THE SONG OF THE VIRGIN
‘My soul doth magnify the Lord.… As He spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed for ever.’
Next to the Lord’s Prayer, perhaps, few passages of Scripture are better known than this. Observe:—
I. The full acquaintance with Scripture which this hymn exhibits.—We are reminded, as we read it, of many expressions in the Psalms. Above all, we are reminded of the song of Hannah in the Book of Samuel (1 Samuel 2:2, etc.). The memory of the Blessed Virgin was stored with Scripture. The time spent on Bible-study is never mis-spent.
II. The Virgin Mary’s deep humility.—She who was chosen of God to the high honour of being Messiah’s mother, speaks of her own ‘low estate.’ Let us copy this holy humility of the Virgin mother. Let us be lowly in our own eyes, and think little of ourselves. ‘A man has just so much Christianity as he has humility.’
III. The Virgin Mary’s thankfulness.—It stands out in all the early part of the hymn. A thankful spirit has ever been a mark of God’s most distinguished saints in every age.
IV. The experimental acquaintance with God’s former dealings with His people, which the Virgin Mary possessed.—She spoke in recollection of Old Testament history. The true Christian should always give close attention to the lives of the saints.
V. The firm grasp which the Virgin Mary had of Bible promises.—She remembered the old promise made to Abraham, ‘In thee shall all the nations of the earth be blessed,’ and it is evident that in the approaching birth of her Son she regarded this promise as about to be fulfilled.
—Bishop J. C. Ryle.
Illustration
‘We must regard the Magnificat as a result of the direct inspiring impulse of the Holy Ghost, such as “ moved holy men of old,” and such as is distinctly stated to have been given to Elizabeth (Luke 1:41) and Zacharias (Luke 1:67). At the same time the close resemblance of the Song to that of Hannah shows that it was the natural outcome of Mary’s feelings, which would most readily express themselves in words familiar to her in her reading of the Scriptures. The words “ God my Saviour” do not refer directly to the Child; Mary’s knowledge of His nature and work was imperfect as yet. Nor do they merely mean God as the Preserver of His people. The idea of spiritual salvation is in them— salvation to be wrought out by God in some way through the Child. “Shall call me blessed” is, in the Greek, one word—“ felicitate me.” It is not “ Shall name me the Blessed.” It is no prophecy of the title “Blessed Virgin.” “ Low estate” is, in the Prayer Book version, “ lowliness,” which is not accurate. It describes Mary’s circumstances, not her character. It is rendered “humiliation” in Acts 8:33.’