What Would You Say?

Luke 1:46-55

(The Magnificat: The Song of Mary)

46“Oh, how I praise the Lord.

47How I rejoice in God my Savior!

48For he took notice of his lowly servant girl,

and now generation after generation will call me blessed.

49For he, the Mighty One, is holy,

and he has done great things for me.

50His mercy goes on from generation to generation,

to all who fear him.

51His mighty arm does tremendous things!

How he scatters the proud and haughty ones!

52He has taken princes from their thrones

and exalted the lowly.

53He has satisfied the hungry with good things

and sent the rich away with empty hands.

54And how he has helped his servant Israel!

He has not forgotten his promise to be merciful.

55For he promised our ancestors—Abraham and his children—

to be merciful to them forever.”

Psalm Link

Psalm 35:3

Lift up your spear and javelin

and block the way of my enemies.

Let me hear you say,

“I am your salvation!”

Scared stiff. Don’t you think that would have been a suitable reaction of a teenager who had just met an angel? And what’s more—an angel who had told her she would become the virgin mother of the Son of God?

Not Mary.

Of course, she may have had uncertainties, but her first reaction was to praise God. And what majestic praise! In her ten-verse Magnificat she quotes or alludes to at least nine psalms as well as a few other Old Testament texts. Despite the fact that most Jewish girls were not taught the Scriptures in the synagogue, Mary knew the Old Testament—and the God of the Old Testament—very well.

Mary knew that God is holy and mighty, a merciful God who does wonderful things for his people, a God who keeps his promises and answers prayer. And she was thrilled—ecstatic—that God would bring the Messiah to Israel through her.

When God asks you to do something, how do you respond? Are you scared stiff, or do you follow Mary’s example, praising God that he has chosen to use you to accomplish his will. He has chosen some unlikely people in the past to do his bidding, so don’t be too surprised if he chooses you.

Hear the glad sound, the Savior comes, the Savior promised long!

Let every heart prepare a throne, and every voice a song.

He comes the broken heart to bind, the bleeding soul to cure,

And with the treasures of his grace to raise the humble poor.

PHILIP DODDRIDGE

Fascinating Fact

This hymn of praise is known as the “Magnificat” because in the Latin Vulgate translation, the first word is magnificat, which means “praise” or “magnify.”

Notable Quotable

“Mary sings of a God who is not bound by what men do. He turns human attitudes and orders of society upside down.”

R. V. G. TASKER