And it occurred that when Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with and controlled by the Holy Spirit. 42 And she cried out with a loud cry, and then exclaimed, Blessed (favored of God) above all other women are you! And blessed (favored of God) is the Fruit of your womb! 43 And how [have I deserved that this honor should] be granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 For behold, the instant the sound of your salutation reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 45 And blessed (happy, to be envied) is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of the things that were spoken to her from the Lord. Luke 1:41-45 AMP
The moment Elizabeth saw Mary, her baby (John) leaped in her womb and she knew that Mary was carrying the Messiah in her womb. She called Jesus, her Lord.
And Mary said, My soul magnifies and extols the Lord, 47 And my spirit rejoices in God my Savior. Luke 1:46-47 AMP
This prophetic song of Mary is referred to as the Magnificat, which is the first word in the Latin translation of this passage. Mary glorified God for what He was going to do for the world through her, just like Hannah, the mother of Samuel did in 1 Samuel 2:1-10. In both songs, as the Holy Spirit prophesies through each of these two women, God is magnified as a champion of the poor, the oppressed, and the despised. Mary calls God her Savior. Mary, like any other person on earth, needed God as Savior. She was not holy and perfect – she was an ordinary girl – but because she was willing and obedient, God was able to use her to bring forth the Savior of all mankind – and now we call her blessed, just as she said.
For He has looked upon the low station and humiliation of His handmaiden. For behold, from now on all generations [of all ages] will call me blessed and declare me happy and to be envied! 49 For He Who is almighty has done great things for me — and holy is His name [to be venerated in His purity, majesty and glory]! Luke 1:48-49 AMP
Mary celebrates how good God has been to her – not because she deserved it – but because of His goodness. We can only really understand what grace is when we are humble enough to realize that we have not deserved what God has given us. Mary was not being proud when she said, “From now on all generations will call me blessed.” She was recognizing and accepting the gift God had given her. When God calls you, realize that you CAN fulfill His plans for your life, with HIS help. Firstly, you should not say, “No.” Secondly, you should do it, acknowledging that you cannot do it without Him. Pride is refusing to accept God’s gifts and call or taking credit for what God has done. Humility is accepting God’s gifts and using them to serve and bring praise to Him. Do not deny your gifts, or belittle, or ignore them. Thank God for them and use them to His glory.
And His mercy (His compassion and kindness toward the miserable and afflicted) is on those who fear Him with godly reverence, from generation to generation and age to age. Luke 1:50 AMP
God always keeps His promises. Mary praises God because the promises of the Old Testament are finally coming to pass. He has always kept His promises in the past and He will continue to keep the promises that He has made, to subsequent generations.
But the mercy and loving-kindness of the Lord are from everlasting to everlasting upon those who reverently and worshipfully fear Him, and His righteousness is to children’s children. Psalms 103:17 AMP
He has shown strength and made might with His arm; He has scattered the proud and haughty in and by the imagination and purpose and designs of their hearts. 52 He has put down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of low degree. 53 He has filled and satisfied the hungry with good things, and the rich He has sent away empty-handed [without a gift]. 54 He has laid hold on His servant Israel [to help him, to espouse his cause], in remembrance of His mercy, 55 Even as He promised to our forefathers, to Abraham and to his descendants forever. Luke 1:41-55 AMP
Mary declares that God will turn everything around. He will deal with the proud, the rulers and the rich – He will scatter them and humble them – they will have to acknowledge that He is King. On the other hand, He will exalt the humble and lift up those of low degree. He will fill and satisfy the hungry with good things. At long last, justice is going to be done.
God kept his promise to Abraham to be merciful to God’s people forever. Christ’s birth fulfilled the promise, and Mary knew and understood this.
In blessing I will bless you and in multiplying I will multiply your descendants like the stars of the heavens and like the sand on the seashore. And your Seed (Heir) will possess the gate of His enemies, 18 And in your Seed [Christ] shall all the nations of the earth be blessed and [by Him] bless themselves, because you have heard and obeyed My voice. Genesis 22:17-18 AMP
You will show Your faithfulness and perform the sure promise to Jacob and loving-kindness and mercy to Abraham, as You have sworn to our fathers from the days of old. Micah 7:20 AMP
Thank God, for Mary, a young, humble girl, who knew her God and trusted His word. She trusted the words she read in the written Word of God and she trusted the words He spoke personally to her. Because of her implicit faith and her surrender to the will of God for her life, she has a place in history as the mother of our Lord Jesus and a woman of great faith and worthy of our respect.
