Manuel, God with us. I hope that each and all of you can rejoice as we sing that last song and the others as well. I enjoyed hearing our brother Matthew said that he He has come, or he said he will come, and he has come, and he will come again. Maybe we need to write a few more stanzas. Maybe our hymn writer Matthew could come up with another portion to that. Oh, rejoice. How much rejoicing we have, brothers. I was drawn to that last sentence. I've sung it many times before, but all peoples in one heart and mind. This is what God is doing. Bid envy, strife, and quarrels cease. Fill the whole world with heaven's peace. This will one day be true, completely. We don't even understand that, I think, with all the strife and things and quarrels that we have and envy and you name it. What a verse. It just made me think of that, I just wanted to share.
Well, we are continuing the Gospel of Luke as we look at the narrative here of before the birth of Jesus. We are looking at chapter one. We're in verse 46 this morning. I want us to remember something pivotal, that God's ways are not our ways, not man's ways. He says in Isaiah 55, for my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. God's providence works many times in a completely different level than what you and I think things ought to go. Wouldn't you say that as we go through life and we think, well, it ought to go this way, and it just seems things get flipped on its head and God is working in these ways.
And it has been said that, I heard this said, that God's providence is like a wagon wheel. You kids, a wagon wheel is a big, big wheel that we used to use and wagon, horses would pull, but they had spokes on there. And so the spoke that's at the top, as the wagon wheel turns, the top one goes to the bottom and the bottom one goes to the top. We think about in man's way of working things, man puts something on a top and God puts it on the bottom and vice versa. The lowly and the humble God exalts. We see this time and time again where God says every valley shall be raised up and every mountain shall be made low. The providence of God easily cuts down those trees that think they are God's gift to the world. And he takes out of dry ground and brings out of nothing, makes what is out of what was not. God is pleased to look down upon the lowly. the ones that the world thinks are insignificant, the ones that you may feel this way today of being unnoticed, maybe even despised by the world. God looks upon this one. He comes to the poor and the hungry and the needy. He comes to the Elizabeths and the Marys, the Mary of Nazareth here. God loves to attend to the lowly, the humble.
And the passage this morning is Mary's exclamation of praise at what God has done. It's full of gospel teaching in this prayer, this exclamation, whatever we want to call it, as she is speaking of what God has done. who God is and what he has done. And so I pray this morning that the Spirit of God will instruct us this morning to believe like this young girl did, to take this young girl's example of this believer, Mary, and that we will learn much, that we will receive guidance, each of us, on this pilgrim way that we are on. I want to read just one little short poem of another poet before we read this passage. says this children of the heavenly King,
as ye journey, sweetly sing,
sing your Savior's worthy praise,
glorious in his works and his ways.
Let's pray before we read the text. Lord, help us as we seek to receive from you, revive our souls, I pray, that you would stir our spirits, Lord, we confess this morning that at times we fail to rejoice. We are slow to exalt and our hearts are quiet to sing. We confess, Lord, that we are many times more focused on our circumstances and too little on you and your majesty. We pray that we would have hearts, says Mary, that your word would teach us and redirect each of us, that our gaze would be upon the Savior, that we would exalt the Lord and rejoice in God, my Savior. May that be the prayer for each person here this morning. It's in Jesus' name that I pray, amen.
I'll read the text this morning, if you will read along with me. This is the word of God. Now remember that, remember where we are. Mary has received the word from the angel Gabriel that she would conceive. And after that wonderful declaration to her that she said that behold, even your Elizabeth is also in her old age with child at six months. And Mary says, The angel says, nothing will be impossible with God. And Mary said, behold, the bond slave or the dulay, the female slave of the Lord, may it be done to me according to your word. Joyful submission. And she goes and she visits Elizabeth. And you remember Elizabeth is blessed as she who believed. And we saw that last week of Elizabeth's proclamation of Elizabeth's, excuse me, of Mary's faith.
Now, after this same setting, she's in here with Mary, she's visited Elizabeth, excuse me, Mary has visited Elizabeth, and here is Mary's proclamation, verse 46, and Mary said, My soul exalts the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior, for he has 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, and holy is his name. And his mercy is upon generation after generation toward those who fear him. He has done mighty deeds with his arm. He has scattered those who were proud in their thoughts of their heart. He has brought down rulers from their thrones. He has exalted those who were humble. He has filled the hungry with good things and sent away the rich empty handed. He has given help to Israel his servant in remembrance of his mercy as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and his descendants or his seed forever.
And Mary stayed with her about three months and then returned to her home.
Brothers and sisters, I hope you see that Mary's song is not about herself. It is all about Christ. It is all about the Savior whom God had used her to bring Him into His creation. But her praise is focused entirely about God, who He is and what He has done, and how God is over all things.
She is coming in submission to God's will. joyous to be even a part of it, that you even looked down upon me, that you even took notice of me, God. She here wants to praise God, praise for how He's working out His plan in creation, yes, but in the recreation, in redemption, that redemption has come.
And here is the fulfillment of what was prophesied for many, many years. Mary here, the believer, Mary is the sinner saved by grace. If you're a Christian, Mary is like you in that regard. There's false teaching out there that says, well, Mary had no sin. No, that's not what the Bible says. Mary is not rejoicing that, oh, look at the merit that I have. She had no merit, just like you and I have no merit. She came humbly, and this declaration helps us to understand where Mary is coming from.
Mary is a believing one. Blessed is she who believed, you remember Elizabeth pronounced. And what Mary is trying to, is relaying to all who would hear and is inscripturated in the Bible now is that there is none like you, God. God, you are majestic over all things. And she is proclaiming this, this picture of the believer of Mary is what I want us to see of a Christian example.
A Christian example of what our life should be about. Not to focus on our circumstances. She's not focusing on, well, what are people going to say? What are people going to think? Oh me, oh my. But she's saying, oh God, God, you are glorious in your majestic plan.
And I want us to look at two particulars. This was a hard study for me. I'm not sure why. It was 1.15 in the middle of the night last night, and I'm praying that the Lord would help me, and he's giving me a rough outline. It seems pretty simple, but hopefully it's good for you and for me both. But what we want to see this morning is the Christian's calling, or the believer's calling, and secondly, the Christian's characteristics.
I had to get up and write these down and I'm saying this because you should write these down too because they'll be helpful because you can remember better. I guarantee you if I had just gone to sleep I wouldn't have remembered where I was going with this and not because there's anything great about a very simple way. I want to preach in a simple way. If it's high and lofty, it might sound good to some people, but it's not penetrating to anybody. And so I hope that it's down to where a child could understand simply But what I want us to see is twofold, the calling and the characteristics. And I don't want to look at one and then go to the other, because I'm just going to run how they're together and overlapping. This is one thing that's for sure. A Christian's characteristic never separates from the calling. And the calling never separates from the characteristic.
Think about, let's think about you as a Christian. Well, let's just put it in a pastor's perspective. Think of all the other callings that you could be called to. A coach, an attorney, a doctor, you name it. And what your characteristics are, what you do, doesn't really, it's not going to really affect your surgeon quality or the reputation of the attorney if he's an adulterer, a liar, It doesn't really affect that. But think about it in terms of a Christian, a proclaimer, or a pastor. If those things are not together, I'm not saying there's perfection there, but if there's not a looking like Christ, as you preach Christ, your message will be void. Null and void, why would they listen to you? Think about it, that's the only calling that that works, that those things go together. Your calling and your characteristic. Interesting. At least it was for me. It might not be interesting for you.
But what I want us to see is Mary here, her calling. What is her calling? I was helped by the prayer this morning from Brother Garrett. What is our calling as Christians? Your highest calling is to worship. Mary is worshiping here. And she's not getting to a certain stage and she says, well, hold on, let me get out my book of common prayer, or let me get out this rote whatever, and let me read this. This is spontaneous combustion, if you will. She is coming out of the seams of who God is. She's exalting her Savior. and she is glorying in God. It is coming from within. True worship must start in the soul.
Now, of course, we are to worship according to what God's word has said. We call that being regulated in our worship. We worship corporately according to how God has told us in the scriptures. We don't make up things to do tomorrow or next Sunday. God has given us how he desires to be worshipped. But when God works in the life of a believer, when God inflames your heart, the voice must speak. Zacharias, remember, he was made silent. Why? He didn't believe. Mary is a believing one, and she's welling up with joy as she communicates to us. And so worship is what the calling is.
Two characteristics I want to focus on, and we could look at more, but two. One is humble submission. Humble submission to God's will. Not to what you want to do, but to God's will. And secondly, joyous exaltation. So that's the framework that I want us to look at this morning.
And first of all, I want to see the The how is she worshiping? How is she worshiping? She says, my soul exalts, my spirit has rejoiced. It's coming from the inner man, if you will, the inner woman, the inside, the part that made in the image of God, the one that God is connecting with, and this is where she is exalting from, and it's coming out of her mouth, out of the heart, the mouth speaks, the Bible says. And my spirit has rejoiced in God, my Savior, Mary needed a Savior? Yes. Mary is not a mediator. She's not sharing in anything of God. She realizes that she needs a Savior, and the Savior she needs, God is letting her to be the one that is in her womb. Amazing. In fact, amazing to the point of that you would look down upon me, God, humble little Mary, like there's so many others that were more qualified, but why me? Why me, Lord? Surely there's someone better equipped. Why me, Lord? She says, for he has regard. for my humble state." My humble state as your slave, the doulae, the female slave, you've looked down on my humble state.
Now, what could this mean? I believe it's twofold. The humble state of, she was very poor. She was a family that had very little means. We know this from the rest of the gospel account. But not only was she humble in that sense, she was humble in that she, a sinner, needed a savior. She was a debtor to mercy. She was a beggar looking for bread and needing the bread of life. In two ways, she was humble.
But she says, God, you looked down upon me. You even took notice of me. Have you ever thought about that? Or are you one that's up on the high horse and say, well, of course God noticed me? Or are you realizing the magnitude of God and you say, I'm so grateful, God, that you even took notice of me?
The one who was rebelling against you, the one who was going his own way, the one who was blaspheming you, the one who was in total cosmic rebellion, And while we were yet sinners, enemies, you came into this creation to die for me, to desire to reconcile, to bring me to right standing before a holy God. Why me, Lord, in my humble state? Are you in that humble state?
We're going to see there's an opposite to the humble state. There is a contrast in the passage that she is even telling us now. She said, behold, from this time on, all generations will call me blessed. I think there's a twofold here too. Blessed, of course, none of you mothered the incarnate Son of God. So blessed for sure in her position in that. But how about just blessed to believe? Blessed to have grace poured out upon me.
Sisters here, if you're in Christ, I can say blessed are you who have believed that you are highly favored, that God has looked upon your humble state and says, you are one of my daughters and sons, you who are in Christ. Blessed are you. Blessed are you among mankind. For not all have been looked upon with this grace. And not all have had God's electing sovereign grace come and bring you to life in Christ, to see the truths that you have.
Look, you didn't come to God and come to Christ just by your own intelligence. You weren't born in this situation. God revealed Himself through His Word and by His Spirit to where you said, I was blind, but now I see. I was dead and now I live. Christ has done this. God has done this. God alone. It is His grace alone. And all Christians share this. All Christians share this understanding.
And what does she say? All generations will call me blessed. Blessed means highly favored. For the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is His name. She starts with God, and she starts at the top of who God is. In fact, we're going to see what she's doing. She's saying who He is and what He has done. When you pray, when you read, when you proclaim to other people, you want to start with God. Who He is and what He's done. We can't know who we are without those two things.
Who He is, primarily He's holy. I have a hard time saying it just one time. Because He's holy, holy, holy. If the angels have to say it three times at least, I think we ought to say it at least. This is for emphasis. He is holy other than. He is transcendent. He is God above. The amazing thing, so when I speak about holiness and He is other than, we talk about God's transcendence, how He is so much more than man, no comparison, but also He desires to be with Emmanuel, to be with us, God with us.
Isaiah 57, 15, I've been looking at this verse for a few weeks now. For thus says the High and Exalted One, who lives forever, whose name is holy. Here's what he says. I dwell on a high and holy place. Uh-oh, I can't go there. What does he say next? And also, with the contrite and the lowly of spirit. In order to revive the spirit of the lowly, to revive the heart of the contrite, When the Spirit of God comes to dwell with you, and when you come to believe in Christ, He is reviving you, reviving your soul and spirit to exalt Him, to praise Him. He is to receive glory. He is to receive all majesty and honor, amen? It is all Him. We have nothing in ourselves. He has done.
The mighty one has done great things. Notice she says, what he has done for me. If you can look at three aspects of this in her exclamation, her prayer, her song. For me, for others, that's you guys, and for all of his special elect people. For all of Israel, for all of his whom he calls his own, for the multitude of his elect, And Mary is basically going through these first for me. He has done mighty things with His arm. God doesn't have an arm, but the picture of His arm speaks of might and power. He is not only desirous to come into creation, desirous to dwell with the contrite and lowly, but He is powerful to do it. It's one thing to desire something, it's another thing to have the power to do it. The power to do it is to come in the incarnation. It should really blow our mind when we think about things of the incarnation. At least it does me. Maybe you have a larger capacity than I do. I don't know, but most people I've talked to, it blows their mind because the more we find, the more we learn, the more we find how little we know. How much I don't know.
Mary is not concerned about what she knows or what she doesn't know. She wants to give glory to God, her savior. He has done mighty things. I spoke of the contrite and the lowly. She also recognizes he has scattered those who were proud in their thoughts of their heart. Is that you? Before we were in Christ, it was all of us. Sometimes it even comes up in some of us. But when we look to God, when we look to the mighty arm of God, we look to our Savior, we become very, very, very tiny. And God becomes great. God is magnified.
The word exalted, you might in your translation have magnified. It doesn't mean you make him great. You are acknowledging his greatness. Our capacity to understand his greatness is increased. That's what it means to exalt, to lift him on high, to realize the holiness and the majesty of our God, of Christ the Lord. And the Spirit of God allows us to do that. The Spirit of God must work in your spirit to truly worship.
Worship is not to be dead theology. Dead theology is just despicable. Theology, the study of God, must work out in doxology, worship. If theology is theology, what's the point of that? That just busts people up. Makes people say, well, look what I know. So? Is it bringing you to exalt the Savior? Is it bringing you to true worship? Heart worship? Worship with your soul. Worship with your mouth. With all of you, your whole person. We don't want to go through these rituals. There's people that do. We have. Before you came to Christ, you were a ritualist. You were doing something to think that you were right with God. You were self-righteous, whatever you want to put, whatever it was for you.
But Mary is not proud. She says, you, God, have scattered those who were proud. You have dispersed them. They are nothing to you. And he has brought down rulers from their thrones. The rulers who exalt themselves against God, who gather themselves and let's come against His anointed, Psalm 2, God laughs. Laughs with derision, with scorn on those who are proud by man's standards, who are high by man's standards. As I said before, remember that wagon wheel? Man's standards, the highness, and God just rolls it half degree, and he's down pretty low. Underneath that wheel, he scatters them, brings down rulers.
But notice what he says. She says, this is inspired by, no doubt she's filled with the Holy Spirit, like Elizabeth was as she's speaking here. And I want you to take note, she is speaking the words of Scripture. It is, I'm reminded of what, John, or John Owen maybe said about John Bunyan, that you prick him anywhere and he bleeds Bibline. It's like Mary, remember she's like 13 years old and just Bible is coming out of her mouth as she exclaims. She's not looking through her scrolls, they had big scrolls back then, it's just coming out. And so parents today, as you teach your children the word of God, this will be something that will be imprinted upon them, and when God chooses to save them, they'll have that Encyclopedia or whatever, the book, the Bible before them where they can proclaim and exclaim and praise God according to his word, where the word comes out in their prayer life, where the word comes out in their speech and they don't talk like the world.
And this Mary was raised in a believing home. They were looking for the Messiah. O come, O come, Emmanuel. But she had no idea that it would come like this. She was looking for the Savior but not in her womb. Think of the shock. Think of the shock and she has gone all the way, three day journey to see Elizabeth, surely very tiring, 60 miles. And does she say, oh, poor me, I'm going to take a nap. I'm so tired. Oh, just my life is so hard. No, she exclaims. She praises God.
Listen, you don't have to have any talent to do what Mary's doing. You don't have to have any skill. You don't have any education to praise God. You don't have to be in a certain circumstance. Well, I'll do that when the sun's shining. No, you can do it in the sickbed. You can do it in your deathbed. You can do it when you bring a baby into the world. When you lose a child, God forbid, you can praise God. You can exclaim the glories of who he is and what he has done. There's no time where you can say, well, God will give me, I've got an excuse now. No, Mary praised her Savior. She says, He has filled the hungry. She's quoting now. In fact, if you wondered why in your Bible it's probably staggered like that, it's because many times the translators will put Hebrew, Poetry in line like that. If you look in Psalms or Proverbs, sometimes it's set up like that, like, you know what I'm saying? It's brought in, I don't know what you call that, but it's trying to show us that this is a Hebrew poetry.
He has filled the hungry with good things. She's saying that I was one hungry. Hungry is one thing to be poor and not have a place to sleep. It's another thing to not have anything to eat. She says, you have filled the hungry. She's quoting from scripture again. In fact, if you go to Psalm 107, it'll help you see where she's quoting from there. She's filled the hungry. He has filled, God has filled the hungry, but he has sent away the rich empty handed. If you think you have all, you think you've got this and I've, in fact, in Revelation, John's reading that and he says, they thought they were rich. and they had all this. And he says, they did not know that they were poor, wretched, naked. People of this world who think they have all this and they need not God. I've got, look at all this stuff I got. Why would I need God? Why would I have time for that? You silly folks that are in that church building. What are they doing? I don't need that. I've got all this stuff. We know people that, maybe we even have family members that are living that type of lie. that think that they don't need a savior. That somehow what we are doing is some sort of fable.
He has filled the hungry with good things, but he sent away the rich. And then he goes from me, what God has done for me, to what God has done for you, to God's covenant of redemption. He says, look, he has given help to Israel, his servant, or his son, in remembrance of his mercy, his loving kindness. This speaks of God's chesed, his covenant love, his promise that he made. And when he makes a promise, it's solid. You and I can make promises and waver. God does not. When he says something, it happens. When he promises it, it comes to fulfillment. When he says he's coming again, that means you better take it to the bank. There's no wavering in his word.
He's given help to Israel's servant in remembrance of his mercy. She's saying that this is happening through me, where the Savior is coming through me to save Israel. And as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham, to his descendants. I think in Genesis 17, where you were today, the promise made to, in Sunday school, the promise made. Mary is saying this is being fulfilled now. Right now, in the time that this is happening, 2,000 years ago, with this little, young, 13-year-old or so believer, Mary.
And then Mary stayed about three months. Remember six months? She was six months pregnant, stayed about three months. Whether she left before he was born or after, we don't know, but she was confirmed in what the angel had said. She was confirmed in the promises that God had made. And she came to this in humble submission and belief to what God has done.
Humble submission. One of the Puritans named John Trapp, he said, humility is both a grace and a vessel to receive grace. Think about that. You don't make yourself humble. God allows us to be humble. In fact, it's been said that a man has just so much Christianity as he has humility. It's a genuine character trait of a mature Christian. It's humility.
Humility is a hard thing to gauge. I'm glad I'm more humble now than I was. You've already got proud of your humility. Humility is an interesting thing that God works in us and we know it when we see it. When you see that older, Saint, that older woman, that older man, or even a younger man, younger woman, walking with Christ, and you see the true humility. You see that they emulate who Christ is, their Savior.
And this is what Mary is doing. She has a disposition of humility, and not only humility, but gratefulness. She's grateful to God, and she wants to tell others about her God. In fact, she's joyous. She just wells up from inside of her, the joy. She doesn't have to somehow get in the right mood. Her theology and what God has done draws her to this doxology and this worship.
Another Puritan named William Gurnell, he said, think about this. Your joy, the joy that you have right now or tomorrow morning, God takes no more delight to dwell in a sad heart than we do to live in a dark house. Think about that. You who, and me, who get sad and we stay sad and we have very little joy at times. Go turn the lights off in your house for a couple of days and just wander around the darkness.
The Holy Spirit of God dwells within us. He wants to dwell with those who are exalting in Him and who are joyous in their salvation. And we come to that joy by gathering the saints, by opening our Bibles, by having worship as we worship. privately and with each other and family worship and as we open the word and as two believers, Elizabeth and Mary, think about the communion they're having there as they're sharing what God has done. They can't help but rejoice.
So next time you're in that pit of sorrow and poor me, Go call up a sister, go call a brother, go over, get out of your funk, open your Bible, see what God has done as we talked about in our foundation, biblical foundations today. Preach the gospel to yourself. Refresh yourself. God desires for us to be joyous in Him. He desires for us to be praisers. Thanksgivingers, not just on Thanksgiving, by the way, like every week. I thought we should have a Thanksgiving like every month, not just because I like turkey, but just because we should be praising God, praising God. I hope we're doing that every Sunday morning, every Lord's Day, and every day in between the Lord's Days.
Remember, when you think about this, I hope this is helpful, you and I are just beggars. beggars telling others where to find bread, that God saved us by His grace. He looked upon me in my humble state. We are debtors to mercy. When you realize that you're a debtor to mercy, you are more apt to praise God. God forbid we have the attitude that, well, it's a good thing God finally noticed me. Like, whoa, be careful. That's not what a Christian sounds like. We know that we are debtors to mercy.
And Mary was a word studier. She was in the words. You know it by their speech. I love the, it's a newer hymn. We don't have it in our hymnal, but standing on the promises of God. Some of you know that? Standing on the promises of God, my savior. Mary was doing that. She was standing on the promises from way back. And she says, God, you have brought them too, and you will continue to do so until you consummate all things. She was a declarer of the Savior, declaring with her voice, and she was a truster in God, truster in God's providence. that God's will was perfect. And not only is His will perfect, His timing is perfect.
Think about this, the next time you're joyless, and I'm speaking to myself, because I deal with this more than you probably, and the circumstances are hard, and I'm, oh, poor, oh, just, you know, sky is falling. Like, realize God is providentially working in all these. The circumstances for your good. Because God is good. I don't know what he's doing, I don't see the end from the beginning, but he does. And you can be joyous in that, in the trial. Count it all joy, my brethren, when you fall into various trials. What are you talking about, count it all joy? This is horrible. Because God is doing something. Doing something in you. You're not as far ahead as you think you are or as far as you should be. God is working in you. And these trials are bringing about these things. And He wants us to have joy. Rejoice always. Again, I say rejoice.
Philippians talks a lot about rejoicing. Worship. I'll end with this. Worship. Jonathan Edwards wrote a book about worship. It was called Religious Affections. And what he's saying is it's not just rote ritual. Worship wells up from inside. It drives our affections. It's not based on some subjective thing. It's based on the Word of God, the objective truth. But it works in our own soul. And so worship primarily is theologically driven, okay? Don't get me wrong. It's Word-driven. But it's also an inward work. It's the Spirit of God. Remember Jesus? He said we worship in spirit and in truth. Truth according to the Word, the Spirit of God working with our spirit, with our soul. Spirit and soul are the same, by the way. It's just parallelism. We are body and soul. but he works inside of us. Worship is from the soul. And Mary is exalting the Lord from her soul.
Can you exalt the Lord from your soul today? Can you exalt the Lord from your spirit when you're in the trial, when you're in the fire? Worship first works upon our mind. But it must then be from the soul, the affections, the heart. It must be moved. It's not mechanical, cold. It's full of life. It's full of warmth, full of heat. And Mary is an example for us here, as others in the Scripture.
But here this morning, we see, and so I want you to take away from this morning how Mary is exclaiming and she's bubbling over full of worship. She wants to shout it from the rooftops. She's not full of unbelief and silence like poor Zechariah. We'll find more about him next week.
But true faith must sing. Must sing. Christians sing. We sing together. Just like a bird, when the sunshine comes out, or even when the clouds are out, they're singing. Learn from them, learn from nature. They glorify God. How about you, who have been redeemed by God's grace? Who have a redeemer, a savior, like Mary does?
Notice her humility, too. Humility and full of thankfulness. So can you sing with Mary? Can you sing like this? If you can't, pray. Go to your room and pray. Get on your knees and ask God to give you this type of joy. To let you see who God is and get your eyes off your circumstances and get them on the Savior. Focus on Him. Focus on God's plan. Focus on who He is and what He has done.
Can you love Him more? Remember, it's he who first loved you. He looked upon you in your humble state. That means pathetic. And he saw you. And think about this, where is your trust? Where is your confidence? Is your confidence in God like Mary? Or are you trying to do things on your own strength? Just to the American way, you know, just by your own right arm. How strong is your right arm compared to God's? We don't have a category for that.
Trust God, not yourself. Trust in His sovereign will. His sovereign will for redemption, but also for your own life. Your own personal life. The question is like, what am I going to do with my job? The question is, how do I raise my son? The question of, what do I do about, you put in the blank. Seek God. Desire His will. Not my will be done, but thy will be done. That's where true joy will be found.
As long as you say, Lord, my will be done, You're not going to have joy because you're not humble. You're proud. It's not about your will. It's not about you. It's about God. It's about His sovereign will. Resting in that, in that pillow of God's providence. It's a sweet pillow. You'll sleep and you'll rest because you trust in He who is great, who is mighty, the mighty one.
And so be like, let us pray that we would be with faith like Mary, faith like Elizabeth, believing the promises and standing upon the promises of God, my Savior. Amen.
Oh God, I pray, Lord, that you would revive the spirit of the lowly, that you would revive the heart of the contrite, Oh Lord, if we have made ourself high and lofty and proud, would you bring us down? Would you humble us and show us our true lowness of position? And your holy highness, your holy majesty, And that we would take to heart that He who lives forever, whose name is holy, who dwells on a high and holy place, also desires to dwell with the lowly.
May this affect our worship. May this affect our affections. May we rejoice, exalt, my soul exalt, my spirit rejoicing in God my Savior. Oh, can that be our cry. And may it be heard from all. who are yours in Christ, forgive us, Lord, when we have made ourselves out to be something great. Forgive us for self-esteem, how pitiful that is, but may our esteem be in Jesus Christ. It's in his name that we pray, amen.
