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In the mysterious providence of God, he has not brought us back to Luke's gospel as we continue to make our way through it, verse by verse. We are in Luke chapter one; we will be looking at verses 56 through 71 under the heading "Zacharias' Outburst of Praise." But before we go there, I have a few things that I want to share that hopefully will help prepare your hearts, especially as we begin a new year. We close out the old year, welcome in a new year, new opportunities to worship, to serve, to know, to enjoy the Lord our God. And as I was thinking about this, my mind went to Ephesians, chapter five. Let me just read a couple of verses here, beginning in verse 15, we are told,

"Be careful how you walk, not as unwise men, but as wise,

"making the most of your time, because the days are evil.

"So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.

"And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit,

"speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord;

"always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father."

Well, I trust that is the testimony, that is the passion, that is the desire of your heart as you enter into this new year. Oh, the eternal blessings that are ours in Christ. You know, it's for this reason that it's really inappropriate for us as believers to stay in a state of melancholy. Sometimes we're going to get there, but to just stay there? My goodness, we have so much to be thankful for. I think of First Thessalonians, five, beginning in verse 16, where the apostle says, "Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything, give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."

Well, as we come to our text this morning, we are going to see that Zacharias was a man that was filled with rejoicing, because he was filled with the Spirit. He was always giving thanks. Remember, his barren wife, Elizabeth is now going to give birth to the forerunner of the Messiah, John the Baptist, and his heart now is overflowing with joy because of the coming of his son; overflowing with just that exuberant anticipation of what all that might mean, knowing that he was going to usher in the Messiah, herald the Messiah who would come and fulfill the covenantal blessings that God had promised that certainly Zacharias had taught for so many years. And now 2026 years later, we can look back and see what he couldn't see, right? And we can look forward to the promises that were revealed by Jesus, and the apostles, and all the inspired writers. And sadly, most people in the world today have no real hope. They have no real joy, at least lasting joy. Their joy is always tied to their circumstances. If things are good, then they're happy. If things are bad, they're not. They have no purpose for living because they are incarcerated in the kingdom of darkness, one that is ruled by Satan.

I was reading some articles just this last week, and you begin to get a picture of how people, apart from Christ, view the world and why they would be depressed. For example, in 2025 I read that more than half of all the nations on the entire planet were either directly involved in military conflict or were funding it. It's frightening, isn't it? Since 2019 the annual income needed to afford a median priced home in rural US counties has more than doubled, and I know a lot of you young people are experiencing the pain of that. According to a survey that was conducted by PNC Bank, 67% of US workers are now living paycheck to paycheck. One study discovered that approximately 42% of Americans that belong to Generation Z - I had to look that up. I get confused with all these letters, I know I'm a baby boomer. I've got that one figured out, but Generation Z, you're born between 1997 and 2012 okay - but it says that 42% of Americans that belong to Generation Z have been diagnosed with anxiety, depression, ADHD or PTSD or some other mental health condition. By the way, I find a unique corollary here. This is the generation that has grown up under the influence of the internet, social media, digital devices, and they're constantly viewing things that are deeply disturbing and false, so no wonder they struggle.

Another survey found that 70% of US adults are currently taking at least one pharmaceutical drug, and nearly a quarter of US adults are currently taking at least four pharmaceutical drugs. And the National Center for Drug Abuse statistics says that over 105,000 people die from drug overdoses in a year, and 69.3% of them are due to fentanyl. And hopefully, with what Trump has done, that will change a bit. Over half of people 12 and older have used illicit drugs at least once. I mean, this is so sad. And of course, we're thankful for the capture of the socialist Narco terrorist Maduro in Venezuela, but you know, we have to address the demand side of all of this, right? That's where the Gospel comes in. According to the CDC, one American now dies by suicide every 11 minutes. Isn't that tragic? But not so for the redeemed. Psalm 13:6 says, "I will sing to the Lord," and here's why, "because He has dealt bountifully with me."

Saints love to sing, and that's a constant theme in Scripture. We're like Moses and the Israelites who sang a song of celebration after their deliverance in Exodus 15. We are quote, "singing and making melody with our heart to the Lord," according to Ephesians 5:19. Psalm 5:11 says, "Let all who take refuge in You be glad. Let them ever sing for joy."

 Now, as we come to our text this morning, I find it interesting that on five occasions, Luke records outbursts of praise - to whatever degree they were sung, we don't know - but outbursts of praise just in the first two chapters. You have Elizabeth, Mary, Zacharias, the angels who announced Jesus' birth, and Simeon, and even as we shall see Anna in chapter two and verse 37 gave quote "thanks to God for the infant Jesus, and continued to speak of Him to all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem." And so let's examine this inspired account of Zacharias' outburst of praise. We're going to first see the context of his praise and then the cause of his praise. So let me read the text to you, Luke one, beginning in verse 56,

"And Mary stayed with her, referring to Elizabeth about three months, and then returned to her home.

"Now the time had come for Elizabeth to give birth, and she gave birth to a son.

"Her neighbors and her relatives heard that the Lord had displayed His great mercy toward her; and they were rejoicing with her.

"And it happened that on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to call him Zacharias, after his father.

"But his mother answered and said, 'No indeed; but he shall be called John.'

"And they said to her, 'There is no one among your relatives who is called by that name.'

"And they made signs to his father, as to what he wanted him called.

"And he asked for a tablet and wrote as follows, 'His name is John.' And they were all astonished.

"And at once his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he began to speak in praise of God.

"Fear came on all those living around them; and all these matters were being talked about in all the hill country of Judea.

"All who heard them kept them in mind, saying, 'What then will this child turn out to be?' But the hand of the Lord was certainly with him.

"And his father, Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying:

"'Blessed be the Lord, God of Israel, for he has visited us and accomplished redemption for His people,

"'and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of David His servant --

""as He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from of old--

"'salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us;'"

So let's look at this first under the heading the context for his praise again, verse 56, "And Mary stayed with her about three months." So this was almost time for Elizabeth to give birth. Then it says that she "returned to her home." Now, bear in mind, Mary's home with her parents, because she was not married yet to Joseph; it was about 60 to 80 miles away, because Elizabeth lived in the hill country of Judea. Nazareth was about 60 to 80 miles away, depending upon the terrain and how you would go back in that direction. So we're talking about a four to six day walk for a young pregnant, probably 13-year-old, pregnant young lady. So get this in your mind, and when it's time now for John's birth, the neighbors are gathering together - and this was their custom - family would also come in, but especially the neighbors, they would gather. It was a communal event, and often they would participate in the naming of the child. And Mary's leaving now, before all of this happens, perhaps she fears that they might react to her negatively because of her pregnancy, wondering, you know, who are you? Where is your husband? And some have heard different things. Plus, it's a long hike for a pregnant woman, and she needs to get back. And of course, I'm sure she missed her Joseph dearly.

So in verse 15, we see, see that, "the time had come for Elizabeth to give birth, and she gave birth to a son." And of course, this is now in fulfillment of God's promise communicated to Zacharias, and it is one that answers his prayer. And of course, this is part of God's providential plan to fulfill his eternal purposes that he had given to Abraham, to David, as well as the New Covenant that would ultimately make all of it possible. You will recall in Luke one, beginning in verse 13, the angel Gabriel comes to Zacharias and says, "'Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your petition has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will give him the name John. You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice in his birth.'"  So in verse 58 we read that Elizabeth's, "...neighbors and her relatives heard that the Lord had displayed His great mercy toward her." Remember, now she had been barren, and she's old, and now she's about to have a baby. And there was a real stigma in that culture that if you were barren, it's probably because of some secret sin, and God is punishing you. And so they see here now that God has granted mercy toward her, and they were rejoicing with her.

Now, of course, we all celebrate the birth of a child, do we not? Of course, we do. But this birth was exceptional in every way. You might say that it was all over Facebook. And Israel, in that day, they had their own version of Facebook, and it was the gossip and the chatter that would go around, and this was the dominant topic of conversation, no doubt. I mean, think about all the startling events that the people were aware of. The word of Zacharias' vision in the temple had gone around; everybody was aware of that. Many of those people witnessed that; the encounter with the angel, his inability to speak while the congregation is waiting outside for him to return from the altar of incense. They're aware of all these things. So they know something's going on. There's the word of Mary's visit, and she's with child by the Holy Spirit, the Messiah. So they're hearing these things, the rumor mill is in full motion, and then they get the news of Elizabeth's pregnancy. It's like you have got to be kidding; this barren, elderly woman and this elderly man and the prediction of a boy now his birth. So indeed, verse 58, "Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had displayed His great mercy toward her, and they were rejoicing with her." I might add, and we'll see this later in verse 65, "Fear came on all those living around them, and all these matters were being talked about in all the hill country of Judea." So this is truly a remarkable time, because the people could see God at work.

Now bear in mind, God is always at work. We can't always see what he's up to, but he's always up to something. And he's always up to something in your life and in my life, and in the history of the world, none of the things that we see in the world are just random. In his providence and in His sovereignty, he is orchestrating everything to accomplish his purposes. He's continuing to build his church. He's saving sinners, he's sanctifying saints. And on and on it goes. I think of the great passage in Isaiah 46 beginning in verse nine, "'I am God, and there is no one like Me declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things which have not been done, saying, 'My purpose will be established, and I will accomplish all My good pleasure.'" So again, the people are seeing all these things. They're amazed at what is happening.

Now, back to the context here for Zacharias' praise in verse 59, "And it happened that on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child." Now someone would have been appointed to do the circumcision. Many times the father was trained to do this, but often they had someone appointed. And according to later Jewish tradition, there had to be at least 10 people that would witness the circumcision to affirm the procedure. And this was probably true in the case with John the Baptist's circumcision because we see the people are wanting to help name the child. I want to pause for a moment and as a footnote here and remind you of what circumcision is all about, because many times Christians are confused on this. Circumcision was one of the laws that God gave his people Israel through Moses. You read about it in Genesis, 17 and Leviticus 12. For example. Leviticus 12 three, "On the eighth day, the flesh of the foreskin shall be circumcised." There's really three reasons for circumcision. The first one, in that day, was one of hygiene in an era of history when they did not practice good hygiene, nor did they understand the dangers of bacteria and infection that could be passed on to a woman from a male, etc. Circumcision would greatly reduce the risk of any potential disease, and because of this, historically, Jewish women have had the lowest rates of cervical cancer and other sexually transmitted diseases than any other people group. So it helped perpetuate the Jewish people, who have been the most hated ethnic group in the history of the world. You could add the persecution of all other people combined, and it won't come close to the hatred of Jewish people.

It was also, secondly, the sign of the Abrahamic covenant. You see this, for example, in Genesis, 17 verse 10, the removal of the flesh was a mark of Israel's national identity. It was a visual quote, "sign of the covenant" (Genesis 17:11). And the permanency of the physical mark itself really demonstrated the perpetuity of the covenant. And then finally, it was a spiritual object lesson, I like the way John MacArthur put it, quote, "It graphically illustrated man's need for cleansing from the depravity of sin, which is passed on to each succeeding generation through procreation." End quote. And of course, it also implied a man's commitment to God and commitment to the covenant people, and it symbolized the renouncement of pagan values and of self will. That's why in Deuteronomy 10, verse 16, we read, "So circumcise your heart and stiffen your neck no longer."

Now let's go back to the text; verse 59, "And it happened that on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to call him Zacharias, after his father." Now, it's very rare in ancient Judaism that a child would be named after his father. Very, very rare, occasionally a grandfather. But this was probably motivated by the supernatural, the mysterious events associated with Zacharias, and somehow, they maybe wanted to honor him by naming the child after him. And so the neighbors and the family members, who were probably witnesses of the circumcision, have all gathered around now, and they want to help name the child. I was smiling. We've got a great grandson about to be born pretty soon, and we're just like everybody else. We're all sitting around coming up with names for the child. Don't we all do that?  And some of the names that we have are rather funny, but...and of course, opinions are like noses, everybody has one. And so this is what was going on then.

In verse 60, "But his mother answered and said, 'No indeed.'" Now in the original language, this is real strong. I mean, this is a very terse, a very abrupt reply. I mean, this is a non-negotiable. "No indeed," we might, in our vernacular, we might say "absolutely not, no way Jose" or whatever. All right; you get the idea. "But he shall be called John." "Iōannēs" in Greek, the Greek form of the Hebrew named "Yochanan", which means "God is gracious." His name is John; Mama has spoken right now. Why so adamant? Well, she knew that this is what God said to name him, all right? So this is a non-negotiable thing; and it's a fitting name, because John the Baptist's proclamation of the Messiah was a gracious thing, a gracious offer of salvation of all who would come to Jesus in repentant faith. So John was a very appropriate name. God is gracious.

Now bear in mind Elizabeth's vehement insistence on naming the child John was contrary to Jewish tradition. And so it's like, whoa, whoa, whoa, wait a minute here, you're going against our cultural norms here. That's why, in verse 61 it says, "And they said to her, 'There is no one among your relatives who is called by that name.'" So the group's given a little pushback here to mama. You know, really, what are you doing here? So they appeal to a higher authority - the father. Verse 62, "And they made signs to his father, as to what he wanted him called." Now, evidently, Zacharias had been not only mute, but deaf for nine months, and so they're trying to communicate with Zach with all manner of signs. I mean, you can envision kind of a group charades, you know, everybody's trying to do something. I can just see, and I'm sure Elizabeth sitting over there shaking her head, you know, doing this number, and somehow Zach gets the message and he comes to his wife's aid. And as I try to visualize this, he may have gotten what my dad called the "old evil eye," where Elizabeth's looking at him. You know how you get one eye kind of shut and other eyes looking, head maybe gets down. And, I mean, we all as husbands, know that look, right? I mean, and I thank God for that look, because many times that's bailed me out of a real jam when I'm running my mouth and I need to shut up or whatever. So anyway, I'm sure he probably looked at Elizabeth and she's looking at him with the eye, so he asked for a tablet, "pinakidion" in the original language. And what that is, is was just a wooden wax covered writing tablet, and they would have a stylus, and they would impress on that, on that wax, what they wanted to write. So he asked for a tablet and he wrote as follows, "'His name is John.'" And they were all astonished." So it's like, okay, this is the end of the discussion here. And I would imagine Zacharias, I can't wait to talk to him some days, like, what were you thinking when that happened? You know, I think he would probably say, I can see Gabriel looking me in the face and telling me what God wanted me to name him. So, yeah, his name's John. Okay, John, "Jehovah is gracious." And again, a very fitting name, because the Messiah is going to come. He's going to seek and he's going to save the lost. He's going to call them to repent, to turn away from their sinful lives and to trust in Christ and to therefore be delivered from the kingdom of darkness, to serve the Lord in the kingdom of light and enter into His kingdom and so forth.

And then look what happens now in verse 64, "And at once," it could be translated, "and immediately", "...his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed as he began to speak in praise of God." I have to marvel at the power of God to do these things. For nine months he's unable to speak. I mean, think about that. But now the flood gates of his heart are suddenly opened, and it unleashes this torrent of astounding information; and what we have here in the text is only part of what he said. I'm sure he had their undivided attention as he began to explain to them all the things that had happened to him, beginning with his encounter with Gabriel. And notice what happens in verse 65, "Fear came on all those living around them; and all these matters were being talked about in the hill country of Judea." I would imagine they were saying something like this, “If this is the forerunner of the Messiah, do you realize what that means? The Messiah is about to appear. He is therefore about to free us from Rome. He's about to establish the long-promised kingdom." Oh, they're excited. The anticipation, the excitement was just electric.

Verse 66, "All who heard them kept them in mind, saying, 'What then will this child turn out to be?' For the hand of the Lord was certainly with him." It's a commonly used phrase, "the hand of the Lord" was with someone. It refers to the presence of God's power is going to be manifested in and through this particular individual. And certainly, that proved to be the case with John. John was the special object of God's tender care. He guided him, he directed his life and his ministry. In fact, in Matthew 11:11, Jesus said of John the Baptist, "Truly, I say to you, among those born of women, there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptist. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.'"

So we've seen now the context for Zacharias' praise, this outburst of praise, and now with his voice miraculously recovered let's look, secondly, at the causes for his praise. And we won't be able to cover all of this today, but I want to get into it a little bit. Verse 67, "And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit." This means that the Spirit of God guided him, influenced him, illumined him to say what he probably wouldn't know to say were it not apart from the inspired words that came to him from the Holy Spirit, "he was filled with the Holy Spirit." And it says, "and prophesied." Now the term in the original language really has a double meaning. It means, first of all, a forth telling, but secondly, a foretelling. It means a forth telling - I'm referring to a proclamation of divine truth, a foretelling of what God would have him say. But secondly, a prediction, a foretelling. And so we begin to see this borne out in what follows. "His father, Zacharias, was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied saying, 'Blessed be the Lord God of Israel.'" Can't you just hear him shouting this? And this is why Zacharias' prophecy is often called "The Benedictus," because the first word of this hymn of praise in Latin, in the Latin version is Benedictus, "Benedictus dominus deus Israelis." In other words, "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel." Now what we're going to see is his doxology can be divided into two parts, and we're going to examine some of this today. The first part is going to be praise for God providing salvation for his people, which is in fulfillment of prophecy. Later, in verse 72 and three, he's going to talk about how that he's the one that remembers his holy covenant, the oath which he swore to Abraham our father; and he had believed these things. He had taught these things, in the Abrahamic covenant, for example. And now he's beginning to see movement toward the fulfillment of all that God had promised so many years ago. So this is part of what causes him to burst forth and praise.

But secondly, he's going to praise God for the mission of his son. Can you imagine if an angel comes to you and tells you that your son, whose name will be John, is going to be the forerunner of the Messiah? And of course, this is going to be consistent with other prophecies, as we see, for example, in Isaiah 40; we're going to see it in Malachi three, one and following and so forth, that we will examine on another occasion. And by the way, as we look at this, folks, I want you to bear in mind that that the implications of what he's praising God about includes what he has done for us, so we need to celebrate this with him. This isn't some unique event that just happened 2000 years ago. This has implication for each of us and were it not so that the Messiah came and did all that he did, we would remain forever in our sins, the curse of divine justice would leave us without hope. As I think about this, I'm reminded of sadly, as it goes through my mind, I've been at the deathbed of so many people, and when I encounter these people, they're either going to be filled with praise or with panic, praise or panic. Those that know Christ, they don't fear death. They're actually ready to go. Haven't you heard that with those that you know, loved ones? I can see it with my my mom, my dad, my sister, so many other people; but those without Christ, not so. It's panic, because they don't understand the gospel. They have never come to Christ in saving faith. So they are without hope. But not so obviously, Zacharias here. Again, verse 68 "'Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for He has visited us and accomplished redemption for His people.'"

Now, throughout the Old Testament, we see how God would ultimately deliver Israel and fulfill his covenants, and we see how God chose Israel, for example, and how he pursues them and pursues us for salvation, and how he even judged and blesses nations and national entities. And remember, Jesus told the Samaritan woman in John 4:22, "salvation is from the Jews." And Paul spoke of his kinsmen according to the flesh. Remember that in Romans nine and in verse four, he says, "...who are Israelites, to whom belongs the adoption as sons, and the glory of the covenants and the covenants and the giving of the Law and the temple service and the promises, whose are the fathers, and from whom is the Christ, according to the flesh, who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen." So indeed, Zacharias says here, "'Blessed be the Lord God of Israel.'" And we see in Scripture that through the nation Israel, God is going to restore fallen humanity. He is going to bring salvation and restoration to the world. And when Jesus returns, he's going to rule the nations from Israel and will bless the nations. So Zacharias, whose name, by the way, means "God remembers." I was going to say, remember that his name means God remembers, okay? Zacharias is remembering all of this, and he's celebrating this. He's celebrating the fact that God is faithful to his covenant promises to Israel, which ultimately spills over into we as Gentiles as well. All of this is consistent with the biblical covenants.

May I remind you that the Old Testament speaks of six covenants, the first three are non-salvific. In other words, they do not speak of eternal, spiritual salvation. The first one we have is the Noahic Covenant, the one that he gave to Noah in Genesis nine, which was the first covenant that God gave to man, promising that he would never again destroy the world with water; and a rainbow is the perpetual symbolic reminder of this covenant promise.

And then secondly, you have the Mosaic Covenant. You see it, for example, in Exodus 20 through 24; and the Sabbath was the sign of the Mosaic covenant, which is ultimately superseded by the New Covenant. That was the Law that God gave Moses at Sinai, all the cultural instructions of how they were to worship, how they were to live. It was a bilateral, conditional and nullifiable covenant; the blessings being contingent upon Israel's obedience to the Lord.

And then you also have the priestly covenant. You read about that in Numbers 25. There God promised a perpetual priesthood in the line of Phineas that would continue all the way through the millennium and that line would serve in the Lord's earthly millennial temple.

And then there are three covenants that relate to salvation. First you have the Abrahamic covenant, that is national as it designates God's promises to ethnic, national, territorial Israel. You read about it in Genesis 12, 15, 17, 18, 22; a promised seed line that would come from the loins of Abraham. A line that would produce, ultimately, the Messiah; that would bring salvation to the world, also a promised land for Israel, that would serve as the basis for God's earthly kingdom, rule and so forth. And so we see that Israel would be a microcosm of how God deals with individuals and how he deals with nations. And remember, he judged Israel as he judges other nations for their rebellion against him. And in many ways, that is still happening. And Israel is therefore more than just a lesser type that is surpassed or superseded by the church. I do not believe that God's promises made to Israel in the Old Testament are still valid. He has not permanently disenfranchised Israel. The material promises that he gave to Israel are not merely spiritual promises given to the church - the Old Testament scriptures, the prophecies - were not written for the church, but for God's covenant people, Israel. And this is at the heart of Zacharias' praise. This is what ignites him and what animates him. God meant what he said in the Old Testament.

And then you also have the Davidic Covenant. We read about this in Second Samuel, and it's labeled a covenant in Second Samuel 23, verse five. You can read about it more in Psalm 89 and other passages; and that's where there is a promise of an eternal rule of Jesus Christ over all the earth.

And then finally, you have the New Covenant. You see that in Jeremiah 31 and in Ezekiel 36, you read about it in First Corinthians 11:25, where Jesus said that "This cup is the new covenant in my blood," and that guarantees the eventual fulfillment of all the other covenants. If they weren't for the New Covenant, none of the others could ever be fulfilled. And there, God promises to enable his people to love him and to serve him by means of a new heart; a radical change by the power of the Spirit that will indwell them. And these covenants provide the skeleton, you might say, upon which the flesh and blood of God's plans and his purposes must reside.

And I must add too, that because salvation is from the Jews, (John 4:22),  they have always been Satan's target, and they will continue to be, and we see how Satan and his minions continue to conduct a campaign of deception and violence against them to prevent God from fulfilling his covenant promises, which certainly include the salvation of individual sinners, but also the salvation and the restoration of ethnicities, of nations, of societies, and ultimately, the healing of creation. You see all of that in the New Covenant promises; all of these being emphases in the story line of the Bible.

Now back to Zacharias' praise. Mind you, he was aware of all of these things, all right? And again, in verse 68, "'Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for He has visited us.'" The term means he has looked upon us. He has shown compassion and concern towards us. He has intervened in the affairs of our lives. He has visited us and accomplished redemption for his people. We just sang that song, didn't we? "Redeemed how I love to proclaim it." The Greek term "lytrōsis" is the word for redemption, and the term speaks of the payment of a price to purchase someone's release from bondage. And think about this: because of our redemption, we have been released from the bondage of the curse of the law and condemnation. Galatians 3:13 speaks of that. We've been released from the bondage of our slavery to sin. Jesus said in John 8:34, "'Truly, truly I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin.'" And I deal with this as a pastor on a routine basis every week. It can be wearying, to say the least; people ruled by their lusts, ruled by their emotions, enslaved by their addictions and false teaching. They're not ruled by the indwelling Spirit, and many of them are believers who have quenched the Spirit because of sin in their life that they continue to practice. But most of them are Christian in name only. They truly don't belong to Christ, therefore, they do not have the Spirit of God to help restrain sin within them. The only means of restraint is the new birth, the miracle of regeneration that is wrought within our soul by the power of the indwelling Spirit. Romans six, Paul speaks of this in verse six, and following he talks about our, "...old self was crucified with Him in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin, for he who has died is freed from sin."  Moreover, we have been released from the bondage of the influence of wicked people; and we all have to endure this constantly. First Corinthians 7:23, we read, "You were bought with a price; do not become slaves of men."

Also, we've been released from the powerful influence of the doctrines of demons that promote false ideologies, false religions. Galatians 4:3 says, "...while we were children," referring to while we were we hadn't come to age yet in terms of saving faith in Christ, "...while we were children, we were held in bondage under the elemental things of the world." That is, the rudimentary, the childish, the silly teachings of the world; and you read so many of the teachings of false religions, and they're absolutely idiotic. Have you ever read the Koran? Absolutely silly. We've been released from Satan's ability to terrorize us from the fear of death. Hebrews 2, beginning in verse 14, "Since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives."

Now what is the purchase price to redeem the elect of God? Well, it is the substitutionary sacrificial death of the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul speaks of this in Romans three, verse 24 and following that, we are, "...being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith." Propitiation - the satisfaction, the placation of divine wrath - through his blood. Hebrews nine and verse 12, "...not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption." I might add that redemption is what ignited Anna's heart to worship. Remember, she was the 84-year-old widow who never left the temple after her husband died. Luke 2:37, says she served "night and day with fastings and prayers." Then in verse 38 when she sees the infant Jesus, we read this, "At that very moment she came up and began giving thanks to God and continued to speak of Him to all those who were looking for," catch it, "...the redemption of Jerusalem." John MacArthur said it so well, "The great miracle of redemption is not that we accept Christ, but that He accepts us." No wonder, in verse 68 Zacharias says, "'Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for He has visited us and accomplished redemption for His people, and has raised up,” verse 69, "a horn of salvation for us in the house of David His servant.'"

Now in Scripture, and I won't take you...there's so many passages, but the idea of a horn symbolizes power, especially destructive power. And the figure of a horn is seen in the Horn of a ram, a wild ox, water buffalo, rhinos, bulls, etc. And here the inspired prophet speaks of God, who, quote, ".... has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of David His servant." In other words, through God's faithfulness to his covenant promises; he has provided redemption. He has overpowered and scattered all of the spiritual enemies of his people that would keep them enslaved to sin and under the curse of the Law, Satan and the world and our sinful flesh. So indeed, he has raised up; it could be translated, "brought into being" or "caused to arise." "He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of David His servant." And of course, this harkens back to God's Word, to Jeremiah concerning the coming Messiah, the Lord Jesus. In Jeremiah 23 verse five, we read, "Behold the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous branch, and He will reign as king and act wisely and do justice and righteousness in the land." Likewise in Psalm 132, verse 17, "I will cause the horn of David to spring forth." Same thing - "...to spring forth; I have prepared a lamp for Mine anointed. His enemies I will clothe with shame, but upon himself, his crown shall shine." And all of this, beloved, is anchored in God's irrevocable, unconditional covenant promise to David and his household, as you read in Second Samuel seven, for example, along with about 40 other passages directly related to God's promise to David; promises concerning the future Davidic kingdom on earth ruled by the Messiah.  Again, Psalm 89 speaks of this; Isaiah 65 goes into great detail. And all of this, again, is fueling Zacharias' anthem of praise, as it should each of us and my how I long for the day when the Lord comes and when he establishes his kingdom.

Yes indeed, verse 69, he, "'...has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of David His servant--as He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from of old-- salvation, from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us.'" Now bear in mind that the Jewish people languished under Roman rule in that day - the day of Messiah's arrival - and they've been persecuted ever since. And this is going to get worse before it gets better. They still await the great outpouring of God's judgment in Daniel's 70th week, predicted in Daniel 9:24

"Seventy weeks have been decreed for your people and your holy city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sin, to make atonement for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy place."

Mind you now, these are the kinds of things that would animate the heart of this priest, as they should each of us. There are six objectives that have to be accomplished in that 490 years, those 70 weeks of 70 sevens of years. The first three deal with negative realities that have to be eradicated, namely, man's global rebellion against the Most High God. So the goal is to deal with sin and Satan which were ultimately defeated at the cross. Notice the judgment includes, first of all, to finish or to restrain the transgression - that is the violation of God's law, the revolting against God's authority - specifically referring to Israel's unrelenting and unrestrained rebellion against God that continues for the most part, even to this day. And then he uses nuances of terms and repetition and parallel clauses.

The second objective is to make an end of sin, which is a more general term for ending all wrongs, to seal it up that it might be concealed; to judge it with finality. Hebrews 9:26, "But now, once at the consummation of the ages, He has been manifested to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself." And then you have the magnificent climax in verse three, "...to make atonement for iniquity." Atonement - "kāp̄ar" - to cover by means of an expiatory sacrifice, to make a covering, to provide a moral or legal payment for a fault or an injury. And through progressive revelation, the death of Christ is pictured and foreshadowed in Old Testament types and symbols. You see the goats of skin in Genesis three, the animal offering of Abel. In Genesis four, the offering of Isaac by Abraham in Genesis 22. Of course, the Old Testament sacrificial system beginning in Leviticus 17, the brazen serpent erected by Moses in Numbers 21, the Passover lamb in Exodus 12. And remember the atonement that had to be accomplished, and ultimately through Christ, required two things: satisfaction and substitution. There had to be satisfaction for the offended holiness of God that had to be accomplished by an acceptable substitute; an innocent life had to be given for the guilty one who offended God's perfect holiness. And this is the only way God can forgive sin and still maintain his holiness.

And with these accomplished, the way is then paved for the second three positive objectives of the 490 years of judgment that awaits, and that is number one: to bring in everlasting righteousness. You see the removal of sin on the cross made this possible, and this will be appropriated by Israel as a nation when Christ returns. Jeremiah 23, verse five,

 "Behold, 'The days are coming,' declares the LORD, when I will raise up for David, a righteous Branch; and He will reign as king and act wisely and do justice and righteousness in the land.

"'In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely; and this is His name by which He will be called, the LORD our righteousness.'"

And the final two objectives is to "seal up vision and prophecy" - that is to hide from view and demonstrate that its functions are over; the idea of Revelation - it's over now; prophecy, the message of the prophets. And then finally, "to anoint," which means to officially inaugurate in public ministry the Most Holy Place which can be translated, the Holy of Holies. And of course, this underscores the profound importance of the millennial temple that God will raise up. Of course, prior to this time, you have the Great Tribulation. The Antichrist is going to desecrate a temple that is going to be built; you can read this in Matthew 24, Second Thessalonians 2:4, Revelation 13:15. But when the Messiah King returns, obviously that will be destroyed, and a new temple will be built. And according to Ezekiel 43:4, the glory of the Lord will come, "...into the house by the way of the gate, facing toward the east."

Well, friends, Zacharias is anticipating all of this, and he now sees that it's beginning to get into motion, because of his son that is about to be born, or is born, and he's experienced God's direct intervention in his life, and so naturally, there is an outburst of praise. and I close with a thought that comes from a hymn that we used to sing, if I will take just a moment. Nancy and I were thinking about this this morning, perhaps we can sing it, but certainly given all of these things, it helps us see that we have a responsibility to live lives that are honoring to the Lord, Amen.

Take my life and let it be
consecrated, Lord, to thee.
Take my moments and my days;
let them flow in endless praise,

Take my hands and let them move
at the impulse of thy love.
Take my feet and let them be
swift and beautiful for thee,

Take my voice and let me sing
always, only, for my King.
Take my lips and let them be
filled with messages from thee,

Take my silver and my gold;
not a mite would I withhold.
Take my intellect and use
every power as thou shalt choose,

Take my will and make it thine;
it shall be no longer mine.
Take my heart it is thine own;
it shall be thy royal throne,

Take my love; my Lord, I pour
at thy feet its treasure store.
Take myself, and I will be
ever, only, all for thee,

Let's pray together,

Father, may this be the cry of our heart, the passion of our life. May we live in such a way that others can see the transforming power of the gospel in us, and may we, with Zacharias, celebrate the realities of you being faithful to fulfill all that you have promised in your word. O Lord, we are so excited to know that you are in control, and you are coming again to take us unto yourself. And finally, Lord, if there be one here today that knows nothing of what it means to be reconciled to you as a holy God, that they are still in their sins, that they still live for themselves, Father, I pray that you will overwhelm them with such conviction that they will run to the foot of the cross and bow down before you in repentant faith and be saved. We commit that to you. We beg of you to do this, especially for those that we love. So Lord, we commit ourselves to you, and we thank you for all these things and for the hope that is ours in Christ, and it's in his name that I pray. Amen.