46 And Mary said: “My soul magnifies the Lord, 47 And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior. 48 For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant; For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed. 49 For He who is mighty has done great things for me, And holy is His name.
In verses 46-56, we have Mary’s praise of God for what He had done through her and for His revelation to her.
1:46
And Mary said: “My soul magnifies the Lord,
Mary recited a song praising God. This song has many allusions and quotations from the Old Testament. It also has similarities to the song of Hannah (1 Sam 2:1-10).
This praise came from her “soul,” from her innermost being, as personal praise coming from the core of her being.
The word “magnifies” means to make great or to extol.
1:47
And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.
Mary rejoiced that God was using her in the plan of salvation. By using “my” in “my Savior,” she indicated her personal relationship with the Savior. Her son would become her Savior (Mt 1:21; Jn 1:29; Lu 19:10).
1:48
For
The following is the basis for Mary’s praise to God. She deserved nothing but to receive mercy and grace from the Lord.
He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant; For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed.
Mary recognized her “lowly state” in the standard of the world (1 Sam 1:11). In contrast to her state, “all generations will call” her blessed, not because of her personal worth but because she bore the Messiah. Mary was not deemed prominent among the disciples. We find her mentioned only casually in such texts as John 2:4; Matthew 12:46-50; John 19:25-27 and Acts 1:14. All future generations would honor Mary, not because she was more holy but because she was someone who recognized God’s grace and mercy upon her.
1:49
For He who is mighty has done great things for me, And holy is His name.
Mary praised God by designating some of His attributes. God did “great things” by allowing her to give birth to the Messiah.
God is “holy” in His essence. He is set apart from all human beings in His nature. God is unique; no one is like Him. His “name” stands for all He represents (Ps 111:9). Mary carried a high view of God and a lowly picture of who she was.
PRINCIPLE:
Central to worship is praise.
APPLICATION:
Believers are to offer praise to God continually (He 13:15). Our worship involves two categories: “spirit” and truth” (Jn 4:23-24). Worship in spirit is the opposite of mechanical ritual or going through the motions of worship without worship itself (Ps 103:1; Isa 29:13; Mt 15:7-9). It affects the person who worships and involves the mind, emotion, and will, the total person.
Worship in truth rejects any unbiblical form of approach to God (Isa 48:1; He 10:22).
God works in a way that is contrary to the world; He uses the humble and weak.
