Primary Text: Luke 1:57-58 Big Idea: God’s great mercy is not a quiet, private feeling — it is His covenant loyalty breaking through into your real, visible, lived experience for all to see.

Introduction

I want to ask you something. How many of you wake up in the morning and the first thing you do is you praise and thank God?

You know, every single morning that you open your eyes, you are looking at the mercy of God. Every single morning. The fact that you are breathing, the fact that your heart is beating, the fact that the sun came up again — that is the mercy of God. The Bible says in Lamentations 3:22-23, “It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.” Por la misericordia de Jehová no hemos sido consumidos, porque nunca decayeron sus misericordias. Nuevas son cada mañana; grande es tu fidelidad.

Every day we wake up, we see God’s mercy all around us. Even the unbelievers get a sprinkle of his mercies. It is because of his mercy that the oceans remain in their places. It is because of his mercy that the homeless find their daily meals. And it is because of his mercies that science is able to find cures for the illnesses that plague us. Jesus speaks of God’s mercies unto all — both good and bad — in Matthew 5:45: “For he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.” Para que seáis hijos de vuestro Padre que está en los cielos, que hace salir su sol sobre malos y buenos, y que hace llover sobre justos e injustos.

Now, church, here is where we need to let this sink. Everyone is sprinkled with God’s mercies. Everyone. But only those who are called according to his purpose are shown great mercy. There is a difference. There is a difference between mercy and great mercy. And today, we are going to talk about the great mercy of God.

1. Great Mercy Is God’s Covenant Loyalty Breaking Through

Look at Luke 1:57-58 with me. “Now Elisabeth’s full time came that she should be delivered; and she brought forth a son. And her neighbours and her cousins heard how the Lord had shewed great mercy upon her; and they rejoiced with her.” Cuando a Elisabet se le cumplió el tiempo de su alumbramiento, dio a luz un hijo. Y cuando oyeron los vecinos y los parientes que Dios había engrandecido para con ella su misericordia, se regocijaron con ella.

Now pay attention to this. The term “great mercy” — when Luke writes this, he’s not talking about a feeling. He’s not talking about something soft and quiet and hidden. The word “great” means amplified in size. And “mercy” — eleos (G1656) — in the Greek, it carries the weight of covenant loyalty. So when Luke says “great mercy,” he is talking about God’s covenant loyalty breaking through into Elizabeth’s real, visible, lived experience. It was not a whisper. It was a shout. It was loud. It was public. Everyone around her saw it. Everyone around her heard it.

The Bible says in Psalm 103:17, “But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children’s children.” Mas la misericordia de Jehová es desde la eternidad y hasta la eternidad sobre los que le temen, y su justicia sobre los hijos de los hijos. From everlasting to everlasting. That means his mercy did not start with you, and it will not end with you. His mercy was there before you were born, and his mercy will be there for your children and your children’s children. That is covenant loyalty. That is the kind of mercy that does not give up. That is the kind of mercy that does not walk away.

And God is the one who decides when and how to show it. He told Moses in Exodus 33:19, “I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and will proclaim the name of the Lord before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy.” Yo haré pasar todo mi bien delante de tu rostro, y proclamaré el nombre de Jehová delante de ti; y tendré misericordia del que tendré misericordia, y seré clemente para con el que seré clemente.

God said, “I will.” Not “I might.” Not “I’ll think about it.” I will show mercy. And when God says “I will,” beloved, that is a done deal. That is settled. That is finished. When God decides to show you great mercy, there is no power in heaven or earth that can stop it.

2. Great Mercy Is Not Meant to Be Done in Secret

Now here is what I need you to see. Elizabeth hid herself for five months. Five months. The Bible tells us in Luke 1:24 that after she conceived, she hid herself. She was dealing with prenatal depression. She was dealing with shame. She was dealing with the whispers of the community. She was old. Her husband Zechariah could not speak. And she was carrying a child that nobody expected.

But church, listen to me. Her depression did not hinder God’s great mercies in her life. Her hiding did not stop God’s plan. Her season of darkness did not cancel her season of breakthrough. Mercy is God-driven. It is not performance-driven. It is not feeling-driven. It is not circumstance-driven. Mercy is God-driven.

And when God’s great mercy showed up, it showed up loud. Look at what happened. The surprise of Mary’s visit — a young cousin carrying the Messiah in her womb — came to Elizabeth’s house. And the moment Elizabeth heard the salutation of Mary, something happened. Luke 1:41 says, “When Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth 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.” Y aconteció que cuando oyó Elisabet la salutación de María, la criatura saltó en su vientre; y Elisabet fue llena del Espíritu Santo, y exclamó a gran voz.

Did you catch that? A loud voice. She went from hiding to shouting. She went from depression to being filled with the Holy Ghost. She went from silence to a loud voice of blessing. That is what great mercy does. It takes you from hiding to shouting. It takes you from the pit to the rooftop. It takes you from whispering in shame to proclaiming the goodness of God for everyone to hear.

And notice what she said in verse 43: “And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” ¿Por qué se me concede esto a mí, que la madre de mi Señor venga a mí? She was amazed. She was overwhelmed. She could not believe that God would visit her. That is the response to great mercy — not entitlement, not expectation, but holy amazement that the God of the universe would single you out and say, “I am going to show you something special.”

Great mercy is not meant to be done in secret. When God shows you great mercy, the people around you are supposed to see it. Your neighbors are supposed to hear it. Your family is supposed to witness it. Luke 1:58 says her neighbors and her relatives heard that the Lord had magnified his mercy toward her, and they rejoiced with her. They did not just observe it. They did not just nod. They rejoiced. They celebrated. Because great mercy is contagious. When people see what God has done in your life, it stirs something in them. It makes them want to rejoice. It makes them want to worship. It makes them want to know this God who shows such mercy.

3. Mary Magnified God — And So Must We

Now look at Luke 1:46. Mary said, “My soul doth magnify the Lord.” Entonces María dijo: Engrandece mi alma al Señor.

Mary magnified God with her words. But God magnified his mercy with action. In a loud fashion. For everyone to see. There is a connection here that I don’t want you to miss. When you magnify God — when you lift him up, when you praise him, when you declare his goodness — God responds by magnifying his mercy in your life. It is a cycle. You magnify him, and he magnifies his mercy toward you. You lift him up, and he lifts you out. You proclaim his name, and he proclaims his faithfulness through your testimony.

Church, this is why we praise. This is why we worship. This is why we lift our voices. Not because everything is perfect. Not because we have it all figured out. But because when we magnify the Lord, we are positioning ourselves to receive his great mercy. Elizabeth went from depression to deliverance. Mary went from a humble girl to the mother of the Messiah. And both of them responded the same way — with praise, with wonder, with loud declarations of who God is.

Conclusion

So here is what I want to leave with you today. God’s mercies are new every morning. That is for everyone. But God’s great mercy — the amplified, covenant-loyal, breaking-through, visible-for-all-to-see mercy — that is for those who fear him. That is for those who position themselves to receive it. That is for those who, even in their hiding, even in their depression, even in their shame, still belong to him.

Maybe you are in your five months of hiding right now. Maybe you are dealing with something that nobody knows about. Maybe you are carrying something that feels too heavy, too shameful, too impossible. Hear me today. Your hiding season is not your ending season. God’s great mercy is not limited by your depression. It is not delayed by your circumstances. It is not cancelled by your silence.

God told Moses, “I will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy.” And if God has decided to show you great mercy, beloved, it is coming. It is coming loud. It is coming public. It is coming for everyone to see. And when it arrives, you will go from hiding to shouting. You will go from weeping to rejoicing. You will go from silence to a loud voice that says, “Blessed be the Lord. Great is thy faithfulness.”

Magnify the Lord today. Lift him up. Declare his goodness. Because his mercy is from everlasting to everlasting. And his great mercy — su gran misericordia — is about to break through in your life.

Gracias, Señor. Aleluya. Amen.