Luke 1:46-48

a. The contrast between the tone of this canticle and Elizabeth's discourse forbids the admission of the reading of some Latin authorities which puts it in the mouth of the latter. It is, indeed, Mary's reply to the congratulations of Elizabeth.

Luke does not say that Mary was filled with the Spirit (comp. Luke 1:41). At this epoch of her life she dwelt habitually in a divine atmosphere, whilst the inspiration of Elizabeth was only momentary. Her first word, μεγαλύνει, magnifies, fully expresses this state of her soul. In what, indeed, does the magnifying of the Divine Being consist, if not in giving Him, by constant adoration (the verb is in the present tense), a larger place in one's own heart and in the hearts of men? The present, magnifies, is in contrast with the aorist, rejoiced, in the following sentence. Some would give the aorist here the sense which this tense sometimes has in Greek, that of a repetition of the act. It is more natural, however, to regard it as an allusion to a particular fact, which kindled in her a joy that was altogether peculiar. The seat of this emotion was her spirit πνεῦμα, spirit. When the human spirit is referred to in Scripture, the word indicates the deepest part of our humanity, the point of contact between man and God. The soul is the actual centre of human life, the principle of individuality, and the seat of those impressions which are of an essentially personal character. This soul communicates, through the two organs with which it is endowed, the spirit and the body, with two worlds, the one above, the other below it, with the divine world and the world of nature. Thus, while the expression, “ My soul doth magnify,” refers to the personal emotions of Mary, to her feelings as a woman and a mother, all which find an outlet in adoration, these words, “My spirit hath rejoiced,” appear to indicate the moment when, in the profoundest depths of her being, by the touch of the Divine Spirit, the promise of the angel was accomplished in her.

These two sentences contain yet a third contrast: The Lord whom she magnifies is the Master of the service to which she is absolutely devoted; the Saviour in whom she has rejoiced is that merciful God who has made her feel His restoring power, and who in her person has just saved fallen humanity. Further, it is this divine compassion which she celebrates in the following words, Luke 1:48. What did He find in her which supplied sufficient grounds for such a favour? One thing alone her low estate. Ταπείνωσις does not denote, as ταπεινότης does, the moral disposition of humility; Mary does not boast of her humility. It is rather, as the form of the word indicates, an act of which she had been the object, the humbling influence under which she had been brought by her social position, and by the whole circumstances which had reduced her a daughter of kings, to the rank of the poorest of the daughters of Israel.

Perhaps the interval between the moment of the incarnation, denoted by the aorists hath rejoiced, hath regarded, and that in which she thus celebrated it, was not very great. Was not that thrilling moment, when she entered the house of Zacharias, and beheld at a glance in the person of Elizabeth the fulfilment of the sign given her by the angel, the moment of supreme divine manifestation towards herself? The expression, Behold, henceforth, which commences the following strophe, thus becomes full of meaning.