Mary's Song Of Praise Series

Peter answers, “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” (Matt 16:16)

She ends this shout of praise with another blessing:

“Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill His promises to her.” (Luke 1:45)

Mary didn’t just believe it in her head but she trusted with all her heart. God is a promise-keeping God. She can trust Him to bring it about in His timing, for His glory and her good.

At this, Mary, completely overwhelmed by it all, breaks out into song.

There’s something about Mary

Before we dive into the lyrics of her song, I need to make a few comments.

We need to avoid overemphasizing or underestimating Mary.

I was on a mission trip to Costa Rica and we toured a large cathedral. At the front stood a very large, probably 20 feet high, statue of Mary. The statue seemed to be the center of attention and worship.

I almost started crying when I realized there was a coffin off to the side with a glass top. In it was a statue of Jesus. I was overwhelmed by the blasphemy of it all.

Mary is not the “Queen of Heaven” or the “mediator of all graces” or the “advocate of all peoples,” or the ultimate blasphemy, “The Co-Redeemer.”

We have a Savior that gave His life on the cross to be our “mediator and advocate” and His name is Jesus as Paul tells us in I Timothy 2:5.

Also, Mary was not sinless. In fact, we will see in a minute that she needed a Savior just like us.

Mary was not a perpetual virgin. Matthew 1:25 states that Mary did not have sexual relations with Joseph until she gave birth. We know from Matthew 13 that they had other children, at least four boys and two girls. James and Jude, half brothers of Jesus, wrote two of our books in the Bible.

Scripture doesn’t teach that Mary was born sinless, “The Immaculate Conception”, and it doesn’t tell us she was taken up into heaven.

Jesus was teaching one day and a woman in the crowd yelled:

“Blessed is the mother who gave you birth and nursed you. ?He replied, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.” (Luke 11:27-28)

Listen to me carefully. I’m not bashing anyone. I am simply affirming what Scripture says plainly. Only the shed blood of Jesus Christ on the cross can pay for your sins.

On the other side of the coin, we can miss the boat on Mary as well. We often relegate her to manger scenes at Christmas and little else. We talk about her now but put her away until the next Christmas season.

I don’t want to overestimate her or underestimate her. But I do want us to understand Mary’s heart and song. She plays a very important part in the rescue mission of the Messiah.

Mary - Peasant Girl Theologian

Dr. Robert Rayburn makes three observations about Mary.

Mary interpreted her circumstances Biblically. In fact, her song is a theological masterpiece. She was a 14-15 year old, illiterate, poor peasant but she knows her Scriptures. She quotes or makes allusions to at least 15 Old Testament Scriptures - I Samuel, Deuteronomy, Job, Psalms, Isaiah, Ezekiel, Micah, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah.

This is one of the reasons I didn’t like the song, “Mary, Did you Know?” Whenever I hear it, I want to shout, “Yes, she did know!”