Sing of Mary Pure and Lowly
Sing of Mary, pure and lowly,
Theologically, 'Sing of Mary, Pure and Lowly' is a Christologically anchored Marian hymn whose Incarnational focus makes it highly compatible with Lutheran worship. The first stanza establishes the theological priority: the praise of Mary is always in service of the confession that the Son of God became flesh — 'Word made flesh, our very brother.' This echoes the Lutheran confessional affirmation of Mary as Theotokos (God-bearer), a title Luther himself retained and defended as a Christological claim. The hymn's honoring of Mary never drifts toward invoking her as a heavenly intercessor in her own right; instead, it consistently points through her to Christ. The second stanza takes the remarkable step of praising Jesus for his labor, love, and suffering — locating the Incarnation not just at birth but throughout the life of the hidden years in Nazareth and the public ministry culminating at Calvary. This is deeply consonant with Lutheran theological anthropology, which takes seriously the full humanity of Christ as salvific. The third stanza's movement through Mary's joy, sorrow, and glorification follows a traditional pattern — the Joyful, Sorrowful, and Glorious Mysteries — but without invoking the Rosary by name, making it liturgically accessible to non-Catholic worshipers while preserving the contemplative rhythm of Marian devotion. In terms of Law and Gospel, this text functions primarily as Gospel proclamation: it announces the good news of the Incarnation — God taking on human nature, entering human labor and suffering, and being glorified. The references to Calvary carry Law-undertones (the cost of human sin requiring the death of the Son), but these are not dwelt upon; the text moves quickly to resurrection and glorification. For Lutheran worship planning, this hymn works beautifully in Advent and Christmas as a meditative text on the Incarnation, and in Lent as a reflection on Mary's sorrow at the cross. Its eschatological fourth stanza, with its vision of Christ calling 'his own' to himself, provides a fitting doxological conclusion.
History & Background
Roland Ford Palmer wrote this text in 1938 while serving as an Episcopal priest in the United States. It was composed to provide an accessible, scripturally grounded Marian hymn for English-speaking congregations that could honor Mary's role in the Incarnation without venturing into doctrinal territory exclusive to Roman Catholicism. The text was written for the tune PLEADING SAVIOR, a nineteenth-century American folk hymn melody found in The Christian Lyre (1830), giving the text an immediately singable and warmly congregational character. The hymn gained traction in the mid-twentieth century ecumenical movement precisely because it focuses on Christological content mediated through Marian praise: it never invokes Mary as mediatrix or co-redemptrix, but honors her as the mother through whom the Incarnation took place. This made it attractive not only to Episcopalians but also to Lutheran and other Protestant communities who wished to recover a more robust Marian piety after the Reformation's near-complete suppression of such hymnody. It was taken up in several mid-century American hymnals and has since appeared in Catholic, Lutheran, and Anglican collections. The text's ecumenical journey accelerated when it was included in the Lutheran Book of Worship (1978) and later in the Episcopal Hymnal 1982, cementing its status as a broadly usable Marian hymn. Catholic publishers also adopted it, finding its warm, narrative, and Incarnation-centered approach compatible with post-Vatican II liturgical sensibilities that sought accessible congregational Marian hymnody. It remains one of the few Marian hymns sung with equal comfort in Roman Catholic, Anglican, and Lutheran worship.
Hymnal Appearances
- Evangelical Lutheran Worship — 692
- The Hymnal 1982 — 277
- Lutheran Book of Worship — 634
Bulletin Note
Text by Roland Ford Palmer (1938); tune: PLEADING SAVIOR, from The Christian Lyre (1830). A broadly ecumenical Marian hymn focused on the Incarnation, suitable for Advent, Christmas, and Annunciation.
Preaching Connection
This hymn's movement from the cradle at Nazareth to the cross at Calvary to the glory of heaven traces the full arc of the Gospel in miniature — a preacher could use it to anchor a sermon on Incarnation, suffering discipleship, or eschatological hope. Its portrait of Mary as one who endured both 'fullest gladness' and deepest sorrow makes it a powerful complement to any homily on faithful perseverance in the face of grief.
Themes
Incarnation Mary, Mother of God Advent Christmas Suffering and sorrow Glorification Discipleship Word made flesh Hidden life of Christ Eschatological hope