Mary’s song – Magnificat
46 And Mary said: “My soul glorifies the Lord 47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, 48 for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, 49 for the Mighty One has done great things for me— holy is his name. 50 His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation. 51 He has performed mighty deeds with his arm; he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. 52 He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble. 53 He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty. 54 He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful 55 to Abraham and his descendants forever, just as he promised our ancestors.”
What we just read is referred to as the Magnificat, the Latin translation of Mary’s first words in this song, “My soul magnifies the Lord.” Mary’s Magnificat is one of the earliest Christmas songs ever sung, and undoubtedly one of the richest. It is full of verbiage that comes straight out of Old Testament Scripture. And so over the 2000 years from that first Christmas its words have been repeated in choir lofts, pulpits, adult and childrens lessons repeatedly. It speaks to our hearts at Christmas I think because it comes from the heart of a young, humble girl—barely a teenager—who was presented with a fearful proposition, she would become pregnant without a man, and from that, instead of reacting in fear she expresses that she is overwhelmed by the grace of God.
Her song is the first Spirit-inspired praise recorded in the New Testament era, and it stands as a timeless model of what true worship looks like. It is a song of joy, a song of humility, a song of reversal, a song of Scripture, and above all a song that exalts God’s faithfulness in bringing salvation to the lowly.
It is the second song that we are considering this season. Last week we began looking at the 4 Christmas songs in the gospel of Luke. These songs have been known traditionally by that Latin names that derived from the first words of each song from the Latin Vulgate. They are
Last week we looked at Zechariah’s song, and I called it the song of the New Covenant, because Zechariah was praising God in it for being a Covenant keeping God. God made a covenant with Abraham, with David, and a New Covenant. And in the announcement that John was born, and Jesus was coming, Zechariah broke out in praise that God had kept His Word.
And Mary’s song also gives us fresh insight into worship. That is the lesson we learn from Mary’s song. We answer the question, “What does Spirit-filled worship look like?” But before we look verse by verse at Mary’s words, I want to begin with a Christmas hymn story that beautifully captures the sense of awe Mary must have felt as she carried the Son of God within her—an awe that should shape how we worship Christ at Christmas. The relationship between a young girl and a new born Christ child captures our imagination doesn’t it?
Opening Hymn Story: What Child Is This?
The story of What Child Is This? began not as a Christmas song but as a poem written in 1865 by William Chatterton Dix, an English insurance company manager who suddenly fell ill and nearly died. During his long recovery, Dix experienced a deep spiritual awakening. Unable to work and confined to bed, he began reading Scripture, praying, and writing hymns. One of those hymns was a poem he titled The Manger Throne. It expressed the great question that hovers over the nativity scene: Who is this Child? What child is this whom Mary holds? What child is this who sleeps upon her lap? What child is this whom shepherds guard and angels sing?
Dix wrote of Mary tenderly cradling the Child, of shepherds bowing, of angels praising—but also of nails, spear, and cross. It is a hymn that looks at Jesus through Mary’s eyes and then asks the only question that matters: What Child Is This? The answer changes everything: “This, this is Christ the King.” Hail, hail the Word Made Flesh, Joy! joy! for Christ is born,
Mary knew that. Her song declares that God has done great things for her, that He has brought salvation, that He has remembered His promises. The baby she carries is the fulfillment of the covenant made to Abraham, the heir to David’s throne, and the Savior of the humble.
This hymn reminds us that worship begins when we recognize who Jesus is. Worship doesn’t start with what we bring to God, but with what God has brought to us—a Savior.
So with that sense of awe and recognition, let us pray.
Opening prayer
Father, as we come to Mary’s song this morning, open our hearts the way You opened hers. Teach us to worship with sincerity, humility, and joy. Help us to see Christ as she saw Him—our Savior, our Redeemer, the Mighty One who has done great things for us. Let Your Word shape our worship, just as it shaped her song. And may our souls magnify You as we consider Your mercy and faithfulness. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Setting the Stage: Mary’s Story
Before we get to Mary and her song, let’s make sure we have the stage set. There are a few key points you need to understand. First, Mary is a young teenager. She is probably about 13 years of age. We know that because back then, in Jewish society, marriages were planned by parents between girls and boys at an early age, and adulthood was considered to start at the beginning of puberty. Boys and girls were trained for adulthood from childhood. They did not have this long protracted adolescence like we do in our society. And part of the reason for that was to protect them from this time of sexual temptation. So, they entered puberty and were quickly married. Well Mary and Joseph were betrothed, they were in a year-long engagement period. They did not live together, nor were they intimate with each other. It was a testing period after which they would be wed. But it was a binding arrangement. If either of them broke their vow, they would have to be legally divorced.
She lived with her parents in the town of Nazareth. It was a poor backwater town in Galilee. When Nathanael heard Jesus was from Nazareth, he asked, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Mary lived in obscurity, far from Jerusalem’s grandeur, far from religious influence, far from wealth. Though she is descended from King David, that royal lineage provides no privilege after centuries of political upheaval. She is simply another young Jewish girl in a poor village, doing daily tasks, preparing for marriage, living quietly under Roman oppression.
On one occasion, she is in the house, probably going about doing her daily chores and the angel Gabriel appears and calls her “highly favored,” telling her she will conceive the Son of God by the Holy Spirit. She will carry the Messiah promised in Isaiah 7:14. And remarkably, she responds in faith.
38 “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.
Well, the angel told her that her old relative Elizabeth was now in her sixth month of a supernatural pregnancy with John who would be the forerunner of the Christ. So, Mary determines that she will travel the 90 to 100 miles to visit Elizabeth.
Mary arrives at the home of Zechariah and Elizabeth after several day journey, greets Elizabeth, and Elizabeth, filled with the Spirit, says
42 In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! 43 But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 45 Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!”
And it is at this point that Mary opens her mouth and says the words that we have come to know as the Magnificat.
“My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
With that background in place, we are going to look at the question, “What does Spirit filled worship look like?” We will explore four characteristics of true worship revealed in Mary’s song. Individual, humble, God-exalting, and Scriptural
46 And Mary said: “My soul magnifies the Lord 47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, 48 for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed,
What do I mean that worship should be individual; it’s about me, it is ongoing, it comes from my soul and spirit
It’s about me
This song is in stark contrast to Zechariah’s song that we looked at last week. He never uses the words me or my once. Mary uses them 5 times in four verses. He talks about the effect of the Coming of Messiah to “us” and “Israel.” Why? Well, it is not because Mary is self-centered. It indicates that she is expressing worship that comes from a very personal place. Mary begins her worship with intensely personal language: My soul … my spirit … my Savior. The dual expression—soul and spirit—reflects Hebrew parallelism. It means “all that is within me,” just as Psalm 103:1 says, “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name.”
Mary’s worship comes from her innermost being. It is not recited prayer. It is not inherited religion. It is not the echo of someone else's song. It is born from a personal encounter with God’s grace. She is speaking out of her heart.
It is ongoing
Here’s something else that you should note. The verb “glorifies” (Greek megalunei) is in the present indicative active, meaning this is not a one-time event—it is ongoing. She is saying “My soul continues to magnify the Lord,” Mary is saying. “My spirit continues to rejoice.” Her heart is alive with ongoing praise. Her praise for God here didn’t just begin here. She, even as a young girl, learned that glorifying God is part of living.
Psalm 34:1 “I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.”
It comes from the soul and spirit
Now, also notice that she says that her soul and spirit magnify the Lord. The word soul here is a word used for a persons individuality. Their personhood. Their personality. (Greek psychē) is deliberately personal. It refers not to a vague spiritual part, but to the whole self as an individual person—one’s life, identity, and inner being. That meaning is deeply rooted in the Old Testament Hebrew word nephesh, which the Septuagint regularly translates as psychē, the same word Luke uses.
Psalm 103:1 “Bless the LORD, O my soul (nephesh), and all that is within me, bless his holy name.”
She also says “my spirit.” The word translated spirit is the Greek pneuma, which—like psychē—has deep roots in the Old Testament Hebrew word ruach. In Scripture, ruach does not usually mean a separate, detachable part of a human being; it most often refers to a person’s inner disposition, animating life, attitude, and God-oriented capacity—the way a person is moved, directed, and empowered.
Psalm 51:10 “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit (ruach) within me…
What do I mean that worship should be individual; it’s about me, it is ongoing, it comes from my soul and spirit
The point is clear: every part of her, from her deepest self, is continually worshiping—soul and spirit, mind, heart, will, emotions, memory, hope, imagination. And oh, if we could just learn that lesson about our worship at Christmas.
There is just so much about external expressions of worship presented to us at Christmas. It feels like everything is about showy, gaudy, flashy, external expressions of joy, love, and worship. And the bigger the better. It reminds me of the words of a classic author describing what Christmas has become.
“all those who boys and girls will wake bright and early, they’ll rush for their toys and oh the noise, noise, noise, noise, and they’ll shriek, squeaks and squeals, going round on their wheels, they’ll dance with jingtinglers tied on to their heels, their blow their fluflubbers they’ll bang their tartinkers, they’ll blow their who whovers they’ll bang their gardinkers, they’ll tink they’re comtuvers, they’ll slang their splingsplonkers, they’ll beat their blombloopers, they’ll wack they’re whowonkers, and they’ll play noisy games like zoozizzercarzay, or roller skate tybbles, lacrosse and croquet, then they’ll make ear-splitting noises the looks on their great big whocardio snooks”
That quote from the Grinch reminded me of the external, loud, spectacle that Christmas is presented as; blaring Christmas music, flashing synchronized light displays, oversized inflatable decorations, yard projections splashed across houses, nonstop jingle-filled commercials, crowded mall shopping frenzies, doorbuster sales and countdown timers, mountains of wrapped presents, luxury gift bragging, elaborate themed decorations in every room, social-media “perfect Christmas” posts, costume parties and novelty sweaters, noisy toy packaging and electronics, extravagant Christmas dinners with excess food, competitive decorating contests, public gift-opening spectacles, oversized Christmas parades, holiday fireworks, constant background TV specials, celebrity-driven Christmas events
But Worship begins when God becomes personal to us—not a doctrine, not a tradition, not a seasonal figure, or an audacious external extravaganza, but my Savior.
My soul glorifies the Lord. My spirit rejoices in God my Savior. He has been mindful of me.
48 for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, 49 for the Mighty One has done great things for me— holy is his name. 50 His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation.
Seen in her circumstances and her words
Her circumstances
Mary’s humility is also seen in her circumstances. Scripture indicates her poverty: In Luke 2:24, Joseph and Mary bring two turtledoves or pigeons, the offering prescribed for the poor. She comes from Nazareth, a despised town with no prestige. She is a young girl—likely around 13 or 14—without power, status, or education. She has no social standing and no economic security.
Yet God chooses her. The Mighty One does “great things” for the lowly. Her worship is humble because she recognizes her own unworthiness and God’s overwhelming grace.
Here are some words we should consider.
Humble state:
She is nobody. Yes, she is a descendant of King David, but there were many of his descendants. But she was poor girl, barely out of childhood.
Servant
Mary’s humility is stunning. Though chosen to carry the Messiah, she never exalts herself. She never seeks glory. She never claims superiority. Instead, she calls herself God’s “servant”—a term denoting low status and total submission. It literally means slave, indicating her posture of complete humility.
Blessed
Now, to often, this passage is used to elevate Mary. They point to the phrase “all generations will call me blessed.” She is astonished that this honor will be hers. The sense of those words is not that she is elevating herself, but that she is this simple Jewish girl, undeserving, but supremely honored by God to do the greatest act of service, to bear the Son of God.
God, My Savior
she acknowledges the need of a Savior. Even though Gabriel called her “favored,” she sees herself as unworthy. She marvels not at her own holiness but at God’s mercy. She does not see herself as sinless—she calls God “my Savior.” Mary needs saving just like every other human being. Her greatness is not inherent; it is bestowed.
When Mary says, “Holy is His name,” she reminds us that worship grows where humility lives. A proud heart cannot magnify the Lord. Only the humble can sing the Magnificat.
Isaiah 57:15 “For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: ‘I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite.’”
Christmas has drifted into a holiday of pride not because the story changed, but because the center slowly shifted from God’s glory to human display. What began as a celebration of humility—God entering the world quietly, helplessly, and unnoticed—has been reshaped by cultural forces that reward visibility, excess, and self-assertion.
Christmas has turned into a holiday of pride not because the biblical story changed, but because the center quietly shifted from God’s glory to human display. What began as a celebration of humility—God entering the world unnoticed, laid in a manger, welcomed by shepherds—has been reshaped into a season of exhibition, performance, and comparison. The focus moves from receiving a gift we could never earn to pulling off an impressive experience we feel pressured to manage. Houses are measured by lights, gatherings by perfection, gifts by abundance, and joy by visibility. Excess replaces simplicity, control replaces surrender, and self-expression crowds out reverence. When God’s holiness fades from view, self-importance rushes in to fill the space. Pride thrives where Christmas becomes about what we create, display, or afford, rather than about the God who came quietly to save. That is why pride cannot sing the Magnificat—because Christmas, rightly understood, does not magnify us; it humbles us and magnifies the Lord.
Christmas reminds us that salvation came not through our achievements but through God’s mercy. We cannot worship rightly if we come with pride. True worship bows. True worship surrenders. True worship acknowledges our need for a Savior. True worship recognizes the holiness of God and the smallness of self.
51 He has performed mighty deeds with his arm; he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. 52 He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble. 53 He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty.
My soul doth magnify the Lord - To "magnify" means to "make great," and then to "extol," to "praise," to "celebrate." It does not mean here strictly to "make great," but to increase "in our estimation" - that is, to praise or extol. See Psalm 34:3; 2 Samuel 7:26.
Mary’s song is God-centered from beginning to end. BibleHub commentary notes that Mary’s description of God’s “mighty arm” recalls Exodus deliverance language. She sees God as the active worker in history—the one who overturns human pride and lifts up the humble.
Mary identifies three divine reversals: God scatters the proud. God brings down the powerful. God lifts up the lowly, fills the hungry, and sends the self-sufficient away empty. You wonder what was in her thoughts when she said this. I have to think that the present world she was living in came to mind.
Mary lived at the intersection of deep poverty and overwhelming political power. She was a young, poor Jewish woman from Nazareth, a forgotten village in Galilee, living under Roman occupation and heavy taxation, with little social status and no public voice. Power belonged to Caesar, to Roman governors, and to local elites like Herod, while ordinary people labored simply to survive. Violence, economic pressure, and fear of authority shaped daily life. Into that unequal world—where the powerful ruled and the poor endured—God chose Mary, not from a palace but from obscurity, to bear His Son, showing that His kingdom advances not through earthly power, but through humility and grace.
She also had to be thinking of a passage of scripture she was familiar with; Hannah’s song in 1 Samuel 2. Her song and Hannah’s have great similarities. God overturns the world’s value system. The high are brought low; the low are lifted high. The self-exalting fall; the God-dependent rise.
Mary did not fully understand all the theological implications of the Old Testament prophecies or the words she was saying, yet the Spirit guided her to speak profound truth. Her worship magnifies God’s holiness, power, mercy, and sovereignty. Mary’s worship lifts God high.
B. Our Worship Should Exalt God
Worship is not a mood. Worship is not just the music part of a church service. Worship is not nostalgia. Worship is not entertainment. Worship is not a seasonal activity reserved for Christmas. Worship is exalting God, by your words, actions, for who He is.
We exalt Him for: His mighty deeds, His justice, His compassion, His holiness, His mercy, His faithfulness. Mary shows us that true worship does not focus on our feelings but on God’s character. Christmas worship should lift God high. Every carol, every prayer, every Scripture reading, every act of kindness should magnify the Lord. If we leave a Christmas service thinking about anything other than Christ, we have missed the point entirely.
54 He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful 55 to Abraham and his descendants forever, just as he promised our ancestors.”
BibleHub commentary highlights that Mary’s song is deeply steeped in Old Testament language. It echoes Hannah’s prayer in 1 Samuel 2:1–10, weaves together Psalms of praise, draws upon prophetic promises, and reflects covenant theology. One scholar writes that the Magnificat is “a mosaic of Old Testament allusion,” showing how Mary’s heart and mind were saturated with Scripture. Psalms of thanksgiving and deliverance, Isaiah’s prophecies of a coming Savior, Micah’s promise of the ruler from Bethlehem
Though she lived in poverty, she was rich in the Word.
Mary ends her song with covenant language. She praises God for remembering His mercy “to Abraham and his descendants forever,” referring to Genesis 12, 15, and 17—the promises of land, nation, and blessing. BibleHub commentary notes that Mary is consciously connecting the birth of Jesus to the Abrahamic covenant, the Davidic covenant, and the prophetic promises of a Messiah.
Mary’s worship was a scriptural worship. Her song flowed from the Word hidden in her heart.
B. Our Worship Should Be Based on God’s Word
Christmas worship becomes shallow when it is detached from Scripture. If our worship is rooted in nostalgia or seasonal excitement, it will fade. But when our worship is anchored in God’s Word—His promises, His covenants, His gospel—it becomes strong and lasting.
The more Scripture we know, the deeper our worship becomes.
Mary was young, poor, female, uneducated by formal standards—and yet her heart overflowed with Scripture because she lived in a home where the Word was cherished. This should inspire every believer: worship grows where the Word dwells richly.
Christmas is a time to read the promises of God, rehearse His faithfulness, and rejoice in His mercy. Worship rooted in God’s Word will always magnify the Lord.
Closing
Closing Hymn Story: Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming
As we close, consider the hymn Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming—a hymn deeply tied to Mary’s experience. Originating from a 16th-century German carol, it celebrates Isaiah’s prophecy that a “branch” or “root” would spring from Jesse’s line (Isaiah 11:1). The hymn tells of a tender rose blooming in the cold winter—Christ entering a weary world through the humble obedience of Mary.
Lo, how a Rose e'er blooming From tender stem hath sprung! Of Jesse's lineage coming
As men of old have sung. It came, a flower bright, Amid the cold of winter When half-gone was the night.
The second stanza focuses directly on Mary:
“Isaiah ’twas foretold it, The Rose I have in mind; With Mary we behold it, The Virgin mother kind.”
It beautifully portrays Mary as the vessel through whom God brings forth the promised Messiah. It emphasizes humility, quiet obedience, and God’s faithfulness to His Word—precisely the themes that fill the Magnificat.
Just as Mary carried Christ into the world, we are called to carry Christ into our world through our worship, witness, and obedience.
Gracious and holy God,
we come before You at the close of this message with thankful hearts. As we have heard Mary’s song, teach us to worship You as she did—not merely with words, but with our whole lives. May our souls and our spirits magnify You personally, not by habit or display, but by sincere devotion flowing from within.
Humble us, O Lord. Help us to see ourselves rightly and to see You as You truly are—holy, mighty, and merciful. Strip away pride, self-reliance, and distraction, and give us lowly hearts that gladly receive Your grace. May our worship never point to us, but always lift You high for Your power, Your faithfulness, and Your justice.
Ground our praise in Your Word. Shape our worship by the truth You have spoken, so that what we sing, confess, and proclaim is centered on who You are and what You have done. This Christmas, may our worship echo Mary’s song. May our souls magnify the Lord. May our spirits rejoice in God our Savior. And may the Mighty One who did great things for Mary do great things in us, as we humbly receive Your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.