~ Mary Knew That God Saves ~
In the first
two chapters of Luke there are three songs.
We will look at each of them in this short series.
Mary’s Song ~ “And Mary said:
'My
soul magnifies the Lord,
And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.
For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant;
For behold, henceforth 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 on those who fear Him
From generation to generation.
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 the lowly.
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 seed forever.’
And Mary remained with her
about three months, and returned to her house.”
(Luke 1:46-56)
Dissect Mary’s Song ~ Note a few aspects regarding Mary’s
Song:
It is personal – “My
soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit has
rejoiced in God my Savior” (Luke 1:46-47).
It acknowledges
God’s power – “For He who is mighty has done great things for me” (Luke
1:49a).
It acknowledges
God’s holiness – “And holy is His name” (Luke 1:49b).
It
acknowledges God’s mercy – “And His mercy is on those who fear Him from generation to
generation” Luke 1:50
It
acknowledges God’s impartiality – “He has put down the mighty from their thrones, and exalted
the lowly. He has filled the hungry with
good things, and the rich He has sent away empty” (Luke
1:52-53).
It
acknowledges God’s eternal nature – “He spoke to our fathers, to
Abraham and to his seed forever” (Luke 1:55).
Parallel Passage
~ Note the similarities between Mary’s
Song and Hannah’s song:
“And Hannah prayed and said:
‘My heart rejoices in the Lord;
My horn is exalted in
the Lord.
I smile at my enemies,
Because I rejoice in Your salvation.
No one is holy like the Lord,
For there is none besides You,
Nor is there any rock like our God.
Talk no more so very proudly;
Let no arrogance come from your mouth,
For the Lord is the
God of knowledge;
And by Him actions are weighed.
The bows of the mighty men are broken,
And those who stumbled are girded with strength.
Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread,
And the hungry have ceased to hunger.
Even the barren has borne seven,
And she who has many children has become feeble.
The Lord kills and
makes alive;
He brings down to the grave and brings up.
The Lord makes poor
and makes rich;
He brings low and lifts up.
He raises the poor from the dust
And lifts the beggar from the ash heap,
To set them among princes
And make them inherit the throne of glory.
For the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s,
And He has set the world upon them.
He will guard the feet of His saints,
But the wicked shall be silent in darkness.
For by strength no man shall prevail.
The adversaries of the Lord shall
be broken in pieces;
From heaven He will thunder against them.
The Lord will judge
the ends of the earth.
He will give strength to His king,
And exalt the horn of His anointed.’
Then Elkanah went to his house
at Ramah. But the child ministered to the Lord
before Eli the priest.”
(1 Samuel 2:1-11)
~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW
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