Zacharias names his son, and recovers his speech. 45 58 And her neigh- tions, were acquainted with it; and, having heard T. bours and her cousins that the Lord, in so illustrious and remarkable a heard how the Lord vi. had shewed great mer- manner, had magnified and displaved his mercy Luke cy upon her; and they to her, they ran to testify their joy, and sincerely I. 58. rejoiced with her. congratulated her on the happy occasion. pass, that on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child; and they called him Zacharias, after the name of his father. ed John. unto her, There is name. 59 And it came to And, in particular, it came to pass, that on the 59 eighth day they came together in some considerable numbers, to circumcise the child according to the law (Gen. xvii. 12. Lev. xii. 3.) and, as it was then customary to give it a name, they that were present would have called him Zacharias, 60 And his mother after the name of his father: But his mother, 60 answered and said, Not who had been more particularly informed by her so; but he shall be call- husband of what had passed between him and the angel in the temple, answered and said, Nay, my friends, it must not be so; but he shall be called 61 And they said John. And when they objected to this, and said 61 none of thy kindred unto her, None of thy kindred, either by birth or that is called by this marriage, is called by this name: In order to 62 determine the question, and to be fully satisfied, 62 And they made signs to his father, how they made signs to his father, to know what he he would have him would have him called. And he, by signs, asked 63 for a writing tablet; and, when he had received for a writing table, and it, he wrote, saying, His name is John; thereby wrote, saying, His name declaring it a settled point, that would admit of is John. And they no farther debate. And they were all amazed at the determination. But greater still was their 64 And his mouth astonishment, to find his tongue at liberty and 64 was opened immedi- his speech restored; for his mouth was immediately, and his tongue loosed: and he spake, ately opened, and his tongue [loosed; and he spake audibly and distinctly; beginning, as it was most reasonable, with praising God in that sublime hymn which we shall presently record. And called; 63 And he asked marvelled all. and praised God. a As it was then customary to give it a name.] The giving the child its name was no more a part of the original intent of circumcision than of baptism; it was an incidental circumstance which custom had added. And I cannot forbear saying that, in administering the Christian ordinance, I think care should be taken to order the voice so that it may plainly appear we only then speak to the child by the name which hath been already given it.That the father among the ancients used to name the children, and that it was customary often to give them the name of their immediate ancestors, Elsner has shewn on this text. b A writing tablet, wivandov.] We have so few diminutives in our language, that I was not willing to lose this, which much more exactly answers the original than And his tongue [loosed]; and he spake, ου 46 SECT. vi. Luke Reflections on the birth of John the Baptist. 65 And fear came about them: and all of Judea. them were And a religious awful kind of dread fell, not only on those that were present, but on all that on all that dwelt round dwelt near them: and all these things, in a very these sayings I. 65. particular detail of circumstances, were publish- noised abroad throughed, and became the great topic of conversation out all the hill-country 66 over the whole hill-country of Judea. And all 66 And all they that wise and pious persons that heard [them] laid had heard them, laid them up carefully in their hearts, as matters in their hearts, up saying, What manner highly worthy their future consideration, saying, of child shall this be? What kind of a child will this be, who is ushered And the hand of the into the world in so extraordinary a way? And Lord was with him. their expectations were farther raised by observing that, as he grew up, the hand of the Lord was signally with him; and, through the divine blessing, he appeared not only a healthful and thriving, but likewise, on other and higher accounts, a very hopeful child. Ver. IMPROVEMENT. So sure are the promises of God, and so certainly will the full 57 accomplishment of them another day shame our suspicious unbelieving hearts, and awaken the tongues of his servants to songs of 58 praise! Happy the souls who, by a lively faith in them, are anticipating that blessed day, and whose minds, kept in tune by these pleasing views, are opening themselves to the most tender sympathy with others, and, like the kindred of this pious pair, are making the religious joys of others their own; so sharing, rather than envying the superior favours bestowed upon them! 65,66 66 Let us learn, with them, wisely to observe what God is doing around us and to lay up remarkable occurrences in our hearts: that, by comparing one step of divine conduct with another, we may the better understand the loving kindness of the Lord, and be engaged to act with more regular obedience in a holy subserviency to his gracious purposes. When, like good Zacharias and Elizabeth, we have the pleasure to see our infant offspring growing up in safety and chearfulness, with healthy constitutions of body and towardly dispositions of mind too, let us ascribe it to the hand of the Lord, which is upon them for good. Let us remember that we are at best but the instruments of the divine care and favour to them; and that our families would soon become scenes of desolation, did not God watch over them in a thousand circumstances of danger and distress, which no prudence of ours could have foreseen, and which no care of ours could have been able to provide against. SECT. Zacharias breaks out into a song of praise. 47 SECT. VII. Zacharias, on the birth of his son, breaks out into a sublime anthem of praise. Luke I. 67, to the end. LUKE I. 67. AND his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost, Luke I. 67. NOW John being born, as we have before SECT. described it, Zacharias his father, when be, vii. and prophesied,saying, first spake after the birth of this extraordinary Luke child, was filled with the influences of the Holy i. 67. Spirit; and, in an exalted strain of sacred rapture, he prophesied, saying, 68 Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he hath visited and redeemed his people. up an horn of salvation for us in the house of bis servant David; a "Blessed be Jehovah, the God of Israel, be-68 cause he hath now owned the relation in so signal a manner; for he hath graciously looked down upon his people in their distress, and wrought out an illustrious and complete re69 And hath raised demption for them: And he hath raised up for 69 us a horn of salvation, even an honourable and powerful Saviour, who is already conceived, and will quickly be born, according to our long expectation, in the family of his servant David: As he hath spoken by the 70 inspiration of his Spirit, and given frequent intimations to us by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been from the beginning of time.". It now appears that none of those 71 71 That we should predictions are forgotten by him, since he is be saved from our ene- preparing for us such a glorious deliverance mies, and from the that we may thus obtain salvation from the power of the most formidable of our enemies, and may at length be rescued, by his redeeming grace, from the hand of all that hate us:c And this gracious messenger, hath God now sent, that he may faithfully perform the mercy 72 which 70 As he spake by the mouth of his holy been since the world began ; prophets, which have hand of all that hate us: 72 To perform the mercy promised to our fathers * A horn of salvation.] As a horn is often used, for the most obvious reasons, to express strength and dignity, it being the ornament and defence of the creature that wears it; so it is sometimes used in the Old Testament with a peculiar reference to the Messiah. Compare Psalm cxxxii. 17. lxxxix. 24. 1 Sam. ii. 10. and 2 Sam. xxii. 3. b From the beginning of time.] It cannot certainly be inferred from hence, as some have argued, that there was from the beginning of the world a series of prophets, or that every individual prophet spoke of the Messiah; which can never be proved D 2 without doing great violence to the re- c Be rescued by his redeeming grace • Perform d SECT. which he [promised] to our fathers, the bless- fathers, and to rememvii. ed effects of which extend also to them; and ber his holy covenant : Luke by him shall God appear to be mindful of his 1.72. holy covenant, which hath passed through so ma ny various dispensations, yet still in the main e us, that 73 continues the same: It being indeed no 73 The oath which other than the oath which he so solemnly sware he sware to our faunto Abraham our father, [Gen. xxii. 16, ther Abraham; 7417.] According to the tenor of which he 74 That he would will now grant us the favour of an oppor- grant unto tunity and a heart to serve him without fear, we being delivered out being delivered out of the hands of our enemies, enemies, might serve 75 [And to walk] before him, under a religious him without fear, sense of his presence, all the days of our life, in the paths of the strictest holiness and righte- righteousness ousness.f him, all the days of our life. of the hands of our 75 In holiness and 76 And thou, child, shalt be called the Prophet of the High est; for thou shalt go Lord, to prepare his ways; Then, turning to his new-born son, he added, 76 And thou, my dear child, shalt have the honour to be justly called The prophet of the Most High God an illustrious Prophet indeed! for thou art he, who, according to the prediction of before the face of the Isaiah, (Isa. xl. 3.) shalt go before the face of the Lord, even of our Divine Messiah, to give notice of his approach, and to prepare his ways. It shall be thine honourable and delightful 77 To give knowoffice, not merely to bring the tidings of some ledge of salvation untemporal deliverance, but to give the know- to his people, by the ledge of eternal salvation to his people in di- remission of their sins, recting them how they are to obtain the for 77 78 giveness of their sins; Which, how great so- 78 Through the tenever they have been, may now be obtained der mercies of our through the tender compassions of our God, God; whereby whose bowels of mercy have yearned over his day-spring from on high hath visited us, backsliding children; by virtue of which com79 passions the dawning of the celestial day hath 79 To give light to d Perform the mercy promised towards our fathers.] Ποιησαι έλεος μέλα των πατέρων ημων most literally signifies to exercise mercy towards our fathers; aud might perhaps intimate that the mercy extended to the pious patriarchs was owing to Christ, who was afterwards to appear. Compare Rom. iii. 25. I cannot recollect any other place where wont the95 is to perform a promise. e The oath which he sware unto Abraham.] In vindication of our version from any objection which might arise to a learned reader from the construction of that original umno Invas diaDnuns-ogov or wx. 7. λ. see Bos, exercit. p. 35. and Elsner in loc. f And to walk in holiness and righteousness.] This, as well as deliverance from enemies, being spoken of as the merciful visited them grant of God, I cannot but conclude it refers to those passages in which God promised to pour out extraordinary degrees of a pious spirit on his people under the reign of the Messiah. Compare Is. xliv. 1-5. Jer. xxxi. 31-34. and Ezek. xxxvi. 25-27. g Tender compassions of our God.] EndayXY EXES, his bowels of mercy: A strong Hebraism; which, though I have not literally retained it in my version, I have expressed in the paraphrase; and it is a method I shall often take in like cases. Compare Jer. xxxi. 18-20. in The dawning of the day.] It is true that avalon may signify, as some here render it, the rising sun: and I doubt not but here is a reference to such texts as Mal. iv. 2. and is. lx. 1-3. and, possibly, consider John the Baptist's retirement. vii. 49 them that sit in dark- visited us from on high: And the Sun of sect. dow of death, to guide Righteousness is shortly arising, to spread saour feet into the way cred knowledge and joy over the regions of of peace. 80 And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his shewing unto Israel. Luke ignorance and misery, to enlighten those that 1.79. Thus was John the Baptist ushered into the ing the known ambiguity of the Hebrew word ZEMACH, which also signifies a branch, there may be some allusion to Jer. xxiii. 5. and Zech. iii. 8. But it is strange that any should have thought Zacharias, a Jewish priest, hath here referred to the Greek version of those texts. It is well known the word properly signifies that part of the heavens where the light begins to arise and the first shining of that light. Compare Rev. vii. 2. The dawning of the day seemed therefore a very literal version; and, I apprehend, it more beautifully describes the state of things just at this interval than if the sun had been represented as actually risen. i The shadow of death.] Such phrases as these, do, with peculiar propriety, describe the ignorant and miserable state of the Gentile world, and perhaps this former part of the verse may refer to them; but, as Christ's preaching to the Jews in Galilee (for it was only to Jews he applied, Mat. xv. 24 x. 5, 6. and Rom. IMPROVE xv. 8.) is said, Mat. iv. 14—16. to be an k This solitude was a happy prepara- |