13 Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him. But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou 14 shalt call his name John. And thou shalt have joy and gladness, 15 and many shall rejoice at his birth. For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's 16 womb. And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the 17 Lord their God. And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a able offices of the priesthood; and no one, according to Bloomfield, was permitted to do it more than once. 13. Thy prayer is heard; and thy wife, &c. The close connexion between these clauses forbids the idea, which Grotius and others have advanced, that the prayer which the angel speaks of as being fulfilled, was a general one for the advent of the Messiah, and not a private one for offspring. -John. Which name means the gift or grace of the Lord. 14, 15. There would be the double pleasure of having a son, and of having such a son, one who should be distinguished as a prophet of Heaven. Drink neither wine nor strong drink. i. e. He shall live like a Nazarite, live an ascetic life. Num. vi. 3; Judges xiii. 4, 7, 14. He was to abstain especially from all intoxicating liquors. What is here called strong drink, sikera, from which our word cider is derived, means, according to Jerome, "any inebriating liquor, whether made of corn, apples, honey, dates, or any other fruits." There were two classes of Nazarites; those who were dedicated to this kind of life from their birth, as Samson, Samuel, and John the Baptist; and also those who entered it of their own free will.-Filled with the Holy Ghost. Endowed and actuated with a holy spirit of energy and zeal. 16. The great object of the coming of John was, to awaken a moral reformation among the Jews, who were dead in trespasses and sins. "This deep-hearted son of the wilderness, earnest as death and life,” was to inspire a shallow and skeptical generation with a new and sincere faith in God and his law. And many he did turn from sin to repentance and righteousness. He stirred the whole nation with his voice, crying in the desert. Mat. iii. 1-7; Luke iii. 7, 15. 17. Go before him, i. e. shall go before God, or in his sight. As in verse 6, it is said that they were righteous before God, or in the sight of God; so verse 15; so Luke xii. 6. No reference is probably made to Christ. In the spirit and power of Elias. Or, Elijah. A fearless, rugged reformer, burning with zeal and holy energy, abstemious in his living, dressed in wild garments, a man of the deserts, coming forth from his lonely retirements and communion with God, to sound in the ear of a selfish world his indignant rebuke of its corruptions. 2 Kings i. 8; Mat. xi. 8. To turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, &c. Mat. iv. 5, 6. "The most natural mode of interpretation, and that most suitable to the words of the prophet, is to regard them as denoting that reconcili people prepared for the Lord. And Zacharias said unto the 18 angel, Whereby shall I know this? for I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years. And the angel answering, said unto 19 him, I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God; and am sent to speak unto thee, and to show thee these glad tidings. And behold, thou shalt be dumb, and not able to speak, until the 20 day that these things shall be performed, because thou believest not my words, which shall be fulfilled in their season. And the 21. people waited for Zacharias, and marvelled that he tarried so long in the temple. And when he came out, he could not speak unto 22 them: and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple; for he beckoned unto them, and remained speechless. And 23 it came to pass, that as soon as the days of his ministration were accomplished, he departed to his own house. And after those 24 days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and hid herself five months, saying, Thus hath the Lord dealt with me in the days wherein he 25 looked on me, to take away my reproach among men. And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God 26 unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, to a virgin espoused to 27 a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. And the angel came in unto her, and 28 said, Hail, thou that art highly favored, the Lord is with thee: ation of discordant sects, and political feuds, by a common repentance and reformation, and general cultivation of philanthropy, which it was the purpose of the gospel to promulgate and enjoin on men." 19. I am Gabriel. Which means, man of God. It is generally said, that the names of the angels came from the east to Palestine after the captivity. Dan. viii. 16, ix. 21. That stand in the presence of God. Mat. xviii. 10. A figure taken from courts, where those who are high in favor with the sovereign, have ready access to him at all times. Am sent to speak unto thee. Heb. i. 7, 14. 20. Not able to speak. An infliction designed, we may suppose, quite as much for the confirmation of his 29 blessed art thou among women. And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of 30 salutation this should be. And the angel said unto her, Fear not, 31 Mary for thou hast found favor with God. And behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call 32 his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne 33 of his father David. And he shall reign over the house of Jacob 34 forever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? 35 And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee, 36 shall be called the Son of God. And behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age; and this is salutation, The Lord be with thee. mean. Concould 31, 32. Jesus. Matt. i. 21. The Son of the Highest. The Son of God, by eminence. - His father David. Mat. i. 1. This description of the Messiah was such as would be best understood by a Jewish mind. Hence the language in which the angel's annunciation was couched. 35. The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, &c. The divine power would be directly exerted to accomplish the object, without the intervention of human agency. That holy thing. That holy progeny. Mat. 1. 18, 20. In reference to the miraculous conception of Jesus Christ, a great critic of our land has said, "It seems to me not difficult to discern in it purposes worthy of God. Nothing could have served more effectually to relieve him from that interpo sition and embarrassment in the performance of his high mission, to which he would have been exposed on the part of his parents, if born in the common course of nature. It took him from their control, and made them feel, that in regard to him they were not to interfere with the purposes of God. It gave him an abiding sense, from his earliest years, that his destiny on earth was peculiar and marvellous, and must have operated most powerfully to produce that consciousness of his intimate and singular connexion with God, which was so necessary to the formation of the character he displayed, and the right performance of the great trust committed to him. It corresponds with his office, presenting him to the mind of a believer as an individual set apart from all other men, coming into the world with the stamp of God upon him, answerably to his purpose here, which was to speak to us with authority from God."-NORTON. 36-38. Thy cousin. More generally, thy relative, thy kinswoman. This case would inspire her with the sixth month with her who was called barren: for with God 37 nothing shall be impossible. And Mary said, Behold the hand- 38 maid of the Lord, be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her. And Mary arose in those days, and went into the hill-country 39 with haste, into a city of Juda, and entered into the house of 40 Zacharias, and saluted Elisabeth. And it came to pass, that 41 when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost. And she spake out with a loud voice and said, Blessed art thou 42 among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. And 43 whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded 44 in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. And blessed 45 is she that believed: for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord. And Mary said, 46 My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in 47 confidence. For with God, &c. Gen. xviii. 14; Mat. xix. 26.- Behold the handmaid of the Lord. The language of meekness and submission. 39, 40. In the agitated feelings, the mingled joy and anxiety of her condition, Mary goes to pour out her heart to a female friend and relative, whose own circumstances would guaranty her sympathy. How natural! Mary was to be the favored one of her sex, the mother of the Messiah, what thousands had desired and hoped to be, and desired in vain. The angel of the Most High had visited her in her humble dwelling, and communicated the ecstatic intelligence. She cannot keep the burden to herself. Her own heart would burst with the secret. She must away to one who could sympathize with her. Her aged and pious relative occurs to her mind, and she journeys "with haste" to visit her. If nature and reality are to be found any where in the New Testament, are they not discernible in this little history? The hill-country. This mountainous district of Judea was southerly from Jerusalem. A city of Juda. Some read, according to the judicious conjecture of Reland, the city of Jutta, supposing that there has been a mistake committed by the copyists, Josh. xv. 55, xxi. 16, while others insist that it was Hebron, Josh. xi. 21, xxi. 11. This city was situated in the hill-country, and it was the abode of many priests, being allotted of old to them as an inheritance. 41. The babe leaped, &c. Probably not a miracle, but a fact occasioned by excitement of mind. Or, as has been suggested, if we take it in connexion with verse 44, it is designed to express, in a popular manner of speaking, the great joy of the mother, as if she had said, "I was so rejoiced, that my very child seemed to leap for gladness." 46. Magnify. This devout effusion or lyric hymn of Mary, has been called the Magnificat, from the Latin word with which it begins in the version of that language; and it well describes its nature. It is a pouring 48 God my Saviour. For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden for behold, from henceforth all generations shall 49 call me blessed. For he that is mighty hath done to me great 50 things; and holy is his name. And his mercy is on them that 51 fear him, from generation to generation. He hath showed strength with his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of 52 their hearts. He hath put down the mighty from their seats, 53 and exalted them of low degree. He hath filled the hungry with 54 good things, and the rich he hath sent empty away. He hath 55 holpen his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy; as he 56 spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed, forever. And Mary abode with her about three months, and returned to her own house. 57 Now Elisabeth's full time came that she should be delivered; 58 and she brought forth a son. And her neighbors and her cousins heard how the Lord had showed great mercy upon her; and they 59 rejoiced with her. And it came to pass, that on the eighth out of exulting, jubilant emotions in the consecrated words of the Old Testament. See 1 Sam. ii. 1-10, and elsewhere, particularly in the Psalms. The devotional compositions and odes contained in the two first chapters of Luke, the hymns of Mary, Zacharias, and Simeon, give, as many think, "a mixed poetico-historical character to this portion of the New Testament." Mary, if we judge by her expressions, partook of the common Jewish conceptions of the Messiah. This pure Judaism, untinged with Christian notions, forbids the idea, as a late writer says, of this passage having been composed or interpolated, after the complete formation of the Christian scheme. 48. The low estate of his handmaiden. He had passed by those who lived in kings' palaces, the honorable, the brilliant of the earth, and chosen as the mother of the Messiah, an humble maiden of despised Nazareth, in Galilee. 51, 52. Milman observes, that “it may, perhaps, appear too closely to press the terms of that which was the common, almost the proverbial language of the devotional feelings; yet the expressions which intimate the degradation of the mighty from their seats, the disregard of the wealthy, the elevation of the lowly and the meek, and respect to the low estate of the poor, sound not unlike an allusion to the rejection of the proud and splendid royal race, (Herod's,) which had so long ruled the nation, and the assumption of the throne of David by one born in a more humble state." 54, 55. As he spake to our fathers, is a parenthetical clause; and in remembrance of his mercy, stands connected with the clause, to Abraham, &c. The sense is, that God had succored Israel, according to his promise to the fathers, remembering mercy to Abraham, and to his posterity forever. 58. It is a duty to rejoice with those who rejoice, as well as to wcep with those who weep. 59. Eighth day. Gen. xvii. 12.— |