Only such a God could lift on high so humble a maiden, and turn upon her the gaze of all the nations of the earth. But the God of Israel well might do it, for He is the Mighty One, and able to do great things, and His mercy is upon them that fear Him from generation to generation. In Israel’s deliverance from Egypt and in all their subsequent history, He had shown the strength of His arm. The wrecks of the nations that opposed Him strew the whole pathway of history. And as He raised Joseph from prison and exalted Daniel from the lion’s den, so should He ever lift up the meek, and help His servant Israel, and remember His promises to Abraham and His seed forever. Only one who is familiar with such a history could write such a hymn. Surely it is a great thing to be educated into such thoughts as these. To breathe in such sentiments in the very atmosphere of one’s home and in the social circles in which one daily moves is the highest of earthly privileges. It is only in such a hymn as this of Mary that we get a proper conception of the grandeur and nobleness of the thoughts underlying Hebrew history. In her Magnificat, Mary breathed the thoughts of those that surrounded her. From the days of pious Hannah down to those of Elizabeth, the women of Israel had been moved by such longings and animated by such hopes as have never been possible to any other people. They had the promise made in Eden that the seed of the woman should bruise the head of the serpent who led the world astray. And now to her, to this humble virgin of Israel, had the fulfillment of this promise come, and truly blessed was she among women. For here was the performance of those things which had been told her from the Lord. The great crisis of the world’s history had arrived, and she was the chosen channel through which the hope of the nations was come. O, blessed Woman in White Raiment, may thy hymn of praise, divinely inspired, be often upon our lips, and the sweetness of its precious truths continually in our hearts! The words of the angel in respect to Elizabeth having been confirmed by this personal visit of Mary to her home in the hill country of Judea, she returned to Nazareth.