How My Soul Praises the Lord!

Luke 1:39-56 NLT  

  A few days later Mary hurried to the hill country of Judea, to the town40 where Zechariah lived. She entered the house and greeted Elizabeth. 41 At the sound of Mary’s greeting, Elizabeth’s child leaped within her, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 

  42  Elizabeth gave a glad cry and exclaimed to Mary, “God has blessed you above all women, and your child is blessed. 43 Why am I so honored, that the mother of my Lord should visit me? 44 When I heard your greeting, the baby in my womb jumped for joy. 45 You are blessed because you believed that the Lord would do what he said.” 

46  Mary responded, 

 “Oh, how my soul praises the Lord. 

47 How my spirit rejoices in God my Savior! 

48 For he took notice of his lowly servant girl, 

and from now on all generations will call me blessed. 

49 For the Mighty One is holy, 

and he has done great things for me. 

50 He shows mercy from generation to generation 

to all who fear him. 

51 His mighty arm has done tremendous things! 

He has scattered the proud and haughty ones. 

52 He has brought down princes from their thrones 

and exalted the humble. 

53 He has filled the hungry with good things  

and sent the rich away with empty hands. 

54  He has helped his servant Israel and remembered to be merciful. 

55 For he made this promise to our ancestors, 

to Abraham and his children forever.” 

56 Mary stayed with Elizabeth about three months and then went back to her own home. 

Elizabeth was very elderly, more like a great aunt than a cousin to Mary, really. She probably had a hand in raising Mary as an infant, and here she is calling her young relative "the Mother of my Lord."  That had to stop Mary's heart once more in remembrance of things that the Angel Gabriel had told her. I so love Mary's heart to turn this praise from herself back to praise for God, who, after all, made it all happen. Her praise reads like a wonderful song of praise sung in a worship service. Mary didn't need a song director or a band to start up to sing a praise song to Jesus. She just opened her heart and her mouth and out come these beautiful words. Repeat them over a few times like you might do in a praise and worship chorus time in church.

This was such a beautiful song to have been composed by this teen-aged girl through whom God would bring the Savior of all the World. How did you praise our Lord today? What glorious things that He has done for you and others did you sing happily about as you went about your day yesterday? How might you sing about His praises today? Why not start right now. We can sing about his great forgiveness! We can sing about His unconditional love. We could sing about how His nature takes up residence within our own and remakes us over into His image. We could sing about our desire to be unconditionally committed to the will and priorities of our Lord and Savior. We could, but will we?

Your servant in Christ's love

Dan

drdanelliott@gmail.com