Bringing the light of Jesus Christ into a sin-darkened world. This is the Lighthouse Radio Bible Study. Hello, my name is Ben Fordham, and I invite you to join us now as we study God's Word together. Welcome to the Lighthouse Radio Bible Study. I greet you all in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, and thank you for tuning in. As we look to the word of God today, I would like to draw your attention to the book of Luke, and again, chapter one, as we now look at verses 39 through 56. As we continue our walk of remembrance through this Advent season, we now come to another portion of the story that we, again, should all be very familiar with, and that is the Song of Mary. This is referred to as the Magnificat. In the scene that unfolds before us in our text, we are reminded of the great gifts of God manifested in the lives of His children, the Spirit of God and His mercy. The season of giving is upon us, and we should be grateful for the gifts that we have received and that we are about to receive. So often, instead, we show our ingratitude for the gifts by taking those gifts for granted. We can even go so far as to not recognize the greatness of the gifts that we have been given. As we walk through our text, one of these things we see is the obvious influence of the Holy Spirit. Mary visits Elizabeth, and the Holy Spirit we find filling Elizabeth, or indwelling Elizabeth, and the child that is in her womb. As we see the child leap at the voice of Mary. The Holy Spirit inspires Mary in her song, and we get a picture of the effects of the advent of Christ here as well. The Holy Spirit is going to manifest himself differently in the New Testament believer. So all this work that is beginning in the advent of Christ is going to reach a summit on which the New Testament believer is now indwelt by the Spirit. This is different than the Old Testament experience. How, you say? Well, it's kind of hard for me to explain what it means to someone who's always been indwelt by the Holy Spirit or has, since they were a believer, been indwelt by the Holy Spirit. But this was not always the case in all the believers in the Old Testament. In the Old Testament, we find examples of the indwelling of the Spirit in certain men at certain times, but not in the entire course of their lives from the time they began to believe or became a believer in God. In the New Testament, however, the Holy Spirit indwells all believers, all the children of God. So when one is born again, the gift of the Holy Spirit is received. The Holy Spirit is the comforter. Christ left earth and he is no longer here in body, but is bodily ruling and reigning on a throne while we are indwelt by his spirit. And so, the truth of every New Testament believer's confession of Christ as their Savior is manifest by the fruit of the Spirit coming forth. And that happens because they have been indwelt by the Holy Spirit and are not grieving or quenching that Holy Spirit. And so we see the powerful effects of the Holy Spirit in these verses. But do we recognize these things in our own lives? Do we see these effects for what they are in our own lives? What a wonder it is that the Lord leads us and that the Lord works good in us by His Spirit. And how tragic is it that we can take such a gift for granted, even going so far as to quench the Spirit or to grieve Him by our sin and thankless hearts. We need to be sanctifying ourselves and stirring up our pure hearts and minds by way of remembrance. We need to be filled with the Spirit and zealous of good works. So, how does this work exactly? We have been filled with the Spirit, we have the Holy Spirit indwelling us, and we are often insensible or insensitive to Him and to the work that He is doing in us. But these effects are widespread, and one of the ways that we manifest these effects or that the work of the Spirit in us is stirred up is that we have gratitude for all that God has given us. And so we need to recognize the blessings of God and the mercies of God and the work of God in us and be grateful. After that, we move to exercising ourselves unto holiness. That is, doing the work that God has called us to do in submission to his word and obedience to it. This sounds a whole lot easier than it actually is. And ultimately, all of this, the indwelling of the Spirit, is manifested in our worship. And so in our walk to remember, I want us to remember the beginning of our salvation and the zeal that we had, this desire that we once had to worship God, to magnify the Lord, and to follow after him, this great zeal that usually accompanies a new believer, that sometimes the wicked thorns of the world will choke out or will diminish in some way. This is a call for us to remember the first works, to remember how we first loved Christ and how, because He first loved us, and how zealous we were to follow after Him. How do we apply this? And where do we learn from these things? Let us look at our text. The text, Luke chapter 1, verses 39 through 56. And Mary arose in those days, and went into the hill country with haste into a city of Judah, and entered into the house of Zacharias, and saluted Elizabeth. And it came to pass, that when Elizabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost. And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For, lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. And blessed is she that believeth, for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord. Now we pick up the Magnificent in verse 46. And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Savior. For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden. For behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. For he that is mighty hath done to me great things, and holy is his name, and his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation. He hath showed strength with his arm, he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts, he hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree. He hath filled the hungry with good things, and the rich hath he sent empty away. he hath hopened his servant Israel in remembrance of his mercy, as he spake to our fathers, to Abraham and to his seed forever. And Mary abode with her about three months and returned to her own house. We begin our exposition in verse 39. And Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste into a city of Judah. Having heard from the angel Gabriel about her cousin Elizabeth being with child, and having the promise of being blessed with child herself, Mary made the trip from Nazareth to where Elizabeth was. We're not told exactly what city, but it is likely a Levite city, as Zacharias is priest, or a priest. She made haste to do so is what we are told. We will find out later how difficult travel is for one who is great with child. But she went immediately upon the word of the angel Gabriel telling her that she was going to be overcome with the Holy Spirit and that a child would be born of her. And she was likely pregnant at the time. So we find her traveling there, but traveling with great haste. Verse 40, and entered into the house of Zacharias and saluted Elizabeth. Zacharias was a priest of the course of Abiah or Abijah, which was among the 24 courses that David had divided priests into in 1 Chronicles 24. We find that this is where Mary has gone to see her cousin Elizabeth and to rejoice with her over her new baby. Verse 41, and it came to pass that when Elizabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost. Elizabeth was filled with joy at the greeting of Mary, and so was John the Baptist in her womb. The child recognized the voice of the mother of the Lord in the womb and leapt for joy. This is all produced by the Holy Spirit filling them. The fruit of the Spirit includes joy, and we see this joy manifest here. This is a wondrous moment in which we see the Spirit move. The same Spirit that has produced life in a dead, barren womb that belongs to Elizabeth, also produced that holy thing in Mary, and produces life in dead sinners by applying the blood of Christ. Verse 42. And she spake with a loud voice and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. The words of the angel Gabriel in greeting Mary are now echoed from the mouth of Elizabeth, generated again by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. One of the effects of the indwelling Spirit is the takeover of the tongue. This can be manifest in speaking in tongues, like in Acts chapter 2, even though this instance is not speaking in tongues, but rather speaking under the inspiration of the Spirit. You ever say the same thing as somebody else at the same time and wonder how uncanny that is? Perhaps it was a good thing. Perhaps the Spirit was moving in you. Perhaps you might say the same thing that somebody else said a generation ago, a week ago, or a month ago, in reference to God, and those things are common and revealed to both of you, not by anything other than the Holy Spirit indwelling you. How is it that Elizabeth knew just what to say, and how loud to say it? I say, by the Spirit. Verse 43. And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? In another splendid example here, the Spirit has given Elizabeth revelatory understanding that Mary is indeed the mother of her Lord. This is an expression of humility and understanding. Why is it the mother of my Lord should come to me as if to honor me, she says? Just another little tidbit, by the standards of wicked humanists today, Mary nor Elizabeth would be considered a mother, yet both are mothers here according to the scripture, because life has begun in them, and that life has been given by the Holy Spirit in both cases. Verse 44, for lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. Elizabeth here confesses that as soon as she heard Mary's voice, her babe in her womb leaped for joy. That is to say that she and the connection she had with John the Baptist made them both rejoice, but also there is an understanding here that the Spirit had filled both. By the Spirit, the babe knew who Mary was and who Christ was in her. This knowledge produces joy expressed by the leaping of the baby and expressed by the joy and rejoicing in Elizabeth's calling out and salutation. Verse 45, and blessed is she that believeth, for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord. So this continues the statement Elizabeth began saying, blessed art thou, and echoing the angel saying, blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. Elizabeth now continues talking about Mary and saying, blessed is she, that is Mary, who believed and believed what the angel had spoken to her. She was blessed not only in the act of believing, but also because the thing promised would certainly be fulfilled. Here again, the Holy Spirit is life and joy and comfort to the people of God. God will do all he promised, and Elizabeth prophesied through the Spirit that these things are so. Mary has been given a high honor, and this is the Spirit's work upon her. Mary said, my soul doth magnify the Lord, verse 46. Psalm 34.3 reads this thusly, Oh magnify the Lord with me and let us exalt his name together. To magnify here means to make great, that is to extol or to praise or to celebrate. It does not mean that Mary makes the Lord's name great, God's name is already great, but that Mary is extolling the Lord for that greatness and his greatness is being revealed to her and magnified by her. She is to echo that in her life. When we magnify the Lord, we're not making His name greater, but recognizing His greatness and the fact that His greatness is greater in our estimation than it was before. And so we continue glorifying Him more and more as we learn more and more of Him. He is glorious and we recognize more and more the greatness of that glory and magnify it. Verse 47, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Savior. Mary rejoices here and calls God Savior, and God is her Savior. He is the Savior, and she will give birth to the Lord Jesus Christ, who will be the Savior. He will save his people from their sins. She recognizes that he is her Savior. This proves to us that she was not immaculately conceived, as the Roman Catholic Church holds, nor was she sinless. People who are sinless don't have need of a savior. He saves her and all who are his children from sin and death. Again, the Holy Spirit is in her, producing a rejoicing at the effectual saving power of God. Verse 48, for he hath regarded the lowest state of his handmaiden. For behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. He has seen her, that is Mary, in her low estate and exalted her according to his sovereign will. He did not look upon Mary and see her position and reward her because of her greatness. She was not great by the world's standards. She was not wealthy or powerful. She had no quality inherent to her as a person that caused this regard that God had for her. Indeed, he chose, as he does with all his elect, based upon his sovereign foreknowledge and will. God produced her, and in producing her, had a plan and purpose for her according to his sovereign foreknowledge and will. And this example abundantly teaches us what is elsewhere fully taught in the scriptures, that is, that God is not a respecter of persons. He is not influenced to give favors to people because they have some sort of wealth, honor, or office that they've achieved. He goes and looks to the humble and the contrite. He confounds the wise by exalting the foolish. He confounds the rich by exalting the poor. He imparts his blessings to those who really do need them and have a felt need for him, and those who are going to return and rejoice and worship him because they are his. So he is planned on blessing her in such a way that all generations will call her blessed. This is not a promise that all generations should worship her, nor is it certainly not that at all, but that she has been honored by God and should be honored because she was honored by God. We do not worship or pray to Abraham, but he was honored by God and we honor him. The same should be true of Mary. We honor them because of God, not in the place of God. Verse 49. For he that is mighty hath done to me great things, and holy is his name. Mary knows here that the Lord God is truly holy. This is his preeminent attribute. He is who she calls the mighty who have done great things. The greatest work that God has done is the redemption of his people from their sins. His name is to be revered and reverend as it is holy. Again, being indwelt by the Holy Spirit and inspired to offer this song, Mary shows forth an exalting of God and a condemnation of those who put her on a pedestal to be worshiped. Have you caught on to the fact that I don't like Mary worship? The mighty has done great things to her, marvelous works. Is this not true of you too, dear Christian? Has the Lord not done a mighty work to you in salvation? Verse 50. And His mercy is on them that fear Him from generation to generation. The Lord does not stop His mercies at Mary. Mary is an example of the mercy that God shows to all believers, them that fear him from generation to generation. Mary has a unique honor in being the mother of Christ, but the mercies of God do not end there or end with her or her children. Yes, Jesus also had siblings and Mary was not a perpetual virgin. More to come on that later. The mercies of God extend, it seems, not just from one person to another person, from one individual to another, but from generation to generation, covering all of his people that ever live on the earth. Verse 51, he hath showed strength with his arm. He hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. Mary here expands in magnifying the Lord by declaring the strength of his arm. The right hand or strong arm of the Lord and variance on these phrases are battle cries in the Old Testament. God is going to bring judgment. He is certainly going to bring forth Christ and his strong arm to be merciful to his people in deliverance. But that deliverance is also a scattering of those who are the enemies of his people and the enemies of God altogether. He's going to scatter these, the proud and their evil imaginations. Have we not seen in our journey through Isaiah the Egyptians, the Assyrians, the Babylonians, all scattered and driven away to the benefit of the people of God? Verse 52, he hath put down the mighty from their seats and exalted them of low degree. God has deposed kings as promised in Psalm 2, and the promise of the advent of Christ is that he will take dominion and depose the mighty and exalt the lowly. Joseph and Mary are royalty by the lineage of David, and yet they have been brought low until the time of Christ. Now the world is going to be turned upside down. It will be an instantaneous reversal of fortune, a change of course, but the full consummation, the path back, will be little by little. Verse 53, he hath filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he hath sent empty away. The Lord Jesus is going to reverse the fortunes of his people. The poor come to him for their supply, while the wealthy seemingly have no need of him. But he will fill the poor and hungry and be their source, while he will empty the rich. The rich will be sent away empty, unfulfilled. Proverbs 23 5 says this will thou set thine eyes upon that which is not for riches certainly make themselves wings They fly away as an eagle toward heaven Verse 54 he hath hope in his servant Israel and remembrance of his mercy God has shown and helped helped and shown mercy to his servant Israel and We must always make the distinction between the Israel in name or natural lineage and the Israel of the Lord, the true Israel, because Romans 9 tells us that they are not all Israel that are of Israel. That means we are not all Israel, the people of God, who are of Israel, the man Jacob. The Lord is merciful to his people. He is going to be their helper, and he is going to do that because he remembers his promises and keeps them. Verse 55, as he spake to our fathers, to Abraham and to his seed forever. Again, the Lord is the keeper of his promises. Abraham was promised and his seed was promised this forever. Who is Abraham's seed? Go back and let's read as we've seen before, Galatians 3.29. And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise. Finally, Mary abode with her about three months and then returned to her own house. Not much to say about this verse other than Mary was at Elizabeth's house for three months and was starting to show at this point was likely part of the reason she made haste was to be with her until it was time to go back and be there with her husband in Nazareth. She returns to her own house. Some lessons for us. Mercy, mercy, me. What better time do we have than this to reflect on the mercies of God? We're going to spend time this Christmas season, this season of Advent with family and friends and churches, and we're going to come together in our various ways and celebrate the birth of Christ. We will spend time with our families and we will magnify the Lord, I pray, in our time together with our families and time with our churches as we worship him. The passage before us, as we come together, ought to be a reminder to us of the manifold mercies of God. What do I mean by the manifold mercies of God? Well, everything is a mercy. Okay, so let's clarify. When you awoke this morning, did you count that as a mercy from God? Do you not remember? Do you not know? Have you not heard that for the least sin you committed yesterday, you deserve to die instantly? We take our very life and breath for granted every day, and yet we are spared day by day. I don't think that we remember the death sentence. It's like we are living on death row and forget that our sentence has been commuted day by day. We have the Holy Spirit indwelling us, and bearing fruit in the kingdom is possible. In other words, we have a superpower. What do I mean by that? We can please the all-knowing, all-powerful Creator God because He works His good in us by the supply of the Holy Spirit. How can God be pleased by man? How can we offer anything to Him? Because God has redeemed us in Christ and sent us the Spirit to dwell in us. What mercy He has truly shown us. God is merciful to each of us as individuals in particular, for sure, with manifestations that we personally know day by day. But do we count these things as mercies? Do we recognize mercy when we see it? He has been merciful generally to mankind altogether. We see in our passage He is merciful to His people. We see He is merciful to Mary individually. But we also see that He's declared that He's merciful to all. That is to say, God is merciful even to the wicked. He is sharing this mercy, this common grace, though there is nothing common or base about it, with all men. It is called common grace because it's shared by all men. It's something we all have in common, that God has shown us mercy and shown us all grace. God is merciful even to the wicked in giving them life and space to repent. God does not immediately exact the punishment for sin that is owed by every man. He doesn't do it to us, who are his people and believers, and he doesn't do it to the wicked either. We often act surprised that he doesn't do it to the wicked, forgetting that we are owed a similar fate. He makes the sun to shine upon the just and the unjust. He brings forth rain and doesn't hold it from the unjust. So I ask now the question, what mercies has the Lord shown you? Do you sing of these mercies and worship as Mary did? Perhaps in our walk of remembrance today, we might start looking at our own life and remembering the mercies of God in it. From conception, throughout every moment of your life, you have been shown the mercies of God. You turned this way instead of that. You partook in something you shouldn't have, and God did not punish you to the fullest extent that the law would allow. Day by day, as you've walked through this life, moment by moment, God has shown you mercy. And the greatest mercy is shown is in our redemption. So what will we do with these mercies of God? What are we to do? Let us strive, though we will never attain it, to walk worthy of these mercies. Did you wake up today? Thank the Lord for His mercy. Did you enjoy the blessings of food and shelter today? Thank the Lord for His mercy. Do you have everything you need today? Thank the Lord for His mercy. Life, breath, food, raiment, and many more things have been supplied to us by God. Let us remember this and let us be thankful, and then remember to be merciful to one another, because we are to be also in mercy to one another, examples of Christ's mercy and love toward us. So let us be found doing these things, and remember this, and be faithful, and pray that the Lord will give us more light. Bringing the light of Jesus Christ to a sin-darkened world. This is the Lighthouse Radio Bible Study. The Primitive Baptists who bring you this program each week do so with the following conviction. We believe that the Bible is the Word of God, it is our guide for what we are to believe, and it is our guide for what we are to do. We believe that Jesus Christ is the Messiah, the Son of God, and He is to be followed as Lord and Savior. And we believe that His salvation is a free gift of God's sovereign grace, not dependent on any work that we do, but wholly dependent on His finished work done on our behalf. We present this weekly Bible study based on the premise of Psalm 119, verse 105. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. If you would like to contribute to the furtherance of this program, then please send your donation to this address. The Lighthouse, P.O. Box 1317, Baxley, GA 31515 Again, that's The Lighthouse, P.O. Box 1317, Baxley, GA 31515. Or if you would like to send a question or comment to us, you can also send your correspondence to that same address. You can also access our programs and other helpful information on our sermonaudio.com page. at www.sermonaudio.com forward slash broadcasters forward slash L-H-R-B-S. Again, that's all lowercase letters, www.sermonaudio.com forward slash broadcasters forward slash L-H-R-B-S. Until next week, this has been Fordham, praying that God will light your world.