17th June 2025

During British rule in India, public reciting or singing of Luke 1:46-55 – the passage we know as the Magnificat – was banned. It is a song of rejoicing, but also contains passages that were seen as subversive and revolutionary. Authorities were worried that its message of God’s favour for the poor and deprived might lead to social unrest.

But this song was not new. It leans on a number of Old Testament passages – without directly quoting them – which Mary brings together in an outpouring of joy as she considers what is happening in her young life. It is a powerful bridge between the Old and the New Testaments. She sings a song of thanks, of God’s love for the humble, of His coming judgement against their oppressors and of His faithfulness to His covenanted people.

Mary interprets her life through this biblical lens and shows great familiarity with the Scriptures she would have heard. It’s telling that she doesn’t quote them word for word; as a girl she would not have been taught to read and would have relied on listening to Genesis, Psalms, the book of Isaiah and other texts being read out loud. Some commentaries indicate as many as 35 different allusions to Old Testament writings in her song. 

Mary draws on Psalm 103:6 when she sings, “He has put down the mighty from their thrones, and exalted the lowly.” (Luke 1:52). And the sentiment is repeated in Psalm 147:6, ‘The Lord lifts up the humble; He casts the wicked down to the ground.’ 

She sees herself as having a part in this long history that culminates in a Saviour for God’s people. It was a history that began in Genesis and the covenant made with Abraham, when he is told, “In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.” (Genesis 22:18). And Mary returns to this founding moment when she adds in Luke 1:54-55: “He has helped His servant Israel, in remembrance of His mercy, As He spoke to our fathers, To Abraham and to his seed forever.”

She could be following the admonition from David when he wrote Psalm 96, ‘Oh, sing to the 

Lord a new song!’ We might even view the Psalm the other way round – as a prophecy that the one who would give birth to the promised Saviour would, indeed, be singing a new song.

Local congregation:
GCI Market Harborough
9 The Point
Rockingham Road
Market Harborough 
LE16 7QU

Meeting time:
Sunday 4.00 pm

Local congregational contact:
Sinead Henderson 
Email: sinead.henderson@gracecom.church

Word of Life contact:
wordoflife@gracecom.church