
Mary said, … He (God) has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his seed for ever.
Luke 1:46.54.55.
God responded to Mary’s agreement to become the mother of the Redeemer. When she visited her cousin Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist, she was welcomed with a promise given by God: “Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfilment of those things which were told her from the Lord”. And Mary replied, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Saviour. For he had regarded the lowly state of his maidservant” (vv. 45-48).
Mary recognized that the Almighty had done great things for her (v. 49). But she thought not only of her personal blessing, but also praised God’s power and the holiness of His Name. She went even further in praising His unchanging mercy. What happened to her showed that God was taking up His relationship to His people Israel once again. The promise that He had given Abraham and his seed would be fulfilled in the coming of the Messiah (Christ).
Believers today are also richly blessed in Christ, though in another way than Mary. They have spiritual blessings. This should arouse praise ever anew in us (cf. Ephesians 1:3). But may we learn from Mary not to concentrate on ourselves, but to include in our worship the fact that God has appointed Him ruler over all things, in order to fulfil His eternal counsel.
Image: By Jacques Daret – Transferred from en.wikipedia to Commons by Quadell using CommonsHelper., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6411177