LUKE 1:67-79
THE HYMNS OF ADVENT
THE BENEDICTUS – SONG OF ZECHARIAH
“Blessed be the God of Israel.”
In the name + of Jesus.
It sounds strange to have Zechariah sing, “Blessed be God.” In our way of thinking, it is only God who can bless us. How can we bless God? It's not like we can improve his situation, add to his glory, or make him holier. In its most basic meaning, to bless means to speak well of someone. In our older liturgy, we had the exchange, “Bless we the Lord.” And the people replied, “Thanks be to God.” We speak well of the Lord by praising and thanking him. And that is what Zechariah did.
The song of Zechariah can be divided up into two parts. First, Zechariah looks backward. He praises God for the promises he had made in the past, especially since he has now begun to fulfill them. In the second part of Zechariah's hymn, he looks at what God has given him in the present and what it means for the future. We will sing with Zechariah, “Blessed be the God of Israel,” as we consider each part of his Advent hymn.
Blessed be the God of Israel because the Lord had revealed his grace and proclaimed his salvation throughout the Old Testament. Zechariah outlined those promises, for the most part working backwards. Blessed be the God of Israel who “has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David, as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old.” (Luke 1:69-70) The Messiah would be the Son of David. It was declared by David in the Psalms and foretold by the prophet Nathan as well. It did not matter that David's throne had been burnt to ashes by King Nebuchadnezzar; the Lord would still be faithful to his word. Nathan had told David, “When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. … And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.” (2 Samuel 7:12,16) The throne which had been overthrown would not only be raised up anew, it would be raised up forever. What had seemed impossible had now come to fruition. The Son of David comes.
Blessed be the God of Israel. For he has remembered “to show the mercy promised to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant.” (Luke 1:72) The Lord had good reason to withhold his mercy to the forefathers of Israel. Time and again, they misplaced their trust, turning to the kings of Egypt and Syria for deliverance from their foes. They forsook the Lord. In order to obtain rain, fertile fields, and abundant harvests, they sacrificed to the Canaanite gods, Baal and Ashtoreth. They corrupted their worship, setting up shrines in high places—choosing to seek God according to their feelings rather than seeking God where he told them he would put his name to bless them. They set aside justice, exploited the poor, and ignored the Sabbath all for the sake of material gain. Israel was not faithful to the Lord, but the Lord remained faithful to his covenant. The Lord remembered his promises. The Lord was determined to redeem sinners. Blessed be the God of Israel whose faithfulness does not depend upon the faithfulness of mankind. “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people.” (Luke 1:68)
Blessed be the God of Israel who has kept “the oath that he swore to our father Abraham.” (Luke 1:73) For God, it was not enough that he promised Abraham that the world would be blessed through his Seed. He added strength to his promise by swearing an oath upon his very being. If he does not send a Savior, then he is no longer God. But God has proven himself faithful. He swore that the Seed of Abraham would come to save the nations, and he is true to his word. Blessed be the God of Israel.
The Lord our God is worthy of thanks and praise for keeping his promises. By our standards, it was a long time in coming. God had promised salvation to Adam and Eve as soon as it was needed. God narrowed the focus for that Savior by funneling everything through Abraham. That was about 2,000 BC. Then the promise was repeated to David and narrowed through him. That was about 1,000 BC. As centuries went by, prophets such as Isaiah, Micah, Zechariah, and Malachi added details to the promise. And then, after Malachi, there were no prophets giving new revelation. For four hundred years, God went silent.
When the angel Gabriel told Zechariah that God was about to send a new prophet through him and his elderly wife, Elizabeth, Zechariah did not believe it. For that, he would be silent. Add nine more months to 400 years. At the birth of John, Zechariah finally was able to speak again. Better than speak, he sang: “Blessed be the God of Israel!” For he has visited his people. He has remembered his covenant. He has been merciful to us all.
Then Zechariah's song shifted from what had been to what would be. Certainly he was overjoyed to hold a son, a gift that had been withheld from him for so long. However, Zechariah blessed God not for his own personal gain, but for what the whole world would gain.
When we see newborn babies, we wonder what they will grow up to be and do. With John, Zechariah knew because God told him. Therefore Zechariah sang: “And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God...” (Luke 1:76-78) At long last, the Lord had raised up a new prophet. He would not merely add detail to the promises, John would identify the person. If John comes, the Messiah comes right on his heels. Blessed be the God of Israel. He sends us a prophet to prepare the way for the Most High.
Of course, if John proclaims a Savior, that means you need to be saved. And if you need to be saved, it is because you are perishing. You don't save someone who is safe; you save someone who is in danger or is dying. Since you are a sinner, you are dying. And since you can't change that, you are in danger of judgment.
Your conscience makes you aware of your sinful condition and of God's displeasure because of it. Perhaps you can ignore it for a while or distract yourself. But God does not let you go, and your conscience will not be ignored forever. No matter how nice of a person you are, you have not done all the good you are supposed to. No matter how much you put up with annoyances and no matter how much patience you have for demanding people, you are guilty of despising them. It is in quiet moments that you ponder these things and are alarmed by your sins. Or maybe it hits you when someone dies. You feel guilty because you know that you could have treated that person better, only now it is too late to do better or to make amends. Worst of all, when you feel the reality of your own death, you are hounded and haunted by regrets and guilt over sins. Ignoring regrets does not make amends for them, and distracting yourself does not remove iniquity.
You cannot save yourself from these fears because you cannot take away your sins and regrets. You are a sinner, and you can't change that either. You are a sinner, and so you are dying. You are in danger because you cannot hide from judgment. Those who are in danger or are dying need to be saved. Blessed be the God of Israel who sends a Savior for you!
Zechariah rejoiced not just that he had a son, but that his son would prepare the way for the Savior he longed for. No doubt, Zechariah regretted doubting the word of the Lord. Who knows what other sins haunted him? Burning incense at the altar was a noble act of worship, but it did not take away sins. So also with us, our worship does not take away our sins, even though it is meet, right, and salutary to do. Our help is in the name of the Lord, and John would prepare the way for the Lord. John would preach to sinners, and John would assure sinners that the Messiah comes for them.
Blessed be the God of Israel who sends John to “give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God...” (Luke 1:77-78) John points us to the Savior who comes to take away the sins of the world, to pardon all offenses, and to cover every regret with his blessed innocence. Jesus reveals the tender mercies of God, that he even loves sinners. By removing our sin, Jesus restores and reconciles us to the Father. This is what the Lord had promised of old. It is what John was born to proclaim. It is what Jesus comes to deliver. Bless we the Lord; thanks be to God.
Blessed be the God of Israel. God is faithful to the covenant he swore to Abraham. God is true to the promise he made regarding the throne of David. God is faithful to the words he spoke through the prophets. God has proven his love by doing what he had promised Zechariah. A prophet has come. God had more to say. The Savior is at hand. There is no terror in dying. You are not in danger of judgment. Jesus takes away all unrighteousness and credits us with his innocence so that we can “serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.” (Luke 1:74-75) Blessed be the God of Israel. He has made good on his promises, and he has made us good in his sight.
In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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