Luke 1:54,55

A Mother’s Song: God is Merciful to Us

And Mary said…

“He has helped his servant Israel,

remembering to be merciful

to Abraham and his descendants forever,

   even as he said to our fathers.”

od is mindful of us.  God is mighty for us.  God is merciful to us.  These three truths constitute the message of Mary’s song.  That she was worthy of God’s choosing is revealed in her theology.  While we could not hope to compose a systematic theology from that which is revealed concerning Mary’s faith, we do know her views concerning the Lord God.  She saw God as mindful of His people.  The God whom Mary served and worshipped was omniscient; He knew all things.  She glorified a God who is sovereign.  We observed this truth in an previous message.  Her God was omnipotent; He was all mighty.  Likewise, we explored this aspect of Mary’s God in a message delivered earlier.  This God whom Mary magnified in her soul was also a merciful God.  The evidence of His mercy is seen in the fact that He promises to intervene for the sake of His people and in the fact that he has fulfilled His promises.

God Promised Great Things for Israel — Mary spontaneously broke forth in song when Elizabeth praised her obedience to the will of God.  Throughout Christendom many worshippers recall the blessing which Elizabeth pronounced on Mary, but few remember that the blessing was founded upon the fact of Mary’s faith in the promises of God.  Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished are Elizabeth’s joyous words.  This is a point too critical to pass over quickly, for Mary will conclude her own hymn of joy focusing on the impact of one man’s faith.

Mary begins her recitation of divine blessings for the Jewish people by looking to Abraham.  That she should do so is both sensible and appropriate.  Though one could say that perhaps Adam or Seth or Noah would qualify, Abraham was in a very special way the first person to whom God spoke plainly of the rich blessings which would one day come to all the earth.  In saying this I take nothing away from the comforting promise which was pronounced in the even as God cursed the serpent after the Fall.  While cursing the serpent God spoke those words of hope we know as the protoevangelium.

I will put enmity

between you and the woman,

and between your offspring and hers;

he will crush your head,

and you will strike his heel.

[Genesis 3:15]

The seed of the woman (for that is the literal translation of the Hebrew which is here translated her (offspring)) could presumably apply to any child born of woman.

Noah was clearly blessed of God and the proof of that blessing is that he was delivered through the flood.  God likewise blessed Noah’s sons, giving them the command to be fruitful and to increase in number, filling the earth [cf. Genesis 9:1].  Tracing the narrowing lineage of the Anointed One of God we see the prophecies concerning Him pass through Abraham; and here is where Mary begins her song

Ishmael was the son born of Hagar, the natural woman and the servant of Sarah.  Abraham loved that Ishmael and begged God to permit Him to be the child of promise through whom a multitude would come.  God, however, rebuked Abraham and pointed out that he himself would sire a son by Sarah and through that son would come great blessings to all mankind.  God called Abraham while he was worshipping pagan gods in Ur.  Abraham obeyed God and journeyed to Canaan where God again made promises to him concerning his seed.  Among the promises which the Lord God made to Abraham was the promise, To your offspring [lit. seed] I will give this land [Genesis 12:7].  Later, when his nephew Lot chose to move toward Sodom, Abraham again received the divine promise of a child.  Lift up your eyes from where you are and look north and south, east and west.  All the land that you see I will give to you and to offspring [lit. seed] forever.  I will make your offspring [lit. seed] like the dust of the earth, so that if anyone could count the dust, then your offspring [lit. seed] could be counted [Genesis 13:14b-16].

Later, God again promised Abram that He would give him a child … a child from his own body [Genesis 15:4], and from this child would come descendants as numerous as the stars [Genesis 15:5].  At this point is a significant truth which is too easily overlooked.  Abram believed the Lord, and He credited it to him as righteousness [Genesis 15:6].  Literally, Abram said “Amen” to God.  God made a covenant with the old man and confirmed the promise.  Yet more years passed and in the natural course of things the promise was impossible to fulfil.  Abram was an old man of almost one hundred years of age, and his wife Sarah was over ninety.  Yet the Lord God promised Abram your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will call him Isaac.  I will establish My covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him [Genesis 17:19].

Isaac was born in the course of time and he also enjoyed the blessing of God.  Of his sons, Jacob was chosen by God to continue the blessing.  Fleeing from an enraged brother and travelling to Paddan Aram where he was to take a wife, Jacob dreamed of a stairway to heaven.  At the head of the stairway stood the Lord God addressing the scoundrel Jacob.  I am the LORD, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac.  I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying.  Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south.  All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring.  I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land.  I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you [Genesis 28:13b-15].

The promise continued to grow ever more specific, narrowing the focus to Judah.

The sceptre will not depart from Judah,

nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet,

until he comes to whom it belongs

   and the obedience of the nations is his.

[Genesis 49:10]

Balaam, a powerful and notorious prophet for hire was engaged by Balak to curse Israel.  He was divinely kept from performing his occult trickery and kept from pronouncing a curse on the chosen of God.  In fact, though Balaam endeavoured strenuously to curse Israel he repeatedly blessed the people of God until at last he served as God’s prophet.  That prophecy is found in the Book of Numbers.  There the errant prophet foresaw the rise of Messiah from Judah.  His words are an eerie echo of Jacob’s words of prophecy which we just saw moments ago.

I see him, but not now;

I behold him, but not near.

A star will come out of Jacob;

a sceptre will rise out of Israel.

He will crush the foreheads of Moab,

the skulls of all the sons of Sheth.

Edom will be conquered;

Seir, his enemy, will be conquered,

but Israel will grow strong.

A ruler will come out of Jacob

and destroy the survivors of the city.

[Numbers 24:16]

The plot narrows when David and his descendants revealed as God’s choice to be in the lineage of the Anointed One of Israel. 

The LORD swore an oath to David,

a sure oath that he will not revoke:

“One of your own descendants

   I will place on your throne.”

[Psalm 132:11]

The words of this Psalm are but an iteration of an earlier affirmation of divine choice.

Is not my house right with God?

Has he not made with me an everlasting covenant,

arranged and secured in every part?

[2 Samuel 23:5]

The Anointed One was promised and the promise continued to be refined even during the days of Daniel who prophesied the precise time that the Anointed One would present Himself to Israel [Daniel 9:25, 26].  Micah told where He would be born [Micah 5:2].  Isaiah saw that He would be born of a virgin [Isaiah 7:14] and spoke of His divinity [Isaiah 9:6,7].  David foresaw the agonising death of Messiah [Psalm 22:1-21], as did Isaiah [Isaiah 53:1-12].  Just as he saw the death of God’s Anointed One, David also saw the reign of Messiah [Psalm 2:1-9].  It is that glorious reign which Isaiah also wrote of in Isaiah 4:2-6; 11:1-16.  All Israel awaited His arrival and now Mary sang of God’s mercy.

Paul, writing the Galatian churches, also spoke of God’s promises of to Abraham, just as Mary had sung of those same promises.  Brothers, let me take an example from everyday life.  Just as no one can set aside or add to a human covenant that has been duly established, so it is in this case.  The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed.  The Scripture does not say “and to seeds,” meaning many people, but “and to your seed,” meaning one person, who is Christ.  What I mean is this: The law, introduced 430 years later, does not set aside the covenant previously established by God and thus do away with the promise.  For if the inheritance depends on the law, then it no longer depends on a promise; but God in his grace gave it to Abraham through a promise [Galatians 3:15-18].

Note that the promise of God from beginning to end speaks of a seed and not of seeds.  Abraham would have many descendants, but these descendants would be born of the Spirit because of Abraham’s seed.  That is precisely the point of Mary’s song, for she spoke of Abraham’s seed (singular) tw'/  jAbraa;m kai; tw'/ spevrmati aujtou' eij".  The greatness of Israel is bound up in Abraham’s seed.  The mercies of God are found in Abraham’s seed.

At the time Mary burst forth in this hymn of praise, Israel was a dependent nation existing at the sufferance of Roman might.  That tiny nation situated between Jordan, Syria and Lebanon today is yet dependent to a humbling degree upon the might of others.  That is not to say that Israel is not prepared to fight to defend herself, but were it not for American might that tiny nation might well have been overwhelmed years ago.  It will not always be so, for God has remembered to be merciful, helping His servant Israel.

Fifty years ago it would have been thought incredible that Israel should be a nation and that Jerusalem would be a cup that sends all the surrounding peoples reeling as Zechariah says [Zechariah 12:2].  Today we cannot pick up a newspaper without reading of the impact of Israel on this nation or on that nation.  That such a tiny country should have such a great impact would seem incredible except for the prophecies of the Word.  God has an interest in the land of Palestine and He has an interest in the Jewish people.  God loves His people Israel.  Long years before Messiah was born of a virgin the Lord spoke of His compassion for His ancient peoples.

This is what the LORD Almighty says: “I am very jealous for Zion; I am burning with jealousy for her.”

This is what the LORD says: “I will return to Zion and dwell in Jerusalem.  Then Jerusalem will be called the City of Truth, and the mountain of the LORD Almighty will be called the Holy Mountain.”

This is what the LORD Almighty says: “Once again men and women of ripe old age will sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each with cane in hand because of his age.  The city streets will be filled with boys and girls playing there” [Zechariah 8:1-5].

Because God loves Israel, the world will grow increasingly bellicose against that tiny nation until Israel is isolated and surrounded by enemies hostile to her existence.  God warns of that day and of the consequences when the nations attack.  On that day, when all the nations of the earth are gathered against her, I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock for all the nations.  All who try to move it will injure themselves.  On that day I will strike every horse with panic and its rider with madness,” declares the LORD.  “I will keep a watchful eye over the house of Judah, but I will blind all the horses of the nations.  Then the leaders of Judah will say in their hearts, ‘The people of Jerusalem are strong, because the LORD Almighty is their God.’

“On that day I will make the leaders of Judah like a firepot in a woodpile, like a flaming torch among sheaves.  They will consume right and left all the surrounding peoples, but Jerusalem will remain intact in her place.

“The LORD will save the dwellings of Judah first, so that the honour of the house of David and of Jerusalem’s inhabitants may not be greater than that of Judah.  On that day the LORD will shield those who live in Jerusalem, so that the feeblest among them will be like David, and the house of David will be like God, like the Angel of the LORD going before them.  On that day I will set out to destroy all the nations that attack Jerusalem.

“And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication.  They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son.  On that day the weeping in Jerusalem will be great, like the weeping of Hadad Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo.  The land will mourn, each clan by itself, with their wives by themselves: the clan of the house of David and their wives, the clan of the house of Nathan and their wives, the clan of the house of Levi and their wives, the clan of Shimei and their wives, and all the rest of the clans and their wives.

“On that day a fountain will be opened to the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and impurity.

“On that day, I will banish the names of the idols from the land, and they will be remembered no more,” declares the LORD Almighty.  “I will remove both the prophets and the spirit of impurity from the land.  3 And if anyone still prophesies, his father and mother, to whom he was born, will say to him, ‘You must die, because you have told lies in the LORD’s name.’  When he prophesies, his own parents will stab him.

“On that day every prophet will be ashamed of his prophetic vision.  He will not put on a prophet’s garment of hair in order to deceive.  He will say, ‘I am not a prophet.  I am a farmer; the land has been my livelihood since my youth.’  If someone asks him, ‘What are these wounds on your body?’ he will answer, ‘The wounds I was given at the house of my friends’” [Zechariah 12:3-13:6].

Mary anticipated all this and more when she submitted to the will of God.  The cycle of events which must eventuate in Israel’s salvation was set in motion.  At that time God began to reveal that He had remembered to show mercy toward His ancient people.  The evidence then that God was merciful to Israel, and the evidence to this day, is the birth of Jesus the long-promised Messiah.  Though Israel has yet to receive Him as their Messiah, we who know the promises of God realise that there is a yet a day coming when the people of Israel shall see Him and mourn because of their own sinful rejection.  In their grief arising from their rejection of God’s Anointed One they shall repent and God will pour out grace on them.  Though Israel does not now realise it, Christmas is the evidence that God shall yet bless them abundantly and in ways which they can only dream of.  What a marvellous statement Paul gives on this issue of Israel’s salvation.

I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in.  And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written:

“The deliverer will come from Zion;

he will turn godlessness away from Jacob.

And this is my covenant with them

when I take away their sins.”

As far as the gospel is concerned, they are enemies on your account; but as far as election is concerned, they are loved on account of the patriarchs, for God’s gifts and his call are irrevocable.  Just as you who were at one time disobedient to God have now received mercy as a result of their disobedience, so they too have now become disobedient in order that they too may now receive mercy as a result of God’s mercy to you. For God has bound all men over to disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all [Romans 11:25-32].

God Provided Great Things through Israel — The message of Israel’s salvation is one which is not heard often throughout that land in this day.  The synagogues of the world do not often speak positively of Jesus the Messiah.  Their failure to worship Him does not change the promise of God, for He shall yet bless His ancient people and show them great mercy.  The delay in revealing His abundant mercy to Israel is to the benefit of the whole of the world, however.  Now, we who were not shown mercy beforehand have received mercy, just as Paul stated.

When Noah prophesied about his sons, he made a startling statement.

Blessed be the LORD, the God of Shem!

…

May God extend the territory of Japheth;

may Japheth live in the tents of Shem.

[Genesis 9:26,27]

The descendants of Japheth will live in the tents of Shem.  We Gentiles are blessed by the presence of the descendants of Shem.  The picture is that of blessing to the Gentiles by the Semitic peoples.  The Faith of Christ the Lord has come to us from the Jews.  Jesus said, salvation is from the Jews [John 4:22b].  In remembering to show mercy to the Jews, God has blessed us Gentiles who were once excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world [Ephesians 2:12].

We dare not be arrogant, for God has shown us mercy.  He called us when we were sinners under sentence of death.  He provided for us through the sacrifice of His Son.  The Son of God was born so that by the grace of God He might taste death for every man [Hebrews 2:9].  Moreover, our Lord was born under law [Galatians 4:4] to redeem us from the law that we might receive the full rights of sons [Galatians 4:5].

Listening to contemporary voices I would be led to believe that the message of Christmas is a sentimental message of family or at least a message of conviviality.  We grow misty-eyed over old familiar songs which make us think of home.  Upon reflection, perhaps the message of Christmas is a message of wild indulgence.  Merchants hardly have time to think of family as they employ the sentimentality to promote the sell of items we simply cannot live without.  Consumers likewise seem trapped in a maddening rush to ensure that the gifts they give will bring a rich return.  We who are Christians need to be reminded that the message of Christmas is the message of life.

We were sinners ruined by the Fall of our first parents and we were sinners by choice.  As sinners we were alike under sentence of death.  Though we cannot appreciate the portrayal, Paul accurately describes the condition each individual experienced in the encyclical we know as Ephesians.

As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.  All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts.  Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath [Ephesians 2:1-3].

It was at this juncture that God intervened to demonstrate His mercy … mercy beyond anything man could imagine.  This Son of God whose incarnation we celebrate is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world [see John 1:29].  As God’s Lamb He was given that He might offer up His own divine life as a sacrifice for condemned mankind.  That majestic act is described in Paul’s letter to the Romans.  At just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.  Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die.  But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us [Romans 5:6-8].

The Son of God was born in order that He might die.  In His death is life for all who will receive Him.  Those who worship Him are those who are born into His family.  To all such we can proclaim this glad truth.  Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him!  For if, when we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!  Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation [Romans 5:9-11].

When you arise on Christmas morning, what will be your waking thought?  Perhaps you will begin to anticipate the great gifts situated under the tree and which are awaiting you as soon as you arise.  The child never leaves us completely, does it?  Perhaps you will concern yourself with the preparation of the meal or with the greeting of guests and family members who are sharing the day with you.  I am not castigating anyone because they will perchance think along such lines as these.  I do, however, trust that God’s Spirit will employ this brief message to remind you that Christmas is a celebration of God’s mercy showered on each of us through the Son who was given.  I do pray that each of you will reflect on the fact that you have faith in Christ and that because of your faith that you are alive in Him.  Hear the Word of the Lord!

Because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.  And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.  For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.  For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do [Ephesians 2:4-10].

What if you have somehow failed to receive this Christ?  What if you are a stranger to grace … an outsider yet under sentence of death?  Here is the promise of Christmas for you.  If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.  For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.  As the Scripture says, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.”  For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” [Romans 10:9-13].  Be saved today.  Amen.