And Mary said: “My soul magnifies the Lord, And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior. For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant; For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed. –
Luke 1:46-48
Mary’s hymn of worship to God is called The Magnificat. The hymn is the response of Mary after Elizabeth had confirmed the word of the angel Gabriel to her. The Magnificat is a profound expression of worship, flowing without rehearsal or forethought, from the heart of a believing and obedient young woman. It provides us with a model for worshipLuke 1:46-48
‘My soul magnifies the Lord.’
Mary starts her worship from within her. She communicated her gratitude to God from deep within her being. Mary’s worship was as deep as her gratitude. She magnified the Lord in prayer. God is already magnified and doesn’t need us to make Him any bigger than He is. Magnifying God, therefore, does not add value to God. No, we can’t add to God. What we do when we magnify God is to acknowledge who He is already.
We learn from Mary that in worship, we must declare God’s greatness. This happens when we acknowledge God in His majesty and say that aloud. We say things like, ‘Lord, you are awesome’, ‘Lord you are mighty’, ‘O Lord our God how majestic is your name in all the earth’.
‘My spirit rejoices in God…’
Mary’s worship also excited her. It was a celebration. Note again from where this celebration comes. It comes from the spirit. ‘My spirit rejoices’. When our spirit rejoices, we enjoy the presence of God.
We learn again from Mary that our worship should also be an expression of joy. We must show our joy in the presence of the Lord. Though worship is spiritual, it must find expression in our singing, clapping, dancing and rejoicing before the Lord. It is an inner joy that finds external expression. As we end this extraordinary year, let us make time to worship the Lord in gratitude for all His goodness to us.
Mary’s celebration was in ‘God, my Saviour’. She was excited because of her relationship with God. To Mary, God was not just the God of Israel or the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. God was her God – Her Saviour. You cannot truly worship God unless you have a personal relationship with Him. Do you have a personal relationship with God? Is Christ your Lord and Saviour?
Prayer:
Heavenly Father, my soul, magnifies You today. My spirit rejoices in all Your goodness to me throughout this year.Scripture Reading:
Luke 1:46-56
CrossoverWithOtabil
YearOfExcellence
