Every Christian is commanded by God to sing for joy at the works of His marvelous hands. As a sacred ballet in the heavens unfold at the power of His works, so go the people of God in jubilee at the knowledge of God their Savior. None can stay His hand. None can overwhelm His plans or decrees. In fact, as we take a moment to assess the majestic outworking of His hand in our lives we too can sing for such joy at His kindness and mercy.
But this is not unique to us, nor is it unique to the saints of old but is the common song of our people, the Church of the Living God. The young Mary, the mother of Christ, burst into song at the knowledge of God’s mighty acts even within her own womb. And so, it is our aim to consider her hymn of praise often called “the Magnificat.” But what is it about this song that renders it so unique?
As we consider Mary’s words, the first thing we can notice is the reason behind Mary’s joy. Mary said, “My soul magnifies the LORD, and my spirit rejoiced in God my Savior…” (Luke 1:46-47 ESV) Mary’s joy was not found in some vague optimism. She had her joy rooted in the only firm foundation we will ever find: in God Himself.
Mary herself as a godly Jewish woman, was raised in the biblical faith. She echoed the words of praise that she had heard as a young girl her whole life. That is precisely why the words she exclaimed are so similar to the words found in the book of Psalms. Mary herself would have been brought up singing words like those found in Psalm 69:30, “I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify Him with thanksgiving.” Perhaps the words of Psalm 34:3 came to mind, “O magnify the LORD with me, And let us exalt His name together.” What we find in Mary is precisely what C.H. Spurgeon spoke of concerning the puritan John Bunyan, “If you cut him, he’d bleed Scripture!”
Would this be true for you? What is it that most saturates your mind when no one is looking and falls out without effort? Mary had been raised in a society that regularly read large portions of Scripture in public worship and that is why we as a church delight in ready more lengthy portions of the Word of God. This is one way that we can familiarize ourselves with the whole counsel of God. So, as we consider Mary’s world, she was in a time and place where they would not only read much of the Scriptures but also sing much of it. And because of her constant exposure to Scripture, the words of God naturally fell out in her own words of praise.
All of us can identify with this idea that our words regularly reflect what we hear; we all have a particular manner of speech. For those who have been born and raised as citizens of the United States, we do not speak with a Scottish or English accent. This is typically the case because we regularly dwell within our environment which affects us in this way. None of us labor to speak our natural tongue or with our natural accent.
What is it though that we labor to do? Well, we labor to speak in foreign accents (if we do this at all) or to speak with propriety if we are typically improper. Though this is true of our verbiage and accents this may also be true for our speech patterns. If we are regularly feasting at the table of Sacred Scripture, we too will begin to find such language naturally exuding from our pores. May the word and works of our God cause you to sing for joy just as it did for Mary, the mother of our Lord Jesus Christ, who came to fulfill all the promises of God beginning from Eden.