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.” 80 So the child grew and became strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his manifestation to Israel.
Chapter 1 closes with a prayer hymn sung by Zechariah.
1:72
To perform the mercy promised to our fathers
And to remember His holy covenant,
God’s “holy covenant” harked back to the covenant He had made with Abraham, which was a national promise to the Jews. God promised this covenant of a great nation in Genesis 12:1-3, but He did not ratify it until Genesis 15.
1:73
The oath which He swore to our father Abraham:
Genesis 12:1-3; 17:1-27; 22:16-18 records the oath that God made for Abraham. We call that oath the Abrahamic Covenant. The unfolding of the events in the life of Israel, the coming Messiah, and the future events of Israel draw their meaning from God’s promise to Abraham, the first Jew.
1:74
To grant us that we, Being delivered from the hand of our enemies,
Christ will save us from our enemies and troubles at His Second Coming after the Tribulation. He will save us as the Messiah-Savior.
Might serve Him without fear,
People who have experienced salvation do not fear their God.
1:75
In holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life.
Those who have come to know the Messiah personally live before Him in holiness and righteousness all the days of their lives.
1:76
“And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Highest;
Zechariah prophesied that his son would play a major role in the coming Messiah’s ministry.
For you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways,
John the Baptist’s role was to prepare people for the coming of the Messiah (Luke 3:4).
1:77
To give knowledge of salvation to His people By the remission of their sins,
The Messiah came the first time to bring knowledge of salvation—the knowledge they needed to understand about God whereby He forgives anybody their sins.
1:78
Through the tender mercy of our God,
The word “tender” references the inmost person; God is a God of compassion and mercy at the core of His being. God has mercy toward sinners. He is “rich” in that mercy (Eph 2:4).
With which the Dayspring from on high has visited us;
The “Dayspring” calls attention to the rising of the sun or the dawn. The first coming of the Messiah was like dawn breaking upon a new day. His coming was the dawn of a new age.
1:79
To give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, To guide our feet into the way of peace.”
The Messiah comes like the rising of the sun to people in darkness and death. He gives peace to these people.
1:80
So the child grew and became strong in spirit, and was in the deserts [wilderness] till the day of his manifestation to Israel.
There were about 30 years between John’s birth and the beginning of his ministry (Lu 3:1ff). In the meantime, God prepared his spirit to be strong by putting him in the desert.
PRINCIPLE:
Christ brings us the tender mercies of God.
APPLICATION:
Christ’s coming to earth the first time brought God’s mercies on our souls. It was like the dawn of a new day. We were in the darkness of spiritual death, but Jesus gave us a new life.
