 |
| Detail of Psalm 150 and the Magnificat, "The Psalter of King Henry VIII" (England, 16th c.) |
My soul doth magnify the Lord,
and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Savior.
For he hath regarded
the lowliness of his handmaiden.
For behold from henceforth
all generations shall call me blessed.
For he that is mighty hath magnified me,
and holy is his Name.
And his mercy is on them that fear him
throughout all generations.
On her visit with Elizabeth, Mary magnifies the Lord who has magnified her. Joyfully she confesses, “Great is the Lord, and highly to be praised” (Ps. 48:1), turning to her Creator in love and praise as she was created to do, acting as the new Eve. She magnifies the Lord who has magnified his mercy with her (Lk. 1:58), his servant, and with her his chosen people, and through his servant Israel the whole creation. Bearing the Lord in her womb, all creation rejoices in her as she sings to the Most High who regards the lowly (Ps. 131:6). “O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together,” she sings (Ps. 34:3).
He hath showed strength with his arm;
he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
He hath put down the mighty from their seat,
and hath exalted the humble and meek.
He hath filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he hath sent empty away.
Like Hannah, Mary praises “the Lord, mighty in battle” (Ps. 24:8), who “makes poor and makes rich; he brings low, he also exalts” (1 Sam. 2:7). She is ecstatic because “things shall not remain as they are,” for in her Son the God of Israel works to “exalt that which is low” and “abase that which is high” (Ezek. 21:26). The Mighty One “bares his holy arm” (Isa. 52:10) to renew his creation, the devastation of which is evidenced insofar as “the wicked prowl on every side, and that which is worthless is highly prized by everyone. (Ps. 12:8) “Things shall not remain as they are”—with the proud swollen in conceit, loving themselves to the point of hating their Creator—because the King of Heaven “is able to bring low those who walk in pride” (Dan. 4:37). “Things shall not remain as they are”—with the ‘mighty’ on their thrones disregarding the Almighty, committing violence and oppressing the poor—because the Lord “pours contempt on princes…but he raises up the needy out of distress” (Ps. 107:40–41). “Things shall not remain as they are”—with the rich stuffing themselves with what they think is their own, depriving of justice the poor who lie like Lazarus at their gates, covered with sores and licked by dogs (Lk. 16:19–21)—because the Truth will speak truly, “Blessed are you who are poor, but woe to you who are rich” (6:20, 24). “Things shall not remain as they are,” because Mary’s Son, her Lord, is “making all things new” (Rev. 21:5).
He remembering his mercy hath holpen his servant Israel,
as he promised to our forefathers,
Abraham and his seed for ever.
Mary rejoices because in her the God of Israel has again shown forth his steadfast love, showing himself to be the faithful God who keeps covenant (Dt. 7:9). She rejoices because the One who said to his servant Israel, “Do not fear, for I am with you” (Isa. 41:10), says to her through his messenger, “The Lord is with you” (Lk. 1:28). She rejoices because her Son will be given “the throne of his ancestor David...and his kingdom will have no end” (1:32–33). She rejoices because she bears in her womb “the root of Jesse” (Isa. 11:10), the mighty savior the Lord God of Israel has raised up to fulfill his promise to rescue his people from the hands of their enemies that “they might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness” (Lk. 1:68–75).
Sing aloud, O daughter Zion;
shout, O Israel!
Rejoice and exult with all your heart,
O daughter Jerusalem!
The Lord has taken away the judgements against you,
he has turned away your enemies.
The king of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst;
you shall fear disaster no more.
[…]
he will rejoice over you with gladness,
he will renew you in his love;
he will exult over you with loud singing
as on a day of festival. (Zeph. 3:14–15, 17)
Sing aloud, O Mary, for in you the Lord has drawn the creation to himself. Rejoice and exult with all your heart, and let the whole creation sing together with you for joy
at the presence of the Lord, for he is coming
to judge the earth.
He will judge the world with righteousness,
and the peoples with equity. (Ps. 98:7–9)
No comments:
Post a Comment