Let us praise the Lord our God!
“Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has come to his people and redeemed them. He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David” (Luke 1:68–69). These are the words of Zechariah, the father of baby John the Baptist, who, filled with the Holy Spirit, prophesied (v. 67). As I meditate on these words, I desire to receive the lessons they give:
(1) “Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel” (Lk. 1:68). Priest Zechariah began to prophesy, filled with the Holy Spirit. When I meditate on this verse, I am first drawn to the context in verse 64, because there it says Zechariah “praised God”: “Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue set free, and he began to speak, praising God.” Since he “did not believe” the words of the angel Gabriel, who spoke God’s message, Zechariah had been struck mute until the fulfillment of those words (v. 20). But when he asked for a writing tablet and wrote, “His name is John” (v. 63), “instantly Zechariah could speak again, and he began praising God” (v. 64).
(a) The next passage that came to mind was Acts 3, where “a man lame from birth” (Acts 3:2) encountered Peter and John, and “he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God” (vv. 6–8).
(i) From these passages, we see that Zechariah, who had been mute, praised God when he was able to speak again; and the man who had been lame praised God as he walked and leaped. Meditating on these together, I see that according to the word, “For no word from God will ever fail” (Lk. 1:37), when Zechariah’s mouth was opened and his tongue set free so that he could speak again (v. 64), and when Peter, believing in the power of God for whom nothing is impossible (v. 37), said to the man who was lame from birth, “In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk!” and took him by the hand, at once his feet and ankles became strong, and he jumped to his feet and began to walk (Acts 3:2, 6–8)—in both cases, when God’s mighty power was revealed miraculously, the response was the same: they praised God (Lk. 1:64; Acts 3:8).
· As I reflected on this, I was reminded of something I read long ago in Pastor Sung-geon Hong’s book The Person God Seeks. He described “two stages of worship,” the first being “praise”: “This is the stage of approaching God by relying on what He has already accomplished for us through Jesus Christ, remembering and giving thanks for what He has done. When we worship God, the starting point is recalling and being grateful for the work He has already accomplished in Christ. And we sing it. We proclaim it. We praise it” [About the second stage, “worship,” the author wrote: “When we come before God, we sing and give thanks for what He has done within us. But when we come before His throne, we behold His glory. At that point, it is not only His works but God Himself that we exalt. We praise Him for His grace, love, holiness, mercy, and majestic goodness. … It is no longer simply praising God for what He has done, but worshiping Him for who He is” (Hong)].
- After rereading this passage about “praise” and reflecting on myself, I realized that I must not only offer praise to God with gratitude for the salvation He has already accomplished for me in Christ, but also look forward in faith to the glory He will one day bestow upon me (cf. Rom. 8:30). And so, with a thankful heart, I want to lift up praise to God: “Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will glorify you (2x). Therefore I will bless you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands” (Internet).
n This song is based on Psalm 63:3, a Bible verse I can never forget in my life: “Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will glorify you” [Ref.: James’s Song: Praise in the Wilderness (https://blog.naver.com/kdicaprio74/221806620720)].
(2) The reason Priest Zechariah, filled with the Holy Spirit, prophesied, “Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel” (Lk. 1:68) was because God “has come to his people and redeemed them. He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David” (vv. 68–69). In the Modern Korean Bible translation, Zechariah prophesied, “Praise the Lord, the God of Israel,” because “He has come to deliver His people from their sins and has raised up a mighty Savior for us in the royal line of His servant David” (vv. 68–69).
(a) As I meditated on this passage, I was especially drawn to the phrase, “He has come to his people” (v. 68). I became curious about the meaning of the original Greek word translated “come to” (visit). The Hoekma Commentary explains: “The root word is episkeptomai (ἐπισκέπτομαι), used here in the third person past indicative, meaning ‘to look upon with the intent to help.’ It conveys the idea that God, by His sovereign intervention, looks upon His people to lead them into grace. Among its shades of meaning are ‘to visit,’ ‘to examine,’ and ‘to look after.’ The sense that God ‘visits’ or ‘looks after’ His people to grant grace is well illustrated in Luke 7:16: ‘They were all filled with awe and praised God. “A great prophet has appeared among us,” they said. “God has come to help his people.”’ In particular, when God is the subject, this word takes on an intensified spiritual meaning (H. W. Beyer, TDNT II, 599–622)” (Hoekma).
(i) Therefore, when we look at the prophecy spoken by Zechariah under the fullness of the Holy Spirit, the reason he said we should “praise the Lord, the God of Israel” was because God sovereignly intervened, visiting His people to pour out the grace of salvation. That “visit” [see “He has come” in Luke 1:68, Modern Korean Bible] was none other than the coming of “Jesus” (v. 31), the “Son of God” (v. 35), conceived by the Holy Spirit in the virgin Mary (Mt. 1:18, 20) and born into this world.
· God the Father raised up for us “the Savior” (Lk. 1:69), His Son Jesus Christ, “in the house of his servant David,” and “rescued his people from their sins” [redeemed them(Korean Revised Version)] (v. 69). Therefore Zechariah, filled with the Holy Spirit, prophesied, “Praise the Lord, the God of Israel” (v. 68).
- Here, the Modern Korean Bible renders it as “rescued his people from their sins,” while the KRV translates it as “redeemed” (v. 69). When I read this word “redeemed,” I was reminded of Colossians 1:14: “In whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” [(Korean Modern Bible) “God’s Son paid the price to free us, and we have been forgiven”]. Ephesians 1:7 says: “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace.” Romans 3:24 also says: “And all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”
n Therefore, I praise this hymn “Glory to Jesus, who died on the cross” to God:
(v. 1) Glory to Jesus, Who died on the cross,
Carried our burden and suffer'd our loss!
Shout, "Hallelujah!" the heavens across!
Jesus has sav'd my soul!
(v. 2) Jesus has won our salvation at last!
All of our falls, and the sins of the past,
All of our guilt He has fully outcast!
Jesus has made me whole!
(v. 3) All sin forgiven, I stand in Him here,
One of His people, eternally dear!
Life has no menace and death has no fear!
Jesus for me has died!
(v. 4) When we depart from the earth here below,
Then, hand in hand with the best Friend we know,
Straight to our home up in heaven we'll go,
And with our Lord a-bide!
(Chorus)
Praise we His name! Shout, and proclaim,
"Jesus sav'd my soul, set me free!"
Praise we His name! Sing it again,
"Jesus has sav'd even me!"