Alto and Bass
(No. 2582)
A SERMON INTENDED FOR READING ON LORD'S-DAY, AUGUST 7, 1898.
DELIVERED BY C. H. SPURGEON,
AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON, ON LORD'S-DAY EVENING, APRIL
1, 1883.
"He has filled the hungry with good things; and the rich He hats sent
away empty." Luke 1:53.
THIS song of Mary is full of sweet Gospel teaching. She was evidently a
woman well instructed in Divine Truth and, though but young in years,
she must have been deeply experienced in the things of God. Notice how
she casts the Truth of God into the form of song–there is a wisdom in
this, for we are to teach and admonish one another, "in Psalms, and
hymns, and spiritual songs." Truth is never more likely to abide in the
memory and to impress the heart than when it is delivered in verse.
Both the ears of men and the minds of men delight in rhyme and
rhythm–memory grasps and retains Truth more readily when it is put
into poetic form than in any other. Therefore they do well who enrich
the Church with "Psalms, and hymns, and spiritual songs." And you who
cannot make songs will do equally well if you sing them! Let us set the
Gospel to music! Let us especially do this in our daily life. I think
that the Doctrines of Grace were never intended to be made into a
dirge, but they make a most heavenly marriage song. The great Truths of
the Gospel were never meant to be told with dolorous tones as if they
were sad solemnities, but they are meant to fill us with delight–and
if they thoroughly permeate our nature, they will turn our whole life
into a hallelujah and make every breath a verse of a sonnet that shall
know no end! Whenever you feel most glad in the things of God, be sure
you do as Mary did–sing out your gladness and make the people of God
know that the things of Christ are things of joy to you. Obey the
poet's injunction–
"Children of the heavenly King, As you journey, sweetly sing! Sing your
Savior's worthy praise, Glorious in His works and ways!"
I commend to you the song of Mary for another reason–not only because
she turned the Truth of God into poetry and song, but because she sang
of mercies which were not yet visible to her. She had, with gladness,
beheld the King of Glory in her own heart, although the promised Child
was not yet born, so with exulting faith she sings, "My soul does
magnify the Lord." Brothers and Sisters, there are some of you who
cannot even sing over a mercy when it is born, but here is a woman who
sings over an unborn mercy. Oh, what a faith is this! If you have like
precious faith, what a joy it will give to your lives! Is there nothing
to sing about today? Then borrow a song from tomorrow! Sing of what is
yet to be! Is this world dreary? Then think of the next! Is all around
you dark? Then look upward, where they need no candle, neither light of
the sun, for the Lord God gives them light! "Yet a little while"–and
we know not how short that, "little while," will be–and, "He that
shall come will come, and will not tarry." Then shall the children of
the bride chamber rejoice with unspeakable joy, because the Bridegroom
Himself has come and the day of His marriage has arrived! I beseech
you, if you have been silent and hung your harps on the willows, take
them down at once and sing and give praise to God for the glory which
is yet to be revealed in us–the precious things that are laid up for
them that love Him, which eye has not seen, nor ear heard–but the
certainty of which He has revealed unto us by His Spirit. Sing unto the
Lord concerning mercies yet unborn! Sing those sweet verses which I so
often quote to you–
"And a 'new song'is in my mouth, To long-loved music set.
Glory to You for all the Grace
I have not tasted yet!
I have a heritage of joy
That yet I must not see–
The hand that bled to make it mine
Is keeping it for me."
There is something more than this in Mary's song, for it is made up
entirely of what God has done. Let me read you a verse or two–"He has
regarded the low estate of His handmaiden. He that is mighty has done
to me great things. He has showed strength with His arm; He has
scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He has put down
the mighty from their seats, He has filled the hungry with good things;
and the rich He has sent away empty." It is all about HIM, you see–all
concerning what the Lord had done.
If I had to write a song about myself–humph!–well, that is all I
could write! And if you had to write a song about yourself, it would be
a wretched ditty if it spoke the truth–and I hope you would not want
to sing it if it were not the truth! Some people's songs are all about
themselves, and very poor things they are. I heard of a Brother, the
other day, who made a speech, and someone said to me, "Would you like a
full report of his speech?" I said, "Yes," for I was curious to hear
what he would say. The friend said, "I was there and took a full report
of his speech. Here it is." He passed it over to me and there was
nothing but one great capital letter, "I." I have known some people who
could both speak and sing that way, but that straight, stiff-backed
letter, "I," makes a very poor song. The less we sing about it, the
better. There is no such note in the whole gamut, so let us never
attempt to sing it. But when we sing, let us sing unto the Lord and let
our song be concerning what He has done.
Where shall we begin, then? Let us begin with everlasting love. "I have
loved you with an everlasting love: therefore with loving kindness have
I drawn you." Where shall we end? Well, there can be no end to this
song, for the Lord's mercies are new every morning–great is His
faithfulness and His loving kindness to His people never knows a pause,
much less a close! Therefore, when we begin to sing of what He is
doing, let us go on to sing it again, and again, and again, and again!
And never let us spoil the tune by coming down to sing of what we have
done, or offering any praise or glory to the sons of men.
Do you, then, children of God, see what an example Mary sets you? Turn
the Truth of God into song–sing of unborn mercies–and sing of what
the Lord has done and will do, world without end!
Now we come to consider the stanza of Mary's song which forms our text.
There are two parts to her music. "He has filled the hungry with good
things"–that is the air, or perhaps we may say, the alto. ' 'And the
rich He has sent away empty"–that is the base. As we mean to play the
bass softly and to give the other part more emphasis, we will take the
bass first, and then, afterwards, we will have the alto.
I. First, then, here is THE BASS–"The rich He has sent away empty."
Are there any such people in the world in a spiritual'sense? Yes. Every
now and then we come across them. They are not truly rich–they are
naked, poor and miserable–but they are rich in their own esteem and
think they need nothing. They have kept the Law of God from their youth
up, or, if they have not done that, they have done something quite as
good. They are very full of grace and, sometimes, they wonder that they
can hold so much! They are as good as ever they can be and they hardly
know how to put up with the company of some Christians–especially
those who are mourners in Zion and are lamenting their sins and their
departure from God. They have no patience with these people! They stand
by themselves, as did he who was called a Pharisee and who went up to
the Temple to pray. And as they hear others making confession of sin,
they proudly say, "Lord, we thank You that we are not as other men
are." Very superior persons, indeed, are they–sometimes in education,
sometimes in rank and station, sometimes in the weight of their
moneybags– but anyhow, very superior indeed! They consider themselves
the "upper-crust" of society. They are spiritually and morally rich
before God–so they think.
What does the Lord do with such people? Mary says He sends them away
empty. They verily thought that he would come out to them! They are so
respectable that they are accustomed to be run after and they are
greatly astonished that Jesus of Nazareth does not at once bow down to
them and thank them for patronizing Him! But He sends them away empty.
He wants nothing of them and while they are in such a condition, He has
nothing for them. Off they must go with such a word as this in their
ears, "I came not to call the righteous, but sinners unto repentance."
So He sends them away.
Does He not give them something as they go? No, He sends them away
empty–giving them no comfort, no joy! He certainly does not flatter
them, for His lips are lips of Truth–no encouragement–for His office
is to pull down the mighty from their seats and to spoil the glory of
all human boasting and make it bite the dust! He sends them away empty.
Does this seem to you like hard treatment? Mary did not think so–she
sangabout it, she was glad of it! And so am I. "Why?" you ask. Why?
Well, first, how could Christ fill these people? They are already full!
What can Christ do for a man who has no sin? He came on purpose to save
His people from their sins–but if we haven't any, He has nothing to do
with us. How shall Christ be bread to a man who is not hungry? How
shall He be life to a man who has life in himself? How shall He be the
Alpha and Omega of the salvation of a man who is the first and the last
to himself and who begins and carries on his own salvation? No, a
doctor does not go to heal the man who has no sickness–and Christ does
not give His alms away to those who are not needy. When He makes a
feast, it is for the poor and the hungry, for they cannot pay Him back
except by giving Him their gratitude and their love. So it is
right–since Christ cannot do anything for these rich people in their
present condition–He sends them away empty.
And, next, what glory would Christ have if He were to fill them? To
fill the full is no great achievement! To heal the healthy is no great
triumph! To save those who are already saved is surely a superfluity!
To give righteousness to those who are already righteous is ridiculous!
And to find eternal life for those who have all the life they need is
an absurdity! It is well, then, that those who are so full should be
sent away empty. They cannot be filled and if they could be, there
would be no glory for Christ at all in filling them.
Next, supposing that Christ were to do something for them, then His
riches and theirs would have to mix together That would never do–human
merits and Christ's merits to be placed side by side as of equal value?
Who thinks of sewing on a royal robe a rag picked off a dunghill? Yet,
what else are those men doing who think that they can add their own
righteousness to the righteousness of Christ? No, Sir, if you are rich
and increased in goods, you would only have to take Christ's goods into
your store and lay them along with your own goods–and what a come-down
that would be for the righteousness of Christ–to lie side by side with
your own as though it were worth no more! You would need to put up over
your door the name of your firm–"Self and Christ." And salvation would
have to be the work of yourself and the Savior, too–and you would want
to share the glory of it. No, no! That can never be! Send that man away
empty who has the impertinence to think that he can add something of
his own to the merits of Christ, the only Savior!
Yet again, well may such people be sent away empty–and we may almost
be glad of it and sing about it as we see what they do. If a man does
not really want salvation and he reads the Bible or hears a sermon, he
criticizes the style of it When some gentlemen go out to dinner, they
are very busy examining the table and the ornaments with which it is
adorned. They watch the waiters and criticize every dish that is
served. Oh, how daintily they taste everything, for they are
connoisseurs and everything must be most exquisite to please them! But
when you and I come home from a day's work, we do not trouble about
that kind of thing–we want something to eat and are grateful to have
it. Those who have no appetite for Christ begin picking, first, at this
and then at that, and even the Bible is not good enough for them–they
want to have this amended and that altered! As for the poor sermons
preached by mortal men–this does not suit them and the other does not
suit them–nothing pleases them. There are some children who always
pick over their food and their father says, "Ah, my boy, if you are
sent to the workhouse for a week and get put on short commons, I'll
guarantee that you will eat that good meat! You will find an appetite
then! So Christ, when these people are at His table turning over every
morsel of the heavenly meat, sends them packing! And it serves them
right, for they spoil the banquet for those who would enjoy it.
Beside that, they not only criticize, but they also quibble. Preach the
Doctrines of Grace to a man who never had a sense of sin and he says,
"I don't believe in Calvinism." Tell him of the Sovereignty of God,
which is a sweet morsel to God's own people, and he says "I, I, I–I
don't believe in that doctrine. I think there is some merit in the
creature–some claim in fallen humanity to the goodness of God."
Solomon said, "To the hungry soul, every bitter thing is sweet," but to
this man, who is so full of conceit, there is nothing in the Gospel
that is good enough–so he puffs at this and sneers at that, and
"pshaws" at the other–and if you put the butter in a lordly dish, such
as the children like to see, he will not have it! Therefore Christ will
not have him–He sends him away empty.
I do not know whether it is not the very best thing that could happen
to some of those who think themselves rich that they should be sent
away empty, for if they were once to feel their emptiness, they would
then come to Christ in quite another style–and then would they join in
singing Mary's song, "He has filled the hungry with good things." If
any of you are satisfied with your own goodness–and perhaps there are
some such people here–I would remind you of what the farmer said to
Mr. Hervey. When Mr. Hervey had become the rector of the parish, he
went round and spoke to his parishioners. And he asked a farmer, "What
have we to overcome in order to get to Heaven?" "Well, Sir," he
replied, "you are a clergyman and I think that you ought to tell me,
and not ask me to tell you that." "Well," said Mr. Hervey, "I think
that the most difficult thing to overcome is sinful self." "Excuse me,"
said the farmer, "but I have found one thing harder than that." "What
is that?" enquired Mr. Hervey. "To overcome righteous self," answered
the man. And that, I believe, is a most solemn Truth of God! In the
case of some of you, I am a deal more afraid of your self-righteousness
than I am of your unrighteousness! One thing I know, Christ thinks more
of our sins than He does of our righteousness, for He gave Himself for
our sins–I never heard that He gave Himself for our righteousness. By
His most precious blood, He has put away the sins of all who trust Him.
But take care that your self-righteousness does not come in between you
and the Savior, for if it does, you will be among the rich whom He will
send away empty! Empty your pockets and make yourselves poor! I do not
mean in money, but in spirit. Get down to spiritual poverty and
beggary, for that is the onlyway to attain spiritual riches!
So much for the bass–"The rich He has sent away empty."
II. Now we come to THE ALTO of this song of Mary–"He has filled the
hungry with good things." I have not many minutes left, so I will pack
my thoughts closely.
First, here is chosen company "He has filled thehungrywith good
things." Who are the hungry? Well, they are men and women full of
desires for spiritual blessings. They are always desiring good things.
They do not say much about what they think, but they have great
longings for many things that they do not yet possess. Are you, dear
Friend, desiring to be saved? Are you desiring to be reconciled to God?
Are you desiring to look unto Christ by faith? Are you desiring to be
sanctified? Are you desiring to grow in Grace? Then you are among the
hungry ones.
But hunger is more than a desire–it is an appetite–it is a craving
born of a stern necessity. A man must eat, or he must die. Therefore
hunger is not a desire that he can lay aside. Have you come into such a
condition of heart that you must have Christ or die? That you must have
mercy or be lost? That you must be forgiven or be cast into Hell? And
do you begin, now, to really hunger and thirst after the righteousness
which is in Christ? If so, you are among the people whom He will fill
with good things! The hungry man sometimes becomes a fainting man. He
may tighten his belt to try to stop the gnawing of the inward wolf, but
it cannot be stopped, and he gets to feel as if he had no strength and
were ready to be dissolved. Do you feel like that? Do you need mercy so
badly that you hardly know how to ask for it, you have become so weak,
you have sunk down so low? Well, I am glad of it! You are among the
very first of those whom Christ will fill with good things!
The hungry man is often a despised man. They say of such a person, "Ah,
he has a lean and hungry look!" People do not like to associate with
men who are very hungry, so they say, "Ah, poor beggar! I do not want
to be where he is." You have heard that said, have you not? And that is
just what men say of those who are spiritually hungry. "Very poor
company is that man. The other day, when he was sitting in the room
where we were all making fun, he was sighing all the time. There is no
merriment about him! He sits by himself in the corner, or he gets into
his own room and he begins crying, and says that he is a lost man if
God does not have mercy upon him." Ah, that is the man for me! I would
sit up all night, seven nights running, I think, to meet with people of
that kind! They are the sort for whom Christ died, they are the sort
Christ loves to feed–"He has filled the hungry with good things."
And you know that when a man gets to be very poor and hungry, not only
do people think little of him, but he generally gets to think very
little of himself. When the bread is out of a man, the spirit is out of
him, too, and he goes groping up and down the streets to try to find a
place where he may beg a bit of bread. He is "down at the heel," men
say. Is there anyone here who is "down at the heel" spiritually,
altogether done for? Poor creature, you are the one Christ came to
save! You are the very sort for whom the banquet of love is spread!
Your emptiness is that for which Christ is seeking–"He has filled the
hungry with good things." He has been doing this ever since Mary sang
of it–He has done it in the case of many who are now present and He is
ready to do it for you. Only open your mouth wide that He may fill it!
Put your trust in Him and you shall be filled with good things! That is
the first part of this sweet song–the chosen company–"the hungry."
Note, next, the choice meat' 'He has filled the hungry with good
things." Mary might have said, "He has filled the hungry with the best
of things." See what "good things" Christ puts into a hungry man's
mouth. "Lord," he says, "I am a sinner. I need pardon." Christ answers,
"I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, your transgressions and, as a
cloud, your sins." Is not that good meat to put in the hungry man's
mouth? "Lord," he says, "I need renewal, I need a change of heart." The
Lord replies, "A new heart, also, will I give you, and a new spirit
will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your
flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh." Certainly that is a good
thing with which to fill his mouth! "But, Lord, if I am saved, I am so
weak that I do not know how I shall stand." "Your shoes shall be iron
and brass; and as your days, so shall your strength be." Is not that a
good morsel with which to fill his mouth? "Ah, Lord!" he says, "I am
prone to wander and I fear that I shall go astray again." "I will put
My fear in your heart, that you shall not depart from Me." Oh, is not
that a blessed morsel to fill his mouth? There is no need which a poor
destitute sinner can have which is not provided for in Christ! Listen,
poor hungry sinner! There is laid up in Christ all the food that you
need between here and Heaven–the best of food–the very food that your
sickly fainting spirit needs is all stored up in Him! How sweet is this
song! "He has filled the hungry with good things."
The third thing to be noted is this, the completeness of the supply.
"He has flled'he hungry with good things." It is a good thing to give a
hungry man a bit and a sup just to stay his stomach for a while, but
that is not Christ's way of feeding the famishing–"He has flled'he
hungry with good things." I appeal to those of you here present who
were once hungry and who came to Christ–how did Christ treat you, my
Brothers and Sisters? Did He give you just a little scrap of spiritual
food, or has He filled you with good things? I think I hear you say,
"Sir, now I have Christ to live upon, I need nothing else. There is
nothing outside the great circle of Christ that I could possibly wish
for–He is all I need, all I desire, all I can imagine, all for life
and all for death, all for this world and all for the world that is to
come." I ask you– "Are you perfectly satisfied with Christ?" "Yes!"
you say, "I need none but Christ. He is my All-in-All." Ah, my Brother,
my Sister! I, also, can speak as you do. There is an intense enjoyment
in the man who has received Christ. He has not only enough, but
sometimes he so overflows with satisfaction that he does not know how
to tell his tale to others and he longs for the time when he shall get
to Heaven–when the strings of his tongue shall be loosed and he will
stop the angels as they go down the golden streets and say, "Please,
bright spirit, stay a while and let me tell you what Christ did for me,
for He has filled me to the brim with His own dear Self and His own
infinite love! He has fed me till I need no more." Is not that a
blessed word? "He has flled'he hungry with good things."
Now, lastly, this song tells us of the glorious Benefactor "HE has
filled the hungry with good things." It is God that does it all! He
provides the feast. He invites the guests. He brings them to the table.
He gives them the appetite, He gives them the power to receive what He
has prepared. It is He who fills the hungry with good things. I am so
glad of that, for I know some poor hungry souls that cannot even feed
themselves–but the Lord can fill them with good things. We have
brought them to the table laden with spiritual dainties, yet their soul
has abhorred all manner of meat and they have drawn near to the gates
of death. But when no preacher can feed you, God can! And when your
very soul seems to turn away, even from heavenly comforts, till you say
with the Psalmist, "My soul refused to be comforted," the Lord, the
Holy Spirit, the Comforter, can bring the Truth of God home to your
heart till you say, "He has done it! He has done it! He has filled the
hungry with good things."
If I had the time and the power, I would like to take that word,
He–HE–HE, and speak it as with a trumpet voice–"HE has filled the
hungry with good things!" Who made the earth and the heavens and filled
them with light and glory? The answer is, "He has done it." It was the
Lord alone who redeemed His people from their sins, who paid the
purchase price, who wrestled with their adversaries and trod them under
His feet as grapes are trod in the winepress! "He has done it. HE has
done it!" Unto His name be all the praise! Who began the good work in
you, my Brother, my Sister in Christ? Who has carried it on up to now?
Who will perfect it? Like thunder, I hear the answer from all the
redeemed who are before the Throne of God–"HE, HE, HE has done it, and
unto His name be honor and glory forever and ever!"
Go to Him, thirsty ones! Go to Him by a simple, childlike faith, and
you shall then come and join with us in the song, "He has filled the
hungry with good things; and the rich He has sent away empty." The Lord
bless you, for His dear Son's sake! Amen.
EXPOSITION BY C. H. SPURGEON: PSALM 148; LUKE 1:5-35; 46-56.
We will first read a short Psalm inciting all to praise the Lord and
then we will read part of the first Chapter of Luke's Gospel,
especially noticing Mary's song of praise. It is a blessed thing to
indulge our holy gratitude and to let it have speech in sacred Psalm
and song. Praise is the end of prayer and preaching. It is the ear of
the wheat: it is God's harvest from all the seed of Grace that He has
sown.
Psalm 148:1. Praise you the LORD. Hallelujah!
1. Praise you the LORD from the heavens. Begin the song, you holy
angels before the Throne of God. Lead us in praise, O you glorified
spirits above!
1. Praise Him in the heights. Sing aloud, you that sit at God's right
hand in the heavenly places! Let the highest praises be given to the
Most High.
2, 3. Praise Him, all His angels: praise Him all His hosts. Praise Him,
sun and moon: praise Him, allyou stars of light Shine out His glory!
You are but dim reflections of His brightness, yet praise Him.
4. Praise Him, you Heaven of heavens, and you waters that are above the
heavens. Stored up there for man's use and benefit. You clouds that
look black to us and yet are big with blessings, praise the Lord. See,
Beloved, how the song comes down from the praises of the angels nearest
the Throne of God, to the glorified saints, then to the sun, moon,
stars and the clouds that float in the firmament of Heaven!
5, 6. Let them praise the name of the LORD: for He commanded, and they
were created. He has also established them forever and ever: He has
made a decree which shall not pass. Or, pass away. Now the Psalmist
begins at the bottom and works up to the top.
7. Praise the LORD from the earth, you dragons, and all deeps. Right
down there, however low the caverns may be, let the strange creatures
that inhabit the secret places in the very bottoms of the mountains and
the depths of the seas– let them send out the deep bass of their
praise!
8-10. Fire, and hail; snow, and vapor; stormy wind fulfilling His word:
mountains, and all hills; fruitful trees, and all cedars: beasts, and
all cattle; creeping things, and flying fowl If you cannot praise God
by soaring up like eagles. If you feel more like the creeping things of
the earth, still praise Him! There is something very pleasant in the
spiritual allusion that grows out of this verse. You who seem like poor
worms of the dust, or insects of an hour, can yield your little need of
praise to God!
11-14. Kings of the earth, and all people; princes, and all judges of
the earth: both young men and maidens; old men and children: let them
praise the name of the LORD: for His name, alone, is excellent; His
glory is above the earth and Heaven. He also exalts the horn of His
people, the praise of all His saints; even of the children of Israel, a
people near unto Him. They ought to sing best and most sweetly, because
they are nearest to His heart. "Let the redeemed of the Lord say so."
If all other tongues are silent, let them praise the Lord.
14. Praise the LORD. The Psalm ends, as it began, with Hallelujah!
"Praise the Lord."
Luke 1:5, 6. There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, a
certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia: and his wife was
of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. And they were
both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and
ordinances of the Lord, blameless. There have been some good people who
have lived in very bad times. Never was there a worse reign than that
of Herod–seldom or never a better man and woman than Zacharias and
Elizabeth. Let no man excuse himself for sinning because of the times
in which he lives. You may be rich in Divine Grace when others around
you have none, even as Gideon's fleece was wet with dew when the whole
floor was dry. God help us, in these evil days, to be "righteous before
God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord,
blameless"!
7. And they had no child, because that Elizabeth was barren, and they
both were now well advanced in years. We do not, at the present time,
understand the anguish which filled the heart of an Eastern woman who
had no child. It was considered to be a disgrace–and many suffered
very bitterly on that account, as did Hannah, Rachel and others.
8-12. And it came to pass, that while he executed the priest's office
before God in the order of his course, according to the custom of the
priest's office, his lot was to burn incense when he went into the
temple of the Lord. And the whole multitude of the people were praying
outside at the time of incense. And there appeared unto him an angel of
the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. And when
Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him. Zacharias
must have been astonished as he saw that strange visitor–no wonder
that "fear fell upon him."
13-17. But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for your
prayer is heard; and your wife Elizabeth shall bear you a son, and you
shall call his name John. And you shall have joy and gladness; and many
shall rejoice at his birth. For he shall be great in the sight of the
Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be
filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb. Andmany of
the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God. And he
shall go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the
hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the
wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord. Happy
is the father of such a child! Happy is that man whose office it is to
be the herald of Christ! Brothers, many of us are called to that office
in a certain sense as we come in our Master's name and preach
concerning Him–
"'Tis all my business here below To cry, 'Behold the Lamb.'" And in
this way we may be partakers of John the Baptist's joy!
18-20. AndZacharias said unto the angel, How shall I know this?For Iam
an oldman, andmy wife welladvanced in years. And the angel answering
said unto him, I am Gabriel that stands in the Presence of God; and am
sent to speak unto you, and to show you these glad tidings. And,
behold, you shall be dumb, and not able to speak until the day that
these things–These glad tidings–
20. Shall be performed, because you believe not my words, which shall
be fulfilled in their season. Many a child of God is dumb because of
unbelief. Mary believed and, therefore, she sang a holy, joyous song–a
sweet canticle of delight–"My soul does magnify the Lord." But
Zacharias, because of his unbelief, was unable to speak. I wonder
whether there is a man here who might have spoken for his God with
power, but whose mouth is closed because of his unbelief? If so, may
the Lord hasten the time when his dumbness shall be ended!
21, 22. And the people waited for Zacharias, and marveled that he
tarried so long in the temple. And when he came out, he could not speak
unto them: and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple:
for he beckoned unto them, and remained speechless. By the signs he
made, he impressed them with the fact that something extraordinary had
happened.
23-25. And it came to pass, that, as soon as the days of his
ministration were accomplished, he departed to his own house. And after
those days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and hid herself five months,
saying, Thus has the Lord dealt with me in the days wherein He looked
on me to take away my reproach among men. I do not wonder, that in her
solemn joy, she shunned the gossips of the neighborhood and kept
herself in seclusion. I believe that there is many a soul which, when
it has found Christ, feels itself much too full of joy to speak and
asks not for a crowded temple, but for a quiet chamber where the heart
may pour itself out before God.
26-35. And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto
a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, to a virgin espoused to a man whose
name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary.
And the angel came in unto her and said, Hail, you that are highly
favored, the Lord is with you: blessed are you among women. And when
she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what
manner of salutation this should be. And the angel said unto her, Fear
not, Mary: for you have found favor with God. And, behold, you shall
conceive in your womb, and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name
JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest:
and the Lord God shall give unto Him the throne of His father David:
and He shall reign over the house of Jacob forever; and of His Kingdom
there shall be no end. Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this
be, seeing I know not a man? And the angel answered and said unto her,
The Holy Spirit shall come upon you, and the power of the Highest shall
overshadow you: therefore also that holy Thing which shall be born of
you shall be called the Son of God. So was she thus visited, and thus
she believed with a wonderful faith–much too wonderful for me to
describe in this place. But now let us see what Mary said when she went
to visit her cousin, Elizabeth.
46, 47. And Mary said, My soul does magnify the Lord, and my spirit has
rejoiced in God my Savior. She needed a Savior, you see. Though about
to become the mother of Jesus, Mary did not think herself without sin!
Her eyes still looked to Him who should be her Savior from guilt and
condemnation.
48-55. For He has regarded the low estate of His handmaiden: for,
behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. For He
that is mighty has done to me great things and holy is His name. And
His mercy is on them that fear Him from generation to generation. He
has showed strength with His arm; He has scattered the proud in the
imagination of their hearts. He has put down the mighty from their
seats, and exalted them of low degree. He has filled the hungry with
good things; and the rich He has sent away empty. He has helped His
servant, Israel, in remembrance of His mercy; as He spoke to our
fathers, to Abraham, and to His seed forever This is one of the
sweetest songs that was ever sung and is equal to any of those which
came from the Inspired lips of the Hebrew Prophets. Well might she sing
who had been thus favored! Oh, if Christ Jesus should come to any of us
by faith, what reason would we have for singing! And will not each one
of us, who has been thus honored, cry with Mary, "My soul does magnify
the Lord"?
56. And Mary lived with her about three months, and returned to her own
house. What wonderful interviews those two holy women had! The one well
advanced in years, and the other youthful, yet both highly favored of
God. I wonder what they said? Doubtless angels remember their charming
conversation. May the day come when all that fear the Lord, both men
and women, shall speak often, one to another, concerning their Redeemer
and all that relates to His glorious cause! And then the Lord shall
write another Book of Remembrance concerning their hallowed fellowship
and communion!