Mary's Song of Praise

English Standard Version:
Luke 1:46-55 ESV 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.”

Ang Bag-ong Testamento (Gihubad sa pinulongang Cebuano gikan sa Griego, by Dr. Gadiel T. Isidro):
Lukas 1:46-55 Ug si Maria miingon: Ang akong kalag nagatuboy sa Ginoo; (47) Ug an akong espiritu nagakalipay diha sa Dios nga akong Manluluwas; (48) Kay mitan-aw siya sa pagkaubos sa iyang ulipon, ug gikan karon ang mga kaliwatan moangkon nga ako bulahan;
49 Tungod kay ang Gamhanan nagbuhat alang kanako ug mga dagkung butang, (50) Ug ang iyang kalooy ngadto sa kaliwatan ug mga kaliwatan, niadtong may kahadlok kaniya. (51) Nagbuhat siya ug kusug pinaagi sa iyang bukton; gipatibula-ag niya ang mga mapahitas-on pinaagi sa kaalam sa ilang kasingkasing; (52) Ug gipaubos niya gikan sa ilang mga trono ang mga gamhanan ug gibayaw niya ang mga ubos; (53) Ug iyang gibuhong sa mga maayong butang ang mga gigutom apan ang mga adunahan iyang gipapahawa nga walay sulod
54 Iyang gipanalipdan si Israel nga iyang ulipon aron makahinumdum sa kalooy; (55) Sama sa iyang pagsulti ngadto sa atong mga amahan, ngadto kang Abraham ug sa iyang mga kaliwat hangtud sa walay katapusan.

Introduction

This passage tells us many things about Mary and also many things about God and His attributes. We will learn more about Mary and will come to appreciate her more as she is really a good example for us not just of her faith in God but also of her humility and willful and conscious submission to God’s dealings with her, as oppose to ignorant or passive submission.

We will also learn in this passage that God is aware and take notice of those who are humble and of low estate. This brings us comfort because no matter how insignificant we are in the society or community, if we know God personally then He cares and notices us and reaches out to us. He will give us purpose, meaning and significance. Another important thing we can learn here is that God is merciful, and his mercy is for those who fear Him[i], that is reverence Him.

As we continue to know more about Mary, we cannot also escape to bring up the lies taught by others about her because we have to stay faithful to God’s Word – His written revelation for all matters of Christian faith and life. After all, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work[ii]. That is why if we claim to be Christians then we will uphold and defend the truths contained in the Scriptures and teach this to others as commanded by the Lord Jesus Christ to “make disciples of all the nations …, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you [iii] …”

Out text today is commonly called The Magnificat, because of the first word in the Latin translation which is translated in English into exalt or magnify. This is Mary’s song of praise to God whom she declares her Savior in verse 47.

I. The Object of Mary’s Praise - God the Savior (v. 46-47)

Let us start our study by looking at who is Mary praising? In verses 46 to 47 it is clear that Mary praises the Lord who she claims as God her Savior. Verse 46, "My soul magnifies the Lord.” Verse 47, “and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.” Pwede unta daghang mga butang ikasulti si Maria mahitungod sa Dios apan dinhi, iya gi-emphasize ang pagdayeg sa Dios nga iyang manluluwas. Mary is saying "God is my Savior," not just from illness and sickness and trouble in life. God is her Savior from sin, that is what she is saying. God is her Savior from sin. The child she will give birth to will be named Jesus which means Jehovah is salvation. In Matthew 1:21, He will be called Jesus because He would save His people from their sins. Mary is worshiping God as a sinner because she claimed God as her Savior. Never believe the lie that Mary was not a sinner. She does not say one word to indicate that she is a sinless, “immaculate” person. On the contrary, she uses the language of someone who has been taught by God’s grace to feel her own sins and who, far from being able to save others, requires a Savior for her own soul.[iv]

The Bible tells us that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.[v] That means Mary herself was a sinner and needed a Savior. It also means that you and I are sinners and needed to be saved from our sins and from the penalty of sin. And when we come to know the Savior personally and accept His grace of salvation then we will also be able to burst out in praise to God for being our Savior. We can now truly worship Him because He has saved us from sin and hell.

The object of worship, ang angay nga simbahon ug dayegon, is the God who is our Savior. No matter what else may come and go in life, no matter what troubles you have, in the light of the end, what's there to be worried about, right? Your salvation is eternal and it’s secure.[vi]

II. Mary’s Praise

My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior. This statement declares with certainty Mary’s whole being as magnifying and rejoicing in God. My soul and my spirit means Mary’s total being. It was not just her lips uttering praise to God but her whole being was involved. Magnify here means to exalt, make great, and based on the tense of the verb it was not just on this occasion that Mary magnifies God but it was already habitual for Mary to magnify God. Mary’s exalting God does not matter on her circumstance. Even if she considers herself of low estate, insignificant, humble or humiliated she magnifies God continually. Ug karon nga nausab ang iyang kahimtang nga gitagad siya sa Dios ug gihimong bulahan taliwala sa mga babaye wala kini maka-usab sa iyang kina-iya sa pagpasidungog sa Dios. Wala kini maghimo sa iyang kaugalingon nga pasidunggan ug ipataas niya ang iyang kaugalingon. Kondili, nagpadayon siya sa iyang mapa-inubsanong espiritu ug ang Dios lamang maoy iyang gituboy.

Her heart filled to overflowing with thanksgiving for that which God had done for her, Mary says, “My soul magnifies the Lord,” that is, proclaims the greatness of Jehovah. Mary does this joyfully, enthusiastically, for she adds, “And my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.”[vii] Rejoices here means exceeding joy or rejoice greatly. Exceeding joy in God her Savior. The tense of “has rejoiced” points to a special act of rejoicing, presumably when the angel gave her God’s message.[viii]

These statements and the rest of her song of praise are quotations from different places in the Old Testament. This shows that Mary was familiar and was brought up in the knowledge of the Old Testament Scripture. In other words, Mary shows us that she knows Scripture as she sings this song. And she models for us in her song of praise a mind that is saturated with the Scriptures. Atong hinumduman nga si Maria batan-on pa ug panu-igon niining higayona. Nagmodelo siya para kanato ug naghagit kanato sa pagtubo sa atong kahibalo sa pulong sa Dios. For example, she starts out in verse 46 by saying. " My soul magnifies the Lord," which is an echo of Psalm 34:2, " My soul makes its boast in the LORD." In verse 47 she says, "and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior," which echoes Isaiah 45:21, "And there is no other god besides me, a righteous God and a Savior." And in verse 48 she says, "He has regarded the lowest state of His handmaid," which echoes 1 Samuel 1:11, "If Thou wilt indeed look on the infliction of Thine handmaid and remember me and not forget Thy handmaid," the words of Hannah. It also is reminiscent of Psalm 136:23, "Who remembered us in our low estate, for His mercy endures forever." Again in verse 48 she says, "from now on all generations will call me blessed," which echoes the words of Leah in Genesis 30 verse 13, "Happy am I for the daughters will call me blessed." In verse 49 she says, "He that is mighty has done to me great things," which echoes Psalm 126:3, "The Lord has done great things for us whereof we are glad." And then in verse 49 she says, "Holy is His name," directly quoting Psalm 111:9, "Holy and reverend is His name." Dinhi nagpakita nga si Maria may kahibalo ug familiar sa pulong sa Dios sa dihang iya kining gipangkutlo ug gigamit sa iyang sitwasyon.

Mary knew the God of Scripture, the God of Israel in a deeply personal way. She knew His Word. She understood it. She had studied it. She had laid hold of its promises and its covenants. And those promises filled her thoughts and filled her heart. And when she says in verse 48, "All generations will call me blessed," she is speaking of herself as the recipient, not the dispenser of blessing. She doesn't say all generations will look to me to bless them. They will consider me blessed because of what I’ve received. She is never the dispenser of blessing. She's never the dispenser of divine grace. It is the Lord whom her soul magnifies in verse 46. It is “God my Savior” whom her spirit exalts in verse 47. She sings of the great things that God has done, verse 49, “for me.” Great things God has done on her behalf. She rejoices in the great mercy God has shown her.

These are anxious season of Mary’s life. She will conceive while being pledged to engage. Mary knew that being the bearer of the Christ child was going to come with dangers. One of the first dangers that she was going to face was the danger of being outcast or divorced. She was in a culture and in a religion where unwed mothers were punished. She was going to face, perhaps, the loss of her husband. We know from the other gospels that Joseph seriously considered divorcing her because he assumed that she had been unfaithful to him. Mary was facing the danger of being cut off from her immediate family, and who knows what other personal and physical dangers. And yet her knowledge of Scripture enabled her to help believe this message that this angel had announced to her. And now, that same knowledge of the Scripture was helping her respond in faith and even in rejoicing with thanksgiving at the call that God had given to her life. And Mary is an example to us.

III. The Reason of Her Song of Praise

Now, why does Mary magnifies the Lord and rejoices in the Savior? From verse 48 to 55 we can categorize her reasons for praising God.

i. Because of what God was doing for her (v. 48-49)

“for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name.”

Ang pagdayeg sa Dios magsugod sa dihang aduna Siyay pagabuhaton sa atong kinabuhi. Ug mao kini ang unang rason dinhi ni Maria sa iyang pagtuboy o pagpasidungog sa Dios. Because of what God has done in her life. Kung kita makasinati sa pagtagad sa Ginoo, sa Iyang pag-atiman kanato ug sa uban pa Niyang mga buhat sa atong kinabuhi kini makapatud kanato sa pagdayeg ug paghimaya Kaniya. Ug tungod kay sa dihang mituo ug midawat kita sa Ginoo, atong nasinati ang dakong trabaho Niya sa kaluwasan, gikan sa pagpasaylo kanato sa atong mga sala hangtod sa paghimo kanatong matarong sa Iyang atubangan, ug sa unahan unya ang paghimaya kanatao, then angay lang ug takos lang nga Siya atong pagahimayaon sa walay katapusan. Tungod kay ang atong kaluwasan wala man usab katapusan. The only person who truly worships is the one who has experienced the saving power of God, the mercy of God.[ix]

Mary praises God because God notices her despite her being in humble estate, insignificant not just in her town but perhaps also in her family. God gave her a unique privilege that no one else has or will ever experience, and that is to carry in her womb the promised Savior, the long-awaited Messiah. Mao nang si Maria nag-ingon nga, gikan karon ang mga kaliwatan moangkon nga ako bulahan. Ang iyang pagkabulahan dili buot pasabot maslabaw ug mastaas siya sa tanang mga kababayen-an mao nang angay siya simbahon ug ampo-an. Mary never meant this for her to be worshipped. Atong nakita nga siya mao dinhi ang nagsimba ug nagtuboy sa Dios ug wala siya magpataas sa iyang kaugalingon. Also, we can never read in Acts from start to end, when the church was founded and started that Mary was worshipped or that Mary was venerated. The message of Acts was witnessing about Jesus Christ, the one who was raised from the dead! Mary becomes obscure in the background in Acts.

Here is then the reason for both her honor and her praise—God the Almighty has done great things on her behalf. That's where worship starts, it starts personally. Like all of us who are saved from our sins, we start praising God for what He's done for us. She was astonished, this little phrase, verse 48 in KJV, "For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden:" ESV: “for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant He literally has looked on me.” God looked down on me, unworthy, a nobody with no rights and only sin, and saved me. Her praise then starts very personally because of what God has done for her. This is what overwhelms her.

Ang tinuod nga pagtuboy sa Dios, ang tinuod nga pagsimba magsugod with what God has done in our lives. And if you're not worshiping God, maybe you need to go back and be thankful again for what God has done. You need to rehearse again the greatness of His salvation.

ii. Because of what God would do for others (v. 50)

Secondly, the reason for her worship extended to what God would do for others, to what God would do for others. Wala lang si Maria malipay tungod sa gibuhat sa Dios sa iyang kinabuhi, but she was also thrilled of what God would do for others. Look at verse 50, "And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation." Here she quotes Psalm 103 and verse 17. And she's again showing her familiarity with the Old Testament. And she says that it's not just me, but this mercy of God, this salvation of God is going to come to generation after generation after generation to people who fear, or reverence God. Wherever there are sincere worshipers, wherever there are those who truly love God, who truly come to God for mercy and grace there is going to be that same salvation. This praise starts with her, as it always does, and then it goes beyond her and she's praising God for what He's going to do in the future to bring the same salvation to all who fear Him. Just another way to say all the saved, all who believe, all whose hearts are filled with deep and reverent regard for the person and will of God and commitment to His glory. She's worshiping God not only because of her own personal experience of salvation, but that which will come in the future.[x]

Not only does Mary’s song of praise extol God’s power. His mercy—call it “steadfast love” or even “lovingkindness” if you prefer—also elicits her praise. The present passage is only one among many that stress the favor of God bestowed not on everybody but on his people, on them, on them alone. Note: “his mercy … to those that fear him.” See also Deut. 7:9; Ps. 25:10; 103:18; Isa. 55:3, 6; 57:15; Matt. 5:1–12; John 10:11, 15, 28; 11:25, 26. Mary, then, is thinking of the marvelous and never failing kindness which God is constantly causing to be felt and experienced by all needy ones who stand in awe of him and love him.[xi]

iii. Because of what God has done for others in the past and what He will do in the future (v. 51-53)

(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.

The verbs of these verses are aorist (past), but the tense’s force is disputed. We don’t have to be too technical on this. What is important on the function of the aorist tense is that it is an occurrence, single event, but viewed as a whole. This is whether, past, present or future.

Here is one explanation taking these verses as future: God is praised in terms of what he has done. To be sure, to speak of what God has done is to announce what God will do; the pattern is a familiar one. However, it is most striking that the lines that clearly refer to God’s establishing justice and mercy in the future, in the end time (the eschaton), contain past tense verbs, not future tense verbs. Why? This particular use of the past tense (aorist) of the Greek language here expresses what is timelessly true: past, present, and future without differentiation. But we should also consider the past tense as a way of expressing the confidences and the certainty as though they already were. So sure is the singer that God will do what is promised that it is proclaimed as accomplished fact.[xii]

There are also those who take that these verses here are God’s actions in the past, meaning, Mary was praising God by recalling what He has done in the past. And this is how John MacArthur takes these verses here. He said: Verse 51: "He has done mighty deeds." There are seven aorist tenses. “He has,” twice in verse 51; “He has,” verse 52; “and has,” verse 53, “He has,” verse 54, “He has,” and so it goes. And she's looking back to the past and she's worshiping God for what He is doing in her life, what He will do in the lives of generations to come of people who fear Him, and she worships God for what is already history. She looks back in redemptive history. [xiii]

So Mary praises God for His past dealings with His people. Para kang Maria, kung gi-unsa pagtagad sa Dios sa Iyang mga katawhan kani-adto mao pad kana ang iyang basihanan kung unsaon siya pagtagad sa Dios karon ug sa unahan. As she looks back at the way the Lord has surprised His people with grace, and has surprised those who are powerful and yet in opposition to Him with condemnation, so also she may expect the Lord to surprise her with grace and to deal with her in such a way. Mary possessed an experiential knowledge of the way that God had dealt with His people in the past, and Mary models for us in her song of praise the importance of having an experiential acquaintance with God's past dealing with His people. It is one of the great ways that we cope with the hard circumstances in our own lives.

Mao kanang importante para kanato, labi na sa bag-ong henerasyon karon, nga magtagad sa Bible history ug church history. Aron kita makakita ug makahinumdom labi na panahon sa kalisod ug sa panginahanglanon nga ang Dios kaniadto nagtagad sa Iyang mga katawhan, nagluwas, nagtabang, nagtudlo kanila ug tungod niana mabuhat usab kana sa Dios sa atoa sa atong panahon karon ug bisan pa sa unahan. We need to learn and remember what He's done for His people in history, and what He's done for His people in the Bible to encourage us, to remind us that God takes care of His people, that His mercy is on those who fear Him.

And Mary's song is filled with the recounting of this. Look at verse 51. "He's scattered those who were proud." "He's brought down rulers." "He's exalted the humble." "He's filled the hungry." "He's sent away the rich empty handed." "He's helped Israel His servant." "He's spoken to our fathers." Mary knows that story. She learns from how God dealt with Abraham; how God dealt with Israel; how God dealt with His people from generation to generation; and it helps her know how to expect God to deal with her. This makes Mary confident in God. We too will have this confidence as we remind ourselves of what God has done in the past, in Biblical times, what He has revealed in Scriptures for us.

iv. Because of God’s promises and faithfulness to it (v. 54-55)

Mary also praises God for His promises and for fulfilling it. What's the significance of what Mary says in verses 54 and 55? "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." What is Mary talking about? She's talking about the covenant of God with Abraham. She's talking about the promises that God made to Abraham. She's saying that the promises that God made to Abraham are being fulfilled in the bringing of her son into the world. Mary is linking the promised birth of Jesus the Messiah, Jesus the Savior to God's covenant promise to Abraham. She is as if saying, "Lord, You are fulfilling what you promised to Abraham in Genesis 12, and 15, and 17, You are fulfilling that now in our time and for whatever marvelous reason You have chosen to fulfill that through me.”

Mary, you see, knew the Bible promises. Nakapamalandong siya ug nakahinumdom sa mga saad sa Dios diha sa Daang Testamento. Nakahibalo siya sa mga saad ug sa mga kaayo nga gihimo sa Dios ngadto ni Abraham, ni Isaac, ni Jacob, ni Moses ug ni David. Mao kanang nidayeg siya sa Dios tungod sa iyang kahimtang kay gituman sa Dios ang Iyang saad kaniadto sa pagpadala ug Manluluwas ug nga siya adunay kabahin sa katumanan niini nga saad. Ang iyang pagpanamkon ni Jesus sa iyang sabakan mao ang paghinumdom sa Dios sa Iyang saad ngadto ni Abraham. Mary was familiar of this promise and was firm in holding on to it.

And we, too, need to learn to lay hold of Bible promises. We must grow in our grasp of and faith in these Bible promises. We walk by faith, but faith leans on the promises. And those promises will bear all the weight that we can lay upon them. We may lean on them confidently. The whole focus, you see, of this song of praise is on our God and in his faithfulness in fulfilling the promises that he has made to his people.

And however beautiful this song is to you, it won't make any difference to you unless you believe what Mary is saying. Mary is saying that Jesus, the Messiah, is the Savior of the world appointed by God, promised in His covenant with Abraham, and that to believe on Him is to have eternal fellowship with Him.

And that's the challenge for us today. If we don't have a personal trust in the God who made these promises, if we don't have a personal faith in the Savior about whom these promises speak, then we do not have fellowship with God. And so I would urge you today, if you've never trusted in the Savior of this song, if you've never trusted in the God who gave this song, trust Him now, for in Him is eternal life, hope and security now, no matter our circumstances today.

Conclusion

Mary magnifies God and Him alone. Mary never exalts herself, she never encourages others to exalt her. God alone deserves our praise and our worship. For in Christ we have eternal life, the forgiveness of sins, the hope of everlasting joy in His presence forever. Let us therefore know God the Savior more. Peter said in 2 Peter 3:18a, “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”

God can be trusted. He is faithful and He will fulfil His promises. He said in John 5:24 ESV “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.” His words, His promise.

Let us therefore praise God for what He has done for us, for what he is doing and what He will do for others. Let us also recall and praise Him for what He has done in the past because it will strengthen our confidence in Him. Let us also praise Him for His promises and for being faithful to us and to His promises. God be praised alone.

May others also receive His mercy and find grace to help in time of need.[xiv] Amen.

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[i] Luke 1:50a ESV

[ii] 2 Timothy 3:16-17 NKJV

[iii] Matthew 28:19, 20 ESV

[iv] Ryle, J. C. (1997). Luke. The Crossway classic commentaries (Lk 1:47). Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway Books.

[v] Romans 3:23 ESV

[vi] John MacArthur, Mary’s Praise. Gty.org

[vii] Hendriksen, W., & Kistemaker, S. J. (1953-2001). Vol. 11: New Testament Commentary: Exposition of the Gospel According to Luke. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House.

[viii] Barton, B. B., Veerman, D., Taylor, L. C., & Osborne, G. R. (1997). Luke. Life application Bible commentary (25). Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House Publishers.

[ix] John MacArthur

[x] Ibid.

[xi] Hendriksen, W., & Kistemaker, S. J.

[xii] Ibid.

[xiii] John MacArthur

[xiv] Hebrews 4:16 ESV