John Calvin Commentary Luke 1:46

"And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord," — Luke 1:46 (ASV)

Now follows a remarkable and interesting song of the holy virgin, which plainly shows how eminent her attainments in the grace of the Spirit were. This song contains three clauses:

1. Mary offers solemn thanksgiving for the mercy of God which she had experienced in her own person.

2. She celebrates in general terms God’s power and judgments.

3. She applies these to the matter in hand, addressing the redemption formerly promised and now granted to the church.

My soul magnifies. Here Mary testifies to her gratitude, as we have already said.

But while hypocrites, for the most part, sing the praises of God with open mouths but without any affection of the heart, Mary says that she praises God from an inward feeling of the mind. And certainly, those who pronounce his glory, not from the mind but with the tongue alone, do nothing more than profane his holy name.

The words soul and spirit are used in Scripture in various senses, but when used together, they primarily denote two faculties of the soul: spirit is taken for the understanding, and soul for the seat of the affections.

To comprehend the holy virgin's meaning, it must be observed that what is placed second here is first in order. For the stirring of a person's will to praise God must be preceded by a rejoicing of the spirit,⁴⁷ as James says, Is any merry? let him sing psalms (James 5:13). Sadness and anxiety lock up the soul and restrain the tongue from celebrating the goodness of God. When Mary's soul exults with joy, her heart breaks out in praising God.

It is with great propriety, in speaking of the joy of her heart, that she gives God the title of Savior. Until God has been recognized as a Savior, people's minds are not free to indulge in true and full joy, but will remain in doubt and anxiety. It is God’s fatherly kindness alone, and the salvation flowing from it, that fill the soul with joy.

In a word, the first thing necessary for believers is to be able to rejoice that they have their salvation in God. The next step ought to be that, having experienced God as a kind Father, they may offer to him thanksgiving (Psalms 50:14). The Greek word σωτὴρ, Savior, has a more extensive meaning than the Latin word Servator; for it means not only that he once delivers, but that he is the Author of eternal salvations (Hebrews 5:9).

⁴⁷ “Car avant que la volonte de l' homme soit mise en train de louer Dieu, il faut qu'il y ait devant une alaigrete et resiouissance d'esprit.” — “For before the will of man is set agoing to praise God, there must be previously a cheerfulness and rejoicing of spirit.”.” — “For before the will of man is set agoing to praise God, there must be previously a cheerfulness and rejoicing of spirit.”