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.”
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.”
56 Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months and then returned home.
Critics of Christianity say, "What an arrogant, unlovable God you guys worship. He says worship me or I will send you to hell. No thanks." There is a lot in that statement to unpack but let me focus on the "worship" part.
Mary, has just been visited by Gabriel. God has conceived in her, Jesus. She is going to bring into this Earth the Messiah, the savior of the world. What an honor! Also, on another level, it has been 400 years of waiting since Malachia, the last prophet of Israel. People were wondering if God really was going to send the deliverer and if so, why is He taking so long. Mary is excited that God has spoken again and is going to fulfill His promises in her lifetime. What does this result in? Praise. Worship. Adoration. We don't worship God , or else... We don't tell God how great He is because we have to. We praise Him because of all the good things that He has done for us. We praise Him because we stand in awe of His greatness.
First of all, Mary praises Him that He would take note of a no one like her. The Psalmist says the same thing - "What is man that You are mindful of him?" Us to God is like an ant to us. He is so much greater than man that it is astounding that He would notice us, value us, want us, die for us... amazing. Job tries to defend his case before God and God starts giving him a glimpse of His greatness and Job says, "I shut my mouth". Isaiah gets a glimpse of God's greatness and pronounces a curse upon himself. How is it that the God of the universe would consider us? We worship and adore Him for that.
Next she praises Him for all the blessings He has given her. I do the same. So many people focus on the negatives and it ruins their lives. God has given me health, a great wife and four wonderful kids, four awesome grandchildren, a nice home, a nice place to live, an enjoyable job, money to meet my needs and then some, vision, hearing, hope, a future, I could go on and on. Do I deserve anything? No. I praise Him for all the many blessings He gives to me.
Which leads to the next reason to praise Him, His mercy. He doesn't give me what I deserve. I like all humans ,including Mary, are sinful. We have all chosen to be our own God and chosen our own way over God's way. Yet in His mercy, He did not wipe us out but bore with us in hopes that we would repent and come back to Him. Why? I am not that lenient with my own kind. Why would the God of the universe choose to take my sin, my cosmic treason upon Himself? Why would He grant me mercy? I can't explain it. All I can do is praise Him for it.
Then I praise Him for the mighty things He has done with His arm. The wonders of creation. The beauty of His handiwork. The miracle of birth. The vastness of the universe and its order. Paul says in Romans that all mankind knows there is a God through the testimony of His creation. I can either praise Him and bow before Him in awe or I can deny Him and suppress the truth and say, "I am not going to worship a being that insists on me worshipping Him". How silly. I don't tell my wife how awesome she is because I have to. I do it because... well, she just is!
Then she praises Him for His justice. Even if it looks like the evil are getting ahead in this world, there will be a day of justice. It may be on this Earth or it may be after death. Isn't it nice to know that we don't have to take things into our own hands? God will vindicate us. I worship Him because He takes up for me. He cares when I am mistreated. And I worship Him because He is above everyone. All the powerful people on the Earth, all the people that think they are above the law... they all will have to bow before Him someday. I am in awe of His greatness.
Lastly, Mary praises Him because He is faithful. He is trustworthy. He doesn't lie. What He says He will accomplish and do He will do. I praise Him because He saved me. When I stand before Him at judgement and He says, "Why should I let you into my kingdom?", all I need say is, "Because You promised." I would call on His word. People today aren't like that. In fact, I really don't expect anyone to keep their word nowadays. I praise God because He is truth. I can count on everything He says.
Lord, I am filled in awe and wonder by You and of You. I worship You today because of who You are , what You have done, and specifically how good You are to me. Thank You, forever. Amen
First of all, Mary praises Him that He would take note of a no one like her. The Psalmist says the same thing - "What is man that You are mindful of him?" Us to God is like an ant to us. He is so much greater than man that it is astounding that He would notice us, value us, want us, die for us... amazing. Job tries to defend his case before God and God starts giving him a glimpse of His greatness and Job says, "I shut my mouth". Isaiah gets a glimpse of God's greatness and pronounces a curse upon himself. How is it that the God of the universe would consider us? We worship and adore Him for that.
Next she praises Him for all the blessings He has given her. I do the same. So many people focus on the negatives and it ruins their lives. God has given me health, a great wife and four wonderful kids, four awesome grandchildren, a nice home, a nice place to live, an enjoyable job, money to meet my needs and then some, vision, hearing, hope, a future, I could go on and on. Do I deserve anything? No. I praise Him for all the many blessings He gives to me.
Which leads to the next reason to praise Him, His mercy. He doesn't give me what I deserve. I like all humans ,including Mary, are sinful. We have all chosen to be our own God and chosen our own way over God's way. Yet in His mercy, He did not wipe us out but bore with us in hopes that we would repent and come back to Him. Why? I am not that lenient with my own kind. Why would the God of the universe choose to take my sin, my cosmic treason upon Himself? Why would He grant me mercy? I can't explain it. All I can do is praise Him for it.
Then I praise Him for the mighty things He has done with His arm. The wonders of creation. The beauty of His handiwork. The miracle of birth. The vastness of the universe and its order. Paul says in Romans that all mankind knows there is a God through the testimony of His creation. I can either praise Him and bow before Him in awe or I can deny Him and suppress the truth and say, "I am not going to worship a being that insists on me worshipping Him". How silly. I don't tell my wife how awesome she is because I have to. I do it because... well, she just is!
Then she praises Him for His justice. Even if it looks like the evil are getting ahead in this world, there will be a day of justice. It may be on this Earth or it may be after death. Isn't it nice to know that we don't have to take things into our own hands? God will vindicate us. I worship Him because He takes up for me. He cares when I am mistreated. And I worship Him because He is above everyone. All the powerful people on the Earth, all the people that think they are above the law... they all will have to bow before Him someday. I am in awe of His greatness.
Lastly, Mary praises Him because He is faithful. He is trustworthy. He doesn't lie. What He says He will accomplish and do He will do. I praise Him because He saved me. When I stand before Him at judgement and He says, "Why should I let you into my kingdom?", all I need say is, "Because You promised." I would call on His word. People today aren't like that. In fact, I really don't expect anyone to keep their word nowadays. I praise God because He is truth. I can count on everything He says.
Lord, I am filled in awe and wonder by You and of You. I worship You today because of who You are , what You have done, and specifically how good You are to me. Thank You, forever. Amen
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