December 7 – Mary’s Song
46 And Mary said:
My soul magnifies the Lord,
47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
48 because he has looked with favor
on the humble condition of his servant.
Surely, from now on all generations
will call me blessed,
49 because the Mighty One
has done great things for me,
and his name is holy.
50 His mercy is from generation to generation
on those who fear him.
51 He has done a mighty deed with his arm;
he has scattered the proud
because of the thoughts of their hearts;
52 he has toppled the mighty from their thrones
and exalted the lowly.
53 He has satisfied the hungry with good things
and sent the rich away empty.
54 He has helped his servant Israel,
remembering his mercy
55 to Abraham and his descendants forever,
just as he spoke to our ancestors. Luke 1:46-55
Mary’s Song (Luke 1:46-55)
The pregnant Mary and also pregnant Elizabeth greet one another and their babies immediately react to each other. John leaps for joy within Elizabeth at his proximity to the Messiah within Mary.
Elizabeth exclaims:
“Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!” Luke 1:45
The Response of Mary’s Heart
How Mary responds to this greeting gives us a glimpse of why God chose her to be the mother of the Messiah. She chooses to rejoice and worship God.
46 And Mary said:
My soul magnifies the Lord,
47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
48 because he has looked with favor
on the humble condition of his servant.
Soul and Spirit
She chooses to magnify the Lord with her soul. The soul refers to the mind, will, and emotions. She is taking control of any fearful thoughts and acknowledging that her God is bigger than all of them.
Her spirit – her innermost person – chooses to rejoice in her Savior.
She sees that she is not worthy of the honor of the holy Creator God, but God was so gracious and looked at her with eyes of favor. She calls herself a servant of God.
A Glance of What is to Coming
Surely, from now on all generations
will call me blessed,
49 because the Mighty One
has done great things for me,
and his name is holy. Luke 1:48-49
All generations actually have called Mary blessed not because of who she inherently was, but because of what God did for her and Who He was.
She believed God would fulfill His promises to her and He did.
He is Who He has Always Been
50 His mercy is from generation to generation
on those who fear him.
51 He has done a mighty deed with his arm;
he has scattered the proud
because of the thoughts of their hearts;
52 he has toppled the mighty from their thrones
and exalted the lowly. Luke 1:50-52
From generation to generation – sound familiar?! The first devotional in this series was all about how God was faithful through so many generations to fulfill His promise of a Messiah.
Mary worships God for His enduring mercy. He has been fighting for His people, the humble and lowly ones who choose to serve Him.
Powerful and important people who reject Him are toppled from their positions because God is more powerful than all of them.
Satisfied
53 He has satisfied the hungry with good things
and sent the rich away empty.
54 He has helped his servant Israel,
remembering his mercy
55 to Abraham and his descendants forever,
just as he spoke to our ancestors. Luke 1:53-55
God satisfies the hungry. He flips the script on those who depend on worldly possessions and themselves rather than Him. He always remembers His servants with mercy.
Most importantly, He always fulfills His promises. “Just as He spoke to our ancestors.” God fulfills what He spoke thousands of years before. And he uses Mary to do it.
A Beautiful Worship Song
Mary offers up this beautiful song of worship. In response to a blessing from a friend. When her friend tells her how great she has it, she responds by praising God very specifically. Giving glory to Him rather than absorbing it for herself.
When my friends say nice things to me, how do I respond? Do I take the compliment and pat myself on the back or do I give glory to God? Do I recount the ways He has been faithful for generation after generation? Am I awed that He would choose to bless me?
December 7 Devotional Action Step:
Let’s follow in Mary’s footsteps today and worship God with specific praise. Start a list of what He has done for you. Worship Him today and the next time someone compliments you or says how good you’ve got it (even though you may not feel that way), let’s give God the glory.
Prayer:
Dear God, we choose to worship You from the depths of our souls. Our spirit choose to rejoice in You. You are merciful and faithful to all generations. Worthy of our praise! In Jesus’ name, amen.
Access to the other posts in this series and the free printables for this December can be found at the Series Overview page. Come join me as I pursue the peace and joy on the Savior’s birth throughout the month of December!