Luke 1:46-56--Mary's Song of Praise: The Magnificat

Luke 1:46-56
English Standard Version

Mary's Song of Praise: The Magnificat
46 And Mary said,

“My soul magnifies the Lord,
47     and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
48 for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant.
    For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
49 for he who is mighty has done great things for me,
    and holy is his name.
50 And his mercy is for those who fear him
    from generation to generation.
51 He has shown strength with his arm;
    he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts;
52 he has brought down the mighty from their thrones
    and exalted those of humble estate;
53 he has filled the hungry with good things,
    and the rich he has sent away empty.
54 He has helped his servant Israel,
    in remembrance of his mercy,
55 as he spoke to our fathers,
    to Abraham and to his offspring forever.”

​56 And Mary remained with her about three months and returned to her home.

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Most of my Roman Catholic friends will be familiar with this passage (as well as many of the other passages from this chapter that we've studied so far), but for those who are not used to this song of praise that came from the Holy Spirit through Mary, let's take a close look at it, as the song tells us a lot about what Mary understands to be going on.

Mary starts her song with praise to the Lord.  That is important that this song is not an exaltation of herself, but of the Lord who is doing these things in and through her.  We already know from her earlier statements in these chapters that she doesn't understand why the Lord has chosen her.  Right away she identifies God as her Savior.  That's not typically language that we see from the Jews--we may occasionally hear the word "Redeemer" which is associated with Passover and bringing them out of Exile and a term we use often in conjunction with salvation, but very rarely do we hear "God" and "Savior" together.  I believe this shows she understands that the one in her womb is one with the Father and is God the Son, and that He will be the Savior of His people (later she may come to understand that He will be the savior of the whole world, but for now she knows "He will save His people from their sins," which the angel Gabriel told her).

She then immediately marvels at how God has chosen her for this task.  I think we all at times have felt this way and can be a bit self-deprecating, but it does show that she had humility, though she did understand that Elizabeth was right, and that she was going to be special among all the women in all the world for all time because of the special mission and purpose that God had given her.  It was not her that would make people call her blessed, but what God did in and through her that would make others look back at her and call her "blessed."

The arm of the LORD is usually associated with His salvation and military victory (and his justice against the wicked).  His arm is not short and therefore He can reach anyone, anywhere no matter how far they try to run or where they try to hide.  He is strong enough to take care of anyone and anything.  His people simply need to let Him fight their battles.  His constant protection of His people to bring about the fulfillment of His covenant (she'll get there in her praise soon) is something to thank Him for, yet she realizes the LORD is not just about vengeance and justice and might and power, but about grace and mercy--otherwise none of them would have made it through to this point.  The LORD will have mercy on whom He will have mercy, and He has chosen to have mercy on a select group of people to bring about His plans and purposes--specifically that the  gospel may be fulfilled and go to the uttermost parts of the earth.

"God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble" (a paraphrase of Proverbs 3:34) appears to be on Mary's mind as she is singing this part of her song.  This part of the song is full of references from the Psalms and the Prophets about what the LORD would do as He executes His justice, but also as He has mercy on His people.  Mary is adoring the Lord for who He is, and thanking Him for having mercy on Israel (who didn't deserve it) while protecting Israel from all of her enemies.

Now, in the fullness of time, the Abrahamic Covenant is being fulfilled.  Mary makes this connection for us that this one who is in her womb is the ultimate fulfillment of that covenant.  It is interesting that the Holy Spirit bring to mind the blessings of many sons and probably the thought of "through you all the nations of the world will be blessed," but seems to not focus on the Davidic Covenant (which so many Jews at that time were focused on as they wanted a king and one who would bring military victory).  Is it possible that she understood that Jesus was not coming at this time for that purpose to set up a physical kingdom?  Maybe she did, though we understand that there was much she didn't understand about what she was told as we see that she marvels at things and treasures things in her heart throughout the life of Christ, and we see glimpses of what she may and may not understand at various points as things are revealed to her and concealed from her it seems.  The main point that I want to make by saying this is that her not fully understanding did not keep her from being obedient.  Too often we thing we need to understand everything about the plan before we can be obedient, and Mary shows us that's not true.  She can be obedient and give thanks to the Lord that He is strong enough and wise enough to work it all out like He always has, and she doesn't need to worry about it--she just needs to humbly submit to His plan and remember to give Him all the glory for it.  I think that's why she was chosen because of all people we see that she was so willing to give all the glory and honor and praise to the Lord.