When Elizabeth bears a son, all those around her hear that the Lord had shown her great mercy. Though these events are cosmic in their reach, they involve the divinity's personal touch. God has shown his mercy and magnified it to Elizabeth (compare Gen 19:19; 24:12; 40:14; 47:29; Ruth 1:8; 4:13). Those who had shared her pain now rejoice with her. God's mercy expresses itself in concrete, loving action.