My soul magnifieth
Here Mary testifies her gratitude, as we have already said. But as
hypocrites, for the most part, sing the praises of God with open
mouth, unaccompanied by any affection of the heart, Mary says that
she praises God from an inward feeling of the mind. And certainly
they who pronounce his glory, not from the mind, but with the tongue
alone, do nothing more than profane his holy name. The words soul
and spirit are used in Scripture in various senses, but, when
employed together, they denote chiefly two faculties of the soul;
spirit being taken for the understanding, and soul for
the seat of the affections. To comprehend the meaning of the holy
virgin, it must be observed that what is here placed second is first
in order; for the excitement of the will of man to praise God must
be preceded by a rejoicing of the spirit, as James says, “Is
any merry? let him sing psalms,” (James
5:13.) Sadness and anxiety lock up the soul, and restrain the
tongue from celebrating the goodness of God. When the soul of Mary
exults with joy, the heart breaks out in praising God. It is with
great propriety, in speaking of the joy of her heart, that she gives
to God the appellation of Savior Till God has been recognised
as a Savior, the minds of men are not free to indulge in true
and full joy, but will remain in doubt and anxiety. It is God’s
fatherly kindness alone, and the salvation flowing from it, that
fill the soul with joy. In a word, the first thing necessary for
believers is, to be able to rejoice that they have their salvation
in God. The next ought to follow, that, having experienced God to be
a kind Father, they may “offer to him thanksgiving,” (Psalm
50:14.) The Greek word
σωτὴρ,
Savior, has a more extensive signification than the Latin word
Servator; for it means not only that he once delivers, but
that he is “the Author of eternal salvations” (Hebrews
5:9.)
Because he hath looked
She explains the reason why the joy of her heart was founded in
God to be, that out of free grace he had looked upon her. By calling
herself low she disclaims all merit, and ascribes to the
undeserved goodness of God every occasion of boasting. For
ταπείνωσις,
lowness, does not here denote — as ignorant and uneducated men
have foolishly imagined — “submission, or modesty, or a quality of
the mind,” but signifies “a mean and despicable condition.”
The meaning is, “I was unknown and despised, but that did not
prevent God from deigning to cast his eyes upon me.” But if Mary’s
lowness is contrasted with excellence — as the matter itself
and the Greek word make abundantly plain — we see how Mary makes
herself nothing, and praises God alone. And this was not the loud
cry of a pretended humility, but the plain and honest statement of
that conviction which was engraven on her mind; for she was of no
account in the eyes of the world, and her estimation of herself was
nothing more.
From this time
She announces that this kindness of God will be kept in
remembrance throughout all generations But if it is so
remarkable, that it ought to be proclaimed every where by the lips
of all men, silence regarding it would have been highly improper in
Mary, on whom it was bestowed. Now observe, that Mary makes her
happiness to consist in nothing else, but in what she acknowledges
to have been bestowed upon her by God, and mentions as the
gift of his grace. “I shall be reckoned blessed,” she says,
“through all ages.” Was it because she sought this praise by
her own power or exertion? On the contrary, she makes mention of
nothing but of the work of God. Hence we see how widely the Papists
differ from her, who idly adorn her with their empty devices, and
reckon almost as nothing the benefits which she received from God.
They heap up an abundance of magnificent and very presumptuous
titles, such as, “Queen of Heaven, Star of Salvation, Gate of
Life, Sweetness, Hope, and Salvation.” Nay more, to such a pitch of
insolence and fury have they been hurried by Satan, that they give
her authority over Christ; for this is their pretty song, “Beseech
the Father, Order the Son.” None of these modes of expression, it is
evident, proceeded from the Lord. All are disclaimed by the holy
virgin in a single word, when she makes her whole glory to consist
in acts of the divine kindness. If it was her duty to praise the
name of God alone, who had done to her wonderful things, no
room is left for the pretended titles, which come from another
quarter. Besides, nothing could be more disrespectful to her, than
to rob the Son of God of what is his own, to clothe her with the
sacrilegious plunder.
Let Papists now go, and hold us
out as doing injury to the mother of Christ, because we reject the
falsehoods of men, and extol in her nothing more than the kindness
of God. Nay, what is most of all honorable to her we grant, and
those absurd worshippers refuse. We cheerfully acknowledge her as
our teacher, and obey her instruction and commands. There certainly
is no obscurity in what she says here; but the Papists throw it
aside, trample it as it were under foot, and do all they can to
destroy the credit of her statements? Let us remember that, in
praising both men and angels, there is a general rule laid down, to
extol in them the grace of God; as nothing is at all worthy of
praise which did not proceed from Him.
He who is mighty hath done
to me wonderful things She informs us, that the reason why
God did not in this case employ the assistance of others was, to
make his own power more illustrious. And here we must recall what
she formerly said, that God had looked upon her, though she
was mean and despicable. Hence it follows, that those praises of
Mary are absurd and spurious which do not altogether exalt the power
and free grace of God.
And holy is his name
This is the second part of the song, in which the holy virgin
celebrates in general terms the power, judgments, and mercy of God.
This clause must not be viewed as a part of the preceding one, but
must be read separately. Mary had extolled the grace of God, which
she had experienced in her own person. Hence she takes occasion to
exclaim, that holy is his name, and his mercy endures throughout
all generations The name of God is called holy, because
it is entitled to the highest reverence; and whenever the name of
God is mentioned, it ought immediately to remind us of his adorable
majesty.
The next clause, which celebrates
the perpetuity of the Divine mercy, is taken from that solemn form
of covenant,
“I will establish my covenant between me and
thee, and thy seed after thee,
in their generations, for an everlasting covenant,”
(Genesis
17:7)
and again,
“who keepeth covenant and mercy with them that
love him and keep
his commandments to a thousand generations,” (Deuteronomy
7:9.)
By these words, he not only
declares, that he will always be like himself, but expresses the
favor which he continues to manifest towards his own people after
their death, loving their children, and their children’s children,
and all their posterity. Thus he followed the posterity of Abraham
with uninterrupted kindness; for, having once received their father
Abraham into favor, he had made with him “an everlasting covenant.”
But as not all who are descended
from Abraham according to the flesh are the true children of
Abraham, Mary confines the accomplishment of the promise to the true
worshippers of God, to them that fear him: as David also
does:
“The mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to
everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto
children’s children; to such as keep his covenant, and to those that
remember his commandments to do them,”
(Psalm
103:17,18.)
While God promises that he will be
merciful to the children of the saints through all generations, this
gives no support to the vain confidence of hypocrites: for falsely
and groundlessly do they boast of God as their Father, who are the
spurious children of the saints, and have departed from their faith
and godliness. This exception sets aside the falsehood and arrogance
of those who, while they are destitute of faith, are puffed up with
false pretenses to the favor of God. A universal covenant of
salvation had been made by God with the posterity of Abraham; but,
as stones moistened by the rain do not become soft, so the promised
righteousness and salvation are prevented from reaching unbelievers
through their own hardness of heart. Meanwhile, to maintain the
truth and firmness of his, promise, God has preserved “a seed,” (Romans
9:29.)
Under the fear of the Lord
is included the whole of godliness and religion, and this cannot
exist without faith. But here an objection may be urged. What avails
it that God is called merciful, if no man finds him to be so unless
he deserves his favor? For, if the mercy of God is upon them that
fear him, godliness and a good conscience procure his grace to
men, and in this way men go before his grace by their own merits. I
reply, this is a part of his mercy, that he bestows on the children
of the godly fear and reverence for his majesty. This does not point
out the commencement of his grace, as if God were idly looking down
from heaven, to see who are worthy of it. All that is intended is,
to shake off the perverse confidence of hypocrites, that they may
not imagine God to be bound to them, because they are the children
of saints according to the flesh: the divine covenant having another
and very different object, that God may have always a people in the
world, by whom he is sincerely worshipped.
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