His Mercy is on Those Who Fear Him

I want to thank the readers of this blog for their faithfulness in reading this each week and praying that the things I write about are true to the revelation given to us in God’s Word. As we look at each passage I am struck over and over again about the relevance of the lives in these passages, to who we are as a society.

How do we view ourselves, is God real, does He care, what is his view about how we live, how we relate to each other, who does He bless, what is required to get His attention, does He answer prayers, what about family values, marriage, men, women, terrorists, war, peace, teenagers, drugs, domestic violence? I believe as we continue to study God’s Word we will see more and more of these answers.

Remember last week we saw Mary visiting Elizabeth because the angel had told her she would have a son, who would be the Son of God. This was incredible news that she wanted to share with her cousin Elizabeth, who was also expecting a son in her old age that would become John the Baptist. After hearing Elizabeth’s praise to God for what he had done in Mary’s life, we now are going to look at Mary’s response.

Luke 1:46 “ My soul magnifies the Lord,
47 And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.
48 For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant;
For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed.
49 For He who is mighty has done great things for me,
And holy is His name.
50 And His mercy is on those who fear Him
From generation to generation.
51 He has shown strength with His arm;
He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
52 He has put down the mighty from their thrones,
And exalted the lowly.
53 He has filled the hungry with good things,
And the rich He has sent away empty.
54 He has helped His servant Israel,
In remembrance of His mercy,
55 As He spoke to our fathers,
To Abraham and to his seed forever.”

First of all I am going to remind you once again about these two women.

· Both were of low social status. Basically Mary was a peasant woman, and Elizabeth lived in the hill country and was the wife of a lowly priest.

· Mary was very young and was betrothed to Joseph

· Elizabeth was old and had carried the stigma of not having had children

· They knew that God had performed a miracle through their pregnancy.

· The both viewed their pregnancies as a personal blessing from God and a fulfillment of the promises of God for his people.

This is a song of praise to God, not composed to be song in a worship service but a very personal testimony to how Mary feels. The first two lines are an expression of trying to put pure emotion into words. God is great, He has made me happy, I am busting out of the seams with joy, my spirit is soaring!

Why is Mary so elated?? She is acknowledging God as her savior. This is why several weeks ago I asked you to have an open mind about who Mary is. We see here that Mary is someone who needs a savior. She acknowledges her position is not worthy as a lowly maidservant. But God has revealed to her through these circumstances that our wisdom of who is worthy and important is just the opposite of God’s wisdom. Look at the contrast between these two statements.

48 For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant;
For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed.

51 He has shown strength with His arm;
He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
52 He has put down the mighty from their thrones,

We can clearly see what is revealed to Mary is that God cares about you no matter who you are. What is significant that we are seeking Him, that we recognize we have a need for God, that we recognize that we are not worthy. Who has been put down by God? The proud, the mighty. These could even be religious leaders who used there power in Jesus day to oppress the people. Just like there are religious leaders today who use their position to control, manipulate and abuse those who have trust in them.

It is clear from the story of these two women that God’s favor isn’t because of things they have done, not because they do religious things, but because they seek and desire to know him.

50 And His mercy is on those who fear Him
From generation to generation.

Lets be clear about what this verse means. We see the word fear and might think it is a fear that creates doubt and a relationship where I need to look over my shoulder to be sure God does not get me. Remember this is included in the same song of Mary’s where she rejoices for God’s blessing on her who did not deserve it. From this verse we see the fear of God is an acknowledgment that He is God, who is the creator and sustainer of all things. He shows mercy of those who seek Him.

I want to be sure that you know that His promises are true. He is ready for you. You don’t have to wonder if you are worthy. Your seeking and accepting Him is what is needed. Praise God that we have so many lives blessed already in just this first chapter of Luke, as we prepare to see the Son of God be born and come into the world to bring us all salvation.