the law, the fullness of the time, that is the time that
God himself had ordained. And doubtless at that time there
were those religious leaders in Israel and we read of them
of course repeatedly here in the Gospels. Pharisees in particular, but
also others like the Sadducees and the Herodians, these various
sects of the Jews. Doubtless these religious leaders
in the nation would expect the Messiah to be one who was high-born. That's what they would have expected. And not surprisingly therefore,
how they despised the lowly Jesus of Nazareth. In John chapter
7 for example and there, when these officers that they'd
sent from the chief priests and Pharisees, when they came back
with their report concerning the Lord Jesus Christ and they
said, never man spake like this man, And we read this there at verse
47 in John 7, the officers, well the officers answered them, never
man spake like this man, then answered them the Pharisees,
are ye also deceived? Have any of the rulers or of
the Pharisees believed on him, but his people who knoweth Not
the law, our curse. How they despised the Lord Jesus
Christ. How they rejected the Lord Jesus
Christ. Those who were the religious
authority, the religious leaders. And so as we come to consider
these verses, verses 51 and 52 and 53, I want first of all to
consider with you how God is the one who rejects them. God
is the one who rejects the haughty ones, the proud ones. Now we
observe that the language here is spiritual. The subject matter
of this song of Mary's is spiritual in its very character. At the
beginning she speaks clearly of spiritual things. She speaks
of a soul and a spirit. Mary said, my soul doth magnify
the Lord, and my spirit doth rejoice in God my Saviour. The subject matter that we're
dealing with, friends, and we have to remember this and emphasize
this fact, it's a spiritual song that we have set before us. When she says, he hath showed
strength with his arm, he hath scattered the proud in the imagination
of their hearts, He hath put down the mighty from their seats. We are to understand that not
so much in the haughty proud men of the world, those who are
rich with regards to possessions in this life. We are to understand
these words in a religious sense. We are to apply these words to
such as those scribes and pharisees that we've spoken of and oh they
were so presumptuous and these are the ones you see these religious
presumptuous people these are the ones that God rejects we
see something of their character do we not their security is indicated
here look at the language that is used Here in verse 52, He has put
down the mighty from their seats. He has put down the mighty from
their seats. Observe the reference to their
seats. They sit there. And they are
so secure, they are so well established as they sit. We can think of
course, back in the Psalms, the opening Words of Psalm 1, the
opening of the whole book of Psalms, where we read of the
blessed man, that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly,
nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the
scornful. We know there is a certain progression,
there is a certain progression there. He begins walking, And then he
is comfortable and he stands, he is in his own company as it
were. And then he is so well set that
he begins to sit. This is where he belongs. And
there is a progression of course in other ways as well. First
of all we read of the ungodly and then the sinner and eventually
it's the scornful. He sits in the seat of the scornful. that's where he sits and so too
with those who are religiously proud those who would look to
themselves and congratulate themselves oh how they sit, they are so
safe they think and they are so secure but what is the language
of scripture concerning these characters? woe says God through
I must a prophet woe to them that are at ease in Zion Or they
imagine, you see, that they have a right, that's why they sit,
they have great fight, they have great zeal, they are those who
are serving God, they do many things for Him. That's not the
language of Mary. No way does this woman speak
of herself as doing anything. No, rather does she rejoice in
all that God has done for her. He has regarded the low estate
of his handmaiden, she says. Or she remembers those things
that God has done to her. It's what God has done for her,
not what she has done for God. And this is a presumptuous matter.
And we've met them. Maybe you haven't. I certainly
can say that I've met them. even in professed evangelical
circles when you talk to them it's not so much that they want
to tell you what God has done for their souls but rather will
they tell you all that they are doing all that they are doing,
all that they are doing for the Lord their great zeal their boldness
these are the proud you see or as I imagine you see that all
is well they have arrived, they are so set in their ways, they
sit in their seats secure. The Swami says that those who
have no changes they fear not God. How God's people usually
find that their lives are so strange, so mysterious, such
an in and out sort of an existence, such an up and down type of experience. God always treats it Oh yes,
we desire that we might know what it is to enjoy that great
measure of assurance. But our God's people sometimes
fear that they have no faith at all. And they need that the
Lord would come to them again and again and increase their
faith and bless them with faith. Remember the words of Christ
to the church of the Laodiceans. Were not there present in that
church, those who were proud and presumptuous, they imagined
that all was well, but the Lord speaks to them. He says, Because
thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of
nothing, and knowest not, that thou art wretched, and miserable,
and poor, and blind, and naked. I cancel thee to buy of me gold
fired in the fire that thou mayest be rich and white raiment that
thou mayest be clothed and that the shame of thy nakedness do
not appear and anoint thine eyes with thyself that thou mayest
serve all that gracious word that the Lord speaks to them
even as he reprimands them we read then here of these proud
ones who seem to be so set and so settled as they sit comfortable
all at ease but then doesn't Mary speak of their scattering
their scattering he has showed strength with his arm he has
scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts he has put down
the mighty from their seat he puts them down And we see, do
we not, with the way in which the Lord Jesus speaks concerning
those two men in chapter 18. Those two that go to the temple
at the hour of prayer. Each of them, you see, is engaged
in the religious worship of God. They go to the temple. They are
those who would seek to worship the Lord. But how different they
are. Two men went into the temple
to pray, says Christ, one a Pharisee, the other a publican. The Pharisee
stood and prayed, thus with himself, God I thank you that I am not
as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as
this publican. Here he comes, I fast twice in
the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. He wants to talk
of his own doing. and then in contrast the publican
he stands afar off he cannot come now he feels himself so
unworthy standing afar off would not lift up so much as his eyes
unto heaven but smote upon his breast saying God be merciful
to me a sinner oh what a man is this what penitential feet
he has he stands afar off what penitential eyes He looks down
in shame, in sadness, in sorrow when he considers the man that
he is. Cannot lift up his eyes to heaven. He has a penitential
hand and he takes it and he smites upon his breast. He has a penitential
heart. He is sorrowing because of his
sins. And what lips? Oh, what penitential lips! God,
he says, be merciful to me, a sinner. Now this is the man, says Christ.
I tell you this man went down to his house justified rather
than the other for everyone that exalteth himself shall be abased
and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted. How God you
see scatters the proud. How that proud self-righteous
Pharisee there in the temple is one who is rejected of God. He scatters them. Now, God also,
of course, humbles his own children. He deals with his own children.
He doesn't put them down in his wrath. He doesn't deal in wrath
with his own children because we know that the Lord Jesus Christ
has borne the wrath of God in their room and in their steps. And God cannot visit that punishment
upon their sins again because Christ has borne the penalty.
But God brings them down experimentally in his mercy. He deals with them
in their experiences. He chastens them. He corrects
them. We have those words in Hannah's
song, the song we were considering only last Thursday. The Lord
make us poor and make us rich. He bring us down and lift us
up. He deals with these people, you
see, in a variety of ways. They are strangers. They are
not of these. This is ever the way of God,
is it not? Again, we have similar words
there in the Song of Moses in the 32nd chapter of Deuteronomy. See now that I Even I am he and
there is no God with me. I kill and I make a lie. I wound and I heal. Neither is there any that can
deliver out of my hand. How God deals with his people,
friends. He humbles his people. He resisteth the proud. He gives
grace to the humble ones. Here then we see God as the rejecter
of the proud, but how in contrast, and we come to this in the second
place, God is pleased to receive the humble ones, the lowly ones. Verse 52, He has put down the
mighty out of their seats and exalted them of low degree. He has filled the hungry with
good things. and the rich he hath sent empty of wine. Our God receives the humble one's
friends. And this is what we see in this
woman Mary, I say, she's a humble soul. Remember the opening words
of her song, My soul doth magnify the Lord. Now I said this morning
Most of you heard what I said there, but you'll excuse me if
I just remind you again of the significance of the words that
she uses, to magnify the Lord. It is impossible to magnify the
Lord. What is it to magnify? It is
to make something larger. And sometimes we need to do that.
we have magnifying glasses to help us when our eyes are failing
and we want to read small print we use a magnifier and it makes
the prints larger but we cannot in a literal sense make God any
greater than he is or the immensity of God how the psalmist rejoices
in it in Psalm 139. God is the one who fills heaven
and earth. There is no escaping from the
presence of God. He is in all places. He is omnipresent. Such is the greatness, the vastness
of the Almighty. No way can we make Him any greater
than He is. Canst thou by searching find
out God? Canst thou find out the Almighty
unto perfection? It is high as heaven, what can
so do? Deeper than hell, what can so
know? The measure thereof is longer
than the earth and broader than the sea. How true are those words
of Job 11. The greatness that belongs unto
God. But what is Mary doing as she
utters these words? My soul doth magnify the Lord. Reminds us, does he not, of the
words of David in Psalm 34, O magnify the Lord with me. Let us exalt
his name together. It's the exalting of his name.
She's addressing herself. She's addressing herself. She
wants to have greater views of God, a larger experience of God. Is he not in some way similar
to the prayer of that dear man Jairus? or that thou wouldst
enlarge my cult. He wants a greater knowledge
of God to understand something more of the wonder of God. And
of course we can never plumb the depths of who God is. And
yet how good it is if we desire that we might know him the better.
O Lord enlarge our scanty thought to know the wonders thou hast
wrought, and loose our stammering tongues to tell thy love immense,
unsearchable. But you see, where there are
those high, large views of God, are there not those lowly views
of ourselves, if God is great? What are we, friends? We are
so insignificant. We are but worms of the earth.
We are really those who are below his very notice. And this woman,
I say, was such a lowly soul. He has regarded the lowest states
of his handmaiden. He that is mighty hath done to
me great things. All our God did great things
for her. He humbled her. He humbled her. She was the blessed
one. She was that one who in the eternal
purpose of God was appointed to bring forth that holy thing.
That human nature that was to be joined to the eternal Son
of God. That holy thing which shall be
born of thee shall be called the Son of God. And how Elizabeth
recognised it, when she comes into Elizabeth's presence, enters
into the house of Zacharias and salutes Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard the salutation
of Mary the Babe leaping over, And Elizabeth was filled with
the Holy Ghost and she spake out with a loud voice and said,
Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy
womb and whence is this to me that the mother of my Lord should
come to me? The mother of my Lord. Oh, this woman was so fivered
and yet Mary, bless her, she was indeed a blessed woman. She
was so lowly, so humble. She had such large views of God,
such lowly views of herself. Now, let us just, as we draw
to a close, observe some of the marks of these humble ones. The humble are those that fear
God. They fear God. Verse 50, His mercy is on them
that fear Him. Oh, what do we know, friends,
of the fear of God? If we have right views of God,
of God's greatness, of God's glory, we'll know something of
the fear of the Lord. If we really have our hearts
so enlarged to see who he is, it will fill us with awe, even
to contemplate such a God as this God. But what is that fear
of the Lord? Why we are told the fear of the
Lord is the beginning of wisdom. All to fear God is to be wise,
to be made wise unto salvation. This was Mary, she was made wise
unto salvation, she feared the Lord. And how we see it so often
in the experiences of the godly, we see it as you know in John
there on the Isle of Patmos. He knew the fear of the Lord
when he saw the glorified Christ, did he not? When I saw him, he
says, I fell at his feet as dead. How he was overwhelmed, you see,
humbled to the very dust. I fell at his feet as dead and
he laid his right hand upon me and said unto me, fear not. Fear
not, I am the first and I am the last. I am he that liveth
and was dead. And behold, I am alive forevermore,
amen, and have the keys of death and of hell. That's how the Lord
speaks to John. He was afraid. But the Lord said
to him, fear not. Why? He is that one who is the
great Saviour, who has the keys of death, the kings of hell,
who is able to save his people to the uttermost. But how John
was humbled, you see, humbled to the dust. Those who are the
humbled ones, they know the fear of God. And they need God to
come as he does time and time and time again, certainly in
the book of Isaiah with his fear not. All fear not thou worm Jacob,
you see. Angie Menor as a margin says
ye few men of Israel fear not worm Jacob or when we are so
humbled in his holy presence the humble fear of God the humble
are those who hunger for God or they have an appetite for
God tormenting fear there is a tormenting fear and what does
he do? he drives a man away from God We know that the devils,
they fear and they tremble, how they flee from the presence of
God. That's tormenting fear, but where there is that blessed
feeling of fear, how it draws the sinner to God, how the sinner
wants to know more of God, wants to feed upon God, he is hungering,
he is thirsting, he has such a desire to know his God and
the Lord in the Beatitudes tells us blessed are they which do
hunger and thirst after righteousness for they shall be filled all
God feeds these humble souls verse 53 he has filled the hungry
with good things but the rich You are sent empty of wine. Those
who come, you see, and they are full of themselves, full of themselves,
have no need of God, satisfied with themselves, satisfied with
their religion, presumptuous, self-assured. Oh, they sit so
comfortable. They are sent empty of wine.
Oh, but those who are needy, hungry, thirsty souls, and He
feeds them. And what does He feed them with?
Well, you know what He feeds them with. He feeds them with
Himself. That is the way of the Lord Jesus. He is the bread of
life. Read John chapter 6. We've referred to it so many
times. His flesh is meat indeed. His blood is drink indeed. Oh,
with those friends who truly feed upon Him, the doctrine of
Christ, what a precious doctrine it is. And if we do nothing else
of this season, We might scorn so much of what goes on at this
time that they call Christmas. But can we not consider something
of the glories that belong unto the Lord Jesus Christ? We were
reminded of it tonight, were we not in our opening praise.
Emmanuel, God with us. What a remarkable thing. Or to
contemplate something of the glories that belong to Him. The
person of the Saviour, He is God. And he is never anything
less than God. And he is man. And you know,
even as a little guy, he was God. He was God. I do like that verse in one of
Hart's hymns on the incarnation, where he says that his shoulders
held up heaven and earth. when Mary held up him. He was a little dependent baby. He was subtle by his mother just
like any child would be. So dependent. And yet at the
same time he was true almighty God. Oh friends, let us consider
these things. Meditate on these precious truths. This is meat and drink, is it
not? to the believer's soul. This
is what God feeds us with. He fills the hungry with good
things. The gospel feast. And so ultimately
with regards to the humble we see how they are the exalted
ones. How he exalts them. He has put
down the mighty from their seats and exalted them of low degree. Who are them of low degree? the
humble and the meek. I believe that's how that verse
is rendered in the Book of Common Prayer, which I believe is based,
that the readings in the Book of Common Prayer are based more
on Coverdale's version rather than Tyndale's version. And there,
instead of them of low degree, the reading is the humble and
the meek. He is exalted, the humble and
the meek. What a blessing to have a humble
spirit, a meek spirit. Moses, you remember, was the
meekest of men. Nothing weak about meekness. Oh, it's that
blessed compliance, that bowing to the sovereign will of God. God exalts the humble. Humble
yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God. that she
might be exalted in due time, exhorts Peter in his epistle. Now, as I said, we were looking
on Thursday at that lovely prayer, that great song of thanksgiving
of Hannah upon the birth of Samuel. And there in verse 8 she says
this, He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth
up the beggar from the donkey to set them among princes, and
to make them inherit the throne of glory, for the pillars of
the earth are the Lord's, and He has set the world upon them.
This is how God is pleased to exalt those humble souls. those poor and needy souls. He raiseth up the beggar out
of the dust, raiseth up the poor out of the dust, lifteth up the
beggar from the dongle to set them among princes, and to make
them inherit the throne of glory. O friends, might this God, the
God of Hannah, and the God of the Blessed Virgin Mary, might
this God be Our God. And might we know something of
the faith that these blessed women were favoured with. May
the Lord bless to us His work. The singers are concluding hymn
number 1076 and the tune is Mithun 374 Jesus in whom the Godhead's
rays beam forth with mildest majesty I see thee full of truth
and grace and come for all I want with thee. Hymn number 1076 you