For my latest paper, I’m doing a deep dive into Genesis 3:16 and the multiplication of Eve’s pain in childbearing. It was most interested to discover that, through the births and lives of Cain, Abel, and Seth, Eve is brought from hubris to humility. She greets Cain’s birth with triumph and pride in her accomplishment, mourns Abel’s birth as a vanity of vanities, and humbly accepts Seth’s birth as a gift from God. Through the pain of parenthood, she returns to a level of faithful dependence. In this way, the curse upon her in 3:16 is not only a punishment but a means of refining her. It seems to be correctional rather than vindictive.
The final section of my paper focuses on Mary’s Magnificat, in which Mary points to her lowliness, dependence, poverty, and powerlessness as magnifying God’s might and mercy. This made me think: what would Eve have sung if she were in Mary’s position? Would she have praised God for raising her up from her lowliness? Or, instead, would she praise God for bringing her low, that she might learn dependence anew?
Then I thought: How would I sing Mary’s song? This led me to my favorite prayer book, The Valley of Vision, which sings of God’s mercy in bringing us through valleys, humbling us for our good and his glory. God’s mercy is active both in raising up the humble and humbling the proud, for he disciplines those he loves.
So, paper writing gave way to songwriting, and the following lyrics were born. I’m working on getting them recorded, so stay tuned for updates.
Broken Magnificat (The Valley)
Verse 1 (x2)
Magnify the Lord, O my soul;
In his mercy, he’s brought you low.
My Servant-King’s made a servant of me,
And the more I decrease, the more of him I see.
Bridge
O the deeper the well, the brighter the stars;
Cast down and raised up by the might of his arms.
Through all my excuses, my fear and indecision,
I’ll find that this valley’s the place of true vision.
Chorus 1
So let me find life in dying to self,
Let me break my heart in pursuit of true health,
For the way up is down, to be high’s to be low,
Your cross is my crown, and you’re in this shadow.
Chorus 2
So let me share life in dying to self,
Let me give my all to discover your wealth,
For the way up is down, to give is to receive,
This cross is my crown, and my joy’s born of grief.
Bridge 2
O the deeper the well, the brighter the stars;
In my weakness, I’ll lean on the might of his arms.
Through all my excuses, my fear and indecision,
I’ll find that this valley’s the place of true vision.
Chorus 1 (modified)
I will find life in dying to self,
I will break my heart in pursuit of true health,
For the way up is down, to be high’s to be low,
Your cross is my crown, and you’re in this shadow.
Chorus 2 (modified)
So I will share my life in dying to self,
I will give my all to discover your wealth,
For the way up is down, to give is to receive,
This cross is my crown, and my joy’s born of grief.
Verse 2
So Magnify the Lord, O my soul;
In his mercy, he’s brought you low.
My Servant-King’s shown favor to me,
And from my depths, I behold his glory.
He’s behind and before and beside me.
Ryanne Molinari 