Page 18 - December 2025 - Truth & Tidings

ary’s response to Gabriel’s mes- The Composition of Her Song
sage and to Elisabeth’s blessing
There are three sections, or movements,
Mcame in the form of praise, or within her beautiful hymn. Mary gives
a song, as she was filled with wonder at
the power of God. It reads like a handful thanks for the blessings God brings (vv46-49),
of the songs in the Psalter as well as that the pattern God follows (vv50-53), and the
of Hannah in 1 Samuel 2. Mary’s is the covenant God keeps (vv54-55). She begins by
offering praise for the blessings the Lord
first song of the incarnation, and probably has brought to her personally, then moves
the greatest. Others would soon follow: to praise God for always granting blessing
the praise of Zacharias (Luk 1:67-79), the
united praise of angels (2:13-14), and the to “them that fear him from generation to
blessing of Simeon (vv28-32). generation” (v50), and finally exalts the Lord
because He is always faithful to His promises,
Not a few scholars have attributed the song mentioning, in particular, what “he spake
in Luke 1:46-56 to Elisabeth, based on a few to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed”
Latin manuscripts from the fourth to eighth (v55). These promises were about to find their
centuries, as well as one manuscript each fulfillment in the Child within her womb.
from Irenaeus and Origen. However, verse 46
attributes the song to Mary and preserves the The Center of Her Song
chiastic structure of Luke 1, which appears The reason Mary’s song sounds like some
as follows: of those within the Scriptures is because she
a Gabriel’s Message to Zacharias (1:5-25) had saturated her mind with Scripture. In
b Gabriel’s Message to Mary (1:26-38) fact, her song is almost entirely made up of
b′ Song of Mary (1:46-56) Old Testament quotations and allusions. In
a′ Song of Zacharias (1:67-80) just 10 verses, Mary refers to no less than
2
The song of Mary is often referred to 20 passages from Genesis, Deuteronomy,
as The Magnificat, which is Latin for “My 1 Samuel, Isaiah, Micah, Habakkuk and,
soul doth magnify” (1:46). When we particularly, the Psalms. How refreshing to
3
magnify, we enlarge upon something. meet with a young woman in her mid to late
Mary magnified the Lord, expanding teens who had spent so much time immersed
and expounding His marvelous character in Holy Scripture.
and mighty acts. Let us notice, then, six We might wonder, as Mary begins her
things about Mary’s marvelous song. song, if she is about to reveal anything new
about her encounter with Gabriel or what
it was like to be overshadowed by the Holy
1 James R. Edwards, The Gospel According to Luke
(Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 2015), 55. Spirit. But we don’t really learn anything
2 Adapted from Darrell L. Bock, Luke: Baker new about Mary’s circumstances. She was
Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament more interested in telling us about her Lord.
(Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 1996), Although she does use the first-person
1:145.
3 Bible quotations in this article are from the KJV singular pronoun, especially at the beginning
unless otherwise noted. of her song, her favorite pronoun is the third-

370 TRUTH kTidings December 2025