{"id":8560,"date":"2000-10-07T19:50:10","date_gmt":"2000-10-07T17:50:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/theologie.whp.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/?p=8560"},"modified":"2025-04-10T13:57:31","modified_gmt":"2025-04-10T11:57:31","slug":"luthers-magnificat-english-version","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/luthers-magnificat-english-version\/","title":{"rendered":"Luthers „Magnificat“ (English version)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sermon Series on Mary | 16th Sunday after Trinity | 8th October 2000 | Luthers „Magnificat“ (1520\/21) | Klaus Schwarzw\u00e4ller |<\/span>
\n<\/b><\/h3>\n

translated by Bruce E. Shields<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Introduction<\/u> <\/span><\/p>\n

What follows is a translation of exerpts from
\nMartin Luther\u0092s work on the Magnificat. Klaus Schwarzwaeller has chosen
\nthese excerpts out of Luther\u0092s much longer work to present the heart of
\nLuther\u0092s understanding and application of this prayer of Mary and to
\npresent it here in sermon length and in a form accessible to the modern reader.
\nThis English version was pieced together by Bruce E. Shields from the
\ntranslation by A.T.W. Steinhaeuser in Luther\u0092s Works<\/i>, Volume 21,
\nedited by Jaroslav Pelikan (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1956).
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

The Text\u0097Luke 1:46-55 <\/u><\/span><\/p>\n

And Mary said, „My soul magnifies the Lord,<\/span><\/p>\n

and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
\nfor he has looked with favor
\non the lowliness of his servant.
\nSurely, from now on all generations will
\ncall me blessed;
\nfor the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy
\nis his name.
\nHis mercy is for those who fear him from generation to
\ngeneration.
\nHe has shown strength with his arm;
\nhe has scattered the
\nproud in the thoughts of their hearts.
\nHe has brought down the powerful
\nfrom their thrones,
\nand lifted up the lowly;
\nhe has filled the hungry
\nwith good things,
\nand sent the rich away empty.
\nHe has helped his
\nservant Israel,
\nin remembrance of his mercy,
\naccording to the promise
\nhe made to our ancestors,
\nto Abraham and to his descendants forever.“<\/p>\n

The Luther Exposition<\/u> <\/span><\/p>\n

In order properly to understand this sacred
\nhymn of praise, we need to bear in mind that the Blessed Virgin Mary is
\nspeaking on the basis of her own experience, in which she was enlightened and
\ninstructed by the Holy Spirit. No one can correctly understand God or His Word
\nunless he has received such understanding immediately from the Holy Spirit. But
\nno one can receive it from the Holy Spirit without experiencing, proving, and
\nfeeling it. In such experience the Holy Spirit instructs us as in His own
\nschool, outside of which nothing is learned but empty words and prattle.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

The tender Mother of Christ does the same here
\nand teaches us, with her words and by the example of her experience, how to
\nknow, love, and praise God. For she boasts, with heart leaping for joy and
\npraising God, that He regarded her despite her low estate and nothingness. To
\nher neighbors and their daughters she was but a simple maiden, tending the
\ncattle and doing the housework, and doubtless esteemed no more than any poor
\nmaidservant today, who does as she is told around the house. <\/span><\/p>\n

My soul magnifies God, the Lord.<\/b>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

These words express the strong ardor and
\nexuberant joy with which all her mind and life are inwardly exalted in the
\nSpirit. Therefore she says, \u0093My soul exalts God\u0085\u0094, as if she
\nsaid: \u0093My life and all my senses float in the love and praise of God so
\nmuch that I am exalted, more than I exalt myself, to praise the Lord.\u0094
\n\u0096For God is not magnified by us so far as His nature is concerned, but He
\nis magnified in our knowledge and experience when we greatly esteem Him and
\nhighly regard Him, especially as to His grace and goodness. Therefore the Holy
\nMother does not say: \u0093My voice or my mouth, my reason or my will,
\nmagnifies the Lord.\u0094 But Mary says, \u0093My soul magnifies
\nHim\u0094\u0097that is, my whole life and being, mind and strength, esteem him
\nhighly. She is caught up, as it were, into him and feels herself lifted up into
\nHis good and gracious will. Along with that we must here give heed to
\nMary\u0092s last word, which is \u0093God.\u0094 She does not say, \u0093My
\nsoul magnifies itself\u0094 or \u0093exalts me.\u0094 But she exalts God alone;
\nshe ascribes everything to God alone. For though she experienced such an
\nexceeding great work of God within herself, yet she was ever minded not to
\nexalt herself. So little did she lay claim to anything, but left all of
\nGod\u0092s gifts freely in His hands, being herself no more than a cheerful
\nguest chamber and willing hostess to so great a Guest. Therefore she also kept
\nall these things forever. <\/span><\/p>\n

And my spirit rejoices in God, my
\nSavior.<\/b> <\/span><\/p>\n

The wondrous pure spirit of Mary is worthy of
\npraise, because, having such overwhelming honors heaped upon her head, she does
\nnot let them tempt her, but acts as though she did not see it, remains
\n\u0093even and right in the way,\u0094 clings only to God\u0092s goodness,
\nwhich she neither sees nor feels, overlooks the good things she does feel, and
\nneither takes pleasure nor seeks her own enjoyment in it. Thus she can truly
\nsing, \u0093My spirit rejoices in God, my Savior.\u0094 It is indeed a spirit
\nthat exults only in faith and rejoices not in the good things of God that she
\nfelt, but only in God, whom she did not feel. In God as her salvation she is
\nfilled with joy; and she knows God only by faith. <\/span><\/p>\n

For He has regarded the low estate of His
\nhandmaiden. For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed.
\n<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

This is what Mary means: \u0093God has regarded
\nme, a poor, despised, and lowly maiden, though He might have found a rich,
\nrenowned, noble, and mighty queen, the daughter of princes and great lords. He
\nmight have found the daughter of Annas or of Caiaphas, who held the highest
\nposition in the land. But He let His pure and gracious eyes light on me and
\nused so poor and despised a maiden, in order that no one might glory in His
\npresence, as though he were worthy of this, and that I must acknowledge it all
\nto be pure grace and goodness and not at all my merit or worthiness.\u0094
\nSince, then, this tender Virgin, of lowly estate, received this honor
\nunexpectedly that God should regard her in such abundant grace, she does not
\nglory in her worthiness nor yet in her unworthiness, but solely in the divine
\nregard, which is so exceedingly good and gracious that He deigned to look upon
\nsuch a lowly maiden, and to look upon her in so glorious and honorable a
\nfashion. They, therefore, do her an injustice who hold that she gloried, not
\nindeed in her virginity, but in her humility. She gloried neither in the one
\nnor in the other, but only in the gracious regard of God. <\/span><\/p>\n

Thus the Virgin Mary was a poor, despised, and
\nlowly maiden, who served God in her low estate, nor knew it was so highly
\nesteemed by Him. This should comfort us and teach us that though we should
\nwillingly be humbled and despised, we ought not to despair as though God were
\nangry at us. Rather, we should set our hope on God\u0092s grace. <\/span><\/p>\n

Now, after lauding her God and Savior with pure
\nand single spirit, and after truly singing the praises of His goodness by not
\nboasting of His gifts, the Mother of God addresses herself in the next place to
\nthe praise also of His works and gifts. For we must not fall upon the good
\ngifts of God or boast of them, but make our way through them and ascend to Him,
\ncling to Him alone, and highly esteem His goodness. Thereupon we should praise
\nGod also in His works and gifts. <\/span><\/p>\n

Mary confesses that the foremost work God did
\nfor her was that He regarded her, which is indeed the greatest of His works, on
\nwhich all the rest depend and from which they all derive. Note that she does
\nnot say men will speak all manner of good of her, praise her virtues, exalt her
\nvirginity or her humility, or sing of what she has done. But for this one thing
\nalone, that God regarded her, men will call her blessed. That is to give all
\nthe glory to God as completely as it can be done. Therefore, she points to
\nGod\u0092s regard and says: \u0093For, behold, henceforth all generations will
\ncall me blessed. Not she<\/i> is praised thereby, but God\u0092s grace toward
\nher. In fact, she is despised, and she despises herself in that she says her
\nlow estate was regarded by God. <\/span><\/p>\n

But she does take it amiss that the vain
\nchatterers preach and write so many things about her merits. They are set on
\nproving their own skill and fail to see how they spoil the Magnificat, make the
\nMother of God a liar, and diminish the grace of God. For, in proportion as we
\nascribe merit and worthiness to her, we lower the grace of God and diminish the
\ntruth of the Magnificat. Hence all those who heap such great praise and honor
\nupon her head are not far from making an idol of her, as though she were
\nconcerned that men should honor her and look to her for good things, when in
\ntruth she thrusts this from her and would have us honor God in her and come
\nthrough her to a good confidence in His grace. <\/span><\/p>\n

Whoever, therefore, would show her the proper
\nhonor must not regard her alone and by herself, but set her in the presence of
\nGod and far beneath Him, must regard her low estate; he should then marvel at
\nthe exceedingly abundant grace of God, who regards, embraces, and blesses so
\npoor and despised a mortal. Thus regarding her, you will be moved to love and
\npraise God for His grace, and drawn to look for all good things to Him. What do
\nyou suppose would please her more than to have you come through her to God this
\nway, and learn from her to put your hope and trust in Him, notwithstanding your
\ndespised and lowly estate. <\/span><\/p>\n

Again, nothing would please her better than to
\nhave you turn in fear from all lofty things on which men set their hearts,
\nseeing that even in His mother God neither found nor desired anything of high
\ndegree. But the masters who so depict and portray the blessed Virgin that there
\nis found in her nothing to be despised, but only great and lofty
\nthings\u0097what are they doing but contrasting us with her instead of her with
\nGod? Thus they make us timid and afraid and hide the Virgin\u0092s comforting
\npicture. For they deprive us of her example, from which we might take comfort;
\nthey make an exception of her and set her above all examples. But she should
\nbe, and herself gladly would be, the foremost example of the grace of God, to
\nincite all the world to trust in this grace and to love and praise it, so that
\nthrough her the hearts of all men should be filled with such knowledge of God
\nthat they might confidently say: \u0093O Blessed Virgin, Mother of God, what
\ngreat comfort God has shown us in you, by so graciously regarding your
\nunworthiness and low estate. This encourages us to believe that henceforth He
\nwill not despise us poor and lowly ones, but graciously regard us also,
\naccording to your example.\u0094 <\/span><\/p>\n

For He who is mighty has done great things
\nfor me, and holy is His name. <\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

We read in Genesis 25:5, 6 that Abraham gave
\ngifts to the sons of his concubines; but to Isaac, his natural son by his true
\nhelpmate Sarah, he gave the whole inheritance. Thus God would not have His true
\nchildren put their trust in His goods and gifts, spiritual or temporal, however
\ngreat they be, but in His grace and in Himself, yet without despising the
\ngifts. <\/span><\/p>\n

The \u0093great things\u0094 are nothing less
\nthan that she became the Mother of God, in which work so many and such great
\ngood things are bestowed on her as pass man\u0092s understanding. For on this
\nthere follows all honor, all blessedness, and her unique place in the whole of
\nmankind, among which she has no equal, namely, that she had a child by the
\nFather in heaven, and such a child. She herself is unable to find a name for
\nthis work, it is too exceedingly great; all she can do is break out in this
\nfervent cry. Hence men have crowded all her glory into a single word, calling
\nher the Mother of God. No one can say anything greater of her or to her. It
\nneeds to be pondered in the heart what it means to be the Mother of God.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

In order to become the Mother of God she had to
\nbe a woman, a virgin, of the tribe of Judah, and had to believe the angelic
\nmessage in order to become worthy. So her sole worthiness to become the Mother
\nof God lay in her being fit and appointed for it; so that it might be pure
\ngrace and not a reward, that we might not take away from God\u0092s grace,
\nworship, and honor by ascribing too great things to her. For it is better to
\ntake away too much from her than from the grace of God. Indeed we cannot take
\naway too much from her, since she was created out of nothing, like all other
\ncreatures. But we can easily take away too much from God\u0092s grace, which is
\na perilous thing to do and not well pleasing to her. It is necessary also to
\nkeep within bounds and not make too much of calling her \u0093Queen of
\nHeaven,\u0094 which is a true-enough name and yet does not make her a goddess
\nwho could grant gifts or render aid, as some suppose when they pray and flee to
\nher rather than to God. She gives nothing, God gives all, as we see in the
\nwords that follow: \u0093He who is mighty.\u0094 <\/span><\/p>\n

Truly, in these words she takes away all might
\nand power from every creature and bestows them on God alone. What great
\nboldness and robbery on the part of so young and tender a maiden! She dares, by
\nthis one word, to make all the strong feeble, all the mighty weak, all the wise
\nfoolish, all the famous despised, and God alone the Possessor of all strength,
\nwisdom, and glory. <\/span><\/p>\n

This, then, is the meaning of these words of
\nthe Mother of God: \u0093In all those great and good things there is nothing of
\nmine, but He who alone does all things, and whose power works in all, has done
\nsuch great things for me. For the name and the fame belong to Him alone who
\ndoes the work. It is not proper that one should do the work and another have
\nthe fame and take the glory. I am but the workshop in which He performs His
\nwork; I had nothing to do with the work itself. No one should praise me or give
\nme the glory for becoming the Mother of God, but God alone and His work are to
\nbe honored and praised in me. It is enough to congratulate me and call me
\nblessed, because God used me and did His works in me.\u0094 <\/span><\/p>\n

Behold how completely she traces all to God,
\nlays claim to no works, no honor, no fame. She conducts herself as before, when
\nshe still had nothing of all this; she demands no higher honors than before.
\nShe is not puffed up, does not vaunt herself or proclaim with a loud voice that
\nshe is become the Mother of God. She seeks not any glory, but goes about her
\nusual household duties, milking the cows, cooking the meals, washing pots and
\nkettles, sweeping out the rooms, and performing the work of maidservant or
\nhousemother in lowly and despised tasks, as though God had not so flooded her
\nwith grace more than the others. <\/span><\/p>\n

And His mercy is on those who fear Him, from
\ngeneration to generation.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Having finished singing about herself and the
\ngood things she had from God, and having sung His praises, Mary now rehearses
\nall the works of God that He works in general in all men, and sings His praises
\nalso for them, teaching us to understand the work, method, nature, and will of
\nGod. Many philosophers and men of great acumen have also engaged in the
\nendeavor to find out the nature of God; they have written much about God, one
\nin this way, another in that, yet all have gone blind over their task and
\nfailed of the proper insight. And, indeed, it is the greatest thing in heaven
\nand on earth, to know God correctly if that may be granted to one. This the
\nMother of God teaches us here in a masterly fashion, if we would only listen,
\njust as she taught the same above, in and by her own experience. How can one
\nknow God better than in the works in which He is most Himself? Whoever
\nunderstands God\u0092s works correctly cannot fail to know His nature and will,
\nhis heart and mind. Mary describes, in the following four verses, the works of
\nGod, portraying God so well that it could not be done better. <\/span><\/p>\n

He has shown strength with His arm, He has
\nscattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. <\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

With what mastery Mary here hits the perverse
\nhypocrites! She looks not at their hands nor at their mouths, but in their
\nhearts when she speaks to those who are proud in their inmost beings. She
\nrefers in particular to the enemies of divine truth. Oh, they have good hearts
\nand mean well, they call upon the good God and pity the poor Jesus, who was so
\nunrighteous and proud, and not so pious as they\u0085. <\/span><\/p>\n

He has put down the mighty from their seats.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

And exalted those of low degree.
\nHe has filled the hungry with good
\nthings,
\nAnd the rich He has sent empty away.
\nHe has helped His servant
\nIsrael in remembrance of His mercy.<\/p>\n

After enumerating the works of God in her and
\nin all men, Mary returns to the beginning and to the chief thing. She concludes
\nthe Magnificat by mentioning the very greatest of all God\u0092s works\u0097the
\nIncarnation of the Son of God. She confesses here that this work which was
\nperformed in her was not done for her sake alone, but for the sake of all
\nIsrael, and that includes the new Israel, Christendom, and along with it the
\nwhole world. She openly confesses with this word that she is maid and servant
\nof the whole world. <\/span><\/p>\n

As He spoke to our fathers, to Abraham, and
\nto his seed forever. <\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Here all merit and presumption are brought low,
\nand God\u0092s grace and mercy alone are exalted. For God has not helped Israel
\non account of their merits, but on account of His own promise. In pure grace He
\nmade the promise, in pure grace he also fulfilled it. This same promise the
\nmother of God here lauds and exalts above all else, ascribing the work of the
\nIncarnation of God solely to the undeserved promise of divine grace, made to
\nAbraham. <\/span><\/p>\n

That is what the tender mother of this Seed
\nmeans here by saying: \u0093He has helped His servant Israel, as He promised to
\nAbraham and all his seed.\u0094 She found the promise fulfilled in herself;
\nhence she says: \u0093It is now fulfilled; God has brought help and kept His
\nword, solely in remembrance of His mercy.\u0094 <\/span><\/p>\n

It follows that this Seed of Abraham could not
\nbe born in the common course of nature, of a man and a woman; for such a birth
\nis cursed and results in nothing but accursed seed. Now if all the world was to
\nbe redeemed from the curse by this Seed of Abraham and thereby blessed, as the
\nword and oath of God declare, the Seed itself had to be blessed first, neither
\ntouched nor tainted by that curse, but pure blessing, \u0093full of grace and
\ntruth.\u0094 (John 1:14) Again, if God, who cannot lie, declared with an oath
\nthat it should be Abraham\u0092s natural seed, that is, a natural and genuine
\nchild, born of his flesh and blood, then this Seed had to be a true, natural
\nman, of the flesh and blood of Abraham. Natural flesh and blood yet not born in
\nthe course of nature, of man and wife\u0097that is a contradiction. <\/span><\/p>\n

Here we have God\u0092s incredible miracle: he
\ncombined the two. He raises up seed for Abraham, the natural son of one of his
\ndaughters, a pure virgin, Mary, through the Holy Spirit, and without her
\nknowing a man. Here there was no natural conception or birth, and so it
\nremained the natural seed of Abraham, free from God\u0092s curse; and yet it is
\nthe natural seed of Abraham as truly as any of the other children of Abraham.
\nThat is the blessed Seed of Abraham, in whom all the world is set free from its
\ncurse. For whoever believes in his seed, calls upon Him, confesses Him, and
\nabides in Him, to him all his curse is forgiven and all blessing given. This is
\nAbraham\u0092s Seed, begotten by none of his sons, but born of this one
\ndaughter of his, Mary, alone. <\/span><\/p>\n

Here we have the foundation of the Gospel and
\nsee why all its teaching and preaching drive men to faith in Christ and into
\nAbraham\u0092s bosom. For where there is not this faith, no other way can be
\ndevised and no help given to lay hold of this blessed Seed. And indeed, the
\nwhole Bible depends on this oath of God, for in the Bible everything has to do
\nwith Christ. <\/span><\/p>\n

Let this suffice for the present. We pray God
\nto give us a right understanding of this Magnificat, an understanding that
\nconsists not merely in brilliant words but in glowing life in body and soul.
\nMay Christ grant us this through the intercession and for the sake of His dear
\nMother Mary! <\/span><\/p>\n

Amen.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Prof. Dr. Klaus Schwarzw\u00e4ller,
\nG\u00f6ttingen
\nE-Mail:
\nkschwarzwaeller@foni.net<\/a>
\ntranslated by
\nBruce E. Shields
\nEmmanuel School of Religion
\nJohnson City, Tennessee, USA
\nE-Mail: ShieldsB@esr.edu<\/a><\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

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Sermon Series on Mary | 16th Sunday after Trinity | 8th October 2000 | Luthers „Magnificat“ (1520\/21) | Klaus Schwarzw\u00e4ller | translated by Bruce E. Shields Introduction What follows is a translation of exerpts from Martin Luther\u0092s work on the Magnificat. Klaus Schwarzwaeller has chosen these excerpts out of Luther\u0092s much longer work to present […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8543,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[727,157,108,110,349,949,907,109,126],"tags":[],"beitragende":[],"predigtform":[],"predigtreihe":[],"bibelstelle":[],"class_list":["post-8560","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-archiv","category-beitragende","category-current","category-engl","category-kasus","category-klaus-schwarzwaeller","category-pr-maria","category-predigten","category-predigtreihen"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8560","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8560"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8560\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22610,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8560\/revisions\/22610"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8543"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8560"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8560"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8560"},{"taxonomy":"beitragende","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/beitragende?post=8560"},{"taxonomy":"predigtform","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/predigtform?post=8560"},{"taxonomy":"predigtreihe","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/predigtreihe?post=8560"},{"taxonomy":"bibelstelle","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bibelstelle?post=8560"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}