"And Mary said: "My soul exalts the Lord,and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior. For He has had regard for the humble state of His bondslave; for behold, from this time on all generations will count me blessed." (Luke 1:46-48)
Throughout Scripture songs have accompanied special events. For example, Moses and the crossing of the Red Sea (Exodus 15:1-2), Deborah and Barak after they defeated the Canaanites (Judges 5), and many more. Even Jesus and His disciples sang songs before He went to the Garden to pray on the eve of His crucifixion. In our text today we see the same thing with Mary, the mother-to-be of Jesus. Her song is a shining example of both praise and submission to God.
As we prepare for Christmas, let us look at this song together and see what we can learn and apply from it.
Structure
The song can be divided into four basic partts:
- Mary's confession of her understanding of who God is and of who she was in comparison to Him (vv46-48),
- A description of what God is like (vv 49-50),
- Mary marvelling at God's intimate concerns for the details of her life (vv51-53),
- A reflection of God's convenant with Abraham (vv54-55).
Mary's "Hallelujah"
Verse 46 is typical Hebrew poetry, where the second line parallels the first. Mary was clearly glorifying God. But why? Was it because God had done something for her that she had asked for? The truth is, God had done the opposite. In Israel, to be pregnant and unmarried was a crime punishable by stoning. This was certainly not something Mary would have wanted. So then why praise God? Simply because she knew that it was in God's plan, that He had specially chosen her to carry His Son. Despite what could potentially happen, she trusted Him and glorified Him for it.
Notice the personal pronouns in these verses. Except in verse 46, Mary does not use the first person pronoun (I/me). Instead she spoke only about God and what He did for her. It is also interesting to note that Mary never referred to God as "You." For her, God was too wonderful and holy for her to refer to Him so casually. He was not a friend, or just another person in her life. He was her God and she honoured Him accordingly.
In verse 48 we see the word "humble." I have heard many a sermon using this passage to teach us to be humble like Mary was. However, in the Greek the emphasis is not on humility, but rather on the fact that God was mindful of her, even though she was such a lowly person with no credentials, unmarried, and still very young. Mary's focus here is all about God and not her humility.
Our "Hallelujah"
Now put yourself in Mary's place. Imagine for a moment an angel came to you with the news of a similar nature about how you are going to fit into God's plan. That it was going to be the hardest thing you would ever do and that it may even cost you your life. How would you respond? Would you sing a song like Mary and give all glory to God, totally ignoring your own comfort and desires? Or would you try and reason your way out of it like Moses, or even run away from it like Jonah? But remember in both cases, God still had His way.
The key here is true, wholehearted, voluntary submission to God's will simply because of who He is - God. It is better to submit ourselves to His will, than to be dragged kicking and screaming and being forced to do it.
This Christmas, let us wholeheartedly submit to God and give Him all the glory and praise, not only for what He has done in our lives, but for who He is and what He is yet to do - like Mary did.
Just a Thought!
© 2012
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