Advent: The Second Christmas Carol

  Luke 1:68-79


68 “Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, For He has visited and redeemed His people,

69 And has raised up a horn of salvation for us In the house of His servant David,

70 As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets, Who have been since the world began,

71 That we should be saved from our enemies And from the hand of all who hate us,

72 To perform the mercy promised to our fathers And to remember His holy covenant,

73 The oath which He swore to our father Abraham:

74 To grant us that we, Being delivered from the hand of our enemies, Might serve Him without fear,

75 In holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life.

76 “And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Highest; For you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways,

77 To give knowledge of salvation to His people By the remission of their sins,

78 Through the tender mercy of our God, With which the Dayspring from on high has visited us;

79 To give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, To guide our feet into the way of peace.”

 

As many of you know, I’m very much a lover of music.  Especially choral music.  I have served as a choir director for many years in the past and enjoy choral pieces and hymns to this day.  While I always consider the angels song, "Glory to God in the Highest" the firsty Christmas carol, this piece above while we find it in Scripture, is one of the best declarations ever.  I would love to one day put this to music

One of the four great hymns of the birth narratives in the book of Luke is the blessing of Zacharias celebrating the birth of John and the foreshadowing work of the soon-coming Messiah (Luke 1:68–79). Rooted in the covenants God made to Abraham and David, the saving work of Jesus Christ is anticipated in this great song of salvation. The poem is structured in five pairs of inverse parallel statements echoing five significant themes: the intervention of God in human history to bring peace through redemption; the experience of forgiveness through a personal knowledge of a Savior from the royal line of David; the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies and the prophetic preparation of John the Forerunner; a deliverance from enemies that allows for a lifetime of service in freedom and holiness; and finally, all of this comes about in fulfillment of God’s faithfulness to remember and keep the covenant and oath He made to Abraham. This song of Zacharias ought to motivate all of our songs of worship this Christmas!

So, with all of that declared, what does this piece of Scripture mean for me?  This same song of praise that Zacharias gave should be the same song of praise that we lift up this Christmas.  Let us lift up songs of thanksgiving for what God has done.  He had kept His promises to us!  Do you see that as this ongoing theme this Advent season?  It’s all about promises kept by the one who keeps His promises.  Because He keeps His promises, we don’t need to worry, but we can have confident hope for the days ahead.

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