And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.
Ver. 42. Blessed art thou among women] So is Jael, the wife of Heber, said to be, Judges 5:24. Who yet perhaps was hardly so good a woman as Deborah, that called her so. But it was no small confirmation to the blessed Virgin, to hear the same words from Elisabeth that she heard before from the angel.
And blessed is the fruit, &c.] Or, because blessed is the fruit of thy womb, therefore blessed art thou, &c. Yet more blessed (as Austin saith) in receiving the faith than in conceiving the flesh of Christ. She conceived Christ when she yielded her assent to the angel, and said, Be it as thou hast said, let it even be so. We also conceive Christ in our hearts when we assent to the promises of pardon, of salvation by Christ: hoping perfectly for the grace that is to be brought unto us at the revelation of Jesus Christ, 1 Peter 1:13. It is with us all, as it was with that captive woman, Deuteronomy 21:1,14. If she consented to marry, she saved her life by it.