This Week's Sunday School Lesson, "A Song Of Praise", 12/25/2011

Luke 1:46-55

A SONG OF PRAISE


HER PRAISE
V.46. "And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord,"
1. Mary's worship of the Lord was from the inside out.
a. She said, "Her Soul" which is from the heart.
b. Worship has to begin from the heart.
c. When you consider what God is doing for you, there ought to be immediate praise
from the heart.
d. Don't wait until tomorrow , praise God "NOW"
2.Mary had reason to be joyful. The Lord Jesus would be born.
a. We ought to be excited about Jesus because He is our salvation.
b. Mary was excited because God was using her as a vessel to bring Jesus to flesh.
c. We ought to be excited to offer ourselves as servants of the Lord Jesus Christ.
d. The Lord always rewards our service.

HER GRADITUDE
V.47. "And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour."
A. They that worship the Lord, must worship in spirit and truth.
1. When you reflect on the goodness of the Lord, there ought to be joy in your
heart.
2. Jesus should always be our joy.
a. The Lord promises us great things and the Lord delivers on His promises.
b. The Lord makes promises for now and He makes promises for our salvation.
3. With her praise, Mary expressed confidence in the Lord.
a. Effective praise requires confidence in the Lord.
b. Effective praise requires an intimacy with Lord.
B. Mary was on fire for the Lord. First she magnified the Lord, then she rejoiced in the
Lord.
1. We ought be on fire for the Lord.
a. The evidence of our fire ought to show up in our joyful praise.
b. The evidence of our fire ought to show up in joyful service.

HER HUMBLENESS
V:48. "For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from
henceforth all generations shall call me blessed."
A. Mary realized that she was not worthy of God's blessing.
1. We ought to know that we have done nothing to deserve God's Grace.
a. Grace is a free gift from God.
b. That fact alone is reason to shout.
2. What man puts down, God lifts up.
a. Mary's family was poor.
b. Mary was the least in her family.
c. But God lifted her up above all other women.
d. God hates the proud, but He lifts up the humble.
B. God comes down to be with us.
a. Jesus is called Emanuel; God is with us.
C. Mary had great incite.
a. Mary understood that by allowing herself to be used by God, others would be
blessed.
b. Our lives are not all about us. What we do for God, helps other to grow in the Lord.

HER GRATEFULNESS
V.49. "For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is his name."
A. Mary gave God the credit.
1. It is our duty to give God the credit. We can do nothing without God.
2. Mary recognizes that the works of God are mighty.
a. All you got to do is look around you to see the mighty works of God.
b. The sun, the moon, the stars, the mountains and all God's creation.
3. Mary realizes that all that God did, He did it for Her.
a. All that God created, benefits us all.
B. The Lord is holy
1. Holy=hagios= blameless, pure, sacred.
2. When we think of the Lord, we should consider His name as a name above
all other names. Phil 2:10
3. The Lord is abundantly good.
4. The Lord is exceedingly kind.
5. He is always right. He can never be wrong.
6. He can think no evil but good for all.
C. The mission of Jesus was to put away sin and establish the righteousness of God in
in His chosen.
1. The message of Jesus was purity and separation from sin.

GOD'S ACTS OF MERCY
V:50. "And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation."
A. Mercy= eleos= divine compassion
1. Generation= genea=age, period, time, nation
2. Fear= to be in awe, exceedingly reverent
B. God is so compassionate that He sent His only Son to be the atonement of
sin for all generations.
1. In fact, Jesus became sin so the world could be reconciled to Himself.
C. This verse indicates that God has different levels of compassion.
1. There is His general compassion for his creation.
2. But there is His special compassion for those who are in awe of Him.
a. There are some things that God does for those who reverence Him, that He does
not do for the world.
3. Even in the Body of Christ, I believe that there are different levels of His
compassion.
a. There are those who seek Him and there are those who "diligently" seek Him.
i. Hebrews 11:6, states, " He is a rewarder for those who diligently seek Him."
ii. Many come to Christ, yet do not diligently seek Him.
D. This verse indicates that His compassion is unending.
1. His compassion is from generation to generation.
a. From everlasting to everlasting
2.This verse indicates that the object of His compassion is His people and they are
unnumbered.

HIS POWER AND AUTHORITY
V.1:51 . "He hath shewed strength with his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the
imagination of their hearts."
A. Shewed=poieo=to make, abide
1. Strength= kratos= great vigor, power
2. Imagination= dianoia=deep thought, by its exercise
3. Scattered= diaskorpiza= dissipate, separate
4. Proud= huperephanos= appearing above others
B. Great vigor, great power abides in the Lord
1. Its with his arm. Power is an extension of God. Great vigor proceeds from Him,
C. The Lord separates the proud from Himself.
1. They see themselves above every body else.
2. It is the deep thought, the imagination, the exercise of thoughts of the proud that
separates them from God.
D. We have to be careful what we think about.
1. We have to direct our attention to the Lord less we stray.
2. We have a choice in what we think about.
a. We can choose God or we can choose the world.
E. We have a choice in attitude.
1. We can choose to be proud.
2. We can choose to be humble.
3. We can choose to be with God.
4. We can choose to separate ourselves from God.

V. 1:52. "He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree."
A. The Lord had put down princes and kings from their seats of pomp and power.
1. Through out the history of Israel, nations raised up against them but the Lord
rescued them.
a. The Lord will fight the battle of those who fear Him.
b. There is no one to big for God to bring down.
B. Jesus was born into a humble environment.
a. Mary was from a poor family in a poor tribe.
b. To Mary was born Jesus, who was exalted to king of kings.
C. God uses believers from all walks of life regardless of their back ground.
a. God is no respecter of person.
b. If we humble ourselves before the Lord, He will lift us up.


HIS MERCY
V.1:53. "He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty
away."
A. God has compassion on the poor and supplies their needs.
1. Those who seek the Lord come because of their needs.
2. Those who come to the Lord must come as little children.
a. They must come with a humble heart,
b. They must come by faith, trusting in His Holy Way.
3. The Father gives good things to His children.
a. The Father knows what we need before we ask .
b. We must come expecting good things from the Father.
i. Eternal life
ii. Forgiveness
iii. Peace
iv. Joy
v . Physical needs.
B. The rich come out of their wants not their needs.
1. The rich are selfish in their wants.
b. The rich have already been bless and therefore ought to be on the giving end.
c. The rich are expected to show compassion on the needy.
d. The rich should lend themselves as vessels to serve the Lord.
2. The rich are sented a away empty handed.
a. Their hands are empty because their needs are not genuine.
b. It is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.

V. 1:54. "He hath holpen his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy."
A. Holpen= antilambanou= to take turn, lay hold of
1. God has laid hold of Israel, lifted them up out of their sorrows and placed them on
the solid ground of Grace.
2. When Adam disobeyed God, sin was imputed on all generations.
a. Israel now, through Mary receives the promised Seed according to the grace of
God.
b. God remembers Israel with the birth of His Son, according to His great mercy.
B. With the birth of Jesus the age of Grace began.
1. It is by Grace through Faith in Jesus that we now receive eternal life.
2. Through Adam's sin the whole world was condemned.
3. Through Jesus death the whole world was made savable and able to receive
eternal life.

V.1:55. "As he spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed for ever."
A Jesus is the fulfillment of the promise that God made to Abraham. Gen 12:3, 13:16
17:15
1. God keeps His promises.
a. The promise to Abraham of a seed to bless all the nations of the earth was given
2000 years earlier.
2. If God promised it, take hold of it and be prepared to receive His blessings.