As the Lord helps me this evening,
I would like to meditate on this wonderful song really that Zacharias
was able to speak. Zacharias was the husband of
Elizabeth and they were given this, he was told that he would
have this son and there was he didn't he wasn't uh sure that
this would be the case and and for that he was chastened and
was uh done until the time that john the baptist was born but
but zacharias and elizabeth were where we read were godly people
and whom the lord love if you see he chastened it and when
his mouth was opened at john's birth then uh he he was given
uh we read he was filled with the Holy Spirit, the Holy Ghost,
and was able to speak such precious words regarding what had taken
place. So if we think of that verse
in verse 64, and his mouth was opened immediately after he had
written that his name is John, then his mouth was open, another
miracle, and you see down so many miracles attending what
was taking place at the coming of the Saviour, a miracle that
they were given a child in their old age who had been, and Elizabeth
had been, barren for many, many years. And of course they're
all pointing to one that was the most impossible, which was
the virgin birth itself, which was the birth of our Lord and
Saviour Jesus Christ. Well, when this happened then
his tongue was loose and praised God. These were the words that
came out of the mouth of John the Baptist when these things
were accomplished. And then we read some effect
that it had on others in verse 65 and 66, but then I believe
we come back to really what John the Baptist said, sorry, what
Zacharias said, the words as it were that he used when he
praised God and spoke to God in this way. So in verse 67 we
read, and his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost
and prophesied saying, this was a prophesying, speaking on behalf
of God, showing the mind of God, what would come and what the
purpose of it all was. And he was filled with praise,
not with criticism for being made dumb for this time, but
praise to God. And when you go through what
he says, the subject of his praise was the thanksgiving that the
Lord Jesus was coming. You might say that this was the
birth of John the Baptist, this was not the birth of the Lord
Jesus Christ, but if you look, so much of it is really, the
centrepiece is Christ, and you see this is the humility of Zacharias,
he wasn't taken up over much as it were with his own son,
only as that son had a part in pointing to the Lord and Saviour
Jesus Christ. Well we read in verse 67 then
that he was filled with the Holy Ghost saying, Blessed be the
Lord God of Israel for he hath visited and redeemed his people. Lord Jesus Christ. You see, and
this of course, the visiting and redeeming, that was not what
John the Baptist did. He did not redeem his people.
So it's clear here that the subject, the real true subject of Zacharias'
song is Christ. And we think of that in whatever
place people are used in, in the service of God, really the
subject is Christ and the glory goes to Christ. John the Baptist
said he must increase, I must decrease and Zacharias was not
taken up with his son John over much, in as much as John was
going to be important and a blessing to the forerunner of Christ. Blessed be the Lord God of Israel
for he hath visited and redeemed his people. It's a wonderful
thing to be visited isn't it? God could have left us but he
didn't, he visited us and it's a wonderful thing to be visited
by God. What is man that thou art mindful
of him and the son of man that thou visitest him. Christ came
to visit his people, he didn't take on him the form of angels,
he took on him the seed of Abraham and he visited his people as
one of them flesh of their flesh and bone of their bone and here
straight away John Zacharias comes to the that the crux of
what it's about it is redemption redeeming his people redeeming
is buying back buying back his people paying that what was owed
to the justice of God for their sin. He was going to liberate
them by redeeming them, by paying that price that they could never
pay, the broken law of God. He came to redeem his people,
visit them and redeem them. And of course there's so much
pictures here of how God came and redeemed Israel out of their
bondage and slavery. and how God, as it were, redeems
his people by paying the price. You're not redeemed with corruptible
things as silver and gold, but with the precious blood of Christ,
the redemption price of his people. So verse 68 speaks so much of
how God's people are redeemed. And this is what Christ came
to do. And this is the subject of Zacharias' song, not his own
family, and how that he would then have this being relieved
of having a child and having those blessings in his own family.
Zacharias doesn't focus on that. He focuses on Christ. Like Paul
said, I determined to know nothing among men save Jesus Christ and
him crucified. Then in verse 69 it says, and
hath raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of David.
You see, Zacharias was from the tribe of the Levites, he was
a priest. He was not from the tribe, he
was not from the house of David, and therefore John the Baptist
was not from the tribe of David. so here he's speaking again of
glorifying the fact that it was at Christ. The Lord Jesus sprang
from the tribe of David. This is the subject of Zacharias's
song and that's so precious to see the way he does that and
has raised up a horn of salvation. You see, Zacharias realized his
need of salvation and he rejoiced in it. As he spoke by the mouth
of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began. So
he's saying right from the word, right from the beginning of the
word of God, there was this prophecy of the coming saviour, the coming
redeemer. And we read in verse 71 that
we should be saved from our enemies. So here's the twofold work in
a sense. One is being redeemed from having redemption, paying that
price that was owed to justice, God's justice needed to be paid,
the wages of sin is death, death needed to be paid, as it were
there needed to be the death of one and that's what the Lord
Jesus came to do. But here you see there's another
aspect that we should be saved from our enemies when Israel
was brought out of Egypt, they were delivered from their bondage
and slavery, but then God dealt with their enemies and that's
why Pharaoh and his men were left dead in the Red Sea as it
closed in on them. You see the enemies of the Israelites
were dealt with as well as the liberation from the redemption
from slavery. That we should be saved from
our enemies and from the hand of all that hate us and this
obviously God is able to deliver us from our natural enemies but
very much as you go on here in this song that Zachariah sings
it's clear that the enemies he's having a focus on their spiritual
enemies the spiritual enemies you see that hold us in the grip
of satan that they have the power to stop us as it were laying
hold on christ and bring us into unbelief and bring us into bondage
and bring us into the fear of death. To perform the mercy promised
to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant, the oath which
he swore to our father Abraham. So he's tying it in with all
the Old Testament prophecies to those so many thousand years
before. that he would grant unto us,
and this is verse 74, that we being delivered out of the hand
of our enemies might serve him without fear. You see there's
a deliverance from the enemies and then in verse 75, in holiness
and righteousness before him all the days of our lives. So
the enemies are not just outward enemies, they are spiritual enemies
as well. and mainly focus on that because
this is what, it's the spiritual enemies that stop us walking
in holiness and righteousness. So God is come to buy us back
from all that sin has done in our lives and the death that
we are due because of our sins, but he's also come to deal with
our enemies. Isn't that a wonderful thought?
we gather together and think of the coming saviour that visited
his people that came from heaven's glory and visited us here below
and it's a blessing to be visited by such a one and he came you
see to to deal with our enemies and you think of what are our
enemies well there's there's the fear isn't there and an anxiety
and we're fearful of that which is coming and you see perfect
love cast it out fear we as it were the lord is able to give
us that comfort you think of what is the what is their great
fear well we read in the word of god that the last enemy is
what death and you see the lord jesus christ has come to deal,
to deliver us out of the hand of our enemies. He's come to
deliver us from that great enemy, death. You think of these words
that we read elsewhere, and have abolished death. You think of
that, abolished death. Something that we say we all
will have to face it. But we have one here that has
dealt with that last enemy and he is able to deliver you see
there's a book written which he says the death of death in
the death of christ death has died in the death of christ he
is conquered you see and we read that so much in 1 corinthians
15 oh death where is thy sting oh grave where is thy victory
the sting of death is sin and the strength of sin is the law
but thanks be unto god that gives us the victory through christ
jesus our lord You see how much we think of the virus that's
going around and the fear that people are, and naturally we
have fear of it, the fear of death, what it could do and what
it does do. But you see here, he's come to
deal with his enemies. He's come to take the enemy,
the prey out of death. He's come to deliver them, we
read, who for fear of death all their lifetime, subject to bondage. this is what he came to do, to
redeem them, but also to deliver them from their enemies. And
to what purpose? Why does he deliver them from
their enemies? We read that here in verse 74, that he would grant
unto us that we, being delivered out of the hand of our enemies,
what should we do? Might serve him without fear. Not fearing everything that's
around us, not fearing all the dangers and the plagues that
are around us, why? Because God is our God, he owns
everything, he's in control of everything, even death is in
his control, nothing is out of his control that we might serve
him without fear in holiness and righteousness before him
all the days of our lives. What a beautiful picture of what
the liberation that comes from this Christ child, this one who
came to abolish death, this one who came to deal that blow to
Satan. And thou child shall be called
the prophet of the high. So here he's now referring to
John the Baptist and his greatness is all as it is towards the Lord
Jesus. Thou shalt be called the prophet
of the highs, for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord
to prepare his ways. He was going to preach that baptism
of repentance, the necessity of repentance. Turn everyone
from your sin to give knowledge of salvation unto his people
by the remission of their sins. Zacharias's view of Christ's
coming was not liberation from the Roman Empire. There was something
much more spiritual and you see what was revealed by the angel
to Joseph when he said thou shalt call his name Jesus because he
shall save his people from their sins, not he shall save his people
from the Roman Empire, it was their sins. That's what he came
to deal with. to give knowledge of salvation
unto his people by the remission of their sins, through the tender
mercies of our God, whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited
us. He's visited us in our lowest
state, in our unworthiness. He comes to visit, to give light
to them that sit in darkness and the shadow of death. You
see, if death is hanging over us, it's fearful. It's fearful,
naturally speaking. something we fear, it's the last
enemy, but here to give light to them that sit in darkness
and in the shadow of death and all the despondency and the hopelessness
that's associated with coming close to death and the shadow
of it, to give light to them that sit in darkness and in the
shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace, peace
in the face of death, because we have one that has abolished
death, one that has gained the victory and therefore one who
is truly able to give peace, peace, perfect peace, this man
shall be your peace. Well Zacharias was given this
beautiful prophecy And so his tongue had been silent for these
nine months, but when it was loose, oh, what a blessed things
he was able to speak, showing such insight as God gave him
by the Holy Spirit. And here we see he was filled
with the Holy Ghost and the Holy Ghost spoke of Christ. You see,
he speaks not of himself, but he speaks of Christ. He is that
spotlight, as it were, that shines on Christ. and reveals his glory,
his suitability, his preciousness. And where he went as we come
to this time, so this is just a, this is the forerunner, the
birth of the forerunner, but the preciousness of the forerunner
is because who comes after? The birth of the Lord Jesus himself,
who John declared, I'm not worthy to undo his shoes latched, that
John understood his position. John was highly, highly favoured,
and yet he was a humble man. He was a Christ-exalted man,
one that was filled with the Spirit from his mother's womb. Well, may the Lord bless these
few thoughts and give us in our hearts a realisation of that
praise. Zacharias praised God for his
tender mercies. May we, as we think at this Christmas
time of the coming of the Saviour, he didn't need to come. He could
have left us to be delivered to death with no hope, with no
future. But he came with a mission of
mercy to save his people from their sins. It's a beautiful
passage. May the Lord bless it to our
souls.