deliverance from our enemies and out of the hand of all who hate us;
Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist, prophesies here, and the first thing he names is rescue from enemies. Which enemies did he mean, and has that rescue come yet?
In the Old Testament, "salvation" almost always points to one thing. The New Testament will lift the word higher.
Both the Old and the New Testament speak much about salvation. In the Old Testament it is almost always salvation from enemies that is in view, as Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist, said. The New Testament in its very first chapter speaks of Jesus saving "His people from their sins" (Matt. 1:21). This at once lifts the whole matter on to a much higher platform.
Zacharias' song has a definite shape. It belongs to Israel, and to promises already spoken.
The Song is completely and distinctly Jewish in character. It sets out the promised mercies fully and exactly, and celebrates their fulfilment. This, he says — or rather the Spirit testifies through him — is the horn of salvation in the house of David. It is the answer to all the hopes the prophets' words had raised. It is the salvation, the long-awaited "deliverance from enemies" and from "those that hate us."
Two verses earlier Zacharias calls the coming Deliverer a "horn of salvation." What does a horn stand for?
The horn speaks of potential power. It was above all power in salvation that Israel was looking for. They little realised that this must involve great suffering and death for the Messiah. Zacharias gave no hint of this, though he mentions the remission of sins (v.77).
One psalm stands behind the picture:
No doubt Psalm 132:17-18 was in his mind as he said these words. There the Psalmist said, "There (in Zion) I will make a horn to sprout for David… His enemies I will clothe with shame." Zacharias expected that prophecy, and many more like it, to be fulfilled soon in the child to be born in David's house. Sadly, that was not to be.
Israel was not freed from her enemies when Christ came. So what happened to the promise? Commentators point to the nation's refusal of Him.
The godly remnant of Israel looked for salvation when the Messiah came — salvation from their enemies, and "by the remission of their sins" (Luke 1:71, 77)… But the nation rejected and crucified the One who was God's salvation. Even so, Israel's evil served to make known the infinite wisdom of God. He used the rejection of His Son as the occasion to lay the basis in redemption, so that those who believed in Christ would have the remission of their sins. The salvation from their enemies that Zacharias spoke of will come to the remnant who look for Him. Christ "was once offered to bear the sins of many," and He will appear "a second time… to save those who are eagerly waiting for him" (Heb. 9:28).
This verse is not a picture of Christian experience. The believer stands in a different place today.
Notice how strongly this carries the flavour of Old Testament hopes. It is not a question of sins only, but of being delivered from their enemies. That last point is surely not the feeling of the Christian now, and it ought not to be. Does the Christian not serve God, delivered from his sins, while surrounded by his enemies? So when the Lord comes, it simply means taking him up out of the middle of his enemies at the time of deliverance.
The enemies themselves are of a different order:
Salvation from enemies can mean physical enemies or spiritual ones. With Israel it was physical enemies, like the Egyptians and the Canaanites. With Christians it is spiritual ones — sin, death, the world and the power of Satan. Salvation in this sense is by the power of God. Luke 1:71.
- Enemies. In the Old Testament, "salvation" almost always means rescue from enemies. That is what Zacharias looks for here.
- Promise. The prophets had raised one hope: rescue from every enemy. Zacharias says God has answered it in David's house.
- Horn. The horn stands for power. Israel wanted power to save, not seeing that the Messiah must first suffer and die.
- Postponed. The nation rejected its Deliverer. So the rescue waits until He appears a second time.
- Ours. The Christian's enemies are sin, death, the world and Satan. He serves God while still surrounded by them.
to fulfil mercy with our fathers and remember his holy covenant,
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.
[the] oath which he swore to Abraham our father,
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.
to give us, that, saved out of the hand of our enemies, we should serve him without fear
Zacharias is praising God for an oath, and this verse names what the oath was for: a rescued people who serve Him without fear. Three questions follow — who are these enemies, when does the rescue come, and what does "serve" mean?
Zacharias sings of a rescue that has not happened yet. And he grounds it not on good behaviour but on a promise God swore long before.
He spoke of the coming of Christ as though it had already happened. Prophecy often does this: it speaks of things as done which are still in the future. In the coming appearance of Christ, Zacharias saw the Lord God of Israel visiting His people to redeem them. The salvation He would bring would deliver them from all their enemies. It would enable them to serve Him in freedom, in holiness and righteousness all the days of their life. All this would fulfil His promise and oath to Abraham. Notice how the Holy Spirit inspired him to refer to the unconditional promise to Abraham, just as Mary had done. Israel's blessing will be on that basis and not on the basis of the covenant of law.
Zacharias speaks of enemies, not only of sins. One writer marks off Israel's hope from the Christian's place now.
Notice how much this carries the flavour of Old Testament hopes. It is not a question of sins only, but of rescue from their enemies. That last is surely not, and should not be, how the Christian feels now. Does not the Christian serve God, delivered from his sins, in the middle of his enemies? So when the Lord comes, He simply takes him up out of the middle of his enemies, at the time of deliverance.
So when will the fear be gone? One writer points to the coming thousand-year reign of Christ on earth.
In Israel's future deliverance Zacharias expresses the desire that Israel might serve God in holiness and righteousness all the days of their life. This will be true in the Millennium, when all their fears will be gone (v.74).
The Greek verb behind "serve" is not the word for ordinary work. One writer traces how Scripture uses it.
latreuo is another word three times translated "worship," though its usual rendering is "to serve." The word is linked to latron, "hire." So its original force is "serving for pay," not under compulsion like a slave. But Biblical Greek has lifted the word, and its noun latreia, "service," to a higher use. It never expresses any service except that of God, or of false gods. So it answers most fully to the present sense of "worship," and all true service shares this character.
Commentators differ on how far Christians can claim this song. One writer grants real overlap, but not the whole prophecy.
I grant that many of the blessings are shared, such as "in holiness and righteousness before him," faith resting on Messiah and the new birth. There are, of course, general principles which mark all the people of God in every age. But I say that this prophecy as a whole is not in any way a charter of church privilege. It is still unfulfilled, and it rests plainly on the oath sworn to Abraham.
Others apply the words to anyone who trusts Christ now.
When a man faces the reality of his guilt, he cannot help being filled with dread. But to every soul whose confidence is in Christ and in the precious blood He shed, the divine message is, "Fear not." Such people have a right to know that their sins are fully atoned for and put away for ever. Their hearts turn gratefully to the God of infinite love who provided such a costly sacrifice for them. Love at once drives out dread… From that moment we "serve Him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life."
Note: the closing words quote this verse and the next in an older translation; the ESV ends "all our days."
- Oath first. God rests this rescue on the unconditional promise He swore to Abraham, not on obedience to the law.
- Enemies next. The rescue is from real enemies, not from sins only. It waits for the reign of Christ, when every fear will be gone.
- Service is the goal. Scripture keeps this verb for the service of God alone — service that is worship, offered freely, not slave labour.
- Fear is the barrier. Guilt brings dread. Trust in the blood of Christ turns that dread into love, and service becomes fearless.
- Meanwhile. Israel will serve beyond the reach of her enemies. The believer today serves free from sins, still surrounded by enemies.