MARY’S SONG – Part 2 of 2

“From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me -- holy is His name. His mercy extends to those who fear Him, from generation to generation.”  (Luke 1:48b–50 NIV)

Second, Mary focused on the holiness of God by simply putting breath to four little words: “holy is His name” (v. 49b). For Mary to trust in an uncertain future, she had to look back at the certainty of a holy God. As Mary sang of the holiness of God, her song resonated with David’s song found in Psalm 111:9 that reads: “He provided redemption for His people; He ordained His covenant forever -- holy and awesome is His name.” Mary was looking back and remembering the unchanging nature of God. The God who was faithful and holy then, is still faithful and holy now.

Last, she sang of the mercy of God by declaring: “His mercy extends to those who fear Him, from generation to generation” (v. 50). Again, perhaps Mary took a cue from the Psalms and made it her own. The psalmist David wrote:

“The Lord is compassionate and gracious,
      slow to anger, abounding in love.
He will not always accuse,
      nor will He harbor His anger forever;
He does not treat us as our sins deserve
      or repay us according to our iniquities.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
      so great is His love for those who fear Him;
as far as the east is from the west,
      so far has He removed our transgressions from us.
As a father has compassion on his children,
      so the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him…” (103:8–13)

Whatever stressors you have in your life today, take some notes from Mary. Remind those stressors about the mightiness of God, the holiness of God, and the mercy of God. Then look forward to what God has in store. 

-- Excerpted from “Wake-Up Call” with Mark Sorensen 

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NO PERFECT PEOPLE

“But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”  (Romans 5:8 NIV)

God loves us not because we are good but because He is good; not because we are perfect but because He is; not because we are worthy, but because He is gracious. And God wants us to imitate His generous spirit in our dealings with other people. If you can’t love other people for their sake, love them for God’s sake! Let the love of God flow into you and out to others, because there are no perfect people. 

-- James W. Moore and Bob J. Moore in “Lord, Give Me Patience!... And Give It to Me Right Now!” 

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BECAUSE GOD IS GRACIOUS

“The LORD is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.”  (Psalm 145:8 ESV)

The two great features of Protestant theology are its doctrines of justification by faith and the law as the rule of life.  This is a synthesis of New Testament grace and Old Testament ethics.  With this synthesis, Protestants have solved the problem of finding a gracious God, but they have not solved the problem of finding gracious neighbors.  They can fellowship with God because He is gracious; but they find it difficult to fellowship with one another, because they are not so gracious.

-- Robert D. Brinsmead in “Justification by Faith” 


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PRAYER FOR PEOPLE I DISLIKE

Loving God, Mysterious Wind-like Spirit,
blow strongly if You will
and surround with joy all those people whom I dislike.
Be gracious to those whose giftedness I envy.
Bless with wealth and success
those already annoyingly more successful than myself.
They deserve my encouragement, never my scorn.
I pray especially for all those
who do not particularly reverence me,
or may, in fact, dislike me and shun my company.
Give me eyes to see beauty and winsomeness
where I have not seen it before,
and give us all the self confidence to believe
that we would have no enemies at all
if we were known as You, Holy Wisdom, know us.
Amen.

-- William Cleary, as quoted in “When in Doubt, Sing” by Jane Redmont


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