46 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.” 56 And Mary remained with her about three months and returned to her home.
— Luke 1:46-56, ESV

Mary, the mother of the Lord Jesus Christ, belongs on a pedestal.  Protestants think the Catholic pedestal is too high, Catholics think the Protestant one is too low.  Nevertheless, we all agree Mary deserves honor befitting a person “all generations will call … blessed”.  

People placed on a pedestal usually speak, or preach, or sing.  Mary the mother of Jesus does it all.  As a blessed and gifted woman, she preaches one of the most powerful sermons recorded in Holy Scripture.  She does it with such poetry that her words have been set to music many times over.  We do not know what Mary’s voice sounded like, but I am sure it was one of the most beautiful voices ever heard, especially when she spoke these words.  

Her poem is one of the few in the Bible to have a well-known title, “The Magnificat,” from the first word in the Latin translation.  From it we get our words magnify and magnificent.  It is an apt title for a song rich in transcendence, imminence, and other important attributes ascribed to God.  Listen to Mary as she speaks, preaches, and sings.

Mary’s song is a theological song.  It sings of who God is and what He is like.

“Magnify” literally means to greatly illumine, or shine the brightest spotlight.  As she offers this song, Mary does not put this spotlight upon herself, but upon her God.  She could have very well sung a song of woe, for God had greatly disrupted Mary’s life.  But it was a song of wonder, a song of praise, a song of glory, a song about God and His gift to Mary and to the world.

She solemnly identifies Him in the following terms: “the Lord,” “God my Savior,” “He who is mighty,” and refers to His name as “holy.”  Without using the specific term, Mary articulates the divine doctrine of the Trinity in her song.    

To call God “the Lord” is to call Him Father, the supreme ruler, the absolute sovereign, the maker and master of everything.  It is to look to God first, to put Him first, in all the days and decisions of our lives.  God does not run a democracy, and we should be glad of it.  He rules and reigns in sovereign power and sacrificial love.  Everything He does is for the glory of His name and the good of His people.  

To call “God” “my Savior” is to call Him the Son of God, the Savior of the world.  Man cannot save himself by any means of good works or gaudy religion.  No other religion or god can save the soul and offer forgiveness and eternal life, save Mary’s and our God.  Somehow Mary knew that the God who was above her was now forming inside of her.  And for what purpose?  Salvation!

To call God “Mighty” and “Holy” is to call Him the Holy Spirit.  Might speaks of ability, and God has the ability to do anything He pleases, any way He pleases to do it, and does so through the power of His Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit made possible the virgin birth and makes possible the new birth that unites the believer to God.  

Before moving to the next verse of the song, let us dwell on a high and “holy” note in the first verse.  When you mix perfect hatred for sin and perfect love for sinners, the combination is named “Holy is His name.”  God is more disdainful of sin that we ever would care to know.  God is more loving toward us that we could ever imagine.  Or to quote the late Tim Keller, “The gospel is this: We are more sinful and flawed in ourselves than we ever dared believe, yet at the very same time we are more loved and accepted in Jesus Christ than we ever dared hope.”  This is what Mary sings in her theological song.     

Mary’s song is a soteriological song.  It sings of how to be saved.

“Mercy” highlights the second stanza of the song.  And while the greatness and powers of God are unlimited, mercy is a scarce commodity.  It belongs only those who “fear” God, and when such fear is real it is generally passed on “from generation to generation.”  

One person who obviously made the Magnificat his favorite song was the Apostle Paul.  Perhaps he had just heard it when he penned these words to his protege Titus, 

[God] saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life” (ref. Titus 3:5-7).  

Paul’s placement of mercy is analytical and precise.  Mary’s song is poetic and inviting.  Don’t you want God’s mercy for salvation?  Then you must fear Him, reverence Him, lovingly obey Him, and become, like Mary, God’s “servant.” 

Mary had already made herself a bondservant of God when the angel Gabriel first approached her about giving birth to Jesus (ref. Luke 1:38).  Salvation is for servants, servants to God, like Mary.  The concept of being a servant or bondservant is so important to God that it is used 159 times in the New Testament (in 148 verses, 23 of 27 books).  This term defines a person who willingly, completely, and permanently gives their life to serve another.  If there is a single term to describe a true Christian, it would be this term, servant.  

The concept of servanthood or slavery is repulsive to the modern mind, and rightly so if we are talking about one human being owning another.  But when we are referring to our relationship with God, it is a servitude of supreme blessedness.  It is a position and condition where one is chosen by God, communicates with God, and cherishes their relationship with God above all things.  When we are willing to be good servants we find God to be a great Master who does great things for us, beginning and ending with salvation.

Would you have God do great things for you?  Humble yourself before Him as Lord.  Trust completely in His holiness, salvation, and love.  Never fear to do what He has commanded you to do.  Mary’s song of salvation is a song of complete surrender.  And a reward awaits.  

Mary’s song is an eschatological song.  It sings about what God will do with all of mankind in the end.

Prophets tend to speak of future things in the present tense.  When Jesus came, He brought the kingdom of God with Him, in the present, but only the future will bring it into fruition for the saved, and frustration for the lost.  Mary’s song captures this mystery in three-part harmony.  

Mary was like most Jews in her initial expectations of Jesus.  Giving birth to the Messiah meant watching a warrior grow up, flex His “strength,” and crush the ruling Roman Empire.  Yet such “strength” was not shown in the first Advent, but awaits the second.  

When Christ comes again, the lost people of all ages will be “brought down” to an eternal end.  This will include “the proud” who thought they could save themselves, or needed no salvation at all.  Many of them occupied “thrones” of power and wealth.  Reject the first Advent, however, and money won’t buy you love, happiness, and least of all redemption, at the second Advent of the Lord.

When Christ comes again, the saved people of all ages will be “filled … with good things.”  This is perhaps the most understated script in the song.  For if your are “hungry” for the things of God, His holiness, His forgiveness, His word, His gospel, His presence and the fellowship of His people, then you will be “filled” with life and things too wonderful for any of our words, even Mary’s.  

Our short lives give us only a glimpse of God, even for devout believers.  Mary got a good glimpse — the angel, the Son — but it was still only a glimmer of the great things to come.  Like other prophets, she speaks in this sermon of things she vaguely sees.
In Mary’s day, as in ours, good people starve to death (like missionary Lottie Moon) and corrupt people remain in power (illustrations too numerous to share).  But God is not asleep, and He is not neglecting to fulfill His promises.  There is a day to come when every servant of the Lord will be free, and everyone who distanced themselves from the lordship of Christ will be chained.

Listen to Mary sing.  Hear the words of salvation and the reverberation of condemnation.  And know that the Son to whom she gave birth is the dividing line between the two.  Sing with her, for the song you sing on earth will determine where you sing, or remain silent, for eternity.  

Mary’s song is a Christological song.  It sings about our Lord Jesus Christ.

Mary’s song centers on the supreme “Servant” of “Israel.”  The “Offspring” promised to “Abraham and his offspring forever.”  This is a song magnifying and glorifying the Lord Jesus Christ.  

Jesus is the incarnation of God, the salvation of God, and is right now preparing an eternal place for the people of God.  Mary’s song acknowledges the reality of God in Christ in her, and Christ in the hearts of those who believe in Him.  

The Apostle John, closely associated with Jesus and Mary, also sang:

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16).  

The Christ candle is the center of the Advent altarpiece.  Jesus is the reason for the Christmas season.  The Lord Jesus Christ is the apex of Mary’s theological, soteriological, eschatological, and christological song.  

So let us sing the Advent song of Mary, about God’s glory and majesty.  Let us believe the word of God through Mary, so we may be saved.  Let us accept the truth Mary puts forth and make it your own, in a a song of God’s salvation by grace alone through faith alone in the Lord Jesus Christ alone.