My Soul Exalts The Lord

Mary had been visited by an angel of God and told that she was going to give birth to the Son of God and that she was to name him “Jesus.” But Mary was a virgin and had not been with a man, so she wondered how this would happen. And the angel told her that the Holy Spirit would come upon her, i.e. that the baby would be conceived of the Holy Spirit and not of man. Therefore, when Jesus was born and he lived on the earth, he did not have a sin nature as we did, and he was fully human and fully God (God incarnate).

Sometime after Mary’s encounter with the angel, she went to the home of Zacharias and Elizabeth, and when Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby in her womb leaped for joy. And that baby ended up being John the Baptist who God used to prepare the way of the Lord Jesus Christ. And Elizabeth called Mary blessed because she believed that there would be a fulfillment of what the Lord had said to her through the angel. For Mary considered herself the bondslave of the Lord, and so she submitted to God’s will for her life.

And Mary said: “My soul exalts the Lord,

And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.

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.

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 the thoughts of their heart.” (Luke 1:46-51 NASB1995)

Mary gave all the glory and praise and credit to God and to God alone for what the Lord was doing in her life. She recognized that, even though all generations from that time forward would most certainly count her blessed of God, it was because of the great things that God did for her. So she did not raise herself up above all others. She did not desire to be worshiped. She was humble of heart and mind that God would choose her to give birth to the Son of God. So her soul exalted the Lord, and not herself.

And all of us who have trusted in Jesus Christ to be Lord and Savior of our lives should have the same frame of mind and heart as Mary did in recognizing that God is our source for all the good that he does in and through our lives, and that we should give him all the glory and not take glory for ourselves. If he calls us by his grace to a particular area of ministry or service to him, we should be sure to give him all the glory and praise, and to give him all the credit for what he is doing in and through our lives.

But then Mary went on to talk about God’s mercy upon generation after generation toward those who fear him, as Mary feared God. And to fear God is to be in awe of him and to show him respect, honor, reverence, worship, devotion, and obedience to his commands. It is to take God’s words to heart, to believe them, and to honor them. And we do this when we submit to his Lordship over our lives, and we willingly deny self, die to sin daily, and walk in obedience to his commands, all in the power of God and by his grace.

But those who do not fear the Lord, because they are proud in the thoughts of their heart, he will scatter (dismiss, terminate). For Jesus Christ, in his death on that cross, put our sins to death with him so that, by faith in him, we will now die to sin and live to obey our Lord and his commands. So, all who refuse to bow the knee to him, to humble themselves, and to submit to his will, and who choose their own sinful path, instead, even if they profess faith in the name of Jesus, they will not inherit eternal life with God.

For we learn in 1 John 1-3 that if we claim that we have fellowship with God, but yet we walk in darkness (sin), we are liars. If we claim that we know God, but we do not obey his commandments, in practice, we are liars. For it is not the one who claims he is “in Christ” who is “in Christ,” but it is the one who has denied self, died with Christ to sin, and who is now walking in obedience to our Lord and to his commands, in practice, and no longer in sin. We have the hope and the promise of eternal life with God in heaven.

[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 1:18-32; Romans 2:5-10; Romans 3:23; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; Hebrews 10:19-39; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:1-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10; Revelation 2:1-29; Revelation 3:1-22] 

As the Deer 

By Martin J. Nystrom

Based off Psalm 42:1

As the deer panteth for the water

So my soul longeth after You

You alone are my heart's desire

And I long to worship You

You alone are my strength, my shield

To You alone may my spirit yield

You alone are my heart's desire

And I long to worship You

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZv3jzOTE70

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My Soul Exalts The Lord

An Original Work / December 16, 2025

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love