December 8
Zechariah’s Song
Luke 1:67–79
“67 His father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied: 68 “Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel,
because he has come to his people and redeemed them. 69 He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David 70 (as he said through his holy prophets of long ago), 71 salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us— 72 to show mercy to our ancestors and to remember his holy covenant, 73 the oath he swore to our father Abraham: 74 to rescue us from the hand of our enemies, and to enable us to serve him without fear 75 in holiness and righteousness before him all our days. 76 And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him, 77 to give his people the knowledge of salvation
through the forgiveness of their sins, 78 because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven 79 to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace.”
When Zechariah is filled with the Holy Spirit and could finally speak, the first thing that comes out of his mouth is praise. “Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has come to his people and redeemed them” (Luke 1:68). He praised God for who He is and what He had done. For His faithfulness. For His mercy, forgiveness and guidance. Isn’t it interesting that after this exuberant outburst of worship, Zechariah closes with the idea of God “Guiding our feet down the path of peace”? He began with praise and ends with peace. Zechariah reminds us that peace rises when praise replaces doubt. He found peace when he trusted God again. May it be so with us.