Daily Bible Reading 12th March 2026 // Luke 1:46-56
46 And Mary said,
“My soul magnifies the Lord,
47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour,
48 for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant.
For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
49 for he who is mighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.
50 And his mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.
51 He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts;
52 he has brought down the mighty from their thrones
and exalted those of humble estate;
53 he has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.
54 He has helped his servant Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,
55 as he spoke to our fathers,
to Abraham and to his offspring for ever.”
56 And Mary remained with her about three months and returned to her home.
By way of introduction to this wonderful 'Magnificat' of Mary, let us note a general point: it is very significant that in this whole Christmas narrative there is such a considerable outburst of song. Elisabeth broke into song when Mary visited her; Mary breaks into song here; and later, Zechariah breaks into song; then the angels sing over the plains of Bethlehem, announcing the Saviour's birth; and the aged Simeon sings the Nunc Dimittis. As G. Campbell Morgan very beautifully puts it, 'Luke, the artist, has gathered and collected, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the stories which reveal the fact that when Jesus came into the world poetry expressed itself, and music was reborn.' Song is always the result of divine visitation. Whenever and wherever God comes in grace and power, men are set a-singing. It is a mark of reviving and quickening and refreshing. We must be careful here, however. Singing does not bring the quickening: that is to put it the wrong way round, just as to assume that because all night prayer meetings have been known in the past to precede revival, such meetings will necessarily promote revival is to put things round the wrong way. But there is no doubt that when God begins to work, hearts are kindled and constrained into song. Here, Mary and her people had something to sing about. And she has given the Church a glorious song of praise; and being this, it is a wonderful expression of faith. She speaks in it as if what had been promised had actually taken place. The definitive statements in these verses are all in the past tense. This is how faith always speaks: it reckons that God's word is as good as His deed.