Mary: A Faithful Worshiper of God

Scripture Reading (click to download audio) – Luke 1:46-55

Mary: A Faithful Worshiper of God

This morning we are looking at Mary, the mother of our Lord. It seems as though throughout history the world has kind of romanticized Mary. There are paintings of her that exalt her like an angel or something.

There are churches that lift her up as being a co-redeemer with Christ in Heaven. They have termed her Queen of Heaven believing she is a sinless lifelong virgin, and so on.

The problem with these claims is the fact that none of them can be backed up with scripture. Scripture tells us that Mary was pretty much a common young girl, from a working class family. The only thing that we get from Scripture that makes her different is her extraordinary faith.

We read this morning Mary’s hymn of praise, traditionally known as the Magnificat. There is no doubt about it, this is truly a hymn of joy. This is true worship of God. We are going to evaluate Mary’s worship here this morning.

First, the proper attitude of worship is internal. We worship God from the heart, not because we think we need to put on a good show or anything like that. Look at how Mary starts in verse 46 and 47, she says, “My soul exalts the Lord, And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.”

The soul and spirit refer to internal things. They speak of the mind, the emotions, and the will. These are all feelings of the heart. Worship of God is more than just being impressed by a nice looking church or listening and singing moving, emotional hymns.

Real worship occurs when our internal state is focused on God. We praise Him. We thank Him. We think of Him. We speak of Him. He is our life. That is true worship of God. Having our hearts, our lives focused on Him. Giving Him the honor and glory.

This is an intense focus. Mary had that focus on God. She was not a hypocrite. She didn’t say these things just to sound good. She truly felt them and had a heart filled with joy. Now, this wasn’t just a one time event. Mary continued to praise God throughout her life.

Mary also recognized her humanity. She was a humble person. Often times people let pride get in their way of worshiping God. They are more focused on themselves than on God. That is not true worship.

Mary is focused not on herself, but on God. In verse 48, Mary did acknowledge herself. And when she did she realized her spiritual unworthiness. This doesn’t mean she was ungodly or unrighteous. She was simply acknowledging that her blessings came from God, not from anything that she did.

Mary worshiped God because He is the only true object of our worship. Nothing else, nothing more, nothing less. Mary worshiped God because she knew He was her Savior who would redeem her from her sin.

In verse 48-49, Mary recognized what God was doing for her. She says, “For He has had regard for the humble state of His bondslave; 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.”

She was so thankful and blessed to have the opportunity to raise the child that would be the Savior.

Mary also recognized what God will do for others. Verse 50 says, “And His mercy is upon generation after generation toward those who fear Him.”

She knew she was not the only person to be blessed by the birth of Christ. She knew everyone who came to Christ would find salvation. God’s saving mercy is granted to those true genuine believers who come to the Lord in love and fear.

Finally, in verses 51 through 55 Mary worships God because of what He has done in the past. She was simply listing, speaking, and remembering the things that God has done for her people in the past.

Think about what God has done for us. Not just us individually, but us collectively as a nation. We have the freedoms we have today, because people stood up for what was right. There have been many soldiers that fought and died to preserve our freedoms.

We should never take any blessing for granted, but accept it as a gift from God. Thank Him and worship Him appropriately. The trouble with thanking God for our blessings is not figuring out what the blessings are, but finding the time to thank Him for all of them.

It is obvious that Mary was extremely thankful to God for all that He had done, was doing, and will do, not only for her but for all of humanity. Mary is a wonderful example of a true worshiper of God.

There will be many times when we don’t understand what He is doing or why He is doing it. It is during those times, that we need to remember the things God has done for us and others and trust in His plan for what is happening now and in the future.

Mary is also a good example of that trust. She had confidence in God’s actions. She knew that what God would do with her and through her would work out just as He had planned. She knew God was righteous, faithful, and true. She believed and trusted.

How can we be like Mary? When we get into those situations that seem to make us say, “Why me, God?” remember Mary’s response. She worshiped God for what he had done, what he was doing and what He would do in the future.

Mary’s worship was from the heart. Is yours? She worshiped God for who He was and what He had done. Not because she wanted to get something from Him. She had the right heart attitude.

As we prepare to start a new year, do you have the right heart attitude. Are you prepared to truly worship God for what He has done, what He is doing, and what He will do?

Closing Prayer

Lord, we thank you for providing us with the example of Mary. She was indeed your humble servant. Thank you for blessing her with the care of your son. Thank you for providing her with the right attitude toward you and the work that you would have her do.

Help us to manifest that same attitude in our lives today as well. Help us to humbly serve you with out lives. Give us the strength and courage that we need to carry out your will here on earth.

AMEN