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| 1 Seeing that many did take in hand to set in order a narration of the matters that have been fully assured among us, |
Forasmuch – It would have been easy for dishonest men to have omitted these introductory words and have given the gospel the name of James, Paul, Andrew, Peter, or Nathaniel. R2816:4
Believed among us – Among us primitive Christians. R2816:3
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| 2 as they did deliver to us, who from the beginning became eye-witnesses, and officers of the Word, |
Even as they – The apostles. R2816:3
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| 3 it seemed good also to me, having followed from the first after all things exactly, to write to thee in order, most noble Theophilus, |
To me – Luke, a physician. R2924:1
To write – The transition from oral to written teaching was gradual. R434:5*
Most excellent Theophilus – A friend, supposed to have been a person of considerable dignity and influence. R2924:1
Comparing this with Acts 1:1, we see that Luke is the author of that book as well. R5829:1
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| 4 that thou mayest know the certainty of the things wherein thou wast instructed. |
That thou mightest know – The oral word being committed to writing by apostles and evangelists, and accredited publicly by the churches in the lifetime of the writers. R434:5*
The certainty – The unerring certainty. R434:5*
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| 5 There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest, by name Zacharias, of the course of Abijah, and his wife of the daughters of Aaron, and her name Elisabeth; |
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| 6 and they were both righteous before God, going on in all the commands and righteousnesses of the Lord blameless, |
Both righteous – John was given them in answer to prayer. R1671:6
The preparation for John's ministry began before he was born, in the hearts of his parents. R1915:3
The "chosen vessel" is always a prepared vessel and this preparation from God begins long before the chosen one knows of it. R1915:6
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| 7 and they had no child, because that Elisabeth was barren, and both were advanced in their days. |
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| 8 And it came to pass, in his acting as priest, in the order of his course before God, |
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| 9 according to the custom of the priesthood, his lot was to make perfume, having gone into the sanctuary of the Lord, |
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| 10 and all the multitude of the people were praying without, at the hour of the perfume. |
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| 11 And there appeared to him a messenger of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of the perfume, |
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| 12 and Zacharias, having seen, was troubled, and fear fell on him; |
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| 13 and the messenger said unto him, 'Fear not, Zacharias, for thy supplication was heard, and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear a son to thee, and thou shalt call his name John, |
John – The Redeemer's forerunner and herald. R4940:4, 4939:2; B253; CR400:2
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| 14 and there shall be joy to thee, and gladness, and many at his birth shall joy, |
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| 15 for he shall be great before the Lord, and wine and strong drink he may not drink, and of the Holy Spirit he shall be full, even from his mother's womb; |
Shall be great – Because of favorable prenatal conditions. R1671:3, 1916:1
Most highly honored of all the prophets in that he was chosen to introduce the Son of God to Israel and the world. R1916:4
He was a great man, preacher and prophet; great in the sense that he that ruleth his own spirit, according to divine principles, is greater than he that taketh a city. (Prov. 16:32) R1916:1
At maturity he was ready for the work of introducing to Israel the long-promised Messiah. R1916:1
"He that is greatest among you, let him be as ...he that doth serve." ( Luke 22:26) R1916:5
Patiently submit to the humbling now, and joyfully wait for the glory by and by. R1916:5
Sight of the Lord – Because meek and lowly of heart. R1916:2
But not in the eyes of man; never a guest in the palace of Herod, but a prisoner; no orator, but a "voice crying in the wilderness" (Isa. 40:3); not arrayed in purples, but in camels' hair. R1916:1
The great ones of earth have passed away; they have all come to naught, and in the Millennial judgment they will come forth to shame and confusion of face. R1916:4
Wine – From Greek, oinos, grape wine, which always intoxicates when used to excess. R509:4
Filled with the Holy Spirit – God's power began to operate upon him at his birth, and even before. CR400:2
After the same manner that the other prophets throughout the Jewish age had been under that holy Spirit. R2562:3
We must not understand this to mean that he was begotten of the holy Spirit, in the sense that Christians are begotten of it. R2562:3
From his mother's womb – The Scriptures make plain the fact that children may and should be consecrated to the Lord by their parents before their birth, or even their begetting; so that the little one may ratify the covenant of consecration at a tender age. R1671:3
His prenatal influences were such that, from his birth, his heart was inclined toward God and holiness. R1916:1
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| 16 and many of the sons of Israel he shall turn to the Lord their God, |
Shall he turn – Restore harmony between Israel and "the fathers", the patriarchs, etc. R557:4
Representing that the world shall come into a condition of harmony and peace with God. R557:4
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| 17 and he shall go before Him, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn hearts of fathers unto children, and disobedient ones to the wisdom of righteous ones, to make ready for the Lord, a people prepared.' |
Shall go before him – Jesus. R556:6
In the spirit – John the Baptist was not actually Elijah returned to earth, neither is the Church. B253
We know positively that John was not Elijah for we have his own testimony on the subject. "And they asked him, Art thou Elijah? And he said, I am not." (John 1:21) Q772:4, 817:2
And power of Elias – An uncompromising and fearless spirit, backed by the power of divine truth. R1379:2
Doing an Elijah work for fleshly Israel, introducing Christ in the flesh. B253
All who have this spirit and the power of present truth concerning the Kingdom and Christ's presence, constitute the Elias. R1379:2
As the man Christ Jesus was introduced by the man John doing an Elijah work, so the glorious Christ must be preceded by a great Elijah, making ready for the second advent. R2839:1
The Elijah class will now call attention to the present Christ. R557:2
Elijah and John represented the true and faithful witnesses of this Gospel age. R557:2
John the Baptist stood for, or represented, a multitudinous Elijah, as Jesus stood for, or represented, a multitudinous Christ. R557:1
"If ye will receive it, this is the Elias." (Matt. 11:14) R1379:1
To turn the hearts – To prepare the way of Messiah by performing a reformation work in preaching repentance and baptism for the remission of sins and declaring the Kingdom of heaven at hand. Q772:4
John's work as Elijah did not fail because of his own lack of faith, but because of the Jews' unreadiness of heart to be influenced by him. R2838:6
To the wisdom – In a word, to restore harmony between Israel and the "fathers," the patriarchs, and, in a fuller sense, the world whom Israel typified shall come into a condition of harmony with God, similar to that of the "fathers." R557:4
As a forerunner or introducer. R2838:6
Make ready a people – Preparing the way for the reign of the glorified Church and its glorious head, by making ready a people prepared, the Little Flock. R557:2
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| 18 And Zacharias said unto the messenger, 'Whereby shall I know this for I am aged, and my wife is advanced in her days ' |
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| 19 And the messenger answering said to him, 'I am Gabriel, who have been standing near before God, and I was sent to speak unto thee, and to proclaim these good news to thee, |
Gabriel – One of the most honored angels, but inferior to Michael. R490:5
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| 20 and lo, thou shalt be silent, and not able to speak, till the day that these things shall come to pass, because thou didst not believe my words, that shall be fulfilled in their season.' |
Thou shalt be dumb – If Zacharias' faith was tested, it was found strong, and was assisted by his nine-month experience of dumbness. R4940:4
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| 21 And the people were waiting for Zacharias, and wondering at his tarrying in the sanctuary, |
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| 22 and having come out, he was not able to speak to them, and they perceived that a vision he had seen in the sanctuary, and he was beckoning to them, and did remain dumb. |
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| 23 And it came to pass, when the days of his service were fulfilled, he went away to his house, |
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| 24 and after those days, his wife Elisabeth conceived, and hid herself five months, saying |
Elizabeth conceived – As, in the cases of Sarah (Gen. 18:9-14), Hannah (1 Sam. 1:5-27) and the Shunamite (2 Kings 4:14-17), the miraculous interposition of divine power quickened the natural forces where they had been dormant, inoperative or entirely suspended. R560:6*
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| 25 'Thus hath the Lord done to me, in days in which He looked upon [me], to take away my reproach among men.' |
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| 26 And in the sixth month was the messenger Gabriel sent by God, to a city of Galilee, the name of which [is] Nazareth, |
In the sixth month – Probably on Christmas day of the year 3 BC. B62
Gabriel was sent – The chiefest messenger remaining in the courts of glory. R490:5
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| 27 to a virgin, betrothed to a man, whose name [is] Joseph, of the house of David, and the name of the virgin [is] Mary. |
Virgin – This child was specially begotten by divine power though Mary was still a virgin when she brought forth the child. R4964:1
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| 28 And the messenger having come in unto her, said, 'Hail, favoured one, the Lord [is] with thee; blessed [art] thou among women;' |
The angel came in – Christmas day is more properly the annunciation day, or the date of his human begetting. R3468:2, 3114:3, 2558:4; B61
Blessed art thou – The fact that Mary was honored by the Lord above all other women, in that she was chosen to be the mother of Jesus according to the flesh, would prove her nobility of character and purity of heart. R2558:3
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| 29 and she, having seen, was troubled at his word, and was reasoning of what kind this salutation may be. |
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| 30 And the messenger said to her, 'Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found favour with God; |
Fear not – Not fearing reproach from Joseph or the world. E102
Found favor – Mary was full of faith and the joy of the Lord, to be an instrument in his plan. E102
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| 31 and lo, thou shalt conceive in the womb, and shalt bring forth a son, and call his name Jesus; |
Jesus – Signifies Savior, or Liberator--"For he shall save his people from their sins." (Matt. 1:21) R1006:1, 270:2, 134:2
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| 32 he shall be great, and Son of the Highest he shall be called, and the Lord God shall give him the throne of David his father, |
He shall be great – Naturally sustaining the misconception of the character of the first advent. This was the Messiah they were looking for, not "a man of sorrows." (Isa. 53:3) Yet he taught, by precept and example: "He that would be great, let him be the servant of all." (Mark 10:43,44) HG72:1
Son of the Highest – Fulfilling the predictions respecting the Messiah; the long-promised seed of Abraham. R5157:2, 5300:5
The title of the Son of God officially applied to the man Christ Jesus before his birth, and this title he constantly approved. NS256:6
And the Lord God – The whole gospel dispensation comes between the beginning and ending of this text. HG52:5
Throne of his father – Christ Jesus is the promised scion of David's house, the heir of his throne, referring to the dignity, power and authority of office which David exercised. C257
Not needful that he should have a human father of the Davidic line. The principle of inherited royalty through a mother is illustrated in the current (1883) heir apparent to the throne of Great Britain, the Prince of Wales, not through his father, but through his mother, the queen. R453:1
In Jewish genealogies it was customary to reckon lineage through either parent. R453:1
The throne of David is the emblem, or symbol, of David's reign, or kingdom; and David's reign, or kingdom, is a type, or figure, or shadow, of the reign, or Kingdom, of David's Son and Lord. R1283:1*
David – The throne of David is the symbol of David's reign; a type of the Kingdom of David's Son and Lord. R1283:1, 1063:1
The long-promised King of David's line, the Messiah. PD65/77; SM210:2; C257; E130, E133
Also called the "seed of Abraham" (Gal. 3:16; Rom. 4:13) and the "seed of the woman [Eve]." (Gen. 3:15) R1063:1*
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| 33 and he shall reign over the house of Jacob to the ages; and of his reign there shall be no end.' |
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| 34 And Mary said unto the messenger, 'How shall this be, seeing a husband I do not know ' |
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| 35 And the messenger answering said to her, 'The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee, therefore also the holy-begotten thing shall be called Son of God; |
The Holy Spirit – Jesus was begotten, not by Joseph, but by the holy Spirit. R3291:2, 4964:1, 432:4, 84:3
Come upon thee – The narrative of Jesus' miraculous conception has the very best and oldest Greek MSS. to support it--the Sinaitic, Vatican and Alexandrian in Luke; though the account is missing in Matthew--not omitted. R434:4
The life principle by which Jesus was conceived came directly from the Heavenly Father. R5064:3, 1031:1*, 432:4
That holy thing – "Holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners." (Heb. 7:26) E95; R5748:2, 3710:3, 3291:6, 776:1, 453:1, 432:4
Holy, because his life did not come from Adam, the contaminated fountain. E103; R777:1,5, 432:4
He knew no sin, while all other men are sinners by nature. (2 Cor. 5:21; Rom. 5:18; 1 Pet. 2:22) R776:2
He partook of the human nature without its condemnation. R1247:5
He did not partake of the condemned or forfeited life of Adam through Joseph, but of a life as directly from God as was the first Adam's; an unforfeited life which he could give for the life of Adam and all who died in him. R432:4*, 316:1*
His life came directly from heaven (Heb. 1:5) and he was therefore, though human, yet free, both from Adamic sin and its penalty, death. R1031:1*, 997:6
The only obstacle to the generation of a perfect man is the lack of a perfect father to give a perfect life-germ. In the case of Jesus a perfect life-germ was transferred by divine power from a pre-existent condition to the embryo human condition. R777:1; E103
If we can have a perfect life germ we can have a perfect child from an imperfect mother. If a breeder of stock wishes to raise the standard of his stock, he selects a fine bull, and thus improves his entire herd. And so, if we had perfect fathers, we would soon have a perfect race. R4964:1
What was needed was not merely a sacrifice for sins, but a sinless sacrifice, which would thus pay the sinner's penalty. E96
Our Lord was unlike sinners in respect to sin, imperfection; but like them in the sense of having their same nature or flesh--he, in its perfection; they, in various degrees of imperfection through sin. R997:6
Born of thee – Though retaining perfection, he partook of the nature of his mother. R777:5, 1247:5
He was the seed of the woman (Gen. 3:15), and not the seed of man. His very nature was perfectly holy, unlike our nature. R84:3*
Though life or being comes from the father, form and nature come from the mother. E103
Illustrated by the improper union between the "daughters of men" (Gen. 6:2) and those angels which kept not their proper estate or condition. The wonderful offspring were born of imperfect, dying mothers, but begotten by vigorous, unimpaired fathers. E103
The Son of God – He became man, and was a Son of God; as Adam was a son of God. R316:1*
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| 36 and lo, Elisabeth, thy kinswoman, she also hath conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month to her who was called barren; |
The sixth month – John the Baptist was six months older than our Lord and began to preach six months before our Lord became of age and began his ministry. B58
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| 37 because nothing shall be impossible with God.' |
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| 38 And Mary said, 'Lo, the maid-servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to thy saying,' and the messenger went away from her. |
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| 39 And Mary having arisen in those days, went to the hill-country, with haste, to a city of Judea, |
A city of Judah – Ain-Karim, marked by tradition as the birthplace of John the Baptist. R1381:6
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| 40 and entered into the house of Zacharias, and saluted Elisabeth. |
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| 41 And it came to pass, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe did leap in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, |
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| 42 and spake out with a loud voice, and said, 'Blessed [art] thou among women, and blessed [is] the fruit of thy womb; |
Blessed art thou – The hope to be the mother of the long promised "seed of the woman" (Gen. 3:15) seems to have filled the heart of Eve's daughters through the line of the family of godly Seth, all the way down to and including Mary. R1175:3
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| 43 and whence [is] this to me, that the mother of my Lord might come unto me |
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| 44 for, lo, when the voice of thy salutation came to my ears, leap in gladness did the babe in my womb; |
The babe leaped – "Filled with the holy Spirit even from his mother's womb." ( Luke 1:15) R1671:6
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| 45 and happy [is] she who did believe, for there shall be a completion to the things spoken to her from the Lord.' |
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| 46 And Mary said, 'My soul doth magnify the Lord, |
And Mary said – Compare the language and sentiment of her poetic-prayer-prophecy with that of Hannah in 1 Sam. 2:1-10. R1813:2
My soul – Being; life and body combined. R205:1
Magnify the Lord – Not fearing the reproaches of Joseph or others. E103
The mind of Jesus' mother, instead of being antagonistic to his perfect development, cooperated to that result. E103
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| 47 And my spirit was glad on God my Saviour, |
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| 48 Because He looked on the lowliness of His maid-servant, For, lo, henceforth call me happy shall all the generations, |
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| 49 For He who is mighty did to me great things, And holy [is] His name, |
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| 50 And His kindness [is] to generations of generations, To those fearing Him, |
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| 51 He did powerfully with His arm, He scattered abroad the proud in the thought of their heart, |
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| 52 He brought down the mighty from thrones, And He exalted the lowly, |
Put down the mighty – Solomon's line; from being Messiah's ancestors. E133
Exalted – The crown and diadem were removed from Zedekiah, and from the line of Solomon, to be given to him whose right it is--the Righteous Branch of the Davidic root. E133
Them of low degree – Nathan's line. E133
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| 53 The hungry He did fill with good, And the rich He sent away empty, |
Filled the hungry – Referring to the restitution blessings to be granted to all the meek of the earth through the Millennial reign of Christ. R1754:6
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| 54 He received again Israel His servant, To remember kindness, |
His servant Israel – The whole twelve tribes. C293; R1341:1
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| 55 As He spake unto our fathers, To Abraham and to his seed to the age.' |
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| 56 And Mary remained with her about three months, and turned back to her house. |
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| 57 And to Elisabeth was the time fulfilled for her bringing forth, and she bare a son, |
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| 58 and the neighbours and her kindred heard that the Lord was making His kindness great with her, and they were rejoicing with her. |
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| 59 And it came to pass, on the eighth day, they came to circumcise the child, and they were calling him by the name of his father, Zacharias, |
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| 60 and his mother answering said, 'No, but he shall be called John.' |
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| 61 And they said unto her 'There is none among thy kindred who is called by this name,' |
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| 62 and they were making signs to his father, what he would wish him to be called, |
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| 63 and having asked for a tablet, he wrote, saying, 'John is his name;' and they did all wonder;
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John – Signifying, "the favor of God." R4940:2
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| 64 and his mouth was opened presently, and his tongue, and he was speaking, praising God. |
His tongue loosed – His faith had been helped. He had triumphed over all doubts and manifested this by giving him the name mentioned by Gabriel. R4940:2
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| 65 And fear came upon all those dwelling around them, and in all the hill-country of Judea were all these sayings spoken of, |
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| 66 and all who heard did lay them up in their hearts, saying, 'What then shall this child be ' and the hand of the Lord was with him. |
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| 67 And Zacharias his father was filled with the Holy Spirit, and did prophesy, saying, |
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| 68 'Blessed [is] the Lord, the God of Israel, Because He did look upon, And wrought redemption for His people, |
Blessed be the Lord – Praise to God, the Fountain of every good and perfect gift, comes first. R4940:3
In verses 68 to 70, of this prophecy praise to God comes first. R4940:3
God of Israel – The whole twelve tribes. C293; R1341:1
He hath visited – After the usual manner of prophecies, the thing about to be accomplished is spoken of as though it had been done. R4940:3
In fulfillment of his gracious promises of old. R4940:3
Redeemed his people – Greek, poieolutrosin, to make a loosing, i.e., to set at liberty, to deliver, occurring only once. Literally, wrought redemption for his people. E433
This word should not have been translated redeemed but rather delivered, as a guard against confusion of thought by the English readers. E433
Things not completed are here mentioned as though they had been accomplished: the first step toward Israel's deliverance had been taken, and it was spoken of joyously as though the entire matter were already accomplished. E433
Applies not only to the redeeming work accomplished by Jesus at baptism, but is comprehensive enough to take in the entire work of reclaiming humanity. R4940:5
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| 69 And did raise an horn of salvation to us, In the house of David His servant, |
Raised up an horn – Symbol of power. T42
The begetting of Jesus had already taken place. The holy Spirit spoke of the things begun, but not yet accomplished, as though finished. R4940:5
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| 70 As He spake by the mouth of His holy prophets, Which have been from the age; |
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| 71 Salvation from our enemies, And out of the hand of all hating us, |
We should be saved – Verses 71 to 75, relate to the deliverance of God's people from the power of their enemies. R4940:5
None but God's people will ever be delivered from the enemies here referred to. R4940:5
From our enemies – Enemies through wicked works, blinded by the god of this world. R4940:6
Satan is an enemy. Sin is an enemy. And "the last enemy that shall be destroyed is death." (1 Cor. 15:26) R4940:6
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| 72 To do kindness with our fathers, And to be mindful of His holy covenant, |
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| 73 An oath that He sware to Abraham our father, |
The oath – The church are the children of the oath, the Abrahamic Covenant. R5300:5
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| 74 To give to us, without fear, Out of the hand of our enemies having been delivered, |
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| 75 To serve Him, in holiness and righteousness Before Him, all the days of our life. |
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| 76 And thou, child, Prophet of the Highest Shalt thou be called; For thou shalt go before the face of the Lord, To prepare His ways. |
And thou – Verses 76 to 79 tells of a work to be accomplished before the destruction of all enemies and the lifting up of those worthy to be sons of God. R4941:1
Shalt go before – Be the forerunner of Jesus. R4941:1
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| 77 To give knowledge of salvation to His people In remission of their sins, |
To give knowledge – To show them the "high calling" of this present age. R4941:4
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| 78 Through the tender mercies of our God, In which the rising from on high did look upon us, |
The dayspring – The "Morning Star" or "Day Star," before the Sun of Righteousness arises to scatter the darkness of mankind during Messiah's reign. R4941:4
This "Day Star" guides the feet of the saints, even while still in the time of trouble, before the new dispensation is ushered in. R4941:4
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| 79 To give light to those sitting in darkness and death-shade, To guide our feet to a way of peace.' |
To give light – Truth. A20, A25
Shining into the hearts of believers with sanctifying power and setting them afire with zeal for the truth. R4941:4
All shall have at least 100 years of opportunity under the clear light of "the Sun of Righteousness." (Mal. 4:2) R1772:5
Sit in darkness – Ignorance. A18, A25; B163
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| 80 And the child grew, and was strengthened in spirit, and he was in the deserts till the day of his shewing unto Israel. |
The child grew – Probably as a forester. R2562:5
Strong in spirit – Greek, pneuma--mind, character. E318
In the deserts – Not in the sandy deserts, but more properly in the wilds, the uncultivated regions, perhaps in the "hill country" where his parents resided. R2562:5
Possibly the Lord's providences ordered the affairs of his parents so that they were forced to reside in such a wilderness where they would have comparatively little intercourse with others. R2562:5
Till the day – The period, not the 24-hour day. R2836:1
When he was 30 years of age. R2563:1
Unto Israel – No longer regarded by our Lord and the apostles as the "ten tribes" merely, but, as it is expressed, "All Israel." R1341:1; C293
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