57 Now Elisabeth’s time was fulfilled that she should be
delivered; and she brought forth a son. 58 And her neighbors and
her kinsfolk heard that the Lord had magnified his mercy towards
her; and they rejoiced with her. 59 And it came to pass on the
eighth day, that they came to circumcise the child; and they would
have called him Zacharias, after the name of his father. 60 And
his mother answered and said, Not so; but he shall be called John.
61 And they said unto her, There is none of thy kindred that is
called by this name. 62 And they made signs to his father, what he
would have him called. 63 And he asked for a writing tablet, and
wrote, saying, His name is John. And they marvelled all. 64 And
his mouth was opened immediately, and his tongue _loosed_, and he
spake, blessing God. 65 And fear came on all that dwelt round
about them: and all these sayings were noised abroad throughout
all the hill country of Judæa. 66 And all that heard them laid
them up in their heart, saying, What then shall this child be? For
the hand of the Lord was with him.
67 And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and
prophesied, saying,
68 Blessed _be_ the Lord, the God of Israel;
For he hath visited and wrought redemption for his people,
69 And hath raised up a horn of salvation for us
In the house of his servant David
70 (As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets that have been
from of old),
71 Salvation from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate
us;
72 To show mercy towards our fathers,
And to remember his holy covenant;
73 The oath which he sware unto Abraham our father,
74 To grant unto us that we being delivered out of the hand of our
enemies
Should serve him without fear,
75 In holiness and righteousness before him all our days.
76 Yea and thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Most
High:
For thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to make ready his
ways;
77 To give knowledge of salvation unto his people
In the remission of their sins,
78 Because of the tender mercy of our God,
Whereby the dayspring from on high shall visit us,
79 To shine upon them that sit in darkness and the shadow of
death;
To guide our feet into the way of peace.
80 And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, and was in the
deserts till the day of his showing unto Israel.
When the aged priest, Zacharias, had received from an angel the promise
that he was to be given a son who would be called John and who would be
the herald of Christ, and when he had asked for a sign to attest the truth
of the prediction, he was smitten with dumbness as a rebuke for his
unbelief and as a stimulus for his faith. Even when at last the promise
was fulfilled, the sign was not removed and he was not able to speak until
he had given a written expression of his confidence in God. This
interesting incident occurred on the eighth day after the birth of John,
when in the presence of their rejoicing friends the parents were about to
name the child. Many supposed that the name of the father would be
selected. The mother, however, intimated that the name might be “John.”
When Zacharias, the father, was consulted, “he asked for a writing tablet,
and wrote, ... His name is John.” There was no hesitation, no uncertainty,
no question in his mind, for this name had been predicted by the angel,
and Zacharias showed by his decision and firmness that he believed
absolutely in the fulfillment of all that the angel had promised
concerning the career of the son who was to be regarded by his fellow men
as a gift of divine grace and a prophet of divine appointment. It usually
happens that a public confession of faith results in new joy and in wider
testimony. It was surely so in the case of Zacharias: “His mouth was
opened immediately, ... and he spake, blessing God.” His thanksgiving was
voiced in a hymn which, for hundreds of years, has been sung daily in
Christian worship. It is indeed a Christian hymn and a hymn of the
nativity; for while its occasion was the birth of John, only one stanza
refers to that event; the whole burden of the thanksgiving refers to the
approaching birth of Jesus and to the salvation which he is to bring.
This hymn is named the Benedictus from the first word in the Latin
version. It is an ecstatic expression of gratitude to God for his
boundless goodness. The poem possibly may be divided into five stanzas of
four lines each; but there is a definite pause after the third of these
stanzas when the thought turns from the work of Christ to the specific
mission of John.
The first strophe, vs. 68, 69, speaks of the redemption of Israel as
already accomplished in the gift of the Christ who is about to be born and
who is described as “a horn of salvation,” that is, a manifestation of
saving power. He is to appear as a son and heir of David the king.
The second stanza, or strophe, vs. 70-72, indicates that the salvation
from all enemies is in fulfillment of the promises made through the
prophets and cherished by the ancient fathers and embodied in the holy
covenant made with Israel of old.
The third stanza, vs. 73-75, describes the nature of this salvation which
was assured by the oath to Abraham; it is to be such a deliverance from
political oppression as to make possible for Israel a true, priestly
service of God, as a nation holy and righteous before him.
In the fourth stanza, vs. 76, 77, the singer turns to address his own son
whose birth has given occasion to the song. He declares that John is to be
recognized as a prophet of God whose divine mission will be to announce
and to define the promised salvation as in its essence not a political but
a spiritual redemption consisting in the remission of sin. John was not to
be a revolutionist but a reformer. He was to call a nation to repentance
that those who obeyed his message might be ready to receive the salvation
of Christ.
This mission of John is linked with that of Christ as the description of
the latter reaches its climax in the closing strophe. Vs. 78, 79. The
source of all the blessings Christ will bring is found in “the tender
mercy of our God;” the essence is a visitation of “the dayspring from on
high,” when the Sun of righteousness arises upon the helpless, terrified
wanderers of the night who are seated “in darkness and the shadow of
death;” the result will be “to guide our feet into the way of peace.”
Such is the hymn of Zacharias, a hymn of faith, of hope, of gratitude, a
song of the salvation provided by the love of God in Jesus Christ our
Lord.