CRITICAL NOTES
Luke 1:39. City of Judah.—The city is not named. Probably it was not Hebron, as a place so well known would most likely have been named. The conjecture that Judah is a corruption of Juttah, a priestly city (Joshua 21:16), is unsupported by MS. authority. Probably the place referred to was to the south of Jerusalem and to the west of the Dead Sea.
Luke 1:41. The salutation of Mary.—I.e. her salutation as she entered, and not the salutation addressed to her by the angel Gabriel, and now repeated to Elisabeth. The babe leaped in her womb.—This movement of the unborn child was evidently regarded by the Evangelist and by Elisabeth as something extraordinary; she took it as a recognition of the unborn Messiah on the part of His kinsman and forerunner.
Luke 1:42. Spake out, etc.—R.V. “she lifted up her voice with a loud cry.” Blessed art thou among women.—This might mean
(1) Blessed [or highly privileged] art thou beyond all other women, or
(2) Thou art blessed [praised] by other women (cf. Luke 11:27). The former rendering is the better of the two. The phrase used is indeed the Hebrew form of the superlative, as in Jeremiah 49:15; Song of Solomon 1:8.
Luke 1:43. The mother of my Lord.—This appellation “my Lord” as applied to the unborn babe is an acknowledgment of the Divine nature of Jesus. The title “mother of God” which came into use in the fifth century, is open to obvious objections.
Luke 1:45.—This may be rendered either, Blessed is she that believed, for, etc., or. “Blessed is she that believed that there shall be,” etc. The former is preferable. Elisabeth no doubt contrasts the faith of Mary with the unbelief of Zacharias.
Luke 1:46.—It is interesting to observe the close resemblance between the Magnificat and the song of Hannah in similar circumstances (1 Samuel 2:1-10). Soul.—The natural life with all its affections and emotions.
Luke 1:47. Spirit.—“The diviner and loftier region of our being” (1 Thessalonians 5:23) (Farrar). My Saviour.—Not merely as the Deliverer from a state of degradation, but the Author of the salvation, for which His people were looking.
Luke 1:48. Low estate.—Lowly condition, not humility; there is a contrast between the present humiliation and the former glories of the house of David.
Luke 1:51.—The sense of the passage is, “He scatters their imaginations, frustrates their schemes, and brings their counsels to nought” (Bloomfield).
Luke 1:54. He hath holpen.—I.e. helped: the word properly means to lay hold of anything by the hand in order to support it when it is likely to fall.
Luke 1:55. As He spake unto our fathers.—These words are parenthetical; the sentence runs, “In remembrance of His mercy to Abraham, and to his seed for ever” (cf. Micah 7:20; Galatians 3:16).
Luke 1:56. About three months.—That is, until Elisabeth’s delivery or until shortly before it. It seems probable that on Mary’s return to Nazareth the events narrated in Matthew 1:18-24 took place.
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.— Luke 1:39-56
The Communion of Saints with Each Other and with God.—It was not merely to obtain verification of the angel’s words that Mary travelled with haste into the hill country, but to hold communion with her kinswoman Elisabeth to whom God’s grace had been so signally shown. A common participation in the Divine favour drew them together. This is ever the way with those to whom God makes Himself known. They do not regard what they have received as a private possession of their own, but long to make it known, and they have especial delight in the society of those who share their faith. This communion of saints differs in a marked degree from mere friendly intercourse; for the bond that unites those who enter into it is not similarity of tastes and pursuits, but common allegiance to God. In the case before us we see this communion in its purest and most intense form. We observe—
I. The elevation of feeling by which it is characterised.—This is indicated by the holy salutations, the rapt outcry, and the inspired words that flow in rhythmical utterance from the lips of Elisabeth and of Mary. It is not mere excitement of mind that is displayed; but the special and unique circumstances in which they meet are fully realised by them, and the Holy Spirit prompts the words they speak. Such fervid feelings as theirs can be no example to us, since the experience which prompted them was unique in its character; but something akin to them may be known by us all as we join with our fellow-believers in celebrating the sacrament of the Supper—as we commemorate the most signal proof of the love of that Saviour whose advent to earth filled the hearts of these holy women with such exceeding joy.
II. The deep humility that distinguished these saints.—They have been the recipients of marked favour from heaven; future ages are thought of as celebrating their blessedness; and yet both meekly declare their personal unworthiness of the grace that has been shown them. They descend in humility before God, and magnify His name, and praise His loving-kindness and condescension towards them. They clearly recognise, too, that God has mankind in view in the revelation of His mercy that He has made to them, and they are free from every tinge of spiritual pride. This combination of sobriety with intensity of feeling is very remarkable, and distinguishes true elevation of spirit from unwholesome enthusiasm. If those who received such wonderful proofs of God’s favour were thus devoid of all spiritual pride and self-complacency, what excuse can we find for ourselves if ever these feelings take possession of our hearts?
III. A practical result of this communion is seen in the words in which Elisabeth confirms and blesses the faith of Mary (Luke 1:45).—The elder encourages the younger, and assures her that her trust in God will be rewarded by the fulfilment of His promises; and her words have weight, as coming from one who had faithfully served God all her life, and who had received undeniable proof of God’s power and love. The confirmation of faith, the encouragement of hope, and the awakening of deeper love to God and to each other, are all results for which we should look from the communion of saints. We can scarcely make any mistake in regarding the song of Mary as owing something of its intensity to the thoughts and feelings excited by the words of Elisabeth. As an act of communion with God, it has a character of its own which distinguishes it from those in which we ordinarily engage. In it acknowledgment of sinfulness and weakness, though not absent, is in the background, and the thoughts are fixed upon the glorious attributes of God: in it we see one Divine perfection after another rising into view, and receiving the homage of a devout and grateful heart.
No very rigid marks of division need be looked for as separating the four strophes of which this spontaneous song of praise is composed; but the following may be regarded as the main lines of thought in it:
1. Mary celebrates God’s condescension towards her, and the everlasting honour which He has conferred upon her (Luke 1:46-48).
2. She speaks of God’s dealings with her as proofs of His omnipotence, and holiness, and mercy, which He manifests to all who fear Him (Luke 1:49-50).
3. She extols the justice of God, as shown in the humiliation of the proud, the powerful, and the self-satisfied, and in the exaltation of the meek, the lowly, and the destitute (Luke 1:51-53).
4. She praises God for His faithfulness towards His people in fulfilling the promises made to their fathers.
SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS ON Luke 1:39-56
Luke 1:39. “Went … with haste.”—The haste with which Mary set out on her journey to Elisabeth shows us that her faith was no transient mood: she is eager
(1) to obtain the sign indicated to her as a confirmation of the angel’s words, and
(2) to celebrate with her kinswoman the love and condescension of God in the exceptional privileges He had bestowed upon them. In the meeting of these two holy women, as we see from what follows, gratitude to God rises to its highest pitch. As they communed together the grace of God manifested to them would shine forth with double lustre. Mary’s example teaches us that it is our duty to use all means within our power for strengthening our faith. “Surely the mountains of that ‘hill country’—the forest, and every tree therein—broke forth into singing, and earth was joyful; for the Lord had redeemed Jacob, and comforted His people. ‘How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of Him that bringeth good tidings.’ ”
Luke 1:40. The Salutation.—Our salutations are often thoughtlessly given and trivial in character: this was a holy and sacramental action—a devout heart invoking God’s blessing upon one desirous of it and prepared to receive it. What Jewish salutations were we learn from Ruth 2:4: “The Lord be with you”; “The Lord bless thee.” The mingled joy and ecstasy of this meeting are unique in earthly history. “Only the meeting of saints in heaven can parallel the meeting of these two cousins: the two wonders of the world are met under one roof, and congratulate their mutual happiness.” In the intercourse between Mary and Elisabeth we have a beautiful example of the communion of saints. Those who truly love God will draw near to each other in holy fellowship to offer their united thanksgiving for His goodness, and to establish and strengthen each other in the faith by mutual exhortations and counsels. “Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will declare what He hath done for my soul” (Psalms 66:16). “Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another” (Malachi 3:16)
Luke 1:41. “The babe leaped in her womb.”—Cf. Matthew 11:25: “Thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes.”
Luke 1:42-45. The Canticle of Elisabeth.—When read in accordance with its structure, this beautiful canticle is seen to be a celebration of Mary’s faith; and, as leading up to this, every part of it takes its proper subordinate place. This faith, astounding in itself, the most supreme example probably of perfect trust in God, and absolute self-devotion to His will, that human flesh has ever given, was all the more striking to Elisabeth on account of its contrast with the unbelief of her own husband under a far less severe trial. No wonder that, when Mary appeared before her Spirit-illuminated eyes (Luke 1:41), she seemed the embodiment of Faith—that modest virgin with clasped hands, whom Hermas saw in vision, through whom the elect of God are saved, and from whom spring all the Christian graces, as fair daughters of a fair mother. Mary is thus, in Elisabeth’s eyes, the most blessed of women, because the most faithful; and it suits well that the first psalm of the New Testament should take the form of a praise of the fundamental evangelical virtue.—Warfield.
Luke 1:42. “Blessed art thou.”—At certain times devout feeling cannot be repressed, but will break forth, sometimes in a way that seems strange and extravagant to those who are not under the same influence. If Elisabeth had been silent, surely the very stones would have cried out. A still higher blessedness fell to the lot of Mary when she became a disciple and follower of Jesus. This is distinctly implied in His own words (see Luke 11:27-28).
Luke 1:43. “The mother of my Lord.”—Note the absence of anything like envy on the part of Elisabeth at the higher honour bestowed upon her kinswoman. She acknowledges the superiority of Mary as the mother of her Lord, and speaks of being unworthy to receive her under her roof. The more highly God exalts us in favour, the more humble in spirit should we become. Compare as kindred examples of humility, David (2 Samuel 7:18), John the Baptist (Matthew 3:14), and the centurion (Luke 7:6).
“My Lord.”—The application of these words, which are equivalent to “Jehovah,” to an unborn child, can only be justified or explained by the fact of the divinity of Jesus. They were probably suggested to Elisabeth by Psalms 110:1.
Luke 1:45. “Blessed is she that believed.”—Though the faith of Mary was tried in a special way, yet her case is an illustration of the great principle that those who place implicit confidence in God obtain the fulfilment of His promises. The greater the faith displayed, the greater is the reward it receives (cf. John 20:29; 1 Peter 1:7-8). “God offers His benefits indiscriminately to all; but faith, so to speak, holds its lap to receive them; while unbelief allows them to pass away, so as not to reach us.”
Luke 1:46-55. The Magnificat.—The mother of our Lord was a poetess. The beautiful hymn which still has a frequent place in Christian worship is by her, and is another illustration of the meditative, reverential, mystical spirit whose steady fire burned within her. The Magnificat is the first Christian hymn—it is a hymn in the exact sense of the word; for a hymn originally means a poem sung in praise of the gods or of heroes. Augustine’s definition of a hymn is, “praise to God with a song.” The Magnificat is a type and model of what our hymns in church should be; its form is the old Hebrew form then passing away; its spirit is that of youth, of freshness of vision, of abounding bright-eyed energy. There is no pessimism in this morning hymn of Christianity.—Roberts.
“My soul doth magnify the Lord.”—Elisabeth sings the praises of Mary’s faith; Mary answers by a praise of God—His grace, might, mercy, justice, and faithfulness. The difference is significant—perhaps characteristic. The tone of the Magnificat is happy, though solemn—such as befitted one so highly honoured, and yet so unconscious of self. The ground of Mary’s praise to God is, that, in spite of her low estate, He has selected her as the vessel of His election for bringing the seed of Abraham into the world; and this is the mighty, holy, just, and faithful thing that He has done which commands her song.—Warfield.
The Magnificat.—In St. Luke’s Gospel the picture of Mary is clothed in flesh and blood. There is breath and there is poetry upon her lips. Her heart beats quicker at the angel’s salutation. Maiden modesty and saintly resignation to burning shame fill her brief but pregnant words. The hoarded music of her soul finds measured utterance of its serene and stately joy. The Magnificat, chanted in so many churches, is the highest specimen of the subtle influence of the song of purity, so exquisitely described by a great poet. It is the Pippa Passes among the liturgies of the world. It is a woman teaching in the Church for ever without usurpation of authority, but with a saintly quietness, that knows no end.
I. The historical framework in which the Magnificat is set (Luke 1:38-41).—Mary was misconstrued by the world. She was bearing a cross heavy to pure souls—a cross of shame. In Nazareth she could not remain. She turned to the spot towards which she seemed to be invited by an angel’s lips, and pointed by an angel’s finger (Luke 1:36). There must have been pathos in the quiet word of the gentle maiden as she saluted Elisabeth. Elisabeth, for her part, knew her cousin’s voice, even before she saw her pale and suffering face.
II. The Magnificat itself.—There is a noble quiet in the one word “said.”
1. The personal traits by which the hymn is pervaded. Humility is the chief of these. Mary does not profess humility; she practises it. Favoured, indeed, she is. Yet she has no thought of that which she is—only of that which, in God’s free grace, she has received. In the second line she counts herself among the lost whom God has brought into a state of salvation. Her joy and exultation repose upon that God who is her Saviour.
2. The religious principles by which the Magnificat is pervaded. Mary’s soul is full of faith in the tenderness and power of God—in the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ. She has the clear conviction that all which is sweetest and greatest in the attributes of God meet in the gift of His dear Son. Power, holiness, mercy, faith, and truth are there. And she believes intensely in the victory of that incarnation—in the sure triumph of God. With the instinct of a prophetess she sees an outline of all history, and compresses and crushes it into four strong, rugged words.
III. Some lessons, ecclesiastical and personal, from the Magnificat.—
1. This poem is retained in the Reformed Prayer Book. There are few Divine songs in the New Testament. But there are some; and surely they are there for good reasons. And it is a great thing to have some hymns in public worship whose permanence is ensured by their being strictly Scriptural.
2. Not without propriety is the Magnificat placed in the public service. It comes after the Old Testament lesson. Mary stood, as her song stands with us, between the two Testaments.
3. By using the Magnificat, we fulfil her own prophecy, “All generations shall call me blessed.” Some forget this. She is blessed—blessed, because consecrated as a temple for the eternal Word.
4. As to personal lessons. We may well apply Mary’s words to ourselves as a blessing common to us all. Her blessedness is ours: “For whosoever will do the will of God, the same is My brother, and sister, and mother.” Again, praise should be our work. Once more, joy and peace are part of our purchased inheritance: “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Thee.” And the more we lean on Him, the more He loves us. When we read or join in the Magnificat, let us see to it that that peace is ours which will make its words true for us.—Alexander.
Luke 1:46. Compare the Magnificat with the Song of Hannah.
I. Points of similarity.—
1. Both express gratitude for God’s compassion and condescension.
2. Both rise from particular instances of Divine procedure to the principles that regulate the government of the world.
3. Both anticipate the glories of Christ’s kingdom.
II. Points of difference.—
1. Hannah’s words are animated by high-spirited exultation over her enemies, Mary’s by profound humility and self-restraint.
2. In the one Christ is “Jehovah’s King,” to whom He will “give strength”—His anointed, “whose horn He shall exalt”; in the other Christ is the help of Israel.
From Mary’s hymn of thanksgiving, which is filled with echoes from the writings of the psalmists and prophets of the Old Testament, we may see how she had delighted in the word of God, and how intimately she was acquainted with it. Perhaps we are even justified in concluding, from Luke 1:47-48, that she was acquainted with the Greek Version of the Old Testament, for the words there quoted agree with it rather than with the original Hebrew (cf. Psalms 31:7 with the corresponding passage in the LXX: Psalms 30:7). True piety will ever be found to lead believers to value the Holy Scriptures, and to appropriate for the expression of their devout feelings the words used by saints in old time.
“Magnify.”—To make great or to glorify. We cannot, indeed, add to God’s dignity or power, but the word “magnify” is an appropriate one for describing our giving God a larger place in our thoughts and feelings, and our publishing abroad the reasons we have for giving Him praise. “My soul doth magnify … my spirit hath rejoiced.”
1. True praise of God, with mind and heart as well as with tongue.
2. Cheerful praise of God in the full employment of every faculty.
Luke 1:47. “God my Saviour.”—It is the recognition of God in this character that alone dispels doubt and anxiety, and imparts a true and full joy. Mary refers, no doubt, to the name Jesus (i.e. Saviour) to be conferred upon her Son. Probably, like others, she anticipated a reign of material prosperity in connection with the coming of Christ, but her deeply religious cast of mind forbids us to suppose that her hopes were limited to it. The satisfaction of spiritual needs was doubtless equally looked for.
Luke 1:48. “Regarded.”—I.e. looked upon. It is a very beautiful fact, that in the Scriptures God’s regarding or looking upon is taken to be equivalent with having mercy upon. Cf. Luke 9:38 with Matthew 17:15. And here we see a great difference between God’s thoughts and our thoughts: God, who is infinitely holy, is compassionate also; we who are sinful are harsh and unsympathetic in our judgment of our fellows.
“Low estate.”—The house of David, to which Mary, as well as Joseph, doubtless belonged, was now in obscurity and poverty; but it can scarcely be to this fact that the Virgin here alludes. In her humility she is unable to recognise any reason why she should be the object of the Divine compassion and condescension. She is convinced that she is unworthy of the high honour bestowed upon her. “All generations shall call me blessed.” The insight of Mary is true: it is from the Divine favour that the purest and most lasting fame springs. However the admiration of those in any particular generation may be fixed upon those who are high in rank, distinguished by wealth, learning, beauty, or natural gifts, the general instinct of mankind is true in cherishing the names of those who have been holy, and of those who have received honour from God, as entitled to the highest place on the roll of fame. For by general consent a higher dignity attaches to saintliness than to any other quality that distinguishes a man from his fellows.
Luke 1:49. “His name.”—In many parts of Scripture the “name” of God practically signifies God Himself. Cf. Psalms 91:14; 2 Chronicles 6:20. It is that which suggests to us His adorable majesty. Properly speaking, it is God as revealed to us, or as known by us.
Luke 1:50. “That fear Him.”—All through the word of God true piety is represented as fear of God. By this we are not to understand slavish dread, but that reverence which is due
(1) from children to a father,
(2) from servants to a master, and
(3) from subjects to a king—a reverence which leads (a) to obedience to His commandments, and (b) to submission to His will. In contrast with this “fear,” which is an attitude and state of heart, is hypocrisy, or mere outward pretence of reverence and service.
Luke 1:51. “He hath scattered the proud.”—With the mercy shown to the lowly is contrasted the severity with which God will chastise the arrogance of the mighty. Mary speaks of this as in the past instead of in the future; but this mode of speech is common in prophetic utterances. In the choice of the lowly (of Mary herself and of Elisabeth) God has already rejected the proud; and this principle of action will be carried through to the very end in the establishment of the Messianic kingdom. “The proud, the powerful, and the rich describe Herod and his court, Pharisees and Sadducees, as well as foreign tyrants, Cæsar and his armies and heathen powers.”
“Scattered.”—When God has for a time looked down in silent mockery on their splendid preparations, He unexpectedly scatters the whole mass: just as when a building is overturned, and its parts, which had formerly been bound together by a strong and firm union, are widely scattered in every direction.—Calvin.
Luke 1:52. “He hath put down the mighty.”—The humiliation of the mighty and the exaltation of the humble were facts remarked by the ancients; and the explanation they gave was, that the gods envied those who were too successful in life, and delighted in humbling them, and in raising up others in their place. Sheer caprice, and not moral principle, was supposed to govern the Divine procedure. The figure frequently used to present this capricious interference with human affairs is Fortune’s wheel. But in the Scriptures it is impiety and the abuse of power that lead to the degradation of the proud and mighty, while those who are raised to honour have already moral qualifications for the places they are called to occupy. Cf. the cases of Pharaoh, Saul, Nebuchadnezzar, and Belshazzar, and those of Joseph, Moses, David, and Daniel, respectively.
Luke 1:53. “He hath filled the hungry.”—By the hungry we are to understand mainly those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for here, as in Luke 1:48, we have an anticipation of the Beatitudes; but the destitute in the literal sense of the word are also probably kept in view. The latter as a class contained those who longed most eagerly for the blessings of Messiah’s kingdom. Just as those who were richly endowed with the world’s goods were apt to be self-satisfied and worldly-minded, those who were poor were in many cases prepared to receive the glad tidings of blessings which the world could neither give nor take away. Prosperity is indeed the gift of God; but if it leads to forgetfulness of Him, and if the sense of dependence upon Him is weakened, it becomes a snare.
Two Contrasted Classes.—Mary had here two classes of persons before her—the hungry and the rich; and she employs these words in the spiritual sense in which they are used in the Jewish Scriptures.
I. “The hungry” mean those who feel the sense of spiritual needs, who are dissatisfied with present attainments, who long for something beyond themselves, and to be something better than they are as yet. To be humble, to be dissatisfied with self and with our shortcomings, is to be on the road to improvement, and God helps those who know that they need His help. When Mary announces the reward of spiritual hunger, she touches on a principle of wide range, applicable alike to mental, moral, and physical life. If human beings are to benefit by nourishment, there must be appetite. Nothing is more repugnant to the physical nature than forcing food upon a reluctant patient. If knowledge is to do good, there must be an appetite for it. Religious truth forced on the soul when there is no desire for it does not illuminate it. Appetite is the condition for acquiring anything, whether for body, mind, or spirit.
II. “The rich” Mary regards as those who regard themselves as being just as they should be—the self-satisfied. To be satisfied with self is to believe that there is no capability of improvement; and God will not help those who have made up their minds that they can do without Him. Self-sufficiency is a fatal bar to spiritual attainment. The distinction between the two classes is seen in illustrative cases—Jacob and Esau, David and Saul. The same clearly marked distinction continues down to our own day. God gives to every man an endowment which creates in the soul a longing after Himself. On the use made of this endowment man’s spiritual destiny turns. Cultivate this hunger for spiritual things. It is strengthened by exercise; it is lost by neglect.—Liddon.
Luke 1:54. “He hath holpen his servant Israel.”—From general statements regarding Divine procedure Mary comes to the particular case of Israel at the time then present. What God had formerly promised He was now granting. He had, as it were, by allowing the nation to fall into disorder and misery, shown His displeasure at their sins; but now He is remembering the mercy towards them which He had pledged His word to bestow upon them. For a time He had seemed forgetful, but now He is mindful of His ancient covenant with Abraham and with his seed.
Luke 1:55. “As He spake … to Abraham.”—The promise to Abraham was one that embraced all the nations of the earth (Genesis 22:18), so that in the thoughts of Mary far more than Divine mercy towards Israel is now to be revealed—even a blessing for all mankind in connection with the advent of Christ.
Luke 1:56. “About three months.”—Though it is not distinctly stated, it is probable that Mary stayed with Elisabeth until the birth of John. St. Luke is in the habit of rounding off the narrative without scrupulously adhering to the order of time (see Luke 1:65; Luke 3:19-20), so that we are not bound to take what is recorded here in Luke 1:56 as having happened before the events recorded in the paragraph beginning with Luke 1:57.