December 20 Devotion - My soul magnifies The Lord

“My soul magnifies the Lord, ⁴⁷ And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior. ⁴⁸ For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant; For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed. ⁴⁹ For He who is mighty has done great things for me, And holy is His name. ⁵⁰ And His mercy is on those who fear Him From generation to generation. ⁵¹ He has shown strength with His arm; He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. ⁵² He has put down the mighty from their thrones, And exalted the lowly. ⁵³ He has filled the hungry with good things, And the rich He has sent away empty. ⁵⁴ He has helped His servant Israel, In remembrance of His mercy, ⁵ As He spoke to our fathers,  To Abraham and to his seed forever.”

 * Jesus spoke Aramaic. In Aramaic His mother’s name is Maryam.

  ⁴⁶ فَقَالَتْ مَرْيَمُ: «تُعَظِّمُ نَفْسِي الرَّبَّ،

 ⁴⁷ وَتَبْتَهِجُ رُوحِي بِاللهِ مُخَلِّصِي.

 ⁴⁸ فَإِنَّهُ نَظَرَ إِلَى تَوَاضُعِ أَمَتِهِ، وَهَا إِنَّ جَمِيعَ الأَجْيَالِ مِنَ الآنَ فَصَاعِداً سَوْفَ تُطَوِّبُنِي.

 ⁴⁹ فَإِنَّ الْقَدِيرَ قَدْ فَعَلَ بِي أُمُوراً عَظِيمَةً، قُدُّوسٌ اسْمُهُ،

 ⁵⁰ وَرَحْمَتُهُ لِلَّذِينَ يَتَّقُونَهُ جِيلاً بَعْدَ جِيلٍ.

 ⁵¹ عَمِلَ بِذِرَاعِهِ قُوَّةً؛ شَتَّتَ الْمُتَكَبِّرِينَ فِي نِيَّاتِ قُلُوبِهِمْ.

 ⁵² أَنْزَلَ الْمُقْتَدِريِنَ عَنْ عُرُوشِهِمْ، وَرَفَعَ الْمُتَوَاضِعِينَ.

 ⁵³ أَشْبَعَ الْجِيَاعَ خَيْرَاتٍ، وَصَرَفَ الأَغْنِيَاءَ فَارِغِينَ.

 ⁵⁴ أَعَانَ إِسْرَائِيلَ فَتَاهُ، مُتَذَكِّراً الرَّحْمَةَ،

⁵⁵ كَمَا تَكَلَّمَ إِلَى آبَائِنَا، لإِبْرَاهِيمَ وَنَسْلِهِ إِلَى الأَبَدِ».

Luke 1:3955

Maryam’s psalm of praise reveals a repeated use of the terminology and theology of the Old Testament. It is obvious that Maryam was very well versed in the Old Testament and accordingly her hymn demonstrates that.

Maryam’s praise begins with her grateful response to the grace God has shown to her, a humble servant of the Lord. Maryam does not in any way view herself as better or holier than anyone else. She views herself as the Lord’s servant, whose humble estate is the occasion for His mercy and grace. There is no hint that she thinks God has chosen her to be the mother of Messiah due to her blessedness, but rather that her blessedness is the result of God’s sovereign and gracious choice to use her as His instrument.

Maryam saw her blessing as but an illustration, one instance of God’s grace, which leads her to praise God for His grace to all those who fear Him, from one generation to generation. Maryam’s praise focuses on the faithfulness of God to His promises.

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Abba Father, thank You for Your abundant blessings and inseparable love. Lord, use me as one of Your instruments that I may be blessed by Your sovereign and gracious choice. Help me Lord to learn from Maryam, the mother of Jesus, to see myself as Your servant and help me to feel joy in my spirit in my God my saviour. Holy is Your name LORD. Thank You God for Your faithfulness to Your promises. Lord, I join all the generations to call  Maryam, Mother of Jesus, as ‘blessed’. Lord, I praise You, I glorify You and I rejoice in Your grace. In the Holy Name of Jesus I pray.

‘Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.’ Ephesians 3:20-21

Jesus loves you,

In Him,

Wagdi Henein