Hail, thou who hast obtained favor The angel's commission being of an astonishing and almost incredible description, he opens it with a commendation of the grace of God. And certainly, since our limited capacities admit too slender a portion of knowledge for comprehending the vast greatness of the works of God, our best remedy is, to elevate them to meditation on his boundless grace. A conviction of the Divine goodness is the entrance of faith, and the angel properly observes this order, that, after preparing the heart of the virgin by meditation on the grace of God, he may enlarge it to receive an incomprehensible mystery. For the participle kecharitomene, which Luke employs, denotes the undeserved favor of God. This appears more clearly from the Epistle to the Ephesians, (1:6,) where, speaking of our reconciliation to God, Paul says, God "hath made us accepted (echaritosen) in the Beloved:" that is, he has received into his favor, and embraced with kindness, us who were formerly his enemies. The angel adds, the Lord is with thee To those on whom he has once bestowed his love God shows himself gracious and kind, follows and "crowns them with loving-kindness," (Psalm 103:4.) Next comes the third clause, that she is blessed among women. Blessing is here put down as the result and proof of the Divine kindness. The word Blessed does not, in my opinion, mean, Worthy of praise; but rather means, Happy. Thus, Paul often supplicates for believers, first "grace" and then "peace," (Romans 1:7; Ephesians 1:2,) that is, every kind of blessings; implying that we shall then be truly happy and rich, when we are beloved by God, from whom all blessings proceed. But if Mary's happiness, righteousness, and life, flow from the undeserved love of God, if her virtues and all her excellence are nothing more than the Divine kindness, it is the height of absurdity to tell us that we should seek from her what she derives from another quarter in the same manner as ourselves. With extraordinary ignorance have the Papists, by an enchanter's trick, changed this salutation into a prayer, and have carried their folly so far, that their preachers are not permitted, in the pulpit, to implore the grace of the Spirit, except through their Hail, Mary [1] But not only are these words a simple congratulation. They unwarrantably assume an office which does not belong to them, and which God committed to none but an angel. Their silly ambition leads them into a second blunder, for they salute a person who is absent.

Footnotes

1 - "Ave, Maria."

Hail - This word of salutation is equivalent to "Peace be with thee," or "Joy be with thee;" a form of speech implying that she was signally favored, and expressing joy at meeting her.
Highly favoured - By being the mother of the long-expected Messiah - the mother of the Redeemer of mankind. Long had he been predicted; long had the eyes of the nation been turned to him, and long had his coming been an object of intense desire. To be reckoned among his "ancestors" was accounted sufficient honor for even Abraham and David. But now the happy "individual" was designated who was to be his mother; and on Mary, a poor virgin of Nazareth, was to come this honor, which would have rendered infinitely illustrious any of the daughters of Adam the honor of giving birth to the world's Redeemer and the Son of God.
The Lord is with thee - The word "is" is not in the original, and the passage may be rendered either "the Lord "is" with thee," or "the Lord be" with thee," implying the prayer of the angel that all blessings from God might descend and rest upon her.
Blessed art thou among women - This passage is equivalent to saying "thou art the most happy of women."

And the angel came in unto her - Some think that all this business was transacted in a vision; and that there was no personal appearance of the angel. When Divine visions were given, they are announced as such, in the sacred writings; nor can we with safety attribute any thing to a vision, where a Divine communication is made, unless it be specified as such in the text.
Hail - Analogous to, Peace be to thee - May thou enjoy all possible blessings!
Highly favored - As being chosen in preference to all the women upon earth, to be the mother of the Messiah. Not the mother of God, for that is blasphemy.
The Lord is with thee - Thou art about to receive the most convincing proofs of God's peculiar favor towards thee.
Blessed art thou among women - That is, thou art favored beyond all others.

And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, [thou that art] (z) highly favoured, the Lord [is] with thee: (a) blessed [art] thou among women.
(z) It might be literally rendered, "full of favour and grace", and he shows immediately after, laying out plainly unto us, what that favour is in that he says, "The Lord is with thee".
(a) Of God.

And the angel came in unto her,.... Into her house, and into the room where she was:
and said, hail; all health, happiness, and prosperity attend thee; Matthew 28:9.
thou art highly favoured; or graciously accepted, or hast obtained grace; not referring to electing, redeeming; justifying, pardoning, adopting, and sanctifying grace, which she had in common with other saints; but to that special and particular favour, in being chosen and singled out from all other women, to be the mother of the Messiah:
the Lord is with thee; so the angel to Gideon, Judges 6:12 or "be with thee", an usual form of salutation among the Jews; Ruth 2:4.
thou art blessed among women; and will be pronounced so by other women, as she was by Elisabeth, Luke 1:42 and by another woman, Luke 11:27.

highly favoured--a word only once used elsewhere (Ephesians 1:6, "made accepted"): compare Luke 1:30, "Thou hast found favour with God." The mistake of the Vulgate's rendering, "full of grace," has been taken abundant advantage of by the Romish Church. As the mother of our Lord, she was the most "blessed among women" in external distinction; but let them listen to the Lord's own words. "Nay, rather blessed are they that hear the word of God and keep it." (See on Luke 11:27).

Hail, thou highly favoured; the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women - Hail is the salutation used by our Lord to the women after his resurrection: thou art highly favoured, or hast found favour with God, Luke 1:30, is no more than was said of Noah, Moses, and David. The Lord is with thee, was said to Gideon, Judges 6:12; and blessed shall she be above women, of Jael, Judges 5:24. This salutation gives no room for any pretence of paying adoration to the virgin; as having no appearance of a prayer, or of worship offered to her.