Luke 1:38

And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her. AND MARY SAID, BEHOLD THE HANDMAID OF THE LORD; BE IT UNTO ME ACCORDING TO THY WORD. Marvellous faith, in the teeth of natural law, and in a matter which to one betrothed and already in law the wife of one of the royal line, fitted to inspire feelings in the last degree painful and embarrassing! Meet vessel for such a treasure! Remarks: The reflections most naturally suggested by this section are best conveyed by the blessed Virgin herself, in the exalted Hymn which she uttered under the roof of Elizabeth. But such as she could not express may here be indicated. (1) The language in which the angel conveyed to the Virgin the mode in which her Offspring was to come into the world is nearly as remarkable as the event itself. It is too far removed from ordinary phraseolo...

38._Behold the handmaid of the Lord _The holy virgin does not allow herself to dispute any farther: and yet many things might unquestionably have obtruded themselves, to repress that faith, and even to draw off her attention from what was said to her by the angel. But she stops the entrance of opposing arguments, and compels herself to obey. This is the real proof of faith, when we restrain our minds, and, as it were, hold them captive, so that they dare not reply this or that to God: for boldness in disputing, on the other hand, is the mother of unbelief. These are weighty expressions, _Behold the handmaid of the Lord: _for she gives and devotes herself unreservedly to God, that he may freely dispose of her according to his pleasure. Unbelievers withdraw from his hand, and, as far as lies in their power, obstruct his work: but faith presents us before God, that we may be ready to yield...

26-38 We have here an account of the mother of our Lord; though we are not to pray to her, yet we ought to praise God for her. Christ must be born miraculously. The angel's address means only, Hail, thou that art the especially chosen and favoured of the Most High, to attain the honour Jewish mothers have so long desired. This wondrous salutation and appearance troubled Mary. The angel then assured her that she had found favour with God, and would become the mother of a son whose name she should call Jesus, the Son of the Highest, one in a nature and perfection with the Lord God. JESUS! the name that refreshes the fainting spirits of humbled sinners; sweet to speak and sweet to hear, Jesus, a Saviour! We know not his riches and our own poverty, therefore we run not to him; we perceive not that we are lost and perishing, therefore a Saviour is a word of little relish. Were we convinced o...

Verse 38. _BEHOLD THE HANDMAID OF THE LORD_] I fully credit what thou sayest, and am perfectly ready to obey thy commands, and to accomplish all the purposes of thy grace concerning me. It appears that at the _instant_ of this act of faith, and purposed obedience, the _conception_ of the immaculate humanity of Jesus took place; and it was DONE _unto her according to his word_. See Luke 1:35....

AND MARY SAID, BEHOLD THE HANDMAID ... - This was an expression of resignation to the will of God, and of faith in the promise. To be the “handmaid of the Lord” is to be submissive and obedient, and is the same as saying, “I fully credit all that is said, and am perfectly ready to obey all the commands of the Lord.”...

EXPOSITION THE origin of the Gospels—the four histories which relate in detail the circumstances of the foundation of Christianity—will ever be an interesting study. Here we shall never know the exact truth of the compilation of these writings, the foundation-stones of all our hopes and fears; a reverent, scholarly speculation is all that can be offered to the student of the Divine memoirs. The speculation, however, probably in this case comes very near the truth. After the Ascension and the events of the first Pentecost, which quickly followed their Master's return to heaven, the twelve and a few others who had walked in the company which followed Jesus during the years of his public ministry no doubt often met together and talked over the teaching and the acts of their risen and now glorified Master. As time passed on, a certain number of these acts, a certain number of the public and...

AND MARY SAID, BEHOLD THE HANDMAID OF THE LORD,.... In which words she expresses her obedience of faith; she owns herself to be the handmaid of the Lord, and desires to obey him, and be submissive to him as such; and tacitly acknowledges her meanness, and great unworthiness: BE IT UNTO ME ACCORDING TO THY WORD; she assented to what the angel said should be unto her; she earnestly desired it might be, and firmly believed it would be; she set her "Amen" to the angel's message: AND THE ANGEL DEPARTED FROM HER; to the heavenly regions from whence he came; to his great Lord and master, that sent him; having dispatched the business he came about, and which he was accountable to him for....

Luke 1:5. _There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia: and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth. And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless._ There have been some good people who have lived in very bad times; never was there a worse reign than that of Herod; seldom or never a better man and woman than Zacharias and Elisabeth. Let no man excuse himself for sinning because of the times in which he lives. You may be rich in grace when others around you have none, even as Gideon's fleece was wet with dew when the whole floor was dry. God help us, in these evil days, to be «righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless»!...

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE Analysis and Annotations I. The Birth and Childhood -- Chapter 1-2:52 CHAPTER 1 _ 1. The Introduction. (Luke 1:1)_ 2. Zacharias and Elizabeth; the Vision. (Luke 1:5) 3. John the Baptist, his birth and ministry announced. (Luke 1:13) 4. Zacharias' Unbelief and Punishment. (Luke 1:18) 5. The Angel's Announcement to the Virgin Mary. (Luke 1:27) 6. Mary's Question and the Answer. (Luke 1:34) 7. Mary Visits Elizabeth ...

PREDICTION OF THE BIRTH OF JESUS. Lk. alone gives this narrative. Three or four months before _the birth of Elisabeth's_ child, Gabriel comes to Nazareth and announces to Mary, a virgin betrothed to one Joseph, a descendant of David, that she stands high in Yahweh's favour. After dispelling her fear he announces that she shall bear a son Jesus (= Joshua, saviour) who shall be called Son of the Most High (_i.e._ God), and fulfil the popular Messianic expectation. Mary displays some astonishment at the thought of bearing any child, and Gabriel gives further details. The Holy Spirit, the power of God, is to beget the child, and (_mg.)_ the holy thing which is to be born shall be called the Son of God; the term is here used in the ordinary sense, not Messianic as in Luke 1:32. The angel tells Mary about Elisabeth her kinswoman, and says that nothing is impossible with God. Mary accepts h