Praise From An Over-the-hill Guy

Luke 1:67-71, 76-79

(The Benedictus: The Song of Zechariah)

67Then his father, Zechariah, was filled with the Holy Spirit and gave this prophecy:

68“Praise the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has visited his people and redeemed them.

69He has sent us a mighty Savior

from the royal line of his servant David,

70just as he promised

through his holy prophets long ago.

71Now we will be saved from our enemies

and from all who hate us.

76“And you, my little son,

will be called the prophet of the Most High,

because you will prepare the way for the Lord.

77You will tell his people how to find salvation

through forgiveness of their sins.

78Because of God’s tender mercy,

the light from heaven is about to break upon us,

79to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,

and to guide us to the path of peace.”

Psalm Link

Psalm 71:23

I will shout for joy and sing your praises,

for you have redeemed me.

Zechariah was over the hill; he had to know that. Besides that, there were too many priests, maybe about twenty thousand of them. What good was he anyway? He and his wife didn’t even have any children with whom to celebrate special occasions. It must have seemed like no one would miss him if he were gone.

But God had a different perspective. When it came to be Zechariah’s week to serve in the Temple (priests only served twice a year), his routine priestly chores were interrupted by an angelic visitor. The angel Gabriel announced that Zechariah and his wife would have a son, who would be the forerunner of the Messiah.

God delights in using people who seem to be over the hill. Abraham and Moses were certainly beyond retirement age when God called them into action. And this elderly couple, Zechariah and Elizabeth, now had a key role in God’s redemptive drama.

No wonder Zechariah sang at his son’s birth! And what prophetic insights God gave him! He quoted from Isaiah, Jeremiah, and particularly Malachi, the last of the Old Testament prophets.

“Praise the Lord,” said teenage Mary in her Magnificat. “Yes, praise the Lord,” said senior citizen Zechariah in his Benedictus. No matter your age, God wants to use you to bring him praise.

This is he whom seers in old time

Chanted of with one accord,

Whom the voices of the prophets

Promised in their faithful word;

Now he shines, the long-expected;

Let all people praise the Lord.

AURELIUS CLEMENS PRUDENTIUS

Fascinating Fact

This song is called the “Benedictus,” which is Latin for “blessed” or “praised,” the first word in Zechariah’s song. Although both are poetry, Mary’s Magnificat reads more like a psalm, while Zechariah’s Benedictus reads more like a prophecy.

Notable Quotable

“Forgiveness is not so much the remission of penalty as the restoration of a relationship.”

WILLIAM BARCLAY