University of Dundee – Magnificat anima mea dominum – My soul doth magnify the Lord (Luke 1:46)
This motto is a quotation from the first line of Mary’s Magnificat – her song of praise recorded in the Gospel of Luke (Luke 1:46-55). The word “magnify” simply means to make large, and in her song Mary puts a focus on God’s goodness to her which she found overwhelming. It was prompted by the angelic announcement that she would be the vessel through which God would bring into the world His Son, Jesus – the divine saviour, the long promised descendent of King David, who will one day set up an eternal kingdom.
While Mary has a unique place in history, the second line of her song shows she was just an ordinary person, with whom we can all identify: “And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour (Luke 1:47). You see, not only did Mary understand her personal need of a saviour; better, she had a personal assurance that God was her saviour.
Let me explain how you too can have this.
In the Bible God is described as a Saviour. That is, saving is part of His character, and He acts to preserve life in a whole host of often unrecognised ways. The 103rd Psalm advises us not to forget the times God rescues us from coming to an early grave (Psalm 103:4). Think of the number of illnesses you’ve recovered from, or potential brushes with death and danger that could have been fatal. We’ve all been preserved at times, and the Psalmist urges us that God is to be thanked for those rescues.
However, beyond all that is the greater need for salvation from sin. The Bible warns that there is a day of judgement coming which will irreversibly seal our eternal destiny (Revelation 20:11-15). Ahead of that day, God has made it clear that each one of us already stands guilty of sin. And we actually know this – because our conscience provides us with a guilt feedback loop when we do things we know intuitively are wrong. The Lord Jesus bluntly summed up our condition: “There is none good but one; that is God” (Matthew 19:17).
The good news, or gospel, is that God has provided a way of salvation in His Son, Jesus. His entrance into the world was for the purpose of offering Himself through death to God – as a sacrifice on behalf of sinners. Today God promises to justify – that is, to declare right in His sight – every person who depends on His Son for salvation (Romans 3:26). Christ has done all the work, and now a simple act of faith brings us into the good of it (Romans 4:5). Like Mary, the person who has taken God at His word will have an internal assurance that God is their saviour, causing them to rejoice. If you don’t have this, it can be yours right now through faith. But don’t put it off – for after you die it is too late (Hebrews 9:27).