Luke 1:46-55

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, 49 for 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, just as he promised our ancestors.”

Mary’s song of praise is known as the ‘Magnificat’, because in the Latin translation, the first word is ‘magnificent’, which means ‘praise’ or ‘magnify’. It is the stirring of her soul as she contemplates why God would use a seeming nobody like her to bring His salvation to a world of lost sinners. It is the pure praise that flows without rehearsal or forethought from a heart of worship. Revealing her response to the revelation that she is the one appointed to bear and bring forth the long-awaited and promised Messiah. How much she really understood of her son’s ultimate mission to the world in this initial announcement we don’t fully know. What we do know is that her song reveals simple humble adoration, amazement of what God was doing in her life through the child which she carried. Mary’s song is a soul exploding with joy, wonder, and awe at the Almighty. What I love is that her first response to the message of the angelic being was worship and in this song she reminds us that God is:

• The MESSIAH (v47)

The keyword in Mary’s song is savior, it is the first thing she sang about, words of praise to God for His salvation. A messiah is a savior or liberator of people, Mary understood that Jesus was her spiritual Savior “my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.” Salvation is precious because:

1. It was Planned out even before the beginning of the world to rescue and redeem a fallen, rebellious, and helpless race from eternal destruction. Ephesians 1:4 – “For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.”
2. It was Purchased with a Price, the very blood of the Son of God 1 Peter 1:18-19 – For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.
3. It was Personal, Mary said: “my spirit rejoices in God my Savior”

God planned for your salvation He even paid for your salvation but is it personal? Have you accepted Jesus as your personal Savior? How significant is the gift of Salvation? Do you remember in Luke 10:17-24 when the disciples were sent out by Jesus and then came back ecstatic about being able to perform miracles? Do you remember how Jesus responded to their enthusiasm? He said that’s good, but there is something greater to get excited about, “Rejoice that your names are written in heaven” Redemption is our greatest cause to rejoice, to worship because of the unmerited, undeserved saving provision He has made in, by and through Jesus Christ. Today will you praise Him for the provision?

• MINDFUL of His people. (v 48)

It’s easy to feel lost and alone in this life, like we don’t even matter, yet the message of the Christmas story is that God is mindful of His people. Mary’s song reflects the pure grandeur of the meaning of the coming of the Christ, her soul rejoices because God had been mindful of her humble state. We too are invited to rejoice because, like Mary, God has not forgotten us in our humble state. Instead of being ignored God stooped low into the mire of our sin soaked world to rescue us. Mary recognized that she had been touched by the graciousness of God, that He cared and she was not alone. Being wanted is a basic human desire and in Psalm 8:4 David asks the question “what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?” When David considered the wonders of God’s creation he was amazed that God was mindful of us and wanted us. Today if you are feeling forgotten and unwanted I want to remind you that God is mindful of you:

You are His workmanship and you are wonderfully made Psalm 139:13-14 …For you created my inmost being…. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.

You are deeply loved Jeremiah31:3 The LORD…says: “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness.”

You are chosen and wanted Isaiah 41:9 “…I have chosen you and have not rejected you.”

You are precious in God’s sight Isaiah 43:4 … you are precious and honored in my sight, and …I love you

You are the ‘apple’ of God’s eye Zechariah 2:8 …This is what the LORD Almighty says…whoever touches you touches the apple of his eye

You are God’s delight Psalm 150:4 The LORD takes delight in his people; he crowns the humble with salvation.

God is with you and you are His joy Zephaniah 3:17 The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love.

Because God is mindful we are not forgotten and our song is not one of sorrow and sadness but security knowing that He cares for us.

Habakkuk 3

17 Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, 18 yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior.

• Rest (3:16-17).

The third step is to wait patiently. Verse 16: “I heard and my heart pounded, my lips quivered at the sound; decay crept into my bones, and my legs trembled. Yet I will wait patiently for the day of calamity to come on the nation invading us.” Habakkuk decided to rest in God’s timing, even though He didn’t like what was about to happen. Being willing to wait means that we stop trying to work it out ourselves and rest in His plan. When you don’t understand what God is doing, wait on Him, so often instead of resting in Him we choose to rebel. Margaret Thatcher, prime minister of England once said, “I am extraordinarily patient provided I get my own way in the end.” But we must remember that we are not waiting to get our way. In this prayer there is a tiny word “Selah” repeated three times after verses 3, 9 and 13, it is a word that appears 74 times in the Bible, the rest occurring in the book of Psalms. This curious phrase is most likely a musical rest, in which the singers stopped. This phrase can also signify a musical crescendo that is then followed by silent reflection, carrying with it the idea of “meditation.” We’re called to pause and meditate three different times so that we can apply what the Almighty is saying to us. If you want to move from worry to worship then you must wait. Psalm 130:5 “I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I put my hope.”  Habakkuk is told to wait in 2:3 “Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay.” and here we see him obediently waiting. We view waiting as work and a waste even in the good times but verse 17 reminds us that he waited through the worst times.  He sees the horror and the hardship of failed crops and feeble flocks which in an agricultural dependent society was disaster. In the Bible grapes often speak of joy but what about when the grapes are gone will we wait? Without the staple foods to sustain they would starve. It’s hard to be still in the midst of the storm, to rest in the wreckage. What if you had just heard from God and He had told you that your country would collapse, the economy would become empty and money would become meaningless. Unemployment would rise, peace would recede and food would disappear. That at your moment of greatest weakness and vulnerability enemies would arise and attack, your country would be destroyed and its people deported. How would you react if this was the message you received? Would you revere, review and rest or would you unravel?

• Rejoice (3:18)

Because of the small word yet in verse 18, disappointment does not have to lead to despair. “Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior.” Even though there will be no food and no flocks, Habakkuk determines to rejoice, because rejoicing isn’t based on results it’s based on the Redeemer. Three “thoughs” are followed by this “yet”, which is very similar to the process Jeremiah went through in the Book of Lamentations. He was filled with “why” questions and he listed his grievances to God but when he finished, he forced himself to think about what was true. In Lamentations 3:19-23 he wrote “I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall. I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me. Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope, because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” The great revivalist of the nineteenth century Charles Finney had this to say about rejoicing and his words cut to the heart today.  “Many seem to have no enjoyment in religion any longer than the providence of God seems to favor their particular plans and favorite schemes. Forsooth, God does just as I want Him to do, all my notions are exactly realized…God is good and I am happy…But let Him thwart them, run across their track, turn upside down their cherished plans…and what then? They tolerate God perhaps, perhaps not even that; they by no means rejoice now in their God…They have no true religion…When God was so good and kind to them, they thought they loved Him, but it was themselves they loved, and Him only because He was subservient to them. They were pleased to have God for an almighty servant, surely they were; but to have Him on the throne, that was another matter…Instead of rejoicing in God’s will, whether or not it was theirs, God must succumb to them, or they are displeased and grieved.”

There are times when we need to filter our feelings through our Fathers truth and when we do we find our foundation.

• Rely (3:19)

The final step is to rely on our Sovereign God for strength. “The Sovereign Lord is my strength! He makes me as surefooted as a deer, able to tread upon the heights.” Habakkuk holds on to the fact that God is sovereign, which refers to His unlimited power and absolute control. God’s sovereignty should always have a strengthening impact because if the Sovereign Lord is our strength, then our strength is more than sufficient. Only when we submit to the sovereignty of God do we discover strength. Noah in Genesis 6 was given a specific blueprint of how to build the ark; everything was described except for a rudder. Noah’s responsibility was to rely on God, who would steer him where He wanted him to go, God is in control, not us. Today we want to live by explanations and expectations instead of promises. The truth is that even in the sorrow and suffering God is sovereign. In chapter one Habakkuk was down. In chapter two he climbs up to the watchtower to wait for God’s answer. And in chapter three he is walking on the heights. He has steadily progressed on an upward arc toward the Almighty. Are you ready to move from pain to praise? The way for that to happen is to revere, review, rest, rejoice and rely. So today I invite you to pray this simple prayer with me from Psalm 85:6: “Will you not revive us again, that your people may rejoice in you?”