The Magnificat – so named because it’s the first word in the Latin translation of this passage – is a psalm.  It’s a poem spoken by a teenager rejoicing over her condition.  Her condition is – needless to say – unique in all of history.  She’s pregnant.  She’s a virgin.  And the baby she carries is the Son of God.  She’s been selected by God to bring the promised Messiah – the one promised to Adam and Eve in the garden and to the father of her nation – into the world.  So she rejoices, but she rejoices not only because of what this means for her but also for what it means for her people and for all mankind.  And she rejoices because of what it means about the God she serves.

The Magnificat is thus a beautiful and joyous response to God’s miraculous work.  Mary – the pregnant teenager – responds through the power of the Holy Spirit to the realization that thousands of years of waiting are over, and God is about to become man and save His people.  And since that’s true, and since God becoming man is what we celebrate at Christmas, this poem becomes a model for how we should respond to God at this time of year.  The Magnificat should inform our perspective on the whole season and our understanding of just how joyous this holiday should be for the believer.

Background
It’s important before analyzing Mary’s poem to understand where it falls in the story and what brought her to the point of launching into a psalm of rejoicing.

Mary – who’s likely 14 or 15 years old – has been visited by the angel Gabriel and told that she will conceive, though she’s a virgin, and give birth to the Son of God.  She is betrothed to Joseph – who’s probably a few years older – but their marriage is not yet consummated.  Thus Gabriel tells her she will miraculously conceive when the Holy Spirit comes upon her.

Mary likely realizes the ramifications of the angel’s news.  Yes, it’s a miracle and yes, it’s amazing that she’s been chosen by God to bring the Messiah into the world, but now she will have to explain to her family and Joseph that she’s pregnant, but still a virgin, and deal with the societal fallout (she’ll be accused of adultery and socially scorned – she’ll carry it for the rest of her life).  Joseph will also – assuming he believes her (which he will only after having an angelic visit of his own) – have his reputation impugned if he marries her, as it will appear that he’s the father of the child.  And remember, this is a story about real people living in the real world.  Telling others that she’s pregnant and still a virgin is not any more believable in Mary’s time than it would be now.

Gabriel doesn’t just tell Mary that she will become pregnant.  He also tells her that her relative – Elizabeth, who to this point has been barren and is past child-bearing age – is also miraculously pregnant (with John the Baptist) and in her sixth month.

Mary goes to see Elizabeth (Mary is in Nazareth in Galilee in the northern part of Israel, Elizabeth is in Judea in the south) shortly after she’s visited by Gabriel.  The reason for the visit is likely to celebrate with Elizabeth and certainly compare notes over their respective miracles, but perhaps also to verify that what the angel told her is true. 

When Mary sees Elizabeth, Elizabeth verifies everything the angel said.  Even more, Elizabeth – through the Holy Spirit – knows that Mary is the mother of the Messiah and celebrates with her.  When Mary hears Elizabeth’s words and realizes that everything the angel said to her is true, she launches into The Magnificat.

It is important to remember Mary’s age when reading through the poem.  It’s an amazing example of what the Holy Spirit can do with a willing servant (and how different life and maturity are for Mary compared to teenagers today).  [And we know her psalm is Spirit-inspired because Gabriel told her the Spirit would come upon her, but also because it’s in the Bible.]

Summary Praise (46-47)
The first two verses summarize the poem.    

My soul magnifies the Lord,
And my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.

She’s now certain of what Gabriel said, and the impact of what’s happening to her causes her to rejoice.  That’s what this poem is – a joyous response to a great God who’s about to do great things for His people.

Note the order of what she says.  She magnifies the Lord and then she rejoices.  The order isn’t random.  When we focus on God, when we make much of Him, joy is the result.  One leads to the other.  God-centered lives are joyous lives.  It’s our created purpose.  We were created – all things were created – for God’s glory.  Thus, when we glorify Him we do what we were made to do, and the result is contentment and joy.  Mary establishes with her first two statements the key to joy in this (and any) season.    

Personal Praise (48-49)
From verse 48 on, Mary explains why she rejoices and praises.  In the first place, it’s because of what God has done for her personally.  Mary understands what her situation means for her (and it’s amazing how well she grasps the gravity of her new status).  She’ll never be the same and she’ll be known forevermore as the mother of the Messiah.

For He has looked on the humble estate of His servant.

Mary is anonymous now.  In a culture where a woman’s identity is wrapped up in her children and husband, she has neither.  She’s also poor (which we know because of the sacrifice she and Joseph will make after the child is born) and lives in a tiny town in Galilee.  She’s not remarkable in any way.  The only people below her in the social hierarchy of the culture are tax collectors and slaves.

For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed;

But now (from now on – it’s a new day where everything is about to change) all generations will call her blessed (not divine, just blessed).  Her entire world is about to turn over.  From the lowest levels of society, she’s about to ascend to become one of the most notable humans in world history – and she knows it.  And what she says is absolutely true (we’re talking about her 2000 years later).  She understands what it means to be the mother of the Son of God. 

For He who is mighty has done great things for me,
And holy is His name.

Mary also realizes why she’s in a position to be called blessed.  It’s because of a mighty and holy God who does great things for her.  She’s done nothing to deserve her situation and she knows it.  An amazing God has decided to bless her in a way that no one has ever been blessed and in a way that no one will ever be blessed again.  There’s only one mother of the Messiah and God has made it her.

Global Praise (50-53)
This mighty God who does great things for Mary is also a God who champions the lowly and reverses human values and order.  He is mighty and holy (vs 49), but He’s also full of mercy toward those who are His.

And His mercy is for those who fear Him
From generation to generation.
He has shown strength with His arm;
He has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts;
He has brought down the mighty from their thrones
And exalted those of humble estate;
He has filled the hungry with good things,
And the rich He has sent away empty.

Mary paints a picture of two sides of God.  For His people, for the ones who understand their need, for the lowly and hungry, God is merciful and mighty.  He provides for them with His strong arm.  He meets them where they live and ministers to them in His strength and mercy from generation to generation (which echoes God’s promise to those who keep the first two commandments and worship Him alone – Ex 20:6).

For those who are rich and proud, however, for those who don’t need Him, they are brought down from their high position and humbled.  He sends the rich away empty.  He scatters the proud.  Those who have no thought of God in their pride and prosperity see nothing of God’s mercy.

This is a God who transcends.  A God who isn’t bound by societal norms, who doesn’t abide by the man-centered order.  He doesn’t wear man’s watch and isn’t impressed by achievement and wealth.  He’s a God we can’t put in a box.  His ways aren’t our ways, and His thoughts are as high above our thoughts as the heavens are above the earth (Isa 55:8-9).  He’s a God who shatters human expectations, who doesn’t bring salvation to the world through the proud and the strong, but through the poor and the weak.

And what God’s about to do will turn the world upside down.  His kingdom will come to earth with radically different values and precepts (as Jesus will explain in the Sermon on the Mount – Matt 5-7), and His Son will reverse the effects of sin.  A mighty and merciful God will leave nothing the same through the advent of His Messiah.

National Praise (54-55)
The Son Mary carries is the fulfillment of a covenant God made with Abraham at the founding of Israel, 2000 years ago. 

He has helped His servant Israel,
In remembrance of His mercy,
As He spoke to our fathers,
To Abraham and to his offspring forever.

More than fulfilling the covenant, the Messiah will continue God’s help to Israel that started with Abraham.  His is a mission of mercy to Israel and to Abraham’s offspring forever.  Knowing that Paul will later say that all believers are Abraham’s offspring, this shows the Messiah comes for all mankind, not just Israel.

A Magnificat Christmas
So, that’s what the text means, but what do we do with it?  What’s its relevance in a modern Christmas season?  The lesson of The Magnificat is that we should all be Mary.  Read back through her amazing poem and notice the theology, the scriptural knowledge (Mary’s psalm is similar to Hannah’s psalm in I Samuel 2 that she proclaimed when God enabled her to bear a son – Mary clearly has knowledge of that passage), the understanding of the gravity of her situation and the awe that understanding inspires.  Mary knows the word; Mary knows her God; Mary knows the amazing ramifications of what’s about to transpire and she can’t help but burst into praise as a result.  She sees an amazing and magnificent God who transcends her world and shatters all expectations and mercifully lifts up the powerless and the humble, and she boldly proclaims her joy and awe over who He is and what He does.

That’s what Christmas should do for us.  As we approach a season that celebrates God’s love, God’s peace with man, God’s salvation of mankind, God’s reversal of the damning effects of sin, all accomplished through the coming of His Son, we should say with Mary,

My soul magnifies the Lord,
And my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.

When we think about a God who is no respecter of persons and who transcends our every thought and expectation and who specifically lifts up the powerless and the weak (which, in regard to salvation, we all are), we should say with Mary,

And His mercy is for those who fear Him
From generation to generation.
He has shown strength with His arm;
He has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts;
He has brought down the mighty from their thrones
And exalted those of humble estate;
He has filled the hungry with good things,
And the rich He has sent away empty.

We should joyously celebrate this season.  We should enjoy the lights, enjoy the songs, enjoy the gift-giving and receiving, enjoy the family and friends, but enjoy them all with an eye on an AWESOME God who changed the world through a young virgin.  The heart of our celebration should be a holy God and His mercy and might and love.  He loved the world so much that He sent His Son to save it.  On the night Jesus was born, the angel said to the shepherds, “I bring you good news of great joy.”  Joy should be the main element of the season, and joy at Christmas comes from focusing more on God and less on us.  Thus our approach to Christmas should be a joyous response to God that says,

My soul magnifies the Lord,

And my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.