“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.
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».
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 the Messiah due
to her blessedness, but 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, please use me as one of Your instruments so 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. Thank You
Father God for Your abundant blessings and inseparable love. 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, Your only
begotten Son, my Saviour and Lord over my life, I pray to You Father. ‘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
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