67 And his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied, saying, Luke 1:67 (ESV)
1. Praise to God for the fulfillment of the Davidic Covenant
68 “Blessed be 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 from of old, 71 that we should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us; 72 to show the mercy promised to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant, Luke 1:68-72 (ESV)
Benedictus comes from the Latin word for “blessed.”
2 Samuel 7:11-13 (ESV)
The metaphor for horn represents strength or power.
2. Praise to God for the fulfillment of the Abrahamic Covenant
73 the oath that he swore to our father Abraham, to grant us 74 that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve him without fear, 75 in holiness and righteousness before him all our days. Luke 1:73-75 (ESV)
The referral to Abraham reveals that God is faithful to His original commitments.
God saves us so that we might serve Him with our entire being.
3. Praise to God for John
76 And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,77 to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins . . . 80 And the child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness until the day of his public appearance to Israel. Luke 1:76-77; 80 (ESV)
Forgiveness of sins is a precondition for salvation as it relates to peace with God.
4. Praise to God for “the rising sun”
78 because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high 79 to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.” Luke 1:78-79 (ESV)
1 Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you. 2 For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the LORD will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you. 3 And nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising. Isaiah 60:1-3 (ESV); Jeremiah 31:31-34; Malachi 4:1-6
Darkness often symbolized intellectual ignorance and error (Eph 4:18), along with the immorality of sin as it relates to the world and the realm of Satan (Col 1:13).
17 and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.” Luke 1:17 (ESV)