The Magnificat: Mary’s Hymn of Praise for Our Lord Privacy Policy THE MAGNIFICAT The Magnificat, taken from Luke’s Gospel (1:46-55), is the Blessed Virgin Mary’s hymn of praise to the Lord. It is also known as the Canticle of Mary in the Liturgy of the Hours, a special collection of scripture readings, psalms, and hymns that constitute what is known as the prayer of the church. (Priests and other religious are required to pray sections from the Liturgy of the Hours each day.) Although the Magnificat has had numerous musical settings from such composers as Palestrina, Bach and Mozart, it can be recited as well as sung. Its name comes from the first line of its text in Latin (“Magnificat anima mea Dominum”) translated in the first line below. Mary proclaims the Lord’s greatness with characteristic humility and grace here.

My soul magnifies the Lord And my spirit rejoices in God my Savior; Because He has regarded the lowliness of His handmaid; For behold, henceforth all generations shall call me blessed; Because He who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is His name; And His mercy is from generation to generation on those who fear Him. He has shown might with His arm, He has scattered the proud in the conceit of their heart. He has put down the mighty from their thrones, and has exalted the lowly. He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich He has sent away empty. He has given help to Israel, his servant, mindful of His mercy Even as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his posterity forever. The Magnificat provides great material for meditation on the Visitation, the second Joyful Mystery of the Rosary, pictured above. When the angel Gabriel informs Mary that she is to be the Mother of God, he also tells her of her relative Elizabeth’s pregnancy with John the Baptist.

After Mary gives her famous consent to becoming the Mother of God, -- “Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it done to me according to thy word” (Luke 1:38) -- she goes “with haste” (1:39) to help Elizabeth, who is delighted to see her. Our Lady then expresses her joy in the Magnificat. Clearly Mary, in hastening to help her cousin, is focused on service to others. In this way she glorifies the Lord in reflecting (and “magnifying”) His goodness and love. And, of course by becoming the Mother of God she will help Him redeem us for our salvation in His Passion! Speaking of magnifying, Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen once referred to our Blessed Mother as being like “a magnifying glass that intensifies our love of her Son.” Note that Mary’s joyful claim that “all generations shall call me blessed” in no way takes away from her humility. If she seems to boast here, it is much as St. Paul does later on in scripture when he says “whoever boasts, should boast in the Lord” (2 Cor 10:17), that is to say, in God’s work being done through us.

In this regard, the Magnificat is more than a prayer of praise. It also reminds us about the essential link between humility and holiness. Just as God has “regarded the lowliness of his handmaid” and “has done great things” for Mary in making her the Mother of his Son, so too “he has put down the mighty from their thrones (with his own might!) and has exalted the lowly.” (Note also our Blessed Mother’s humility in referring to herself in this prayer, as she does in giving her consent to Gabriel mentioned earlier, as the Lord’s handmaid, his servant!) As her Divine Son later stressed “Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled, and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted” (Matt 23:12, also in slightly different words in Luke 18:14 and Luke 14:11). Jesus wasn’t saying anything new here, either!

We read similar thoughts in throughout the Old Testament such as in the Psalms and in this example from the book of Sirach “Humble yourself the more, the greater you are, and you will find favor with God.” (Sirach 3:19) The line about God filling “the hungry with good things” resonates later in the Gospels as well, when our Lord says “Blessed are they who hunger and thirst after righteousness for they will be filled” (Matt 5:7). This serves as a good reminder for us to “stay hungry” for God’s graces in praying and in reading His word in scripture. And as for the rich being sent away empty? This line refers to those who live for wealth and power and feel they have everything figured out. These people in, effect wish to be Gods rather than God’s. How can our Lord fill those who are already full--of themselves? How about you? Does your soul magnify the Lord? We may never be able to approach Him from Mary’s level of sanctity as the Mother of God. Still, we are all called to be saints nonetheless. Your good example, like our Blessed Mother’s, can help others in their spiritual growth.

Do people see Christ’s love and goodness in you? Are you letting God work within you to accomplish His will? Let Mary help give you the graces you need to follow her Son and His Church in praying the Magnificat. As St. Ambrose once said in referring to this wonderful prayer, "Let Mary's soul be in us to glorify the Lord; let her spirit be in us that we may rejoice in God our Saviour." HELP SUPPORT OUR WEBSITE WITH PURCHASES The Subversive Magnificat: Mary's Expectations Of The Messiah ‘My soul magnifies the Lord, And my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, For he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, For the Mighty One has done great things for me. Holy is his name. His mercy extends to those who fear him, From generation to generation. He has performed mighty deeds with his arm; He has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. He has brought down rulers from their thrones But has lifted up the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things But has sent the rich away empty.

He has helped his servant Israel, Remembering to be merciful to Abraham And his descendants forever, even as he said to our fathers.’” Wondrous Reversals: The Messiah that Mary anticipated is referred to as the Mighty One who topples rulers, scatters the proud, and sends the rich away empty-handed. However, He also is mindful of the lowly, exalts the humble, fills the hungry with good things, and helps His servant Israel. In other words, Mary anticipates that the Messiah will bring about “wondrous reversals” in the world, to borrow Rev. Carolyn Sharp’s phrase. Mary envisions God’s anointed one upsetting the status quo by turning virtually everything upside down. He is one who inverts human structures and values. After all, God chose for Him to be born of a “lowly servant girl” instead of a woman of prominence. Now, Mary’s words were inspired by God. So, I do not doubt their accuracy. However, I suspect Mary could only guess at how Jesus would fulfill the things she prophesied about Him. How would the coming Messiah topple rulers and scatter the proud? By what means? Mary refers to the Messiah as the “Mighty One”.

Did she expect the Messiah would use His might and divine power to forcefully remove rulers from their positions of power? And when Mary says that the coming Messiah would help Israel and extend mercy to them, did she realize that His mercy and salvation would extend beyond her own people? It seems doubtful. After all, did Mary even want the Messiah to offer mercy to other nations, which included her people’s occupiers? Behold! Herod. King of the Jews: Soon after reciting her now famous Magnificat, the Romans required Mary to walk seventy miles while pregnant with a full-term baby to the small rural town of Bethlehem. Recent archeological findings reveal that Bethlehem was home to no more than 200-300 inhabitants at this time. Small indeed. Soon after arriving in Bethlehem (or perhaps even while they were still traveling), Mary began to experience the pains of labor. There in this insignificant rural village, Mary would be homeless while giving birth to her first child.

That much you’re probably already familiar with, but here’s something you might not have heard before: Looking southeast from the stable or cave in which Jesus lay in a meager feeding trough, Mary would have seen Herod the Great’s majestic palatial resort which was known as Herodium. It was, and still is, an impossible site to miss from any part of Bethlehem. For you see, Herodium sits atop a manmade mountain nearly twenty-five hundred feet high. At the time, it was the largest palatial complex in the Roman world. As you looked up from Bethlehem, the lights shining down from Herod’s resort dominated the night sky. So picture this with me, if you will: There sits Mary, attempting to recover from the long trip to Bethlehem and the stressful conditions in which she gave birth to Jesus. As she stared up at the night sky and undoubtedly saw Herod’s luxurious resort, what thoughts do you think entered her mind? Obviously she would have been thinking about her newborn Son. That much is a given. But as she did, I wonder if she pondered the irony of the situation she found herself in (after all, we all know she was prone to pondering).

Mary knew her Son was the only person deserving of the title “King of the Jews”, yet the reality is, the Romans had appointed Herod “King of the Jews”. While the true king lay helpless beside his almost equally helpless parents, the imposter king lorded his might over them (quite literally). And let us not forget that soon after the Messiah’s birth, Mary and Joseph were forced to flee with Jesus and become refugees in Egypt while Herod ordered half of Jesus’ playmates in Bethlehem to be killed. Given these circumstances, it is easy to envision Mary praying for God to bring vengeance upon Herod and the entire political establishment that he represented. I wonder if on that first Christmas night Mary found herself praying once again, like she had months before in her Magnificat, for God to topple rulers like Herod from their thrones of power and domination. When we couple the effect these events would have had on Mary with the obvious meaning of the Magnificat’s words, it seems safe to conclude that Mary did not want the Messiah to offer mercy and salvation to the Romans. In fact, it appears that Mary believed He would be the means by which God would overthrow them.

As Mary says in her song, the Messiah was to be Israel’s helper…and by that, Mary almost certainly meant, Israel’s helper alone. Looking Ahead: In the next post, we’ll look at the messianic predictions provided by Zechariah, John the Baptist, and Simeon. Like in today’s reflection, we’ll attempt to deduce what each of these men anticipated the messiah to be like. Finally, we’ll end this series of Advent reflections by studying Jesus’ attempt to set the record straight, dispel misconceptions, and clarify His messianic agenda. Time For Your Input: When you read Mary’s Magnificat, what sort of Messiah do you see Mary anticipating? Before reading this reflection, have you ever considered Mary’s song to be subversive? Were you surprised to learn that countries have actually banned the Magnificat? Did you find the section about Herod’s palatial resort to be helpful? [i] Luke 1:39-56 Reflections on The Magnificat. Magnificat Prayer c It is one of the oldest Christian hymns.

The Magnificat (also known in various church traditions as the Song of Mary, the Canticle of Mary and the Ode of the Theotokos) is the hymn recorded by the Gospel writer Luke as Mary’s response when her cousin Elizabeth praises her as “the mother of my Lord.” ( Luke 1:43, ESV ) The title, “Magnificat,” comes from the first word in the Latin version (“magnificat” translates into English as “magnifies”). And, while it is most commonly sung or recited in liturgical churches, it has also been prayed privately by Christians through the centuries and around the world: My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, 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. And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation.

He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts; he has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate; he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring forever. ( Luke 1:46-55, ESV ) It is a wonderfully appropriate prayer to pray during Advent, of course, as we anticipate the celebration of Jesus’ birth, when all the things Mary rejoiced in were fulfilled in the Nativity. It also makes a beautiful and compelling prayer to pray for yourself or those you love, particularly if you adapt the words to your own situation, perhaps like this: My soul magnifies You, Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior. Thank You for looking on my humble estate! Thank You for blessing me and mine through the submission of Mary and the incarnation of Jesus. You have done great things for me, and holy is Your name. Your mercy has been poured out on me, and to the next generation, too.

Show Your strength in my life and in the lives of those I love; Scatter the proud; Bring down the mighty from their thrones and exalt the humble; Fill the hungry with good things, and turn the hearts of the rich to be generous and kind. Come to the aid of all Your servants, Lord; remember Your great mercy, and speak as You spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring. Amen. That, of course, is just one way to pray the Magnificat. Whether you pray it only in the words as they are recorded in the Bible or adapt the wording to fit to your present circumstances, it is a powerful prayer–and one that can add immensely to your Christmas celebration this year.

MARY SINGS THE PRAISES OF GOD MARY SINGS THE PRAISES OF GODï¿½S MERCY Pope John Paul II In the ï¿½Magnificatï¿½, the Blessed Virgin proclaims the greatness of God who called her, his humble handmaid, to be the Mother of his Incarnate Son At the General Audience of Wednesday, 6 November, the Holy Father returned to his catechesis on the Virgin Mary with a reflection on her song known as the Magnificat. "With her wise reading of history, Mary leads us to discover the criteria of God's mysterious action. Overturning the judgements of the world, he comes to the aid of the poor and lowly", the Pope said, pointing out that it is humility of heart which the Lord finds especially attractive. Here is a translation of the Holy Father's catechesis, which was the 35th in the series on the Blessed Virgin and was given in Italian. 1. Inspired by the Old Testament tradition, with the song of the Magnificat Mary celebrates the marvels God worked in her.

This song is the Virgin's response to the mystery of the Annunciation: the angel had invited her to rejoice and Mary now expresses the exultation of her spirit in God her Saviour. Her joy flows from the personal experience of God's looking with kindness upon her, a poor creature with no historical influence. The word Magnificat, the Latin version of a Greek word with the same meaning, celebrates the greatness of God, who reveals his omnipotence through the angel's message, surpassing the expectations and hopes of the people of the Covenant, and even the noblest aspirations of the human soul. He who is mighty has done great things for me In the presence of the powerful and merciful Lord, Mary expresses her own sense of lowliness: "My soul magnifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour, for he has regarded the low estate of his handmaiden" (Lk 1:47-48). The Greek word "tapeï¿½nosis" is probably borrowed from the song of Hannah, Samuel's mother. It calls attention to the "humiliation" and "misery" of a barren woman (cf.

1 Sam 1: 11), who confides her pain to the Lord. With a similar expression, Mary makes known her situation of poverty and her awareness of being little before God, who by a free decision looked upon her, a humble girl from Nazareth and called her to become the Mother of the Messiah. 2. The words "henceforth all generations will call me blessed" (Lk 1:48) arise from the fact that Elizabeth was the first to proclaim Mary "blessed" (Lk 1:45). Not without daring, the song predicts that this same proclamation will be extended and increased with relentless momentum, At the same time, it testifies to the special veneration for the Mother of Jesus which has been present in the Christian community from the very first century. The Magnificat is the first fruit of the various forms of devotion, passed on from one generation to the next, in which the Church has expressed her love for the Virgin of Nazareth. 3. "For he who is mighty has done great things for me and holy is his name, And his mercy is on those who fear him from generation to generation" (Lk 1:49-50).

What are the "great things" that the Almighty accomplished in Mary? The expression recurs in the Old Testament to indicate the deliverance of the people of Israel from Egypt or Babylon. In the Magnificat, it refers to the mysterious event of Jesus' virginal conception, which occurred in Nazareth after the angel's announcement. In the Magnificat, a truly theological song because it reveals the experience Mary had of God's looking upon her, God is not only the Almighty to whom nothing is impossible, as Gabriel had declared (cf. Lk 1:37), but also the Merciful, capable of tenderness and fidelity towards every human being. 4. "He has shown strength with his arm, he has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts, he has put down the mighty from their thrones, and exalted those of low degree; he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent empty away" (Lk 1: 51-53). With her wise reading of history, Mary leads us to discover the criteria of God's mysterious action.

Overturning the judgements of the world, he comes to the aid of the poor and lowly, to the detriment of the rich and powerful, and in a surprising way he fills with good things the humble who entrust their lives to him (cf. Redemptoris Mater, n. 37). While these words of the song show us Mary as a concrete and sublime model, they give us to understand that it is especially humility of heart which attracts God's kindness. God fulfils his promises in Mary with abundant generosity 5. Lastly, the song exalts the fulfilment of God's promises and his fidelity to the chosen people: "He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his posterity for ever" (Lk 1:54-55). Filled with divine gifts, Mary does not limit her vision to her own personal case, but realizes how these gifts show forth God's mercy towards all his people. In her, God fulfils his promises with a superabundance of fidelity and generosity.

Inspired by the Old Testament and by the spirituality of the daughter of Zion, the Magnificat surpasses the prophetic texts on which it is based, revealing in her who is "full of grace" the beginning of a divine intervention which far exceeds Israel's messianic hopes: the holy mystery of the Incarnation of the Word. A Modern Magnificat | First Church Cambridge Sun, Dec 14 Texts: Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11 and Luke 1:46b-55 Near beginning of Luke’s gospel—in the verses immediately prior to this morning’s reading—Mary gets news from the Angel Gabriel that she is going to bear a son. Her response to this staggering annunciation is to burst into song. At least that’s how Luke tells it. Mary’s song—the magnificat—seems, at first blush, like a simple, innocent song of joy. She sings, “My soul magnifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my savior. For you have looked with favor upon your lowly servant. From this day forward all generations will call me blessed, for you have done great things for me!” There is so much joy in Mary’s song.

Can you hear the joy in her words? One almost can imagine those first verses set to music by Rodgers and Hammerstein. A kind of first century, super-holy version of “I Enjoy Being a Girl.” I do not mean to make light of Mary—that’s something I would never do. But can you hear her youthful exuberance? Her first (and heart-felt) response to Gabriel’s news is: “I’m so fortunate that God has chosen me!” But Mary’s thoughts move beyond the personal. The magnificat is a call for God’s justice. You have shown strength with your arm; you have scattered the proud in their conceit. You have deposed the powerful from their thrones, and raise the lowly to high places. You have filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty. Mary’s joy is not a naïve joy. She is a young Jewish woman living in a world dominated by Rome, an occupying superpower with a militarized police force. In his new book, Christ Actually, James Carroll reminds readers of the absolute power of the Roman Empire during Jesus’ lifetime and the decades in which the gospels were written.

Roman occupation was a brutal reign that resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths of Jewish innocents. This world was not a safe place for Mary’s baby. What must Mary have felt, bringing her son into a world such as this? I wonder—frankly—how Mary can hold it together—these two things. The joy of her expectation, the “already” of God’s presence with her, and in her, and in the world. And the terror she must have felt at what might become of her child in a world such as this. This is the stuff of Advent. The tension between the “already” of God’s presence and the “not yet” of God’s kin-dom on earth. That beloved community in which the proud are scattered, the powerful are brought down and the hungry are fed. Buddhist teacher, Pema Chodron, speaks about the Buddhist practice of compassion, called bodhichitta. She writes, An analogy for bodhichitta is the rawness of a broken heart. Sometimes this broken heart gives birth to anxiety and panic, sometimes to anger, resentment, and blame. But under the hardness of that armor there is the tenderness of genuine sadness.

This is our link with all those who have ever loved. This genuine heart of sadness can teach us great compassion. It can humble us when we’re arrogant and soften us when we are unkind. It awakens us when we prefer to sleep and pierces through our indifference. This continual ache of the heart is a blessing that when accepted fully can be shared with all. These have been weeks of broken-heartedness for so many of us, as we hear news of acquittal after acquittal. Can we look beneath our rage, resentment and blame to find our genuine sadness? Do we dare to feel that sad? Might we allow a deep-seated compassion to take root in us? Because compassion—a deep sense of connection to “all those who have ever loved”­­­­––is what will fuel our work for justice. Compassion is a long-burning flame that is not easily extinguished. Anger flames out, resentment atrophies, blame becomes a cancer. In the words of Dr. King, “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” I suspect that the wisdom of compassion is already present in Mary’s magnificat.

She sings out words of joy—“my soul gives glory to God my savior!” But we know that Mary will end up broken-hearted at the foot of the cross, weeping at the feet of her child, with his broken body. Luke knew that too. And here is this beautiful, apocalyptic poetry binding it all together—the already and not yet of God’s promise. God’s hope is already present, God’s peace is already here. God’s action is already taking place to bring justice to a broken and hurting world. God’s joy is possible for us, as it was for Mary. In the shadow of foreign occupation, under the threat of domination, in the midst of a culture of violence. For Mary, there was no “Occupy Bethlehem” to call the out the Romans for their brutality and injustice. There were no tent cities, no public marches, no protest—these treasured fruits of democracy. Rome would have responded with a show of force, like the tanks that rolled into Tiananmen Square twenty-five years ago. There was no “Occupy Bethlehem,” but Mary did participate in the beginning of a movement. A movement that speaks truth to power and witnesses to God’s reign, even in the midst of Empire.

Protestors and organizers have developed powerful memes over the last few years. The hoodie in the aftermath of Trayvon Martin’s death. Incidentally, I posted online so frequently about Trayvon that FaceBook concluded I must be black and I started getting pop-up adds for black singles. I was honored to be (mis)taken for a black person, but it was super-creepy to know my online activity was being monitored. We have developed memes for the deaths of Michael Brown, Eric Garner, and Tamir Rice. Hands up, don’t shoot! I can’t breathe. Black lives matter. But these memes must become a movement. It is time for a new civil rights movement. Do you feel it? What’s your sense of this moment in America? Of what’s happening in our streets, our public squares, and institutions? A ProPublica analysis of federal data showed that young black men are twenty-one times more likely to be killed by police than their white counterparts. What’s your “take” on what needs to happen so that black bodies and brown bodies don’t keep dying in the line of fire? This is a painful moment. But it is also a hopeful moment. Our public pain is so acute that people are pouring into the streets.

And some—especially white folks—are for the very first time, genuinely trying to understand the workings of race and racism in the U.S. Last week at the MACUCC Conference Center in Framingham, Karlene Griffiths Sekou and I facilitated a conversation for clergy on race in the aftermath of Ferguson. Thirty UCC clergy showed up, with just a few days notice. Pastors were clearly feeling the pain and injustice deeply and struggling with how to lead their congregations at this moment. I was inspired by, not just how many came, but by who showed up—it wasn’t just the same old folks who have been working on racial justice for years, but a whole new generation of clergy whose hearts are breaking. We shed tears, spoke about strong feelings of grief and anger, and about the need for public lament and public witness. One minister said, “I feel so passionately that I’m afraid to speak. Afraid I will come across too strong and my congregation will be turned off. Will they hang in there with me?” This is a small, but real risk white people take in order to be solidarity with peoples of color: that we will be dismissed. Here’s what happens in communities of color.

This week Trayvon Martin’s mother, Sabrina Fulton, told the Orlando Sentinel that whites do not understand the protests about the deaths of young black men. "It's not happening to them, so they don't quite get it... They think that it's a small group of African-Americans that's complaining, [and they say] 'Oh, what are they complaining about now?'" Another young minister at the Mass Conference gathering said, “I’m having a hard time making the adjustment from my diverse, progressive seminary in a diverse city—where structural racism was something everyone understood—to my new congregation in a mostly white suburb where people seem not to understand and (possibly) not to care. How can I talk to my congregation about these issues in a way they will understand?” We want to speak in ways that will engage—rather than foreclose—conversation. That is how we build relationships. It’s how we build understanding. It’s how we build a movement. But we must speak. Knowing that some people will dismiss us out of hand. Knowing that we will get our words wrong some of the time. Knowing that we will make mistakes. We must speak. Isn’t it our job—as Christ’s church—to speak of things that are uncomfortable to hear?

To speak of justice and equality, to dream a dream of the beloved community that is yet-to-come? If we won’t, who will? And if we don’t speak, how can we claim any relevance whatsoever? Why would anyone pay attention to the church if we remain silent while cities are burning? There are many ways to take action; to protest, to build relationships, to witness. But—if you’ll forgive me for a moment—I want to speak specifically to white folks. (I’m an expert on being white and I’ve thought a lot about this.) There is some inner work we can do that is very much in the spirit of Advent. Some ways of de-centering “Rome” as we prepare to receive the Christ child. First, we can admit it when we don’t know. My candid observation is that white people like to think we know everything, but there are, in fact, entire realms of human experience about which we know very little. Let tell you about an incident in my life that taught me worlds about what I don’t know. In the mid 1990’s I was a doctoral student at Union Theological Seminary in New York, living on the Upper West Side of Manhattan on the edge of Harlem.

On the day OJ Simpson was acquitted, a huge cheer went up all over our neighborhood—in our apartment building, on the street, and for blocks in every direction. I had understood (I thought) the racially charged nature of the trial, the suspicion of police officers and the critique of how “the system” operates against African American men. And still, as a white woman, the lens through which I saw the case was one of domestic violence. The details of the case matched so closely with everything I had come to understand about domestic violence. It was my strong suspicion that however botched the evidence or malevolent the “powers that be,” there was a good chance he was (also) guilty. When OJ was acquitted and people all around were cheering, it struck a chord of fear in me. I wasn’t afraid for my own safety. It was bigger than that—I was afraid to be living in a world where men get away with murdering women. And then, a flash of insight. The people who were cheering in the streets were people who are afraid every single day of their lives. We won’t know unless we ask. So ask. And listen. A lot. Mary’s Magnificat | Grace Valley Christian Center P.G.

Mathew | Sunday, December 24, 2000 Copyright © 2000, P.G. Mathew And Mary said: “My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me–holy is his name. His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation. He has performed mighty deeds with his arm; he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty.

He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants for ever, even as he said to our fathers.” Luke 1:46-55 In Luke 1:46-55 we find the portion of Scripture called “Mary’s Magnificat.” This great worship hymn of Mary is called the Magnificat because it begins in the Latin Bible in verse 47 with the words “Magnificat animum mea Dominum,” which means “My soul magnifies the Lord.” When you open the gospel of Luke, you notice it is filled with music, especially the first two chapters.

There we find five hymns: the hymn of Elizabeth (Luke 1:42-45); the hymn of Mary (Luke 1:46-55); the hymn of Zechariah (Luke 1:68-79); the hymn of the angels, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests,” (Luke 2:14); and the hymn of Simeon in Luke 2:29-32, which he prayed when he saw the infant Jesus Christ and realized that God’s promise that he wouldn’t die until he saw God’s salvation had just been fulfilled. Context The Christmas season is a time of great singing and joy because of the divine announcement of good news of great joy to all the people of the world. As sinners, we need a divine Savior, and the message of Christmas is that God has given us such a competent Savior in his Son who became man, the Lord Jesus Christ. This divine announcement first came to a poor Jewish teenager, a peasant girl who lived in the despised town of Nazareth in northern Israel.

The divine Savior made his grand entrance into history by being born, not in the famous cities of Rome or Jerusalem, but in Bethlehem; not to a famous queen mother, but to a poor Jewish teenager betrothed to the town carpenter; not in a palace, but in a stable and placed in a manger. The angel Gabriel told Mary that by the power of the Holy Spirit, she would conceive and give birth to a son who would be heir to the throne of David, the Holy One, the Son of God, the Son of the Most High, the King of Israel. Mary and Joseph were to call him Jesus, for he would save his people from their sins. Mary was puzzled at this stupendous announcement the angel made to her. “How will this be,” she asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” In other words, “How can a virgin conceive without the aid of a man?” Mary knew that the recent miracle of her elderly relative Elizabeth conceiving was not unique, because such a miracle had happened previously, when God enabled Sarah to conceive Isaac.

But for a virgin to conceive and give birth to a son was unique, so Mary asked the angel, “How will this be?” “The Holy Spirit will do it,” Gabriel told Mary. “The Holy Spirit will come upon you,” he said in Luke 1:35, “and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.” Then he added in verse 37, “For nothing is impossible with God.” Nothing is impossible with God! We must keep this in mind always. How did the universe come to be? The answer is God. How are we going to be raised from the dead? The answer, again, is God. How could old Zechariah and old barren Elizabeth in their old age have a son through natural human reproductive processes? The answer is God. How could a virgin conceive and give birth to the Savior, Jesus Christ, who is eternal God? The answer is God. God is sovereign, and he alone does what he pleases. Nothing is impossible for him. Mary’s confusion disappeared at this great answer that she received from the angel. She told Gabriel, “I am the Lord’s servant.” Then she said, “May it be to me as you have said.” Mary believed God.

Mary’s Song After the angel left, Mary got up quickly and traveled to Judea to visit with Elizabeth, who was six months pregnant. When Elizabeth saw Mary, an amazing thing happened: through the Spirit of the living God, she recognized Mary, this unmarried teenage girl, as “the mother of my Lord,” and began to prophesy. When that happened, Mary also began to sing in the Spirit, exalting and worshiping God. It is this song that is recorded as the Magnificat, and at this point I want to note something: Although Mary was just a poor peasant girl, she had been brought up in a godly home, where Mary was thoroughly versed in the Holy Scriptures. Like Zechariah, Simeon, Anna, and others, Mary was looking forward to God’s redemption of Israel. So when she heard Elizabeth’s greeting, she was filled with the Holy Spirit and Scripture came pouring out of her heart. Listen, then, to Mary’s knowledge of the Lord as she magnifies the Lord.

Psalm 103:1 tells us, “Praise the Lord, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name,” and elsewhere we are told that out of the abundance of the heart, our mouths will speak. Mary was filled with God and his grace; thus, she sang about God and his attributes. In this study we want to examine the seven attributes of God Mary speaks about in her song. God Is Mighty The first attribute Mary speaks of is the might and power of God. He is the mighty God, ho dunatos, and in Luke 1:49 she sings, “For the Mighty One has done great things for me.” Mary’s God was God Almighty, the Creator of the ends of the earth. There is no one mightier than her God. He alone is able, and with him alone nothing is impossible.

God himself spoke of this aspect of his character to Abraham in Genesis 18:14, asking, “Is anything too hard for the Lord?” In Psalm 115:3 the psalmist says, “Our God is in heaven; he does whatever pleases him.” In Matthew 19:26 the Lord Jesus Christ himself said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” The apostle Paul recognized this and wrote in this manner in Ephesians 3:20, “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine. . . .” In the first part of verse 51 Mary says of this mighty God, “He has performed mighty deeds with his arm.” From Genesis 1 on the Bible speaks of the great and marvelous acts performed by the mighty arm of God. No Pharaoh can resist him. No Sennacherib can resist him. No Nebuchadnezzar can resist him. No Belshazzar can resist him. No Caesar can withstand him. Their knees knock when God looks down from his throne.

All nations together are considered as nothing by this El-Shaddai, this God, the strong and mighty one. He alone is almighty, and Mary knew it. Let me ask you: Are you weak? The answer, of course, is yes. But that is not the end. He is strong, and it is in him that we trust. What about the devil and his demons-are they strong? Yes. Martin Luther recognized that in his great hymn, “A Mighty Fortress,” and all of us must recognize it. But our God is stronger than all the forces of this world. Remember what Luther said? “One little Word shall fell him.” That Word is the name of Jesus. Knowing who God is, Mary realized that she had nothing to fear. We too have nothing to fear as well. The gates of hell shall not prevail against us, because our God is mighty. Thus, we can say with Paul, “We are more than conquerors through him who loved us” (Romans 8:37). God Is Holy The second attribute Mary speaks about is God’s holiness.

In verse 49 Mary declared, “Holy is his name.” Throughout the Scriptures God tells us, “Be ye holy, for I am holy.” God is light, and in him there is no darkness at all. He is the One separate from us-the One without sin. Isaiah writes this of God: “For this is what the high and lofty One says-he who lives forever, whose name is holy: ‘I live in a high and holy place'” (Isaiah 57:15). In Isaiah 6 Isaiah records his reaction when confronted with this holy God: In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling to one another: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty! The whole earth is full of his glory.” At the sound of their voices the doorposts and the thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke. “Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined!

For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.” (Isaiah 6:1-5) God is not like us. He is just, and therefore he must deal with all evil, and the wages of sin is death eternal. The Bible tells us the wrath of God is revealed against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men. Because God is holy, there is judgment and hell. God Is a Judge The third attribute of God that Mary speaks about in her hymn is that God is a judge. In the latter part of Luke 1:51 she says, “He [God] has scattered those who are proud in their innermost thoughts.” Additionally, in verse 52 we find, “He has brought down the mighty rulers from their thrones,” and in verse 53, “He has sent the rich empty away.” God scatters those who are arrogant in the thoughts of their hearts. What is the problem with human beings? They are arrogant in their imagination. What does God do with such people?

He scatters these intellectuals who use their minds to oppose God and try to get rid of him. Fallen man always exalts himself above God in his twisted imagination. In Psalm 14 we read,”The fool has said in his heart, ‘There is no God.'” The fools of the world hate and revile God, saying, like Pharaoh of old, “Who is the Lord, that we should obey him?” Such people claim to be wise, but in reality they are fools, deliberately suppressing the knowledge of God. The apostle Paul speaks of this attitude of fools toward God in 1 Corinthians 1:20, asking, “Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age?

Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?” But in 1 Corinthians 1:19 Paul tells us God’s attitude toward such people: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.” I know there are people who would say, “I got a 1600 on my SAT; therefore, I do not believe in God” or “I have received a Nobel Prize, so I do not have to believe in God.” Listen to what Jesus Christ said in Matthew 1:25: “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned, and revealed them to little children.” Your brain, on its own, has no power to research God and find him. No, God must enable you to seek him. Additionally, have you ever considered where your brain comes from? Any ability you have, whether it is to think clearly, or to reason, is God’s common grace to you. It is God’s gift to you. How, then, can you take that mind and use it to revile, despise, and nullify the Author of all?

But the Bible tells us that only those who are humble will receive the truths God reveals to us. Paul said this in 1 Corinthians 2:9-10, “However, as it is written: ‘No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him’-but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit.” Jesus Christ is the Judge who scatters the arrogant and pulls down the mighty ones from their thrones. He reverses all sinful social order, sending the rich empty away and condemning those who are self-righteous. This righteous Judge came to seek, not the righteous, but sinners. Remember the rich young ruler? He came to Jesus Christ because he wanted to inherit eternal life, and the Lord Jesus Christ counseled him to sell his possessions and follow Christ. This young man refused to submit to the counsel of God, and we are told he went away sad. Let me tell you, Jesus Christ is good news to the humble but he is bad news to the arrogant, the mighty, and the rich. To them he is the righteous Judge. God Is Merciful The fourth attribute Mary speaks of is that God is merciful.

The word “mercy” appears five times in Luke 1-in verses 50, 54, 58, 72 and 78. Mary reveled in the knowledge of this great attribute of God. What is grace? It is God’s love shown to guilty sinners. But what is mercy? Mercy is God’s love shown to the guilty sinners who are miserable in their sinful condition. In Exodus 3;7 we read what the Lord-the eternal God, the great I AM THAT I AM-spoke from the burning bush to Moses: “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering.” God was merciful to the Israelites in Egypt and he delivered them. God is merciful to his people today also. So we read in Luke 1:50, “His mercy extends to those who fear him.” Let me assure you of one thing: A man shall never experience God’s mercy if he remains arrogant in the imagination of his heart, but the one who fears God will always receive mercy.

In Luke 1:54 we read, “He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful,” and in Luke 1:58 we read that the Lord had shown Elizabeth great mercy. In Luke 1:72 Zechariah also speaks of God’s mercy, saying that God raised up a Savior “to show mercy to our fathers,” and in verse 78 speaking of the “tender mercy of our God.” Our God is a merciful God. God Is Faithful to His Covenant If God promises through a covenant, he will fulfill it, because he is the God of the covenant. The sixth attribute of God Mary speaks of in this passage is the faithfulness of God to his covenant. By the time the virgin Mary was born, two thousand years had passed since God made his promise to Abraham. The kingdom of Judah had ceased to exist six hundred years earlier, and there had been no prophets for four hundred years. All this time passed, yet God’s promise remained unfulfilled. The words of the psalmist in Psalm 77:9 describe this time, as he asks, “Has God forgotten to be merciful?

Has he in anger withheld his compassion?” Then, all of a sudden, in the fullness of time, God saw the sin and misery of his people and remembered to be merciful them. Our God cannot lie; what he promises he will do. In 2 Corinthians 1:20 Paul writes, “For no matter how many promises God has made, they are ‘Yes’ in Christ.” All of God’s promises to us are fulfilled in the indescribable gift of his Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. Mary realized that what was happening in her womb was the fulfillment of the age-old promise to Abraham, that God was finally sending the divine Messiah, Jesus the Savior, the eternal God incarnate. So she sang, “He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants forever, even as he said to our fathers.”God Is a Covenant God The fifth attribute of God that Mary speaks of is that God is a covenant God. We must realize that God does not have to enter into a covenant with sinful man. There is nothing in his being necessitating that he stoop down and promise salvation to anybody. But the truth is, God did just that.

He entered into a covenant with Abraham, promising to show mercy to him and his descendants by granting them salvation. Zechariah brings this out in his song very clearly in Luke 1:72-75. Speaking of the salvation God was bringing through Jesus Christ, he said God’s purpose was “to show mercy to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant, the oath he swore to our father Abraham: to rescue us from the hand of our enemies, and to enable us to serve him without fear in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.” Mary refers to God’s covenant nature in different words. In Luke 1:54 she says, “He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful,” that is, remembering his covenant “to Abraham and his descendants forever, even as he said to our fathers.” In Genesis 12:3 God told Abraham, “all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” This was the covenant God made with Abraham. (PGM) We must realize that he was speaking, not of Isaac or David, but of Jesus Christ, the Son of Abraham and the Son of David.

In a flash, God gave Abraham in some fashion a revelation of this great salvation that was going to happen in the fullness of time in Jesus Christ. Jesus himself said, “Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad” (John 8:56). Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing the fulfillment of the covenant God had made to him, and it was fulfilled in the Son God promised to Mary. God Is the Savior The final attribute of God that Mary describes here is that God was her Savior. “My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices. . . .” In what is Mary rejoicing? “. . . in God my Savior.” The Bible tells us that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. That means Mary herself was a sinner and needed a Savior. Never believe the lie that Mary was not a sinner. She was, and when she discerned what was happening in her womb, she realized that she was going to be the mother of her own Lord and Savior.

Jesus Christ, the One who saves sinners-the One who would save his mother, the One who who would save Elizabeth, the One who saves all who put their trust in him, whether Jew or Gentile-was in her womb. That is why Mary was filled with what Peter calls “inexpressible joy.” Two thousand years after God made his promise to Abraham, the Savior had come. Mary knew that it was he alone who could take away sins and destroy the works of the devil. But how would he do these things? By his death on the cross. At this point you may the question: How can God die? That is a mystery, but that is the whole purpose of the incarnation. God took on human nature in the person of Jesus the son of Mary, and it is in that nature that God can die.

We read about this in Hebrews 10:5: “When Christ came into the world, he said, ‘Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me.'” The great Scottish professor, John Murray of Westminster Seminary, described the incarnation of Christ in this way: The infinite became the finite, the eternal entered time and became subject to its conditions, the immutable became mutable, the invisible became visible, the Creator became created, the sustainer of all became dependent, the Almighty became infirm. God became man that he may die, and by his death destroy the works of the devil and take away our sin. ( Collected Writings of John Murray: Volume Two, Select Lectures in Systematic Theology , [Edinburgh: Banner of Truth Trust, 1977], 132-133) Thus, in the fullness of time, the eternal Son took upon himself human flesh in the womb of Mary by the power of the Holy Spirit. Soon he would be born as God/man and later he would be introduced by John the Baptist as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

As Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 5:21, “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” This was God’s plan of salvation for us. Because God is holy, he must punish sinners. But God is also love, so he does not desire to punish us. But how can God not punish sinners and still be holy? He punished his own Son who freely gave himself to be punished for our sins on the cross. Therefore Mary said, “He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble.” It means God’s Son would reverse all sinful social order, lifting up the humble and putting them on the thrones of mighty ones.

Jesus spoke of this later on in his ministry, when he preached, “Blessed are the meek; they shall inherit the earth.” In her song, Mary said, “He has filled the hungry with good things,” and, again, Jesus said later, “Blessed are the poor in spirit,” and “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled.” God reached out with his strong arm in Jesus Christ and saved the people of God from their sins. He did not do that for angels who sinned, but only for the descendants of Abraham. In him we are forgiven of all our sins and justified forever. In him we find mercy. In him we are made children of God. In him the hungry are filled with his perfect righteousness. In him we are adopted into God’s own family. In him we enjoy fellowship with God. That is why Mary was singing this song, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.” She was saying that Jesus Christ was her Savior. David said the same thing: “The Lord says to my Lord,” he wrote in Psalm 110:1.

Thomas said it in John 20:28: “My Lord and my God!” That is what we must say when we believe in Christ; without that, we cannot be saved. So Mary sang, “I worship God, I praise God, I rejoice exceedingly in God, because my Savior is in my womb.” Can You Sing Mary’s Song? What about you? Can you worship and sing this song with Mary? Is Jesus your God? Is Jesus your Lord? Is Jesus your Savior? Or are you arrogant? Do you think you are something because you have a Ph.D., or because you have political clout, or because you are rich? Let me remind you of one truth recorded in this song: God will pull the mighty down, scatter the arrogant, and send the rich away empty. If you are not filled with joy unspeakable and full of glory at the news of the incarnation of Christ, it is because you are coming to him as one who is rich, arrogant, and mighty. He will never help a person who comes to him in that way. God sent his Son to seek and save the unrighteous, miserable, wretched sinners who are conscious of their wretchedness.

If you come to him that way, he will fill you with joy unspeakable and full of glory. Are you fascinated with God’s indescribable gift of his Son, Jesus Christ? Are you fascinated by this Mighty One? Can you sing about his attributes and rejoice in them? Do you fear him? Are you hungry for righteousness? Are you poor in spirit? Have you said to him, as Mary did, “I am your humble servant. I submit to you; be it done to me according to your word”? I urge you to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved. If you do that, you will join the saints of all ages, including Mary, Zechariah, Elizabeth, and Simeon, in singing, “Glory to God in the highest! My soul magnifies the Lord and my spirit leaps for joy in God my Savior. He has shown mercy to me, lifting me up from the ash heap of this world and putting me upon a throne in his kingdom. He has sent his Son all the way down to my hell to take me all the way up into his heaven.” If you have not trusted in Jesus Christ for salvation, you cannot sing this song.

My prayer is that you humble yourself today and come to him, knowing that he is the merciful Savior, the covenant God who is faithful. Yes, he is holy and he is the great Judge, but he is also the Savior, and he will be merciful to those who come to him in repentance and faith. May God help you to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ that you may be saved and then sing with intelligence and with heart concerning God’s Son, the indescribable gift sent to us from heaven for our joy, our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Copyright © 2000, P. G. Mathew All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® (1984 version). Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. The "NIV" and "New International Version" are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™ Thank you for reading.

If you found this content useful or encouraging, let us know by sending an email to gvcc@gracevalley.org . Join our mailing list for more Biblical teaching from Reverend P.G. Mathew. Name Magnificat Sicut locutus est ad Patres nostros, Abraham et semini eius in saecula. As He spoke to our forefathers, Abraham, and his seed forever. 12. Gloria Patri, Gloria Filio, Gloria et Spiritui Sancto! Sicut erat in principio et nunc et semper et in saecula saeculorum. Amen. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit! As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. The entire Magnificat takes about 25 minutes to perform. Although there is not enough time or space here to discuss the entire piece, I would like to focus your attention on a few favorite spots. First, the opening is among the brightest and most festive of all of Bach’s works. For thirty measures, the full orchestra plays alone.

The three trumpets sound out primarily in arpeggiated triads, which add a sense of majesty. The oboes perform busy runs, complicating – perhaps glorifying? – the texture. Flutes later join this passage work in a higher register (originally, Bach used recorder, which would not have cut through the texture as well as the flutes). A walking bass line keeps the piece moving forward. Finally, pairs of voices enter (first, the two soprano parts, then alto and tenor) or a melismatic “Mangificat”, leading to homophonic, dotted-rhythm statements of the same word by the full choir; again, this creates a regal, majestic feel, and gives the sense of “glorification.” Even as the movement progresses to include other text, this brilliant, regal mood never vanishes. Another favorite moment of mine comes with the fourth movement. But first we must backtrack. You’ll notice in the English text above that the words “all generations” are bracketed. This is because Bach skips these words in movement three, where they normally appear.

Instead, Bach uses these two words alone as the basis for the entire fourth movement, giving them more attention than they would have received buried in the midst of the third movement. But that’s not really what is so interesting here; it’s what Bach does musically here that catches my ear. Each of the five vocal parts sings “omnes, omnes generations,” over and over again, through for more than 23 measures, the five parts are completely independent of each other; for the final 3 ½ measures of the movement, then, the five come together to sing in rhythmic unison. The effect is this: initially, many generations – all distinct from each, from different eras and regions – call Mary blessed; the result is that throughout time, all generations shall call her blessed. Another delightful movement comes in number 9, marked as an aria for alto. In reality, it is a complicated four-part texture, with solo alto voice, two solo flutes, and of course the continuo part. This is a good example of a movement in which Bach uses obbligato instruments continuously throughout the texture, rather than having them alternate with the solo voice (as Handel might have done).

The pleasant parallel third which dominate the two flute parts are symbolic of the Holy Trinity (as, I suppose, are the three solo parts together). The active parts which fill in the sound between the beats in the continuo (especially where the continuo only play s on the beats) are like the hungry being filled with good things. The sweet sound of the parallels reflects the “good things” God gave to the hungry. The fact that Bach devotes are more notes to the words “et divites dimisit inanes” (and the rich he send empty away) represents God’s act – giving to the hungry, noticing the rich but giving them nothing in return. Ultimately, the solo voice drops out seven measures from the end, and the flutes continue until the penultimate measure, but finish somewhat unresolved; the representation of that which the rich receive here.

Question: Who first spoke the words known as The Magnificat”?
Answer: MARY