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The Portrait of Praise · CCC West Covina

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What a great song of of praise. Mary's song is recorded in Luke
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chapter one. That will be our our topic for
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this morning because we're going to look at the portrait of
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praise. If you have been with us over
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the last several weeks, we are on a journey called the Pathway
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of Praise. It leads us into glory where we
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spend the rest of our lives praising the King of Kings and
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and Lord of Lords. And as you travel, we we've
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looked at the the privilege of praise and we've looked at the
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profit of praise. We've looked at the purpose and
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priority of praise. We even looked at the people of
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praise recently. We looked at the person of
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praise who it is we are to praise as we journey along this
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pathway of praise. But I thought on this Christmas,
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Sunday, we would look at the supreme portrait of praise
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there. There's a a picture that's
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painted for us in the Scriptures of many people who give praise
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and honor to God, but but no one quite like Mary, the mother of
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the Messiah, the model of maturity.
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Let me read to you what she says in Luke chapter one verse #46
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and following it says, and Mary said, My soul exalts the Lord,
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and my spirit has rejoiced in God and my Savior.
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For He has had regard for the humble state of His bond slave.
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For behold, from this time on all generations will count me
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blessed, for the mighty One has done great things for me.
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And holy is His name, and His mercy is a bond, generation
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after generation, towards those who fear Him.
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He has done mighty deeds with His arm.
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He has scattered those who were proud in the thoughts of their
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heart. He has brought down rulers from
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their Thrones and has exalted those who were humble.
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He has filled the hungry with good things and sent away the
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rich empty handed. He has given help to Israel, His
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servant, in remembrance of His mercy as He spoke to our
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fathers, to Abraham and his descendants forever.
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This is a remarkable song of praise.
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It's the exaltation of the Christ.
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To understand it, you must realize the context in which it
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was said. And once you realize the
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context, then you can begin to understand the components of
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what was said. The context is crucial.
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Mary is a very young virgin girl.
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She's probably around 13 years of age.
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And people always ask me, how do you know how old she was?
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Well, we know that because many New Testament scholars who are
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well versed in Jewish history will tell you that young Jewish
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girls were betrothed between the ages of 12 and 12 1/2.
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So they would be married around the age of 13 or at the later 14
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years of age. Mary is betrothed to Joseph, so
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she's a very young girl. And in those days, as as you
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were growing up as a a young girl, you were thinking about
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the future. You were thinking about who you
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would marry, what kind of family you will have, how many boys and
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how many girls and and where will you live?
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Will you still live in the city you were raised in or will you
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move to another city? All those things were unknown.
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And then one day Mary's parents come to her and say, Mary, we
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have betrothed you to a a young carpenter's son.
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His name is Joseph. Now she knows she's going to get
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married. Now she anticipates the number
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of children she will have. Now she anticipates the future
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of her life with her her husband.
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And so she knows she's engaged to this Carpenter boy, Joseph,
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but then all of a sudden things take a change, things turn.
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Things are are not like what she imagined.
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I mean, they go way beyond her imagination.
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For the Angel Gabriel appears to her while she's in Nazareth and
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he appears to her and tells her that she's going to have a child
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and it's going to be a miraculous birth because she
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asked the question how can this be since I am a virgin?
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In the Angel Gabriel tells her the Holy Spirit will come upon
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you and the power of the Most High will over shadow you.
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For that reason, the Holy Christ shall be called the Son of God.
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Everything changes for Mary, and she's just so young.
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But what makes this, this song of praise, so great is that it's
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filled with Scripture. Scripture from the Psalms and
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from Genesis, from first Samuel and from Isaiah.
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And that would tell us that that Mary was well versed in the
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Scriptures. But you also must realize that
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that most young girls were illiterate.
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They weren't taught to read. And if that's the case for Mary,
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that wouldn't mean that she would have to pay very close
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attention to what her father taught her growing up in her
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home. That would mean that when she
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she went to the synagogue, she'd have to listen very intently to
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what the rabbi said, so she would know what the scriptures
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said. So she'd have to stay awake in
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the synagogue. That would be good news for all
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of us to hear, to stay awake in church.
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But she would have to pay very close attention to all that was
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said to be able to know the verses of Scripture like she
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did, and to be able to recite them so clearly and accurately.
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But think of Mary. She she would have to begin to
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to realize, as the wheels would begin to spin in her head, the
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fulfillment of Scripture that in Isaiah 7 verse #14 a virgin
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would conceive and bear a child. That's going to be the sign,
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that's going to be the miraculous sign the virgin shall
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conceive and bear a child. That that would tell us it was
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the fulfillment of of Genesis chapter 3 verse #15 that the
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seed of a woman was going to come and crush the serpent's
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head. And so all of a sudden, Mary's
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thoughts begin to run wild as she she understands that the
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fulfillment of Scripture is being fulfilled in her at a
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very, very young age. And when you think about what
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she knows about the Bible, you got to ask yourself, what does
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my 12 year old or 13 year old know about the Bible?
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How well versed is is my teenage daughter or teenage son, my
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junior high son or my junior high daughter?
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How well versed are they in the scriptures?
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Would they be able to write a song of praise based on what
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they know the Bible says? Or worse yet, as adults, would
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we know the Scriptures well enough to be able to write a
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song of praise to our God? She would have to be thinking of
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all the different verses in the Old Testament that would speak
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of the hope of Israel. In fact, if you got your Bible,
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turn back with me, if you would, to the book of Jeremiah, because
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there's a verse in the Old Testament in the book of
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Jeremiah that gives us the hope of Israel.
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Remember, Jeremiah is prophesying Israel's on the
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brink of going into Babylonian captivity, and they have all of
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their hopes of their future are dashed.
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And yet the Lord says in verse #17 there is hope for your
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future. Don't weep, don't cry, don't be
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sad, because in your future there is hope.
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He describes that hope in verse #22 what he says these words of
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Jeremiah chapter 31. He says, How long will you go
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here and there, O faithless daughter?
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For the Lord has created a new thing in the earth.
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There is hope in your future. For the Lord has created Bara
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out of nothing. Something new, something
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unexpected, something that you would not ever come to
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understand in the normal train of thought.
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But the Lord has created something new.
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Here it is. Are you ready?
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A woman will encompass a man. Every rabbi before the time of
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Christ interpreted that phrase as the fact that the Messiah
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would be born with no earthly father that a woman will
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encompass that would mean that she would encompass a man by
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holding that man in her arms, or that that man would be
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encompassed because that man would be implanted in her womb.
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And the Bible says that this new thing that's been created in the
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earth, a woman, will encompass a man, not an ordinary man.
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It's the word gay bear, which is an extraordinary mighty man.
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Same word translated in Deuteronomy 10 and applied to
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God Himself. Same word used as Zechariah 13
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verse #7 and applied to Christ Himself.
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Also in Deuteronomy chapter 32, it's referred to as the Lord of
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hosts. So when you look at this and you
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begin to realize, think of Mary well versed in the Old
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Testament, coming to grips that the prophecy of Jeremiah chapter
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31 verse #22 is being being realized in her life.
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That she is now the woman that encompasses this mighty man,
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this Lord of hosts, this Messiah, this Holy One of God,
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this King of Israel. Absolutely amazing.
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But what's even more amazing is that when God made the
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announcement to Mary, He chose her and nobody else.
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Notice that He didn't make the announcement in Jerusalem.
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He didn't choose a virgin from Jerusalem.
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He didn't choose a virgin from Judea.
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He he didn't make this announcement in the Temple, the
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hub of all that happens when it comes to religious activity in
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Israel. No, he decided to take a virgin
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from a a village called Nazareth.
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Nazareth was a no place, a nothing place.
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It was a despicable place, a despised place.
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God sent Gabriel to a despised village in Galilee.
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The announcement for the Forerunner to the Messiah was to
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a priest who was performing his priestly duties in the temple,
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and Gabriel would go to him and tell him that his wife Elizabeth
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was going to give birth to the forerunner to the Messiah.
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We understand that that birth announcement, but we don't get
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this birth announcement given in Nazareth.
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So if you got your Bible, turn to Matthew chapter 2.
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Let me show you something. Maybe you already know this, but
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then again, maybe you don't because it's after the birth of
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Jesus and the Angel comes to Joseph in a dream and tells him
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you got to leave, you got to flee the land and go to Egypt.
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Why? Because Herod is angry.
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The Magi have come, the Magi have rode into Jerusalem, and
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there was great fear in the city, and there was great fear
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in Herod. Why?
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It's not because 3 men with crowns came riding on the
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backside of donkey donkeys. Excuse me, I'm sorry.
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Camels, camels into Jerusalem. It's because you have a whole
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pack of magic. They traveled in packs of
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hundreds and thousands and they're they're called
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kingmakers. Kingmakers ride into Jerusalem
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looking for a king that's been born.
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They followed the star. So here they are looking for
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this king. Hair, of course, is upset.
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And so the Angel comes to Joseph in a dream and says you got to
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flee to Egypt. So they go down to Egypt to, by
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the way, fulfill a prophecy in Hosea 11 verse #1 That's what it
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says in verse #15 This was to fulfill what has been spoken by
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the Lord through the prophet singular Hosea 11 verse #1 And
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of course, Herod sets that on a mission to destroy all the
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children two years and under. And in this mission to destroy
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all those who were two years and younger, The Lord 700 years
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before that had given a prophecy of a plan that would send his
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son to Egypt and bring him back again.
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And of course, when Herod decides to slaughter all the
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children two years and younger, it too was a fulfillment of
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prophecy. According to the book of
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Jeremiah 31, verse number 15 and 16, when it says a voice was
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heard in Rama weeping in great mourning, Rachel weeping for her
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children, she refused to be comforted because they were no
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more. That too was the fulfillment of
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prophecy. And so everything about what's
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happening surrounding the coming of the Messiah has been
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prophesied. Herod dies, an Angel comes to
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Joseph again It says now you can go back to Israel, go back to
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Nazareth. And so it says in verse #23 of
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Matthew chapter 2 that they came and lived in a city called
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Nazareth. This was to fulfil what was
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spoken through the prophets. He should be called a Nazarene.
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Now you might not understand the implications of that, but this
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is huge. The key to interpretation of
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scripture is the observation of scripture.
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If you're not very good at observing the text, you have a
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hard time interpreting the text. Notice what it says in verse #15
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This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through
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the prophet. Singular verse #17 Then what had
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been spoken through the Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled.
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Again, singular. But verse 23 says this was to
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fulfill what was spoken through the prophets, plural.
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Why is that important? Because if you go back and you
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read every single prophet in the Old Testament, not one of them
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says he shall be called a Nazarene.
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Wait a minute. Did Matthew get it wrong?
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Did he misapply Scripture? Because, you see, you can't find
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that phrase anywhere in the Old Testament.
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And yet the prophets, plural, more than one, probably more
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than two, probably three or four or five of them, all gave the
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prophecy that he should be called in Nazarene.
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That's why he chose a virgin in Nazareth.
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Because he shall be called a Nazarene.
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So wait a minute, if it's nowhere in the Old Testament,
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how can Matthew say the prophet said it?
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Or old tradition being passed down from generation to
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generation? The same way, by the way, listen
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that Jude would say in Jude 14 and 15, the words that Enoch
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prophesied while living on earth.
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Although you go back to the book of Genesis and nowhere are the
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words of Enoch's prophecy given except in Jude 14 and 15.
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Because Jude under the inspiration of the Spirit of God
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would record what Enoch said, even though it's not recorded in
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the book of Genesis. By the way, the same way Paul
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said these words in Acts 2035 when he said, remember the words
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of our Lord Jesus when he said, it is more blessed to give than
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it is to receive. And yet you can search the
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Gospels high and low. And Jesus never said that.
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So how can Paul say that? Because under the inspiration
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scripture, he is recording what Jesus said, even though it's not
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recorded in the Gospels. So now you come to Matthew
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chapter 2 verse #23 And Matthew was writing to Jewish people,
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Jewish people who are well versed in the Old Testament,
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knowing what the prophets had said, that have been passed down
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from generation to generation. That He shall be called a
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Nazarene puts it into print under the inspiration of the
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Spirit of God to let us know that that's exactly what the
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prophet said. That's why he chose a virgin
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from the village of Nazareth. Aren't you glad you came today?
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That's just such great truth. Some will tell you that the word
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Nazareth is from the Hebrew word netsir which means the branch or
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the shoot which is a title for the Messiah in Isaiah 11 one and
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two, Jeremiah 23 five and six, that that is the title of the
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Messiah. And because Nazareth is from the
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word netsir, when Jesus was crucified, and it says Jesus the
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Nazarene, king of the Jews, the religious leaders were upset and
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told Pilate to change what he had written to say.
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This is what he says, and Pilate says I have written what I have
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written, because when they would look at the cross and they would
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look at the placard, they would see the Hebrew word netsir, the
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branch, and it says Jesus the branch is the king of the Jews.
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And that's absolutely correct. So even Pilate, A Pagan, would
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be used by God to explain to us the identity of the Christ
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child. Remember the words of Nathaniel
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in John chapter 1, when he was told that they had found the
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Messiah, that he's from Nazareth, he said.
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And Nathaniel was a man with no guile and no deceit.
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According to the words of Christ, can any good thing come
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out of Nazareth? Why?
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Because Isaiah 53 tells us that the Lord would be despised and
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he would be rejected. You can read Psalm 69, Psalm
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chapter 22, Psalm 49 and all speak about the scorning aspect
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of the Messiah. And then of course in John 18,
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when they go to retrieve the Christ in the Garden of
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Gethsemane, Christ goes to them and he asked them a question.
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Whom do you seek and what do they say?
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Jesus the Nazarene. Why?
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Because it was such a term of derision, a a term of
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despicability. This man was despised.
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And of course, what did Jesus say?
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I am, and upon saying I am a go, a me, they all fell over
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backwards. Who's all 600 temple police and
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guards, along with leaders of the religious establishment who
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came with them and Judas? I am and they all fell over
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backwards. That's not the remarkable thing.
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The remarkable thing is that they got back up and they didn't
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fall down and worship him. And Christ would say, I'm sorry,
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excuse me, whom did you seek? And they would say again, Jesus
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the Nazarene, he was despised and rejected by men.
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The context of the Song of Mary, the portrait of praise, is
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absolutely crucial to your understanding of what she says,
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to understand the context, to understand this young 13 year
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old girl and all that's happening in her mind, in her
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family. I mean, Joseph wanted to put her
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away because he thought she had sinned against him.
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I mean, how are you going to convince your parents that
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you're pregnant and you've never known a man?
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How are you going to convince your friends of this?
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How are you going to convince anybody that Joseph didn't
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believe it? The Angel Gabriel had to appear
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to him and tell him the story so he would believe it.
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He wouldn't even believe Mary. You should call his name Jesus.
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He shall save his people from their sins because what's
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happened to Mary is the fulfillment of Isaiah 714.
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And the Angel quotes that. So Joseph would know that
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everything about this coming Christ child was miraculous.
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And that's just a little bit of the context.
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My time is leaving me as it's leaving you.
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And so let me give you the components of her praise.
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It begins, number one, with a confirmation of God's purposes.
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She begins this way. My soul exalts the Lord.
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My spirit has rejoiced in God, my Savior.
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This is an inward compulsion. My soul, my spirit, everything
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on the inside of me is magnifying.
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The name of God is making large the name of God.
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Not that I am making God any bigger than He is, but that
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everything about him is enlarged in my soul.
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My soul is enlarged because of the Messiah, because of what God
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has done. I rejoice in God my Savior.
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It's a confirmation of God's purposes and what was God's
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purpose in coming to earth. He came to earth to seek and to
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save that which is lost. He's a Savior.
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So she would rejoice in God, her Savior.
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She recognized her need for a savior because she recognized
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that she was a Sinner and she needed to be saved.
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And God is a savior. All throughout the Old
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Testament, God would reiterate the fact that He was Israel's
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Savior. Isaiah 43 verse #3 For I am the
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Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.
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Verse #11 of Isaiah 43. I even I am the Lord, and there
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is no savior besides me. Verse 14 Thus says the Lord your
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Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, I am your deliverer, I'm
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your Redeemer, I'm your savior. Isaiah 44 verse #6.
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Thus says the Lord the King of Israel, and his Redeemer, the
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Lord of hosts. Isaiah chapter 46 verse #21 a
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righteous God and the Savior. There was none except me.
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Turn to me and be saved all the ends of the earth.
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For I am God, and there is no other.
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There's only one Savior. And so in their praise, this
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portrait of praise, it's a picture that's painted for us so
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we will know how to praise our God.
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And in our praise there should be always a confirmation of the
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purposes of God. In our praise, we are confirming
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that God is a Savior. He's a Savior.
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First Timothy 410 of all men, especially of those who believe
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our Lord God is a Savior. It's His memorial name all the
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way from Exodus chapter 3, that He is the one who delivers, who
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rescues, who redeems and saves. That's how he's supposed to be
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known from generation to generation.
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And Mary confirms the purposes of God.
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Not only is there a confirmation of the purposes of God, but
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there is an affirmation of the preferences of God.
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Listen to what she says. She says, for he has had regard
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for the humble state of his bond slave.
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For behold, from this time on all generations will count me
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blessed. He has had or he has regard for
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the humble state of his bond slave.
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She is affirming God's preferences because God opposes
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the proud. He only gives grace to the
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humble, and Mary's affirming this fact that she's a bond
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slave, a servant of the King, and in her humility she has been
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blessed. When the Angel came to her, he
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said Hail graced 1. Our text says Hail favored one,
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but it really means Hail graced 1 You, you've been graced, Mary.
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You're going to receive something you don't deserve.
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This is the humble state of the mother of the Messiah, the model
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of maturity, Mary. The Bible tells us these words
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in the prophet Isaiah, when he says Isaiah chapter 57 verse #15
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For this says the high and exalted One who lives forever,
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whose name is holy, I dwell on high and holy place, and also
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with the contrite and lowly in spirit, in order to revive the
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spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the
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contrite. Those are God's preferences.
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He is geared toward the humble. That's why when He comes and
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preaches that great sermon in Matthews 5-6 and seven, he
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begins this way. Blessed are the poor in spirit.
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Blessed are those who are poverty stricken, not not
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physically, but spiritually. Blessed are the bankrupt.
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Blessed are the humble. Blessed are the broken and
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crushed in spirit for theirs, and theirs only is the Kingdom
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of heaven. God gives the Kingdom of heaven
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not to the proud, not to the arrogant, not the ones who are
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self fulfilled. He gives it to the humble, to
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the broken, to those who are crushed in spirit.
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That's why in Isaiah 66 verse #1 it says to this man, when I look
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to him who is broken and of a contrite spirit, and who
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troubles at my word, this is the one I look towards.
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This is the one I prefer. This is the one who will reign
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supreme in my Kingdom. So when Jesus came and preached
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to Luke chapter 4, that sermon in the synagogue, when he read
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from Isaiah chapter 61, I came to proclaim the gospel to the
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poor, not physically poor. Those who are spiritually poor,
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those who are spiritually bankrupt, those who are are
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imprisoned by Satan's bondage. I'm going to release the
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captive. I'm going to save the Sinner.
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I preach to the poor. So Mary, a very, very young age,
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gives a song of praise. She becomes the portrait of
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praise, and in it there's a confirmation of God's purposes,
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there is an affirmation of God's preferences, and then there is a
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declaration of God's perfections, a declaration of
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God's perfections. Every time we praise the Lord,
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we are declaring the perfect attributes of God.
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What does she say? She chooses. 3 The mighty One
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has done great things for me. Holy is his name, and his mercy
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is upon generation after generation toward those who fear
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you. Wow.
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He is mighty, He is holy. He is mercy to those who are
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unable. He is mighty to those who are
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unholy. He is holy to those who are
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unworthy. He is mercy.
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And she begins to declare the perfections of God, knowing that
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He is El Gabor from Isaiah 9 verse #6 the mighty God.
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He's already done mighty things in her.
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She's already conceived at this point, having never known a man,
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God has done mighty things already in her.
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And so she's going to praise him for his mighty works because
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he's a mighty God. And the Angel had already said,
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the holy child will be conceived in you.
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Oh, his name is holy, holy, holy.
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And that's why Psalmist would reiterate over and over again,
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give thanks unto the holiness of his name and remembrance of His
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Holiness. Give thanks.
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Why? Because he is a holy God.
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And amidst all of our unholiness, we need holiness.
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Amidst all of our unableness, we need mightiness, we need power.
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And she gives praise to God for that.
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And then she says his mercy. She's unworthy, but she obtains
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mercy. It's because of his mercies that
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we are not consumed. Great is thy faithfulness,
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Lamentations tells us. And so she declares the
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perfections of God. When you praise Him, you praise
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Him for who He is. His attributes define his
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character. And that's what she does.
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That's why she's the portrait of praise.
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There's a confirmation of God's purposes.
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There's an affirmation of God's preferences, and then there's a
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declaration of God's perfections #4 the 4th component to her song
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of praise. There is a resuscitation of
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God's Providence. There is a resuscitation of
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God's Providence. In other words, she begins to
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recite the providential workings of God in the past so that she
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can proclaim them for the future.
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Listen to what she says. She says He has done mighty
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deeds with his arm. He has scattered those who are
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proud in the thoughts of their heart.
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He has brought down rulers from their Thrones.
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He has exalted those who were humble.
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He has filled the hungry with good things.
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He has sent away the rich empty handed.
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She knows Israel's history. She knows those those who have
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come against Israel, people like Belshazzar and and
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Nebuchadnezzar who are proud. But God brought them low.
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How they thought themselves exalted upon their own Thrones.
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But God took them from their Thrones and humbled them.
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Because this is the God she carries in her womb that one day
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she will give birth to in His enfleshment.
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And so she is reciting all that He has already done in hopes
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that this is what's going to continue.
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And it will, because He is the Messiah, the God of the
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universe. So there is a confirmation of
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God's purposes. An affirmation of God's
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preferences, a declaration of God's perfections, a
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resuscitation of God's Providence.
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And lastly, there is a celebration of God's promises.
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She says these words in 54 and 55.
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He has given help to Israel, His servant, in remembrance of His
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mercy as He spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and his
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descendants forever. She understands the Abrahamic
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covenant. She understands that from
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Genesis 22 verse number #18 that an Abraham's seed singular, all
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the nations of the world will be blessed.
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And the seed that would come through the line of Abraham
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would be the sign or the seed of the Messiah.
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And it's because of that one coming mercy is granted from
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generation to generation. For God has come to help His
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people, Israel. Finally, the Redeemer has
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arrived. Finally, the anticipation of all
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that we have longed for is here, and He is in me, and the
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opportunity to be called blessed from generation to generation.
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In her humble state, she can't thank God enough.
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Mary, the mother of the Messiah model of maturity, is our
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portrait of praise. May we learn much from someone
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who is very, very young, who walks with the Lord, who serves
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the Lord and has been honored by the Lord.
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Let's pray. Lord God, we thank you for this
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day. We thank you for this season.
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And on this Christmas Sunday, we are reminded once again of the
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magnitude of your grace. We're reminded once again of the
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beauty of your presence. We remind you once again of the
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greatness of your character. We're reminded that the season
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is all about the Christ. It's not about Mary, Joseph, the
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shepherds, the angels. It's not even about the Magi.
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It's all about the Christ. Christ has come to earth.
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Heaven has come down. For that we thank you.
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For you only come down for one of three reasons.
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You come down to discipline us, to destroy us or to deliver us.
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And Christmas, it's all about your deliverance, that's why you
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came. And for that we give praise and
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thanks in Jesus name, Amen.