It's good as a reminder every once in a while
to think about worship, to think about expository
preaching, to think about church, why we gather,
why we come together, what the purpose of it
is. Some weeks are more difficult than others
to get to the Lord's Day. Aren't they, brothers
and sisters? Some weeks it's more difficult to
get to the house of God and to praise His holy
name. Especially, it seems like Saturday evenings.
And Saturdays, in general, it's hard to get to
Sunday to worship the Lord. But brothers and
sisters, when the Lord's day arrives, when the
worship of God comes upon us, It is good for
us. It is good for your soul. It is good for
your heart to worship God. God does more in your
heart, in your mind, in your soul, during this
day, during this time, than any other day of
the week, brothers and sisters. More than any
other hour that you enjoy. He uses this time
for your good as a believer in Jesus Christ.
He uses this time for the edification, the strengthening,
the encouragement, the sanctification of his
people. Always remind yourself, never get in
a rut. Always remind yourself it is good for
you to worship. with the people of God. I realized
that today. I was thinking and praying and thanking
God. How blessed I am to be a part of this body.
How blessed I am to have fellow pastors who are
godly and humble and love one another. How blessed
I am to bring the Word of God to a congregation
and a membership. who eagerly seeks after God.
Brothers and sisters, that's of grace. All of
this is of God. It's good for us to be here at
this time. Don't forget that, brothers and sisters.
Today we're going to pick up in Mary's song of
praise to God. We're going to consider three
different things. We're going to consider Mary's
praise to God for his mercy towards her personally.
We're going to consider Mary's praise to God
for his character and the nature of his works
in the world and among his people. And we're
going to see Mary's praise to God for his faithfulness.
to fulfill all his promises to his people. So
in considering Mary's praise to God first, for
the mercy of God toward her personally, we read
in verse 46, and Mary said, My soul exalts the
Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.
For he has had regard for the humble state of
his bond slave. For behold, from this time on,
all generations will count me blessed. For the
Mighty One has done great things for me. Notice
in this that Mary's making this very personal,
brothers and sisters. It's my Savior, my soul,
my God. He has done great things for me. me.
Mary is making this very, very personal, this
praise, this magnifying of God. Consider the
nature of her praise and her rejoicing. When
she says, My soul exalts the Lord, and her spirit
rejoices in God my Savior. She's saying that
her heart is magnifying Her heart is enlarged
to God. Now we know that God can't get bigger.
And we know that God can't get smaller. God is
immutable. He's unchanging. He doesn't change,
brothers and sisters. He is infinite and sovereign
and powerful. He needs nothing from anyone. He
is perfect in and of himself. He doesn't change.
But we as his people do change. Our hearts have
ebbs and flows. They have ups and they have downs.
They are warm sometimes and they're cold other
times. They're warmer sometimes and they're colder
other times. We're dry at times in our spirituality,
in our longing for Christ, and other times we
feel as though there's a deep longing and thirst
for the things of God within us. Why is that?
It's because of the defilement of our flesh and
the corruption that is within us. It's that which
is in us that makes us change. It is not God
that changes or fluctuates. It is our hearts
as they're influenced by our corruption as sinful
men and women, brothers and sisters. That's why
we view God as big sometimes, and that's why
we view God as little sometimes. Because of the
sinfulness of our own hearts. Mary is not. changing
or manipulating God in some way. Her heart is
enlarged and her heart is magnifying God in Christ
for the work that He has done. It involves her
affections, her heart, her longings, her feelings,
her emotions, brothers and sisters. This is whole...
Binged worship and praise on Mary's behalf. What
is she responding to and why is she worshiping
in this situation? Well, notice in verse 56 of
this text, and Mary stayed with her about three
months and then returned to her home. So this
is still taking place at Elizabeth's home. If
you remember last week, we considered and we
saw Elizabeth. praise in her prophetic speech
to Mary to confirm and encourage her in the Lord.
If you remember some of the things that Elizabeth
said to Mary, they're very, very incredible.
They're very, very wonderful things that she
said. She said, blessed are you among women and
blessed is the fruit of your womb. And how has
it happened to me that the mother of my Lord
would come to me. That's a remarkable statement.
The mother of my Lord. The reality that Mary
was bearing in her womb. The son of God that
took on flesh and dwelt among us. That's an incredible
truth that is given and experienced by Mary,
brothers and sisters. And it's being confirmed
prophetically by the Spirit of God through Elizabeth.
This praise that Mary is giving, this praise
to God, is her response to these grand realities
of the gospel and redemption that God has faithfully
brought about in her own life. It's a response
to the reality that the child in her womb Is
the son of God. It's a response to the reality.
That the child in her womb. Is God incarnate.
That's taken on. A human nature. She's responding.
To the works of God. And to the revelation that
comes through. Elizabeth. And what does it do?
These truths. Affect. Her heart and her mind
and her will and her mouth. These truths stir
up her affections. These truths stir up her longings
for grace. They stir up her longings to worship
and praise God. It's as though it's bubbling
up within her and she can't hold it in. Because
of... the realities of grace and the gospel that
God has accomplished in her life. She has to
worship God as a result of this. The Spirit of
God and His movements and His influence and His
motions and her soul are compelling her to praise
the living God. Everything we see about Mary
here is the complete opposite. of obligation
and duty -bound worship that's completely devoid
of emotions, of affections, of longings, and
of feelings. There's nothing here about duty
with regards to Mary. She can't help but praise
God. She wants to worship God. Yes, she is obligated
as a creature, as a redeemed sinner, doubly to
worship and praise God. But brothers and sisters,
this is something purer and more sincere than
worship out of duty and worship out of obligation.
This is worship from the heart as it is moved
by truth. As it is moved. By the work of God
in the gospel. What is the object, the center,
and the focal point of Mary's praise, of Mary's
worship in this, brothers and sisters? What does
she say? My soul exalts the Lord. Rejoiced in
God my Savior. The Lord. is the object, the focus,
and the center of her worship, of her praise.
It's in him and who he is. And as we'll see,
what he has done and what he is going to do.
I don't think it's a coincidence that we see
that her soul is exalting in the Lord. And we
just saw Elizabeth say, And how has it happened
to me that the mother of my Lord would come to
me? In some way, the reference that Mary is making
has to do with the child in her womb. In some
way, she is referring to Christ in the flesh
that she is bearing as a mother. She's referring
to God, her Savior, as he's seen and known throughout
the nation of Israel and redemptive history.
But brothers and sisters, she must be referring
to God in the womb as we see it in this text
as well. She's coming. And she's worshiping God.
But listen, brothers and sisters. She's worshiping
God in her womb. That's taken on flesh. That's
dwelt among men. She's worshiping Christ, who
is the strength, the refuge, the shield, the
arm of the Lord that comes to rescue his people.
She's worshiping God, her Savior. that she will
bear in the flesh as the Son of God. So the object
is God and not herself. When we think about this
whole song of praise, it's very, very much like
a psalm. It's basically a New Testament psalm,
just like the Old Testament psalms and many other
songs throughout redemptive history. We could
think of Miriam. After the Exodus, if you recall,
Moses sings a song and all the sons of Israel
come and sing a song. It's very similar to this.
And then directly after that, Miriam, Aaron's
sister, takes up her instrument. I don't quite
remember which one. She takes up her instrument
and she goes out dancing, leading other women.
And they're asking her and she responds. And
her response is almost identical. to what we
see here in Mary. We could think of Hannah's
song in 1 Samuel chapter 1. Do you remember the
gracious work of God in Hannah's life and giving
her a child and opening her womb? This great
and mighty deed that God had done for Hannah
and to bring Samuel into the world. Do you remember
what Hannah does? She sings a beautiful, wonderful
song just like the one we have. Mary is rejoicing
in God who has worked a great thing on her behalf
and on behalf of all God's people. She's praising
God for the fulfillment and the realization and
the reality that the Messiah has actually taken
on flesh and dwelt among us. That God has broken
into history and come among men to deliver them
from their sins, brothers and sisters. This is
a song of praise for the victory that God has
accomplished in and through Jesus Christ, the
Messiah that is sent for God's people. That's
what Mary's doing, brothers and sisters. She's
praising God for his work in her life. So what
is the cause of this? What is the cause? That
invokes her to worship in such a way. Well, it's
her lowly estate. And God's regard for her in
that lowly estate. But it's also the fact that
she is reckoned or she's counted as blessed because
of God's grace in her life. Because God has regarded
her in such a way. She will be called blessed
for many, many generations. The reality that
we're talking about Mary, that we read about
Mary in the scriptures. Brothers and sisters,
we are counting her. We are calling her. We are
reckoning her as blessed of God for how he used
her in the story of redemption. But it's also
the fact that the mighty one has done great things
for us. God has exerted his divine, sovereign,
and miraculous power in the life of Mary to bring
about the birth of the Messiah, the virgin birth.
He's done great and mighty things for her. She
has great reason to rejoice in the Lord. and
to sing praises to him. Mary is doing this herself.
She's experiencing this. She's wrestling through
these things by herself in her own person. It's
a personal thing. It's something she deals with
in her heart, in her mind. It's not something
that other people can take on and deal with for
her. She is praising God. She is magnifying the
Lord. She is rejoicing in God, her Savior. Nobody
can rejoice for her. Nobody can magnify the Lord
on her behalf. It's something that she individually
and personally is doing as one who with faith,
who believes in the God who redeems. Brothers
and sisters, Christianity will always have a
corporate nature to it. Always. And we'll see
that a bit later. Christianity is not purely
an individual, personal, and privatized religion.
It is corporate. That is why we are here, corporately,
as the people of God. That is why we are gathered
as a group. That's why we have multiple songs
and multiple voices that sing those songs as
a people, as a congregation, as a fellowship,
as a local manifestation of the church. It's
corporate, but listen, brothers and sisters.
Christianity will always be a personal religion
as well. Christianity has to do with your soul.
The gospel has to do with your sin. The gospel
has to do with Christ redeeming you by his blood.
The gospel has to do with your never dying, immortal
soul that God created. The gospel has to do with
your faith. And your destiny, whether it's heaven
or hell, whether it's enjoyment of God for all
eternity, or whether it be damnation and suffering
and humiliation after judgment, that has to do
with you as an individual. But brothers and sisters,
worship and praise to God is personal as well.
If we are a part of the Christian religion and
if we claim to be professing believers in Jesus
Christ, we do have an obligation and a duty.
But listen, a great privilege to worship the
one true living God. That means that it requires
your voice be lifted to heaven in praise. That
means it requires your participation in the means
of grace. That means that it requires your ears
to hear the word of God. Not everybody else's,
yours. So when we gather, we gather as a group.
But listen, when we gather, it must be you coming
and worshiping the living God, not everybody
else. Christianity is always corporate. But listen,
brothers and sisters, it is always personal.
It's always intimate. It always has to do with
your heart and your soul and your mind and your
longings and your relationship and your fellowship
and your communion with the living God. It always
has to do with the fact that you walk before
the sight of God. It always has to do with the
fact that you live before your maker. That he
knows you personally. Christ said in John chapter
10 that he calls his sheep by their name. He
knows them individually. He knows us personally.
And it is our duty and our obligation and our
great privilege to walk with him personally in
this world, in this life, before his face. We
also see Mary's praise to God for his character
and the nature of his dealings with men. When
we think about this, I think it's important to
recognize that Mary's, the basis for Mary's joy,
the basis for her praise, and the basis for her
magnification of God is not simply rooted in
God's work in her life alone. We also see that
it's rooted and God's treatment of others, and
God's character, and the way that God works.
It's not purely based on her own life. It's based,
it's rooted, it's grounded, it's connected to
the very character of God and how God works in
the world, in the lives of men in providence,
but also, brothers and sisters, in the life.
Of his people. Throughout history. And in the
ages to come. So we see. That Mary. Finds cause
to rejoice. In the character of God. Who he is.
And what. He has done. We read in verse 49. And
holy. Is his name. We read in verse 50, His mercy
is upon generation after generation. We read
again in verse 55, His mercy. We read of His
power and His sovereignty when Mary speaks of
His arm. She says in verse 51, He has done mighty
deeds with His arm. We look at the very first
part of verse 49. The mighty one. She looks to
the character of God. She knows the character
of God. And the character of God is a source
of joy and praise for her. She looks at who he
is. And she knows that his treatment of her.
is not rooted and anchored to who she is, but
God's treatment of Mary is rooted and grounded
and anchored to who the Lord is, who God is,
the fact that he is merciful, the fact that he
is faithful, mercy and compassion and love for
his people from age to age. Faithful mercy, which
transcends generation to generation. That means
that even after we die, brothers and sisters,
the faithful love of God endures. It continues
in our lives as those who fear him, but also,
brothers and sisters, in the life of all those
who will come in the... future generations that
fear him and that know him by faith, that walk
and live a holy life before his sight, those
who have experienced and known and enjoyed his
grace. She knows that God is holy, that he's
righteous, which essentially is telling us that
God is perfectly just in everything he does and
all that he is. That he's completely separate,
distinct, and transcendent of sin and transgression
and wickedness. So everything he does, he does
in holiness. Everything he does, he does in righteousness.
That means that all his ways, all his deeds,
all his works. are carried out with perfect justice.
They are carried out with perfect righteousness
in this world. Does it stir you up to praise
and joy in your heart knowing that God's treatment
of you in Christ Is not based on your character.
Based on your life. But it is based wholly and
completely. On his mercy. His grace. His holiness.
And the righteousness of Jesus Christ. Does that
stir you up brothers and sisters? How does that
affect the way you live? Knowing. That you don't
walk in a performance -based righteousness, but
that you walk on the foundation of grace in your
life. How does that affect your affections? Or
have you fallen into erroneous thinking and given
in to the misconception that God treats you in
accordance with how you, That God treats you
in accordance with your character, with your
obedience or your disobedience, with your righteousness
or your unrighteousness. That's false thinking,
brothers and sisters. And listen, there is absolutely
no joy and there is no praise that will come
as a result of that. Works based righteousness.
Self righteousness. Obedience to the law. Listen.
Does not lead to joy. Hope. And thanksgiving.
It leads to despair. And hopelessness. And depression.
But listen. His. Treatment of you in Christ is
based wholly and completely on the life, the
person, and the work of Jesus Christ and who
he is and what he has accomplished. That is cause.
That is reason for rejoicing and praise. Amen?
That is cause for praise to God. That should
stir our hearts. That should warm our souls.
We should be able to hear and meditate and dwell
on those truths, and like we're standing by a
fire, it should slowly and gradually de -thaw
our hearts, our minds, and affections. It should
warm us to worship. It should invoke praise to
the living God who has accomplished these grand
realities on behalf of undeserving sinners who
could do nothing to obtain these things. There
is joy in knowing the character of God, brothers
and sisters. There is joy in knowing who He is
and what He is like. There is joy in understanding
His separation from sin. There is joy in knowing
the righteousness of Christ. There is joy in
knowing the nature of the Gospel and what God
has accomplished in His grace and His mercy.
That is the source of hope and happiness and
joy and contentment and peace in the life of
God's people. Mary knows this, brothers and sisters.
And she's teaching us. To look to the free and
sovereign grace of God for our joy. To look to
God himself and his character and who he is and
what he's done. She finds cause to rejoice in
the character of God himself. But she also finds
cause to rejoice and praise in the nature of
God's dealings. With men. We read in verses 51
through 53. He has done mighty deeds with his
arm. He has scattered those who are proud in
the thoughts of their heart. He has brought down
rulers from their thrones. And he has exalted
those who are humble. He has filled the hungry
with good things. and sent away the rich empty
-handed. We see in this text that she finds joy
and praise in how God works in the world, generally
speaking, but also in how God works in the life
of his people, in particular with regards to
the gospel. In providence, when we consider the
nature of God and how he works in the world,
we have to conclude, and the Bible is clear,
that God has contempt for the proud, the arrogant,
and the self -righteous. That he lowers them,
That he disciplines them. That he sends judgments
upon them in this world. And normally speaking,
and in this text, the proud and the haughty and
the arrogant would be the enemies of God and
unbelieving men. Those who don't know God. And
the humble and those in need. And those that
would be exalted would be the people of God,
those who fear the Lord and have tasted of His
mercy. But we must come to the conclusion. It's
clear throughout Scripture that the living God,
who is holy and merciful, has contempt for righteous
men, for unrighteous men. And that he honors
and exalts humble people. Therefore, the arrogant
and the prideful and the haughty are brought
low by the sovereign God. And the humble and
the meek and the lowly are brought high by the
sovereign God. We see this. play itself out throughout
the scriptures, don't we, brothers and sisters?
Think about the Bible. And think about many of
the examples we see. What's one of the first
ones that comes to your mind, thinking early
in the first 10 or 11 chapters of Genesis? The
Tower of Babel. Men exalted themselves, and they
sought out heaven for themselves. They sought
out deity for themselves. And what does God do?
He humbles them and He scatters them abroad.
He disperses them among the nations. Think about
the history of the nation of Israel and the kings
and the rulers. Think about the nations that
Israel interacted with throughout the Old Covenant.
Think about Egypt and Assyria and Babylon, the
Ammonites. Think about all these different nations.
What do we see time after time after time with
the kings? When they exalt themselves and their
pride and the arrogance of their heart, what
does God do? He humbles them, either by the word
of the prophet or by his difficult and hard providences
in their lives. And what happens when those kings
humble themselves and lower themselves? What
does God do? He honors them. He blesses them.
He exalts them in the eyes of the nations. He
blesses the nation on behalf of those men on
behalf of that king. He exalts them, brothers
and sisters. What happened to Nebuchadnezzar.
He thought he was a big deal. It was getting
to his head. His head was puffing up. He thought
he was somebody. And what does the sovereign
God of heaven do? He makes him to be a wild beast.
To crawl around on the grass like an animal eating
herbs. Until what? Until Nebuchadnezzar humbles
himself. And then God raises him up. We see this
pattern throughout the history of the world.
We see this pattern in providence, and it still
happens in our world today, brothers and sisters.
We live for a very short time span. Which means
we only see so much. We are finite. We only see
and understand and grasp so many things. We only
recognize so many things taking place in the
world or around the world. But listen. God is
eternal. Age to age. Generation to generation.
And what is God doing in his holiness and in
his mercy with perfect justice and righteousness?
He's raising men up. And he's bringing men down.
Mary recognizes that this is the character of
God and this is how this God works throughout
history. That his hand is favorably disposed
toward the humble. His hand is favorably disposed
towards the lowly, the meek, those who are humble
and gentle. She recognizes this. in the nature
of the world and providence and how God works
in the world. But brothers and sisters, the same
thing is true. In particular, with regards to
the gospel and redemption, is it not? Let's read
a couple different texts just to consider this.
The gospel operates in the same exact manner.
The same exact way. That God lowers the prideful.
And he exalts the humble. We read in 1 Corinthians.
Chapter 1. Verse 18. For the word of the cross
is foolishness to those who are perishing. But
to us who are being saved, it is the power of
God. You see this paradigm that's already starting
in this text. Foolishness and power of God. Opposite
ends of the spectrum. Two very different things.
For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom
of the wise and the cleverness of the clever.
I will set aside. Where is the wise man? Where
is the scribe? Where is the debater of the sage?
Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?
For since the wisdom of God, for since in the
wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did
not come to know God, God was well pleased to
the foolishness of the message preached to save
those who believe. For indeed, Jews ask for signs
and Greeks search for wisdom. But we preach Christ
crucified. To Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles
foolishness. But to those who are called, both
Jews and Greeks, Christ, the power of God and
the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of
God is wiser than men and the weakness of God
is stronger than men. For consider your calling,
brethren. That there were not many wise according
to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble.
But God has chosen the foolish things of the
world to shame the wise. And God has chosen the
weak things of the world to shame the things
which are strong. And the base things of the
world and the despised, God has chosen the things
that are not. so that he may nullify the things
that are, so that no man may boast before God,
but by his doing you are in Christ Jesus, who
became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness
and sanctification and redemption, so that, just
as it is written, let him who boasts, boast in
the Lord. Brothers and sisters, the gospel does
not operate according... to the convention, the
structure, and the design of the world. When
we consider honor and humiliation, lowliness
and exaltedness, when we consider power and wisdom,
the world will say it is a certain thing. The
world will say this is what power looks like.
This is what wisdom looks like. But that is not.
how God defines and determines those realities
to be. In the Gospel, the power of God was a
man that bled and died and was humiliated on
the cross. The wisdom of God was to send His
Son into the world to humiliate Himself, to humble
Himself, to take on the form of a servant, a
slave, and to suffer and die on the cross, brothers
and sisters. The wisdom of God sent Christ into
the humiliation of his earthly ministry. But
the wisdom of God also leads to the exaltation
and the glory of Christ and his resurrection
and his ascension and fully and finally in his
return. When we consider how God works in the
gospel, we must conclude, brothers and sisters,
that he exalts the humble and provides for those
who have nothing. And that he lowers the arrogant
and the prideful and the haughty. And he sends
the rich away empty -handed. Sinners who humble
themselves in repentance. are those in possession
of faith and those that lay hold of the righteousness
of Christ. Sinners who refuse to humble themselves
and to repent of their sins are those who will
not taste of the righteousness of the Lord Jesus
Christ. Because in their minds they already possess
righteousness. In their minds they already have
what they need. But those who repent and mourn
and grieve over their sin and look to God alone
for righteousness in Christ are the ones that
will be exalted and blessed and accepted by God
because of the faith. Because they humbled themselves.
We see this pattern over and over and over. It's
true in the lives of God's people now. We could
read Matthew chapter 5. Blessed are the meek,
for they shall inherit the earth. Over and over.
But it's also true, brothers and sisters, that
there's this divine and redemptive reversal that
takes place not just in the life of believers,
but also in the life of unbelievers. When we
consider the believer and the church today, we
follow the same pattern. As our Lord. The church
today is in the humiliation. We have a theology
of the cross. Not a theology of glory in this
life. But what happens fully and finally one
day? What is reversed? What is changed? What
comes about? What is accomplished at the return
of Jesus Christ? There's vindication. for those
who are lowly and humble and suffering, those
who are in possession of a theology of the cross
in this life. In that day, there will be full
knowledge that God's people are exalted and take
part in his glory, and they are past humiliation.
They are past the lowly phase in this world in
redemption. But... The same is true for unbelievers,
brothers and sisters. For unbelieving men, now
is your time of exaltation. For unbelieving men
here, in our presence, listening to this message,
this is the high time in your existence. This
is the time where you run with unfettered liberty
and enjoy the lust of the flesh. This is the
time where you walk in arrogance and self -righteousness
and pride in your heart, exalting yourself. But
hear me well. If you are here today and you don't
know Jesus Christ, the day of your humiliation
will arrive. The day... where you are humbled
and brought low, it will arrive when the Lord
Jesus Christ appears in the sky with a sound
of a trumpet. The same time the saints are exalted,
brothers and sisters, on that great day will
be the same day that unbelieving men who have
walked in the pride of their heart for all their
days will be lowered and humbled and brought
low to suffer for all eternity because of their
sin and transgression against the sovereign and
holy and merciful God of heaven. So if you're
here today and you don't know Jesus Christ and
you're enjoying pride in your heart and you're
refusing to repent of your sins, I tell you now,
Turn from your sins and trust in Christ that
you might be exalted on that day. Look to Him
by faith. Give up whatever it is in your heart
that you're so clinging to that you don't want
to let go of and submit your life to Jesus Christ
who died for sinners, who humbled Himself that
you Might enjoy exaltation and glory. The forgiveness
of sins. With him brothers and sisters. Bring
yourself low. Or Christ will. But the promise
saints. Is that if you walk in lowliness. And
meekness. And mutual submission and love towards
one another. if you faithfully walk in this life,
seeking to fear the Lord in holiness and reverence
of life, then take heart. Take heart. Because
humiliation only lasts for a time. Suffering
and hardship, trials, In difficulties, it's only
for a little while. The day is coming when you
will see Jesus Christ face to face and you will
be like Him. And we will glory in His glory.
And we will revel in His righteousness and our
own righteousness that He has provided. The sinless
perfection that He possesses and the sinless
perfection that we will enjoy when we are glorified
with Him. Take heart, believer. Repent, unbeliever.
So we see that Mary recognizes how the Lord works.
She sees the nature of His dealings. Brothers
and sisters, where does she get this knowledge?
How does she understand these things? How does
she know that this is how God works? How does
she know that this is the character of God? How
does she understand and grasp these things? It's
from the scriptures. It's from the Old Testament
scriptures that she loved. And she sought out
the character of God. We can have praise and
joy, peace and contentment to greater measures
and greater degrees now in this life, brothers
and sisters, by growing more certain of who God
is and how He works. And we can have that joy
and that peace and that contentment in our lives.
Moving forward. Because with that certain knowledge
of who he is and how he works, we can look to
the future with confidence knowing how he will
work and who he will remain to be. Who he is.
But we must search those things out in the scriptures.
There's only one place. That we can go to learn
about the mighty deeds of God. There's only one
place, brethren, where we can go. And we can
learn about who our sovereign, great, mighty,
holy, and merciful God is. There's only one book.
There's only one revelation. And we've been given
it. It's ours to search out. It's ours. To seek
His face in it. To grow in the grace and knowledge
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now the last thing
that we have to consider is Mary's praise to
God for His faithfulness to fulfill all the redemptive
promises He's made to His people. We read in
the last section of this, He has given help to
Israel, His servants. In remembrance of his mercy.
As he spoke to our fathers. To Abraham and his
descendants forever. The last reason that Mary
rejoices and praises God. Is because she recognizes.
That he has faithfully. Fulfilled and brought
about the realization. And the fulfillment. Of
his gospel promises. that he's declared throughout
the history of the world. Ever since the garden,
ever since Abraham, ever since David, ever since
Moses, all of these promises we have in the Old
Covenant, in the Old Testament Scriptures, brothers
and sisters, she recognizes their fulfillment.
And how does she do that? How does she know that
these are being realized? Because of the child.
That's in her womb. Because of the Lord Jesus
Christ who has taken on flesh and dwelt among
us. She knows that God has faithfully fulfilled
his promises. It's not just the Messiah for Israel.
But brothers and sisters, it's Mary's Messiah
that has been brought about. It's Mary's Messiah
that is in the womb that she's carrying. So she
knows. That God is faithful. She can look to
the circumstances. The word of God. And Christ.
But brothers and sisters. We can look back. And
we can view the virgin birth. We can see Christ's
life unto the law of God. And perfect righteousness.
We can see his death. We can see his resurrection.
We can see his ascension. We can see His mediation
in heaven now. And by faith, brothers and sisters,
we can look forward to the day when He returns
to exalt and bring His people into His glory
in a joy that we know nothing about now. So we
can praise God along with Mary that God is always
faithful and He always will be faithful to fulfill
and bring about Every single redemptive promise
is ever made to his covenant people.