Title: Mary's Hymn / Luke 1:39-56
The Gospel of Luke begins with the story of two women.
The first woman was Elizabeth the mother of John the Baptist, and the second woman was Mary the mother of Jesus.
John the Baptist's mother Elizabeth and father Zacharias were unable to bear children until they were old. But one day an angel appeared to Zacharias and said, “Zacharias, do not be afraid. Your supplication has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John” (Luke 1:13).
As the angel said, it had been six months since the old Elizabeth was pregnant. The angel Gabriel appeared to the virgin Mary, who was living in the town of Nazareth in Galilee. The angel said to Mary.
“Mary, do not be afraid. You have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive and give birth to a son, and you shall name him Jesus” (Luke 1:30-31). Mary, full of fear, said to the angel. “How can this be, since I do not know a man?” (Luke 1:34).
The angel answered Mary. “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Behold, your relative Elizabeth is also old and has a son. It has already been six months for the one who originally said that she could not conceive, for no word of God is impossible” (Luke 1:35-37). Mary said, “I am the maidservant of the Lord, let it be done to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38).
When Mary heard the angel's words, she went to see her relative Elizabeth to see if it was true or not. Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and welcomed Mary, saying, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child in your womb…. Blessed is the woman who has believed. The word which the Lord spoke to him shall be fulfilled” (Luke 1:42, 45). At this time, Mary came to believe that what the angel had said to her was true. So I praised God. Verses 46-55 are the hymns sung by Mary.
The Gospel of Luke is a book full of praise enough to be called a book of praise, a book of hymns.
Hymn of Mary (Magnificat Luke 1:46-55), Hymn of Zacharias (Benedictus Luke 1:68-79), Glory of the Angels (Luke 2:14), Simeon's Farewell Song (Nunc Dimittis, Luke 2:29-) 32), etc., as well as experiencing God's grace, and giving praise and glory to God. Of all these hymns, Mary's praise is the most wonderful. This is the biggest compliment. What is the content of Mary's hymn?
1. Mary's hymn is a hymn to God who blesses the future.
In verses 48-49, we read, “Because he looked upon the lowliness of the maidservant. Behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed.”
Now, she is just a nameless, lowly, rural maiden, but she has conceived the Son of God, Jesus.
Mary had already heard from Elizabeth that she was blessed.
Luke 1:42 says, “He called with a loud voice, saying, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child in your womb.”
Luke 1:45 says, “Blessed is the woman who has believed. The word the Lord spoke to him will surely come to pass.”
Also in Luke 11:27, I heard from a woman who was listening to what Jesus was preaching, saying that I was blessed.
“As he was saying these things, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said, “Blessed are the womb that bore you and the milk that fed you.”
Then Jesus said, “Blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it” (Luke 11:28).
Mary will be praised as a blessed woman from generation to generation through the saints, and her glory will last as long as the gospel of Christ lives.
Dear saints, have you ever tried to sing praises to God while thinking about the blessings you have received in the future?
We also sing this hymn at funerals (Chan 289).
Verse 1: When you rest in peace in the bright heaven after all your hard work and hard work
With the Lord, I will live, it will be an eternally shining glory
Refrain: Glory be glory, glory be mine
By grace I see Your face, the greatest glory is my glory
Verse 2: I came to the house prepared by the infinite grace of the Lord.
It will be an eternally shining glory to see the Lord there.
Verse 3: Joy fills my heart when I see a friend who has gone before.
The Lord will welcome me, forever shining glory
The birth of Jesus Christ did not only bless the future of a truly humble woman. Jesus Christ is the hope of mankind and He promised blessings.
In John 11:24-25, Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
2. Mary's song is a song to God who works in the present.
The angel Gabriel came to Mary who was living in the town of Nazareth in Galilee and said, "Peace be with you, you who have been favored. The Lord is with you” (Luke 1:28). It says that God is with Mary now.
“Behold, you will conceive and give birth to a son, and you shall call his name Jesus” (Luke 1:31). When Mary did not believe this, she said, “Behold, your relative Elizabeth is also old and has a son. The one who originally said she could not conceive has already been six months, and all the words of God the High are not impossible” (Luke 1:36). So I accepted the angel's words. And he answered, “I am the maidservant of the Lord, and it may be done to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38).
As the angel said, Mary is experiencing the amazing change that is taking place in her body.
Verse 49 says, “The mighty hath done great things for me, holy is his name, and his mercy is spoken from generation to generation to those who fear.” They are experiencing that “the Mighty One,” that is, Almighty God, had been gracious to them and conceived a son.
How much emotion and joy must have been when they heard the news that Elizabeth, who had been barren for a long time, would become pregnant?
But when she heard the news that Mary, a virgin, would become pregnant, she was filled with fear. So, didn't Mary object to the angel, saying, "How can this be, since I do not know a man?" He was engaged to Joseph, but he must have been worried about what to do if Mary found out she was pregnant and said she would break the marriage. Nazareth is a small town that is not very big, and if you were pregnant as a virgin, you could have been dragged out of the town and stoned to death if you followed Moses' law. However, they accepted by faith the fact that Mary was conceived by the Holy Spirit. It is an image of obedience based on the premise of believing, “I am the maidservant of the Lord, let it be done to me according to your word.”
Because he believes that God is omnipotent, he accepted that what is happening in his body is possible now.
Almighty God, who conceives in virgins and gives birth to sons, scatters the proud in their hearts, brings down the powerful from above, exalts the lowly, and fills the hungry with good things. , praising that God is also sending rich people by air (Luke 1:51-53).
3. Mary's song is a song to God who fulfills the covenant of the past.
In verses 54-55, it says, “He helped his servant Israel, had mercy on him, and remembered it, just as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his descendants forever.”
Mary's hymn is not only a hymn of grace bestowed upon an individual. He praises the grace he has bestowed upon his people.
The people of Israel are a merciful God, and that God has already promised to send the Messiah through Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and through various prophets.
In Genesis 12:3 it says, “All peoples on the earth will be blessed through you.”
In Genesis 22:18, He promised, “In your descendants all peoples under the world will be blessed.”
In Genesis 26:3-4, God made a promise to Isaac.
He said, “In your descendants all peoples under the heavens will be blessed.”
In Genesis 28:14, God made a promise to Jacob.
He said, “All families of the earth will be blessed in you and in your descendants.”
Matthew 1:1 records that the Messiah, or Jesus Christ, was born from among the descendants of Abraham and David, as promised to Abraham and David, saying, “This is the world of Jesus Christ, the descendant of Abraham and David.” God is a faithful God who always fulfills the covenant.
The season of Christmas is the season of praise. Christmas carols are ringing here and there. Let us praise God for sending His only begotten Son, Jesus, to this earth to save us.
Let us praise with our souls, like Mary. Let us praise you with joy.
Let us praise God who will bless our future.
Let us praise God for His power in our present.
And let's praise God who surely fulfills the covenant of the past.
God is wholly worthy of praise. Hallelujah.